EpilepticSceptic

bravo to the OP !! I feel he has very valid concerns and the same type questions that I had before I could decide on getting my HT. Now that I have 5 years of HT research under my belt, and also having recently had a HT, I guess I could play the role of "teacher" here with the OP. And if he/she was one of my students in HT 101, right now I would give him an A+ for his very sharp mind which thinks very much like my own. As far as the "screening" process of this site goes, it is indeed an excellent and noble effort but there is no way it can ever completely control or predict what the future behavior of it's members will be. And it could very well be YOUR HEAD and life that takes the fall from being one of the unlucky ones who "was in the wrong place at the wrong time" when HT suregeon X starts going on his downward spiral into butcherdom --- and the community will only become the wiser AFTER you (and others) report it, when it is already too late We've seen this before and we will definitely see it again. Even recently "usedandabused" confirmed that his butcher was a recommended doc on this site AT THE TIME when he selected him. You can even search the archives and find many threads where patients praise this doc as one of the very best, yet today he is a well known butcher who used to do good work but for whatever reason decided one day to get lazy and become a hack. But when you see hundreds of cases (pics and HD video) on one HT clinic's site and nobody else bothers to do the same thing it has to make you wonder why ? IMO the OP has very valid concerns.

IMO the biggest travesty of this entire thread is that some virgin head newbies will read it and scratch Dr. Feller off their list in favor of some other inferior HTN coalition surgeons who have better bedside manners. And this would be more of a negative for them than for Feller as I am sure he will remain steadily booked as he should, yet they will be taking the very real risk of an inferior HT. Concerning results, he is clearly in the top 7 worldwide which is a very elite club indeed! Nuff said :eek:

IMO baldness IS EVOLUTION !!! And this is what makes the whole "stigma" so upsetting because western society is still in the dark ages on this issue. I think there will come a point in the future (if humankind survives) when EVERYONE is bald, and to have hair will make you an unattractive outcast with a "hair stigma". The obsession that folks have with hair today is, quite frankly IMO, both stupid and pathetic. And as we all know here it is also the cause of ALOT of unnecessary misery because of our stupid society's neanderthal tabloid culture "stigma" associated with it.

Bill, Considering where you started from, your end result is absolutely staggering IMO! The front-on shot is the most important one of all -- that is what the chicks see.

Johnny, Thanks man! Your results are jaw dropping as well. I look at your pics and think "damn, that dude looks like he could walk into a club and out with a 20 year old chick in 5 minutes". (lol) Now THAT is what a successful HT is all about !!! 18 ?? Nah, I would say it's more like the hairline I had at age 22; but hey, I've got no complaints about that. It is indeed truly amazing how much younger the hair in the front makes us look. If I could post a face forward shot (like Anouar did) folks around here would be even more shocked; it reduces age perception by at least 10 years, probably more like 15. To me that is the reason to get a HT, not just to hide any trace of baldness. It's funny you mention the "blonde" thing, cause after seeing your new look I am seriously thinking about adopting an almost identical hairstyle if I can somehow keep the hair straight when it gets that long. Last time it was that long (7 months post-op) it was quite wavy (kinky) and hard to control. I sure hope it softens up like the vets say it will in the coming months !!! So what product(s) do you use to "straighten" out your hair like that ?

Aman, Hang in there bro! From now until month 12 you WILL see dramatic changes, so feel good that you made it thru the doldrums. I have a good feeling about your case turning out well, and I am usually right when i get these feelings. I prayed to god as well and meditated every night on growth to come when I was at my lowest point. All will be well, so just be patient and somehow try and forget about your hair for a little while. The moment you forget and stop worrying will be the same moment you start to notice the hair coming in.

Johnny, Wow man, your hair looks incredible ! Would you mind telling me how long your hair length is in these photos ? And are the hairline hairs in the front the same length as the hairs behind it ? It looks to be at least 2 & 1/2" to 3" long to me. I think I'm going to grow mine out like yours and try a similar style, so that's why I am asking.

I hadn't used it for about 7 years prior to my surgery. When I used it before that it was the Dr. Lee 15% Xandrox version nights and 5% generic day. I stopped it because there was never any "cosmetically significant" improvement to my crown bald spot or up front. Yes, it grew some peach fuzz in those areas; but what difference does that make to the chicks ? My philosophy with all of this stuff (HTs included) is that if the difference is not cosmetically significant then what are we paying for ? Now I've been back on it to speed up the HT growth, but I'm not sure I will stay on it much longer. If you have bald skin then it will not do anything to help you in those areas. If you are using it to try and hold back the angry river of MPB from breaking the dam, then IMO it is like putting some crazy glue on the rapidly forming cracks -- it might buy you a little time, but the dam is still going to rupture with minox alone. Fin (or DUT) IMO is WAY more important for keeping those cracks under control !!

I hear ya brother! One last question: when you had your surgery was your doc recommended here at that time ? :confused:

Thanks David !! I'll see if I can find the Aussie stuff and try it out.

I seriously doubt you will ever get a consensus on this issue from HT docs. Since I had my surgery with Dr. Hasson I took his advice seriously. Being a HT veteran now, I will tell you this: if you go to the right doc and get decent # of grafts then what you may lose being off of minox for 2 months will pale in comparison to what you will gain from the HT. The difference will be so drastic that you will be laughing when you look back at how worried you were about losing a few measly hairs from being off the rogaine. This is only something that you can know after going thru a successful HT. The cosmetically noticable benefits of minox are a complete joke by comparison.

Again, why take ANY chances ? So to eliminate ANY possibility go with the longest recommendation. Now you have your answer.

Hope you guys can help me on this one. My girlfriend always buys "clarifying" shampoos and I'm starting to realize that these are probably the worst for us guys who want to make our hair look as thick as possible. So what do you recommend that I can buy here in the USA ? Or do I have to buy it online from overseas ? Are there really any shampoos that help thicken the look/volume of your hair ? Or is it all a scam ?

The bottom line is that if the incisions the doc makes keep spewing out blood, then when the techs plant the grafts (there is a CHANCE) they will keep popping back out! So the tech will have to keep grabbing the graft and re-inserting it, thus increasing the CHANCE of damage. Why would you want to take that chance ? Also, if your head keeps bleeding then how is the doc going to "get into his zone" and do the best possible job when every 3 seconds he has to stop and hold a rag on your head to stop the bleeding ? 2, 3 or 4K tiny incisions on your head that keep spitting out blood -- do you see the problem now ?

One of the best posts I've seen here in a long time ! Newbies should reread this until they have it permanently memorized.

Pitting, cobblestoning, misangled hairs, permanent shockloss of native hair ? Sounds like you picked a quack to me. Does he share the same name as a famous fashion designer ? If so then YES, it is 100% confirmed that you were hacked by a fiendish quack that has destroyed (and will continue to destroy) many lives. Then you go on to mention Bernstien, Rassman, Cooley, Limmer & Harris as if they represent the cream of the crop of today's HT docs. IMO those 5 are not even on the map (not even close!), so it seems your research has not been very thorough in this regard. I feel for you man, and I sincerely hope you can resolve your situation. I had miniaturized hairs in my front forelock that were pretty close to dying, yet ALL of them grew back and there was very little margin for error at 70 fu per cm plant density !!! Dude, you got hacked by a bad doc who just didn't care. It's really that simple. It happens everyday and will continue to happen at no fault of the patient or his "physiology traits". Oh yeah, and concerning the "coalition" and other organizations for credentials, IMO all that stuff is a bunch of fluff. There are only 5 docs today I would even consider letting touch my head: 2 of them work at H & W, the other 2 are in the coalition, and the last 1 is not even recommended here. That should tell you something.

Well, they already scammed you and stole your money so it's too late. If you try to retaliate I'm sure they have ALOT of experience dealing with that issue, and you will just end up clubbed in the head and dragged off to jail. Welcome to the scam that is called capitalism and the "unregulated" cosmetic industry, where any ruthless lying scumbag scammer can promise you the stars, steal your money, and then have you clubbed in the head and dragged off to jail if you really try to do what is right -- like, kick him in the friggin teeth!! When I was 18 I was only a NW1.5 and got scammed into a wig that they attach to a plastic tubing that runs thru holes they cut into your head. They said it was "a permanent, natural solution" and for the idiots who believed them and kept it on their head they got a PERMANENT INFECTION WITH PERMANENT SCARRING!!! Fortunately for me I was smart enough to demand they remove it the next day, and all they had to say to me was "sorry, no refunds." And they had a big mean looking dude there to handle me in case I got violent with the girls who ripped me off and lied to my face! Welcome to reality brother. I know, it sucks being only 18 and having to quickly realize that the world is full of theives and liars at every turn, and with a system that both encourages and protects them !!! They should be rotting in jail, but instead they are stealing your money and laughing at you behind your back.

This thread is the perfect example of why I sometimes refer to HT forums as "a bad Kafka novel he never wrote", which is really a strange type of pergatory that many are trapped within in today's completely superficial culture. I feel sad for you man; not because of your hair condition, but moreso because of your mental state associated with it. Some guys on here are so insecure that, even as a solid NW2, they have no social life and stay locked in a closet 24/7 because they simply cannot get over the fact that they are aging and will never be a NW0 again. "Life is over" for them, yet they are only 25. Many of them will look back in 10 years (when they are REALLY bald) and be really pissed off that they lived in a closet all that time when they could have been enjoying life when they STILL HAD SOME HAIR LEFT !!!! What many of them do not understand is that there is a whole different level of depravity associated with baldness that has NOTHING to do with how YOU feel about it personally. This is when you reach NW4 territory or higher! When this happens you WILL notice people (especially women) in public treating you differently, no matter how well you have psychologically adjusted to your baldness !!! You will look back and think "jesus man, I really did have some hair back then but now I'm REALLY bald and in the club with the likes of Costanza." You will kick yourself in the arse and feel like the biggest loser who ever lived for wasting all of that precious time when YOU STILL HAD SOME HAIR !!!!! :eek:

Aman, Dude, chill out !! IMO you are probably causing yourself so much stress and anxiety that you may even be slowing your growth by worrying so much. Worrying will achieve NOTHING, so just try to not look in the mirror and forget about your hair for awhile. I think I am qualified to give this advice because from month 1 thru 3.5 I had very bad shockloss that made me look much more bald than I did pre-surgery. I made a conscious decision NOT to worry and just relax and take care of my health, plus ride the bike 6 miles every day to get the blood pumping and flowing to my scalp. I actually believe that worrying and stress blocks blood flow in the body, so by worrying you are only doing HARM!! Here, look at these pics of me brother!!! Look at the 1 month and tell me if you would not be worried about THAT ? Now look at my 9 month result! Youy may think you have no growth, but i see growth in your pics. It's a "shadow" of growth that I see in the outline of the hairline Hasson designed for you. I had the same thing at 3.5/4 months, so just chill and relax. Dude, with 5932 grafts you will be looking like a rock star in 6 months time! You will look back a this poist and see this reply from me (and others) and say "man, they sure were right".

I don't really understand why people say it's impossible for the patient to know the graft count. When I had my surgery Dr. Hasson handed me this click counter that registers 1 count every time you click it. He had me click it once every 100 incisions. Every time he made an incision I could both hear a crunch as well as feel a distinct pressure; he would count the number out loud as well. I was very awake and very aware of everything going on around me the entire time, and it was great for Dr. Hasson to get me to participate in this way. The only way that I could possibly have been decieved on the # of grafts received would be if he made a bunch of incisions that no grafts were placed within later. I also took hi res close-ups of my recipient area that night at the hotel, and then blew them up on the computer later on at home. I could clearly see that there were no empty holes, all the holes had hairs protruding. Had there been alot of empty holes with no hairs they would have been clearly visible. After experiencing my surgery this way I would not choose to have a HT again with any clinic that does not provide the counter and simply expects you to trust the doctor on graft count!

Since I have had a bunch of requests to post brighter outdoor light photos of my 9 month results, here they are:

If this had happened to me then my first priority would be to determine whether it was my fault or not. It is simply not logical to say no one is at fault for an outcome like this as there simply has to be some explanation. The way I see it there are two possibilities: 1) this HT failed due to poor patient physiology, or 2) it failed due to something that occured at the clinic that day that was a mistake that someone who works there has to be responsible for. If it is the latter, then the only way to prove it is to get a HT at another clinic and if the results are great then you have your answer. And if it fails again then you know it is the former. I think newbies on this site contemplating a HT need to understand that there is a chance that you could pick a surgeon listed here, pay 10-20K$, have a failed result after waiting for 14 months, and then at best be offered a free sugery as compensation. So if it goes wrong you wont get your $ back, and you also wont get those 2, 3 , or 4 thousand grafts back either. You need to seriously ask yourself how would YOU psychologically handle that ? It seems most everything is in favor of the clinics and the patient's rights are very minimal, and you are indeed taking a big gamble putting your head and your wallet in the hands of any one of these docs/clinics. So when I tell people to choose their surgeon wisely I really, really mean it! If anyone were to ask me which clinics on this site I would trust with my head, I have a list of only three. And the one I chose to go with was quite far ahead (IMO) of the other two, so it was a no brainer.

Bolo, Thanks for the feedback, and I am gald to hear that my documentation has helped others around here. Just remember that the outcome of your scar will depend on the size of the strip as well as your laxity and healing attributes; and of course it will MOSTLY depend on the skill of the surgeon! So I sincerely hope you have chosen wisely in that regard.

I'll have to second what Lorenzo posted on this one. I have followed this case as well and do not believe that this would have happened at the clinic I had my surgery with. IMO this was tech related and not any fault of the patient. Mr NK, I wish you the best sir! For any newbies out there seeking to save $ on a HT, cases like this one should make you think twice about who you choose to do your surgery. Thank god for this forum because otherwise you might never be aware of them.

Don't worry man, I'll send my final updates from an iphone on the beach in south america along with some hi res photos of some super hot golden skinned babes !!! My next plan will be to MAXIMIZE the hair to skin contrast ratio, so I'll be spending some quality time in the sun this spring and summer. I am lucky in that my skin tans easily and can get very, very dark whilst at the same time my hair lightens up significantly and turns light brownish, reddish-blonde. I think I might be able to get so dark that the hair/skin contrast is next to zero. What I am seeing right now is the worst case scenario in that regard for sure.