Dr. Feriduni

[sheath]

They have told me they do not accept credit cards and only cash.

 

Anyone else got cold feet before signing the agrrement forms?

[England]

I use WorldFirst for international transactions, strongly recommend them if they operate in your country.

 

The forms themselves are very normal, remember you can cancel even after signing the forms and sending the deposit.

[beardywierdy]

Sheath

 

Cold feet and nervousness are very natural. Don't fret about the payment, it's all above board. Are you nervous about the payment or are you having second thoughts about the procedure?

 

Once you have paid it is a bit like the point of no return, you suddenaly realize what you are about to undertake and the doubts creep in. You suddenly start to find lots of reasons not to have a HT. It's all normal, what you need to do is a bit of positive thinking- think long term and how much it will enhance you.

 

Good luck

[chrisdav]

How do they like the cash in ?50 notes?

 

The forum members above have been through the process and you will be fine.

[sheath]

I'm a little concerned at the quality of results I'll gain from a FUT procedure. Any thoughts?

 

My profile display picture is what Dr. Ferudini has suggested which looks like a great hairline, I'm just worried the density won't match the rest of my hair, which is pretty thick.

 

Thoughts please.

[Dutch]

FUT would produce a higher percentage of growth & yield than FUE anyway. It's not a massive area to fill in. The less bald you are, the higher expectations you have & the harder it is to be pleased with the final result.

Hope things work out

[sheath]

I would like to discuss my concerns with "real" people too.

 

As I fear the surgery will only tell me what I want to hear to get my money.

[England]

Hi Sheath,

 

I would always say it's a battle between your goals and a reasonable long term plan.

 

At 24, this kind of early recession, even if slow as you mentioned, does suggest to me that you could potentially recede further, certainly over a period of 10 years or more. While taking Propecia is an excellent step and should help to slow this, it doesn't necessarily stop balding completely for most people. The position you are in pretty much matches what most people who opt for HT's have - the risk of the need for future operations. Given this situation, most surgeons would advise a conservative hairline (which I believe Dr Feriduni has done correctly on you), and aiming for a visibly good density in that area - this is to leave room for manoeuvre to handle any future loss. You have a limited supply of donor which can be extracted and the 'battle plan' is usually to ensure that you have enough left over to cope with future hair loss

 

I say visibly good, because your donor may be perhaps 70 to 100 follicular units per sq cm, but 'dense packing' in hair transplants tends to mean 50 or so at the front, lessening as you go back. While this density will always be lower than your natural density, it can be sufficient, if done correctly, to give the illusion of a full head of natural hair. You do need to have realistic expectations though, the hair you have transplanted will never be as thick as your hair going back, so if that is what you desire you may end up disappointed.

 

What I would say is don't take this decision lightly. If you are opting for the FUT route (as I did at age 20) you are committing yourself to potential future surgeries when the hair loss progresses (which it inevitably will, even if it appears stable now). Not only do you lose the option to go with a short cut or to shave your head completely, it also becomes essential to have future surgeries if the hair loss continues because otherwise the hair would look 'top heavy' and unnatural. This is why some people such as Ben, who anticipate the possibility of a lot of future hair loss, opt for the FUE route.

 

FUT does on average produce a slightly better yield than FUE (assuming you're in the hands of a top FUE doctor), but this can vary by patient and is by no means set in stone. Typical numbers doctors have provided me are 1.8 to 2.2 hairs per graft for FUE and 2.1 for strip. If your main concern is maximum density and you don't mind the strip scar, and can commit to future surgeries, FUT is a good way to go. In my opinion it is rare to see cases where 1 surgery can achieve the visible appearance of native hair starting from a point of nothing (ie no hairs in the area), but it can happen if packed with a high enough density. If you don't achieve the desired appearance first time you can always go back and have it thickened up. I had a strip surgery 7 years ago and while it was never as thick as my natural hair, it was thick enough that it looked natural and not balding up until recently. Last month I went for a further surgery to add density and to also address the areas behind which had continued to recede. So long as you're comfortable with this long term 'battle' - I'm sure you can gain a lot of confidence from the right procedure.

 

If you're happy or could be happy with a shaved look then I would give this a lot of thought.

Edited April 26, 2012 by England

[chrisdav]

Sheath, how old are you? If I remember correctly, you are quite young.

 

The proposed hairline looks very aggressive in my honest opinion.

 

The HT density will not match the density of what appears to be very think native hair. Clearly that has not been explained to you.

 

Make sure you understand that a HT will not be as thick as native hair.

[beardywierdy]

Sheath

 

It seems that you need to go back and really think about whether surgery is for you, at this stage. It is natural to have doubts at this stage but if I were you I would think carefully about surgery and the future implications.

 

The facts are:

you ought to be on meds to deal with future loss;

at 24 you are likely to lose more hair. You will have to accept this and plan for another surgery at some point in the future;

transplanted hair will never match the density of your native hair- skilled placement however can give the illusion of full coverage

 

I had a procedure similar to yours at 38 years old. I am now 42 and my hairline is between 50-60 grafts per cm2 and looks like a full hairline.

 

Why not come to London to the hair meet and you can see patients for yourself from many different doctors, at different stages. That should give you a good idea about what can be achieved. It's fine on the internet but you would benefit from meeting people and it might put your mind at rest.

 

Re Dr Feriduni: - rest assured he is an ethical surgeon and his work is as good as anything you will see from anywhere in the world.

 

Good luck.

Edited April 26, 2012 by beardywierdy

[snowman]

Sheath

 

It seems that you need to go back and really think about whether surgery is for you, at this stage. It is natural to have doubts at this stage but if I were you I would think carefully about surgery and the future implications.

 

The facts are:

you ought to be on meds to deal with future loss;

at 24 you are likely to lose more hair. You will have to accept this and plan for another surgery at some point in the future;

transplanted hair will never match the density of your native hair- skilled placement however can give the illusion of full coverage

 

I had a procedure similar to yours at 38 years old. I am now 42 and my hairline is between 50-60 grafts per cm2 and looks like a full hairline.

 

Why not come to London to the hair meet and you can see patients for yourself from many different doctors, at different stages. That should give you a good idea about what can be achieved. It's fine on the internet but you would benefit from meeting people and it might put your mind at rest.

 

Re Dr Feriduni: - rest assured he is an ethical surgeon and his work is as good as anything you will see from anywhere in the world.

 

Good luck.

 

Top advice right here, whilst you are young make sure you do not rush into things and take the offer up to meet real life patients and what their thoughts are.

 

You could also consult with out HT surgeons to see what they recommend.

[sheath]

Thanks for the good advice guys it has all been taken on board.

 

 

I have emailed the Feriduni Clinic with my concerns over density etc......lets see what they say.

 

 

I will be looking to come to the London Hair Meeting.....sorry to ask but when is it again?

 

 

I am well prepared to have further surgery say 7-10 years down the line to fill in the gaps and add more density.

 

 

I need to take some sort of action now as it is getting to a dark point where I do not even want to go out sometimes.

[England]

Hi Sheath,

 

The meet is on 5th May.

 

Here's more information:

 

http://www.hairrestorationnetwork.com/eve/165093-spring-hair-meet-up-london-may-5th-2012-a.html

 

In both my original consultation in January and in my pre-op consultation in March Dr Feriduni was very honest and forthcoming about what density to expect - he's a very ethical surgeon and he will not mislead you in any way.

 

Good luck!

[sheath]

Hey Guys,

 

Here's what Dr. Feriduni said:

 

"I just sat together with Dr. Feriduni and he agreed with your treatment plan and the calculation was also correct.

He is indeed planning to reconstruct the hairline with 60-70 FU/cm2 to achieve the dense packing that you’re referring to.

Next to the reconstruction and lowering Dr. Feriduni will also work a bit in between the existing hairline to already anticipate on the gap and to avoid that you would already have to come back after 8-10 years for a 2nd treatment.

This means that the area that needs to be treated will be around 40 cm2 and not exactly 35 cm2 like you’ve calculated."

 

Does this sound right?

 

SAM

[sheath]

They have also stated a 90-95% survival rate of the transplanted hairs, so in theory this would mean I will be getting a lovely dense hairline? Yes?

[chrisdav]

The survival rate is higher and more consistent for strip.

 

Dr Feriduni is an excellent surgeon and you will be fine with him.

 

I am sure he will have showed you some of the work in similar cases to yours that he has produced and there are satisfied patients on here of his.

 

Maybe you should try and meet a couple of his patients face to face to inspect their hair.

 

I am sure there is a few on here who would be willing to.

Edited May 21, 2012 by chrisdav

[England]

Agree with what Chris said, Strip is marginally more consistent and on average yields very slightly higher.

 

Dr Feriduni is one of the few FUE surgeons in the world I would trust to go with FUE over strip, because in the wrong hands it can be significantly inferior to strip. In the hands of the very best surgeons, eg Feriduni, Rahal, Shapiro, it can yield almost as high as strip.

 

I personally can only talk about the customer service at this stage - I will reserve judgement on the final result (I am in the doldrums right now, 2 months after surgery). I would happily meet up at a later date when my hair grows in.

 

Hopefully in 6-10 months time I'll be raving about the end result ;-)

 

Edit: I'm sure you were informed that with any surgery (strip or FUE), there are no guarantees. 90-95% can be achieved, and may be the average, but you can never be absolutely certain with surgery.

Edited May 21, 2012 by England

[chrisdav]

Beardyweardy had his frontal hair done by Dr Feriduni and had a good result.

 

Maybe message him and see if you can meet him.