Some Questions??

[Spursman]

Hello

 

Right...... where do i start.

 

I am 23 and looking into getting an HT. I would say I am a norwood 4 or 5. Dr Feller has told me my doner area is not the best. He said I need 2000+ grafts.

 

I think i need more. Would it be best to have one procedure of 2000 grafts and then go back for another one and do it all again?

 

Or

 

Go do one large session and get as many grafts as possible and live my life not having to worry about doing a 2nd HT.

 

Bear in mind, im 23 and future hair loss will occur.

[Alexander]

Sorry to say this but if you're 23 and already a nw3-4, you're prob not really a good candidate for HT at all. At least not until you wait a few years and try to stabilize or reverse your hairloss with meds. Even then, you still might be a bad overall candidate for HT.

[worried]

I thought about a HT back when I was in my late 20's maybe 30. I am so gratefull I didn't pursue it until now when I'm 45. I wouldn't have wanted to chase my hair loss with multiple HT's and the cost involved. I paid off the house and put money in retirement accounts first. Now I can afford to give it a shot , and have some hair and not have to work till I'm 90. plus I think my hairloss is stabilized but who can ever be sure. When they say donor area is not the best I would be concerned you have a long life ahead of you. Just my thoughts on the matter . Hang around here for awhile ,you'll get allot of valuable information to make your choice. good luck on whatevere you do. Scott

[jagdish]

Well.. it is good advice to not to have HT in twenties and wait till thirties or forties to see how much hair you will loose. But it is difficult to handle for someone in twenties. Because most of the guys in twenties will have lot of hair and you will be unique with a bald head. Automatically you will feel inferior. The moments you face in twenties are totally different than thirties or fourties. The feeling that you are bald does not allow you to fully enjoy all those moments.

 

Spursman, I think you should go for HT. If Dr.Feller says that you need 2000+ grafts, I think he is concerned about your future hairloss and want to save some donor hairs. I don't suggest you to go for large session at this age. Ofcourse before HT you need to be on propecia+minoxidile for atleast 6 to 12 months to see you may recover some lost hair. These medicines work well on those in twenties.

 

-Jagdish

[MrJobi]

Hi Spur

 

First of all are you on propecia? That would be my first priority for you ?? One you start a does of that it can stabilize your loss so you can see where you are going...

 

Good luck

[Spursman]

Hi.

 

I have been on propecia for about 7 months now and i think its helping. i also mad a mistake about saying i was a 3 or 4 on the norwood. its closer to a 4 or 5.

 

I am just unsure about it all, i dont want to end up looking a freak with just transplanted hair.

 

i know i am young so now is important to look good. when i am in my 30's hopefully i will have a family to support and not worry about hair loss.

 

Alexander... why would i not be a good candidate for an HT? i am meet spex and Dr Feller has seen pictures. i think they would have told me if its worth doing it.

[Alexander]

You are not a good candidate because you do not have enough donor hair to cover your head and look natural. It sounds like you are headed for NW6 or 7, then you will be left with an unnatural balding pattern, and you will be chasing your hairloss with HT surgery for life. Also remember that your donor area can continue to thin out as well, so what might look good in your 20s may not look so hot in your 30s and 40s. Donor area thinning is something that people don't talk about enough, but it happens, and could be a huge issue for you down the road. That's why you are a bad candidate IMO- a guy who is a slower thinner, and headed maybe for only a NW4 or 5 at the worst is in a much better position, because his donor area is less likely to thin out as dramatically. I would go to at least 2 more doctors to get an opinion about your future. 23 and a NW4 or 5 already would raise a red flag to me. Just my opinion of course, but good luck in whatever decision you choose!

[Spursman]

Thanks for that, i can see where your coming from.

[PB]

Dr Feller seems like an ethical guy to me and I'm sure he knows what he's talking about ??“ he does have something like 15 years of experience of HT surgery. I would take the advice he has given you. If the hair in your donor area isn't very dense, it may be that any more than 2000 would mean doing an exceptionally large strip. I had a similar problem due to poor donor density at the sides and I could only get 2700 in one go but I can go back for a second similar sized operation later once the last strip has fully healed; which it pretty much has now 6 months post-op (I'm going to see him next week for a consultation ).

[Alexander]

15 years means nothing. HT docs are people, they can have an off day, they can get complacent, and they still need to make money. I'm not saying Feller is bad at all, but why not go to a couple of other docs in the NY city area. I would never just take the word of one HT doc without consulting a few others. Ethics are completely relative. While some might think performing HT on a 23 year old is ethical, others would say it is a big no no, esp a person on a fast balding pattern at 23.

[UGLY MAN 4 LIFE]

Spursman

 

Do you think you can maybe post some pics with your face covered so we can better guess the graft count? I mean, it really depends on what you consider to be a NW4-5. People's opinions vary.

[Spursman]

Alexander....

 

i have also been to see Dr True and he didnt say that i had dense doner hair, He saw me in the flesh. He said my hair was fine.

 

Dr Feller has only seen pictures of me. I meet Spex and he sent some pictures over to him. Spex said that the hair at the back was ok, it was just the hair on the sides that worried him. He said the scar might show through. I do keep my hair short so maybe if i grew it out it would be fine.

 

Ugly man 4 life..... (nice name)

 

i have a thing with taking pictures, when i take them and look at them, it makes me very depressed. i would rather take pictures a day before at HT and then check progress every now and then. Even when Spex took pictures i asked him not to show me! Spex was the person who told me i was a norwood 5 approx.

[Alexander]

Spursman,

 

If both Drs said they would be willing to do HT on you, then one of the following must be true:

 

1.) Your hairloss isn't that bad for your age.

 

2.) They are both willing to do risky HT work on a young patient whose hairloss hasn't stabilized.

 

2000 grafts will do very little for a NW4-5, so you must be more like a NW3 if Dr. Feller said you only need 2k. Did Dr. Feller say you should get a strip? Getting a strip for only 2k grafts seems like a waste. You don't want to get more than one strip if you can avoid it- cutting into the scalp multiple times F###s with your laxity, and increases the chances for wider donor scarring. The more times you do it, the riskier it gets. Esp for the patient who faces potential donor thinning. Just a thought.

[Martin]

I am scheduled for surgery with Dr Feller in July and also have a concern surrounding my donor region. I have discussed this at great depth with him personally over the phone and he has reassured me that come the day of the surgery if he feels that he can not make my situation better via means of surgery, he will not perform on me. It is impossible to establish an exact no. of grafts until he sees me.

 

Dr Feller in all my research is definately one of the few good guys and going off the comments made here i think its impossible to accurately diagnose if spurmans is a suitable HT candidtae or not.

The best guy for that job is the HT Dr in person.