Guest Posted March 18, 2003 Share Posted March 18, 2003 Ok, it takes longer, costs more, and grafts per session may be less, but that aside - what's the risks w/FUE? Seems to me it's worth the time and money to guarantee never having a scar. Especially if you are thinning (vs. receeding/bald), holding well with finas/minox and are willing to let the crown go - all meaning you may need less grafts than the next guy - why NOT do FUE? Is it just that it's such a new process that people want to wait and see? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted March 18, 2003 Share Posted March 18, 2003 Ok, it takes longer, costs more, and grafts per session may be less, but that aside - what's the risks w/FUE? Seems to me it's worth the time and money to guarantee never having a scar. Especially if you are thinning (vs. receeding/bald), holding well with finas/minox and are willing to let the crown go - all meaning you may need less grafts than the next guy - why NOT do FUE? Is it just that it's such a new process that people want to wait and see? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member arfy Posted March 19, 2003 Senior Member Share Posted March 19, 2003 <BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Is it just that it's such a new process that people want to wait and see? I think it is still a little "new" for the doctors besides Woods. This is not meant to discourage anyone from using those doctors. But in my opinion the North American FUE doctors are still in the preliminary stages. As always, one of your biggest concerns should be in minimizing the risks. By risks I mean risk of being dissatisfied. Unless you are really in desperate need of FUE immediately, I would let other patients report back with their results. I'm not only "saying" that, I'm also doing that (waiting) myself. And I can honestly say I DESPERATELY need help from FUE. The other issue is the potentially innappropriate use of transplants. Guys should still not use HT for little hairline touch-ups, in my opinion, no matter how the grafts are harvested. You should have a significant amount of baldness first, and you should opt for a mature recessed hairline when you get a HT, whether it is FUE or strip. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted March 19, 2003 Share Posted March 19, 2003 yeah-I agree. I have a weird situation - diffuse thinning all over (even donor), but my hair is wavy and grows like a weed where I have it. Plus my hairline is quite low. All this (plus some DermMatch + ProThik) gives an amazing illusion of decent hair, but I'm getting sick of using it every day and know this is a temporary fix. I seem to at least have slowed loss w/finas & minox and lose slowly to begin with. Pretty confident my hair will be basically the same in 10 yrs. FUE may be my only option. What does eveyone else think? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vocor1 Posted March 19, 2003 Share Posted March 19, 2003 PRGuy: That was a very good and informative post on FUE. You hit the nail on the head that most places will be slow (or never) to offer FUE because it takes a lot of skill, doc time, and plus time to learn the skill AND get good at it. A doctor has to want to become accomplished at FUE. I think he has to derive some pride from being good at another HT skill. Unfortunately, some docs are pure greed, as you pointed out. The only thing I guess I'd say halting FUE in some people's cases is the fact that currently there isn't the ability to do "mega-sessions" with FUEs. PRGuy: Do you know what the largest FUE session is to date? I'm curious. Strip leaves a scar so shaving your head could very well be a thing of the past. But with strip you can do a mega-session and get 2k-5k grafts in one sitting. That saves you time, money, and hassle of going through surgery and healing over and over again. It is all a tradeoff and nothing is guaranteed. You have to go with what works best for you. I don't doubt that FUE yields per session will progress just as it has for strip method. I'm not sure, however, that the two methods will have equal graft yields per unit time ever. Cloning is exciting. But how many years and how successful will it be? FUE is an awesome alternative to strip in certain cases. I'm hopeful that FUE skill and technology will continue to increase and the cost will come down. Haha, at least for me right now, I'm part of the "strip club". And hopeful that I won't want another HT ever again. vocor1 Knowledge is Power If the worst question is the one never asked, then the worst answer is the one never shared. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vocor1 Posted March 20, 2003 Share Posted March 20, 2003 Yeah, it is different strokes for different folks. You plan more HTs and I'm glad that you were frank about that with your doc. Wow, #3 at 1 month? Pretty ballsy. I was far too red for that. Even now, I want to go no shorter than a #6. I personally don't want any more HTs unless something weird or particularly out of place occurs. So with that in mind, I went conservative, didn't fill in temples on the sides (bring them forward, though I did fill them in on the top some), and got FUs all throughout the top and none on the crown. But again, I want to be done with HTs, I believe. Haha, funny though, because I'm sure a couple of days post op, I was saying sure, I'd do another. And maybe my mind will change. But my point is, I don't want to feel like I'm forced to do another HT because of an aggressive strategy. An HT with more temple-filling would undoubtably look better on me. But as I see it, it is already a huge improvement. And I guess in the end, my point is that we all have different goals here and risk tolerances. Your goals are different than mine so your planning is different. The fact of the matter is you planned your progression and it is awesome to see the plan fall into place, especially with initially good results. IMO, I think it is important for us to discuss our differing strategies and what we know about the technologies available. That way people can approach this decision with confidence and clarity of thought. I think that sets up people for success. And I think we both would say that something like that is worth instilling in others if we can. Keep up the information and happy regrowth! vocor1 Knowledge is Power If the worst question is the one never asked, then the worst answer is the one never shared. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted April 6, 2003 Share Posted April 6, 2003 good for you prguy. have a drink on me. also, maybe it would help your cause if you would put up some pics on how your healing is coming along. laters Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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