Rate My Donor

[KO]

So I have a decent idea of what to cover on top (everything), now the main variable seems to be the donor...laxity will have to be determined by the doctor, but I would like to get the wise men of HT Network to opine on density or caliber.

[Garageland]

KO,

 

Your donor appears to be pretty solid not high density as it seems you have quite coarse hair and guys with coarse hair tend to have slightly lower density. You certainly seem to have enough and more in reserve to deal with the areas that require attention.

 

What are your plans?

[KO]

Thanks for the response, assuming lower density, how many grafts have HW been able to extract in cases such as this? I am planning to set up in person consults and then decide from there.

[1978matt]

A very good question to ask.

 

Yours looks very similar to mine. Dr K told me I was 80/60 but I got the impression he was brushing off my question (!), it may be less than that. However, you do have a good calibre of hair. Maybe not quite as good as mine but there's only so much you can tell from a photo.

 

What concerns me a bit is the thinning in the crown area.

 

You probably have quite robust follicles that would extract well with FUE. As you know I preach the virtues of FUT so if you have great laxity then taking a strip first hand would put you 100 yards in front.

 

It's a personal decision but with FUE only you might still get a decent result but maybe with a higher hairline.

[Spanker]

I would say you have average donor.

[Blake Bloxham]

Difficult to accurately measure from the images.

 

Having said that ...

 

I think the density appears decent. Normal density is anywhere between 80-100 FU/cm2. I would say you're somewhere between 80-90. The characteristics of your hair - coarse, wavy - will help as well. The contrast between your hair color and scalp tone is a bit harsh, which decreases the appearance of density, but this shouldn't be a big concern.

 

Good luck!

[KO]

A very good question to ask.

 

Yours looks very similar to mine. Dr K told me I was 80/60 but I got the impression he was brushing off my question (!), it may be less than that. However, you do have a good calibre of hair. Maybe not quite as good as mine but there's only so much you can tell from a photo.

 

What concerns me a bit is the thinning in the crown area.

 

You probably have quite robust follicles that would extract well with FUE. As you know I preach the virtues of FUT so if you have great laxity then taking a strip first hand would put you 100 yards in front.

 

It's a personal decision but with FUE only you might still get a decent result but maybe with a higher hairline.

 

I don't believe I have very high laxity as I don't have elastic skin, and when younger I did get stretch marks from gaining weight....

 

There is no doubt that FUT will move the most grafts, but the question to me is that I just don't know the success rate of FUT, and given that I plan on keeping my hair short in the future, it is difficult to have confidence in the end result.

 

Of course, with FUE, due to the lower density, it may not look good either.

[KO]

Difficult to accurately measure from the images.

 

Having said that ...

 

I think the density appears decent. Normal density is anywhere between 80-100 FU/cm2. I would say you're somewhere between 80-90. The characteristics of your hair - coarse, wavy - will help as well. The contrast between your hair color and scalp tone is a bit harsh, which decreases the appearance of density, but this shouldn't be a big concern.

 

Good luck!

 

Thanks, good point about the skin color contrast. I will need to go tanning perhaps!

[Spanker]

I think my density was in the 70s, which sucks, but if you looked at it you can't tell because I have coarse hair. I don't think it's easy to look with your eyes and tell. If you don't have good laxity I would lean towards fue.

 

Not sure what you meant by not being sure about the success rate of fut?

[Spanker]

Btw, my wife is bed looking at my phone and she said you have cute ears. :-P

[Garageland]

Not lower density KO just not in the higher category around average I would say but very difficult to assess from photos alone. Coarse hair is of course a good thing in terms of coverage. I would say if you have at least average laxity we could be looking at 4000 plus grafts in one session. Can't really tell from the photos but not sure you need that many some better photos of the recipient area would be needed.

[KO]

Btw, my wife is bed looking at my phone and she said you have cute ears. :-P

 

Why thank you, I have always been proud of my ears, nice to see them being recognized!

[KO]

I think my density was in the 70s, which sucks, but if you looked at it you can't tell because I have coarse hair. I don't think it's easy to look with your eyes and tell. If you don't have good laxity I would lean towards fue.

 

Not sure what you meant by not being sure about the success rate of fut?

 

Long story short, I guess what I am concerned about is getting a mega session done, having 5k grafts implanted on my head, H&W-style and uh....nothing grows...which can happen.

[KO]

Indeed, I should post photos of the recipient area as well. I'd say a NW5A/6, and if I am a candidate, I would like to focus on the area in front of the crown, my head seems to "slope" upwards at the crown, and I'd like to focus on the "slope down".

 

I am age 27, and I believe I have either slowed or stabilized my hairloss by using medications. I am currently alternating fin and dut.

[FUE2014]

KO,

 

With your hair loss pattern, I would personally wait until at least 30 before considering a transplant, if not longer. In fact, I think it is very risky for anyone under 30 to get a transplant period as your hair loss can still evolve to quite a significant degree, even when on meds.

[seeker2014]

Hey KO:

How are you? I just wanted to throw in my two cents. I agree with what fue2014 is saying above. Since it looks like you have NW6 pattern forming, you have to be extremely careful with where grafts are placed and what procedure is utilized. Even though it will be more expensive in the long-run, you might first went to undergo a small to mid range HT (maybe 1000-1500) just to see how you respond to it (in terms of graft survival rate and scar recovery). Speaking from personal experience and from a young-ish perceptive (currently, I am 26 years old), it is important to factor in the long-term planning for contingencies such as what happens if the result is not a success (which you already addressed in one of your earlier posts). Again, while FUT does offer benefits (i.e. potentially higher graft yields), it is a riskier proposition (in terms of concealing a potential scar) for someone who is higher up on the future Norwood scale. Again, this all comes down to what you plan to do long-term (e.g. would you be happy with a buzz cut?). For example, after going through a largely unsuccessful FUT procedure, I realize that I am probably not the best HT candidate. If I would have elected FUE, I could have cut my losses and just shaved down to a 1 guard. However, I now have to keep my hair at a 2 guard while blending in the scarred area at 1/2 inch. For the long-term, I have to look into FUE for my FUT scar…so I guess what I am saying is there’s nothing wrong with being optimistic about a HT, but also plan for the worst-case scenario. Good luck!

[KO]

Yep, that is exactly my worry. I understand the fact that I will never have a full thick head of hair, but I would like to seek out an improvement and keep my hair short, and I think my donor hair is of decent quality.

 

I am thinking of starting off as you say, with a trial FUE....if it grows, I may go for a big strip or a larger FUE session. Surprisingly Konior recommended only 3000 grafts, and Lorenzo recommended 2400, both of which I felt was very low, and I was thinking on the order of 5000, but perhaps they too are concerned about carefully implanting in between native hairs.

[lifeisbeautiful]

I would say you have a good donor area but pictures can be misleading.

[irishsailor]

Btw, my wife is bed looking at my phone and she said you have cute ears. :-P

 

Crack me up man:cool:

[GraveD11gger]

Hi KO,

 

I think Propecia has not worked much on your head (maybe only side effects?), and you are about to go hair transplant.

 

Since you have very generalized hair loss/thinning in all potential areas of hair loss, I think no need to wait more, and you may get first session of HT in soon time. I think better for you to get about 4000 grafts over those large area, and in future you may get one more session to increase the density more. Nothing to loose for you with HT now.

 

I do not know whether you will prefer FUT or FUE, but, as a senior member, you know that only very long FUT strips extending from one temple to another (measure yours, it should be about 35 cm) can give about 3500-4500 grafts.

 

I will rate your donor areas later for FUE. If you consider for FUT, you may get some useful information here which I obtained it from one of the objective forums of HT:

 

(link removed by moderators)

 

As I mentioned earlier, hair transplant surgery is considered a cosmetic procedure and it?s unlikely that your health insurance covers it. This means that you have to do it with your own money. What is important here is that the doctor explains all the costs to you.

As you can probably imagine, the cost depends on how much of a balding area you have to cover, how much the surgeon is and whether you opt for FUE or FUT (strip method).

You are probably familiar with the term ?graft? but do you know what it actually is?

A graft is just another name for a follicular unit. On average, each follicular unit? has between two and three hairs. That means 3,000 grafts, on average, will produce between 6000 and 9000 hairs and most UK surgeries charge between ?2 and ?5 per graft (FUT method) and between ?4 and ?10 (FUE method). That means 3,000 grafts, on average, will produce between 6000 and 9000 hairs. Now multiply the cost per graft and the amount could be anywhere between ?6,000 and ?30,000. It is important that you understand what is happening here as some doctors will try different techniques to attract patients to surgery.Your surgeon will tell you the number of grafts that is required. You?ve probably worked this out for yourself but obviously the larger the balding area, the more grafts are required and the greater the overall cost for the procedure.

In my personnel case, I had 2000 follicular units transplanted using the FUT method (which yielded approximately 5000 hairs) at a cost of ?4000.

Don’t let yourself be deceived concerning costs. One way is by making the cost appear less than the actual amount. Sometimes single-hair grafts are needed for the frontal hairline. What some doctors have done in the past is to split the two-hair grafts into two, single-hair grafts. They then also split a four-hair graft into two, two-hair grafts thereby raising the number of grafts required and the overall price. Question the doctor concerning this..

Another all-too-frequent technique is where they make the initial estimate low and increase the number of grafts afterwards and then end up charging you more.

It is vital that your doctor explains to you the number of grafts required and the actual counting process of the grafts. Then you are crystal clear about what is required and what the costs are.

Always remember, if the initial estimate he or she makes sounds too good to be true, then it probably is; find yourself another doctor.

The total cost of the transplant is a very important factor in determining whether or not to have the procedure: it?s your hard-earned money! To ensure you get the best, you need an honest, qualified, professional doctor who can be trusted to do this for you. Any surgical treatment is permanent and there isn?t any room for error; it is important that you choose the right doctor.

 

Edited October 22, 2014 by GraveD11gger