Dr Armani - FUE Results - 2425 FUE 16 Months - Stingray

[Stingray]

Hello, I am a regular poster on HLH and some of you will already be familiar with my case.

 

Here are some pics taken today from my HT of 2425 FUE back in November 2007. I am not going to comment too much on them as I feel that the pics tell the story pretty clearly. None of the pics have any concealer. The first 4 pics are how I wear my hair normally and the next two are what I hope no one sees in everyday life. Finally there is a before pic.

 

Dr Armani's office via PATS has offered to do a touch-up but I have decided that I don't want to risk damaging any more grafts and I think the amount of grafts needed to get me to where I want to be could in no way be described as a "touch-up". I am currently thinking about Dr Bisanga or HDC to get my hairline to where I would like it to be.

 

Please note I DO NOT give permission for these pictures to be used anywhere outside of this specific thread.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[latinlotus]

Welcome to the forum Stingray. How much do you think was your yield?

[lost my swagger]

hey stingray.... im glad to hear you have moved away from the concealer.(sadly its still my saving grace)... i think the way you style your hair makes it look its best. your native hair is holding strong also. thats a blessing.

 

i wish you the best with any future decisions and i hope you keep the forums updated on your decisions. you have always been a honest member by my measure and you have always tried to post clear pics and updates... i doubt im alone in thinking that you have been a giant help to alot of guys online. all the best and its nice to see you over here...

[Stingray]

Originally posted by latinlotus:

Welcome to the forum Stingray. How much do you think was your yield?

 

Thanks Swagger for your kind words. Although there is no concealer in these pics I do switch between Dermmatch and Toppik depending on the occasion, weather and how long my hair is.

 

Thanks Latinlotus - Dr Bisanga thinks somewhere between 30-40% but I think that might be a a bit low. It is hard to say. Certainly nowhere near the 95-100% promised prior to the procedure.

[wantego]

Thanks for the pictures Stingray. Welcome to the board.

[Stingray]

Originally posted by spex:

Hi Stingray - hope you are well.

 

Some refinement does appear warranted. All the very best with it mate

 

Best Regards

Spex

 

Ha, thanks Spex. I think "some refinement" might be a bit of an understatement. If Dr Feller plans a trip over to the UK anytime soon for consults please do let me know.

 

Best,

 

SR

[NewHairNow]

Spex: talking about understatement!

Stingray: hope Dr. Bisanga will correct this. Please grow please highly regards this doctor.

[PLEASE GROW PLEASE]

Dr Armani's office via PATS has offered to do a touch-up but I have decided that I don't want to risk damaging any more grafts and I think the amount of grafts needed to get me to where I want to be could in no way be described as a "touch-up".

 

Well for one ,you have just won an award for THE SMARTEST MAN ALIVE, and secondly it once again shows that they throw the word 'touchup " around like its a pigskin.

 

Im not going to sugarcoat because Stingray isnt stupid but thats a shitty job once again.

In no way do you look strange or butchered just ripped off.

I absolutely LOVE Bisanga fue as New hair stated.

My doctor and clinic has said wonderful things about him in the past plus Ive seen so many great results from them it baffles me that guys would even consider Armani in 2009.

Good luck for you that you only had a small amount of grafts drilled out and youll be just fine.

Its the guys like Gac that has 5000 in the frontal 1/3 and is clearly balding bigtime behind it that will be miserable in 10 years. I hope not but I dont see how hell avoid it .

Anyway good luck with your next surgery . The only thing that sucks is now you have all this scar tissue that the next doctor has to work with.

You made the right choice and they should refund your money .

Someone told me they keep a trash can right next to the surgical chair to dispose of the transected grafts.

I hope that is not true.

[hopefull]

Hi sting and wellcome to the forum, its good that we have you here mate.

 

I hope it all goes well with your journey.you have strong native hair and a pattern of hairloss that doesnt look bad at all!!!

 

...you are very lucky mate on that part.cheer up.

 

One question only and if you want to answer if not i respect it.since you didnt opt for a touch up did they offered you some of your money back or something?

 

AND ONE MORE THING THAT IS VEY IMPORTANT

 

notice how good his hair looks in the first pictures!!!i mean these are the typical before/after pictures that the consultans would show us and then we would compare it with the before and everyone would be "oh what a nice result and all"

 

its only when stingrays honestly comes to play where he pulls his hair back and reveals the truth that everyone understands whats going on!!!

 

this tells a lot about how pictures can manipulate a result!!!everyone should be very carefull!!!

[Abedogg]

Stingray,

 

Did you ask for your money back? What did they say?

 

Abe

[lost my swagger]

AND ONE MORE THING THAT IS VEY IMPORTANT

 

notice how good his hair looks in the first pictures!!!i mean these are the typical before/after pictures that the consultans would show us and then we would compare it with the before and everyone would be "oh what a nice result and all"

 

its only when stingrays honestly comes to play where he pulls his hair back and reveals the truth that everyone understands whats going on!!!

 

this tells a lot about how pictures can manipulate a result!!!everyone should be very carefull!!!

 

well said hopeful... i can EASILY make my hair situation look good in pictures.... it is not difficult at all to make mediocere work look great.... this FACT about how deceptive pictures can be has put more money into HT drs pockets than ANY OTHER SALES TACTIC used. pictures should NEVER be trusted by themselves seeing 2 or 3 patients from a dr in person, means more then a hundred seen online

[hopefull]

Originally posted by lost my swagger:

 

well said hopeful... i can EASILY make my hair situation look good in pictures.... it is not difficult at all to make mediocere work look great.... this FACT about how deceptive pictures can be has put more money into HT drs pockets than ANY OTHER SALES TACTIC used. pictures should NEVER be trusted by themselves seeing 2 or 3 patients from a dr in person, means more then a hundred seen online

 

It cannot be overstreched enough how manipulating pictures can be.This had led into regulations by many countries where before and after pictures are not allowed for advertising cosmetic products or cosmetic surgery.

 

I mean imagine if someone doesnt know the whole story and sees picture number 2 and the last one.There are many posters that have been saying these for years but still in 2009 we still fall for the same tactic.

 

Videos should be the norm and especially videos with the comp through the hair showing how the hair looks.But still nothing beats seeing a patient in person!!!

 

There have been too many mainpulating tactics and the internet no matter how we try to be safe we really dont know who many people are...so if you are serious about a transplant you have to take your as*** out of the forums and start researching seriously for the last stage of your research before you go under the knife

[NewHairNow]

Originally posted by lost my swagger:

this FACT about how deceptive pictures can be has put more money into HT drs pockets than ANY OTHER SALES TACTIC used. pictures should NEVER be trusted by themselves seeing 2 or 3 patients from a dr in person, means more then a hundred seen online

 

Well said LMS. I just to add that even when seeing a patient in person, one's still need to be careful. I remember a case of a patient of Dr. Armani, on HLH, who offers to meet potential patients in NY. The result was absolutely amazing. It turns out that not only he had a strip HT but he admitted that he is a great responder of medication. He never showed his post-op pictures even when repeatedly asked by members on HLH.

 

There is another case also, very similar to this where Pats205 says that no post-op pictures are available and that the patient does not want to be bothered. It turns out to be a lie as some smart cookie was able to dig out the post-op pictures that the patient was posting on another hair site. The pics clearly shows that the patient is a great med responder as well.

 

The bottom line is: if a doctor does not have ethics, then anything he shows or says should not be taken at face value, including his patients or reps.

[wantego]

Pictures can sometimes be deceiving even when the person taking them does not intend for them to be deceiving.

[Mr. GQ]

Stingray,

 

thank you for sharing your pictures and your story with us. i agree with everything what guys were saying above. that job looks brutal to put it mildly. since you refused touch-up, try to ask for some money back, you will need that money for your next surgery. i'm glad i talked to wantego to get me in contact with you few days ago - thanks wantego! i got nothing new to add except what we discussed via PMs few days ago.

 

i'm so happy that you decided to share your story with all of us, and i wish you all the best with Dr. Bisanga.

 

your story has helped me big time in my personal HT research!!!!!

 

cheers

[hopefull]

Originally posted by NewHairNow:

 

 

Well said LMS. I just to add that even when seeing a patient in person, one's still need to be careful. I remember a case of a patient of Dr. Armani, on HLH, who offers to meet potential patients in NY. The result was absolutely amazing. It turns out that not only he had a strip HT but he admitted that he is a great responder of medication. He never showed his post-op pictures even when repeatedly asked by members on HLH.

 

There is another case also, very similar to this where Pats205 says that no post-op pictures are available and that the patient does not want to be bothered. It turns out to be a lie as some smart cookie was able to dig out the post-op pictures that the patient was posting on another hair site. The pics clearly shows that the patient is a great med responder as well.

 

The bottom line is: if a doctor does not have ethics, then anything he shows or says should not be taken at face value, including his patients or reps.

 

you are right and i just have to add one more thing.I always believed that this communities should screen, protect their members from deception and protect the freedom of speech.

 

I mean its another thing to have a banner of product x or doctor x and its a completely different thing letting 2 or 3 salesmen and an army of shills operating and misinforming among the posters!!!

 

I personally find it borderline criminal to cash out on hairloss.I ve bought faulty products, i was even conned and lost money when i was a kid...but this thing it really can mess up a person!!!People should take on this responsibility seriously, all the people that earn through this business.And its not so much the products because even if they dont work you loose some money and thats it...but with surgery you may ruin a persons life.

 

So if you see the wrong you must act if you own a forum and not just put disclaimers or lock threads delete posts etc, if you are a salesman for a clinic you ought to rethink your job if you see deception.

 

just my opinion in the hope of things to get better overall.

[thanatopsis_awry]

Thx for sharing and being honest -- you deserve much better, and I'm sure with Bisanga you will get to where you want to be! Plus, as others have said, it's a blessing that your pattern looks pretty solid *and* Armani didn't rape you of "that" many grafts....

 

That said, this looks like an utterly *typical* and to-be-expected result from Armani....like PGP mentioned, there have been cases were the yield was a lot worse and many more grafts were bludgeoned and "densepacked" () into bold hairlines on younger guys with more aggressive MPB.

 

I've said it before....the "vandalism" on HLH resulting in threads "disappearing" and the ensuing MUZZLE on all things related to Armani -- Re: the results that were finally coming to light by the wave of patients who bit Armani's bait -- was the best thing that could happen to Armani. I don't think he will ever be as strong as he was, but now he simply migrated to another forum were he is in cahoots w/ the owner and running the same scam, spitting the same rap....shameful...

[PLEASE GROW PLEASE]

Pats205 did say on here they do what ever satisfies the patient in the case of a bad result.

I would ask for my money back asap and hold him accountable for that statement

Its the least they could do

Farrel is being held accountable for his actions in all this with a crumbling website.

I predict most doctors with drop him like a bad habit .

He knew all along about the deception as he admitted reading pms .

The right thing for Armani to do is refund your whole amount back.

Lets just see how patient friendly they really are

[thanatopsis_awry]

But hey...Pat's is still only at the third-trimester of his crown procedure and cruising along nicely at like 70% growth 15months out according to Master Armani.....I mean, why even post pics until you are 2 years out and had another procedure to cover the area -- oops...

[M&M]

Stingray,

 

First of all, I'm so sorry that the HT with Armani did not grow as promised or expected. As others have said, I truly appreciate you taking the time to share your story and your extremely honest photos - both pre and post op.

 

You are absolutely correct in not accepting their free touch up. Our donor supply is limited and therefore each and every graft is precious and valuable.

 

I encourage you to contact Armani requesting money back. It's only fair that you get compensated for their poor work.

 

Can I ask which Doctor performed on you? Was it Dr. Armani himself?

 

M&M

[PLEASE GROW PLEASE]

Funny you say that Thana as I was told Pats 205 did have another crown procedure

Yes I would be interested also in who performed the surgery

[Reverse the Curse]

sr

good to see you over hear to share your story. as i have said on hlh you are one of the most honest posters & never held back on your pics. have you had any contact with pats these last few months?

it is refreshing to discuss this here with no holds barred. i hope the courage you have shown will help others who are in the same boat as you.

rtc

[TheEmperor]

I'm going to buck the trend and say that it looks like about the yield I got with my 4500 strip procedure. I have more area covered but about hte same thickness. It looks like much of the hair has grown and its cosmetically significant, its just see through when not styled or combed properly.

 

I dont know what density you were planted at, but 2500 grafts is not that much and the hairline is LOW. I'm not sure what everyone expects from that many grafts.

 

This is an example of pictures being deceptive. When you are holding up your hair, you can see clean through to the scalp, but you can ALSo see through to the scalp in the middle where you have alot of native hair. So the nature of that kind of shot will make even thick native hair look bald.

 

I would say that this is a typical result for most transplants.

 

However, given how low the hairline is, I can certainly understand the need for more density and why you are not satisfied. You did not get a home run, but this does look like the normal range for fue or strip.

 

I can take even the home run greats from H&W, hold their hair up and take a pic that shows much scalp, and under harsh lighting, the whole area might look washed out and bald.

 

I think patiesnts who are happy show the pics that paint things optimnistically, and dissatisfied patients post the pics that are "honest".

 

I could post a series of pics that would create an outrage against my doc, or I could post pics that show a nice conservate hairline and people would all be saying "thumbs up".

[PLEASE GROW PLEASE]

If your 4500 grafts look like that then you got a raw deal and should be in contact with your doc.

That is nowhere where 2500 grafts should take you.

Not even close

Remember Alvi over densepacks .He certainly would never plant a hairline that would grow that thin with strip or fue

Immed post ops would be nice though

[SERIOUS]

A lot of wisdom in that post TheEmperor.

 

Thanks for your objectivity and knowledge.