19 Years of age: Norwood 2-3 (is there anybody out there).

[razzy]

I've actually read this entire thread and had to make a comment.

 

I am in total agreement with spanker (among others) on this one. You can just tell the significant differences between a successful HT and one that is not.

 

When I made my decision to get a HT, I had two guidelines:

 

1. Go to the best doctor in the world based on case by case results

2. Be financially secure and having money to be not an issue

 

Why?

 

Because the whole process of a HT takes a toll on you emotionally, physically and mentally. I travelled to Ottawa twice (you all know who what doctor is) and wouldn't of done it any other way.

 

Just my 2 cents - You're 19 years old. Terrible mistake.

 

I just hope that it works out for you in the end. I really do.

[FUE2579]

I've actually read this entire thread and had to make a comment.

 

I am in total agreement with spanker (among others) on this one. You can just tell the significant differences between a successful HT and one that is not.

 

When I made my decision to get a HT, I had two guidelines:

 

1. Go to the best doctor in the world based on case by case results

2. Be financially secure and having money to be not an issue

 

Why?

 

Because the whole process of a HT takes a toll on you emotionally, physically and mentally. I travelled to Ottawa twice (you all know who what doctor is) and wouldn't of done it any other way.

 

Just my 2 cents - You're 19 years old. Terrible mistake.

 

I just hope that it works out for you in the end. I really do.

 

Alright, give the kid a break. I'm pretty sure he has realized by now that he made a mistake. No need to throw salt on the wounds.

[TheMirrorOfDreams]

I've actually read this entire thread and had to make a comment.

 

I am in total agreement with spanker (among others) on this one. You can just tell the significant differences between a successful HT and one that is not.

 

When I made my decision to get a HT, I had two guidelines:

 

1. Go to the best doctor in the world based on case by case results

2. Be financially secure and having money to be not an issue

 

Why?

 

Because the whole process of a HT takes a toll on you emotionally, physically and mentally. I travelled to Ottawa twice (you all know who what doctor is) and wouldn't of done it any other way.

 

Just my 2 cents - You're 19 years old. Terrible mistake.

 

I just hope that it works out for you in the end. I really do.

Thanks for taking the time to comment on my thread. Yes, I know, I've heard this plenty of times by now. But again, please do not wholeheartedly judge the final outcome now. I've just passed my second month, mind you. There's literally a good year (12-18 months in total) left, of course it looks "half-assed" and undone now. Come back in 10 months time, then we can all ajudge whether it was such a tremendous mistake or not. Hope for the best, expect the worse. To me the directions of the hairs looks fine. I am planning on slicking my hair back. As long as the hairs grow and the density is a bit above decent, then I think I'll be alright - but of course this I cannot know for certain.

[Rothki]

I really dont understand why you all are giving this poor guy so much greif. Obviously none of you know what it is like to loose hair at such a young age. I look back and wish that i had a transplant at a younger age, even if i had to have another one now i would have been much happier not wasting my young years looking like my mates dads.

 

I assume most of you are loosing hair later in life and just dont understand how it feels.

[TheMirrorOfDreams]

I really dont understand why you all are giving this poor guy so much greif. Obviously none of you know what it is like to loose hair at such a young age. I look back and wish that i had a transplant at a younger age, even if i had to have another one now i would have been much happier not wasting my young years looking like my mates dads.

 

I assume most of you are loosing hair later in life and just dont understand how it feels.

I for one hope they're all mistaken. Perhaps the odds are not as of now (by the looks of it) in my favour, but how I see it myself, things do not look so dark. Time is a real pain, at times.

[Rothki]

I for one hope they're all mistaken. Perhaps the odds are not as of now (by the looks of it) in my favour, but how I see it myself, things do not look so dark. Time is a real pain, at times.

 

 

Im sure it will look heaps better than before. i don't think your age is the issue but the way the hair was planted in that semi circle but i assume that it will still look good

 

Time is a pain as you have to wait but your not that far off now man! Chin Up and be proud you have done something about it rather than being a balding man!

[razzy]

Alright, give the kid a break. I'm pretty sure he has realized by now that he made a mistake. No need to throw salt on the wounds.

 

Relax.

 

It was just an opinion.

[razzy]

I really dont understand why you all are giving this poor guy so much greif. Obviously none of you know what it is like to loose hair at such a young age. I look back and wish that i had a transplant at a younger age, even if i had to have another one now i would have been much happier not wasting my young years looking like my mates dads.

 

I assume most of you are loosing hair later in life and just dont understand how it feels.

 

Actually you're making incorrect assumptions.

 

I started losing hair when I was 17 years old.

 

I got rejected from a hair transplant at 20 years old, which was the best thing to ever happen to me.

 

Why? My hair loss pattern progressed ALOT and having a HT so young, I would of required 3-4 surgery's and exhaust my donor supply. OR I could of had a HT and have all the hair behind the transplanted hair disappear and look like a complete fool. Let alone having the finances at the time to do multiple procedures from a top clinic was not possible.

 

I am 28 now and finally the loss has stabilized. I agree with you about having hair at a young age and enjoying yourself, but you have to be smart and plan carefully.

[Rothki]

Actually you're making incorrect assumptions.

 

I started losing hair when I was 17 years old.

 

I got rejected from a hair transplant at 20 years old, which was the best thing to ever happen to me.

 

Why? My hair loss pattern progressed ALOT and having a HT so young, I would of required 3-4 surgery's and exhaust my donor supply.

 

I am 28 now and finally the loss has stabilized. I agree with you about having hair at a young age and enjoying yourself, but you have to be smart and plan carefully.

 

Why would you have exhausted your donor supply? i had the whole top of my head done and i have plenty of donor left, my hair hasn't changed much since about 21 and knowing what i did i wish i had it done earlier, intact if i knew i would have.

 

also you don't know that your hairloss has stabilised at 28, just like me i have the whole crown and sides to disappear still, just because mine has been the same for 6 years doesn't mean that it won't start falling out again?

[hairthere]

"Why would you have exhausted your donor supply?....."

 

"also you don't know that your hairloss has stabilised at 28, just like me i have the whole crown and sides to disappear still, just because mine has been the same for 6 years doesn't mean that it won't start falling out again?"

 

Do you realize you just answered your own question?

 

The danger with getting an aggressively low hairline early in life is that you don't know how far your MPB will advance. That's why it makes sense to manage your FINITE donor supply wisely and wait till a bit later in life to have surgery. And every person is different in terms of donor availability, laxity, etc.

 

Rothki, nobody is getting down on Mirror just to make him feel bad. He came to this forum asking for help/advice. People spent a lot time giving it, and he flat out ignored it and certainly rushed into surgery. In addition, he went to a surgeon without seeing a single example of work. Just a bad decision. People are being hard on him so he doesn't make any more mistakes, and, because he continues to ask for advice/opinions. If he wants things sugarcoated he came to the wrong place.

[TommyLucchese]

"Why would you have exhausted your donor supply?....."

 

"also you don't know that your hairloss has stabilised at 28, just like me i have the whole crown and sides to disappear still, just because mine has been the same for 6 years doesn't mean that it won't start falling out again?"

 

Do you realize you just answered your own question?

 

The danger with getting an aggressively low hairline early in life is that you don't know how far your MPB will advance. That's why it makes sense to manage your FINITE donor supply wisely and wait till a bit later in life to have surgery. And every person is different in terms of donor availability, laxity, etc.

 

Rothki, nobody is getting down on Mirror just to make him feel bad. He came to this forum asking for help/advice. People spent a lot time giving it, and he flat out ignored it and certainly rushed into surgery. In addition, he went to a surgeon without seeing a single example of work. Just a bad decision. People are being hard on him so he doesn't make any more mistakes, and, because he continues to ask for advice/opinions. If he wants things sugarcoated he came to the wrong place.

 

Brilliant post.

[TheMirrorOfDreams]

Perchance this is what many a veteran-member are speaking of, in regards to my hair?

Is it the angle the hairs have been implanted, the fact that they stand rather upwards/outwards, instead of lying in a more downward-like motion? Some of the hairs on my head stand almost straight up, while others do not. As far as I'm concerned, most of the hairs were transplanted in accordance with how the rest of my hair grows, when it comes to direction. What exactly are they all referring to? Surely the hair will grow, that I am certain of, since I've already this early in have been seeing quite some spurt of hair.

 

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

Does Surgeon Determine Angle of Hair In Hair Transplant?

Posted by Robert M. Bernstein M.D. on July 1st, 2013

Q: I notice that some patients end up with hair that seems to stand straight up while others have hair that flows to one side or the other. Does the angle at which you place the follicles in the scalp ultimately determine how the hair will lie? Is there some artistic talent needed when placing these follicles so that patients end up with hair that lies flat or sticks straight up? What determines this? Do we have control over it?

 

A: Great question. You are correct, the angle of the recipient sites largely determines the hair direction. Hair should be planted the way it grows (i.e., in a forward and horizontal direction at the frontal hairline.) It is extremely important that it is transplanted that way to look natural. The body will alter the angle a bit as it heals, usually elevating it slightly and re-creating any prior wave (yes, waves are determined by the scalp, rather than by the hair follicles per se). In a properly performed hair transplant, a straight-up appearance should be due to grooming, it should not have been a result of the actual procedure. Hair should never be transplanted perpendicular to the scalp. I discussed these important concepts way back in my 1997 paper “The Aesthetics of Follicular Transplantation“.

[TheMirrorOfDreams]

More photos.

[TheMirrorOfDreams]

"Dr. Prasert is one of the colleagues in the field of HAIR RESTORATION SURGERY at Yanhee General Hospital.

 

He was invited by Yanhee General Hospital, which is well-known and famous for Plastic Surgery both in Thailand and in many foreign countries, as a Hair Restoration Specialist in Hair Clinic Section.

 

Nowadays, he uses "open and see" technique to direct visualize of hair follicle during harvesting procedure in order to maximize and preserve donor grafts as many as possible and then uses Binocular Stereoscopic Dissecting microscope to prepare Follicular unit grafts which is the most modest and recommended standard technique by many hair transplant surgeons for Follicular unit Transplantation to yield natural results . His team also includes 8 technicians and Nurses, which are well trained in Japan."

[TommyLucchese]

Great literature but that doesn't alter perception of the work he did, which clearly doesn't look quite right.

[gillenator]

Results and ethics are what count...

[TheMirrorOfDreams]

Great literature but that doesn't alter perception of the work he did, which clearly doesn't look quite right.

I know that. But tell me, what exactly is so off-putting about my hair transplant thus far? Is it the hairline alone, or is it the placement of the grafts. For what the directions of the hairs are concerned, the grafts are pretty much identical to that of my native hair, believe it or not. Some hairs sway to the left or right, while others straight forward naturally. If it is the hairline that bothers people (besides my age) on this forum so much, then I can live with that. I'm just getting a little fed up with the "constructive criticism". Please accept my apologies for this. But I spend my days worrying about: "what if they're right... what if it all will falter and ultimately fail in the end?"

 

I'm sure the newly-transplanted hairs will grow, as 100-200 already are, as we speak. Is that by the way normal, so many hairs this early? Or is it rather few hairs?

 

My thanks!

[TheMirrorOfDreams]

I asked Dr. Prasert about the gap between my native hair and graft site... this is what he said:

 

"It will improve after 2-3 months but you will see the gap about 1-1.5 mm. between them."

 

 

I asked Dr. Prasert about why there are no photos on Yanhee's official site of hair transplant patients... this is what he said:

 

"I take no photos on the Yanhee officeial website because of medical legal privacy in thailand.

I have photos only in my office."

[TheMirrorOfDreams]

What my hair looked like a while back.

[TommyLucchese]

I know that. But tell me, what exactly is so off-putting about my hair transplant thus far? Is it the hairline alone, or is it the placement of the grafts. For what the directions of the hairs are concerned, the grafts are pretty much identical to that of my native hair, believe it or not. Some hairs sway to the left or right, while others straight forward naturally. If it is the hairline that bothers people (besides my age) on this forum so much, then I can live with that. I'm just getting a little fed up with the "constructive criticism". Please accept my apologies for this. But I spend my days worrying about: "what if they're right... what if it all will falter and ultimately fail in the end?"

 

I'm sure the newly-transplanted hairs will grow, as 100-200 already are, as we speak. Is that by the way normal, so many hairs this early? Or is it rather few hairs?

 

My thanks!

 

My advice is to stop posting then. Clearly the thread had gone quiet, then you made another post with that quote about your doctor. Why did you do that? Obviously you wanted someone to have an opinion - which I did. All the nice words in the world doesn't change the fact your photos look like two completely different entities. You have your hair, then you have like this headband of hair that looks so out of place. If you want opinions that are positive, wait a year and hope it looks great, then come back. (Even then though, you're still REALLY young so it may not be so great in the long run).

 

Currently I can't see much to say that's positive but I suppose that's the same for everyone at this stage anyway, even if the work is done by a top doctor on a 40 year old with stable loss. It's a long road, like I said before, put it out of your mind and see where you are in a year.

 

While you have these photos and arbitrary quotes, I'm afraid "constructive criticism" can be the only response, other than the "Good luck, hope it works out" comments - of which you've had quite a few anyway as everyone genuinely hopes it will work out for you.

[TommyLucchese]

I asked Dr. Prasert about the gap between my native hair and graft site... this is what he said:

 

"It will improve after 2-3 months but you will see the gap about 1-1.5 mm. between them."

 

 

I asked Dr. Prasert about why there are no photos on Yanhee's official site of hair transplant patients... this is what he said:

 

"I take no photos on the Yanhee officeial website because of medical legal privacy in thailand.

I have photos only in my office."

 

There just seems to be a very harsh contrast between your native hair and the new hair. I'm sure it will improve as the hair grows out, but I haven't seen other HTs look so "sharp".

 

I'm not sure if that's true, there are other doctors from Thailand that have results posted online aren't there? Thai law isn't my strong point so maybe that's true. How did you find this doctor and why did you go to him if you hadn't seen any results?

[TheMirrorOfDreams]

My advice is to stop posting then. Clearly the thread had gone quiet, then you made another post with that quote about your doctor. Why did you do that? Obviously you wanted someone to have an opinion - which I did. All the nice words in the world doesn't change the fact your photos look like two completely different entities. You have your hair, then you have like this headband of hair that looks so out of place. If you want opinions that are positive, wait a year and hope it looks great, then come back. (Even then though, you're still REALLY young so it may not be so great in the long run).

 

Currently I can't see much to say that's positive but I suppose that's the same for everyone at this stage anyway, even if the work is done by a top doctor on a 40 year old with stable loss. It's a long road, like I said before, put it out of your mind and see where you are in a year.

 

While you have these photos and arbitrary quotes, I'm afraid "constructive criticism" can be the only response, other than the "Good luck, hope it works out" comments - of which you've had quite a few anyway as everyone genuinely hopes it will work out for you.

You're right, I am playing the fool. Sorry. I will just have to bide my time.

[hairthere]

http://www.hairtransplantnetwork.com/Consult-a-Physician/doctors.asp?DrID=502#page=page-1

 

Dr. Pathomvanich, who is a recommended doctor on this site, has his clinic in Thailand. He is associated with a hospital and is highly visible. Plenty of results posted on his web site and on here. Sorry, but your doctor is completely full of sh*t.

 

Mirror, you seem to be hell bent on ignoring the advice of any forum members....

[TheMirrorOfDreams]

Damkerng Pathomvanich, MD*Hair Transplant Surgeon in*Bangkok ,*Thailand

 

Dr. Pathomvanich, who is a recommended doctor on this site, has his clinic in Thailand. He is associated with a hospital and is highly visible. Plenty of results posted on his web site and on here. Sorry, but your doctor is completely full of sh*t.

 

Mirror, you seem to be hell bent on ignoring the advice of any forum members....

I as well am growing doubtful, but all is not lost, I still have many months left to go. What keeps me going, is the fact that at least I can see many hairs surfacing, some thick some thin. I have already gained some good density, considering the early stages I am in. I can also spot hairs growing in 2's and 3's. I agree that at least per today my new hairline looks kinda strange, and perchance even unnatural (maybe this will get better). I do believe this is my 76th. day pre hair transplant. Time has passed quickly I must say. The uneasiness is killing me.

[Spanker]

What's so off putting? It's the age, the aggressiveness, the density, the unnatural "crop row" appearance, the angles, and the lack of artistry.

 

Planting in a "blank" area is difficult for the best physicians to get density that is cosmetically acceptable, and patients often opt for more than one sitting or at least a touch up, so the fact that you will probably need another procedure is not earth shattering. It would be way worse if you were to get low yield and waste those grafts.

 

Wait out your 10 to 12 months and then decide what you want to do, and take good advice when good advice is given, because you only have so many grafts and you are very young, you don't want to waste any. I think I said it before, this will not be the worst hair transplant ever, and it can be fixed IF you go to the right physician next time. You have made a lot of mistakes so far IMO, like having a HT in the first place, not going to a recommended physician (a top one), the hairline you chose, etc. I think that people feel frustrated with you and for you because it seems like the attention that you have been given on the forum has fallen on deaf ears. It's like you ask for an opinion and do or try to prove the exact opposite, and this has cost you. I understand that you are tired of the negative comments and worried that we are right, but the truth is, we are right. We were right when you were told you should wait, we were right when we told to to be conservative, we were right when we told you to choose a recommended doctor. So at what point are you expecting us to be wrong?

 

It sucks, but it is not the end of the world. You will be able to get a decent result after you current case grows out as long as you get good yield from this one (most likely), but since you planted a hairline like that so young, you will need to accept that if your crown goes, you will need to leave it alone for quite some time so that you have enough grafts to create a natural frontal 2/3. Going to a top doctor next time and creating a plan based on the choices that you have already made is your best bet.