repairing old punch scars (circa 1970-80s )

[trinder]

As a victim of very poor old punch graft Transplants I've spent the last 40 odd years trying to put right some of this early damage that was done to a then young 23 year old.

 

I'm now 59 and have continued to lose hair over the years ( no surprise there then) I now consequently have to cut my remaining hair, to a 1 and 2 guard length.

 

Unfortunately this shows up all the old punch scars and linear scars, that cover the whole of the back of my head it looks like someone fired a shotgun at the back of my head (nice)

 

Even though i have had quite a bit of revision work done to the hairline, which is now acceptable, and also to some of the scars, ( old punches cut out in places and thin linear scar created) I am very conscious and unhappy with the appearance at the back.

 

I've looked into the HIS tattoos (lets face it thats what they are) and apart from it being outrageously expensive for what it is, I am worried about the long term look of it, especially as i'm greying and my hair may well finish up very light.

 

That said it does look a very good procedure.

 

So what i'd like to know is, can anyone tell me of anyone in the UK that may be able to help me improve this situation. Is there anyone here in the UK that is competent at say body/ beard to scar HTs? or any plastic surgeon that could maybe cut out the old punch scars and suture them closer using the trico method.

 

I know this could be a very slow process but if it worked and gave me a FUE appearance i'd be happy.

 

To cap it all 5 years ago i was given a very bad Antibiotic called Cipro (that i didnt need as i found out after my lawyer got my records) that damaged my tendons and central nervous system and even though i am getting better......i still cant work. I was self employed before this. (how do you get so much bad luck?)

 

So thats why i need someone in this country as i cant travel far at the moment.

 

If anyone can help me in any way at all i would Really appreciate it. If only long hair wasn't in fashion back then, i'd probably be a very happy contented no1cut balding guy LOL!

 

Thanks Guys.

[wylie]

You need to get out of the U.K. if you are going to get repaired, that much is for sure. The are alot of unknowns on the scalp micro-pigmentation, and while there are indeed some good results on really short hair/shaved heads, I am not sure I would trust anyone yet in this business. The potential for botched work is still too high for me, but since I am not shaving my head, I am still considering it, knowing if it fails, it should not be terribly noticeable. But even if you find someone you can trust, you have to shell out alot of cash for something that is egregiously overpriced. Like hammerheads, these folks smell blood/desperation, and it smells like money.

 

My advice to you is if you wish to get work done, you have to travel, and your best option in Europe is Dr. Bisanga in Brussels, who has done alot of repairs. His patient rep. is Stephen, and they are going to want to see pictures, so if you don't have any, I'd take some good ones so they know what they are up against.

[trinder]

Thanks for the ifo Wylie, i'll check out Dr Basanga and see what i think. Re the smp, i think maybe someone like melina lardi may be ok as her work only lasts about 2 years. So as you start to go grey or even white it can be changed.

 

Its a bit scary what some of the clinics in the Uk are doing, as they say there pigments are long lasting. So in theory some poor young guy is going to end up with a grey rim around the sides and back and a nice dark scull cap.

 

Once again they'll be on the merry go round of a lifetime of worry and treatment and expense.

 

I think that if you are one of the people who is definitely going to lose most of their hair from a young age, then the HT docs need to be honest with them so they can make a informed decision on their plan of action.

 

I wish i'd been aware of all the pitfalls when i first started going bald when i was around 19.

 

I would love to have just been able to buzz my hair down and get on with my life, without all the shit of trying to repair all the unatural work.

 

New techniques produce great natural looking results but there are massive limitations for lots of people at the moment if they have poor donor yields.

 

If these people are made aware of the limitations they could maybe just have a small fue to give a soft receeding hairline, and then buzz it down. At least then the face is framed.

[trinder]

Wylie i've just seen that you had work done by dr Umar, would you be able to tell me what he did and if you were happy with the results. you can pm me if you like. I've been looking at a lot of his work but are we only seeing the success'es

[StaggerLee123]

I've seen some really impressive work on old punch scars with SMP. Bisanga has done some excellent repair work as Wylie says. I have never seen punch scar tissue removed and then sutured together but it sounds plausible to me as I know that has been done with hairline grafts that are too big for the front of the head. Keep talking with Wylie as he has a lot of knowledge on the subject of repair. Best of luck with it.

[trinder]

Thanks for your help Staggerlee. I really need to get this sorted once and for all, I'm going to read about Basanga today, as he's the nearest to me in the UK.

 

I'll post some pics so people can see what i'm talking about. The whole back of my head is covered in dotted scars and on top of these are numerous linear scars although they are less noticable because they were done quite well.

 

I think that fue would perhaps make it worse as my remaining hair isn't very dense also theres not a lot of it.

 

I do think smp could be the answer does Basanga do it? but because of the lies i've been told and the mess thats been left, i find it very hard to make a decision for fear of creating more problems down the line.

 

I like the idea of Melena lardis work but it only last a short while where as HIS seems to last longer but what is the long term appearance like, and if it doesn't fade what happens as the surrounding hairs go grey/white?

 

To be honest the BHTs into the scars seem like a good bet, and Umar seems the man. But i would need to know what his success rates are.

 

I'm hoping that Basanga may do BHTs.

 

Also what about dr Gho's treatment is this successful in all cases? is there any studies of his work.

 

if anyone can help with any of these questions it would be most appreciated. I'm off to check out Dr Basanga.

[trinder]

Just been looking for dr Bisanga on this forums list of surgeons, and he doesn't seem to be on it.

could anyone tell me why this is? I looked on the sites map at Belgium and no luck either.

 

I'll have to google him.

[wylie]

Hey StaggerLee, thanks for commenting. Your viewpoint is always welcome in any discussion.

 

To clear up a few questions you still have trinder:

 

Dr. Umar has done an impressive job on me so far, there is no doubt as to the efficacy of beard grafts. I'm still not where I want to be repair wise, however, as my hair does not have sufficient enough density to completely conceal really, really horrendous previous work. But I can go out in public without a concealer if I chose to ( I do not, usually) and with a concealer I can make the previous work invisible.

 

There are many pros, and perhaps a few cons, that I have encountered on my repair journey thus far. Two of the drawbacks I have discovered with Dr. Umar thus far:

 

1) Price: Repair work is uber expensive, and for someone like myself, I need alot of it. I've had 6500 grafts, still have a bald crown, and my front half is around 80% presently of where I want it to be (although I am only 4 months out from my 4th surgery, so it will still improve)

 

2) The time Dr. Umar has been present with the repair has been minimal, he has worked very quickly to extract my grafts and then has left the remainder to various technicians. Like anyone who shells out the cash, we want the doctor doing the bulk of the work, but you will find there are VERY few who do this, and Dr. Umar is certainly no exception.

 

But the results of beard hair do speak for themselves. My hair is still not dense enough, and still has the appearance somewhat of a "hair helmet", but if you saw how horrendous it was before I found Dr. Umar, you'd say the improvement is over 100% better. We all want to look normal, but normal means something different when you have exhausted all your scalp donor. Repair patients can never forget this, and I sometimes do. And there is no other doctor on this forum who could have done what Dr. Umar has, as his repair skills are unmatched.

 

Also forget about Gho, that is snake oil and presents a false hope. Let his shills push it all they want, the results simply do not exist, and I'm not sure they ever will.

 

Dr. Bisanga is not recommended, but he is still highly regarded. His approach is slower than someone like Dr. Umar, who can do larger sessions and get greater results in less time (my opinion) but that does not detract from Dr. Bisanga's success rate, or even his approach. I believe that smaller and slower can be just as effective in the long run. And he is probably most skilled in Europe at using beard hair, making him the choice for repair.

 

His clinic is called BHR. He has alot of results on YouTube. I would suggest sending them your pictures to get the ball rolling.

[trinder]

Thanks for taking the time to reply to my quetsions Wylie, it's very appreciated.

 

Do you have any pictures of you're treatment progress at all? it would be good to see what can be achieved with BHTs.

 

I've checked out Dr Bisanga and on the surface he looks quite promising, i quite like the slow approach, and all i'm interested in doing, is repairing the scars at the back.

 

the top doesn't look bad at all no one has ever said anything since i had repairs done on that years ago.I look balding but that doesn't bother me now i just want natural.

 

While checking out Dr B i came across Dr Mwamba and Dr Devroy both in Belgium.

 

They also seem quite good initially, although i'm not sure Dr Devroy does bht.Do you know anything about these two?

 

I think i would have to go to Belgium as the cost of Dr Umar may be prohibitive, and also if the Belgium Docs are ok, its a lot closer.

 

As i said in another post i've been ill for 5 years thanks to bad antibiotcs from NHS docs here, so i am not good to travel too far. Although i am getting better.

 

Thanks

[Modenese]

Just been looking for dr Bisanga on this forums list of surgeons, and he doesn't seem to be on it.

could anyone tell me why this is? I looked on the sites map at Belgium and no luck either.

 

I'll have to google him.

 

Hi Trinder

 

Really sorry to hear about your plight.

 

To be listed here the Doctors undoubtedly have to pass a high quality threshold. But they also have to pay a fee and some refuse to pay that fee. Bisanga is a case in point.

 

For repair cases, three names stand out in my mind as I've followed them doing some great work with difficult, donor-depleted, scarred clients.

 

Shapiro Medical Group (USA). Janna from SMG regularly posts here.

Dr Feller (USA). Spex is a former client of his.

Dr Bisanga (Belgium)

 

Of course lots of Docs do repairs, but those are my personal stand-outs.

 

If you look around the web for repair cases featuring those 3 you'll see some amazing things.

 

I can only imagine how HT's were sold back in the day, before the Internet.

 

I hope things work out for you. Take care.

[ej]

Hi Trinder,

 

Feel free to check out my repair, I had some pretty bad scarring, most important thing is to take your time and not make your situation worse

 

Hope this helps

 

ej

 

http://www.hairrestorationnetwork.com/eve/160800-scar-repair-1032-beard-hairs-dr-bisanga.html

Edited February 6, 2013 by ej

[trinder]

Hi Modenese,

 

Thanks for advice. I think Bisanga may be the man for me as i'm in the uk. But if needed i would go to the states, as i cant afford to take any chance at all this time.

 

I see you went to Dr B was that for repair? if so could you tell me if i can see the results anywhere?

 

Are yo also in the UK? You're right back in the seventies it was awful i went to a clinic called harley dean in dean st, soho biggest mistake of my life i was 23 or 24 years of age and that clinic thought it was fine to give me a hairline that looked like a cindy doll and knowing that this would become isolated as i lost more hair.

 

I then went to a clinic in cavendish square called medicare they did 3 reductions and numerous Hts thus causing major scarring.

 

I managed ( without the internet being available) to track down a great french surgeon called dr Pouteau he was the first guy to show any care and start to improve the situation. But this wasn't until the late 80s.

 

what a nightmare its all been and still not sorted.

[trinder]

Sorry not medicare but Mediform

[Modenese]

Hi Trinder

 

No I was not a repair case - I waited a long time before getting a HT.

 

My transplant was in October 2012, and the two posts I've made are:

 

http://www.hairrestorationnetwork.com/eve/167822-4800-fut-dr-bisanga-bhr-clinic-brussels.html

 

http://www.hairrestorationnetwork.com/eve/169237-dr-bisanga-4800-fut-4-month-update.html

 

There is a 'My Photos' link at the bottom of this post also.

 

As you can't afford to make mistakes, I still say to look at all 3 - Bisanga, SMG, Feller - and any others you come across.

 

In my posts I mention shockloss. This is where the blood supply is disturbed, and clumps of hair fall out. I was devastated by this, but it is very commonplace, and hard to predict. In the end, as you can see from the photos, it's coming back/is back. I had nearly 4900 grafts transplanted in a single sitting, so I had a lot of work done,

 

EJ, who posted in this thread, had a major repair at BHR. You should read his story.

 

Janna from SMG also posts here, you should talk to her too. When all is said and done, it's just 10 hours UK to Minnesota, 7 to NYC, , and in the scheme of things nothing too much.

 

What I think you should look for is a case handled by a clinic successfully which is just like yours - donor depletion issues, age, skin tone, scar patterns - so you can have high confidence that you will come out ahead.

 

We haven't seen any pictures of your situation - that's OK, there is no need to if you don't feel up to it. It might be though that you should look at other techniques such as Scalp Micro Pigmentation. It's cheap, quick, and reversible. There is a subforum here I think.

 

All the best,

[Janna]

Trinder,

 

Since you are a repair case, which may take multiple procedures to correct, you should stick to a clinic close to home. Dr. Bisange is definitely worth consulting with. Good luck.