vinto

[vinto]

This is after 2 HT done by Dr. Elliot. I honestly do not see any difference. It might have even gotten worse.

 

 

 

[Guest Cousin_It]

Vinto...

 

When did you have your transplant with True and how many grafts were done. You say there is no difference, why? Have any before photos. It hard to believe there is no improvement. Have you been using Propecia to halt the progression of hair loss? If not perhaps the progression outpaced the amount that was transplanted. Fill us in.

[vinto]

Cousin,

 

Please refer to this topic

 

http://www.hairrestorationnetwork.com/eve/showthread.php?t=151649

 

I'm a newbie, so I have no idea what I'm doing at the moment.

 

I use Propecia for about six months, and stopped. I don't have the before picture, but I can honestly say that it's probably the same if not worse than before.

 

Regards

[Guest Cousin_It]

Vinto...

 

Just read your post. Dr.True is one of the top surgeons, there is no reason to consider going to someone else. I still find it very hard to believe there was no improvement. You post does not state how many grafts he gave you, also where were they placed? You say you are no longer using Propecia, how long has it been?

[vinto]

Cousin

 

I had my HT done with Dr. Elliot. I think Dr. Elliot and Dr. True had separated their practices soon after I had my first operation. I stopped using Propecia for probably about a year and a couple of months. I went back to Dr. Elliot's office to do the check up, but he said that my hair was growing and filling in fine and I could stop using Propecia if I want. At that time, even when they told me that my hair was growing in fine, I still had my doubts since I do not see any visible improvement and that the sun still penetrated my hair to show my scalp.

 

As for the grafts, I think it's the combined total of about 2000 (11xx, and 8xx). Nothing was done to the front towards my hairline though.

[vinto]

One more thing I'd like to add is that I'd want to get the maximum density and coverage, and it's been more than a year since I had my last operation. I just want to get my hair back as fast as possible. I'd be 27 this year, do you think I can acheive that by the time I'm 30? At least not the maximum density but enough coverage and density so that I don't have to use Toppik anymore.

[Guest Cousin_It]

Vinto...

 

I don't understand why he would tell you to stop the Propecia, he better than anyone knows it is something you have to stay on for life, or a least until you want to keep your hair. Seems like you may have lost enough hair to offset the amount he transplanted. I would advise you to contact him or your regular doctor and get a prescription for Propecia and get on it again. You may catch it in time and regrow some of the lost hair if you are lucky, worse case would be you will stop more from falling. You have to stay on this stuff forever, once you stop anything you gained will fall out. Stay on this for a year before making any decisions about another transplant, otherwise you may be wasting your money again.

[vinto]

Cousin

 

Thanks for the information, I have an appointment with NHI soon though, and I'll see what they might have to say. As for Propecia, I will definitely get back on that now. I might have been losing my hair around the hair the was transplanted. The transplanted hair will be there forever correct?

[Guest Cousin_It]

Yes, tranplanted hair will stay there forever. Let us know how you make out.

[vinto]

I will

 

By the way, where can I go to prescribe Propecia? I've only been getting prescriptions from Dr. Elliot. Any easier way?

[Jotronic]

Vinto,

 

I'm sorry to hear about your two previous procedures not living up to your expectations. Been there, done that myself so I understand.

 

Your case is one that is going to require a lot of grafts and you still may not get to the point that you are hoping for but if you can understand that you will never truly reach your pre-hair loss density you may be pretty happy with the outcome. Once grown out you will have a lot more options for styling your hair. If your donor area can give it up safely you'd need about 3500 to 4000 grafts. The problem with your case however is one of shockloss. You have some miniaturized hair in your NW5 pattern. By going in between these hairs with a good sized session you run the risk of going through a pretty major ugly duckling phase due to temporary shock. Some of those hairs that are shocked may be so permanently but usually in cases like yours, if handled properly, the cosmetic impact is negligible. Which ever doctor you decide on you need to consider the benefits of having your recipient site shaved. It's a short term sacrifice for long term benefits as your chance of shock due to transection is reduced to nil (if again done properly) and you have the benefit of having perfect hair angulation once the new grafts grow in as they will match those angles of your existing hair.

 

Good luck with your research and continue to ask questions like you have been.

[hairbank]

Vinto-

 

Sorry to hear about your bad experience with Dr. Elliott. The total grafts you received really isn't many by todays standards but if done properly you should have at least noticed a difference. To better understand what you had done, it would be helpful to see some before and afters of the procedure if you have them.

 

One thing I'll mention..............I sense the urgency in your post to get this fixed NOW. Slow down, take a deep breath and remember where you've been. Your 26 years old and have now had 2 HT's..............still pretty young to determine where you will eventually land on the Norwood scale. You appear to have diffused thinning all over on top so it's likely, in my opinion, you'll eventually need 5000-6000 grafts. This depends on how a reputable surgeon would approach your loss. As Jotronic mentioned, maybe 3500-4000 grafts for starter to fill in around what you have and minimize potential graft tanssection or possible permanent shock loss....................then a fill in later as you continue to thin over the years. Remember, your donor supply is finite and you will eventually run out so take your time, get a quality surgeon that can work with you to achieve some realistic goals then take the proper steps to get there.

 

I'd be interested once you consult to get a Docs opinion on how many of your Elliott grafts grew?? One things for sure, stay on Propecia once you start...........it's a lifelong commitment. If I were you I'd talk with 3 or 4 surgeons before deciding to get a few opinions.

 

Hope this helps.

[vinto]

Thank you for all the comments

 

Jotronic and hairbank, please reply to the private message I sent if you can.

 

The funny thing is that I had my coworker checked it out today, and he said that yes I do have a thin hair, but he doesn't think that I'm even going bald. Under certain lights, he said he can't even see my scalp, and once he did, he said it's just because I have a short hair. 1.25 inches to be exact.

 

Am I just overly worrying about this? I am certain that I definitely need more hair to satisfy me though.

 

Regards.

[Bill - Seemiller]

vinto,

 

I can't remember....have we talked before? Anyway...I too am sorry to hear about your bad experience with Dr. Elliot. Who did your first HT? Sorry if you already addressed that, but I didn't see it.

 

I agree with what everyone above is saying. Oddly enough, just as you have pointed out, as your friend pointed out, certain lighting can be better than others, and some can be downright harsh. Angling is another thing. One of the photos you posted of the crown and donor area makes your recipient area up front look pretty dense and your scalp is not seen.

 

I agree that it's important for you to slow down and take a deep breath. Don't let your sense of urgency to get this fixed NOW make you make a quick decision. It's important now more than ever to start your research and eventually selecting a qualified physician that will meet your needs. Try the coalition doctors here:

 

http://www.hairlosslearningcenter.org/hair-loss-content...s/our_physicians.asp

 

Of course, as Jotronic said, it's important that you stay realistic and that you realize that you'll never get your pre-hairloss hair density back. But you can definitely improve your situation over time.

 

Bill

[Bill - Seemiller]

Vinto,

 

Also, when did you have your surgery with Dr. Elliot? I'm not seeing that information either. The answer to this question could strongly affect our responses to you on what to do at this point.

 

Bill

[vinto]

Bill,

 

My first HT was also with Dr. Elliot. At that time it was full of promise and I was looking forward to getting more hair. Strangely enough he only targeted my crown area and in the middle part. He did not touch the frontal part at all for the two surgeries. I don't think it's improved. My surgeries was done I believe in May 2003, or May 2004 and the second one is about 8 months after that. Whether my first operation is in 2003 or 2004, both of the hairs resulting from those operations would all have already grown out by now.

 

I am definitely trying to slow down and take a deep breath as you suggested. My alternative is to shave my head at number 1 or number 2 clipper. I did that before and I didn't look bad. The only bad thing would be my scare on the back of my head doing a smiley face to everyone behind me. Everyone kept asking me what happened to the back of my head, and I just kept replying I had an accident.

 

It's probably been 2 years + since my last operation, and the only reason I didn't continue with the hairloss is probably work and Toppik hinding my fakeness very well. Right now, I feel that I need my own hair, that's why I appeared to be very panic.

 

Bill, in your honest opinion, how much maximum density do you think I can acheive? At least enough so that the light can't go through? I realized that there's no way for me to get my pre-hairloss density back, but having more hair to fill in than now would do me a world of good.

 

Also I took the picture with the camera and its flash was really high and it seemed to expose everything there was to expose. I took the picture again with non flash, but under the florescent light, and it look pretty dark.

 

The plan for me remains to be this though. Get the operation, take Propecia, and shaved my head at number 1 or number 2 clippers. No more Toppik for me!

 

Sorry for my rant Bill, but please answer what you can. As you can see, this is me being a bit more than distraught.

 

Regards

[Pat - Community Publisher]

Vinto,

 

Welcome to our community. I see that you have already gotten some excellent advice in the above replies, which I agree with.

 

I think getting back on Propecia would be wise. It will help you slow and perhaps even stop your hair loss. Propecia will also tend to strengthen your miniturizing hairs so that down the road if you do another hair transplant they will be less likely to shed due to the impact of surgery (i.e. "shock loss"). You may even regrow some of the hair you've lost (but allow a full year to see such results).

 

I do think that given your pattern of baldness you may ultimately require 4,000 or more grafts to achieve the look of fullness you want. But as stated above, your hair will never be as full as it once was. But keep in mind that most people never even notice that they are really thinning until they have lost almost half of their hair. Thus to recreate the look of fullness a person typically only needs to restore half their original hair density.

 

Please visit our Multimedia Center at http://www.hairtransplantnetwork.com/MM-center.asp and view the animations for a demonstration on this and other hair transplant concepts.

 

I encourage you to also visit Dr. Reed in La Jolla for a consultation in Dr. Reed is a member of the Coalition and does excellent ultra refined work.

 

I agree that you need to invest some time on this forum and other educational resources to really think things through before making your next commitment.

 

I hope you become a regular on our forum and achieve a great end result and then in time share your sage advice.

 

Best wishes, Pat

[Bill - Seemiller]

Bill, in your honest opinion, how much maximum density do you think I can acheive? At least enough so that the light can't go through? I realized that there's no way for me to get my pre-hairloss density back, but having more hair to fill in than now would do me a world of good

 

Vinto,

 

I want to be careful in answering this question because what you want and what you can get may be two different things, so it's important to ask these questions as you have been, so your expectations are realistic. First let me tell you that I agree with everything Pat said above. However, specifically regarding your question about not allowing light through. Let me just say that even at great density, this isn't fully possible. Keep in mind that certain lights and angles will always be better and some more harsh than others. So don't expect that an HT will block the harshest light from revealing at least some scalp. Heck, even people with full dense heads of high school hair when kept shorter and spiked, you can see a LOT of scalp in the light...but yet it still looks full and natural.

 

But I'd say 4000 grafts would get you much closer to where you'd like to be.

 

Do yourself a favor also, and don't let location determine or limit which physician you have surgery with. Find a physician that you are impressed with that yields amazing results consistently in patients. When you find that physician, make the arrangements to go see them. It's especially important to do this since you've already had 2 HTs and you want the 3rd time to be the charm

 

Bill

[hairbank]

Vinto-

 

I replied to your PM- take a look when you can.

[vinto]

Thanks for the positive replies guys.

 

I went to see Dr. Elliot (my original hair transplant doctors) and Dr. Straub today. You can find my thread on this forum regarding it.

 

Know anything about these two? Dr. Elliot is steadfast in maintaing that his grafts grew, and that I just lost my natural hair. Well I guess, that's the best news I can take right now.

[NervousNelly]

You have had some great advise so there is no point in me adding to it.

 

 

I do have to believe that what Dr. Elliot told you is correct. I'm certain that the trasplanted hairs did grow but you have just lost some of your native hairs. This was bound to happen especially if you have not been on some sort of hair care regimen.

 

Make sure that you take your time to research things and see several physicians to find one that you are comfortable with. I agree with everyone that it will take 4000+ Fu for you to be fully satisfied. Good luck in your search.

[vinto]

Thank you Nelly.

 

I just finished the research on both Dr. Elliot and Dr. Straub just now. Neither of them is too popular.

 

I might book a flight out to Dr. Shapiro in 2 weeks to get his assesment.

 

Is it true though that for the top of a person's head to be full, one needs about 5000 grafts? If that's the case, wouldn't I only need about 3000 or so? I took those pictures with my camera with a strong flash. All doctors and coworkers told me it's not as bad as it look in the picture. But doesn't sunlight do that to you as much as the flash does?

[NervousNelly]

To a certain degree you are correct. There are several variables and we are making our assessment based off of a couple of photos. People and physicians that have a chance to evaluate you in person will be able to assess your situation much better.

 

I believe from everything that I have read however, that for the average person it takes between 5000 and 8000 FU for what appears to be full coverage if they have advanced balding.(NW 5+) There are variables such as size of head, texture of hair, thickness and transition with donor area(ex.--super thick donor makes top look thinner), skill of physician, contrast between hair and scalp, type of haircut chosen. I'm sure there are others that I am forgetting but it gives you the idea that there is no easy answer to give you because we are all different.

 

If you were to get a HT of 3000 FU it would probably give you sufficient coverage that you would be happy with for a period of time. Yes you might need another surgery but it wouldn't have to be something that had to be done right away. You could probably hold off for several years assuming you are on a good hair care regimen.

[vinto]

Thanks Nelly.

 

As you can see, I'm a nervous wrect right now, and I've actually lost appetite, and sleep over this. I've heard of horror stories of people with hair transplants, and it really made me scare. My third one absolutely need to be a success.

 

I do hope 3000 or 4000 or whatever would give me good coverage and density I am looking for. I also hope my donor can provide that much.

 

By the way, if you don't mind, could you post a comment on my new thread.

 

I'd just like to see if the grafts that people have been posting would change at all, and whether or not my donor area has sufficient hair to do the job.

 

Regards.