Need help ASAP...considering HT

[daley08]

Hi All,

 

Basically im hoping to have some feedback from questions I have regarding a HT. I have been thinking about doing this procedure for a while, and would like to have a quality surgeon. However I live in Sydney Australia, and after using the interactive map, there is no one suggested in Sydney. I guess my first question is to any Dr's or previous patients, advise me of surgeons in Sydney that are highly regarded for quality work.

 

Having looked at the available chart, I believe I would be a norwood 6. Im 33 yo, and looking at possible side and back donor areas, they are thick with possible donor hair. I know without seeing a photo and face to face consultation its hard to be exact, but I am just hoping for some ' approximate guesstimates ' to some of my questions , which would be greatly appreciated asap as im considering going in for a consultation in the next day or 2.

 

Some info about me, I believe I would be a norwood 6. Im 33 yo, and looking at possible side and back donor areas, they are thick with possible donor hair. looking at other photos of other people and using the calculator, id say I would roughly need around 5000 - 6000 grafts, and the calculator is stating that I need app 13500 - 14000 hairs.

 

My questions , assuming the info I give is correct, can this procedure be done in one day ? If not how many roughly and timeframes between procedures ?

 

If i currently have my head shaved, is that more difficult for the surgeon to take the hair from the donor area ? ( its shaved on about a 1 ) Will I need it to grow longer to go through with the procedure.

 

I work in construction and need to wear hardhats, after how long roughly would I be able to wear a hard hat at work, and also normally how long will it take for the scabs , scarring etc to not be noticeable after surgery. Basically I dont want to go to work and people know ive had surgery.

 

I exercise regularly , running and weights. how long would I need to wait after surgery to resume these activities.

 

A rough guide to possible cost in US dollars assuming what im saying is correct.

 

I like to have my head shaved normally anyway, but with the grafts I believe I need being very high, hence I think it will be a large scar, will having my head shaved on a 2-3 have the transplanted hair look unnatural. Do most people have the hair longer to hide scars, and how well do the donor scars heal ?

 

If the hair transplant doesnt fully work, I can handle that as I dont look to bad with a shaved head , this is more of an improvement thing im doing. However one thing I really dont want is to have thousands of little scars over my scalp, never growing hair, and looking way worse then I do now, is this a possibility ?

 

As stated if people could answer all of my questions asap, it would be greatly appreciated. Cheers and have a nice day / night

[wb280]

hi there! welcome to the forum! Basically, u are a 33yr with a NW6 pattern. Thats rough mate. To cut things short, i would think that FUE would not be suitable due to various reasons whereby u can search for all the information in this forum! Slowly, but surely, u will gradually understand the vast difference between FUE and FUT. There are 2 sides to the coin as to which is better.

 

Take your time matey and best of luck!

[daley08]

Sorry,

 

I should of stated all questions were in regards to the strip technique . I have been looking at this forum for on and off for about 6 months, so yes I believe the strip technique is better for me due to the large amount of grafts etc I will need. If anyone could answer my questions that would be great, as im currently not working, hence I thought if im going to do it, its a great time to get it done now.

 

Cheers

[kaounis]

If you don't want to travel, check out Dr.Woods....If you say you are a Nw 6, then assume 1000 FU per Nw level, so about 5000 to 6000 Fu's for complete restoration.....One question though, if you are already shaving your head, why don't you stay that way and forget about HT,s? You have no idea how many guys on this site would give a left nut to be able to shave their heads, without any scars! A transplanted head of hair will never look completely natural when shaved and don't beleive anyone who tells you otherwise! Once you embarke on the HT route, there is no turning back....Keep smiling:)

 

 

Just a thought from the peanut gallery....

[Jotronic]

My questions , assuming the info I give is correct, can this procedure be done in one day ? If not how many roughly and timeframes between procedures ?

 

If i currently have my head shaved, is that more difficult for the surgeon to take the hair from the donor area ? ( its shaved on about a 1 ) Will I need it to grow longer to go through with the procedure.

 

I work in construction and need to wear hardhats, after how long roughly would I be able to wear a hard hat at work, and also normally how long will it take for the scabs , scarring etc to not be noticeable after surgery. Basically I dont want to go to work and people know ive had surgery.

 

I exercise regularly , running and weights. how long would I need to wait after surgery to resume these activities.

 

With strip, about two weeks for running, four weeks for heavy weights.

 

A rough guide to possible cost in US dollars assuming what im saying is correct.

 

Anywhere from 15,000 to 20,000 depending on how many grafts you get. Understand however that 5000 to 6000 grafts is not in the cards for everyone that needs it. The average patient, in our clinic anyway, can get between 4000 and 4500 grafts in an single sitting. Since we are known for getting more in one session than other clinics I think this could be considered gospel for you. Work on your scalp as much as you can with scalp exercises and the change of getting more grafts willl increase. However, even 6000 grafts may or may not give you "complete" coverage because coverage means different things to different people. Some think coverage is acceptable as very light and very see through density. Some insist that density must be thick in order to be acceptable coverage. Most I think recognize that coverage should be somewhere in between.

 

I like to have my head shaved normally anyway, but with the grafts I believe I need being very high, hence I think it will be a large scar, will having my head shaved on a 2-3 have the transplanted hair look unnatural. Do most people have the hair longer to hide scars, and how well do the donor scars heal ?

 

The transplanted hairs, if placed correctly, should look no different than native hairs. The donor hair is usually grown a bit longer than you are used to in order to hide the scar. Some patients can get away with a #2 guard but most need a #3 and some may need a #4. Donor density can play a role in this, the higher the better.

 

If the hair transplant doesnt fully work, I can handle that as I dont look to bad with a shaved head , this is more of an improvement thing im doing. However one thing I really dont want is to have thousands of little scars over my scalp, never growing hair, and looking way worse then I do now, is this a possibility ?

 

I know that with the lateral slit technique performed correctly, if you were to shave your head, you would not have visible recipient site scarring. I say this after having seen my own scalp shaved as well as countless others. The donor area however is a different story. The scar will always be there. In fact, this could be the case for FUE if you went that route as well as I've seen dozens of patients in our office that tried to shave and still could not because of the dot scarring.

 

Btw, as a construction worker, you need to wait about two weeks before you wear your hard hat.

 

I hope my answers have helped.

[daley08]

Thanks a lot for your detailed answers.

 

Its still something im tossing up, I will have a bit more of a think about it over the weekend.

 

Im keen on having hair again, however not keen on a big scar , time off work etc.

 

thanks again for taking the time to answer !!

[Tom60]

i never understood why people would get a ht and then shave their heads?? can someone please enlighten me on this?

[scar5]

Seeming you are determined to have strip on account of needing high numbers and one day, I wish you the best, but I would draw your attention to a fellow who has posted having 4500 grafts form Dr. Umar over three days, especially in the light of some who say it is a known fact that FUE suits small. But the comment I would really like to comment on is this one - particularly pertinent for a mindset ala shaving

 

 

I really dont want is to have thousands of little scars over my scalp, never growing hair, and looking way worse then I do now, is this a possibility ?

I've seen dozens of patients in our office that tried to shave and still could not because of the dot scarring.

.

 

I have had close to 3000 FUE and can run a razor over it without a problem. I buzz to grade 3 and my strip scars, good and bad ones are very obvious.

 

Just wanna say in case people ares still getting frightened of FUE because a) dot scars are guaranteed and you wont be able to wear your hair short -standard fear tactic- b) believe that phisiology determines FUE is suitable for small jobs

 

I really hope some other posters have the bottle to criticise this kind of thing too.

 

Best and good luck

[daley08]

Thanks for your response regarding the head shaving...

 

I have grown my hair ( when I had it for a couple of years, but personally I liked it, and thought it looked better shorter )

 

As for why would you do a HT , just to shave your head.. Well I like to shave it on a 2-3 , and when I could do that , it looks a lot better , than a shiny scalp !! Im still considering it, but thanks very much for the continued feedback.

[Tom60]

i wouldnt say a 2-3 is shaving the head haha. that is actually the usual for people with hts.

[Thehairupthere]

Welcome to the forum. First I would like to mention that distance should not take part in your decision for a proper natural looking hair transplantation procedure. We know travel can be expensive, but many doctors offer travel discounts for patients who are coming from abroad and could very well cover those expenses. So it is much wiser to do this right the first time, because so many unfortunatley have not gone to the right surgeon.

 

As for your other questions shaving your head down before treatment does not have any negative effect for the surgeon during the procedure in fact it makes it easier for them to see what they have to work with, but it will make your donor scar and stitches noticable, so most recommend keeping your hair at about 1 inch length to cover those stitches. But that decision is entirely yours if you're comfortable with that, then that's just fine.

 

If the number you stated is correct (about 5000 grafts) it can be done in one day depending on your skin elasticity. If your skin does not cooperate then the number may be less and you may have to come in again for further treatment, and in many cases people do need to come in for additional procedures to add density, especially in a Norwood 6.

 

If you wear a hard hat you shouldn't wear one for at least one week as they tend to be heavy and can put pressure on the grafts before they are ready. I wouldn't recommend going back to work especially since you're in construction and I assume your work tends to be very strenous by carrying very heavy materials etc and therefore you should, again take off one week. Same goes for excercize. If you are an overseer, not doing anything physical then you could return to work the following day.

 

The cost for about 5000 grafts would be about 17k to about 20k and many doctors offer financing options and again travel discounts.

 

If you want to keep your head shaved after the procedure keeping it at a level 2 or 3 on a razor would be the right thing to do as your scar could be noticable if it's any shorter. Since you are Norwood 6 the procedure will give you a nice change in your appearance but again you may want to add extra density in the future to make it look better do not expect it to be as thick and lush as if you were 15, it could look better if you grew it out. There is one scar from this procedure you will not have several scars so only expect to have one pencil thin scar.

 

Looking worse after surgery really depends on your donor supply, to see that you have enough to give you the proper look, this would be established in a consultation in office or by an online consultation with photos. If your donor is limited then perhaps you are not a great candidate and wont' be pleased with the results that you will attain, but if your donor supply has enough then it should look great, once again don't expect it to be as thick as a teenagers but a nice change reminding you of the time when you were starting to thin and not have it be too noticable yet.