Please help - FUT now or wait?

[GeHairDo]

First I would like to thank you for a great hair loss forum, which has educated me and helped me a lot over the years.

I have never posted here before, but as I am seriously considering taking the hair transplant route now I have some questions I hope you guys will be able to help me with.

I am 29 years old, curently living in Belgium, and have been losing my hair for about 5-6 years. I have been taking propecia, minoxdil (foam once a day) and nizoral for the last 3-4 years and it has somewhat helped stabilizing my hair loss. My current hair loss is a NW3 pattern so it is basically "just" the temples and hairline that is of concern to me.

I have come to a point where I am now sick and tired of trying to style my hair and covering up my bald temples. I am constantly aware of my hairline and I hate windy weather (I guess some of you guys trying to cover your hair loss with the remaining hair can relate to this).

I tried just to buzz my head 4 years ago but unfortunately I don't look good with a buzzed head because of a tall and narrow freaking head which has a kind of "bump" on the crown. Consequently, buzzing my head and forgetting about my hair loss is a bit difficult for me.

I am considering having my hair line reestablished with FUT with Rahal or Shapiro. I have been told that I need approx. 2000-2500 grafts to address my concerns. I really feel that I have been doing my research over the years now and that my expectations are realistic.

The reason why I am considering FUT is mainly because I don't look good with a buzzed head so the FUE doesn't really make sense to me as I would not buzz my head in the future. Consequently, choosing a procedure which limits my donor hair and probably has lower yield than FUT does not seem like the best thing to do.

However, I am scared sh*tless of having a strip removed from my head. I am scared of the fact that even with a great doc you a never really guaranteed a pencil thin scar and high yield. There are so many uncertainties with hair transplantation (even with the best docs). And there are so many uncertainties with hair loss. I am now 29 with a NW3 pattern. Where will I end up? My father has all his hair (a NW1) but my grandfather (my father's side) was a NW6 (the only person in my family with hair loss – besides me). This is also why I am considering strip as I don't want to come short of donor hair (mine is above average) if/when I progress further down the NW scale. Going with FUE and coming short of donor hair I would have to buzz my head and reveal my oddly shaped head (which is of cause better than having no yield with FUT and revealing an oddly shaped head and a stretched smiley scar – this would be worst case scenario).

With all of the above mentioned concerns I am considering waiting 3-4 years for Histogen, Acell, etc. instead of having FUT procedure now (and scar on the back of my head for the rest of my life). I don't expect e.g. Histogen to restore my hairline completely. If Histogens works (and won't be delayed) I'm thinking of restoring the remaining hairline with FUE (maybe plucking with Acell if it works) at that time - after having seen what amount of hair Histogen may grow on my hairline and temples. FUE would then make more sense to me as I would hopefully not have to worry about coming short of donor hair.

Then again I hate my current hair loss situation. And I would hate to wait another 3-4 years (I truly believe or hope that this is the time frame - I know that we have been informed of "cures" within 5-10 years for 20 years now but I believe the companies are finally on to something - if not a cure then as least something to hold onto until a cure somes out) for a product (Histogen, Acell etc.) that may not even work and then have a FUT procedure anyway.

What do you guys think? Should I go with FUT (and hope for good yield and a pencil thin scar) now or should I wait given my above mentioned concerns?

Thank you so much hearing me out.

GeHairDo

[Spanker]

I am/have been so in your boat and we have alomst the exact situation. Except my head looks like a Shar Pei and is not not just pointy..

 

I am heavily leaning strip because I never plan on shaving my head anyway. If I wanted to shave my head, I would not bother with an HT. Also, life is pretty short. I don't want to wait 10 years for the next big thing to come around. Who is to say that I will even live that long?? In the mena time I would just obsess over my hairling and what I hate about it. Finally, the yield is the most important thing to me about my HT, so that is why I am leaning so heavily to strip.

[corvettester]

GeHAirDo,

 

Your story is almost exactly the same as mine: same age, same NW level, deep temples, fair skin, I will never shave my head. I too refused to wait in the vain hope of cloning or some new technology because, either way, I wouldn't want to be among the first to try it out.

 

My temple recession was even worse than yours. I thought that it was obvious to everyone that I grew my hair long to minimize it. However, I recently told a couple friends of mine about my HT and they told me that they had never realized that my hair was receding because I hid it so well-- they're not the type of friends to sugarcoat things either... we bust on each other for any and all reasons!

 

I chose to undergo my first HT 7 months ago at the age of 29. I closed my temples and reestablished my hairline. However, I'm still in the ugly duckling phase as it stands now. I still have a lot of maturing to do and hopefully a little more growing.

 

Being torn between SMG or Rahal is a very good position to be in-- it shows that you've done your homework. I think your expectations are very realistic and I'm almost surprised that Rahal didn't recommend 3,000 grafts. Either way, you're all set for an outstanding result.

 

Of course, make sure to do even more research and that you're are aware of all the potential risk and pitfalls. I totally agree with you that now is the time to do something, you're not getting any younger. These are the best years of your life; to that end, you should enjoy them to the fullest.

 

 

Corvettester

[GeHairDo]

Spanker. I totally agree. I feel like I have waited long enough and spend enough time worrying and being self conscious about my hair line. Waiting 5 years for nothing to come out would really suck. Hopefully, If I go with FUT this would be the only procedure as Histogen etc. hopefully would be able to grow/strengthen hair behind the hairline when/if my hair loss progresses. Sorry to hear about the dog scalp situation. You should really consider starting propecia if you haven't already started.

 

Corvettester. Couldn't agree more. Your hairline looks great by the way. And you still have 5 months or so of regrowth. I would love have the same result. Actually I think my hairline has receeded a bit more than yours before surgery but my hair style (or lack there of) kind of covers it up. I am looking for a bit conservative approach regarding placement of my hairline (due to potential future hair loss and the fact that I have always had a bit high forehead even as a kid, so I am kind of used to it) so if I go with Rahal I would ask him for a bit conservative hairline. A straight thick hairline would simply not look that good on me.

[GeHairDo]

Any other thoughts of what I should do?

[whathappensnext]

my hairline was like your in the same NW region as well. high temples, fair skin (i'm pretty fair for an asian). maybe my temple was slightly higher than yours. but i'm 27.

 

i just had my HT done 1 week ago... so yea....

[GeHairDo]

Whathappensnext. Congratulations with doing something about it. I hope it looks good and that you don't regret anything dispite of "the ugly duckling fase" we have to go through after surgery. I guess you had strip surgery?

[HARIRI]

Well, Rahal and SMG are great choices however i tend to like Rahal more for a strip. But if Im in your place with this minimal loss. I would have FUE and wait more for technology to come. FUT sucks somehow, even if you cant cover all your balding if you progress more, you cant just shave all your head. Im doing FUT again cause im already with a scar.

 

Do FUE and wait for future medications (Histogen, A cell & Artas robot system which will give you FUE result in the quality of a FUT). They are comin in the way, I can sense it. Why fly that long where in Belgium you have one of the best FUE surgeons in the world (Dr. Bisanga from BHR). Check him out first. Dont strip out now. Thats my honest brotherly advice.

[GeHairDo]

Yeah. I like Rahal's work as well. But strip kind of scares the hell out of me. On the other hand I would hate going with FUE and end up coming short of donor hair because none of the promised future procedures turns out to work as planned. Of course then I would always have the option of buzzing down my hair.

 

Maybe I should look into local FUE work with Bisanga and hold off the worst balding until some of the mentioned comes out. They better work and not be too delayed.

[whathappensnext]

nope. i had FUE

[HARIRI]

Good decision Gethairdo.. Dont worry, you look alright. FUE with Bisanga is very successful most of the time. Dont worry about the donor, soon things will come out. Histogen is forecasted to be available in Singapore by 2012 ir 2013. Bisanga is doing strip also by the way. Its just happens that you are so lucky to be living in Belgium. Take care.

[SkinUpPinUp]

Whilst geography shouldn't be an issue when choosing a surgeon, you have three very, very good surgeons in your country. Bisanga is great with FUE and Devroye and Feriduni both very good with FUT.

 

So yeah, no real reason to travel when you have some of the best surgeons on your very doorstep!

 

I would also agree with getting it done rather than waiting. If you have the capital and your hairline is bugging you, I'd just get it over and done with. The fact that it takes 12-18 months to get a final result means that the longer you wait, the more time it'll take for you to stop worrying about going out on windy days!

[Levrais]

Gehairdo,

You should definitely at least consult with Bisanga if you are already in Belgique. As far as fue vs fut, regardless of all the other arguments for one or the other, I could never handle the strip removal so fue was an easy decision for me. So far it has worked out fine.

Good luck with whatever you decide.

[Tao]

You look like you have excellent donor hair and lots of it. And you're low on the Norwood scale. So you have lots of good options. The whole FUE vs. FUT comes down to a personal choice (and money, since the former is quite a bit more expensive than the latter). With your thick donor hair, it really doesn't look like you're ever gonna have to worry about a strip scar being visible so I wouldn't rule out FUT over that. Better yield and less expensive. If you have the funds though, and you are worried about a scar, then FUE is the way to go, though you may need two passes to get the density you want.

 

You're on medication, you don't appear headed to NW6 or 7 so doing either FUE or FUT now doesn't appear to be a huge risk for you. If it really bothers you, and you have the funds, I'd confer with the docs that people have mentioned (Rahal and SMG are both excellent too), and get-er done. You'll have great hair in your 30s and plenty in reserve should you experience more hair loss. Good luck!

 

PS I have a lumpy head too and shaving down was not a good look for me. I've had two strip HTs and have no regrets. You couldn't find my scar now unless you were really really looking for it., even with very short hair.

Edited May 28, 2011 by Tao
spelling edit

[GeHairDo]

Thanks for the input guys. I truly appreciate it.

 

I think I will consult with the local docs (bisanga etc.) but I will probably not rule out SMG or Rahal as they in my opinion deliver some of the best looking hairlines. I don't mind travelling for the best result possible.

 

I guess I should do something about it. I think about my hair loss approx. 500 times a day and are constantly aware of my hairline. Actually, the only time I feel like myself is when I am wearing a cap. I know my hair could be a lot worse. But to me it is bad enough. Eventhough I am glad I am not a NW5 at this age. If so I would probably just shave my head and (try to) live with my weird looking buzzed head for the rest of my life (or until a cure somes out).

 

I haven't really decided on procedure yet. FUT/FUE. I don't have that much money for a procedure, but I think that this should not hold me back if FUE is best for me (I would just take a loan or give up my dayjob and start dealing drugs). For me it is a matter of best yield and minimal scaring.