Start of my HT journey!!!!

[TrOjAn]

I have been considering HT since last one year but was a bit skeptic due to

lack of information. I googled and came across this weblog and reading all

the posts and looking at the pictures of all the ??real' (I call these people

as real because I always feel that pictures on various hair transplant surgeons

website must be only their best case patients and that in no way helps me making

a decision) people has given me enough confidence of getting a HT done. After

reading all the archives of posts I have concluded all those who have got their

HT done from the right surgeon have ended up Happy.

 

Folks...I have already started getting some initial feedback from some of the good

surgeons mentioned. Plan to get an HT done by next month. To give you some background

I am 28 yrs old and have already lost a substantial amount of hair. I suppose I must

be on Norwood scale of 5A. I started loosing hair when I was 21 yrs old. Attached is

one of my pic which will give you an Idea of the extent of my hair loss.

 

Now I have to decide upon the number of grafts that will be good for me and I need

your views on the same. From my initial photo consultation with 3 of the surgeons

they are recommending from 1200 to 3000 grafts range in my frontal and mid scalp.

although I would like to get as many grafts as possible but at the same time I have

noticed some of the seasoned surgeons tend to take a conservative approach and

recommend lesser number of grafts ( correct me if I am wrong on this?)

 

Assume I want to get only one procedure for my frontal and mid scalp and leave the

crown as it is. The rate at which I am balding I suppose I will loose all my hair

In the crown by next 6to 8 yrs or so. Right now I am more concerned about my balding

cuz of my age. I suppose in future I might not get a second procedure done to cover

my crown and live with balding. What do you pple think, Will a person look okey with hair

on his front and mid scalp and a bald patch in crown ( I guess that's how I will look

few years from now after getting a HT in my frontal and mid scalp). Can I base my decision

about the number of grafts solely on that I will be fine with one procedure, if so I would

like to take a liberal approach on the amount of graphs for my HT.

 

Do let me know what you pple think?????

 

Another thing.....I noticed lot of pple talk about various good surgeons in NY area

and share pictures of their work but Dr.Bernstein although very reputed there are few

of his patients or pictures of his work on this weblog since last year or so...what is

the reason behind this?????

 

 

 

PS: Thanks to all those who replied to my previous post ??is this weblog biased'

[TrOjAn]

I have been considering HT since last one year but was a bit skeptic due to

lack of information. I googled and came across this weblog and reading all

the posts and looking at the pictures of all the ??real' (I call these people

as real because I always feel that pictures on various hair transplant surgeons

website must be only their best case patients and that in no way helps me making

a decision) people has given me enough confidence of getting a HT done. After

reading all the archives of posts I have concluded all those who have got their

HT done from the right surgeon have ended up Happy.

 

Folks...I have already started getting some initial feedback from some of the good

surgeons mentioned. Plan to get an HT done by next month. To give you some background

I am 28 yrs old and have already lost a substantial amount of hair. I suppose I must

be on Norwood scale of 5A. I started loosing hair when I was 21 yrs old. Attached is

one of my pic which will give you an Idea of the extent of my hair loss.

 

Now I have to decide upon the number of grafts that will be good for me and I need

your views on the same. From my initial photo consultation with 3 of the surgeons

they are recommending from 1200 to 3000 grafts range in my frontal and mid scalp.

although I would like to get as many grafts as possible but at the same time I have

noticed some of the seasoned surgeons tend to take a conservative approach and

recommend lesser number of grafts ( correct me if I am wrong on this?)

 

Assume I want to get only one procedure for my frontal and mid scalp and leave the

crown as it is. The rate at which I am balding I suppose I will loose all my hair

In the crown by next 6to 8 yrs or so. Right now I am more concerned about my balding

cuz of my age. I suppose in future I might not get a second procedure done to cover

my crown and live with balding. What do you pple think, Will a person look okey with hair

on his front and mid scalp and a bald patch in crown ( I guess that's how I will look

few years from now after getting a HT in my frontal and mid scalp). Can I base my decision

about the number of grafts solely on that I will be fine with one procedure, if so I would

like to take a liberal approach on the amount of graphs for my HT.

 

Do let me know what you pple think?????

 

Another thing.....I noticed lot of pple talk about various good surgeons in NY area

and share pictures of their work but Dr.Bernstein although very reputed there are few

of his patients or pictures of his work on this weblog since last year or so...what is

the reason behind this?????

 

 

 

PS: Thanks to all those who replied to my previous post ??is this weblog biased'

[Spursman]

Hello Trojan

 

Your best bet would be to get on propecia first so you can keep as much of your original hair as possible and possibly grow some back. That way when you get your front and mid scalp done you might not need to get the crown done.

 

There are some great surgeons out there. If you haven't already I have head good things from the likes of Feller and Hassan & Wong speak to them. Depending on your donor area and laxity you might be able to go for just one large session, something like 4000+ grafts at one time. Ideally this is what many people want to do, but its not always possible due to age, and possible future balding.

 

Also the main thing is to research and research more. It's a life changing procedure and it needs to be done correctly.

[troy]

I agree with spursman. I would go as much as you can the first pass.

[UGLY MAN 4 LIFE]

Trojan

 

You need at least 4000 grafts. There's no conservative argument when it comes to a NW5 case. Conservation comes in when planning where to place the hairline (how high, how receeded and how dense). What you don't want to do is get caught by a doctor whose clinic can only do 2000 graft cases and as such they'll recommend you get this number, knowing full well that you'll need a second surgery with them in a years time.

 

If you get the 4000, you won't need to leave the crown. Generally, people of your nationality tend to have quite thick shafts and their hair is often of fairly high quality - but you should consult with a doctor in person if you can to confirm this.

 

I recommend you don't factor in travel when choosing your HT surgeon. The difference could mean multiple procedures, a less than perfect hairline, subpar density, etc. Choose something that you feel most *safe* with, go for consistency, naturalness, and coverage!

 

Also you should get on finasteride if you do go forward with the HT.

[M&M]

I agree with the above comments. You will be very disappointed if you end up with just 1200 or so grafts. I had 1662 on my hairline region only - no mid-section work needed (at this stage). There are some excellent resources on this site to help you understand the approximate graft count you will need for your needs. I also agree that you should get on Propecia to try and halt any future hair loss. Good luck.

[wesley949]

Trojan:

 

It seems Bernstein has a reputation on this site as being behind the times although he has been a pioneer in the field and has been cited as the best HT doc in New York by New York magazine for years. I would vist his web site and read his web blog on his site where propspective patients can ask questions. It is obvious he understands HT and the plusses and minuses of certain actions. I had a procedure done and some repairs about 6 months ago by Bernstein and I wish I could tell you what the end result will be. The repair was excellent but my hair is still in the early stages. He and his staff were excellent. Since I was travelling more than 150 miles they put me up at a very nice hotel nearby for two nights. Also, make sure you are comparing hair count and not simply graft count. My 2,382 grafts yielded 249 ones, 1,299 twos, 713 threes and 121 fours. The total hair count was 5,470 for a hair per follicular average of 2.30. If Bernstien had further divided my fours and threes it could have shown that I had 3,500 or more grafts done. Having said that, I would interview Bernstien and others and know the questions to ask so that you feel confident you made the correct decision for you. I will need a second procedure for better coverage and I knew this going in. However, I can already tell that even if I never got a second procedure, my hair looks totally natural. You want to make certain that the doctor who does the procedure makes it so the HT stands on its own. There are very few HT patients who get what they want with one procedure no many how many hairs/grafts are transplanted.

[Rockwell]

I agree with the propecia; get on that for a couple of months then decide what you want to do. One mistake I almost made was let the price of the transplant get in the way of my better decision making as it is expensive and it is worth every dollar (by the tens of thousands) thus far. This my be a luxury as far as our needs are concerned but some of us feel as if we have no other choice to keep our hapiness at bay..From looking at your pic I was say you would need about 2000 / 3000 in your forlock area only.I had hairloss in the front area of my head aswell I had had 2300 graf(s) placed. I do have some pic(s) of me before and after but it's only been 3 months so you might not see a huge difference. Good luck to ya and keep posting on this site. The people on these forms are a great group of individuals with alot of knowledge that helped me and gave me the couage to follow through with my TP that was the best experience of my life.

 

Rockwell

[TrOjAn]

Thanks for all your replies.

 

After visiting few of the top surgeons personally I have decided to go with Dr. Bernstein for my HT. Well I would say it was a tough call as most of the surgeons I visited were good but I had to decide upon one and I felt most comfortable with Dr Bernstein. My surgery is scheduled on 3rd august and I will be getting 2800 grafts in my frontal and mid scalp as per Dr Bernstein's recommendation.

 

Guys I have scheduled my surgery still I am getting second thoughts as to whether

I should go for a surgery or just live with my baldness.

 

Will 2800 grafts be good enough to provide me with decent coverage. Dr says I will need a second procedure to increase the density but I want only one procedure also I am only 28 yrs old right now, the second procedure I am looking at is couple of years from now to patch up the bald area between my transplanted hair and sides as my sides will recede more by that time. Do you people feel 2800 grafts will give me adequate hair to cover my scalp and give me a decent look????

 

Also, I will be visiting my home country 8 months after the procedure. Will the HT make

a substantial difference in my appearance by then????

 

Looking forward for your replies and thanks in advance for the same.

[Mark H]

Trojan, you are further along in your research than I am, but it seems that most here end up with at least 2 procedures.

 

It strikes me that 2 procedures is the _least_ you can expect at the age of 28, with early hair loss.

 

I'm 52, and although I've watched my hairline slowly recede, things took a jet plane starting about 5 years ago. However I'm now about an NW5 so even though my hairloss may be quite gradual going forward, could I get enough in a single session? Would it even be wise to get that much in a single session? I consider that a maybe, and my hairloss is much more gradual than yours.

 

Have you tried using the online virtual tool? That thing is pretty cool.

 

Best of Luck,

 

mark h.

[wesley949]

Trojan:

 

My educated guess will be that you will be very happy 8 months from now. You hair will not have reached its full potential by then, but it should look very good at that point. As I noted previously, I had repairs and 2,400 grafts done by Bernstein 6 months ago. My scar is not visble and it looks like all my grafts are growing. My only regret is the time it takes to get the full impact of the neqw hair. On the other hand, the way this has taken place no one suspects I had anything done. I am planning to go back in January and get a second procedure done. If I was your age and had the resources I would defintely get it done. After you get it done, it is done. And the way my hair looks now, this precedure stands on its own. It will not look like I got half a transplant even if I never get another procedure. In my case since I had lost so much hair years ago, I did not "suffer" from hair loss the way a lot of newly bald guys do. I went through that years ago. I thought I was being vain and felt stupid about it and changed my mind several times thinking with everything going on in the world here I am worrying about my hair. In the end though I thought, wait I'vee got the money and I take care of myself and it would be great to have hair-so I did it and like most guys that have gotten the procedure done by a top doctor, they are happy. Good luck with your decision.

[Mark H]

What an excellent post Wesley. Very encouraging for those of us standing at the water's edge trying to decide.

 

mark h

[Gorpy]

Trojan,

2800 grafts in the frontal half will make a substantial difference in your appearance. If you spread that out over the front half and crown, it obviously will dilute the effect. But with a quality physician like Dr. Bernstein, it will look very natural and I think you'll be happy from that point of view. But you can probably expect a "thinning" look with that amount. I agree with the others, that you would ultimately need 4000 or probably 5000+.

[MrJobi]

Hi

 

2800 will give you a substantial difference. I am at 2893 as I had 2 sessions ( 1417 & 1476). Being 7 months into my 2nd procedure it is a huge difference. I was about a N4-5 and I'm extremely happy with the results. I feel with 1 more procedure at around 4500-5000 I will be done. There aren't many people in the N4-5 stage that only get 1 procedure but that you could always " wait and see". 2nd thoughts are natural but I feel you should make a decesion internally. Live with hair loss or not. For me, this is one of the best things I've done.

[tkerr22]

I think with some of these good docs on here who use the smaller blades and can dense pack without causing much trauma one session of 2800 would do great for the front, heck I had 2000 for the front 1/3 and it did wonders! went back in June and had another HT for the mid to crown area and cannot wait for that to kick in. Granted 2800 from front to the crown will look a little thin but if you just want the front done it will do wonders, and then later when your hair loss progresses you might need another HT for the midscalp to crown area. I think you always need to keep in mind future hairloss and whether you are willing to and have the resources to get another HT done