Almost 9 months..... 2500 with Dr. Dorin

[Ahairdown]

Joey, your hair is wet in these pics. Take some pictures with your hair dry and post them.

[joeyz400]

Here are pictures with dry hair and nothing in it. I think it looks better with the gel.

[lorenzo]

Joey I have to agree with you, your hair looks better with gel in it. Its weird but your hair looks like there is more hair with gel. I am sorry for your disppointment but was there no discussion about a second surgery before you started the first one?

I think its great to hear everyones opinion but personally I would feel disappointed. Not because I feel the surgery was unsuccessful but I would want a better cosmetic difference. Of course as I stated earlier the doctor can only do what he has. I would have used a different approach and concentrated all 2500 grafts in the first third of your head. That way you would see a good cosmetic difference and have a better approach for the second surgery. I would have put no grafts in the last 1/3 of your head until possible the second or maybe the third surgery if there is enough grafts. It all depends on what you wanted and expected.

As I stated earlier it doesnt hurt to get other doctors in the area opinion. I would even go see Dr. Feller and get his opinion and see what he says.

Good luck!!!

[orlhair1]

Good advice......Joey you may only get one more chance at this. Dr. Dorin is a great surgeon, but if I were you I would talk to him and several other doctors before deciding how to proceed. You may well still end up with Dr. Dorin, but you will have a lot more information to make an informed decision.

[hairthere]

joey, your profile shots look ok, it's the overhead which is not so flattering. It looks like you will need at least another 4-5k grafts to get good density and that would fill the frontal 3rd, vertex, and maybe light coverage to the crown.

 

As previously mentioned, there are various approaches to a HT with someone of your high NW level. One effective method is to concentrate the grafts into 1-2 zones rather than spread them out. In your case this approach probably would have had a more immediately dramatic effect.

[corvettester]

Joey,

 

Thanks for posting better pics.

 

I still think that it looks about right for 2,500 grafts over that much surface area. I understand that you were hoping that there would be a better cosmetic improvement, who can blame you for that? I wish that were the case. So in that respect, I'm sorry to see that you're disappointed.

 

The more I look at your pre-op pics, the more I think that you're more of a NW6 and not, as I stated earlier, a NW5/6. The little hair that you did have in your frontal third, midsection and crown looked like it was on it's way out... Of course, this is debatable and I'd be interested to hear what the community thinks on it, as well as you, Joey.

 

By the way, how well has Propecia been working for you? How long have you been on it?

 

 

Back to the actual result though, when you compare the before & after pics next to each other (see attachment below), I do see a definite improvement: you have hair where you formerly had none. You have a hairline, albeit a thin one, whereas before, you had nothing. You have established a base from which to proceed further.

 

As per your yield, it appears to me that you have in fact gotten a good yield. It's just that your hair characteristics coupled with the amount of surface area covered minimize the cosmetic effect of your yield, which is a real shame. I feel for you on this one.

 

For this reason, I'd imagine that you're going to need two more procedures of 2,000 grafts each! I know that this sounds harsh, but you have a lot of area to cover. It's quite common for NW6s to receive 6-7k grafts, if they have the donor supply to support it. I don't know the statistics, but I'd wager that most NW6s have two, if not three, procedures.

 

 

Regarding the hair transplant strategy, I think it's largely a matter of opinion. The approach is really a personal preference that I assume you discussed with Dorin well in advance. As some posters mentioned, they prefer to address just the frontal third so that you can have a definitive improvement in that area alone. The idea being that you will address the midsection and crown later. I respect this approach and I can understand how some would prefer it.

 

However, my personal preference would be more like the approach you took. I hate the idea of having a dense island of hair in the front, with a sea of baldness behind it. Personally, I would always prefer to cover as much as possible with less density. I just think it looks better that way. Also, I think it mirrors nature better in that over time, it will almost appear as if your hair is growing back, whereas a segmented approach cannot do that.

 

The way I see it, any NW4 or above needs to be thinking in terms of the long-haul, grand strategy... not short-term, instant gratification tactics. I don't care how dense you could have gotten your frontal third with 2,500 grafts, as you'd never be able to ignore the vast wasteland of baldness that came at the the expense of your midsection and crown.

 

 

Corvettester

Compare3.pdf

Edited August 28, 2011 by corvettester

[joeyz400]

I knew going into this I would need a 2nd procedure to really get good coverage. I just thought this was going to make more of a difference than it did. I did discuss how I wanted the graphs distributed and wanted to concentrate on the front and taper off toward the crown, as we did. I think that is a much more natural effect than just to stopping at a zone. I am not looking for thick hair on top because the back and sides are not. I just wanted a more even look and I thought that was how the front was going to be.

[DISpHAIR]

Joey,

 

If you dont mind me asking, I am curious about the strategy you and your doctor discussed in consultation. I ask this because I think the doctor would have to have been aware that 2500 graphs would not give you the results you desired and I am a bit concerned that they went ahead with the surgery knowing this. Like others have said I think that you got good coverage for the amount, I just dont think you were properly advised and that is unfortuante. I think consulting other surgeons and getting as many opinions as possible would be in your best interest for future treatment. This way you can come up with a strategy that you feel completely comfortable with. With all that being said you look much better than before and I really like the hairline design created. I am confident you will get the result you are looking for as long as there is the right strategy. Good luck

Edited September 24, 2011 by DISpHAIR

[Sean]

2500 grafts were not going to make a huge impact to the type of hairloss you had. That's what I think. You definitely needed more, i'd say at least 3500 grafts dispersed throughout especially if you wanted to do it like you planned it by tapering, without stopping at a zone. That probably would have given you better coverage and one that you could be satisfied with for now. Hair transplantation is not an easy process and it's a pain in the ass to go back and get another one right away if you aren't satisfied. So, by looking at tons of patient results/photos, i'd say around 3500 grafts would have been right for the first procedure and then a second procedure would been another 2000-3000 grafts and you would have been set.

 

Did you address your concerns with your doctor while planning the strategy? How many grafts did he recommend? Initially and overall? Why 2,542 grafts? The hair does look better with gel, it makes it look thicker styled as someone else mentioned. In the meantime, you do have a few more months left to grow. If anything, try medications and or toppik as a filler later on if needed. It may help, otherwise another transplant will be needed to get the result you are looking for. Costs of transplants are a big concern obviously, but if you want to get it done, get it done right the first time with careful planning and research. I think if you had more doubles and triples it would have helped you out. Good Luck.

Edited September 24, 2011 by Sean

[joeyz400]

2542 was the most that Dr Dorin was able to safely get due to my donor area. If my donor yeilded more 2 and 3 graphs that would have been great but that is what I got so I have to deal with it. There are a lot of guys that are real lucky having great donor supply with many muitiple number graphs.... I'm not one of them. I thought the front of my hairline was going to be complete and another procedure was going to address the top and crown the area where he started the taper.

[corvettester]

Joey,

 

Hey dude, I hope all is well.

 

You must be at your 10 month update by now. How is it coming along? Any improvements or noticeable maturity? By the way, have you talked with Dr. Dorin lately? What are his thoughts on your progress?

 

Also, have you made any decisions or plans about your second HT? I ask because I went for my second procedure just 10 months after my first. So I'm interested to know how keen you are on getting a second procedure or if you plan on waiting longer...

 

Anyway, thanks for keeping us updated. Grow well.

 

 

Corvettester

[joeyz400]

I'm doing good man. How are you feeling? Is the excirement kicking in yet, how many weeks along are you? I'm going to set up a cosult with Dr. Dorin either this week or next. I have seen some maturity and need to make some decisions after I talk with him

[corvettester]

Joey,

 

I'm doing well at 6 weeks post-op. I'm going in for my 2 month follow up in two weeks.

 

If you want to see my progress in person, send me a PM and we can schedule our follow ups next to each other. I'd definitely like to see yours.

 

Either way, thanks for keeping us updated.

 

 

Corvettester