what do you think of these pics?

[John Malloy]

I was just looking for some feedback. I'm still not totally happy. Were my goals unrealistic?

Edited June 12, 2010 by John Malloy

[TC17]

Your scar is bad, but your hair looks quite good. If those photos are indicative of what your hair looks like in real life then you've had a good result.

[Tsakalos]

i think that a pass of 1700-2000 is requured to improve the front and be done..

[Bill - Seemiller]

John,

 

Hair transplant surgery isn't an exact science. However, it looks like Dr. Feller gave you a much improved, natural looking head of hair especially given that you are a repair case.

 

The donor scar does appear to be a little wide in the area you're showing. How is the rest of your scar? Also, do you have photos showing your first hair transplant scar? How does your second scar compare to the first one?

 

Scar stretching can sometimes occur, especially in repair cases if the first wound was closed under high tension, etc.

 

Have you talked to Dr. Feller regarding what he recommends moving forward? Are you elligible for scar repair via FUE or another strip excision? In my opinion, you may want to speak with him about your options which hopefully will make you happier in the long run.

 

Best wishes,

 

Bill Seemiller

[phil mascallpen]

I wouldn't be happy with that scar but Like Bill said if it's better than your old one then that mitigates it somewhat. Your hairline looks better than before but my question is if you put in no product how does the hair lay?

[Tsakalos]

is it FUE ? how many ?

[John Malloy]

John,

 

Hair transplant surgery isn't an exact science. However, it looks like Dr. Feller gave you a much improved, natural looking head of hair especially given that you are a repair case.

 

The donor scar does appear to be a little wide in the area you're showing. How is the rest of your scar? Also, do you have photos showing your first hair transplant scar? How does your second scar compare to the first one?

 

Scar stretching can sometimes occur, especially in repair cases if the first wound was closed under high tension, etc.

 

Have you talked to Dr. Feller regarding what he recommends moving forward? Are you elligible for scar repair via FUE or another strip excision? In my opinion, you may want to speak with him about your options which hopefully will make you happier in the long run.

 

Best wishes,

 

Bill Seemiller

Hey Bill,

How are you? I agree Dr. Feller definitely made my case less obvious, and that he was working with scar tissue.

As far as my scar. My scar from my first Ht is about an inch above the one that I'm showing, and believe it or not, it is flawless which is ironic because my receipant area from my first ht was horrible. Maybe, I should have had my first surgeon cut my donor, and Dr. Feller plant the grafts. Coulda, Woulda, Shoulda.

Bill, Dr. Feller and I discussed further options, and he basically said that the scar would only stretch more. And, that with Fue limited results and my expectations I may be let down again.

So, my intent is not to blame anyone or discredit Feller's work. I was looking for some feedback , and after getting it, I can't believe how much of my time is consumed thinking about this.

[John Malloy]

i think that a pass of 1700-2000 is requured to improve the front and be done..

If I had another 1700 grafts, that would be my 3rd surgery in 2 years. No way. At this point I'm looking for a way to minimize the scar and buzz cut the rest. I can't imagine living again without feeling akward without a hat. I really wish I would have known that it was possible for the scar to be that bad, I would have definitely buzzed down with a small Fue session. I just really did not think that as bad as my first surgeon was that my scar could have looked alot worse from someone who did such a better job in the recip area. That's the crazy thing about these Ht's. Learning from your mistakes is a part of life, but the mistakes you make with a ht are severe in deed.

[TC17]

My only advice for you at this point is to try and focus on the good aspects of your hair transplant. For example, your hair looks good right now and doesn't require any additional grafts. For many repair cases the same cannot be said.

 

Were you given the option of FUE? I'm not attacking Dr. Feller, but if not, then I think that's a failure on his part.

 

I'm also not trying to attack you, but what did you tell Dr. Feller in your consultations? Did you clearly explain your goals to Dr. Feller? What were your expectations going into this whole thing? What were you promised? Is the scar the biggest concern you're having?

[John Malloy]

My only advice for you at this point is to try and focus on the good aspects of your hair transplant. For example, your hair looks good right now and doesn't require any additional grafts. For many repair cases the same cannot be said.

 

Were you given the option of FUE? I'm not attacking Dr. Feller, but if not, then I think that's a failure on his part.

 

I'm also not trying to attack you, but what did you tell Dr. Feller in your consultations? Did you clearly explain your goals to Dr. Feller? What were your expectations going into this whole thing? What were you promised? Is the scar the biggest concern you're having?

Hey TC17,

Thank you for your concern. My hair looks Ok. It really matters on the lighting. In the sun, it is extremely sparse, but in dinner lights, my ht is undetecable which was not the case before my repair. But, my hair definitely looks WAY better in pics.

Answering your question about FUE, Dr Feller definitely mentioned it about breaking the scar up, but it was not mentioned before my repair--most likely 2000 grafts would have been too much for FUE.

My expectations---When I first met Dr Feller my only hope was looking totally natural again. After reading numerous accolades about him, and then his extreme confidence in addressing my matter, I thought this was going to be a piece of cake. That is why I post to this day. It is not to criticize Feller's work at all, but to point out to people, if Feller is as good as it gets and many will make that claim (I'm not saying he is or is not) , then, maybe a ht is not what they are expecting. In definitely was not for me.

Is my scar my biggest issue? That's a tough question because if I felt comfortable with my hairline, I would keep my hair long; however, I can't see going through another strip with no guarentees and be in this same position another year from now. It has already smothered my thoughts for 2 years now. My hope is to either Fue this scar enough so I can buzz to a 2 clip, or get it tattooed-- but I'm not getting any feed back in that area.

But, all in all, the doc gave me a good hour in addressing my concerns at a post op about 2 months ago. Also, we have cordial conversations when we talk. But, none of this erases the fact that my donor is not quite what I expected (this could be my expectations) and I think my scar is horrible. In my recalection,

[aaron1234]

JM,

 

I know EXACTLY what you mean when you say the sun outside / or bright lights makes your hair look really thin.. and then inside your hair can look great. I'm afraid this is the reality of HT's.

 

I do think your hair is MUCH improved. Maybe when you go outside for events you can sprinkle some toppik / nanogen to help out. I do on occasion.

 

But I agree with TC17... be happy you don't look like a freak right now!

 

As for the scar, give yourself time, don't rush into another procedure. It's not great but I doubt anyone really notices anything if you keep your hair long enough.

[Blake Bloxham]

Spex,

 

Thank you for sharing some additional photographs.

[TC17]

I misspoke earlier and I would like to correct myself. If your first HT doctor didn't at least talk to you about the pros and cons of FUE, then that was a failure on his part. Because you presented to Dr. Feller as a repair patient with an already present strip scar, FUE would have been a waste.

[BigBill1234]

What kind of closure was it? How wide is your scar?

[Sparky]

FUE wouldnt of been a waste as he didnt have his previous scar removed, so now he has 2.

[Sparky]

Your hair does look beter than it did before, but like you say pictures can make your hair look great even if it doesnt in the flesh.

[TC17]

I'm a fan of FUE, but I don't think it would have been appropriate for John Malloy, Sparky. Why pay over double when the primary benefit of FUE, that being the opportunity to cut your hair super short, was non existent for him? To me, growing your hair longer to cover one strip scar or to cover two strip scars makes no difference. I do realize that because his first scar was better he probably could have kept his hair shorter than he has to now, but is that worth the $20,000 that this would have cost if it was FUE? Only John can answer that question.

[Sparky]

I just plain dont like strip scars, no getting away from that, and he did end up with a wider scar so, like you said, only he can answer this.

[EpilepticSceptic]

Well, I must admit that after seeing the photos Spex posted it became unequivocally clear to me that Mr. Malloy's first HT was a complete disaster that rendered his chances of ever looking truly natural again to a minimum. IMO the original hairline was placed so low that John either wasn't in his right mind during the phase of the surgeon drawing the hairline, or that he actually approved of something that looks lower than the hairline of a 16 year old boy. I am a strong advocate of HT patient's taking a certain level of responsibilty for what the physician is allowed to do. If he approved of this and was really chasing a teenage hairline, then he qualifies IMO to be in the camp of those HT patients who make the most absurdly foolish decisions in the short term, that result in painfully stressful repercussions for the long term.

 

The goal from the first HT should have been what would look natural for the long term -- 40s, 50s, 60s. The hairline he has now is IMO far too low and far too broad to not cause him a problem in the future as he ages.

 

Also, why could the second strip not be taken from the first scar's location, excising the old scar with it ? Why would a patient allow a second scar if he had the option of only retaining one scar ? Why was that not the option ? It is common knowledge today on this forum (for the educated HT patient) that if strip sugery is done competently and pragmatically on the right patient with the right characteristics, then one should be able to receive 3 passes and still retain one scar.

 

So why did this case have to be different ? Dr. Feller has performed many surgeries to my knowledge where the plan was definitely to retain only one scar. :confused:

[Julius]

To be honest I am not impressed with the hair line.

John I think you should shave it first to see if it suits you before you get micro pigmentation which I am not a fan of, personally I would rather bht instead of it.

[stamos]

Also, why could the second strip not be taken from the first scar's location, excising the old scar with it ? Why would a patient allow a second scar if he had the option of only retaining one scar ? Why was that not the option ?

 

 

A patient would allow a 2nd scar only to allow doctor to harvest more grafts. Thats the only reason to have a second scar afaik

[John Malloy]

Well, I must admit that after seeing the photos Spex posted it became unequivocally clear to me that Mr. Malloy's first HT was a complete disaster that rendered his chances of ever looking truly natural again to a minimum. IMO the original hairline was placed so low that John either wasn't in his right mind during the phase of the surgeon drawing the hairline, or that he actually approved of something that looks lower than the hairline of a 16 year old boy. I am a strong advocate of HT patient's taking a certain level of responsibilty for what the physician is allowed to do. If he approved of this and was really chasing a teenage hairline, then he qualifies IMO to be in the camp of those HT patients who make the most absurdly foolish decisions in the short term, that result in painfully stressful repercussions for the long term.

 

The goal from the first HT should have been what would look natural for the long term -- 40s, 50s, 60s. The hairline he has now is IMO far too low and far too broad to not cause him a problem in the future as he ages.

 

Also, why could the second strip not be taken from the first scar's location, excising the old scar with it ? Why would a patient allow a second scar if he had the option of only retaining one scar ? Why was that not the option ? It is common knowledge today on this forum (for the educated HT patient) that if strip sugery is done competently and pragmatically on the right patient with the right characteristics, then one should be able to receive 3 passes and still retain one scar.

 

So why did this case have to be different ? Dr. Feller has performed many surgeries to my knowledge where the plan was definitely to retain only one scar. :confused:

That's a good question. I have no idea why the doc did not use the original scar. It was never discussed. Like I mentioned numerous times, after reading the docs reviews on this site combined with the doc's confidence of an easy fix, I thought I would be extremely happy by now.

[Maxxy]

That's a good question. I have no idea why the doc did not use the original scar. It was never discussed]

 

John Malloy,

 

Without question this should have been discussed. To most patients, any scarring post-op is one of the biggest concerns while going in to surgery, I'd say it is a very close second to yield (at least is and was for me).

 

As Dr. Feller planned to, and ultimately gave you a second scar, your permission to do so should have been given first. Even if you sat down in the chair and said "look, I trust you, do to me what you will" something so important should have been discussed in detail. I recently had a second procedure and taking the donor from a higher location than my first surgery would have resulted in me receiving more grafts, however, the consequences of this were discussed at length and in the end I opted for one scar. Maybe this was the reason behind the doctor's decision? Who knows. It's to late to do much about it now but I would definitely be asking the doctor some questions.

 

Your response to EpilepticSceptic gives the impression that you have not brought up this matter before and I have read in your previous posts of how well your first scar turned out. As such, perhaps the fact that you have two scars isn't an issue to you. Personally, if the first time I knew that I was going to have two scars was when I looked in the mirror after surgery, I'd be furious.

 

Like I mentioned numerous times, after reading the docs reviews on this site combined with the doc's confidence of an easy fix

 

Guys,

 

The doctors are the professionals - important aspects of the surgery such as this should be raised by them, however, if they are not you must make sure that you ask questions and be certain that the doctor knows your goals and wishes.

[stamos]

Most probably, the doctor tried to harvest max number of grafts, therefore he didn't even touch the initial scar, planing to deal with it at the next surgery. It is not such a big deal. I had exactly the same experience, although we discussed it with the doc, and I decided to go for max amount of grafts the first time. And my initial scar was pretty wide. I prefer to fix the recipient area first and then the donor area. Even the 2nd time I asked the doc to leave the wide scar as it was, and try harvest most grafts, but he insisted.

[Bill - Seemiller]

That's a good question. I have no idea why the doc did not use the original scar. It was never discussed

 

John,

 

Dr. Feller is very thorough and I find it hard to believe he didn't discuss his game plan with you before proceeding with surgery, especially something as crucial as scar placement. Are you sure you just don't remember?

 

Bill