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Hi, so now I'm back with a FUT procedure with Dr Blake Bloxham in Great Neck NY. Had the surgery this morning. A little about my problem... I had FUE in Turkey 6 years ago, but it didnt give me the density that I wanted. Sometimes it looked great, but then sometimes it would shed so bad that I could see my scalp. I dont know why I go through this process on a 4-6 month basis. Anyways recently i started lifting weights and losing fat, and I noticed even more shedding. Pics are attached.... Reason why i jumped into FUT instead of FUE again... my donor is looking some what thin already and I didn't want to compromise it more. Dr Bloxham recommended doing FUT which will allow my to get more grafts overtime vs doing FUE which will limit me and potentially leave my donor looking thin. He said I can do another 3700 FUT in the future if needed, but also is saying that he does not think I will go into an advanced hairloss pattern. But FUT is a good way to hedge our bets -
Hello everyone - I've been on this site with an account for almost 3 years now, and I honestly can't believe I actually pulled the trigger haha. It still hasn't hit me yet. Some of you might be aware of the amazing results I have received from finasteride alone (here), but over time, those results haven't really held up, so I decided to get a hair transplant to rebuild my frontal third. I was originally planning to see Hasson and Wong in Canada earlier this year, but due to COVID and travel restrictions, that was no longer a possibility and I was losing valuable recovery time as each month passed. I am still working from home, and laying low as we get ready for the winter months is just too perfect of a time to get a transplant for me to pass up. I already had an in-person consultation with Dr. Bloxham last year, so he had already seen me, and I was comfortable going with him. Luckily he was able to get me in on such short notice. I won't bore everyone with the regular details, but overall the procedure was pretty smooth. Here are some quick notes: Procedure Date: 11/4/2020 Total Grafts: 2561. Singles: 1051. Multi (2s and 3s): 1510. I was kind of disappointed to learn I had so many singles, but oh well... When I asked him how my laxity was he responded "very good". A tech said I have "beautiful grafts". Fingers crossed that means a good result The numbing injections hurt much more than I thought they would. I would say 7/10 on the first pass, and then 3/10 on the later passes. The years of experience of all the techs working on me ranged from 20 years, 10 years, 10 years, 6 years and 3 years. So that was comforting that they had been with the clinic that long. They were all very nice. In the hotel after the HT: In the bathroom at the clinic. Last pic pre-HT😅
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About me: 28 Years old, started Finasteride in early-mid twenties. My crown has been very stable since then, though I'm not sure whether it was due to the medication or not. Finasteride, however, didn't do anything for my hairline, which has been slowly creeping back at the temples over the years. I first started looking into hair transplants in early 2020 out of curiosity. I was prepared to ruefully accept my hair loss since I viewed hair transplants as high risk and unnatural looking. I have to give this forum complete credit for reversing my opinions 100%. Research: I consulted with some popular clinics recommended on this site including H&W, Eugenix, Dr. Bloxham (in person), and Dr. Wesley. All recommended in the ballpark of 1500-2000 grafts. Obviously, each of these clinics and doctors are highly regarded and have remarkable results. During my research, though, I was delving into papers published in the ISHRS journal by Dr. Cooley where he would discuss the conditions ideal for hair transplantation and graft survival down to the temperature and humidity of the room, which he controls during actual procedures. This level of perfectionism and attention to detail, in addition to his phenomenal patient results, really impressed me and in the end I chose him. The procedure: I took an Amtrak into North Carolina and checked into the Hilton the clinic booked for me. All of Dr. Cooley's out of town patients pass through here and they accommodate his patients well with an early morning shuttle to the clinic, as well as a shuttle back after the procedure is over. I barely sleep because of nervousness. In the morning I use an antibacterial/disinfectant wash on my scalp called Hibiclens as suggested by Dr. Cooley, eat a simple breakfast of an apple and a muffin and take the shuttle over to the clinic. I arrived around 7:15. The clinic is located within a modern medical complex a few minutes away from the hotel. Check-in was very fast and easy - they let me choose what lunch I wanted from the local sandwich shop and pick 3 movies (I chose Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon, one of the Cloverfield movies, and something else... these ended up being completely inconsequential). Dr. Cooley came in and took pre-op photos, discussed my goals, and drew on the outline for my new hairline. Dr. Cooley's demeanor was very friendly, but here I would say that the pre-op consult was quite rushed, taking less than 15 minutes or so. Dr. Cooley did not volunteer much information that outside of what was completely necessary for the procedure, for example, my hair/donor characteristics, my reserve for future procedures, etc. As I was pretty slide deprived and anxious at this point, I didn't get a chance to converse with the doctor as much as I would have liked. Regardless Dr. Cooley did seem completely present and was laser-focused on the procedure. I swallowed a bunch of pills, donned a gown and was escorted to the operating room. You'll have to excuse my vague level of detail for the procedure itself because the combination of pills and my exhaustion catching up with me hit me hard. I remember lying face down on the chair and hearing Dr. Cooley explain that he was going to begin excising the strip and that I may feel a pinch. I barely felt a thing and hardly noticed the strip being removed or even being stitched up afterwards. The techs went to work dissecting the strip into grafts and some indeterminate amount of time later, Dr. Cooley also made the slits on my hairline (I guess I also flipped over at some point). I had lunch before the afternoon implantation session. During implantation, the movies I selected also played but I was not awake for any of it. The only thing I remember is about 5 minutes of a fight scene from Crouching Tiger. That's it. I slept through literally everything else. I woke up around 5 and everything was done. Dr. Cooley wrapped my head up, went over my post-op instructions, and I took the shuttle back to the hotel. I was discharged around 5:30. Post-op: The week post-op was quite hard on me as I'm not good at sleeping sitting up. In addition, Dr. Cooley's instructions were to use a proprietary liposomal ATP spray every hour or other hour, I forget which. The combination made my sleep very poor. In fact, the night after the procedure, I pulled an all nighter - sitting up in my hotel bed, watching TV, and spraying my grafts as directed. I will say that for me, there was absolutely minimal pain and swelling during this period. The day after the procedure, I was shuttled back to the clinic for a post-op wash, exam, and instructions. Everything went well and they gave me some gentle copper-infused shampoo to wash my grafts with. I thought it was silly at first, but the stuff is actually fantastic. The following week was more poor sleep. I slept so badly (getting only 3 hours or so each night) that I was legitimately worried that I was stressing the survival of my grafts. I also washed the grafts daily, as per Dr. Cooley's instructions, with very gentle motions and indirect water. I continued using the spray as directed (after the first few days, you ease off the spray frequency, but are still asked to use it multiple times per day, sealing it with saran wrap and a surgical cap). Also, though not suggested by the Doctor, I took some supplements such as vitamins C, D, and Zinc. Due to the sleep issues, I was extremely grateful to be working from home during this period. There's not too much else to say about my post-op. As I was back in NYC, I had to go to a local clinic to have the stiches removed. When he was removing the stitches, the doctor remarked that he had done stitch removal for hair transplants before but had never seen one like mine before. He said that the fine gauge of the stitches used were much more like those used for facial plastic surgery and the stitching technique was excellent. Miscellaneous thoughts: Though I volunteered to allow Dr. Cooley to shave my recipient for the procedure, he refused and said it would not make the work much easier for his team. I insisted and he did end up shaving a small area on the temples for better visibility. Post-op though, I have to say, I was shocked by how indiscernible the hair transplant was. I was meeting people less than a month out of the procedure and NO ONE knew that anything was done. Chalk it up to the magic of no-shave procedures. Because we were at the height of the pandemic it would not have been a huge concern if I had to shave my head since no one would see me. If I had to appear at the office though, the no-shave procedure would have been a major benefit. I am about 7 months out from my procedure as of the time of writing and all I can say is that I am extremely satisfied and am tremendously grateful to Dr. Cooley and his fantastic team. I feel much more confident in my appearance and am genuinely having fun with my hair for the first time in years. Whereas previously I was hyper-conscious about sweeping my hair over my temples and cursing every gust of wind, I feel much more at peace now. I am happy with my results and I am optimistic that it can get even better in the coming months. Photos: I prefer to keep a minimal number of pictures of myself on the internet so here are my pre-op photos as well as my photos about 6 to 6.5 months out from the procedure. I have a few photos of the period between I can share if you are genuinely curious but only via private message. Ironically for a pre-op photo, the temples are a little flattering. Here it is in the worst possible lighting: Grafts implanted. Dr. Cooley implanted grafts in between my native hairs to thicken my existing hairline in addition to reconstructing the temples: 6.5 Months out: Thanks for reading my thread. If you have any questions feel free to reach out via the thread or private message. -
Over the years I have had about 6,000 Grafts done over most of my head from Dr. True in NYC. I was mostly satisfied with the results but 2 years ago I had decided I wanted a little touch up in the front corner since it was the only area that I feel he didn't come out well and I felt I had enough donor hair to do the work. After doing extensive research and hearing all the great reviews I decided to go to Dr. Bloxham of Feller Bloxham who was closer to me and seemed to have more experience with FUE since I could no longer do FUT because of excessive scarring. Dr True was not comfortable and experienced enough to do it. I did one touch up of about 250 grafts and then came back a year later for another 150. And will tell you the results were excellent and natural and I still have a fair enough amount of hair in my donor area so that it looks full. Though both surgeons are very good I would put Dr. Bloxham a star above Dr. true for two reasons. Number one he is more experienced and confident with FUE procedure and secondly his bedside manner is by far much better. He takes the time to make sure you are comfortable and feeling no pain and is just more personable and friendly. As I said the results were excellent so if your planning on trying this I highly recommend him. BTW if you are coming in from NYC his office is about a 7 minute Uber ride from The Great neck LIRR train station and there is ample parking at the building if driving. -
While I didn't create an account on this forum over the last couple of years it was invaluable in my research process and I want to pay it forward, especially since I seem to be seeing fewer patient posts with recent dates, at least for Dr. Cooley. Thus I will try to be thorough here in describing my process. Apologies in advance for the length of the post and the variability of the quality of the photos. I know they aren't the best. I am still only a few days/weeks out and will update this with before photos and after photos from the clinic and exact graft count(s) when I get them and try not to disappear throughout the process. My Past Situation I had an ill-advised FUT procedure when I was 21 to address temple recession. I wasn't on meds, it was premature, and I went to a cheap chop shop. CLASSIC, young guy being really stupid. :sigh The procedure (unknown # of grafts) involved putting grafts on the temples and unfortunately also some around the front of my hairline. It did very little cosmetically unless you count triggering massive loss of existing hair (most of which did grow back in fairness). The only saving grace here is that we were talking about a fairly minor temple area and because of my light hair/skin contrast I've been able to get away with a forward brush hairstyle that hid really poor work. Oh and it wasn't big plugs and the scar wasn't horrendous and avoided being in any disastrous region(s) thankfully. No matter what you do STAY AWAY from Samson Hair Restoration in Los Angeles regardless of what doctor they currently have cycled in. Why now Now, 11 years later at 32 with some additional thinning and some recession the previous work was becoming harder to cover, especially when swimming or my hair was wet. Plus, I just wanted it fixed to open up different hairstyles and to get ahead of managing what I believe will be future loss. Almost a gradual "replace" strategy I guess. In terms of meds, I had been on finasteride w/ no side effects for 4 years but then went off for 5+ years (don't really know why). I went back on 6+ months ahead in prep for a procedure and plan to stick with it this time. Not on finasteride or any other shampoos etc at the moment. Picking the surgeon In terms of research this time around I did a lot more homework using this forum as the basis for creating a smaller list of doctors. Ultimately I narrowed my list and research to consults with Lindsay, Bernstein, Cooley, Bloxham, and Nadimi. I felt these were really great doctors that didn't necessarily require a flight based on my East Coast USA location (I was intrigued by Rahal, Hasson/Wong/Kronior and some of the other staple of well regarded doctors as well but with only so much time felt good with my short list). I did not consider India/Turkey etc., not because I don't believe quality results can't be achieved there, but because I didn't want to take the risk and conduct an extra level of due diligence with respect to many of the practices and I was willing to pay $ for that peace of mind. Notes on my Consults During my consult with Dr. Lindsay I felt like he just didn't think I needed a procedure yet. He cited 1200 grafts and it was all relatively cursory. So not a fit for me Dr. Bernstein was a good consult (worth the cost) where I learned a bit and I felt comfortable with him and his work, but ultimately I wasn't blown away by the results I've seen from him either on his website or on this and other forums My consult with Bloxham was really terrific and I got a great feeling from him. He was ultimately my #2 but I did not choose him mostly because he is just relatively newer with fewer posted results. And right or wrong, some of the (rare/older) negative comments about customer service/interactions from Feller put me off. I did NOT have any of this sense from Dr. Bloxham and have never met Feller but the posts are there nonetheless. I will also say, they need to upgrade their facility. Not the medical side hopefully, but the rest of the place was old and run down feeling. Dr. Nadimi was also great (via Skype) and matter of fact but I got the sense she did more FUE than FUT. Similar to Bloxham there are just fewer patient accounts out there that I could find, but based on what I've seen and this consult I was very comfortable and impressed with her Why Cooley Ultimately, I went with the only doctor I didn't meet/ have a convo with directly in Dr. Cooley. I appreciated the consult with Lollie and a deeper understanding of their procedures and liked what I heard about use of Acell, how he preserved grafts out of body, his hands on approach, the tenure of his techs, and so on. But most importantly Cooley's track record of consistent results and patient experiences tipped me over (including one detailed repair write-up by a Blonde haired individual, of which there are relatively few results). I also literally did not find a single negative review (of outcomes) for Cooley in all my research and I valued that apparent consistency. Procedure - Why FUT I knew I wanted FUT as I (a) already had a scar I felt could be improved, (b) wanted to maximize future grafts and survivability, and (c) wanted to minimize recovery time. I am lucky enough to have a lot of Donor and existing hair that can be used to hide a procedure. Pre-Procedure and Day of All things posted about Cooley experiences were true for me. I followed pre-op instructions for scalp laxity. I think this helped as I could feel the sides definitely loosen up, and while the back still felt tight Cooley said it was great and helped with suturing (+ sutures out at 2 weeks vs. 3 weeks). The hotel they set you up in is excellent, easy, convenient and they already know why you are there and what you need. Shuttle drivers, check-in staff, and others there were helpful and discrete and the breakfast and gym is open early enough for day of eating and a last workout. On the day of the operation we met at 7am, had a calm and not rushed discussion where any other questions I had were answered, and re-affirmed my choice of 2500 FUT + PRP/Acell. In terms of hairline we were on the same page to opt for a conservative/mature hairline though Cooley jumped straight to the need for work on the temples which he said he does not always do. This process of agreeing on this was FAST as a lot of it was bridging existing hair and the past work plus a little bit of pulling temples out/down. In terms of PRP, Cooley was candid that for me he didn't know if PRP would make much of a difference as he didn't see a ton of minituraization but (a) I'm paranoid and think there is more than there is/I have very fine hair already, and (b) I am hopeful that it will help somewhat with avoiding shock loss or speeding up recovery. I know there's no real scientific evidence to back that up, but I was willing to spend the $ on the chance it helps. I will say that to make sure you get what you need before surgery begins you should 100% come prepared with your questions. For example in my consult with Bloxham he indicated that my past FUT scar had a small area branching into the danger zone for donor and advised forking the scar near my ear. I really did NOT want to do this, so asked Cooley about it. He decided to implant 10-15 hairs in the end of the old scar as part of the procedure and end the new scar in a safer location. I do not think we would have ultimately done this if I had not asked. H/T to Bloxham for noticing it in a really thorough, caring consult. I also asked about a few grafts poorly placed in the front of my forehead below the 7CM mark we agreed to for the new hairline. He said if I was OK With it that he would remove those with electrolysis which I agreed to and am relieved about as they were definitely not natural looking. Overall, it was a good conversation. I, like most others, felt comfortable and cared for by Dr. Cooley and all of his other wonderful team members. I do think the clinic could get better about having all their pre and post op documentation organized and sent in a big PDF but that's super minor overall and has nothing to do with the in-person interactions I had. One other area that I felt could be improved is in discussing recovery times. The clinic (not Cooley himself) were fairly aggressive in terms of discussing post HT recovery periods and timeline (no redness 5 days, not visible procedure at 8 days etc). It's not that they are totally off, it's just that they are definitely giving the aggressive, "best-case" scenario in my opinion and shaded this as an absolute vs. discussing the potential ranges of recovery times based on patient characteristics. Still thus far in my case it has proven to not be too far off the mark so far (devil's always in the details though isn't it). Procedure itself From the Cooley consult we moved into the procedure. Numbing/valium etc was painless. Unlike others I don't think I really went fully under for the ENTIRE duration of the procedure, I even heard a nice little "ripping" type sound on removal, but no pain whatsoever. By 11:30 the donor was removed, there were 5-6 technicians on the microscopes, I had had PRP and he had done the few electrolysis removals needed. I stopped for lunch and then we carried on. Cooley performed all of the donor incisions, with Brandi hovering nearby, and was present for probably 90% of the graft placement. I know for sure he was doing all the immediate hairline grafts. I believe he left for a little over an hour in the middle of the procedure (basically the length of a movie), but I'm not 100% on whether he popped his head in a few times during that time or not. While he was not actively working on my head Brandi was performing graft placement and I believe Amy also worked on placing grafts. Cooley returned and was essentially there the rest of the day long after many of the other techs had left post dissecting the grafts (easily 4-5+ more hours). It was clear he reviewed and had ample time to change, correct, or ensure any grafts not placed with him in the room were to his liking. Like others have mentioned it was clear throughout the day that this was a well-oiled machine, with team members that had worked together for years (decades even). Everyone was friendly and taking a dedicated and personalized approach to the operation, and I couldn't imagine going somewhere with a doctor doing multiple ops in a day. Throughout the process Brandi was constantly checking Cooley and making sure anything "controversial" about his approach was discussed (a few graft placements here and there, reminders about how many grafts were left etc). All of this was reassuring. I am sure the reverse also happened. Ultimately for the 2,500 graft procedure Cooley was able to get over 3,000 grafts (I will get exact counts later) and we did not finish the day until a bit after 7pm, meaning I was there for nearly 12 hours. This extra time and attention, plus the grafts that were not something I had to pay extra for, all speak to his long-running record of caring about his patients and working tirelessly to get results. I am obviously grateful for this. Post Op - Healing, Pain, and Experience (Week 1) Donor got painful at the end of the day during the operation so I was numbed up again before I went home. I was obviously a bit red and beat up but it wasn't as bad as I was expecting and they had already done a pretty good job cleaning a lot of the blood off. Plus I was wearing Saran wrap + a hat so able to avoid any weird looks. On night 1 I took some Tylenol but nothing stronger--which is good because I didn't get the prescriptions until day-of for stronger meds. Cooley's post-op care uses an ATP spray + saran wrap to increase moisture and prevent any graft damage and antibiotic ointment on the donor scar. You basically spray every hour you are awake and wake up and spray every 2 hours for the first 2 nights along with taking some preventative Prednisone for swelling. I followed the instructions religiously here and I think it really helped calm redness and speed healing. On night 2 I was falling back asleep pretty quickly so it didn't feel too onerous to keep getting up. For sure it kept the itchiness to a real minimum in the first 6 days. I went back the next morning for a post-op clean and got the all good from Dr. Cooley. During this cleaning Amy took time to answer any questions I had about the next week of care and was patient with what I am sure are the same questions everyone asks. In terms of the documentation they gave me to follow, I actually think it could have been a bit more detailed. It wasn't that it was bad, but I felt like an "FAQ" or just more exhaustive detail would have helped. For example, I asked about caffeine / alcohol / ibuprofen which were not listed (Cooley says moderate amounts of both are fine), and it doesn't give you much about how to sleep (when can you sleep sidweays on the grafts) and so on. To give you a sense of how smooth this was, I drove almost 7 hours home the very next day, which was completely fine and painless. Overall I found the post-op regimen easy to follow, the spray and saran wrap seemingly very effective even if I did probably use it too quickly/aggressively to try to get it through the native hair as I ran out a day or two earlier than I think the clinic expects. One curious thing with post-op care from the clinic is that it seems that Cooley's overall instructions,are more aggressive than many other docs (like the timeline to shampoo (next day) and return to regular shampooing (7 days) . I'm sure this is because Cooley is confident in the healing/quality of the grafts and incisions etc and has refined his approach over time but it does make me just a little nervous when looking at the instructions online from so many other places that are much more conservative. But he's my doc and I'm in his hands and so far so good. On night 3 I slept poorly but not really due to pain, I think I just missed exercise. On night 4 and 5 I had more pain when putting the back of my head on pillows (I slept elevated with an inflatable travel pillow partially inflated these nights to help with any potential swelling) and I did take a valium one night and the other pain killer + tylenol combo prescribed drug the fifth night. It almost felt like the donor was a little more stretched these two nights with whatever position I could find that didnt have too much pressure. If this continues I'll call the office to make sure it's normal. Some posters here have mentioned this as the return of nerve sensation but I'm not sure. Otherwise I have had some very very minor swelling which made me break out some ice on my forehead and eye area a couple of times and take ibuprofen periodically as well. It was never uncomfortable or especially noticeable to anyone else however. Last point, I am using the Hair Shake protein. I don't really think it'll do much but I've used protein powder a lot anyway so I don't mind and if it helps at all with speed of growth or minimization of shock-loss, then it's worth a couple months of it for me. I am not planning on using it long term and no one at the Cooley office actually mentioned it directly despite having it stocked there and having it listed as an optional part of the post-op procedure. Post Op Appearance - First Week The scar in the back is perhaps slightly visible with wet hair (first 3-4 days) but completely hidden with normal dry hair. As mentioned it wasn't giving me much trouble the first 3-4 days, although of course everything felt really "tight" there. At night or with pressure on it day 5-6 it actually has felt a bit worse and I've taken some of the prescribed meds just to make sure I get decent enough sleep. We will see of course on final healing and appearance, it is early days. Redness in the recipient has subsided each day, and now at day 6 is not bad at all. It's probably worse in the pictures than in real life. I am fairly pale skinned but had a deep tan going which some say can help. There is definitely scabbing, it is super mild/light and looks like when I return to regular shampooing and rub the grafts a bit it will easily flake off and be gone within the 7-10 day timeframe that they gave. In any case, it's really mild and not that noticeable. I have used their given shampoo and started leaving the conditioner in a bit longer which I think has helped. I have a couple spots of dried blood left but overall it's pretty clean and I haven't noticed anything remotely like grafts falling out. Really, not even many/any hairs yet. The kicker here for me is that I 100% had to hide from the world during this time because I was (a) spraying every hour and (b) couldn't style my existing hair for fear of touching/disloding existing grafts. So you could see the grafts taking hold and small stubbly hair, plus weird caked native hair that was a bit long already awkwardly plastered to my scalp. So all in all, a real lovely mess. Now had I managed this aggressively with a blow dryer on cool or if I was more comfortable touching and styling my scalp in this period I am sure I could have made it look better but I didn't want to take any risks. On Day 6 I did a bit of finger styling and with my existing hair I can make it look decent (see 1 of the pictures). Decent is not invisible however. The temples are harder to disguise and any close inspection things are definitely still visible so I feel I am very much still in hat land. To be fair, my wife says it's pretty hard to tell unless you get up close and personal already. We will see if my extended family at Day 11 notices anything. Summary of first week So far the difference from my first procedure has been remarkable. Basically instead of an immediate "oh shit what have I done" I felt more like a "I'm already looking better than I expected 12 hours later. and everything is going exactly like they said" It's nice to already feel like I made the right choice. The recovery seems to be text book according to their expectations, but I most certainly don't want to be out and about without a hat yet as it would be noticeable. The things I am worried about are (a) appearance at 10 days and masking it, (b) avoiding shock-loss as no work was done in the middle of the frontal third, and (c) continued management of the donor scar pain. All the rest is of course the standard, hurry up and wait, concerns about linear scar etc that we all have but if I can avoid shock loss I feel comfortable looking like I did for 6+ more months. I hope this is helpful and of course any feedback on the pics and actual quality of the work is welcome as well. Again, apologies on the photo quality I will get better ones from clinic later. I will try to post periodically as I hate the posts where people disappear but I also intend to try to live my life and not obsess over the progress over the next few months. -
Opinions on youtube videos by Dr. Gary Linkov
RandoBrando517 replied to Oceanperson's topic in Open Hair Loss Topics
Pretty much trash channel. I would unsub if I were you check out hair loss show feller and bloxham and De Freitas has a good channel with great transformations -
Hi Everyone, I've been consulting with Dr. Blake Bloxham about a possible hair restoration procedure. I sent him some photos and he suggested that I would be a good candidate (29 y/0 male norwood 3). When I sent him my photos, my head was buzzed (I did that to intentionally make the pattern clear). Recently, I learned of retrograde hair loss. For almost as long as I can remember (early high school maybe even junior high) the hair on the sides of my head has been different from on top - it's thinner and more wiry. But now that my hair has grown back in, I'm wondering if this is retrograde hair loss (see pic attached). It is only like this on the sides, the back of my head is full and thick as could be. I've never really thought much of it because I usually keep the sides very short, and when it's cut like that, you can't tell a difference at all. I'm wondering if this is a signal that I should not proceed with a HT and am curious to get your thoughts. I think it's important to note, for added context that to the touch, the hair in this region feels notably different from the rest of the hair on my head - not thinner but far more coarse and wiry. I am going for an in person consult with Dr Bloxham and I will raise this concern, but I just wanted to get some opinions. Thanks!
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Age 26, Norwood ~3V + retrograde + diffuse thinning (including donor) Medication: dutasteride 0.5mg/day, foam minoxidil 1-2mL/night Hair characteristics: high contrast with skin, fine, straight Cost: 2.15 euros/graft which is a discount from 2.25 euros/graft because I agreed to provide them anonymized photo updates for their own use. Posting this thread is my own choice. Though, I wish clinics would offer discounts for patients to post threads from start to finish. I see nothing wrong with that. Also, I think the price has gone up recently. Hair loss timeline: 18 - Looking back at old pictures, I had signs of thinning at the hairline 20 - Barber mentioned uneven nape, now I know it was the beginning of retrograde. Started noticing loss at the hairline/crown, found out about finasteride and tried to get on it but my awful dermatologist wouldn't prescribe it to me saying my loss wasn't bad enough 22 - Went back to the dermatologist, still wouldn't prescribe finasteride to me (I think because of side effects? don't remember). He instead prescribed topical minoxidil (requires a prescription in Canada) but he didn't make it sound like it was worth it (annoying to apply, need to use it for life), so I never went through with it 24 - Hair was looking awful, finally decided to do something about it - did my own research, went to a different doctor who was not a moron, and got a 5mg finasteride prescription. Quartered that for 6 months. Also started 1mL liquid minoxidil at the same time 25 - Didn't notice any changes after 6 months, seemed to have maintained. Switched from finasteride to dutasteride to keep as much hair as possible. Got a microscope and analyzed my donor, saw greater than average thinning 26 - Seem to have continued to maintain. Switched to foam minoxidil because liquid takes forever to dry Moral of the story - Many doctors are crap. Take medical matters into your own hands and leave nothing to chance. I carried those learnings over to my HT research. Choice of surgeon: I sent the following clinics (in no particular order) pictures/videos of my hair/recipient/donor. The main point of contention between their opinions was regarding the microscopic videos/images of my donor. Hasson - "Dr. Hasson felt there was more miniaturization than the typical 10-15% and therefore a procedure would involve a bit more risk." Wong - "Dr. Wong on the other hand did not believe there was any signs of dupa and would have no reservations performing a procedure." Bhatti - He was concerned, felt that my donor density was quite low and wanted me to get evaluated in person Bloxham - Wasn't concerned, was more interested in if I noticed any changes in my hair, and said a proper in person examination would be in order Konior - Not concerned, said my donor area was about average Bisanga - More miniaturization in the donor than they would like to see for someone my age, and suggested an in-person consultation Ferreira - Said my donor isn't great, but that I'm far from DUPA, and that my prognosis is good Lorenzo - Said I didn't have DUPA but didn't go into any more details. I feel like they may not have seen the microscopic videos. Wish they would have at least acknowledged my weak donor. Tried following up multiple times to get clarity, but they never responded Diep - saw him in person since I was nearby, he said I had 10k+ grafts available in my donor. 'nuff said. Rassman/Bernstein - said I have more thinning than average but not yet DUPA, suggested I wait a few years, but said I could get a small HT Hattingen - said they would not operate on me, suggested I send them yearly updates of my hair loss situation to see if their opinion changes HLC - didn't want to say anything regarding my microscopic videos, said I would need an in-person dermascopy evaluation, but didn't seem too concerned Pekiner - noted the miniaturization but said my donor was good enough and that they select the highest quality grafts At some point, I decided I was mostly interested in clinics where the surgeon does most, if not all the work. I understand the benefit of technicians doing parts of the procedure like extracting/implanting grafts, but I just feel more comfortable knowing that the surgeon is doing all the important aspects of the procedure themselves, and that I can hold them fully accountable. This left me with a few options at the time: Konior, Ferreira, HLC, Pekiner. Ferreira - I couldn't travel to Portugal because of COVID and wanted to see more results Konior - I think he is one of the best, but I was disappointed that he didn't acknowledge the miniaturization in my donor. My guess is he did notice it but that he's confident in his skills/work and doesn't want his patients to overthink things. I'll likely still see him in the future for temple point work or if I need any touch up on the hairline HLC - Didn't like not knowing which doctor would work on you, and the fact that you could have multiple throughout your procedure. Also have seen some cases where I felt the graft count was a bit aggressive for the patient's age. Have heard communication is also an issue Pekiner - I liked the technique, the small number of grafts per day (~1000), the fact that he is conservative and honest with his patients. Liked that he had a lot of patient reviews from start to finish (mostly on the Italian forum). Very experienced with hairline work and liked his hairlines and density (especially needed with my fine hair). Communication with his rep Alex has been very good. Aborting was a concern, but they told me that they now inform the patient of any findings but ultimately let them decide whether to proceed. Given he would select the highest quality grafts available, I was not too concerned. Also knowing that the graft count could be adjusted on the day of procedure (say down to 1500), my mind was more or less at ease. In the end, he said my donor was slightly better than expected. Procedure: Each day lasted from around 8am-5pm. On the first day of procedure, I had a discussion with Dr. Pekiner about my hair loss history and goals. We then took the photos, designed the hairline, and shaved the head. Then we moved on to the actual extraction/implantation. The way it works with Dr. Pekiner, similar to HLC, is you have two sessions of extraction/15min break/implantation per day, AM and then PM. In between these sessions, they have a chef who provides a meal for you (bonus points for catering to a vegan diet - the food was delicious). At the end of each day, they wrap your head in a bandage to protect the grafts/donor. On the third morning, they give you a final clean up and provide you with the aftercare kit including saline spray for the recipient and bepanthol lotion for the donor. 1 hair: 249 2 hairs: 682 3 hairs: 710 4 hairs: 164 Average hairs/graft: 2.43 Recovery: Sleeping - I'm normally a side sleeper, and started practicing to sleep on my back a couple months in advance. I don't think this is necessary, I just wanted to learn to sleep on my back anyway. Regardless, you'll need a travel/neck pillow anyway to make sure you don't turn in your sleep, and I think you'll be tired enough to fall asleep on your back even if you're not used to it. Another recommendation I have is to zip your arms inside a sweater, so you don't damage your grafts in your sleep. I've seen this happen enough times on these forums, even over the past few months, that I didn't want to take any risks. At one point I was very tired and fell asleep without zipping up my arms, and I actually caught myself lightly reaching up and tapping my recipient area as I was waking up. Nothing bad happened, but I was much more cautious the next times I went to bed and ensured that I zipped up my arms each time. Swelling - I noticed swelling mostly on days 3-4, but nothing too bad compared to what I saw online. I just let it pass with time. Pain - No pain for the first week really. From days ~6-10 I had some donor pain when I'd lay down on my pillow, so I'd just take paracetamol 20 mins before going to bed. Crusts/scabs - was instructed to start gentle massaging them starting day 6, increasing intensity with each day. By day 9, pretty much all of them were gone. Redness - I started using aloe vera as I've read that it helps. Haven't noticed too much improvement yet by day 30. The donor is still red but it's harder to see as the hair is growing longer. The recipient is still red, and the shedding is making that more visible. Feel free to ask any questions. I can add some recent photos soon. I'll probably update monthly. -
Just want to start this off with saying it has only been a couple days since my procedure but I’m extremely pleased. I was among the more unlucky ones that started to lose their hair in the late teenage years. I am about 22 years old and my hair was holding me back in everyday life, as odd as that sounds. Having to always wear a hat, gets old as I’m sure everyone o. here already knows. I’ve been doing research on different clinics for about 2 years, many telling me I needed 4k FUE grafts or FUE was simply the best option, crazy in my opinion. I finally came across Dr Bloxham and I couldn’t be more thrilled. His response time and approach to help my personal situation really made me feel like he cared. We both agreed FUT was the way to go and quickly setup an appointment as I was eager to get this done ASAP. To back track a little I started taking finasteride for about a year so far and have noticed a huge improvement in hair quality and has seemed to almost stopped my hairs recession. Back on topic now, January 8th 2020 was my appointment date, I arrived extra early, welcomed by a very cheerful Dr Bloxham. Long story short we agreed on everything and got started on the procedure. Throughout the day Dr Bloxham and his team were nothing but amazing, if your worried about pain, don’t be, just be prepared to sit around all day. Dr bloxham constantly made sure I was okay, and answered the million questions I had which I really appreciated. After a long day they prepped me on how to take care of myself, and I was on my way back home. All and all I’m so glad I chose Feller & Bloxham Medical, I would recommend anybody. I will attach some before an after pictures and I will do my best to update every couple months to show progress. I apologize for the book, and if there was anything I didn’t explain or was unclear feel free to ask me! I’m still very new here so bare with me. I know it’s still very early but I hope to continue to share my result with you guy!
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I have decided to try and get a ht with either arocha/panine/bloxham/bloxham im just wondering if i can go wrong with any of this Save Call
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3106 Grafts Dr Blake Bloxham
Edward926 posted a topic in Hair Restoration Results Posted by Patients
Hello people, Finally pulled the trigger and went with the HT. Dr Blake Bloxham was the surgeon and everything went great. Dr Bloxham is a great guy and very enthusiastic about what he does and takes all the time necessary to explain the procedure and answer any questions I had. If you are in the NYC area and looking for an ethical and competent doctor I suggest giving Dr Bloxham a visit. I, as many of you, started losing my hair when I was in my late teens and it had some devastating effects on my self image and self esteem. I put up with it for many years until Propecia came out and decide to give it a go. The medication was a godsend as my hair loss stopped and I regrew all the hair that I had lost, even the hairline, I couldn't believe and thought it was a blessing. Little did I know about the side effects of such drug. They kicked in later and I was unaware of Propecia being the cause of it. Asked many doctors and all told me it was in my head until new labels in the medication and the mass-tort litigation against Merck became known. Ditched the medication and within a few years pretty much lost everything I gained from the medication and thought it was time for something more permanent. The idea of getting a HT became to occupy my thoughts more and more. I consulted with several doctors and all told me I had bad donor and scalp laxity. In order words I was not a candidate for HT. I can't tell you how devastated I was. It wasn't until I found this forum that I started to look at several more doctors in the NYC area and came across Feller & Bloxham. I also watched all the videos and decided to make a consultation. I met Dr Bloxham and expressed all my concerns regarding HT and what other doctors have told me. Dr Bloxham examined me and told me the my scalp was a bit tight but my donor was fine and it would be no problem to go ahead and do the procedure. The aim was FUT 2500-2700 grafts, but the doc was able to get 3106 grafts. I was thrilled with the additional grafts and the procedure went as expected. The only discomfort I had was with the initial anesthesia, but it is expected, and from there on it went easy. I had the procedure the first week of Dec 2019 and the staples were removed 10 days later. It has been now 8 weeks since the procedure and I decided to share my experience with the rest of the forum and show some pictures. Any feedback would be much appreciated. Thanks Ed -
I have similar thinning on the sides, and also had a procedure with Dr. Bloxham. The back of my head also looks similar to yours at that length. I think you're still a fine candidate for surgery, but just beware that your donor in the back might be a little deceiving if it's anything like mine. For instance, it may appear as if you'd have a 7-8k graft donor capacity, but the reality is that the hair itself isn't all that dense and the capacity is more like 6k. Joe Tillman talks about this same thing in a video on YouTube. Look for the title "Too Thin for A Hair Transplant? Hair Transplant Consultations #4"
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Best HT doctor in US for diffuse thinner
JohnAC71 replied to Nickpatay12's topic in Hair Restoration Questions and Answers
I see some good diffuse cases from Bloxham and Feller as well as @Dr. Vladimir PanineBut all of the listed Drs have experienced a lot of cases similar to yours. -
I've got similar retrograde thinning too (I'm also NW3) so I would be interested to hear what Dr Bloxham says to you!
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I wanted to start this thread to document my upcoming procedure with Dr. Bloxham (feb. 4th). A little nervous about getting this done not only because it’s fut but because my first procedure didn’t give me the density I wanted. My hair loss has stabilized at least that I know of it’s been the same before my first procedure and hasn’t changed after. As far as my native hair. Any one that has had an Fut procedure how was the recover as far as the scar ? Pain wise what was the worse part ? How was the stable removal did it hurt ? and has anyone ever got smp into the scar to help camouflage it and if so do you have pictures ? thank you! btw my 1st procedure was documented on here if you search it with Dr. Nader in Mexico. -
Hey there, Been following this network for a while and finally was able to get in and see Dr. Bloxham for my FUT procedure just yesterday. Had a consultation back in September and he recommended 2300-2500 grafts via FUT. He said my donor area was great and ended up getting 2665 grafts out, not quite sure the breakdown as I was tired towards the end and just wanted to get out of there haha. Little background, I recently turned 25 and have noticed my hairline thin in the frontal band for the past year or so. The rest of my hair has always been thick, but the front got to the point where I only felt comfortable wearing hats. Given lockdown/pandemic/work from home, I knew it was time to pull the trigger before things opened back up again so I could recover easier. Attached a few pre-procedure pics of my hairline as well as some post-op pictures of the frontal band and the scar. Last night was rough given the long procedure, but woke up this morning feeling just tight pressure and the occasional ting of pain when the scar gets a bit tight. Slept fine and washed great for the first day, nothing too out of the ordinary. Will try to keep updated with pictures, but I'm heading back into their office next Thursday to get the staples removed so hoping to hear how the recovering is going from them when I pop in. Otherwise nothing too crazy going on and I'm excited to see how it progresses! -
Is it FUT or FUE ? I know Bloxham has started to do some FUE cases.
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Good choices ! You have a very good short list. Are you choosing Bloxham or Feller ?
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Hello guys, newbie here and wanted to share my hair issues. 47 years old, physician, live in WI. had a full head of hair till early 40's and the hair loss has been progressive for the last 4 years. I use a biotin shampoo and hair oil but havent tried any medication. Totally changed my look to the extent where I am not me anymore. hairline receded and diffuse thinning / miniaturization on mid scalp and crown. Scalp visible. I have narrowed it down and consulted with Drs Bloxham, Hasson and Wong, and Dr. Diep. H&W suggested a 4000 plus graft, Dr. Diep 5000 - 6000, but Dr Bloxham argued that I should do just 2600 in one go or I increase the risk of shock loss. I know I am ready for a transplant and wanted to get your expertise to to decide between these 3 docs. Your help is really appreciated. -
Left corner hairline. Dr. Bloxham.
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Left corner hairline touch up. Dr Bloxham.
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Thanks for the review, and glad to hear Dr. Bloxham is skillful at FUE as well. I guess your two smaller procedures would be considered "lunchtime FUE" that he made a video about. How long did each procedure take? Have also found the 7 train to the n20g bus has gotten me to his office in about 1 hr 15 min from the Grand Central MTA stop. Probably not worth the risk on a surgery day (and definitely not for going home), but for consultations and follow-ups and giving yourself plenty of time, it's a great way to save the ~$150 round trip on an Uber. -
Just had my 1st in-person checkup with Dr. Bloxham this Friday. We talked about law school and my plans for the summer before we got into it and it was nice to see his interest in his patients lives outside of the procedure. He proceeded to take pictures and comb through the hair and check the scar. Said the scar was coming along nicely. The frontal band was an interesting conversation. He immediately noted that while the result was a cosmetic improvement, it was not one of the stronger results he encountered. While he couldn't pinpoint why exactly my results were what they were at 11 months, he noted an interesting observation during the procedure that may have impacted the results. When he was making the incisions on my scalp he said that the holes were closing incredibly fast. Not only may this have been a cause for the popping, but also may have limited the maximum thickness the hair was able to achieve. As someone noted above, the yield was actually pretty good. Dr. Bloxham estimated somewhere between 80-85%. However the scalp especially on the right side almost looks like it is composed of substantially single hair grafts because of the phenomenon above. This all was not the exact language he used but this is how I understood what happened. He said at this point we could either wait for the full 18 months to see if some additional thickness of the follicles occurs or we could go in for a 2nd procedure. Due to my schedule I likely wouldn't be able to come in until December and he noted he would be able to fit me in despite his busy schedule. Additionally he offered a very substantial discount on this 2nd procedure which we both agreed was a fair amount. Based on the flexibility he his providing me with timing and the reduced cost, I will be undergoing a 2nd procedure with him likely in mid-December. What I found amazing is that Dr. Bloxham told me that he reviewed my file and deliberated on my case for some time after my concerns arose at 6 months. During the checkup he already had a game plan in place of approximately 1500 grafts (FUT) to fill in the area with different techniques he would use during the procedure to account for my unique case. It really put me at ease to know he was already a step ahead before I even brought up the idea of a 2nd procedure. While the results of my 1st procedure had not met my expectations, there is no doubt in my mind that I am in capable hands. Dr. Bloxham has a reputation as being one of the best and it is a blessing to know that even if you are an outlier case like my own, he will go out of his way to make things right. I'll continue posting pictures here until the next procedure but will be making a new journal come December. -
Hello All! I spent winter of 2018/19 searching for the perfect hair transplant doctor. I am 25 years old and wanted to take care of my hair before it got too bad where it would be even more noticeable. During my shopping around, I came across Dr. Bloxhams practice. I knew very little about the procedures such as FUT and FUE. After leaving his office, I felt so comfortable. The honesty and knowledge he had was incredible. Dr. Bloxham makes sure that his hair transplants look good, not only a year after, but 20 years after surgery. I absolutely recommend Fellar and Bloxham Medical in Great Neck, NY. I have a link attached with photos from before surgery all the way to month 4. I am ONLY 4 months in and the growth so far is beyond incredible. I keep my sides short and you cannot see my scar at all. I will update this thread at month 5 and 6 for anyone interested. Dr. Bloxham- Thank you and your staff again for doing a wonderful job and being so honest. This process was seamless. Any questions- feel free to comment. https://www.icloud.com/photos/#03hc1Yq8w1ffGQSqifAscSmlA -Mike -
Dr Wolfeld reviews?
Melvin- Moderator replied to shadowsauce's topic in Hair Restoration Questions and Answers
Have you consulted with any other top docs in New York? Bloxham, True and Dorin, Wesley to name a few?
