My experience with Dr. Wong

[ILikeMyHair]

This is my first post after I joined this site today so it might be pretty long, but bear with me.

 

I'm 22 and just had my FUT surgery for 1560 grafts with Dr. Wong 5 and a half weeks ago (March 7, 2012).

 

Just to explain a bit about me first- I belong to a Sikh family and we wear tie our hair on the head and wear a turban on top. I have done this since I was a kid and done it until I turned 17 at which point I cut my hair. I noticed that my hairline had receded to about a Norwood 2- 3, but the front hairline wasn't completely lost, it was very thin.

Also some of my hair at the crown had been lost in a 1 inch strip. I was confused whether I was losing hair or had lost them due to the turban. Some people told me that the hair will start to thicken over time. So I just wore a cap for a year and waited. I noticed that my crown hair had come back, while not as strong as normal people, but it was enough to give the appearance of normal to other people. I think the hair at the front might have thickened too, but no hair that was lost grew back. Just the previous ones became thicker. Also my hairline was uneven, much more hair on the left side than on the right, which might be because I used to pull my hair when I was a kid, but I mostly did it on the right. Don't ask me why I did this. So I went to a doctor and he put me on rogaine. Tried Rogaine for 8 months, but didn't see any improvements. Tried some natural traditional indian hair oils which I want to believe might have thickened the hair a bit. Nothing drastic. So I started looking for alternatives. I didn't know about hair transplant then. After a few months (at age 19), my mom told me she booked an appointment with hair club after she saw their ad on TV. I went to them for a consultation which cost 110$ after tax. There they probed my scalp with a machine that runs through your hair and puts a maximized image of it on the screen. It showed some hair there that were thin and some that were thick. It was too far back and I can't remember whether the pattern would look the same for a normal guy or was it a pattern for male pattern baldness gene. They told me that I was losing hair. They wanted to put me on a 1500$ program to try out their shampoos and conditioners and other things. They told me I should try that before I think of doing surgery. I didn't sign up for their program and just went home. I waited another year to see how the hairline would proceed. At 20 I didn't notice any receding hairline than what was there at 17 when I had first cut my hair. Like I said from 17-18 some of my hair thickened and some grew back in the crown. After 18, they just stayed the same to a Norwood 2-3 level. So at 20 I decided I'm probably not losing any hair and my hair loss is due to the turban. This type is called traction alopecia. I decided to get a hair transplant, so I went back to hair club for a consultation. I talked to the hair club representative there which was very enthusiastic about getting me to do the surgery. The surgeon was not in the office that day, so she made me talk to him over the phone. She took some pictures of me and faxed it to him and later I spoke to him. To his credit, he told me that he thought I was too young for surgery and that I should just take propecia + rogaine until I was a bit older. So I started doing that for another year. At age 21, I did not feel that the medications were making any difference (other than to my account balance) so I stopped taking them. At age 22 I still noticed that my hairline is still the same as age 18 or I am pretty sure it is the same from looking at the pictures from those days. I sometimes think I might have lost some hair and sometimes I think it is the same, but mostly I think it is the same as before. At age 22, I recently went back to India and saw most of my relatives there from my mother's and father's side. I noticed that 50% of the men showed signs of hair loss, but I couldn't tell whether it was the turban or the normal hair loss. 50% did not show any sign despite the turban. My dad who wore his turban till age 45 has very thin hair all over the place on his head even though his hair line looks like its at norwood 2-3 about the same as mine. So after I came back from India recently, I decided that I do not have male pattern baldness and that I should go for surgery. In the meantime I had thankfully come across Dr. Hasson and Wong clinic online and went to their site and saw many videos of their patients. Also anywhere I searched, I only saw good reviews for their clinic. I can't say the same for Hair Club. Since I live in Vancouver, I thought that I lucked out with Hasson and Wong being in my neighbourhood.

 

So coming to the point, I booked an appointment with them and this is how my appointment and surgery went. I went to their office and spoke with Doug who is an assistant. It was probably a 10 min talk I had with him. First he asked me if I had heard of their reputation and I said yes. I told him I had been doing research about hair loss and treatments and that's how I found their clinic. He said it's good and that he likes an informed patient. Then he wanted to show me some videos of some of the patients whose case might be similar to mine. I told him I had already seen those videos on the site. I told him about my history of hair loss and about the turban and traction alopecia and my family history and medications and everything I mentioned above. He then tried to pull my hair from the top and back and then he moved my scalp from the back up and down. Then he called in Dr. Wong. Doug explained my history and hair loss to Dr. Wong and Dr. Wong did the same check on my hair as Doug (pulling the hair/ scalp laxity test.) Then Dr. Wong drew with a pen the hairline that I would like to have. When I came to what I thought was good, he decided it would need 1200 grafts or so. If more were needed he would just place more, but I only paid for 1200. Then he asked if I had any questions, I could not think of any. He said it was a straight forward case and he decided I was a good candidate for surgery. Then Doug asked when I would like to book the surgery. I said ASAP. So they said a week from now works. They asked if I had taken any antibiotics, pain killers or other meds. I said no. They said a week from now should work. Then they give me a list of things I should not eat and some other instructions.

A week later I went in for my surgery at 7:30 am. Dr. Wong trimmed my head where the recipients would be placed (something I was not aware he would do and made me sad). Then he removed the donor strip after applying local anesthetics. Then he stapled the wound. I ended up needing 1500 grafts. I think my density is low and I had more singles than doubles in grafts. They also served me lunch. I was done at 2pm. Then they gave me a cap and sent me home with some more instructions for the next 2 weeks.

The whole experience at their clinic was very professional. All the staff were very nice. I did not feel they were trying to force me into the surgery (something I had felt at Hair Club when I had first talked to their rep.)

 

Some concerns I have when looking at things in retrospect are:

I feel that the consultation was too short and not enough was discussed in it. I feel that the talk with Dr. Wong was too short.

We never talked about my hair density or my scalp laxity. He never told me to do any exercises for the scalp before the surgery.

Post surgery he did not explain or even mention the fact that the donor scar can be stretched if I'm not careful for the first 6 months with workout. I just came across this when I googled whether I can exercise post op.

He never told me post op how many grafts were placed. This is something I had to go back to the clinic for staples removal and ask them specifically.

He never explained anything about trichophytic closure technique which I discovered they use once I went to their website.

 

I feel that he would've explained all this if I had asked him more on this. He is a busy guy and thought that he could successfully do a surgery on me and I felt the same way about Dr. Wong. Therefore, I did not hesitate to go for the surgery after such a short consultation. His reputation + my impatience with my hair might have made me rush into the surgery. This is what I feel at the moment. However, I don't think I made a mistake by rushing into surgery with Dr. Wong because he is I believe from the reviews a great surgeon and if he felt I am a good candidate for surgery and should do it now, then it is fine. He did tell me that I had waited long enough for the surgery and should do it now if I wanted to. So I wasted no time and booked the surgery 1 week after the consultation. Also the timing was very suitable for me since I was taking a semester off and not working at the moment and had just come back from India.

 

I just want you guys comment about what you think. Whether or not I made the right decision. Did I rush into surgery? Did I choose the right surgeon? Am I too young for it? Anything you feel about my hair loss + surgery.

 

I still have more to ask and explain, but I feel this post is getting too long. I'm not sure if this is even the right place for this kind of post, but if you have read this far, thank you for your patience. Please leave comments. I have attached some 2 of my 2 weeks post op and 2 of my 4 weeks post op pics to this thread. I have more pics on my profile page. Please check those out as well.

Edited April 16, 2012 by ILikeMyHair

[Dutch]

Definitely post photos & you'll get more responses.

 

I have old school friends who wear turbans. They have exactly the same condition as you. It's like turban alopecia or burn if you like. Yes you are young but the turban contributed to this loss of hair so as it bothered you so much, something had to be done.

 

You picked one hell of a surgeon. You're very lucky to be living in Vancouver. Any questions you had you should've asked Dr Wong. I tried to ask Dr Hasson all I can.

 

Over the next few months you'll see growth & that will make you happy & you'll know you done the right thing

 

Happy growing and good luck!

[ILikeMyHair]

Need some more comments please. I have posted the many pictures on my profile page now. Please check them out and let me know what you think.

[StaggerLee123]

I commented on another post you created asking for feedback on your procedure but I am happy to answer this one as well. You sound as if you are second guessing yourself at this point and I would encourage you to stop doing that. You had surgery with one of the top doctors in the world and your results will be great.

 

I think everyone probably has some doubts right after the procedure so you're not alone in feeling that way. At 23 you are on the young side for surgery but because of your history of turban wearing/ traction alopecia you fall into a special circumstances category and I think that's probably why you were a candidate for surgery.

 

As far as your consultation went, in hindsight, it sounds as if you felt as if you could have asked more questions. I think the impression that you gave Doug was that you did your research and were well informed.

 

At this point I would just relax and forget about the fact you had the procedure done. Get on with your life and in about 4 months you will start to see some positive changes and in another 8 months I bet all of your concerns will have disappeared.

 

So hurry up and wait!!

[1978matt]

Need some more comments please. I have posted the many pictures on my profile page now. Please check them out and let me know what you think.

 

I read your original post above. It may be the way you described it but it does seem like you rushed in to a HT a little too soon. That's not to say you will get a bad result or have anything to worry about necessarily.

 

Although H&W have a good reputation, for me they would not make my shortlist. I just dont get a good vibe about them.

[Dutch]

I read your original post above. It may be the way you described it but it does seem like you rushed in to a HT a little too soon. That's not to say you will get a bad result or have anything to worry about necessarily.

 

Although H&W have a good reputation, for me they would not make my shortlist. I just dont get a good vibe about them.

 

If they don't make your shortlist and you don't get a good vibe about this clinic, then no one will ever impress you. No need to make him nervous now. He picked well but maybe rushed himself but will have a change of heart in 6 months time.

[Davis91]

Matt,

 

Why do you not get a good vibe from H&W? I am not questioning why, I am just curious to know the reasons. Thanks.

[TakingThePlunge]

ILikeMyHair,

 

While you may have gone into surgery a bit uninformed, you are very very lucky to have chosen a world class surgeon like Dr. Wong. Bear in mind that patients travel from the far corners of the word to have surgery with these docs.

 

It's perfectly normal for even the most educated patents to second guess their decision after surgery. However, you can count on the fact that your hair transplant is on par with the finest anywhere. Try to relax and take comfort in that knowledge. There is no going back only forward. You will be a happy man in no time.

 

Good luck!

[bonkerstonker]

To be honest if anyone gets a bad vibe or regrets surgery at Hasson and Wong then hair transplantation is not for them. There's only 3 clinics in the world I'd use and they're at the top of that list.

 

Ilikemyhair please don't take this offensively this is just brutal honesty from someone who's been around hair transplant forums for nearly most of my life. Firstly hts are a real mix of emotions I don't mean the operation I mean the year wait the first emotion is paranoia I have had 4 transplants and i still get slightly paranoid believe me we all get it but the key thing is some people are stronger mentally than others and some people like your self are weak every now and again someone like your self pops up and creates loads of threads asking questions it's only natural to want the best for your self but the battle is in your head don't let paranoia wreck your ht journey try and ignore it and before you know it you will be through this trust me you'll be fine.

 

I had a few transplanted hairs that grew a little bit thinner than they should have done from my transplant with Dr Hasson they called me back to the clinic before a year and gave me a lot more new grafts than what I should of had and looked after me good and proper on the basis a few hairs had a chance of failing but with time these hairs could of matured they didn't want me waiting around any longer and sorted me out. Ironic thing is I think these hairs have matured as I'm 2 months post my touch up op and my hair is thicker than its ever been look at my pictures in the purple link below. This is why we go to the best.

 

Moral of the story is RELAX.

Edited April 19, 2012 by bonkerstonker

[Shampoo]

Matt, Why do you not get a good vibe from H&W?

I am just curious to know the reasons.

 

Yes I would be curious as well?

since I just set an appointment this week with Dr. Wong for later this summer

[RCWest]

Traction Alopecia is an unfortunate result of many cultures. The Sikh and many African American hairstyles cause Traction Alopecia. That being said, you made an excellent choice with Dr. Wong. He is on my top 5 list of hair transplant surgeons in the world.

[Shampoo]

you made an excellent choice with Dr. Wong.

He is on my top 5 list of hair transplant surgeons in the world.

 

And in my mind he is the "King of the Crown"....no pun intended.

Dr. Wong just seems to do outstanding crown work.