while I was looking at Bill's managing publisher photos..

[azazelgs]

I noticed and curious about a few things;

 

I shave my head with lowest clipper and I can really live with the shade of a hairline like that, but you know the problem , scar. Is it really that big and wide in big cases? Or in tricho closure is it smaller??

 

I mean I don't want to loose the freedom of buzzing my hair but I'm really desperate about my hairloss and really want to do something about it.

[Sean]

I guess it depends on how short you really want to buzz it. Looking at Bill's recent pics, I can't even see/detect a scar. His hair restoration looks impressive. Will you ever do near skin tight fades or something? There's a lot of factors to consider. Tricho is definitely a better way to do strip though. The old ways of doing strip, people had really large scars, but things have changed. You just have to weigh the pros and cons of procedures to see which one suits your goals.

[Sparky]

Bill has had 4 strips taken, each one gets wider, it's hard to get away from that.

[azazelgs]

I mean his buzzed cut.

 

I can really live with that shade but scar really scares me.

 

p.s: I can't help but notice there are some red dots in his hairline before the surgery. What are those??

Edited September 5, 2011 by azazelgs

[Sean]

Well, I might want to buzz my hair in the future for a month or something in the summer. So, just cause of the possible scar issue, I went with FUE instead. I personally did not want to take any chances, but some people can get away with strip procedures. I couldn't see myself with it because of my really low military style skin tight fades on the sides of my head. You'll find doctors that do both types of procedures on this forum. It all comes down to preference. I do fear the linear scar though. I can see what you mean.

[azazelgs]

Sean,

I online consulted with some of the fue clinics in Europe and they told me that they can't get more than 1500-2000 grafts, nearly nothing for a nw6 guy. But when I send some pictures to h&w with showing my laxity , Joe told me that they could get more than 5k in one session.

[Sparky]

He would have to see you in person to really know how many he could get in one session.

 

I personally regret the fact that strips have left my head, and I have spent a LOT, getting the scar filled with hair via fue.

[Sean]

Sean,

I online consulted with some of the fue clinics in Europe and they told me that they can't get more than 1500-2000 grafts, nearly nothing for a nw6 guy. But when I send some pictures to h&w with showing my laxity , Joe told me that they could get more than 5k in one session.

 

 

Yea most will probably tell you around that number probably. I just got a 3,016 graft procedure and I classify myself as a norwood 3v. I mean some clinics are able to harvest more while some may use other types of hairs to compensate for the low donor area. You might want to ask around though. I know that with strip, they can harvest a lot more at one point, but I know what you mean with that scar issue. It was a personal issue and I felt very uncomfortable with it. I did see some fue results of another surgeon on people that were higher norwoods but the work incorporated body hair and beard hair as well, since they did not lack enough scalp donor hairs. Not everyone can be a candidate for certain types of procedures. I think you should really try to research it and ask around. Hopefully, they'll come up with that cloning process that may help a lot, but it will take time, they are already running trials. In my mind, the way I look at it, if I progress further, and keep using my donor, i'll really run out of ammo to combat hair loss, but then was thinking even to go as far as micropigmentation as my last route, or even body hair and beard hair just to maximize it all. I think if you can save up enough money, it can basically get you anything if you do it right the first time. You can take a look at your Norwood, and take things one step at a time in an organized manner. Some people can get the result they want in one shot, but others it may take a combination, but they can still get there. Where there is a will, there is a way.

[aaron1234]

It depends on your point of view and/or personal preferences. I have three scars right now. One from my first surgery which was take too high out of the safe zone. And two from Dr. Shapiro - most recent one on top of the other. I don't scar very well and so a scar revision is planned in the future. Even with my not-so-great scar situation I'm not entirely bothered by them basically for one reason - I keep my hair long enough to cover them. But if I wanted a close cut/shave then they would be an issue. Everyone is different with so many variables; scarring, hair texture, laxity, styling, etc. So it really depends on what you bring to the table in those regards and you have to make the the best decision for yourself.

[Cant decide]

Aaron - why did dr S not excise the first scar and replace it during the second op leaving you with one total made under his care?

[aaron1234]

Good question Cant decide. Basically it was just to get more grafts. My scalp laxity is ok but my scars tend to stretch a little. We actually did remove a good portion of the scar - just not the entire thing. The two scars actually blend into each other pretty well right now. But it is wider than a typical scar. Dr. Shapiro said a scar revision would put me in a better position if I needed another strip session in the future. So that's the tentative plan for now.

[orlhair1]

As Sean said, the big decision on FUT or not is just how short you want to cut your hair. If you want to buzz cut it, then you will see even a really good scar result. However, with a good scar result (which is the norm with FUT today with top doctors) you can cut your hair fairly short, but not buzzed. If you want the buzz cut, you will need to do FUE.