Questions about HT, Dr. Rahal, and surgeons in Canada

[unitedwestand]

Hi all,

 

Just had some questions regarding hair restoration in general. There is so much information on this great website. I've come across a lot of posts suggesting that in Canada, Dr. Rahal and Hasson&Wong are trusted names among others, and that they operate on many from around the world.

 

Regarding Dr. Rahal, does any know if he considers follicular unit extraction for some patients, i read some recent posts that suggest he tried it but went back to FUT with strip method which as you all know leaves that scar. I also read the main problem he faces and many who try it, is low yields with follicular unit extraction. Is there any truth to this.

 

Also, for people that have had HT's, I'm not interested in taking propecia long term or rogaine post transplant, if I go through with it, is there any need for these agents after a good HT?

 

Lastly, I'm in my early 20's and have experienced significant crown loss and my hairline, although intact, has thinned and is thinning significantly. Are HT surgeons reluctant to work on such young scalps? Do they like to wait until the "true" degree of baldness stabilizes later on in life to consider you a good candidate. I understand that some get good transplants but several years later or maybe just a few years later require further transplants as more density is lost as "DHT/gene" sensitive folliciles dwindle away?

 

thanks to all the members,

 

unitedWeRise

[TakingThePlunge]

unitedwestand,

 

Welcome to this community! You've come to the right place.

 

Since you have not provided any photos for evaluation, I can't really give my opinion regarding whether or not you are a candidate for hair transplantation. I can tell you that your assumption is correct that many physicians will consider you too young. It really has more to do with your degree of loss than age but most guys your age have not yet developed their full balding pattern.

 

I can understand your reluctance to use Propecia (finasteride) and or Rogaine (minoxidil) for the rest of your life. Believe me, no one here wants to do that. However, the reality is that male pattern balding is progressive and these medications (finasteride especially) help to slow the balding process in a great many patients. Most doctors insist upon it. If you choose not to use medications, you will most likely end up chasing your hair loss with subsequent procedures until you run out of donor hair. The is not a certainty but it's true for most.

 

I do know that Dr. Rahal recently began offering FUE but I'm not certain as to whether or not he has stopped. You may want to sent a PM to Adrian Dr. Rahal's patient advisor for more information.

 

Best of luck!

[mattj]

Hello unitedwestand,

 

Dr Rahal is most definitely offering FUE. The procedure takes time to master and it isn't a good idea to just jump into it. Dr Rahal now feels he can match his strip results with FUE.

 

All doctors highly recommend taking propecia to hold off further hairloss. You don't say why you're reluctant to take the medication, but my advice is to give it a try and not let the negative experiences that some have put you off. This could be the difference between putting a halt to your loss and seeing it quickly progress to the highest Norwood levels. Taking one little pill daily is worthwhile.

If you're young and losing hair fast then it might be best to wait until you're aware of the full extent of your hairloss pattern before choosing to undergo surgery. I hope this helps.

Edited October 25, 2010 by mattj

[Michael5577]

I'm curious how Dr. Rahal's FUE results compare with his FUT. Is he getting comparable results? Is there a greater loss of grafts using the FUE method? Percentages/loss? Risks? Should a client worry that he won't get as good a HT? We know that Dr. Rahal is very good using the FUT, but he doesn't have much of a track record using the FUE. We also know that he's new to it and that he previously abandoned FUE.

[mattj]

I don't think it's correct to say that he abandoned FUE. Dr Rahal has built a reputation as a very good strip doctor and has been extremely busy with that. It's fair to say that this steady workload meant that there was no immediate pressure to launch himself as a FUE doctor, even though lots of people had been asking for it.

I believe it was a case of learning the technique sort of in the background over the years, and there might possibly have been ups and downs leading to the 'abandoned' rumour. It takes time to learn new things, especially when busy, and it wouldn't be good to rush into it when the consequences could be unhappy patients and a tarnished reputation. Some doctors may have learnt that the hard way. Dr Rahal is confident that next year, when recent patients have advanced through the growing stages, that he will have proven that with FUE he can match his strip results. Just stay tuned and be patient.