7 month Post-OP and questions for future references, help appreciated

[tisab]

First of THIS IS A LONG READ..i think, but if you read it and are possibly to give me a word or advice, may god bless you

 

Well first of all, i would like to say i am new to this site, BUT i have done alot of reading on this site before i decided to make an account and post (3-4 hours of straight reading).

 

Well let me give some information before i go into detail

i am currently 20 1/2 year old.

and i was having hair problems, like most of people on this site and i was very insecure about it.

It came to a point where my daily life was conflicted with my thoughts hair problem (mostly mail type boldness/receding hairline)

 

and i did some checking up on the internet and saw basically the only real way to help it was a Hair Transplant...I took Propecia for 1 1/2 months and got off it, i am 100% that its side affect to me was severe depression. which i was correct, once i got off it, severe depression elevated.

 

well i did not do much research on Hair transplants, i thought basically they would all be the same as i come to realize that they are not...

 

well so i did my transplant on June 5 2006

at ft lauderdale, Florida (i live in NYC).

site: www.qualityhairtranplant.com , I am in no way trying to promote the site, if i need to take it off, please ask me i will, thanks

dr Kris Johnson

Grafts: 500

 

well after looking at this site it doesnt seem like he is a known doctor...which dont sound good.

 

well here are 6months 20 days

 

Yes as i said before i know i was young...but hair loss at an early age can bring a person down...well lets get to my question

 

well basically iono if i am satisfied because the area i wanted to have filled was minimal and i thought the area would be filled dense, but as you can see it seems like it has not filled too well(or maybe i am paranoid). i know my hair on top is decent i was just worried about my receding hair line on the sides

 

Also my hair plants on the left side of my head are decent, and on the right...you can see its not as good...also i see in the pics its red...not sure if its bad cause i dont see them in the mirror when i look at my hair..

my question is do you think that 500 grafts would of been good for that area?

basically when i emailed quality hair tranplant, they are telling me i need another appointment of 500 grafts for density...which is why i am looking for another place to get my procedure done.

 

What am i am contemplating on is weather to have my receding hairline fixed and not get any future hairplants for atleast 5 years...or wait 1-2 years see my results and fix whatever my head hair is missing.

 

Also, i was wondering if the scar on the back of my head is wide for a 500 graft surgery?

 

i was looking at surgents and i see alot of people give feller alot of praise, i want to go to him but he does 10$/graft which seems alot when i see other people saying u shouldnt pay over 5$ a graft.

 

THANKS FOR THE HELP, ANY COMMENT, ANYTHING

[tisab]

Okay i dont know how to edit your post so i added a new post to say other things and one more question

 

Okay as you can see my hair int he middle is long which covers my receding hair line, my graft places are in pics 2, 3, 4

 

pic 3 = left side

pic 4 right side, i have more hair loss on right side

 

Also i took a pic of my crown area, i dont see hairloss when i use two mirrors to see it, but when i look at a pic it looks like i have hairloss, does it look serious and needs hairplant help?

[the B spot]

Tisab, welcome to this site.

 

First, let me say that I am sorry.

 

Sorry that you did not find us before your decision and sorry that you were subjected to what appears to be a hair transplant done by a 1st year med student.

 

Yes, your scar is hideously wide for 500 grafts, which means your butcher Doc probably wasted a good portion of donor tissue.

 

Your simply too young at this point to continue getting a HT.

 

You need to stop, begin a regimen that includes propecia and cross your fingers that your hairloss stabilizes throughout your 20's.

 

I would not even consider a HT until at least 30.

 

Just stay vigilant and aware

 

Do TONS of research and when you do choose a surgeon, choose a Coalition Doc.

 

Sorry Again, but I think we caught you before any real irreversable damage is done.

Ask as many questions as you need to!

[PB]

I would agree with the post above - you are too young and have too much hair to be getting a transplant. Was that 500 grafts into each side? Or 500 total? The scar looks more like a megasession scar!

 

I have also found that my hair looks far worse in photos than it does in mirrors, my crown looks completely bald in photos but there is hair there (not much but a covering of hair).

 

I think you have Dr Feller's price wrong - the price you mentioned is for FUE/graft. Dr Feller's strip grafts are much cheaper.

 

I was wondering why you went all the way to Florida to get butchered when there are several good HT docs in NY ?

[Dr. Alan Feller]

Tisab,

I'm sorry to say that I've never heard of your doctor, nor do I agree with his treatment plan. From the photos it appears far too much donor area was taken for the number of graft your report were transplanted.

 

Futhermore (from your photos), it appears that the donor site was way too low on the scalp and might explain why the scar is so wide.

 

I would also venture to say that you did not have true follicular units, but rather an old style mini/micrograft procedure. I say this based on the spacing I see between the grafts and the intense erythema (redness) in those recipient sites. At this stage this readness represents the body's attempt to remove the excess tissue that was probably left around the grafts. Now this is normal to a certain extent, but the fact that you have natrually dark skin makes me think that redness is excessive. Smaller grafts, such as true FUs and smaller incisions would probably result in far less redness and better growth.

 

My suggestion is that you not only fill in those areas with true follicular units, but bring your temples forward a bit to balance out the hairline. Total number of grafts would probably be about 1,000-1,200.

 

Best of luck.

Dr Feller

[NervousNelly]

Tisab,

 

I agree with PB and B spot about wishing you had found this site before venturing to the clinic that you did. All posts seem to be in agreement that the type of HT that you recieved is old school and one of the Coalition physicians including Dr. Feller would probably have steered you away from an HT at your age or atleast done a much better job.

 

Normally I am a very big believer in not getting an HT at your age and would have told you to hold off until a later age, however now that you have gone thru with it my concern for you is that as your natural hair leaves you, people might see the poor quality work. Do attempt to get on the meds and a good hair regiment and it may give you a lot of time to wait for next HT. If this is not the case you may need to seek out a physician like Dr. Feller to do a better job of the hairline so that it is undetectable. Time will tell but make sure you research the hell out of things as by your posts it is obviuos that you have entered into the world of HT blind. Best of luck.

[Bill - Seemiller]

Tisab,

 

Welcome to the forums. Everyone above has shared similarly what I'm about to share with you. I am also sorry for you that you went through with the surgery before you found this site. At 20, and your level of hairloss, I feel you should not have gotten an HT at this point and I also recommend that you do not get another HT, at least for awhile. Here are some of my thoughts in no particular order:

 

1. Your scar is too wide for the amount of grafts taken, just as everyone else has stated. Dr. Feller makes an excellent point about the scar being too low which may have contributed to the width of your scar.

 

2. 500 grafts is NOT a lot of grafts. Even though you don't have a lot of loss, I can see you attempted to bring your hairline down on the sides. Even though 500 grafts is not a lot, it doesn't apear that all of the grafts grew, which is also contributing to your lack of density

 

3. Yes, sad to say, but it does look like this doctor used old school mini/micro grafts giving you a "pluggy" appearance in the transplanted area rather than true follicular unit grafting which would have given you a much more natural appearance.

 

4. Advice at this point: Reconsider medication. As far as I know, depression is not a side effect of Propecia (I am saying this from memory and I could be wrong...would have to re-research before I could be sure), perhaps there are other factors in your life that have caused it. You can also try Minoxodil in the areas of loss to see if that helps. In a couple years, re-evaluate your hairloss situation and then consider whether or not getting an HT would help you. I think, at the very least, consider what Dr. Feller said....to get about 1000-1200 grafts to repair the damaged recipient areas and reshape the hairline and temple areas. Though I would still advise waiting for a few years because of your age and see what kind of further hairloss you are in for.

 

5. Research hard over the next several months...and consider the following. Everyone has limited donor hair, and if you end up losing a lot of hair, you will want to be conservative in the beginning and not try to super densely pack areas of loss, lest you run out of donor hair for future loss.

 

I have good news for you! Since the doctor only used 500 grafts, you should still have plenty of donor hair left if you go to see a quality physician in the future. Dr. Feller is a quality physician and has posted and given you some counsel. Dr. Feller along with many other docs are part of the Coalition Surgeons Membership http://www.hairlosslearningcenter.org/hair-loss-content...s/our_physicians.asp and any of these doctors are qualified to help you when the time is right.

 

I hope this helps.

 

Bill

[Guest Cousin_It]

Tisab...

 

I would have to agree with the previous members posts, at your age it way too early to start hair transplants.

 

Your best option at this time is drugs. I know you had some side effect from the Propecia, but have you tried lowering the dose. There are a number of studies that show Propecia can be just as effective at blocking DHT at doses as low as .2mg. This may considerably diminish any side effects while giving you the same benefits. Also try using Rogaine Foam, this newer version is more effective than the solution and when combined with a DHT blocking drug can offer even more growth.

 

Since your current transplant is only 7 months, there will be additional growth in the upcoming months. This fact in conjunction with the drug protocol may be enough to keep you happy for the near future. Hold off as long as you can before considering a transplant. If in the future you decide it is the way to go, consult with a number of the Coalition doctors. You are lucky enough to live in NYC, which is home to a number of the top doctors. Best of Luck!

[tisab]

Woah, EVERYYONE THANKS, and i GREATLY APPRECIATE ALL THE ADVICE THAT WAS GIVEN, GREATLY APPRECIATED!!

 

And man....Bill....man thanks alot for the advice i was aqtually looking for your post...i only been on this site for 1 day and i LITERALLY seen you help/comment/encourage ATLEAST 90% of the people...most people would just visit this site when they just had a ht/or plan on getting a ht, but you seem to help non-stop out of the goodwill of your heart...thanks

 

yea looking back i wish i did not do the ht so early...

 

PB "Was that 500 grafts into each side? Or 500 total? The scar looks more like a megasession scar!"

i had a total of 500 grafts, but he said he gave me 100 grafts for free...bull...i later on beleive he says that to every patient to make them happy at the moment after the operation.

 

Bill "3. Yes, sad to say, but it does look like this doctor used old school mini/micro grafts giving you a "pluggy" appearance in the transplanted area rather than true follicular unit grafting which would have given you a much more natural appearance."

 

according to the site it says "...Mr. Johnson said that by rebuilding a hairline and frontal hair loss with follicular unit hair transplants..."

 

is that the same thing, sorry dont know how to word the question, but basically did he not give the procedure advertised?

 

also one more question, is there a possible way i can shrink the size of the scar with cream or any cosmetic item/cream/drug without a surgery to fix that up?

if i did want to fix up that scar surgically, how much would it round me up?(not for now, but maybe future reference if i plan on doing it down the road)

 

Well it is no doubt that i will probobly get another HT, but this time i will wait, i am gonna try to wait ATLEAST two years, im aiming for 5 years but highly doubt i can do that if the HT i did 7 months ago was a butch up

 

I plan on doing it with Dr Feller, he gets TOO much respect on this site...i will email him with everything. He sounds like a nice guy i hope he can help me set up a plan eventhough i plan on getting the HT in a couple years.

 

AND AGAIN THANKS SO MUCH FOR THE HELP

[Bill - Seemiller]

tisab,

 

You're welcome for the help. I'm glad I along with my friends above can be of help to you. Thanks for the compliments as well. I do enjoy helping people =).

 

Well, I can't say for sure what kind of surgery your doctor gave you, but from the looks of it, I wouldn't say it was true follicular unit grafting. Technically, though, doctors can get away with calling any surgery "follicular unit grafting", because even mini/micro grafts CONTAIN follicular unit grafts, but is not true follicular unit grafting. In brief, a follicular unit is any unit of hair/hairs that is grouped naturally together in your scalp. Hairs typically grow in follicular units of 1, 2, 3, and 4s, with some very rare 5 and 6s thrown in there. Mini/micros grafts typically combine follicular unit grafts and set the grafts further apart from one another on the scalp, giving the appearance of a "pluggy" or "wirey" appearance without much density. It APPEARS as if your doctor used mini/micro grafts rather than true follicular unit grafting...however, I cannot be certain.

 

Unfortunately, the only thing a cream of some kind would do for your scar would be to further whiten it and make it smoother, but will do nothing for the width. Only another surgery will be able to make the scar smaller...but in the meantime, if you wear your hair longer, you should be just fine.

 

I think you have the right mindset to wait a bit...see what your hair does between now and then and plan for the LONG TERM and not the short term. If you don't mind my asking...what is your family hairloss like? Though hairloss isn't always predictable, you can get an idea of what's in store for you by taking a look at both your mother and father's side of hairloss.

 

Good luck to you and please keep us posted.

 

Bill

[BadHairUK]

Originally posted by Bill:

 

 

I have good news for you! Since the doctor only used 500 grafts, you should still have plenty of donor hair left if you go to see a quality physician in the future.

Bill

 

 

Hi Tisab / Bill..

 

Bill... One thing you may have overlooked? It looks like that the size of the scar (from the photos) this looks as big (if not bigger) than my donor scar when I was butchered by Nobel Hair Clinic (uk).

 

In my case, just because they only used '200 grafts' from my strip.. they actually BINNED (threw in the garbage) over 1000 grafts (without me knowing) which they took from my strip! So unfortunatley with this case of 500 being 'used' it is likely they binned at least 1000+ grafts from Tisab also, which is very sad situation (I'm sorry to say). So not such good news.

 

Also, Tisab.. your HT is very similar to mine that I had in 1995. I had my Nobel surgery when I was just 23 years of age. This is what they gave me!

 

 

I lived with this 'BadHair' for 11 years before I found these forums! I was very pleased to see there were 'GOOD GUYS' out there like Dr Feller! (who just repaired me a few weeks ago).

 

I can relate very much with your situation Tisab and wish you the best in the future. The really sad part of this is how much donor hair they wasted .... it really is frustraiting how they can get away with doing this kind of 'work' to you / us.

 

At least you have found this forum before you went back to them!!

 

Take care mate.

[Bill - Seemiller]

Bill... One thing you may have overlooked? It looks like that the size of the scar (from the photos) this looks as big (if not bigger) than my donor scar when I was butchered by Nobel Hair Clinic (uk).

 

Yes, you are correct...though I didn't overlook it. It's possible that due to the wide scarring that he wouldn't be able to get as many grafts as a virgin scalp...but with the right surgeon (assuming he has good laxity), he should still be able to get a large number of grafts. For example, even if I lost 1000 grafts, I would have still had 6550 grafts...STILL a good number of grafts you see? But you are right...the number of grafts in the donor area are most likely lessened now due to bad surgery.

 

Bill

[Pat - Community Publisher]

I just want to commend those who posted above for providing Tisab with such prompt and indepth support and advice. Such feedback is the heart and soul of this community.

 

Welcome Tisab and best wishes. Pat

[troy]

if it was me I would do what Dr Feller suggested and cover up the bad ht job. You are still fortunate have found this site as there will be no more mistakes from this point forward. Some people find this site after they are totally screwed no donor left. things will turn out good for you if you listen to the advice people have given you.

[tranplant_dude]

sorry to hear your story dude ! I was also a victim of this doc. My scar was very bad ..infact it was too wide and bumpy . Even the front hair line was awkward with bumps all over the place

 

I hope no one else fall for this doc after reading our experiences . MY HT was done in 2005

by the same doc.

 

Check my blog

 

http://hairtransplantnetwork.com/blog/home-page.asp?WebID=546

[Bill - Seemiller]

transplant_dude,

 

Just an FYI that this thread is over a year old.

 

Best wishes,

 

Bill

[tranplant_dude]

thanks Bill

[hairthere]

I was going to say the same thing Bill, but then I realized it's good to keep a thread about a bad HT doc fresh! There should be a topic section where people can vent about the lousy HT work/doctors that are still out there, or even a site dedicated to it so innocent virgin scalps don't fall prey...