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Considering a hair transplant


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  • Senior Member

Hi all

 

I am new to the forum,

 

I am posting as I am considering a hair transplant. I have researched various surgeons on the internet and had various on line consultations and face to face consultations.

 

A bit about me

 

I inherited MPB from my mother's side of the family....I have older brothers who are balding, though out of all of us I think my loss is slowest.

 

I started receding soon after my 19th birthday, in September 2003. Since then I've been fortunate enough to have receded at a slow pace. My hair loss has been classified as a Norwood 2 (but maybe pushing 2.5). I only have loss at the temples and hairline and its these areas I am looking to fill in. There is no crown loss whatsoever and my hair on top is stable.

 

My aims

 

I am looking to recreate my hairline so that I might be able to style it up and comb forward/sideways.

Though I am keen to get my hairline sorted, I am cautious of future loss so am still a bit nervous about proceeding. I do take propecia which may be helping to slow my loss, but hasn't stopped it unfortunately. I've noticed some excellent hairline work from some of the surgeons but wonder how people address future loss. Is it the case that density can be full (or near enough) at the front and lighter on top?

 

In regards to the recommendations, I have already had some from respected docs who are recommended on this network. The numbers of grafts I have been quoted range from as few as 1400 to 2600-2800. I have also been suggested FUT or FUE; I think I'd rather FUE as I don't want a strip scar.

 

Although i have yet to make up my mind, I am leaning to one of the Turkish doctors, Dr Doganay or Dr Erdogan. Both of these doctors appear to produce very impressive results, which are pretty dense even when the number of grafts is modest. For this purpose, and the fact they are slightly cheaper than the US docs, and closer to where I live (London, UK) I am leaning towards one of them. However I am keeping my options open.

 

I attach some photos which I'd be grateful if people could review and let me know what they think...in terms of whether I'd be a suitable candidate, what to go for, how many grafts etc.

 

One other thing that was said to me was that I appear to have excellent donor. A face to face consultation suggested I may be able to use up to 12,000 grafts (essentially enough for full coverage???), while the online docs also thought my donor was good. I was encouraged by this but thought it seemed a tad optimistic...is such a number achievable and wouldn't my donor look totally bare is a number that high was harvested?

 

I'm trying to educate myself on all of this but there is just a sea of information out there and I want to make sure I get this right.

 

Thanks in advance!

5b32dca7cb710_Donorview1.JPG.642b91baad8eb8a3e77f24e058165b3e.JPG

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5b32dca82615e_Leftview.JPG.e6305ff361b35380c1f91ac328f3f698.JPG

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Edited by garethbale
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  • Senior Member

You appear to be a fairly good candidate for a HT in terms of pattern and thickness ect. However, I wouldn't recommend pursuing one at this point. Your pattern of loss is still not fully established and you have some pretty thick hair for the time being.

 

I would wait it out if I was you. Possibly just go for medication at this point to maintain current hair the best you can before you try surgery. Best advice I could give is to stay up to date in the field, but don't become a patient as of yet, if ever depending on how you respond to medication. Either way you need to be on medication for at least a year (in my opinion) to see how you respond before going for an HT otherwise you could be in some big trouble down the road.

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  • Senior Member

I think I'd say do a few more in person consultations, e.g. I think Mwamba is visiting London in February and you may be able to get a slot.

 

Also consider Eurostar to Brussles to see Bisanga.

 

They can identify where you might end up in future years.

 

Only if it really really bothered you I would get it done, otherwise I'd wait a while. If you did go through with it I'd opt for a solid NW2-2.5 hairline which probably means no more than 2000 grafts.

4,312 FUT grafts (7,676 hairs) with Ray Konior, MD - August 2013

1,145 FUE grafts (3,152 hairs) with Ray Konior, MD - August 2018

763 FUE grafts (2,094 hairs) with Ray Konior, MD - January 2020

Proscar 1.25mg every 3rd day

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  • Senior Member

Your temples are thinning and I see your forelock becoming isolated in the next few years. I also see that your crown may have started to thin so I see a NW3V or maybe even a NW4 in your future. Don't be so anxious to get your old hairline back. If you do anything, which I don't think you should, don't get aggressive and greedy.

The Truth is in The Results

 

Dr. Victor Hasson and Dr. Jerry Wong are members of the Coalition of Independent Hair Restoration Physicians

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  • Senior Member

I was going to give the same overall opinionas Jotronic, who if you don't know who he is, is one of the most knowledgeable in the world on advice for hair transplantation.

 

Don't be too eager to get the little amount of hair that you've lost back. Enjoy what you have, and if one day it does become a concern, then address it. Your hair is 100% fine and is already a dream result for 99% of the members on this forum. Nobody would give your hair a second glance, to be honest. You blend in with the non-folicularly challenged humans.

My Hair Loss Website

 

Surgical Treatments:

 

Hair transplant 5-22-2013 with Dr. Paul Shapiro at Shapiro Medical Group

Total grafts transplanted: 3222

*536 singles *1651 doubles * 961 triples,

*74 quadruples.

Total hairs transplanted: 7017

 

 

Non-Surgical Treatments:

 

*1.25 mg finasteride daily

*Generic minoxidil foam 2x daily

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  • Senior Member

Thanks for your comments guys.

 

I do agree I probably need to arrange a few more in person consultations.

 

Matt - I appreciate its hard to give a diagnosis on line. The in person consultation I had was with Dr Wong who suggested around 1500-2500 grafts at the temples and to create a (slightly higher) hairline. If Dr Mwamba is in London I will contact his office to see if I can meet with him.

 

Jotronic - my crown has always had a look (particularly when my hair is longer) that it is slightly thinning. However this has been the case for the last 7/8 years and I am on propecia so perhaps this is helping. If I do get anything done it will definitely not be a low, aggressive hairline. I realise that MPB is progressive so if any work is done it will be to create a slightly higher hairline and perhaps add some density around and behind the forelock. There was a period in 2012 where my hair felt really good and my hairline was not that different to how it is now so I'm quite happy not to have the NW1 look.

 

Patriot & Nick - yeah I appreciate I am quite lucky to have receded quite slowly. There are some days when it does bother me however and I think a little bit more density at the frontal third would make a big difference. I would like to have the option of styling my hair without it looking see through at the front, and with the hairline looking stronger, even if slightly higher.

 

I have seen some excellent results on people whose loss is much worse than mine which does encourage me to proceed, However I appreciate they may be the best case scenarios. There was one particular guy who'd had about 8000 grafts with Dr Doganay and had achieved an excellent result with decent density (particularly at the front) and good coverage.

 

Is is possible to keep addressing loss as it occurs, but to perhaps go with a slightly less dense area on top, perhaps supplemented with concealer, which I currently use?

Edited by garethbale
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