Decision Time, need a little help

[Gotime]

So first off I would like to say how much this forum has helped me as a lurker over the years, I suppose the single thing I'm most grateful for is that it kept me from making any decision or a "mistake". I'm 48 years old now and have attached some pics, I've never had hair transplant surgery of any kind. I've been afraid of strip for some time and kept waiting for cloning or some other miracle treatment to come along and calm all my fears. I've been losing hair since my early thirties, but propecia has slowed it down. Have lost a lot on my hairline and have pretty thin crown. I finally decided that at 48 I've waiting long enough and the miracle cure is not around the corner, but mostly thanks to the excellent work by Micky85 I've gotten comfortable enough in my research to believe FUE is the way to go for me. Also thanks to JohnnyDrama, MPBsucks4545 and chrisis (might be on another board) your stories were very helpful to me.

 

One of my difficulties is that I live in Southern California and have decided that I'm only interested in the European docs and for various reasons I had narrowed things down to Belgium and was ready to go. For my personal situation budget is not a big concern, I'm most concerned with 1) ethical doctor, 2) talented, skilled and highly experienced doctor, 3) very aesthetically pleasing hairline (eye of the beholder, but there are some more consistent than others), 4) best chance of minimizing or eliminating shock loss, 5) managing donor area and keeping future surgeries to a minimum and 6) hopefully correcting both issues in 2 days with one visit as the travel, downtime, going around with shaved head, etc. would as little as possible.

 

I know there are no guarantees but now that Dr. Lorenzo is working in the UK I'm thinking he may be a better option than the Belgium docs (Bisanga & Feriduni). I've spoken with reps for all of them. I'm not considering Turkey at this time. So pretty much I've narrowed it down to three really great docs, but in looking at everything I'm starting to lean towards Lorenzo am I missing anything important? Hoping to book very soon. Thank you in advance for any help. I also realize a great result could be realized with any (all) of them but I'm just hoping to make best choice I can as I'm sure you all are.

[Spanker]

You look like a dream patient. For 48, you're hair is great I think.

 

I think all off them are great and don't think you can make the wrong choice with that list. If Dr Lorenzo is who you like, I don't think that you are missing anything. He has a lot of videos on YouTub that look great. The only thing that I would say is that when someone with really nice hair like you have plants into a completely new hairline, many times the want a second procedure to bump up density. So, I would not totally plan on a one and done kind of thing. Good luck.

[Mickey85]

Thanks for the kind words. I will chime in very soon.

[1978matt]

Seeing as you're in SC I would schedule a visit with Drs Umar and Diep, not because I'm saying you should have your procedure with them, but mainly so they can assess your FUE-candidacy.

 

If they say it looks great then you can be a lot more comfortable travelling half way across the world.

[Mickey85]

In my honest opinion, Lorenzo is basically in the top 2 best FUE surgeons in the whole world. Feriduni's hairline's are better than Bisanga and Lorenzo's but for the amount of grafts you need, I would go with Lorenzo as he is a full time FUE surgeon and has much experience with higher Norwood patterns.

[Bill - Seemiller]

GoTime,

 

Welcome to our community, officially. It's nice when lurkers who've benefited from this community finally join and participate. So we're glad to have you on board :-).

 

It seems a lot of guys recently are afraid of strip procedures because they don't want the linear scar associated with the procedure. The good news however, is that strip scars are typically very minimal and can be easily be camouflaged by existing hair, even when worn at very short lengths. That said, FUE is certainly a viable option for many patients, especially now that it's advanced so much.

 

Dr. Lorenzo, Dr. Bisanga and Dr. Feriduni are all top notch hair transplant surgeons. Note that Mickey's post above is just an opinion and you should research and consult with each surgeon you are interested in. Personally, I'd trust my scalp to all 3 of the surgeons you mentioned and thus, I truly believe you'll be in the best hands no matter which one of the three you select.

 

That said, I'm sure you'll find the experiences and opinions of our members helpful. But at the end of the day, it's your opinion based on your own research, consulting and viewing examples of results that matters the most.

 

Let us know if we can do anything to assist you in researching or making a decision.

 

Best wishes,

 

Bill

[Gotime]

Thanks everyone for the replies and help. Yes Bill in my case I am not interested in the strip procedure for all the possible complications that can come with the scar and the recovery seems more difficult. Ultimately it's a personal choice and one I've been researching for years and I've just never been able to convince myself that strip was a good way to go, I did do an online consultation with H&W 5 or so years ago but wasn't convinced it was right for me.

 

Thanks Mickey your thoughts echo mine exactly so that's comforting, I do like Feriduni's hairline's quite a bit and that's one of my highest priorities. Feriduni proposed two sessions, the first around 2,000-2,500 for the front and then do another 9-12 months later using 2,000 for the crown. Dr. Lorenzo seems to think I can do about 2,000 for the front and maybe another 1,500 or so for the crown over two days. My conclusion thus far is the same that with high number of grafts Lorenzo may be the way to go. I'm hoping I can work out a good hairline plan with him if we proceed.

 

Great idea Matt I hadn't thought of that probably wouldn't hurt to get an evaluation in SoCal. Thanks Spanker I fear you are probably right that I shouldn't just plan for a one and done.

 

Another question I have and more of a side issue is how people feel about the importance of PRP and/or Acell helping with FUE procedures. Thanks again everyone and I'll do my best to document my procedure when the time comes.

[hairthere]

GoTime, I would try and get frontal zone and crown taken care of in one shot. Your mid-zone seems to have a good amount of hair now, but if the Fin loses its effectiveness you could be looking at another 2-3k grafts.

 

Regarding PRP/Acell, the consensus seems to be that it can't hurt, but it might help. Dr. Cooley seems to think it aided some patients with early growth. I personally would try it if my doctor offered it, but would not expect too much.

 

Best of luck with whatever you decide.

[dirtylarry]

In my honest opinion, Lorenzo is basically in the top 2 best FUE surgeons in the whole world. Feriduni's hairline's are better than Bisanga and Lorenzo's but for the amount of grafts you need, I would go with Lorenzo as he is a full time FUE surgeon and has much experience with higher Norwood patterns.

 

Just to clarify, who are the top two? Lorenzo and Feriduni or Lorenzo and Bisanga?

 

Do you think there are occasions when you should choose one and not the other? (ie are some suited only to certain people? Like are there people who shouldnt go with Lorenzo but should go with .... etc)

[Gotime]

I think Mickey85 would tell you Lorenzo and Erdogan are the two best, with Bisanga right behind. Mickey can correct me if I'm wrong. I went with Lorenzo and the only reason I can think of not to go with Lorenzo is if he is too expensive for your budget.

[dirtylarry]

interesting. I could have sworn I read a post where mickey85 said he was thinking of having surgery with feriduni. I might have mixed up his avatar with someone else though!