Senior Member Anonymous Posted July 1, 2004 Senior Member Share Posted July 1, 2004 Is this a good price guys? I've just had a consultation with Dr. Feller and he gave me a price for 3850 for work on my frontal hairline. Is this kind of steep or is it just me? Regimen: 5% Minoxidil twice a day (morning and night) on front hairline, Proscar (broken into 5 pieces) one piece every night. MSM 1000 Mg, Zinc 30 Mg, Vitamin E, Multi-Vitamin. Baby Shampoo for showering. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member Anonymous Posted July 1, 2004 Author Senior Member Share Posted July 1, 2004 Is this a good price guys? I've just had a consultation with Dr. Feller and he gave me a price for 3850 for work on my frontal hairline. Is this kind of steep or is it just me? Regimen: 5% Minoxidil twice a day (morning and night) on front hairline, Proscar (broken into 5 pieces) one piece every night. MSM 1000 Mg, Zinc 30 Mg, Vitamin E, Multi-Vitamin. Baby Shampoo for showering. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member Rugger Posted July 1, 2004 Senior Member Share Posted July 1, 2004 for 800 grafts, thats just less than $5 a graft..doesnt seem unreasonable for that small a session... you must not need a whole lot of work if its only 800 or so in the front.. ------------------------------ 4600 grafts/ 12/10/2003/ Dr. Jerry Wong Aren't you glad you know me, and have such easy access to my dementia??? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member Smoothy Posted July 1, 2004 Senior Member Share Posted July 1, 2004 Ananom. $5 a graft is about the mid range of HT prices. But I agree with Rugger-- if you have a HT you need to get more than 800 FU or your have to have other procedures in the future. Look at least 1000 FU for just hairline only work. Also at 1000 FU most docs drop price in half on any grafts over 1000 (some are 1500). If cost is the issue right now for you, check into Dr. Lehr (he's a good younger surgeon) who will charge only $3 a graft or about $1400 less than Feller for the same FU's. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member Anonymous Posted July 1, 2004 Author Senior Member Share Posted July 1, 2004 I thought I needed more grafts as well but Dr. Feller stated that I would only need 800 grafts to create a new frontal hairline for myself. He said he doesn't want to work too far into my existing front hairline being that I still might thin later on in life and in order to avoid shock loss. I've alredy stated I wanted it as dense as possible, but he said 600-800 will suffice and I really dont know how I'm supposed to argue being that I'm not a surgeon and all.. My main concern is density and how natural it looks, do you think 800 grafts can accomplish that? Thanks in advance Regimen: 5% Minoxidil twice a day (morning and night) on front hairline, Proscar (broken into 5 pieces) one piece every night. MSM 1000 Mg, Zinc 30 Mg, Vitamin E, Multi-Vitamin. Baby Shampoo for showering. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member Rugger Posted July 1, 2004 Senior Member Share Posted July 1, 2004 Anon... while I certainly respect Dr. Feller's work, without a picture of your hair, and what you intend to do, its difficult to comment or challenge Dr. Feller's assessment.. any chance of you posting a picture of your hairloss, so that we might see what youre facing here?..800 grafts isnt a lot, but it could very well be appropriate..its difficult to say... also, how old are you?..and are you already on Rogaine and Finasteride for your hairloss? ------------------------------ 4600 grafts/ 12/10/2003/ Dr. Jerry Wong Aren't you glad you know me, and have such easy access to my dementia??? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member arfy Posted July 1, 2004 Senior Member Share Posted July 1, 2004 I am from the school that says do not get a hair transplant unless it's really necessary. Why not? -It's surgery. It's expensive, there is downtime, etc. - A transplant can cause shock loss (as you know) - It can be hard to reproduce a hairline that is 100% effective. It's often not totally perfect. - The most efficient way to use your donor supply is to do fairly large sessions, rather than multiple small sessions. - You are creating scarring in the donor area. The payoff in the recipient area has to be worthwhile. -Some docs say the first transplant often grows best (best yield). So logic would suggest that the first session should be a decent size that accomplishes a lot. (Not all docs agree with this theory). And so on. Many doctors can double the graft estimate you gave, which makes me wonder if you really need a transplant or not (I have no idea). Even if I saw your pics I might not want to give an opinion about how suitable you are as a candidate. All I am saying is do not get the surgery on a casual basis, do it because there is a real need and a clear payoff, with minimal risks. Be sure that 600-800 grafts is worth causing scarring in the donor area. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member Anonymous Posted July 2, 2004 Author Senior Member Share Posted July 2, 2004 Well I should've been more specific, I'm 20. I was born with a very high hairline and have unfortunately already begun to experience hairloss. It's not massive hairloss but its the least of my worries at my age, especially cause I already have a high hairline. I've been on rogaine 5%, shou wu pian and proscar for about a year now. The hairloss is a concern of mine but right now, I'm only wishing to focus on lowering my front hairline. And when is a hair transplant really necessary? Isn't it just a matter of how comfortable you are with yourself? Arfy's comment on using the donor supply efficiently with large sessions is giving me second thoughts though. Wish I could just be comfortable with my hair, with what I have, but I"m just not.. Regimen: 5% Minoxidil twice a day (morning and night) on front hairline, Proscar (broken into 5 pieces) one piece every night. MSM 1000 Mg, Zinc 30 Mg, Vitamin E, Multi-Vitamin. Baby Shampoo for showering. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member hairworthy Posted July 2, 2004 Senior Member Share Posted July 2, 2004 I agree with Rugger that without a picture it's hard to give any advice! However, I think you should only consider a HT to reinforce your existing hairline or "fill the gaps" and NOT to lower it. IMHO, having hair transplanted in an area where mother nature hasn't put any in the first place will always look weird, and you might regret it afterwards. And what the hell is shou wu pian???? 3045 FUs with Dr Victor Hasson on 8 June 2004 1836 FUs with Dr Jeffrey Epstein on 2 March 2006 Regimen: 1.25mg Proscar every other day Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member Rugger Posted July 2, 2004 Senior Member Share Posted July 2, 2004 Anon... at 20, even with the stuff youre using to halt your hairloss progression, putting a few hundred hairs to lower your hairline could be risky...then, you will have this nice section of permanent hair, and then quite possibly, lose more hair as you age, directly behind it!...think how freakish and strange THAT will look... I'm not telling you not to go get what you want, but think about the possible consequences...having a patch of great hair in front of a balding area will look worse than naturally balding... i have been on proscar for 5 years or so..it did work initially in halting my hair loss, but its' effectiveness wore off , and i continued eventually to lose my hair..I'm not saying that Proscar will lose its' effectiveness on you, or anyone else, but it did happen to me..and i continue to take it today, after my HT...so there is no guarentee that your hairloss might not continue even using proscar and rogaine... ------------------------------ 4600 grafts/ 12/10/2003/ Dr. Jerry Wong Aren't you glad you know me, and have such easy access to my dementia??? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member arfy Posted July 3, 2004 Senior Member Share Posted July 3, 2004 When I referred to a hair transplant maybe not being 'necessary' I am talking about cases of mild recession, minor thinning, early stages of hair loss, etc. In my opinion, getting a hair transplant may be premature in those cases (and possibly a mistake). Look at a patient like FUTZYhead for an example of a good candidate. He had an obvious balding area, rather than just needing a little touch-up. If you are using FUE then doing a little touch up "may" be more justifiable, as the cosmetic negative in the donor area may be less significant than a linear scar. I've heard guys argue this point. My opinion is that if you aren't currently a good candidate for a HT, then it probably doesn't matter how the grafts are harvested. It has more to do with your age and current amount of hair loss. I agree with the comments about not lowering your hairline beyond it's original level. I would think twice about creating a hairline lower than you've ever had naturally. In general, if you are not sure if a HT is a good idea or not, I suggest that you wait and continue to weigh the pros and cons, rather than forging ahead into surgery. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member Anonymous Posted July 3, 2004 Author Senior Member Share Posted July 3, 2004 Does anyone know whatever happened to Belgiumdude? He's the only one I can think of in the same situation as me in terms of age and what he wants...Thanks Rugger and everyone else, I'm aware that I might further recede in the future but if that was the case, I'm willing for a 2nd ht. My main concern now is if there would be scarring in the donor area as one of you mentioned and if its worth it for such a small ht. I managed to take some pictures of my hairline, and the new hairline that Dr. Feller drew with a marker where he estimated it would take 600-800 grafts to fill in. I have to mention that I'm asian being that asian hairlines are shaped differently. Pictures can be found at http://f2.pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/losinghair2003/album?.dir=/9976&.src=ph&store=&prodid=&.done=http%3a//f2.pg.photos.yahoo.com/losinghair2003 Sorry about the awkward cuts, I am trying to still stay anonymous being that I"m not comfortable with this at all at the age of 20...Does it look promising? Does it look natural? If you can make anything out of it, please comment Any help appreciated, Thanks in advance Regimen: 5% Minoxidil twice a day (morning and night) on front hairline, Proscar (broken into 5 pieces) one piece every night. MSM 1000 Mg, Zinc 30 Mg, Vitamin E, Multi-Vitamin. Baby Shampoo for showering. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member Robert_ Posted July 3, 2004 Senior Member Share Posted July 3, 2004 Looks good. Id trust Dr. Feller in a hearbeat, but dont take my word for it. Dont take ANYONES word for it. Take YOUR word for it. That being said, Be sure you know the consequences if your existing hair recedes behind those graphs. That can set you up for failure in the future. Make sure youre diligent about the drugs (Minox, Prosca/Propecia) and make sure youre prepared mentally to go through with it. I was way worse at 20 years old. Make an informed decision and you shouldnt be dissappointed. ------------------------------ Check out the results of my surgical hair restoration performed by Dr. Jerry Cooley by visiting my Hair Loss Weblog Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member HairBeThere Posted July 3, 2004 Senior Member Share Posted July 3, 2004 Anonymus, Dr. Feller seems to do very good quality work. But, I personally feel, age 20 is way to young to get a HT. Unless you showed serious recession. It appears from your photos that your hairline really isn't that high, and it looks like you still have excellent density. To be honest, I think it looks natural now. I would recommend not gowing through with it. Hold off a few years. Think about it again when you are 23. Just keep up on the med's. These may help bring back or add to the area. Good Luck on your decision. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RamUK Posted July 4, 2004 Share Posted July 4, 2004 Agree with HairBeThere completely, 20 is far too young. Hang on for another few years, there may be a lot more options for you by then including HM. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member MoHair4Me Posted July 4, 2004 Regular Member Share Posted July 4, 2004 I really don't think anyone and especially a 20 yr old should get a strip for a mere 600-800 grafts. I know it's cheaper but getting a linear scar that you will have forever for a tiny amount of grafts is not a good idea. Dr. Feller does FUE and that should be the only option for such a small number of grafts in my opinion (on a 20 yr old, IF you really should even get a HT at all). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member hairbgoin Posted July 5, 2004 Regular Member Share Posted July 5, 2004 if you only need 600-800 grafts I would give every med & concealer a shot before committing to a HT. I personally wouldnt do a strip procedure unless it was 1500+ . FUE may be a good choice for such a small procedure, but id still wait to see more evidence on this technique. You should be happy you only were asessed such a small amount. ---------------------------------------------------------- Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member Anonymous Posted July 5, 2004 Author Senior Member Share Posted July 5, 2004 .. I knew most would disagree with an HT given my age.. I've thought about FUE for a bit buts its money that I just dont have...Mohair4me, hairbgoin or anyone, could you fill me in on the cons of getting strip for a small amount of grafts? Assuming that my existing hairline does recede further back? I realize i'll get a line in the back of my head which may become noticable if i wear my hair short.. but anything else? Thanks in advance Regimen: 5% Minoxidil twice a day (morning and night) on front hairline, Proscar (broken into 5 pieces) one piece every night. MSM 1000 Mg, Zinc 30 Mg, Vitamin E, Multi-Vitamin. Baby Shampoo for showering. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted July 5, 2004 Share Posted July 5, 2004 Anon....what happens when you fill in the area you highlighted on your forehead and the hair behind starts to go? I'll tell you: you will be chasing the recession for the rest of your life with more small surgeries or will resort to a hairpiece. Be careful. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member Rugger Posted July 6, 2004 Senior Member Share Posted July 6, 2004 anon.. one of the biggest reasons not to do strip for such a small amount of grafts is that you are carving up your donor area each time you have a strip surgery, and sacrificing "some" donor hair and some degree of laxity each time...why do that for such minimal amount of grafts?.,..if you do three small sessions of only 800 each, you may be finished as far as being able to have any more strip surgeries because of loss of scalp laxity...its not worth it in my opinion, nor is your hairloss bad enough to even warrant getting that small of an amount ------------------------------ 4600 grafts/ 12/10/2003/ Dr. Jerry Wong Aren't you glad you know me, and have such easy access to my dementia??? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member HairBeThere Posted July 6, 2004 Senior Member Share Posted July 6, 2004 EXACTLY!! Shockloss is at high risk in that area. So you may lose more than you gain. And you will have a permenant scar, for little yield, along with limiting donor area for when you need it most. The only viable option is to do FUE, but I won't recommend that due to possible shockloss. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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