At 6 months and very concerned

[cowl]

Apparently most of the pics have been taken down, but from what I can tell, HT would be inappropriate for this patient. The reason is that HT cannot provide a naturally dense hairline in just one session, despite what the Bosley commercials imply. In fact, it probably cannot be done in 2 sessions. Yes you can have a naturally sparse hairline after one session, but this is not what the patient requires. The 'state of the art' just isn't there yet. He probably should have been turned away.

 

Having said that, I believe that all is not lost. The patient can probably just trim some of the outer hairs to reduce the sparsity. I seriously doubt anyone would be able to tell anything. You can tell if people think the hair is weird, because they look up at the hair when talking to you. It's called 'elevator eyes'. Or in this case, 'conveyor belt' eyes.

 

But like I said, it's hard to really tell what's going on here without the pics.

[beaverbuzz]

Cowl, I respectfully disagree.

I spent a lot of time looking at hair transplants online as well as saw my own brothers hair transplant. With my hair caliber I believe the density should have been fine. Like I said from my first post, my expectations were realistic. If they were not, I am sure I would have been told so and turned away.

 

There is another story on this forum, coincidentally another person that had poor growth, however, the reason why I want to show it is to draw attention to his temple points, which came out well. I actually would have preferred to have it a little less dense, but I believe that is why Dr. Shapiro suggested the day after my surgery that I may want to laser some of them so it doesn't look so dense. This user had a little bit larger of a procedure in terms of grafts (1300), but he also had a larger area covered from what I can see.

 

http://www.hairrestorationnetwork.com/eve/165098-doctor-damkerng-pathomvanich-transplanted-scalp-area-growing-slower-than-temples-5.html

 

Now if you look at my temple points (I actually have very similar hair to the guy in the thread), the spacing between each graft is quite large, especially the grafts farthest out. Is the guy above's a spectacular result? No. From what I researched that was a pretty normal for temple points. I didn't get this result. That's why I came on here, and that's why I am disappointed. Of course, my temple and hairline growth has not been great either, but the temple points are the most obvious to me.

 

I took off my photos for privacy concerns; however, I will leave this up as it doesn't show my face.

[MAGNUMpi]

Hey beaverbuzz,

What are you planning to do now with this situation?

What do you think went wrong here?

M.

[Mickey85]

Hey beaverbuzz,

What are you planning to do now with this situation?

What do you think went wrong here?

M.

 

I cant speak on beaverbuzz's behalf but sadly any surgery is a gamble. I cant stress that enough. Im sure beaverbuzz followed the post op instructions so its really a question of yield, physiology(i think that is the word) and surgical practice. Unfortuneatly we will never know the specific reason or reasons as to why some cases dobt yield well or why scars stretch etc.

[MAGNUMpi]

sadly any surgery is a gamble. I cant stress that enough. Im sure beaverbuzz followed the post op instructions so its really a question of yield, physiology(i think that is the word) and surgical practice. Unfortuneatly we will never know the specific reason or reasons as to why some cases dobt yield well or why scars stretch etc.

Thanks Mickey85,

This is scary... but I guess true for the time being. I hope this all becomes less of a gamble in the near future.

M.

[cowl]

Regarding this guy, I think that his temple results may not be as strong as would appear. Here are two pics before and after:

 

before: http://www.hairrestorationnetwork.com/eve/attachment.php?attachmentid=27511&d=1332495739

 

after: http://www.hairrestorationnetwork.com/eve/attachment.php?attachmentid=27116&d=1330768626

 

It's really hard to tell because the angles are different (and I couldn't find any exact matches), but I don't think there's really much difference. His recession is not so advanced, so adding a few hairs could make a big difference. I don't think his treatment was as extensive as yours. Also he doesn't show any post-op pics of this region so it's hard to really know how aggressive they were.

 

Also pre/post pics shown by clinics don't show any significant temple point repair pics. So it doesn't seem to be a common thing. Plus, this hair may recede further (as with the frontal hairline) even with finasteride/minoxidyl.

 

I think that if the office says that you can laser the hairs to remove or soften them (after the surgery no less) then they haven't really thought it all through. In my opinion it doesn't matter who's right and who's wrong. And I personally don't think you did anything wrong. But you should not feel self-conscious or that you have to wear a hat. That is the opposite of what you were hoping for. I suspect that waiting longer will not improve the situation. For that reason I suggested trimming the outer hairs to reduce the perception of sparsity. I don't think it's a big deal to trim the hairs because they will always grow back if you want.

 

Sorry if am being presumptuous, or if I am missing some important points or details. I am certainly not an expert, just an opinionated guy. I also was trying to restore a naturally thick hairline, and I was not satisfied with my first attempt. Hopefully my second attempt will turn out better. As for my comment about unrealistic expectations, it applies as much to me as to anyone.

 

But again, it's not about blame. It's about doing what you need to do to get on with your life.

[Mickey85]

You also have a pm Magnum.

[MAGNUMpi]

Cowl,

I agree and would add: The difference is that his hair looked NATURAL before the HT. If you're going to walk around after a HT with an unnatural "fake" look there is no reason to have a procedure at all in my opinion. This HAS to look natural and be undetectable or we are wasting our time and money. I hope beaverbuzz get some free work done until he is satisfied.

M.

[beaverbuzz]

Magnum - not sure what went wrong. I followed the instructions fully. I started shedding grafts very early and this was the first warning sign to me that something was wrong. I emailed the clinic and they said I shouldn't be concerned. Since that happened, none of them have grown back. As I have said all along, the grafts that have survived were the ones that didn't fall out. I think if I were to do it all over again, I wouldn't have used rogaine/minoxidil post surgery and avoided washing my hair for longer as per the instructions.

 

Cowl - No worries. There are some people that are deadset against having their natural density or close to it. I just want to be able to look in the mirror and not see scalp where the grafts were implanted. At the moment thats what I see.

 

I am not sure what I am going to do now. I emailed Dr. Shapiro but haven't heard back from him yet. I know he wanted to wait a little longer due to my rogaine shed, but to be honest I don't think it has anything to do with my poor yield. I am willing to wait till 18 months though.

 

Before this surgery I NEVER would have considered strip, but now I am considering it. Its a pretty sad reflection of how things have changed in a span of a year.

 

I have read of one story ( I searched throughout every hair loss forum) of a guy that started getting growth at month 13, so I am trying to hold on to that shred of hope.

Edited October 6, 2012 by beaverbuzz

[cowl]

"I just want to be able to look in the mirror and not see scalp where the grafts were implanted."

 

I think that is a reasonable expectation for a HT. But also not achievable with current technology. Despite what TV commercials imply.

 

This pic is recent. I had a HT 1200 grafts 2 years ago at Bosley NYC. They added about 1 inch of hairline to my top/front. Not great density but not bad either. You can definitely see the scalp. 10 days ago I had a procedure to double the density. But my doc said that even with doubling the density would only improve the appearance of density by about 30%, and another doc said the same thing. So I believe that.

 

HOWEVER, it is ok to see the scalp. It happens as you get older. This is not necessarily a bad thing, and people don't necessarily think its weird looking.

 

I also have not at all considered the temple issues, so you are way ahead of me in that respect. I have not figured out the best shape for the overall hairline, and I tried on my own but I'm not an expert and perhaps have poor judgement on top of that lol.

 

I think that anyone who offers to do FUT for your temple points is as desperate as you are. My recommendation would be to trim the outer hairs to reduce sparsity and accept mild hair loss. I'd be curious as to your thoughts about that.

[rev3]

at this point, the good news is that this is not a disaster

 

maybe 1000 grafts was too conservative to give the density you wanted in the area transplanted

might be the reason for you disappointment;

(do you know/can you find out the recipient area in cm2?)

 

for instance, a recipient area greater than 16cm2 for the 1000 grafts you received (given the density of the hair sitting directly behind the proposed new hair line) will give a density of less than 60 grafts per cm2.

in the temple angles this will probably look like thinning (as it does)

 

maybe the FUE procedure, which, in general, is known to give lesser yield than FUT, reduced that 1000 grafts to 900 (they say the yield is 10% less with FUE)

 

if that is the case and everyone of those 900 grafts grew out,

your recipient area would need to be 15cm2 or lower to reach a density of at least 60 grafts per cm2

 

find out these numbers

they will relieve your "waiting" for growth when all might have grown already

 

look, numbers mean nothing if you are satisfied

but if you are questioning whether the procedure failed to grow fully or if it was just a case of not placing enough grafts to satisfy the density you expected,

these numbers (recipient area in cm2 and number of grafts transplanted) will clear this up

 

what ever the case, this is an easy case to BEEF up the density

with another procedure (i know you've heard this before but at this stage, this is a good plan that you can be proactive about now by consulting with other docs or planning with your current one)

 

best

[rev3]

at this point, the good news is that this is not a disaster

 

maybe 1000 grafts was too conservative to give the density you wanted in the area transplanted

might be the reason for you disappointment;

(do you know/can you find out the recipient area in cm2?)

 

for instance, a recipient area greater than 16cm2 for the 1000 grafts you received (given the density of the hair sitting directly behind the proposed new hair line) will give a density of less than 60 grafts per cm2.

in the temple angles this will probably look like thinning (as it does)

 

maybe the FUE procedure, which, in general, is known to give lesser yield than FUT, reduced that 1000 grafts to 900 (they say the yield is 10% less with FUE)

 

if that is the case and everyone of those 900 grafts grew out,

your recipient area would need to be 15cm2 or lower to reach a density of at least 60 grafts per cm2

 

find out these numbers

they will relieve your "waiting" for growth when all might have grown already

 

look, numbers mean nothing if you are satisfied

but if you are questioning whether the procedure failed to grow fully or if it was just a case of not placing enough grafts to satisfy the density you expected,

these numbers (recipient area in cm2 and number of grafts transplanted) will clear this up

 

what ever the case, this is an easy case to BEEF up the density

with another procedure (i know you've heard this before but at this stage, this is a good plan that you can be proactive about now by consulting with other docs or planning with your current one)

 

best

[SADbutTRUE]

hang in there , and try to stay positive , i just read this thread and theres only one picture to judge the results, your hair looks normal to me , i knowyour not happy and thats the bottom line, i diddnt see any preop so i have nothing to comapre the after shot with, smg is one of the top clinics out there and im sure they will get you where you need to be, good luck

[s2thoudriver]

The answer to the problem has already been given... just laser off the un natural points and leave the rest as the hairline is ok with the temple points moved back.

 

If you want more, do not go for strip for such small numbers, there's just no point getting the scar for touch up work.

 

Rob

[rev3]

he has posted pics in the past and he was transplanting into totally balding areas at the temple angle and temple point

 

post op

 

the temple angles look evenly diffuse, which is more obvious due to the density of the native hair behind the recipient area

 

while the temple points look patchy

[beaverbuzz]

Just wanted to update this thread.

The grafts are starting to come through, and the hair is looking much better over the past few weeks.

Dr. Shapiro did a great job on the hairline design, and I am predicting an awesome result.

Thanks everyone for your concern and comments.

Best wishes

beaverbuzz

[beaverbuzz]

Just wanted to update this thread.

The grafts are starting to come through, and the hair is looking much better over the past few weeks.

Dr. Shapiro did a great job on the hairline design, and I am predicting an awesome result.

Thanks everyone for your concern and comments.

Best wishes

beaverbuzz

[SADbutTRUE]

you had another procedure or the hairs from the 1st one are starting to come in, im happy for ya , that things are looking better.

[rev3]

congratulations!

[StaggerLee123]

Wow that is quite a turn around since your last post. Glad to hear that you are starting to feel satisfied. Any recent pics to share?

[s2thoudriver]

Have you had the temple points corrected as well now as well?

 

Rob