My FUE With Dr. Rahal 3000+ Grafts (Large Procedure)

[zenmunk]

Sean,

 

I definitely appreciate your willingness to meet up when the time comes. It's very cool of you to do that as well as field tons of questions from forum members interested in FUE.

 

Most people stop reporting on their progress long before the 12 month mark, so it's a real service to the community when patients finish what they started. You've consistently updated us, and you're just about at the finish line. Not only that, but the process is an emotional rollercoaster which takes its toll on anyone going through it. You've earned the right to take a breather and pace yourself fielding questions.

 

As always, best of luck with your growth,

 

z

[Mickey85]

Your attitude regarding the whole thing is much better than how mine would be Sean. Good to see you are not dwelling over it too much.

[Capelli11]

Hang in there buddy...we r all in it together! Take ur time off and relax a little...let everything work itself out

[HARIRI]

Sean, are you going to have another small 1000 grafts FUE session in order to fix up your first centimeter of hairline and make use of Rahal guarantee for all or most of the ingrown grafts? I think its time to do so by end of this year.

[Sean]

I just saw Dr. Rahal's interview earlier today which he spoke briefly of strip and fue. He did mention a fue robot, I am not sure if he has one yet or if he was mentioning Canada in general. I didn't have surgery with the Robot, it was through the motorized SAFE fue method I believe. But for those who want to see the doctor talk about the methods, check it out here.

 

Zen, Mickey, Capelli, it's brutally hard being patient. I am devoting so much time back on forums to look for the whys, hows, ifs and what not day n night. I need to find peace but have obstacles ahead.

 

Me and my wife have had marital issues due to this. We had a court marriage when we got married 1+ years ago. A reason was, I wanted to look best for our memorable professional photography for our event so I opted for hair restoration to get things sorted so I could. So, she has been waiting for the special family event and knows how important this is to me. At the same time, since I didn't have the funds, her family took up the tab to make her happy so we can all have this event which they booked for this October. It is right around the corner. Again, I am here trying to avoid it because of the issues. I just don't want my photos taken for such an event as I am still waiting and getting paranoid. I don't know if concealer would help or would be apparent ruining our pics. So, you can imagine the stress I am in. I am frustrated and feel emotionally helpless because I thought I can get away from my worries but am having issues fulfilling a promise. Even if I could, I wouldn't be able to squeeze a procedure in between to save my ass and hope for instant miracle growth. I might just go with a ceaser look which I passionatley do not want but what can you do at this point. I can't flaunt a sticking up from the front hairstyle I wanted right now. As much as I am trying to be patient, it is making things unhealthy for me and folks around me as I am struggling to cope with it for the time being. The end of September would conclude a full completion of 12 months since my procedure.

 

Sean, are you going to have another small 1000 grafts FUE session in order to fix up your first centimeter of hairline and make use of Rahal guarantee for all or most of the ingrown grafts? I think its time to do so by end of this year.

 

Hariri, I plan on doing whatever it takes to get to all my goals as soon as I can. My employment is hampered even more than it already is due to being a war veteran, then this wait on top of it. You've mentioned the gaurantee before and it is there for me. If it takes 1500 or 1000 grafts as mentioned, then I guess I will do just that. I agree, I will try to accomplish this by the end of this year. I need to schedule asap so I can properly work and focus on my life. I spent a lot and I got a lot on my plate.

 

I will continue to update again soon. Zen, I wont stop reporting to remain consistent. Thanks for the feedback everyone as always.

Edited August 9, 2012 by Sean

[zenmunk]

Sean,

 

I'm sure I speak for everyone when I say we appreciate your dedication to the updates, so thanks for that. And, thanks for posting the video of Rahal's interview. I didn't know he had one of those robots.

 

As far as your hair and photos go, have you considered trying the style you want, but with Toppik or Dermmatch artfully applied? Since you have plenty of hair at your hairline, I'm sure those products would be very effective.

 

z

[Mickey85]

I'm so sorry to hear about your situation. I can definitely understand as my hair is very important to me as well and something like this would affect me in the same way. I would say give Toppik a shot. I know people with much less hair than you and their hair improves tremendously after applying Toppik. Maybe try it out and have someone take photos to see if you like the look. It should get you by for October and then you can have a second procedure. I wish you all the best!

[HARIRI]

Sean, if it going to be only 1000 grafts as a Rahal guarantee work then try to ask them done manually. It would be much safer in my opinion. Good luck Bro, keep us updated about your coming procedure and how many grafts are you going with? I really feel your situation Buddy.

 

P.S. I wouldn't trust an ARTAS robot on my head, motorized tool would be much better than a robot if i had to choose one of these two, at least there is more control with the surgeon's hands lol...

[orlhair1]

Sean, don't let it get you down dude. You hair is much improved and if you decide to have it touched up it will get even better. I have never used Toppik, but sounds like it might help you. Hang in there buddy.

[davidaaronhardy]

your experience is very helpful. Im still checking out options and your report was invaluable.

[Cant decide]

I admit that I have not read this entire thread but I am a bit confused on this one. I read posts of people saying "Keep your chin up", "I feel for you", etc. Then I looked at your 8 month result and your hair looks absolutely phenominal. Now, I know it only matters what you feel about it but you have a great head of hair now (and actually had a pretty darn good one even before you sat in the chair). I just dont get what you are seeing that is making you dislike your hair so much. If YOU dislike your hair, then 80% of us on this site mine as well pack it in and never leave the house

[zenmunk]

Cant decide,

 

I agree that Sean's hair must be enviable for many on this forum, but I think the issue is yield. He had a little over 3000 grafts implanted mostly at his hairline. That's a lot of grafts for a relatively small area.

 

I couldn't guess what his yield percentage must be, but I'd venture to say that it's lower than what should be expected from a world-class surgeon like Dr. Rahal, FUE notwithstanding. While I wouldn't consider his procedure a failure, I think it was reasonable for Sean to expect a denser result, and I can understand why he would be disappointed given that expectation.

 

z

[Mickey85]

Cant decide,

 

I agree that Sean's hair must be enviable for many on this forum, but I think the issue is yield. He had a little over 3000 grafts implanted mostly at his hairline. That's a lot of grafts for a relatively small area.

 

I couldn't guess what his yield percentage must be, but I'd venture to say that it's lower than what should be expected from a world-class surgeon like Dr. Rahal, FUE notwithstanding. While I wouldn't consider his procedure a failure, I think it was reasonable for Sean to expect a denser result, and I can understand why he would be disappointed given that expectation.

 

z

 

I agree. Whilst I love Dr. Rahal's work, I would have expected much more density for that amount of grafts in that area(which had some native hair also).

[lukeyb1687]

Sean,

 

Any more updates on your results?

[mick reno]

Sean,

 

Any more updates on your results?

 

+1 :confused:

[HARIRI]

I don't think anything will change in a major way. I prefer that Sean goes for a second session with Dr. Rahal to dense up his hairline and ask for larger incisions in order for the transplanted hair to be intact or demand for some manual FUE work for about 1000 grafts.

[Mickey85]

I hope Sean is ok...

[cargo65]

Hey guys, I'm super late to the thread, and instead of reading it in its entirety, can someone give me the summary of what's happened.

 

I'm gathering Sean got a less than desirable result with Dr. Rahal. Is Dr. Rahal balking at helping him with a second procedure?

[Spanker]

Results are poor (that part is left to interpretation) , they told him to wait the whole year. No resolution made public yet.

[HARIRI]

How many grafts Dr. Rahal decided to give you for his guarantee? Would he use the SAFE System again or the ARTAS Robot or manual FUE? Let us know Bro, I think you are disappeared :-)

[recedingboy]

I sent him PM. Hope he is doing well. Perhaps (hopefully) he is busy with his personal life and will come back soon and just wants a mental break from all of it.

 

It really sucks to hear how personal lives and relationships can be affected by our own mental state.

 

The ironic thing is I too was considering getting an FUE procedure from Dr. Rahal. Even did an in person consult. I feel the operation/clinic itself seems legit, but for whatever reason Sean's results were less than satisfactory.

 

Many, seemingly old timer posters, seem to say that manual extractions are the only way to go. I was considering a procedure from Dr. Bhatti in India because his rates are very low and his photo results seem pretty good. He uses Dr. Harris' safe tool as well.

 

I am now having second thoughts of going through with ANY surgeon that uses a motorized punch. I'm now thinking either strip or FUE by Bisanga only. I have not heard a single bad case, has anyone here?

[chrisdav]

I don't honestly believe whether it is done with the Artas, a manual punch, a motorised tool,choi implanter or whatever tool used to harvest the grafts, there will still be some poor results.

 

A bad result is more likely with fue than strip regardless of the surgeon.

 

No surgeon is exempt whatever claims they make.

[recedingboy]

I don't honestly believe whether it is done with the Artas, a manual punch, a motorised tool,choi implanter or whatever tool used to harvest the grafts, there will still be some poor results.

 

A bad result is more likely with fue than strip regardless of the surgeon.

 

No surgeon is exempt whatever claims they make.

 

Do you feel that some are just not good responders to FUE procedures, or even HT's in general?

 

FWIW, Dr. Bisanga has consistently shown good results from his procedures, however I have now read of two examples of poor results from otherwise world renowned clinics (Rahal and Shapiro Medical). Both used motorized extraction tools.

[chrisdav]

All 3 of them are leading clinics in the world, and I would have a procedure by any of them.

 

But there is not going to be one surgeon anywhere who has not had below par result.

 

The more online patients a clinic has, the more susceptible they are to having a bad result online. No online patients theoretically means no bad results, as the clinics can pick and choose the results they post, meaning their reputation remains untarnished.

[recedingboy]

All 3 of them are leading clinics in the world, and I would have a procedure by any of them.

 

But there is not going to be one surgeon anywhere who has not had below par result.

 

The more online patients a clinic has, the more susceptible they are to having a bad result online. No online patients theoretically means no bad results, as the clinics can pick and choose the results they post, meaning their reputation remains untarnished.

 

 

Yes, all three are great clinics, but lets be specific, Bisanga has more documented successful cases (either by patient or clinic submission) than the others when it comes to FUE procedures.

 

On the other hand, Rahal probably has the best FUT results esp. with hairlines and dense packing.

 

And Shapiro probably has the largest, most professionally run organization of all with many long term employees and mature and experienced advisors and employees.

 

All three are great, just not in the same areas.