What's the real deal?

[Guest]

I have been accessing this site for some time but this is my first post. I am seriously considering going through with a transplant but I keep getting this uneasy feeling that these things really work on only certain individuals. For example I recently read on this site that wealthy actors such as N. Cage and S. Stallone have had bad hair transplants. How can this be? With all their money and I'm sure an intense effort to search for a premier surgeon how could they end up with a poor result? Furthermore if these procedures are so great why don't more actors have them performed to improve their appearence (i.e. Grammer, Nicholson, Devito)? Something seems amiss and it is for this reason I hesitate on acting. Any feedback?

 

HighNoon

[Guest]

I have been accessing this site for some time but this is my first post. I am seriously considering going through with a transplant but I keep getting this uneasy feeling that these things really work on only certain individuals. For example I recently read on this site that wealthy actors such as N. Cage and S. Stallone have had bad hair transplants. How can this be? With all their money and I'm sure an intense effort to search for a premier surgeon how could they end up with a poor result? Furthermore if these procedures are so great why don't more actors have them performed to improve their appearence (i.e. Grammer, Nicholson, Devito)? Something seems amiss and it is for this reason I hesitate on acting. Any feedback?

 

HighNoon

[Guest]

There are surgeons who consistently get excellent results. Those recommended on this site are excellent surgeons. There are also surgeons who rely on outdated techniques that may yield inferior results. The results that are possible for you will depend on many factors included the amount of available donor hair you have, your hair/skin coloring and hair texture. A good surgeon will explain what is and what is not possible for you to achieve with hair transplants. Some individuals are not good candidates and a good surgeon will tell you if you are not a good candidate and why you are not.

 

Some of the comments on this site about celebrity hair transplants are speculative - don't take everything your read as fact. Some celebrities may not go for hair transplants because they are not good candidates. Some, such as those you've named, are not traditional leading men, so they may feel it would be bad for them to alter their appearance with transplants. And some celebrities just might not care about being bald. If many celebrities were getting bad hair transplants, I'm sure you would see many celebrities with noticable botched surgery, but you don't, do you?

 

Read as much as you can about the best surgical techniques, follow the recommendations on this site and take your time deciding. Don't do anything unless and until you feel confident that you are making a good decision.

[Guest]

Thanks for your input and I hope I am doing this right (by that I mean replying). I can assure you I have already done my homework. I have read about this extensively on the web and through other reading materials from NHI, Shapiro Medical Clinic and other sources. I have also consulted with Tesslor and Aranowitz here in Detroit and talked a number of times with Matt Zupan of Shapiro's clinic in Minnesota but I still have my doubts. Aranowitz, after a face to face consultation told me I needed only 600 grafts. Matt Zupan, after receiving my photos suggested 2 sessions of around 1,500 each. What gives?

 

Now I understand there is a big difference between a face to face meeting and photographs but why the large disparity? Both of these clinics are considered excellent and are recommended on this site. So this vast difference in how to meet my goals concerns me. Furthermore when I mentioned to Matt Zupan that maybe I should meet with Shapiro personally for a pre-consultation he said this really wasn't necessary and that his recommendation would probably be the same as the doctor's.

 

The bottom line here is that I do not want to end up being one of the horror stories we occassionally read about. I am a blonde 39 year old male with fine hair density. Matt has told me he thinks I am an excellent candidate but again this is only from looking at pictures. I have been using propecia for approximately 3 years and still have a fair amount of hair left but it is thinning quickly. I have tried a number of other medicinals but there has been no improvement. I guess given this and the fact that I would like to have Shapiro do the procedure what is the likelyhood that I will be satisfied? Fifty percent? Eighty percent? Ninety Five percent?

 

In our discussion Matt has told me that my expectations are very realistic so I'm not asking for an Antonio Banderas look.

 

Of course no one can accurately predict how satisfied I will be with the final outcome but I'm really trying to get a read on how certain I can feel that the results will be pleasing.

 

Maybe some individuals who have gone through this could offer their opinion on whether they made the right decision in having a hair transplant. I've read the marketing blurbs from patients in the various clinician's brochures but I trust the feedback of those on this site to a greater degree.

 

Thanks in advance for everyones insight.

 

HighNoon

[NW]

Highnoon,

 

It sounds like you are taking excellent steps towards having a positive HT. Rememeber "you" are the one whom ultimately will determine density happiness and how many grafts "you" feel will make "you" happy. It is my opinion that current procedures yield excellent results. Every guy on here (myself inc.) has had to make these cosmetic based decisions, they arent easy ones. Unfortunately Dr's can tell you anything.

 

Good Luck

[Guest]

High Noon,

 

I have had one procedure.

 

You are asking good questions and obviously, you are well-informed. The disparity in recmmomendations may have something to do with differing views of satisfactory density and proposed placement of grafts. There may be differences not only in proposed hairline but in how much overall area of scalp to cover. For example, if you have scalp areas with thinning, but not baldness, there is a decision to be made as to whether to add hair or leave the area alone until it is thinner. Also, some physicians transplant the area in front of the temples, while others don't. From what I understand there is some debate about temple area grafts that is related to expected later hair-loss and commitment to future procedures. A surgeon could tell you more about this debate than I can.

 

600 grafts is really not a great deal of transplanted hair, but on some people it makes a difference. What I would be willing to bet on is that 600 grafts will not be a permanent solution for you. I do wonder if you will end up wishing you had a larger session if you go with 600 grafts to start.

 

The other side of all this is a question about whether the surgeon recommending only six hundred grafts found that your donor supply was very limited upon his face-to-face exam.

 

I had nine hundred grafts in the front third of my scalp last October. It has made a significant difference in my appearance, but I definitely would like greater density. I am planning to go for another 800 - 1,000 grafts later in the year. I have no regrets except perhaps that I would have opted for more grafts initially and a second smaller refinement session. Personally, I like the idea of two sessions in order to let the transplants grow-out, re-evaluate and then refine the look with a second, smaller procedure.

 

My suggestion is that you find-out from each Dr. exactly why he recommends the number of transplants he proposes and see if the explanations satisfy you. You should know where the hairline will be if the frontal area is going to be transplanted. You can ask what area - exactly - will be covered and what density (hairs per sq centimeter) will be achieved.

 

I would suggest that you go ahead with a face-to-face consult with Dr. Shapiro, even though Matt says you don't need it. You should be satisfied that Dr. Shapiro has personally examined you and you have had the opportunity to ask every question you have. Personally, I would not just book a procedure without a face-to-face consult with the surgeon. I would need that face-to-face exam and q. & a. with the surgeon in order to feel confident about my decision.

[Monty]

Even the supposed good doctors get bad results and no doctor has 100% success rate. So what if your one of the people that gets poor results?