Making the right choice

[Ajani]

Hi everyone, just joined the HR social network: I'd like to have your opinion before undergoing HT.

 

My hair loss story is very simple: starting age 18, a gradual loss of hair along familiar patterns to reach current NW7 by age 30. I am now 33 and the hair loss has stabilized over the past couple of years and I am exploring the likelihood of improving my appearance with a surgical hair restoration in August 2014.

The obvious first port of call has been the internet and specifically this forum where I have been reading and getting familiar with fue, fut, expectations vs reality and, most importantly, how to choose a good ht doctor. So, first, a big thanks for all who shared their experience.

 

Given my budget. I have contacted four turkish and one indian doctors that other users have been mostly satisfied with, in order:

 

1. Dr demirsoy

2. Dr koray erdogan

3. Dr doganay

4. Dr bhatti

5. Longevita

 

The first three have declined to take my case at all and politely dismissed me without much additional explanation other than estimating that the donor area is insufficient to have any positive result.

Dr bhatti is more positive but is cautioning on expectations: it seems about 3,000 graft could be enough to give a NW3 appearance (an acceptable improvement, in my view). Further BHT and a later additional HT could provide some additional albeit marginal improvement.

Lastly, Longevita: the fastest to reply, immediately pricing and chasing for follow up (all good stuff), but it turned out to be a travel agency for medical tourism and I just don't feel I would give myself the best chance by letting intermediaries speculate on my NW7 head.

 

I have added a few pictures to my profile.

 

Given the unexpected rebuttal by 3 out of 4 well respected practitioner, I am now hesitant:

I will welcome comments and suggestion on how to bring this HT idea forward or whether it's better to desist.

[KO]

IMHO, I would not recommend an HT surgery. There is a lot of area to cover, and it seems like you have a decently shaped head for what it's worth. I would buzz down, and maybe tan a little bit.

[Ajani]

Thanks KO.

I agree that if a reasonable improvement via HT is not possible, i'd be better off keeping my bi-weekly buzzing routine.

Note: i have quite a white skin and i dont really tan, rather I get to some darker shade of red and it is not very healthy. Plus, leaving in the middle-east, local fashion actually favor white skins. Ironically enough, they sell whitening creams in cosmetics shop here, as opposed to tanning product back in the west.

[farmcat]

I am wondering what some fue with smp would look like.....you said you already shave your head so it wouldn't be a big step in shaving....the fue (especially in the frontal third) with smp could give you the shadow look.

 

I don't know much about smp, have never had it done....can't argue for or against it....if I were going to do it I would do the temporary smp (that fades over time)....the downside is that you would probably have to get it redone every two years and that $$$ could really add up. The permanent smp isn't good because I hear the ink expands over time and changes color so you could end up with one big blue blob of ink on your head (from what I have read).

[KO]

Yes, that might be a possibility to do small FUE to create a widows peak and buzz down...Bhatti might be able to do that.

[BoulderBalder]

I would look into SMP. My brother is a norwood 7 and consulted with a few top notch surgeons all who felt SMP would probably give adequate results and were not comfortable attempting surgery. AT MOST, I would consider a tiny FUE session to create a frontal hairline which could help accentuate the illusion of hair in combination with SMP. Dont jump into anything. The last thing you want to do is find someone willing to take your money, undergo a surgery that leaves you looking worse than before and in a situation where you cannot go back to shaving your head, but are not happy growing your hair out either. I used to shave my head due to a receding hairline (NW3-4), and I have a good shaped head and looked good with a shaved head. I wanted to grow my hair out though to cover an old scar from having cancer in my skull and ended up going to a terrible hair transplant center that left me way, way worse off than before I had the hair transplant. I couldnt shave my head because of the enormous FUT scar and tons of terribly placed pluggy grafts placed in my frontal hairline but growing my hair out looked ridiculous and like I had a really bad combover. I am extremely lucky that I had enough hair and stumbled into this forum and found an amazing surgeon (Dr. Konior) who was able to fix my head but you may not be so lucky. Like I said you dont want to end up worse than you are now, so just take your time and really research your options before doing anything. My brother is dead set that he wants something done, and like you he is a NW7. He flew out to Chicago just to consult with a well known SMP clinic there and is moving forward with SMP in the next two weeks.

[Cryingoutloud]

Just get a hair system

[Ajani]

Thank you for all suggestions.

It looks like the consensus here is agreeing with the turkish doctors: a HT will not be successful.

Regarding SMP: i can see its benefits in combination with fue, but I am not comfortable with that solution.