HT physician advice - fine blond hair, prefer not shaving recipient area

[Nopawn]

This is my first time posting; I'm hoping to get good advice for which specific HT physicians might be best suited for my specific case.

 

Quick summary: I'm 40, with fine, straight, blond hair. After small bits of hair loss 20 years ago and again 10 years ago, loss has become much more noticeable in the last 6-12 months. I started taking finasteride and minoxidil in September (and I'm noticing a tiny bit of growth - though 2 months is supposed to be too early, so maybe I'm imagining things?).

 

I've done consultations with 4 doctors in the San Francisco area, and the consensus is that I have moderate hair loss and a good donor area, and that they would recommend something around 2500 grafts (2000-3000 is the range they've given me).

 

I'm inclined to do FUT/strip, and I would strongly prefer to not have the recipient area shaved.

 

I'm ready to travel to get the best physician. From reading through the boards, it looks like some of the top doctors matching what I'm looking for (esp. not shaving) would include Ron Shapiro, Cooley, and Konior?

 

Others could include: Alexander, Arocha, Keene, Bernstein, True, Dorin?

 

I would love any advice people have about who might be best for my situation. (I.e., are some of the doctors above known for doing fine/blond hair well? ... or for doing a good job with hair loss patterns similar to mine?)

 

Photos are attached; the first is the set of photos taken by one of the docs I consulted with. The others were taken by my wife - we took them before I had washed my hair that day (the hair loss areas seemed more distinct when my hair was unwashed).

 

Thank you in advance for the help!

[1978matt]

I suspect Dr K would want the recipient area shaved for the best possible outcome and it's a price worth paying. However, it might not be necessary if working to mostly to bald areas.

 

I think you would be better off shaving it, getting the strip done and then buzzing the back and sides to a grade 5 or 6 until it grows in.

 

It's only really those low Norwood numbers than can get away with a no-shave.

[Shampoo]

I agree Matt. Early on shaving down was a big issue for me too. Then I realized that I wanted my surgeon to be able to see the entire palette without any strain. Not shaving may may make a few months post-op easier on the patient, but the end goal here is the long term result that will last the rest of the patient's life. I think shaving down is one piece of the puzzle that allows the surgeon to achieve an outstanding result.

[Spanker]

Dr. Konior will do surgery on patients without shaving, however, he does prefer to shave the recipient. You do sacrifice density and offer a little more possibility of shock by not shaving.

[hairthere]

`You have a fine list of doctors there. For your specific needs (non-shaving, best hairline design) my top choices would be Cooley, Alexander and Arocha. I'd also take a look at Dr. Carlos Wesley. Best of luck!

[Nopawn]

Very helpful to get validation on Cooley, Alexander, and Arocha, and good to know that Konior prefers to shave.

 

Also: any reason that Shapiro wasn't on your top list? General preference, or something specific to this case?

 

This advice is very helpful is helping me decide how to proceed - including whether to get a transplant at all, which I'm still debating. So - thank you for the responses!

[KD2020]

Who did you decide to go with? And why?

[Nopawn]

Still considering options. I've done remote consults with the offices of Cooley, Shapiro, Konior, Alexander, and Arocha. I've also looked at a lot of the patient pictures for each of those (including both Ron and Paul Shapiro). At the moment, I'm leaning toward either Cooley or Ron Shapiro. Some of the thoughts I have on those two, pro and con

 

Cooley - I like the fact that he works slowly (which probably helps him graft within existing hair without shaving it), plus is personally involved with a lot of the placement, and that he experiments with stuff that may help (Acell, PRP, hypothermosol, etc.) My wife also liked his before/after pictures best.

 

Downsides: seems like a bit of a mad scientist (with the experimentation), including some potential mumbo-jumbo such as recommending a protein shake marketed by Larry Shapiro. I didn't like his pics quite as much as Ron Shapiro's.

 

Ron Shapiro - I like the fact that their guidance was on the conservative side (in terms of # of grafts, hairline, etc.) - thought that was potentially a sign they're thinking thoughtfully about hair and not how to maximize their revenue. Reputation seems to be completely top-notch - I can't find a bad thing said about them and SMG consistently comes up as one of a few names when people ask "who's the best". In contrast to my wife, I liked his pics a bit better than Cooley's.

 

Downsides: Might be too conservative with hairline & # of grafts. Said they won't graft into my existing hair (esp. the forelock), and would want to shave the edges of the forelock in order to blend the transplant into it. My wife didn't like his pictures as much.

 

That's where I'm at. I'll probably make a call in the next 1-2 weeks. I welcome any more thoughts... Thanks!

[KD2020]

Interesting, I like the two choices you're down to. My list is similar - Cooley, Shapiro, Konier, but I also would consider Hasson and Lindsey.

 

Before and after pictures from Dr. Cooley? That sounds awesome - didn't know anyone did that! I see you also got them from Shapiro, did you visit both in person or was any of that virtual? I have tried emailing with Dr. Cooley's office, but Lonnie has not been getting any of my emails, and I have tried two different email accounts (one gmail, one work account). Spoke by phone to her twice yesterday, emailed 5 or 6 times, and have not heard back at all.

 

Did you not consider Dr. Lindsey? For me, he's the closest, and Cooley is the next closest.

 

I'll be interested to see who you choose and why!

[Nopawn]

My sense (from reading this forum and others) for Hasson was that 1) he's more about mega sessions (which I don't think I'm going for) and 2) he requires shaving the recipient area (or the entire head?) which I want to avoid.

 

Lindsey I haven't researched much - he was on a longer original list but just didn't come up as much as the ones on the short list in terms of great references...

 

I got the before & after pictures from this forum (in the Results tab under each physician), and both my wife and I spent time looking over them.... All of my consults were virtual (I'm in California).

[KD2020]

Ok, thanks for the feedback!

[KD2020]

For what it's worth, I have done my homework and made a decision. I'll be going with Dr. Cooley.

[hairthere]

Great choice! Good luck with the surgery and keep us updated.

[KD2020]

Thanks hairthere, will do!

 

I sent the forms In today to Lollie, should here from her tomorrow for the deposit and find out where I'll be in the cue. Sometime in April is what I believe she last told me would be the first availability. It will be interesting to learn what Dr. Cooley recommends in more detail.