HT-1 -> Good :: HT-2 -> Horrible (both surgery done in India)

[lostandgone]

Can somebody help me out with a flux capacitor. I want to go "Back into the Past" and correct the mistake i made.

 

 

The story goes like this. I started experiencing hair loss since my early 20's (2002ish). Didn't pay much attention to it (a big NO NO) and let it go by. By 2004, it became a lot that i could/did not go out without a cap on my head. Come 2005, the amazon forest turned into a crop field suffering from a drought. This is visible in the first picture. Me, being in hyderabad, India had only two options/doctors. Dr.Ashok or Dr. Ravindra. This was the time when these two were working together. Got an appointment and had the surgery done in Feb 2005. Surgery was done by Dr. Ravindra.

 

Time passes by, the baldness look kinda recedes and hair is visible on my head. Alls fine and dandy. Honestly i was impressed by the results, definitely less than what i was expecting (damn TV ads!!) but enough to regain my confidence and stay out without any issues. The crown was not attented to citing reasons for insufficient hair with the strip. Since my knowledge about HT was zero at that time, i dont have any counts on grafts etc.

 

Come 2008, welcome to the USA. Started gaining some knowledge as exposure was a lot more to the subject of HT (not sufficient though..why..you'll know later). At that time my hair was fine, no issues. Get to thinking about having the crown area also filledup. So, i go back to hyderabad, India to get the second HT done. Since I was not dissapointed with the first HT, i decided to go back to Dr.Ravindra. I aint ashamed to admit, yes the cost factor was also a major criteria in that decision of mine. (approx $1000 for each procedure). The pics show my front left and right and crown area. The doc suggested that he could and would fill up the crown and the temple areas due the reduced density in the front. I give in. I dont see anything wrong with that. 2 pics show the procedure adopted by Dr.Ravindra for the surgery (shaving etc). The scar also seems fine, extremely thin. So the Analysis so far is... first HT surgery by Dr.Ravindra a success which would make the second HT a confident and more success story.

 

Unfortunately, like the Law and Order series, there is a suddent turn of events in this story my friends...

 

 

I have absolutely no clue why there was a second scar required. This second surgery ruined it all. The pics speak for themselves. The temple areas both sides lost more hair than it had pre-second-surgery. The crown seems the same or maybe worse. Those damn scars, both left and right side have a area of approx 1-2 cm of damage. Have no clue why this happened or how it happened. When asked, the genius doc tells me that its the stretching of the skin. I so repent my decision to go back to Dr. Ravindra for the second HT. Looking at what was done, i fear if I can get this repaired. Can i get another HT to have just one thin scar with possible population of the temple areas atleast so that i dont look like a fizzed out soda. I dont know if I have the right to disapprove my doc. But based on my pics and my experience you guys can make the judgement yourselves. As for me, I pretty well know that I aint going to his clinic.

 

Any advise ??

 

 

P.S: pardon me for my analogies. I make fun of my issues and troubles which helps me actually from being bothered by them.

 

 

 

[ej]

Hi lost and gone ,

Your scars appear to be similar to mine , I have had some great feedback from Dr Lynsey regarding scar revision he seems to be somewhat of an expert on scars ! . Look at some of the feedback and results relating to scar revision .

It looks like you have shock loss in the scar area this may or may not grow back a few people reccommend minoxidil regain , again it may help .

Good Luck

ej

[lostandgone]

Hey ej.. Its been a year since the surgery. If nothing happened in 1 year, i dont think i can expect hair in that area. I am hoping that maybe a third surgery can remove that scar. Do correct me if I am wrong.

 

I have been using 5% Rogaine and finasteride 1mg for the past few years.

[ej]

Hi lost and gone ,

If you are going for a third surgery go with a COALITION DR RECCOMENDED ON THIS SITE .

Check out Dr Lynsey and results on Scar revision and do not let travel or distance affect your choice of Doc .

I have had shock loss around my last scar for 8 years so I guess it isnt coming back !!

There is a doc in Pakistan reccomended on here who has posted some impressive results and has good feedback from his patients may be worth a consultation . Keep me posted on your progress Im going to USA get fixed hopefully , I will meet with Doc Lynsey and post feedback and results .

Also you say 2nd transplant done in 08 you may just be a slow grower , wait a while and do your research there are some great scar improvements pics on this site research " double layer suture " and tryco closure I think im right in thinking most coalition docs use these techniques . All is not lost there are some great before and after repair photos of scars available on this site .

Good luck with the research let me know how you go on .

ej

[lostandgone]

Thnx ej for your support and advice. I'll definitely check the posts you mentioned abt scar revision. It would be great if you could post or send me some pics of yours HT/scars to look and understand more. Also when are you coming here and meeting with Dr.Lynsey.

 

Take care..

[ej]

Hi Lost and gone ,

When I get me head around how to upload photos I will do ! Technology is not really my strong point .

At the moment I have had in total 5 procedures . The last one did the damage re Scars left and right rear of my head ,from your pictures mine are very similar .

I want to come over April / May and have a consult with Dr Lynsey so I will keep you posted , are you currently residing in the US ? I hope to get the repair work done when im over so i will get the photos uploaded and post full before and afters , I know its not much help but I grew my hair longer at the back to hide the scars made life a bit easier but now I want them revising , I think it may be a 3 part process 1 Reduce the scar 2 I year later reduce it again 3 Any spare donor to the front and top !!

Will keep you posted

Ej

Ps check out Dr Vogel as well done some fab repairs

[hair_care]

Sorry to hear about that. But getting a hair transplant done in India is a big No-NO. If you look carefully at your hairline you can see a very pluggy appearance. This is not the ultra refined technique done by top coalition docs. Be wise and for your third surgery go to a top doc like Feller, Rahal, Hasson and Wong, Shapiro or any other doc recommended in the coalition.

[lostandgone]

Thanks hair_care. I definitely am planning to get a consultation and third HT done with the top docs here. I only wished I had better exposure to this site and/or world of HT before my second surgery. I hope, third time's a charm and it works wonders for me....

[hdude46]

lostandgone...not only go to a coalition doc, but to a WORLD CLASS SURGEON. You look like you need major repair work and a lot of graphs. If it were me, I would go to Hasson and Wong, they can take care of you in one large session. Dont let money hold you back, its very important you dont screw this one up.

[hair_care]

I agree with hdude46, This could be your last chance. Your donor area must be pretty tapped out already. Hasson and Wong will probably be able to fix a large part of this , provided you have the donor area available. I feel you will need 4000+ grafts to fix this up.

[kaounis]

Before you decide on doing a third HT, you must first establish what your goals are. Do you want to cover the scar? Or do you want to increase density in the front and maybe crown? Unfortunatly, when a scar is that bad, the yield will be very low, even with a strip of 25-28 cm and 1-1.3 cm, most of it will be scar tisue, the more scar tisue the less FU's there are. It's a bitch, but that is the way it is.....To give you an example. I had 23 cm long by 14mm wide strip, the original scar was about 3-4 mm, donor density in that area was 73 fu per cm square, my Dr. got 1903 fu, to get 4000 fu, from your area would be impossible, unless you go for FUE, and even then it will leave your donor area very thin. I think you should really think about what is more important, and then consult with as many top surgeons as you can to get the proper treatment....That is the reality of multiple HT....I wish you luck my friend.

 

 

Just a thought from the peanut gallery...

[lostandgone]

All,

I wanted to share an update with you regarding the decision that i had to make recently. For the past few months I had been researching and also did have few consultations with recommended docs from this forum. Some were good , some were scary and some were just plain interesting... There was one consultation experience I had which I would say was over the top and made my decision a lot easier and made me ready for a new HT.

 

The doc is Dr.Ron Shapiro.

 

I live in the Baltimore area, and i did submit my pics to the Shapiro group and received a detailed consultation from Matt Zupan. There was something about this consultation as it put me at ease at very beginning, be it the friendly approach or the educational explanation. Due to my complex hair structure and terrible scars on both sides of my head, it was difficult to come up with a clear solution as to whether treating the scars would be a good approach or FUE or a strip. Fortunately, Matt mentioned that Dr. Shapiro would be in the Maryland area the next weekend and I was told that Dr. Shapiro would be willing to visit me in person for a better consultation in person. I might say that statement gave me a trust in this group, as I dont recall any doc who would go out of their way to provide a consultation when they are on a private/personal trip.

 

The weekend arrives, and me with all the anxiety and ready with a barrage of questions head over to the location, where I could meet Dr. Shapiro. I believe we had discussed the procedure and solutions for over and hour. And the best solution, Dr.Shapiro suggested which i definitely agreed was to have two transplants to get better and fuller and less scar head.

 

The first HT would primarily be concentrated on the strip removal procedure. So it would be a normal strip procedure but targeting the scar. Once the strip is removed, any grafts that would/can be retrieved would be transplanted towards the frontal section. Also Dr. Shapiro suggested that my current hairline was incorrect, so he said, he punch out few of the existing hairs from the side of the hairline and push it back to provide a better look.

 

That would be the first HT procedure.

 

The second HT would be after few months once the scar has healed, there would a FUE method to concentrate on the mid and the area between the crown and mid area. This would give me a look of a guy who might have some hair ...

 

And the date for the first HT is set for JAN 7th 2010.

 

I hope this decision of mine is definitely a correct one and would put me in a better position when I look at my head in the mirror.

 

Please do provide me any suggestions or advices that may be helpful to me. If possible please could someone suggest a good financier and the cost of these procedures are not small....

[HaiRisWhere]

Dr Shapiro is a top doc.it will be a positive outcome.Hope for the best

 

Best wishes

[bighosedragger]

lost and done.....i will be at dr. shapiros on the 4th and the 5th. Im getting a little anxious! what day will you be in the area?

[lostandgone]

bighosedragger.. i'l be flying in 6th night...

[kumar_mo]

Hi lostandgone,

Oh my dear!!! Why do I always try to check into the train after it left the station. I always buy first and then do the home work later. No matter how many years add up to my life, I still don't learn the lesson :-)

 

I read the entire posting, and saw your pictures. Interesting, and Kudos to you that you are further persuing this.

 

Coming to me, I lost so much of hair, and never really bothered about it. However since couple of my friends went to Hyderabad(India) and got the HT done for $1000(<$1500), I have been tempted to do it, but I let one full year gone by. In the end I decided to jump in, but for various reasons(no vacation, getting delayed, want to get it done at any cost etc.,) I went to local Bosley here, and got it done 2 days ago. This is my 3rd day. Doc's name is Dr David Phillps. He said he is from Boston's Bosley office, but he was here on a visit. Anyways, he said he got 2374 grafts for me, and Bosley charged $10,500.

 

Needless to say that I didn't read, nor did I do any on-line reading...Nada..NOPE. I just went to Bosley because I see lots of their commercials and came to the conclusion that they are probably leaders.

 

Anyway, now that I have been reading a lot in the last 2 days of resting period..I learn a lot, and I have been second-guessing my decision of getting it done in USA. I was thinking that I should have gotten it done in Hyderabad. (I learnt Dr Ashok and Dr Madhu's names in the last 2 days from on-line).

 

Reading your story confronts my second-guessing though. .I will post my pictures tomorrow, as it's too late in the night. However, what do you think..was it better on my part to get this done at Bosley in USA, as opposed to Hyderabad, where i could have saved at least $9000?

 

Also, I am very concerned about your progress. You said you were scheduled for Jan 7th, what happened. You think you have received what you were hoping for? Please update my friend. I will be in touch with you.

 

Kumar_MO

[bighosedragger]

lostandgone....was wondering how your surgury went??? i hope everything went well. i know you were in great hands.