HT Soon, with Dr. Gabel

[OtherSyde]

Hello, my name is James and I'm currently based around Seattle, WA. I've been lurking on this site and others like it for literally years, pining over a hair transplant. Recently I finished killing off the last of my credit card debt (never again... ugh...) and saved up some cash, so I researched a couple of the top surgeons on this site and came to Dr. Gabel, based partially on results and partially on proximity (roughly a 1-hour flight down to Hillsboro, OR).

 

So, I recently scheduled a consult with him in his Seattle office. I went today, and gathered a little more information, and formulated a plan.

 

Dr. Gabel and I chatted and discussed options. I have to say I was very surprised at his honesty; since FUE is more expensive, and I'd heard it was more detailed and less scarring, and also since I went into the consult hell-bent on FUE, I fully expected any hair-restoration doc to tout it, and also to try and sell me on as many grafts as possible on the first transplant. But he explained that in my case, since I'm still fairly young for a transplant patient (27) and also have a family history of baldness, it would be best to stick around a conservative number like 1,500 to 1,800 in order to conserve donor areas for later. Also, he totally sold me on the strip-FUE instead of regular FUE due to the better quality/quantity of the grafts and having more of the healthy, insulating fatty-flesh remaining around each follicle unit after their extraction from the strip, and also due to the far lower likelihood of transection (accidentally cutting a hair in two; this happens during regular FUE due to the inability to tell which angle the hair is embedded in the scalp, and therefore sticking the punch-tool in at the wrong angle; this potentially wastes a lot of hairs).

 

Dr. Gabel is quite an upbeat and professional fellow, seems very passionate about his work. Maybe because he is one of the very few at the top of the field, maybe because he and a limited number of others are blazing a new trail in this field of surgery/medicine, maybe because his work certainly seems to be a lot more of an art form than most fields of medicine, making it so much more riveting and creative and presenting a unique challenge each time instead of just dolling out prescriptions for pills. Definitely the most lively, upbeat doctor I've ever talked to. Very optimistic, but down-to-earth and honest about expectations; an enthusiastic professional, not a salesman with a bag of tricks.

 

We discussed options, and took some pictures...

 

 

 

 

I seem to be roughly a Norwood 3 Vertex, and my primary goal is to bring my frontal hairline down about 0.5cm to 1cm and strengthen it up, restore my faded widow's-peak, thicken up my frontal-scalp region, and mildly fill in my silver-dollar-sized bald/thin spot at my vertex. Maybe thicken up my receded/thinning temple hair just a bit if there is time and resources available.

 

I'm working fast to pull together the flight, hotel, scattered-but-ample financial means, and permission paperwork from the Navy to get this done (yes, they make you do that) so I can get this done in about three days... Mega-short notice! I wasn't expecting to actually schedule a procedure for several more months, but I go on a two-week holiday leave period in two days and Gr. Gabel said he had an open appointment date on the 30th! I'm so stoked! I will continue to provide updates to this thread, so stay tuned.

Edited January 2, 2011 by OtherSyde
Spelling, clarity

[YouOnlyLiveOnce]

1500 grafts is on the low end of the scale. It would be nice to see some overhead shots to better assess your loss. You're thinned out up front but overall it seems you've maintained your hairline pretty well.

 

If you haven't completely made up your mind, I would also consider H&W as a trip up to BC should be about the same as Hillsboro. H&W will typically pay for your hotel and depending on how flexible you are and how quick you can get in there, they sometimes can give you a better rate by filling in on a cancellation appointment [that's what I did]. Just something to think about.

 

My only experience with Gabel wasnt great. I contacted his clinic in an effort to obtain a prescription for FIN. I had a HT in October and currently get my prescription filled and sent to me from a canadian pharmacy. I'm only about 20 minutes from Gabels clinic so I was hoping to swing by and pick it up in person simply to avoid having to have it sent via USPS. I never heard back from there so that's the only impression I have of them.

 

Good luck with whomever you choose. You're leaps and bounds ahead of the pack by doing your research and coming to this forum. I'm sure you'll get great results at either place

 

Also, If you're interested in seeing a HT in person, I'll be up in Seattle Weds afternoon. I'm close to 3 months post-op and while my growth isnt extravagant at this point I can already see the cosmetic difference and it will kind of give you an idea on what to expect with growth and the scar.

 

If interested shoot me a PM and I'll send you the cellular #

[RodG]

Hi,

 

Sounds like you have done your research and if Doctor Gabel if a recommended HT surgeon on this site you should be in good hands (sorry I live overseas). Just curious to know how you decided on your temple layout? Did you have some old photos for Doctor Gabel to review?

 

Regards

 

Rod

[OtherSyde]

I will post some top-down shots later today; I certainly have plenty of them from monitoring my progress over the months/years.

 

I've now booked my flight for Wednesday afternoon, and can't wait to get there! It was toe-to-toe between him and H&W. I've only seen great results from Dr. Gabel's office, so I'm pretty confident he will do me very well.

[OtherSyde]

OK here's a top-down from a bit over a year ago that I dug up...

 

 

Thinning level is about the same now, since I've been on Propecia and now Dutasteride for about a year and a half now. The crown/vertex has gotten a little worse, and the front hairline is pretty wispy and thin now.

[OtherSyde]

OK here are a few from today. This is when I had just gotten home; my hair is a little stringy because I'd been at work on a big dirty ship, wearing a hard-hat all day, but this sort of represents a real-world scenario, the way people might see you hair in a regular situation or if it were wet from the rain, swimming, sweating, etc.

 

 

 

In the second one, the only real bald spot is in the center where you can actually see skin; the camera flash is glaring off of my hair in a big circular area around the center spot; that area is mildly thinning as well though. It's so hard to get a good top-down shot! I tried like 4 times.

[OtherSyde]

After cleaning up and changing and washing my hair, this is more how it might appear in a better situation:

 

 

 

 

 

 

And this is my true hairline, revealed. It's actually gotten quite high. I am really, REALLY looking forward to having it lowered a half-centimeter or so and strengthened/thickened, and my widow's peak restored; that would really frame my face better I think.

 

 

EDIT: Holy crap I am so pale, I've been in Washington too long... I can't wait to move to Hawaii and get a tan

Edited January 2, 2011 by OtherSyde
Clarification

[OtherSyde]

OK! Well, if you've gotten this far in this thread, it's time to jump on over to the actual procedure! I documented everything as it progressed, and described the experience in full! See here:

 

http://www.hairrestorationnetwork.com/eve/158956-live-surgery-dr-gabel.html