Regular Member Tankndozer Posted June 16, 2011 Regular Member Share Posted June 16, 2011 Hi All, I've had absolutely fantastic experience since my hair transplant 9 months ago with Dr. Jean Devroye in Brussels, Belgium. You really have the see the photos to believe it! I've attached a couple of samples below, but for the full collection please take a look at my profile! Hair Restoration Social Network ? Community for and by Hair Loss Patients - Tankndozer's Profile Here's my story where you can find out a little more about Dr. Devroye: As a young guy I always prided myself on my very thick dark hair. At the age of 22 I suddenly starting losing hair becoming very thin all throughout the top with quite a severe receding hairline, and particularly thin on the crown. This affected my confidence hugely as suddenly everyone thought I was in my 30s when still barely in my mid twenties. I was trying all sorts of treatments such as Nourkrin and Viviscal, as well trying to style my hair to hide my receding hairline, all to very little avail. About 2 years ago (April 2009) I resolved to get a hair transplant. I decided however that it was something that I really needed to be sure about, really needed to fully understand all my options and really needed to ensure I got the right physician. I therefore spent a year researching different techniques, technologies and Physicians. In terms of understanding the techniques I went as far as examining the current research papers (seeing as I come from a scientific background) before settling on FUT (I can offer my reasoning on this in full to anyone who's interesting). More particularly I settled on Dr. Jean Devroye's technique of placing the transplanted hairs in angled incisions made using an angled blade; he has designed this blade himself to ensure a natural look to the transplanted hair without damaging your scalp (although he also does FUE). The point that sealed my decision is that during my research I found so many cases of failed transplants from all over the world that I became worried- how can I be more sure that mine won't fail miserably? The answer to that question for me was to ensure that I got an opinion from someone that was willing to say 'No' if he didn't feel the surgery was appropriate. I found several cases of Dr. Devroye identifying cases where a transplant was not appropriate so I resolved to visit him (after getting an online consultancy showing the potential results of my transplant - an excellent aid in my decision!!). In September 2010 I got a transplant by Dr Devroye having been identified as an ideal candidate in May 2010 (very thick hair at the back, very high elasticity in my scalp and my balding was due to male pattern balding). Dr Devroye managed to, staggeringly, get just over 4000 grafts, transplanting just over 10,000 hairs. I was astounded at the result! Here I am 9 months later and I am ecstatic with the outcome! Everyone I know tells me I look 10 years younger. I'm so happy with it that I openly admit to people that I've gotten a hair transplant. I've gotten nothing but a positive reception for it: reactions applauding my honesty and even those people I would have expected to make jokes couldn't once I was so honest. In fact it turns out several people I know had secretly been thinking of doing the same! To any of your thinking of getting a transplant I really can't recommend Dr. Devroye enough for his technique, his honesty and his excellent and continuous aftercare. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member TakingThePlunge Posted June 17, 2011 Senior Member Share Posted June 17, 2011 Tankndozer, Welcome and congratulations on your excellent hair transplant with Dr. Devroye! Your hair looks fantastic and you will certainly see more growth and maturation in the coming months. Best of luck! David - Former Forum Co-Moderator and Editorial Assistant I am not a medical professional. All opinions are my own and my advice should not constitute as medical advice. View my Hair Loss Website Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member BlondHead Posted June 20, 2011 Regular Member Share Posted June 20, 2011 Hi Tankndozer I have been reading the forums for a while now and like yourself after some long research i decided to go to Dr Devroye 2 1/2 months ago for a transplant. Ive noticed recently on the forum alot of less than happy customers after HT's, so its nice to see a great result especially from the same Doctor i went to. If i get the same results as yourself i will be thrilled. Best of luck with your future growth. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member MusoInOz Posted June 20, 2011 Senior Member Share Posted June 20, 2011 That is quite something. I have not seen many Dr Devroye patients posting as of late thank you for sharing this with the community! Very happy for you and the result. Mike. "The road to success is always under construction" :cool: I represent Dr Rahal and the associated clinic as a paid patient advisor. I am also here to assist fellow Australian/NZ Hair Loss sufferers both on and off the forum. Contact: mbhounslow@gmail.com - Mike. Hair Transplant Surgery: June 3rd 2011 2800 Grafts to frontal 1/3 By Dr Rahal in Ottawa, Canada Current Hair Loss Arsenal: Dutas .5mg every day 1.5 years and Proscar 5mg (Cut into 1/4): x1 Daily 10 years Hair-A-Gain Generic Minox: x2 Daily 13 years (Applied wet in mornings) Other Random products put to use during my hair loss battle (not in use): Spiro Cream 5mg Minox 15% Dr Proctor's Nano Shampoo Various Herbal supplements Toppik/ Nanogen Saw Palmetto Provillus - LOL Nanogen Shampoo Laser Treatments (Epic Fail) 10 long years of HT and general HL research.:cool: *I am not a medical professional, I only offer my own advice from personal experiences and years of detailed research* Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member bonkerstonker Posted June 20, 2011 Senior Member Share Posted June 20, 2011 To be fair you did have a lot of hair before but he must of done a great job of dodging your existing hair during surgery and the result is very impressive. Really glad for you mate. Bonkerstonker! http://www.hairtransplantnetwork.com/blog/home-page.asp?WebID=1977 Update I'm now on 12200 Grafts, hair loss has been a thing of my past for years. Also I don't use minoxidil anymore I lost no hair coming off it. Reduced propecia to 1mg every other day. My surgeons were Dr Hasson x 4, Dr Wong x 2 Norton x1 I started losing my hair at 19 in 1999 I started using propecia and minoxidil in 2000 Had 7 hair transplants over 12200 grafts by way of strip but 700 were Fue From Norton in uk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member Tankndozer Posted June 20, 2011 Author Regular Member Share Posted June 20, 2011 Hi Tankndozer I have been reading the forums for a while now and like yourself after some long research i decided to go to Dr Devroye 2 1/2 months ago for a transplant. Ive noticed recently on the forum alot of less than happy customers after HT's, so its nice to see a great result especially from the same Doctor i went to. If i get the same results as yourself i will be thrilled. Best of luck with your future growth. Thanks very much! Best of luck with the results of your own transplant! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member Tankndozer Posted June 20, 2011 Author Regular Member Share Posted June 20, 2011 Thanks all for the positive responses. Anyone that has any questions I'd be glad to help! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Biffo31 Posted January 16, 2012 Share Posted January 16, 2012 Hi there, firstly want to congratulate you on your results, the outcome is really remarkable. I am also considering a HT with Dr Devroye after reading and hearing a lot of positive feedback from him, I live in the uk and it seems you have to look abroad for the best results. May I ask how old you were when you had the procedure? Was your young age a concern for you? I will be 23 this year so I'm still pretty young for a transplant however I am happy to come to a solution to preserve donor hair for the future. My aim is to thicken up the central core area of my hair and re-establish the hairline so I think the best way to do this is probably a transplant followed by propecia to avoid future loss. I see you are also using propecia, have you experienced any side effects? I really appreciate any advice you can provide and once again congrats on your results! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member orlhair1 Posted January 17, 2012 Senior Member Share Posted January 17, 2012 Fantastic result.....congratulations and thanks for sharing! Surgery - Dr. Ron Shapiro FUT 6/14/11 - 3048 grafts Surgery - Dr. Ron Shapiro FUE 1/28/13 & 1/29/13 - 1513 grafts http://www.hairrestorationnetwork.com/orlhair1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member Tankndozer Posted January 17, 2012 Author Regular Member Share Posted January 17, 2012 Hi there, firstly want to congratulate you on your results, the outcome is really remarkable. I am also considering a HT with Dr Devroye after reading and hearing a lot of positive feedback from him, I live in the uk and it seems you have to look abroad for the best results. May I ask how old you were when you had the procedure? Was your young age a concern for you? I will be 23 this year so I'm still pretty young for a transplant however I am happy to come to a solution to preserve donor hair for the future. My aim is to thicken up the central core area of my hair and re-establish the hairline so I think the best way to do this is probably a transplant followed by propecia to avoid future loss. I see you are also using propecia, have you experienced any side effects? I really appreciate any advice you can provide and once again congrats on your results! Thanks very much! I really appreciate it. It is 16 months on now (since the op) so I#ll stick up some more photos soon. I looked all over Europe and just found that in the UK and Ireland they charge 3 or 4 times as much for a surgeon with less experience that Dr. Devroye. I was 27 when I got the procedure done and I did consider the age thing, just as you are. Everyone needs to draw their own conclusions for themselves but for me I decided that I would get it done younger so I could get close to my original hairline back and then take Finasteride (the active ingredient of Propecia) to ensure no further hair loss. If I got it done later, I would have lost more hair and not have been able to recover as much. A lot of people have concerns that if you do that, you could end up needing a second transplant. The idea is that if you get all transplanted hair to thicken up the front, then the back continues to thin (for example if you#re not taking your Finasteride) it can end up looking strange. However this is another reason why I chose Dr. Devroye. His philosophy is that every transplant should be treated as your last. Therefore while the focus will be on thinner areas, he tends to transplant hair to all parts of your head (almost). He#ll discuss with you which areas you#re most worried about and come up with a strategy that means you#ll never need another transplant, even if you no longer take Finasteride and start thinning again. To answer your concern, I may as well be honest about the effects of finasteride in my case. I have had no lasting side effects (been taking it for nearly 2 years) but in the first month my sex drive was way higher and in the first month and a half my levels of ejaculate were lower (nothing drastic but it was noticeable). This was all completely back to normal after two months. (Can#t believe I#ve just openly admitted that). One note on Finasteride in the UK and Ireland. The dosage for Male Pattern Baldness is typically 1 mg. However it is very expensive to get it made up to that small a size here. Also you can only use pharmacies with a male pharmacist (women can#t handle Finasteride). A much cheaper solution is to check with your surgeon if it would be OK in your case to take ~1.25 mg. If so, then 5 mg dosages are far cheaper because it is used for treating benign prostatic hyperplasia. You can then use a pill cutter to cut the doses into ~1.25 mg. I hope this all helps you with your decision. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member BaldWhisky Posted January 17, 2012 Regular Member Share Posted January 17, 2012 A lot of people have concerns that if you do that, you could end up needing a second transplant. The idea is that if you get all transplanted hair to thicken up the front, then the back continues to thin (for example if you#re not taking your Finasteride) it can end up looking strange. However this is another reason why I chose Dr. Devroye. His philosophy is that every transplant should be treated as your last. Therefore while the focus will be on thinner areas, he tends to transplant hair to all parts of your head (almost). He#ll discuss with you which areas you#re most worried about and come up with a strategy that means you#ll never need another transplant, even if you no longer take Finasteride and start thinning again. Just want to specify that the main point is that Devroye discusses this thoroughly with the patient, not that just one procedure is the best alternative for all patients. I discussed this with him and being a NW5, probably going on NW6 at the age of 32 it would be best to have [at least] two procedure and leave the crown for a second round and focus on the frontal 2/3ds first. I’m justsix weeks from my HT so waiting for the results but I’m very happy with the experience so far. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member Tankndozer Posted January 17, 2012 Author Regular Member Share Posted January 17, 2012 Just want to specify that the main point is that Devroye discusses this thoroughly with the patient, not that just one procedure is the best alternative for all patients. I discussed this with him and being a NW5, probably going on NW6 at the age of 32 it would be best to have [at least] two procedure and leave the crown for a second round and focus on the frontal 2/3ds first.I’m justsix weeks from my HT so waiting for the results but I’m very happy with the experience so far. Fair point BaldWhisky- I just meant that he doesn#t leave you in a situation where you get one transplant thinking that#s all you need and then discover in a few years you#ll need another unexpectedly. As he explained it to me, he tries to leave the lines from each one such that if more of your original hair falls out, it still looks natural. Thanks for your clarification and best of luck with your procedure! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Biffo31 Posted January 17, 2012 Share Posted January 17, 2012 Thankyou for the info guys, really appreciate your feedback (and honesty!) as I'm sure you already know research is key so I'm going to keep improving my knowledge before making a final desiscion, devroye seems the best option if I am to go down the transplant route. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amthello Posted January 17, 2012 Share Posted January 17, 2012 Biffo31 I can say something here since I just had an FUT transplant with Dr Devroye. I am 26 going for 27. I also was hesitant because of my age but knowing my family history I could already anticipate my hairloss pattern. After the consultation, we decided to just go for the vertex region only (even tough doing my temples would improve considerable my appereance) But if hair loss in front progresses, it will look odd. SO I tranplanted 2800+ using FUT.. I also started experience hairloss at 23... but I think you are still young for surgery.. give Propecia/Proscar a 2 year period to see the full result. You can also use minoxidil although i dont use it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Biffo31 Posted January 18, 2012 Share Posted January 18, 2012 Thankyou for the advice amthello, in regards to propecia/proscsr do you know if it has any effect in thickening and regrowing hair on the front of your head? I've heard great things about it stopping the balding process on the top and crown area of the head but not so much on the front. May I ask how your experience with dr devroye was also? I hear great things about him. I do feel I am young for surgery, however I am lucky in the the receding hairline does not look too bad on my head, it's just the thinning of the central core I want to change as it really emphasises the balding look. Perhaps a considerate transplant is an option in order to thicken this area up however keepin the receding look? Again any advice is a great help. Thankyou! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amthello Posted January 18, 2012 Share Posted January 18, 2012 @Biffo31 In my case i did not thicken up the frontal part using finasteride. I think tough that it help me stabilise the hair loss as I see pictures of my father and brother at my age whose baldness was more advance. I strongly suggest you go on it asap... retaining what you have for a number of years is already an achievement by itself if you suffer from MPB. Also if you still got hair why dont you use a concealer like Toppik or Nanogen or Dermatch (there are others). I find them very useful especially. Re the surgery experience, it was good as in they really take care of you. However please note that it is surgery after all so you will feel occasional pain and discomfort especially in the donor zone (some here even say that is fun and that is painfree all over which in reality is not)... the procedure is quite long and exhaustive. The point is don't take lightly and that is why at your age I dont suggest you go through it. wait a couple of years while using finasteride.. if you get bored hit the gym and built a nice body by the age of 27/28... if hair loss is still an issue then it will be good to go for a permanent procedure. hope it helps Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Biffo31 Posted January 20, 2012 Share Posted January 20, 2012 Thanks again for the help, this toppik concealer looks like a decent alternative for the time being. I am happy to try propecia/proscar too however may I ask how and where you get it from? I hear you need a prescription in the uk however I visited my doctor and I seemed to be more knowledgable about balding than her! She basically advised that there is nothing I can do which I pretty mush disregarded as I know this is not true. I've been going to the gym for a while now so I'm happy on that side of things. Last time I looked Bruce willis had no hair and he had no troubles with the ladies so it's not all doom and gloom!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member IndigoBlue Posted March 31, 2012 Regular Member Share Posted March 31, 2012 Hi Tankdozer, Your hair looks great! I'm actually looking to have a HT with Dr Devroye in the next couple of months. I've been trying to send you a private message - but can't figure out how to do it! I'm useless with computers. Could you tell me how much pain you experienced - and how is your hair at the moment? Many thanks, Joanne (Indigoblue) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member Jazzy Posted March 31, 2012 Regular Member Share Posted March 31, 2012 Looking good. How was the pain of having fut and how did you sleep? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
per Posted October 15, 2014 Share Posted October 15, 2014 First of all,great result,looking awsome! i am so glad for man...i have just one question, have you been using propecia before and after the surgery?? Thanks:) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now