Advice/Your thoughts on my current condition regarding FUE

[froid22]

I have been a long time reader of this board and have learned a great deal from all of the members who post about their experiences. I have been contemplating having a hair transplant for many years and finally took the initial steps on contacting respected doctors from from this forum. I have submitted my photos to 4 doctors so far. 3 have said that I am not a candidate for a hair transplant and 1 said that I was and suggested an FUE of 5,500 grafts.

 

I was wondering what your thoughts were:

Do you think I am not a candidate?

If you think I am a candidate, how many grafts/procedures do you think I would require?

Should I continue contacting more doctors or just shave my head and forget about it?

 

 

A little about me

I am 35 years old and started to lose my hair around 19. I have tried Rogaine in the past but developed severe scalp inflammation from it and had to stop. I have also tried Propecia in the past with minimal results, but have recently restarted it.

 

I normally just shave my head but recently let the top grow out just to see how much hair I had on top. I also realize that if I was a candidate, I would require many grafts (>6,000 ?) For adequate density and would also need a BHT since I probably would only have 3,500 grafts available from donor scalp area.

 

Lastly, I am only considering FUE since I prefer to keep my hair short and have done so for many years. I have also recently considered FUE +SMP if my donor supply is inadequate.

 

So, I have attached pictures and sincerely appreciate everyone's feedback. What confused me about my consultations thus far was that the doctors said that I was not a good candidate for a hair transplant, but did not give me any explanation as to why (well one did actually, sort of).

I have seen patients on this board who I would assume were similar NW5/6 and have had successful results.

 

So, should I forget about FUE and continue shaving my head or try to contact a few more doctors. By the way, the one doctor who said I would be an adequate candidate and would require 5,500 grafts has been difficult to communicate with and rarely responds to my emails so I am somewhat hesitant to follow through.

 

 

Sorry for the long post

[Mickey85]

If shaving your head works for you and you are happy as you are, I would avoid all the potential headache and complications that may occur with a transplant. You may not get adequate density, the result may not yield, the use of beard hair may not be to your liking(this is glazed over ALOT, compare beard hair to scalp hair and there is a huge difference), not to mention the monetary compromise and down time associated with a case of this scale. I'm not saying it cannot be done or that the aforementioned factors are likely to happen, but if you are content with your life as it is, I would not go down the hair transplant path in your case.

[scar5]

So why did you stop propecia?

And start again?

And how are the results?

 

Forget about a BHT-based HT. Body hair is good for touch ups, not for bulk. And with a buzzed head, whisker hair can be nasty forward of the crown. Though I've seen it help if it points down on the back.

 

It might work. Have you seen the case with Dr. Villlnow? A NW6 like you who has a sparse transplant? There is a fair bit of BHT in it. Take a look in the results section.

 

Are you happy with grey hair? If you have an SMP plus low-density HT, you will have a predominantly white-grey buzz and you will look older, but not necessarily worse. In fact, arguably you will look better with the knowledge that as you age, the grey might work for you?

 

On the other hand, Mick Jagger is not grey. And there is something ballsy about shaving it that counts for something too.

 

Best of both worlds would be a 100% undetectable buzz, but the hairline must be absolutely beautiful. It must be a work of art like no other. Anything less will be a disaster, not just a financial disaster either. You have to really tuned on to what hairline will work.

 

All in all, propecia or no propecia, an HT might still be an uplifting thing for you, if not now, perhaps later. I'd check into it.

 

Oh, and forget the guy that doesn't respond but be mindful to keep your communications clean of emotional baggage and other distractions that deter a would-be suitable doctor/clinic/rep.

[fueonly]

who was the doctor who suggested 5500 graft. let people here on forum know so

we can help you. if he told you why was he responding slow

[froid22]

Thanks for all the advice, greatly appreciated. I also very hesitant to take the plunge and get a hair transplant. Although I have seen some amazing results, I also have seen some disasters regarding inadequate density, poor yield, etc.

 

Scar5, I will definitely check out Dr. Villnow's results. Also, I am a bit confused about the white-grey buzz regarding SMP? I have only seen a couple of cases and some have looked great, some looked as if the head was painted. The better results came from guys who had more hair on top and used SMP to fill in creating the illusion of greater density. That is why I was considering FUE + SMP.

 

I know the BHT (Bear/Chest) will not give me the greatest results, but if I did choose to have a hair transplant I would have no choice but to use BHT for adequate density.

 

I stopped using Propecia in the past because I felt the results were minimal and got tired of experiencing the shedding associated with it, as well as, mild sexual side effects (decreased libido). I recently restarted using Propecia again, but I am not sure it is worth it in my condition.

 

 

I did not know if it is appropriate to name the doctors I spoke with on this board and that is the reason I did not include their name. So, FUEonly I sent you a pm with that information. I have definately kept my communications clean with the doctor and I am not really emotion about my condition. I have been bald for 15+ years and have accepted it. My communications with the doctor have been brief and included information regarding graft placement, yield, density, and scheduling. I have not heard back from him regarding these questions and that is why I am now hesitant to even proceed.

 

I guess I will continue shaving my head and forget about having a hair transplant. Maybe there will be a cure for baldness in the next 5 years (I've heard 5 more years for the last 15 years, lol). Thanks again for the advice!

[scar5]

 

..I am a bit confused about the white-grey buzz regarding SMP?

 

..BHT.. not... the greatest results, I recently restarted using Propecia again,

 

..I did not know if it is appropriate to name the doctors

 

..I ..kept my communications clean with the doctor.. not really emotion

 

..I guess I will continue shaving my head

 

Great points Foido22,

You've got your (balding) head screwed on better than I ever have

 

1) If you have hair and skin like yours, buzz it down to zero, it will be silver/grey - a natural consequence of the diluted black inks used. t takes a month of growth for that to suddenly switch to 'color' and I suspect with your fairness, the grey will outweigh the blonde for even longer. Once you grow out the hair it will not be a problem, and maybe even grey might be OK buzzed, but Im not convinced of hairlline naturalness with skinhead SMPers yet. Of course, temp SMP can be color matched, but for how long is it matched if it fades so quickly? The permanent guys go black/grey if they have any sense, but that has its costs too.

 

2) Propecia will weaken the bodyhair further.

 

3)Naming docs. Agreed, Just look at the cases where people name docs who are paid up advertisers. Would you wanna be on the end of that?

 

4)Yeah, keeping your frustrations and emotions out of mail (and posts on HTN!!) was too hard for me and it cost me. You thankfully are not going there.

 

4) Fair enough, and I could add, the transplant will kill a fair few more follicles too, not that the ones now are doing much good. Still, with the right planning, I think a transformation might be possible, but nothing is more admirable than the guy who just let's it be and moves on. (..and what good does that do you??.one more conundrum! ha.lol)

[quidproquo82]

You seem to have a good attitude about it. I would say follow your gut, and if someone is not responsive, that may be indicative of something. The thing about cosmetic surgery is that if you search long enough, eventually someone will say yes and that may be a costly mistake. Plus 5500 FUE is a tremendous amount of grafts and I can only imagine how decimated the back of your head will appear with that much confluent scarring. It would look very very thin..

[CaddyTad77]

With some of the Top FUE docs is it possible to do 3000 or 4000 graft sessions via manual FUE? And is so what is the chance of poor growth, and what is the chance of the donor area looking thinned out. I've seem some top FUE manual Docs overseas do big FUE cases and the donor area looks fine. Is that the norm, or is it risky? Also, for native hair is it possible that the trauma from the big of surgery can kill the native hair for good? Alot of questions but for somebody that is only wanting FUE I wonder if the results, the killer results we see on youtube and such, are the norm if done by a very good manual FUE only doc. Thanks guys.