Dr. Cam Simmons - 3,140 grafts

[Megatron]

The hairline is perfect, not sure what you're talking about nw. My temples don't receed, maybe it's the angle of my photo that makes you think that, not sure. It's a mature hairline which is what I wanted as opposed to an odd looking teenage hairline on a 30 yr old with thin hair.

 

My hair is naturally thin and so I think the HT blends well. I honestly don't believe anyone I know has suspected I had a HT and I consider myself pretty in tune with these sorts of things.

 

I'm the first one to admit that my hair looks thinner / less dense than ideal. That said, I can certainly live happily with it because I don't think the average person would even notice or care. Aside from a few "WOW" results, I think my results are average. I don't see hardly anyone taking the kind of detailed and often unflattering photos I took of their HT. If you can't make out the hair follicle then what you're seeing in a photo is shadows giving the illusion of density. And I've seen plenty of results in which it's impossible to tell the quality of the HT and yet, so many guys are raving about how good it looks.

 

I am seeing Dr. Simmons next week and I'll be interested to get his take on things. He's a pretty straight shooter so I'm confident he'll give me an honest assessment. That said, I am happy with how things look and therefore, I highly doubt I'd undergo a 2nd procedure for a few hundred grafts to try and thicken things up. Perhaps in 10 years time when I want my crown or top or receeding temples done I'll consider plugging in a few more up front. But, that's so far off that I hardly care to think about that. I'll just enjoy my new hair and continue to go about my day for now.

[lorenzo]

I bet you have been waiting for my response. First of all you are happy and that is what is most important regardless of what anyone says. Its hard to tell by your picture how good the final result actually is. Dont take this the wrong way I am being honest. You had a good amount a hair in the middle of your hairline to start so looking at your 12 month pictures the only one that really gives an idea is the one that is not so flattering (picture 4) as you stated. The one with wet hair only shows the front view not the side view and second and third picture dont your hairline at all. Regardless you can definately see there is a difference. How good its not easy to tell.

 

1-haired grafts in pre-made 20-gauge slits in the hairline then 49 grafts

per sq cm behind that with 56 per sq cm in the midfrontal forelock. Reduced the density to 42 then 36 then blended in with natural hair. Transplanted back into recessions further than in front.

 

 

As stated before you had a bit of a problem due to infection at the begining with no fault of Dr. Simmons. This may have caused you not to have full growth. From the few hairline pictures that I have seen I dont see the type of density that you described above. Maybe I am incorrect but you are not showing many dry pictures showing the hairline or wet one showing the sides where you had no hair to start.

 

I do feel your hairline is natural. Congradulations once again!

[Cam Simmons MD ABHRS]

Megatron gave me permission to post cropped photos and comments. I showed these photos to Megatron after his 12- month follow-up visit and he agrees that they accurately demonstrate his usual appearance.

 

First and foremost, I want to say that Megatron went through an ordeal with extensive post-operative pimples and secondary Psuedomonas infection that none of my patients have gone through before or since. Megatron has always been patient and fair (and was calmer than I would have been if I were the patient.) I am glad that despite his bumpy start, he is happy with his results.

 

Megatron knows that I don’t feel the photos he posts represent his hair well. He posts these photos to try to be candid but other patients don’t post photos of wet, short, spiked-up hair. Hair is deliberately transplanted at lower than naturally-occurring densities and so we depend on some illusion to make it look fuller than it actually is. Transplanted hair will always look fuller when 2-3 inches long, dry, separated, and styled to layer like shingles on a roof. It will always look thinner when cut short, spiked up, parted through, wet or clumped with product. At his follow-up visit, Megatron’s hair was shorter than I would recommend but he did not use product and brushed it forward so the transplanted hair would overlap. His hair would look fuller if it was a bit longer but Megatron is free to style his hair how he likes.

 

Megatron has had delayed growth (likely due to the infection) and at 8 months was behind the curve for expected results. Usually changes are subtle between 8 and 12 months but his hair has continued to improve in the last 4 months. Sometimes, when transplanting into scar tissue, there can be delayed growth and continued improvement for up to 18 months. Megatron may already have his full results now but since his hair has been improving at a faster than normal pace for 8-12 months, he may still see more improvement in the months ahead.

 

He has had a flare of facial acne and has a few pimples in his donor area but thankfully has none in his recipient area. He will be resuming treatment and will likely see a dermatologist.

 

Megatron is happy overall with his results but would like more density in some areas. He has been describing the area of concern as his temples but that was not the correct terminology. Megatron does have thinning temporal points but we did not transplant any grafts there as we focused on the front. The area that he is concerned about is actually the second cm in his right and left frontal hairlines, close to the fronto-temporal recessions. When combing through those areas, the hair there does look less dense than the hair in the hairline and the hair in the midline. There are scattered small spots that look empty to the naked eye but have small hairs when seen with magnification. Those hairs could either be growing transplanted hairs or shrinking natural hairs but grafts would have been placed near them. If those spots fill in over the next few months, the overall density will increase. These days, when transplanting hair around thicker natural hair in the midline, we do increase the transplanted hair density behind the 1st cm by either using more 3s and 4s or increasing the graft density or both. In summary, Megatron does have good results overall but could have expected a little better density in the 2nd cm from the hairline on the left and right. This could be due to decreased or delayed growth, secondary to infection, and to a design that did not account enough for the fullness of his natural hair in the midline.

 

I have offered to touch up the areas of concern at no charge now or in 6 months, if they don’t improve on their own. However, Megatron prefers to wait until he needs or wants more hair transplanted in other areas (like the midscalp or crown.) If and when we do more hair transplantation we will suppress his acne before, during, and after his next hair transplant and will be vigilant about early recognition and treatment of pimples/infection.

 

Thanks again to Megatron for his patience and for letting me add my 2 cents to his thread.

[Megatron]

I think Dr. Simmons summed everything up very well in his post above which is a credit to his candid and informative approach with his patients. If you're from Toronto, I highly recommend you go for a consult with him.

 

I am happy with my results and have received many positive comments from friends and family that have said, "wow, that rogaine is really working for you, eh?"

[aaron1234]

Nice work Dr. Cam and looking good there Megatron. I think you are doing the right thing in waiting for another procedure, saving it for a larger session.... although with your previous acne trouble a smaller session or touch up might not be such a bad thing. But your crown looks like it has held up the last 12 months which is nice. It's nice to have a honest and skilled surgeon beyond you for the long haul, not just for one surgery. Congrats!

[Levrais]

Looks good to me as is

[Megatron]

2 year update! I hope all are well, it's been forever since I last read this forum. Mainly because I hardly think about my HT anymore and that's a good thing.

 

Thank you Dr. Simmons!

[lcsulla]

I think it looks great, Megatron.

 

Oh I am glad I checked out you blog, I was going to go back to training at 6 weeks but decided to wait 3 months or so instead.