FUE patient now considering strip

[jfables]

Hello, after close to 8000 FUE over several years I am still a bit disappointed. No more FUE can be done because of the amount of scar tissue. I have thin patches in my donor where too many grafts were taken out of. My hair has to be 1.5 inches in length before the thinness is not noticeable.

 

I have white dot scarring from my first procedure although only noticeable at a 1 guard.

 

Worst part is, and I was a bit shocked, but I saw Dr. Feller and have emailed Hasson & Wong and they don't believe I got good yield. Dr. Feller thinks maybe I got 60% growth. I'm considering having a strip done but Dr. Feller thinks he can only get 1500-2000 grafts. I'm not sure if it's worth it for that little. Or maybe 2000 grafts strip will give me a much better improvement than 2000 FUE? What do you think?

 

I hope I can get more than 2000 because the center part of my donor where the strip goes is still really thick because not too many grafts were extracted. Before I had any surgeries my hair count was 250 hairs sq cm in the donor.

Thanks.

[greatjob]

Who performed your previous surgeries and how advanced was your hair loss? 8000 grafts is an awful lot and I would expect to see a pretty substantial change in your appearance. You’re in good hands with Dr. Feller or Hasson and Wong so as long as your expectations are in line with their projections another procedure could be beneficial. Good luck moving forward!

[aim4hair]

I ain't no expert and am not sure what 2000 would do for you, maybe they won't give you a really good density. but the thing you have to consider is that once you go strip you will not be able to buzz your hair down to 1 nor 2 guards because of the scar. so you have to wear your hair longer..... so it's up to you whether you wanna buzz it now and move on or go through strip and lose the option of buzzing it really short even if the outcome is not satisfactory.

 

btw where did you have your previous FUE procedures ? im pretty surprised since i have seen many great doctors who perform FUE in an outstanding way.

[cool2dunk]

I've seen some pretty amazing results from FUE with much less grafts, i'm wondering if there is another cause of your hairloss or maybe you're not on meds?

 

"I hope I can get more than 2000 because the center part of my donor where the strip goes is still really thick because not too many grafts were extracted."

Usually the FUE grafts are taken from the same area (back of head below bone to side of ears) so its kinda awkward how this part can still be thick. I'm really wondering where the FUE was taken.

 

I would just go with 1500 grafts to thicken up the hairline and frame your face. You've got existing coarse hair there and I think 1500 should be enough. Or maybe contact Dr. Umar to see if he can do BHT to increase density for you.

I'm also interested who your doctor was, you should have got a lot more density with 8000.

Edited August 2, 2011 by cool2dunk

[aaron1234]

8K grafts v?a FUE? Do you have any donor left? Wow, that would do a work on ones donor density. Who was your doc btw? Everyone needs to understand that FUE has its limits too.

 

Looking at Feller and H&W is a great start to fix your situation.

[scar5]

Don't blame FUE for your poor yield, blame the clinic, doctors and technicians that took your money and remember you can never buzz with a strip scar unless you wanna look like me, and trust me you don't. I say that knowing FUE's yield might ot as good - but not THAT not as good, if you know what I mean. If the FUE scarring is really bad and you want to buzz then pigmentation might help filling in the dots. It is more effective that way than filing in a strip scar. On the other hand, if you can get more hair, then go for that. Without revealing your doctor or clinic, I think many readers might be interested in the device itself, used for extraction.

a) A manual punch (size)

b) a rotary mechanical drill

c) a type of punch that spins back and forth

d) a machine such as neograft

[jfables]

I had work done in 2003 and the doc used a 1 mm punch which gave me a lot of white dot scarring. Armani did the last 4700 (don't remember exactly anymore - it was a few years ago) with a drill that looked like he got at Home Depot. I do have a cosmetic improvement especially when you look at me from the front but I need more density overall.

I'm not sure I care so much about the strip scar anymore. I don't feel comfortable shaving my head because the white dots are noticeable as so are the low density areas where too many grafts were taken out of. The low density is obvious even at 2 or 3 on the hair clipper. I would show you a pic but my hair is longer now.

 

And yes I have been on meds for over a decade.

 

What's pigmentation? Where do you get that done?

 

stylin: I'm not sure that's correct. I have plenty of 3 hair grafts, even a few 4 hair grafts behind the hairline. There is not much need for splitting grafts because they can pick and choose whatever they want. So for the hairline they extract more singles etc.

 

aaron: Your hair looks great. I would be more than happy to achieve the results of your second ht.

[aaron1234]

Pigmentation, aka scalp mirco-pigmentation. Look it up, it is somewhat controversial but could really help someone in your situation. Pretty much it is ink. Dr. Rassman is the first recommended doc offering it. It could definitely help with a depleted donor area.

 

Thanks for the props btw

[Levrais]

 

Jfables, I agree with you, not sure where stylin is commin from. I got lots of 3 and quite a few 4s with fue also. I would love to see your pics if you decide to post any. I hope you can get what you want the next time around.

[youngandnaive]

Jfables, I can somewhat relate to the issue of a thin donor region due to overharvesting. In finding a doctor to repair the work that I had with Armani, my top priority is finding a doctor with a track record of leaving patients with pencil thin scars, so far Dr. Rahal is on top of my list in meeting that criteria. I'm still curious to this day as to how armani is still able to practice hair transplantation. Best of luck to you friend.

[jfables]

Jfables, I can somewhat relate to the issue of a thin donor region due to overharvesting. In finding a doctor to repair the work that I had with Armani, my top priority is finding a doctor with a track record of leaving patients with pencil thin scars, so far Dr. Rahal is on top of my list in meeting that criteria. I'm still curious to this day as to how armani is still able to practice hair transplantation. Best of luck to you friend.

 

yougandnaive, I looked at your pics and read your story. I had a very similar experience. Half of my hairline never grew in well like yours.

[jfables]

 

Jfables, I agree with you, not sure where stylin is commin from. I got lots of 3 and quite a few 4s with fue also. I would love to see your pics if you decide to post any. I hope you can get what you want the next time around.

 

Thanks Levrais.

 

Here are some more pics. My hair is longer in the overhead shot. My donor still feels thick so I was surprised when Dr. Feller thought maybe he can get 1500-2000 from a strip. The donor looks thin when it is cut short. Still not sure what I want to do. If I could get at least 3000 then I would go for it.

Edited August 4, 2011 by jfables
grammar

[Levrais]

Thanks for posting the pics. Its always hard to tell from pics but I have to agree with you that your donor looks full and thick. You also seem to have thick wavy hair which can allow you to do more with less. You have a decent look now but I can see where you might want more density if it can be done.

[youngandnaive]

wow Jfables, after 8000 grafts your donor still looks somewhat pretty good, or are the pictures just deceiving my eyes?

[jfables]

wow Jfables, after 8000 grafts your donor still looks somewhat pretty good, or are the pictures just deceiving my eyes?

 

I've always had crazy density. When I went for my first HT consultation years ago the doctor measured the density with some magnifying device. He said I had 250 hairs per sq cm.

 

It still is quite thick. It only looks thin when cut short with a 4 guard or shorter. But only in certain areas like behind my ears and the sides where they took out too many. I still am not sure why they kept taking out of the same areas and not so much from the heart of the strip zone. That's why I got a feeling that I might get a higher number of grafts if I were to do this.

[youngandnaive]

yeah i think i can get away with about 6-8 guard unfortunately, but i like to keep it long, just the gaps in the hairline dont look too good grown out haha. I did notice that too, i have a thin patch right behind both of my ears, thats the only thing I fear about a strip, that they'll most likely end up running through that, the only option would be to keep it long, or if at all possible fill in the sides with a few grafts, dont know how much that will help though =/

[scar5]

Thanks for posting details of the punch. Here's what I think.

a) a 1mm will leave scars, (I assume that is outside diameter, if it's inside, then holy crap, that would leave marks)

aa) So Armani uses rotary drills from the home center! ha..ha. Sounds like the type I had too, and I reckon my yield wasn't great, the scarring is no issue.

aaa) I have a density of around 30-40 in many areas up back, but I am still planning for a short buzz, even WITH strip scars if I can find a good pigmentation solution

b) If your donor thinned out, disguising a strip scar is much more difficult, though judging by your pics, you have enough to cover up if you wanna rock the horse shoe.

c) Micropigmentation could definitely help your dot scars. It is easier to disguise than a linear line tattoo. You really must check this out IMO. It is still relatively new, and make sure you go to somewhere good.

d) If you really don't care about expressing your hair style, for your own identity, what so ever, and you just really want hair for business or politics or something, I mean you just wanna show the folks that you have hair, then maybe Feller's strip might suit you, but I still think there might be hope, with astute choices and no strip scar.

 

Having said that, a strip will get you fast and solid results if illusion of volume up front is your priority. But a really short cut is then out of the question.

[jfables]

yeah i think i can get away with about 6-8 guard unfortunately, but i like to keep it long, just the gaps in the hairline dont look too good grown out haha. I did notice that too, i have a thin patch right behind both of my ears, thats the only thing I fear about a strip, that they'll most likely end up running through that, the only option would be to keep it long, or if at all possible fill in the sides with a few grafts, dont know how much that will help though =/

 

Yeah, I have the same concern.

[jfables]

thanks for the advice scar5. I don't think I'm gonna go for the micropigmentation because even when I 'shave' my head I never really get to the skin. 2 guard usually. I could never get into the habit of shaving my head to the skin everyday just so the horseshoe is not so apparent. In my case with my black hair and pale skin the horseshoe is always visible even if skin shaved. I'm not fooling anyone.

 

I think having it grown out a bit, like Jason Stratham, looks better on me than skin shaving.

[jfables]

Stylin, I don't mean this in any rude way but you don't know what you are talking about. 1's & 2's are used for the hairline. 2's, 3's, 4's for the rest regardless if it's fut or fue.

 

With fue there is little or no splitting grafts at all because they can just pick what they want from the donor.

 

Doubling

follicular units together sounds like micrografts to me which makes me uneasy to hear this. Frankly

even single hair follicular units can look pluggy if they are not placed well & close enough.

[jfables]

I tried to take some close up pics of my donor, pulling my hair up. What do you guys think? Does it look sparse or dense? I'm just trying to get a better idea of how many grafts I could get if I were to decide on a strip. Thanks!

Edited August 6, 2011 by jfables
grammar

[orlhair1]

jfables, I don't know that anyone can really tell from photos. All of the doctors I consulted with online and by phone indicated that they could not make a judgment on density from the photos. They really need to see your hair in person. I know that is difficult, but I just went with it and picked my Dr. who assessed it when I saw him and had my surgery.

[jfables]

jfables, I don't know that anyone can really tell from photos. All of the doctors I consulted with online and by phone indicated that they could not make a judgment on density from the photos. They really need to see your hair in person. I know that is difficult, but I just went with it and picked my Dr. who assessed it when I saw him and had my surgery.

 

Ok. Thanks.

[Jotronic]

most people barely average overall 2 hairs a graft. That means you are getting mostly 1 and 2's.

 

Ironically, that is what you find in nature. For Caucasians anyway, the average is 2.3 hairs per FU. The only way to do this with any hope of efficiency is to use stereoscopic dissecting microscopes which are required, by definition, to perform follicular unit transplantation. Anything without these microscopes is mini-micro grafting.

[Jotronic]

That is why I chose Dr. Bolton on the basis of his one procedure results.

 

I was able to get what I wanted by careful researching the doctors with a track record of being able to show density in one procedure.

 

The one who impressed me most was Dr. Bolton for his one procedure results.

 

Seems like this worked out well for you.