Graft Estimation

[Goldstar]

Just curious as to how many graft do you think it would take to lower hairline. Just curious. Thanks people

[Goldstar]

Just curious as to how many graft do you think it would take to lower hairline. Just curious. Thanks people

[MrJobi]

Hi Gold

 

How old are you? Just asking because having A HT at an early age is not the best strategy.without knowing your history we cannot give you a solid strategy as you may have further hairloss as you age. Are you on Propecia?

 

From your pic it looks like about 1200 of dense packing at the most IF you are a legit candidate. Your type of curly, coarse hair tends to cover more

[hairbank]

I'd say around 1500 to provide decent density. Mrjb has some good questions for you...........your hairline actually looks pretty good. Be sure you're in a position to consider this before jumping in.

 

Good luck.

[Bill - Seemiller]

Goldstar,

 

Hopefully you can see from the above posts that it's not as simple as giving you a graft estimate. There are MANY things to look into before considering a hair transplant:

 

1. Age

2. Family History of hairloss

3. Medication (finasteride and minoxodil)

 

Donor supply is limited and if you are young, you want to start extremely conservative...the best approach if you can stand it is get on medication and WAIT. Don't jump into surgery because it sounds good. What if you lose more hair? Are you willing to commit to many surgeries to try to keep up with your hairloss? Since your donor supply is limited, you certainly wouldn't want to dense pack too closely to fill in balding areas in case you lose more hair and run out of donor supply. What would look worse...a natural bald guy or a guy with patches of thick hair and bald spots in an unnatural pattern.

 

You look young...(I can't assume...just judging by your picture)...but if I'm right, I'd avoid a hair transplant right now and do some research and learn about the pros and cons of getting a hair transplant at an early age. It's important to plan LONG TERM since Male Pattern Baldness (MPB) is progressive and unpredictable.

 

BUT, to answer your question...IF I had to give you an evaluation on how many grafts, I'd say between 1500-2000 grafts would do just fine depending on how low you want your hairline. BUT again...lowering the hairline at a young age is dangerous...you don't want to have a wolfman hairline and be bald behind it one day. Keep that in mind my friend.

 

Bill

[AndrewYoung]

I had 3524 grafts and about 2000 were used on the front and in the thinning top frontal areas. The rest went into the crown area. I had my hairline (a Norwood 3, bordering on 4) moved down about an inch to inch and a half across the whole front.

[Goldstar]

andrew. do u have a b4 and after pic?

[AndrewYoung]

I do, well sorta. Still waiting to get the photos taken at the clinic - will do so when I get my sutures out in 10 days. I've posted a photo of me that was part of a family photo over a year ago so it progressed a bit more since. I have some day 1 photos but I am not much a photographer. Also, I am a bit scared to touch any of the existing hairs cause I don't want to move any of the grafts so my hair is pretty messy. Hopefully, you can see the grafts that wer placed behind my hairline somewhat. I'll try to figure out how to link my blog, by the way it's Arocky824 on the blog page. Not sure how long they'll let me keep it up though since I used another doc (not one listed).

My Hair Loss Blog

[Bill - Seemiller]

Andrew,

 

Not sure how long they'll let me keep it up though since I used another doc (not one listed).

 

Not sure why you think you wouldn't be allowed to keep your blog up. Just because a doctor is or isn't part of the coalition or recommended on this site, does not mean that this site doesn't encourage posters from ANY or ALL clinics to post their experience and photos. In other words, we WANT you to be a part of our community and post your experience (whether good or bad) and photos. You do seem a bit skeptical about this community and I'm not sure why. If there is anything I or anyone else can answer for you to put your mind at ease, let me know. I DID, see a post on another thread where MrJB said something about a guy named "Starz" while addressing you...however, I see no reference to that character by you...so I can only assume you've edited it. There are some people in the past that have been here for one purpose - to start trouble...that is the only reason why he is no longer here. I hope that clears things up for you a bit...but you are welcome to share your honest feedback and thoughts about anything you wish...everybody just wants to be treated respectfully (general statement - not saying you haven't)....and that's all anyone asks.

 

I hope this helps.

 

Bill

[AndrewYoung]

Bill,

 

Thank you for that. I am not skeptical, I just made the incorrect assumption that since the Doc I used wasn't on the list of recommended that perhaps the blog wasn't open to me. I appreciate the welcome I've received from you and hairbank. You two, along with Mrjb have been very friendly in your comments and I've read a lot of comments by both of you and indeed found everything you said very helpful. It is truly nice to have a community that provides good, accurate feedback.

 

I was taken aback just a bit by B Spots commments about the MHR thread. I was simply responding to someone that was asking about Dr. Pauls and felt like his response was a bit disingenuine without knowing anything about my procedure. I found it interesting that he mentioned the number of grafts, which is what most people write within their signature or comments and not the number of hairs. Still, I've asked those questions and hope to update with a response I get from them on Monday.

 

I do understand the skepticism toward MHR in general here and as I said somewhere, any chain is going to have its good and bad. I am sure if you took a group of 30 or 40 docs, put them togehther into some cohesive grouping, you are sure to find the same thing within that population. So, if I sometimes come off as a bit defensive that is probably why.I felt like I had a great experience. All the things that you and others have mentioned here were part of my procedure by my Doc, the staff was knowledgeable, I felt completely at ease with her approach, careful attention to detail and really didn't see anything different than what others have said about some of the top docs mentioned here. She placed a good number of grafts herself, the techs that worked on me seemed very professional and my experience was no different than what many have said about some of the top docs here. The true test, of course, is time. Healing, how the final outcome looks etc but so far so good.

 

I think the comments Starz was making weren't really addressed to me specifically. He was more just blasting people like you. I think he mentioned not trusting anyone that has more postings than hairs replaced which I think is a completely ludicrous and ingnorant statement. It is people like you that take a great deal of your valuable time to help people like me that I really appreciate. I know you aren't compensated, but dang, you should be for the work you put into this board.

 

I plan on staying around for awhile. I am a big believer in giving back what you've received and this board was a big help to me in preparing me for a the big day and continues to help me post op. Whether good or bad, I am not running away. I simply want to provide honest feedback to my experience. If someone thinks I got a bad deal, that's there opinion.

 

Finally, just another comment about why I didn't go to Harris. It was really a personal decision. He is more into the FUE methods and I wasn't real comfortable with that. I know he'll do the strip though. Say what you will, but I kinda liked the idea of a younger doc (6 yrs) that I felt was experienced enough to know the good from the bad, up to date on current technology, and to be honest, a woman. I just somehow felt that a woman would have a better idea of what looked good to other women. I know this is probably more fiction than fact but that was what my gut told me. Also, it wasn't more costly. In fact, I mentioned that I received a bit of bonus thanks to my close groupings they were able to pull an additional 500+ out of the small piece they took and I wasn't charged for the extra. Others haven't really talked about cost and I won't either unless someone wants to private message me but I will say I spent no more than what Harris would have assessed.

 

I've also heard others address the hairmill issue. I was the only surgery scheduled the day I went, which was nice given that I had all the techs and the Docs full attention from 8 until after 5 pm. I do know from talking with them that they do sometimes schedule two a day but this is normally when the procedures are only 1000 to 1500 per patient. I even saw the board and from the three times I went in to talk to them before my HT, I only saw glimpses of one other patient in process. So, at least here in Denver, I don't think the hairmill comment applies.

 

I've rambled here way too long but I just wanted to again thank you for your welcome and your efforts. I've posted some initial photos and I do truly appreciate any feedback and I while I said I get defensive at times, you'll find I also have a pretty thick skin so if there is any constructive criticisms, I can honestly would appreciate it. I know I am only beginning my path and I am here to continue to learn just like everyone else and I would like to help.

 

My Hair Loss Blog

[hairbank]

Hey Andrew-

 

Glad to hear you're going to hang around. Look forward to posting with you !

 

Thanks for posting your pics.............I had a little difficulting seeing the crownwork but could see some grafts................really the work looks pretty good and I believe you'll heal from the incisions in no time! For 39 years old (1 year behind me ) you're really in a pretty good position. See how this comes in and, if you desire more you can always go back.

 

Take care,

[Bill - Seemiller]

Hi Andrew,

 

Thank you for the reply.

 

Unfortunately, without a reference back to your and B Spot's conversation, I can't comment at this time. B Spot, however, I'm certain didn't mean any harm. Sometimes anyone can come across abrasive when we are passionate about something, perhaps his passion made his post appear negative when in fact he was trying to pass on information. Anyway...I'll let him address the subject, but knowing him, he has always been one to offer helps and knowledge so I'm sure he meant you no harm.

 

Your choice of doctor is of course yours...so let nobody knock you for it. One of our "jobs" (though I should probably call it missions) is to try to help educate patients about the risks of choosing the "wrong" doctor and point people to choosing the "right" doctor BEFORE they get a surgery. I put "right" and "wrong" in quotes simply because there are varying opinions on that. We could have that discussion another time...but that's not the point of my post. BUT, after the fact, though we will still offer our honest feedback (even if it's not all peaches and cream), we do our best to encourage, support, and HOPE for the best the patients that have chosen to go ahead with surgery (regardless of doctors). There are just simply some doctors that we are more comfortable with because we have SEEN over and over again what they can do. There are other docs (and organizations like MHR and Bosley) that have ultimately yielded more negative results than positive ones. That's why we WORRY when we see patients go that route. But the worry is for YOU, the patient and it is not meant for discouragement. It's in intent to help for the future.

 

Those generalizations said, your surgery does look pretty good from what I can see. As hairbank said, I can't really see the crown work due to lighting and flash...but the surgery post op does look pretty solid. We of course, wish you the best and do hope you'll continue to update us with your progress.

 

Cheers!

 

Bill