FUT / Dr. Marwan Saifi (AM-MED) / 2043 grafts / Feb 16th 2015

[mklDK]

Hello fellow hair loosers and gainers!

 

Firstly, I would like to thank all the contributing members of this forum. Moderators, doctors, voluntary test subjects, I do not know where I would be if you had not been here. From the big three to my first HT you were here. Thank you! This is my contribution and my story, which is mainly a detailed description of my HT experience with Dr. Marwan Saifi

 

Short version of my story before the HT:

I first started noticing thinning of my hair in late 2008 and not long after decided to do something about it. Found the forum, got on minox and nizoral - that was alright, but not enough. Thought about the next step for about a year and got on finasteride after a doctors appointment. Since then I have maintained my hair and maybe even gained a little.

My thin hair still bothered me though and the question of having a HT was always in the back of my head. I hated to go out.

In 2014 me and my girlfriend of 8 years decided to get married. This means a lot of focus and looking the best for those wedding photos. Thats when I thought I had to get it properly fixed. So I had a serious conversation with the love of my life and started looking for a doc. After hours of researching I think I found the right one. I did have online consultations and phone talks with other "suppliers" and I would recommend that everyone do that. Also if you have the balls and money for it; go for physical consultations as well - I did not, but I think one should.

 

My HT procedure with Dr. Marwan Saifi:

 

In November/December 2014 I contacted Saifi online with my photos and he personally answered my request with an assesment per mail. None of the other doc's wrote to me personally. That was really comforting.

Already at the time of contacting him, I had done quite a bit of research and I could not find any negative reviews. Only recommendations. So I accepted his assesment and he called me for at personal conversation. He told me about his method of operation and answered any questions. He told me his main objective was to preserve the donor area and not once did i feel pressured to go forward with anything. His english is very good and you can ask him anything. I got his personal email and phone number and he is the only person I was in contact with before the operation. We then set at date for the 17th February.

 

To confirm the booking i sent him my flight itiniaries and transferred 500 EUR as a deposit. The itiniaries are used to book the hotel and make sure there is a driver (Kris) waiting for you at the airport. I had Saifi book 3 nights in a double room at the hotel, because my fiancee travelled with me.

 

On the 16th February we flew from Copenhagen to Wroclaw and was well received by Kris at the airport. 10 minutes later we were checking in at the nice old looking Art Hotel. A pleasent hotel with gentle staff and fair rooms. Breakfast was alright; bread, fruits, different salads, fish, eggs, bacon, yoghurt. Hotel is placed right near Rynek, where we found plenty of nice restaurants and shops, very central. If you go, I recommend that you take advantage of this! The price for good food is very cheap compared to my homely standards and the atmosphere is relaxed.

 

17th was op day and Kris picked us up at 8.45 am. He was always on time or a good few minutes before. We drove for 15 minutes and he showed us up through the door to the clinique. Inside I was received by a nurse/receptionist and filled out some papers. During this time, Saifi arrived and we met briefly in the hall. After fillining the papers, Saifi saw me and we chatted for a while. He is very friendly and will make you feel comfortable in the situation, as well as sure that you made the right choice. Saifi only do one patient a day, so he took good time to talk to both me and my fiancee, who was there at the clinique most of the day. He told me that he will be moving to a bigger place in the near future, because he needs more room to do training of new hair surgerons. I found the clinique spotless and perfect, but I did see why he needed more room to train surgeons.

 

After the consultation I was shown to the toilet/changing room to change into op-shirt and op-shoes. Then I was prepped for surgery; got some meds in me, a lot of pictures taken, a nice haircut and some tape around my head. Saifi took lots of pictures for the rest of the op in between the three steps: 1. removal of strip of hair and tissue, 2. cutting the holes for the grafts and 3. inserting the grafts. Saifi did the two first and two techs did the last step.

During step 1 he was engaging me a lot in what he did, but when it came to cutting the holes at step 2 he advised me to take a nap and let him focus on perfectly restoring my hairline. Maybe I napped a little, but I definetely shut my face and let the good doctor do his thing. Cutting the holes was done manually with some fancy sapphire-knife he showed me. Everything about the procedure seemed very professional. Even the way he included his techs in the procedure. However, they did speak a lot of Polish, so I have no idea what they were saying, but it seemed like everyone was focused on making a good result. All along i felt like in very safe hands and so did my fiancee.

 

After step 2 i had a small lunch break with my fiancee. The clinique provided for us both.

 

Step 3 was the most tedious. This is where you get a bit tired of lying still in a chair all day (without a football game on in front of you). At one point I moved a bit too much and was told, very kindly, that it was like working during an earthquake. Needless to say, I was very still for the remainder of the op - I did not want a head of hair that looks like it was placed during an earthquake. I had a five minute break a bit later and then the techs continued until Saifi came back to have a final touch. Saifi also checked up on the placement of the grafts a couple of times when the techs were working.

 

When all hairs were set and done, we returned to his office where my fiancee and I received further instructions. He gave me some papers, some meds to take for the next few days, saline spray, tissues and a baseball cap. We said our goodbys and left a bit faster than we came in. Kris was already waiting outside and I felt that the procedure ran a bit late and it was a bit rushed at the end. At least compared to the time taken at the beginning of the day. Anyway i left with a very good feeling and no further questions.

 

The night was not hilarious. I got some sleep and even went to the zoo the next day. Kris picked us up as agreed on the 19th and we flew back.

 

 

Prices and payment:

 

The price for 2000 grafts were set at 2995 GBP.

 

I paid 500 EUR in deposit when booking and 3540 EUR just before the procedure.

 

The cost of the 2 nights (with breakfast) is covered in the price of the procedure, as well as the intial pick up from the airport. The rest is on your own money, which is perfectly fair. I just did not know that Kris had to be paid, which was kind of awkward in the taxi. But he does a great job and is very friendly and luckily he took visa, because I had no zloty left at that time. That cost about 90 zloty, still cheap for 3 fares. ADDITION: Dr. Saifi just apollogized and informed me that the taxi fares are all included in the price from now on - he just forgot to tell the driver. He also offered me a full refund of what i paid. I think this reflects his good intent very well and I could not care less for the refund. His attitude and ethics are priceless.

 

Payment for the procedure was required before the op, which made me a bit nervous. Also I did forget to transfer the money in proper time (you can also bring the money along, but i chose bank transfer - no option for credit cards). Luckily the money was fully transferred on the 17th, so all was clear before the procedure. Saifi is a trusting man and he told me he had experienced not receiving payment a few times and that is why the procedure is as it is. I would not hesistate transferring money to him pre-op ever again. He is as honest and trusting a man as they get.

 

 

HairMAx Laser comb:

 

Dr. Saifi is pro laser comb and I knew that from the beginning. He did not push me into buying it, but he talked very fondly of the effects. I had already researched the subject before the consultation and was undecided when i went in. One thing he said, that mattered a lot, is that MAYBE, if it works well, I could get off finasteride one day. MAYBE. I would like that.

 

I ended up buying the lasercomb and I know it is very disputed whether it works on hair growth, but laser has been used efficiently for healing and I am hoping that it will help me heal if not make my hair look fuller. As my wedding is in August I need every cheat there is to get to a dense look for that big day.

 

Below are some bad before pictures and some pictures I took when we got back to the hotel. Saifi promissed me to send me the high quality pictures from the op. I will post them along with some better post op pictures later.

Edited February 23, 2015 by mklDK
the good doctor corrected a wrong with the taxi money

[mklDK]

Did not receive any pictures from my doctor yet. He is really busy, but he does answer what questions I might have and that is the main thing. The pictures first become interesting in 6-12 months time.

 

Here is some pictures of recipient area and the scar line, as I had my girlfriend remove the stitches today.

 

There is not much to see in the recipient area, but I have not shed anything yet. Only a few stubs came out with the "scabs" and dried leftover skin.

[jacekplacek]

Hi mate I'm having my procedure with Dr. Saifi in 1,5 month. I'm new in this forum and I couldn't send you a message. I really want to know how are you after your transplant how does it look etc? thanks a lot:)

[Forest1975]

Looks great thanks for posting it I will have my ht with dr saifi in 6weeks time your post gave me lots of confidence and believe that I've made right choice by sticking with this great surgeon thanks mate and wish you plenty growth for the future

[mklDK]

Hey forest and jacek

 

Thanks! If you have any questions, do not hesistate to ask.

 

You have definetely chosen a dr that cares for your well being and not your wallet. Can't say anything about the results yet, but up untill now my experience have been nothing out of the ordinary (of what you can read in the forum). One note though; I did not really have that many blood scabs on my head after surgery - when you look at some post ops there are a lot of red dried blood, but I really had only 3-4 of them. I do not know if it displays the precision work he did, but it feels like it. I also had no swelling issues. As I wrote, I spent the day after surgery at the Zoo - no problems.

 

Right now I am feeling improvement in the sensitivity of my scalp every day. When the donor is removed, a lot of nerves are cut. This makes your head numb from the scar and upwards. It has also given me some very tender areas (hurts a bit when you touch them) on the top of my scalp, but I am confident that they will subcede when the nerves are healed. It is really not an issue, just a small part of the experience.

 

I have not have any shockloss yet, but the transplanted hairs are shedding now. I don't know why, but the shed is mainly hitting my right hairline, whereas the left has a lot of the transplanted hair still in. However I am looking foreward to my original hair in the recipient area growing to lenght that makes me able to cut the rest to a more uniform length. Just look at the pictures - I look totally retarded and the uncut hair is just uncontrollable. The recipient area is still a bit pinkish and so is the scar, so I might have to wait a week or two with cutting it.

 

Apart from the surgery-issues, I have started biotin and MSM (biotin 5 mg in the morning and MSM 1000 mg in morning and before bed). Biotin has been fine, but MSM made be break out with red pimples all over my face and body, so I stopped. Next weekend I will probably start again with a lower dosage. I will also start minox tonight (stopped some months before surgery). I am applying 1 ml to the crown every night, but the stuff is too sticky to use in the morning. In the shower I use Watermans Grow Me shampoo, but I cannot say anything about its effectiveness and I will probably not be able to do so at any point, due to the other products I am using. Lastly, I use the hairmax lasercomb three times a week. I probably won't be able to say if that works either, but I really do not care as long as the look of my hair improves.

 

I will post more pictures next week at my 1 month mark.

[jacekplacek]

Thanks for this response! That's very helpful. To be honest I'm a lil bid worried about my workmates , friends' reaction that's why I'd like hide it somehow. I'll be off at my work up to 12 days after the procedure. Do you think its possible to hide it? I know that I should be self-confident about my own decision but as you know hair transplant is still something weird/funny for many people... what do You guys think about it ?

[paddyirishman]

well done on taking the big step, im sure all will work out great for you ,wedding and the new hair to come. I havnt had a ht myself but Im searching for all the info one can get etc. I see that you had a fut done as oppose to a fue, Iwas wondering with all the good talk about fue you decided to go with the strip?? was it because of the number of grafts you wanted or because of cost ? how many fut or fue can the doctor that treated you can do in a day? I myself am interested in fue if I am going to do anything, I have a similar pattern of hair loss to yourself. I don't take any meds at all , I would be interested to also know why the doctor said you might some day not need the meds? Many thanks for your time and well doneand best of luck to you and your wife to be.

[Forest1975]

Cheers Mk I hope you don't mind me asking why did you go for FUT instead of FUE are you not bother by that linear scar at the back of your head?You,ve mentioned about numbness to your donor site what about bleeding or pain and sleep did you get any at all in first few days after op?You are on meds any side effects after fin and good luck at anfield you gonna need it mate haha

[paddyirishman]

I'm thinking of fue and am on the lookout for a good doctor and any good information to help me decide. I notice you guys are booked in for about 6 weeks or so, fair play to ye ,I was wondering are you having fue as opposed to the strip and how many grafts can the doctor do for you and any other info about your planed procedure. Many thanks Forest and Jacek.

[mklDK]

@jacek

I understand your concern. I wanted no one to know as well - especially not workmates. However, I have told my old mates from college, because I had to spend a whole weekend with them. Their reaction was highfives and a lot of questions. Also I think it depends on your approach - be straight forward with your choice. For me, it was something I did for myself and nobody else. I think people are more open minded to plastic surgery now than they were just 5 years ago.

Whether you will be able to hide it or not really depends on the procedure you are having. I grew my hair long, so no one can really notice it when i wear a cap. I'd say 12 days is not enough if you want to hide it without a cap, but I have no experience with concealers like toppik or nanogen, which may be able to help you. I also have a job with no dresscode, so I just put a cap on.

 

@paddy

Thank you for your response I was totally on FUE before I really started to find a doc - no scar for me! so a lot of thought and research went into my decision to do FUT. I made the decision after talking with Saifi and looking at Hasson & Wong - they only do FUT, with documented great results. When talking to Saifi he did say I was a good candidate for both treatments, but FUT does has a better succes rate and I might need a second round with FUE. And he made it clear that even with FUE you will have scarring - though not as obvious.

Then there is the price - I could have easily gone for FUE with Saifi within my budget, but I picked the more bang for the buck. I remember reading that surgeons should do either one of the techniques and to be honest I thought FUT is what Saifi does best (after meeting him, I am not sure that my thought is justified - Saifi has strong ethics and he would not do FUE badly. He can probably do FUE just as good, but it does not change the fact that FUT generally produces better results with lower grafts). So all in all I picked FUT because I would get the lowest risk of a bad result and the best result possible for a lesser amount of money.

Regarding Saifis daily max I do not know, but I would think 2000-2500 grafts, but ask him, he is good at answering.

He said that the haircomb might do for me what the meds are doing now. If so, I could loose the meds and stick with the comb. I am definetely going to try it out, as I would love to stop eating those prostate-cancer-pills. I do not have any sides, but you never really know, do you... Good luck with finding your doc! If you are interested just send Saifi a mail and give him a call - he will not pressure you into anything. Also please do contact other surgeons and if you can meet with them or a representative do that. Ask to talk to previous patiens as well. Do not feel bad for rejecting to set an appointment - it is your head.

 

@Forest

Some of the answers I have given above, so for the remainder;

I am counting on a guard 2-3 being able to cover my scar, but I have always had my hair long at the back. Maybe I will even try to get a much longer haircut next year. So I do not really bother that I can't buzz it down - I only did that 2 times in my life.

I had absolutely no bleeding from anywhere. Slept on white towels the first nights - no spots. The first night I was told to lie on my back straight, but I first fell asleep after elevating my pillow. Slept ok, but not like before surgery. And as I wrote, no issues walking around for the next day. The week after it is best to sleep more or less upright and I had no issues with that. When you are allowed to sleep on your stomach you will want to do so, but sleep is surely different for each person. Now I lie on my stomach because it is wierd sleeping on a numb backhead, not because it hurts.

When account is given to the fact that we are playing like s***, we definetely need the luck. That being said, I think we will have it back after that unlucky Arsenal game... Good luck to you as well

[paddyirishman]

Thanks very much for that ,fair play to ye. That's very interesting regarding changing from your original thoughts from fue to fut, as I feel exactly the same as you regarding fue at the moment anyway. I suppose you have to go with what doctor tells you about each one for your own individual needs ,Im sure you done the right thing for yourself in the long run. I also find it interesting about the laser comb you mentioned, I must try and research it, as I at this moment in time am not taking anything and do not think finasteride is suitable for me so the comb could be a good back up plan. I have sent photos to Farjo in the UK and a very good guy called me to talk. I really would have to fly to Manchester to have a proper assessment as you know, but with the sterling now so strong against the euro that's put me off a little, as the cost of the procedure rises as well. How did the doctor with you approach the aspect of the hair you have on the front of your head? was it discussed about putting hairs in between it? Looking at your photos it doesn't look like he did? IM sure shock loss to it might be a concern if one was to insert grafts in there as well, what would the plan if one did lose that hair on the front after a ht , another ht I suppose? Anyway I will check up on a few things you recommended, I am very thankful for your advice and feedback and im sure your hair will be flying up when it does start. All the best ...Paddy.

[jimmygea]

Hey paddyirishman

 

My initial thoughts were like mklDK’s in going for FUE as opposed to FUT, however, after doing some research, I too have now opted to go for FUT for 2500 graft with Dr Saifi in June this year. The change in my mind were based on the following points in order of importance to me

 

1. The yield and quality of transplanted follicles are allegedly far better with FUT

2. I have never buzz cut the hair on the back of my head and don’t want to shave it all off in order to get FUE procedure, therefore no issue in covering my scar and hopefully not so obvious that I have had a HT

3. The scar line can be very minimal if preformed by a good Doctor using the trichophytic closure method

4. Less overall cost

I suppose both procedures have their plus and minus points and only you can decide what meets your requirements but the advice from mklDK is very sound.

 

I did a lot research before I made my booking with Dr Saifi and contacted many of his past patients all of them said that he was a real professional and took pride in his work to ensure great results and I would be in safe hands and his prices are very favourable compared to the UK surgeries! I have had several email correspondences and also discussed several point with Dr Saifi on the phone and never felt pressurised at anytime.

 

Good luck in deciding....Jim

[paddyirishman]

Thanks Jim for the info, all of what you said makes a lot of sense. I would be more in favour of fue however as I have not spoken to a doctor in any great detail about fue or fut, I would not totally rule it out as yet. I suppose everybody that is thinking of a ht initially thinks of no strip procedure, and favours the fue instead, and that's where I sit at the moment. If one has a great deal of trust in a doctor that they have decided on, then its down to the fine details after that and ones personal circumstances and requirements. and what the doctors word on it is.I think one of the major things that come into consideration is how many grafts are suitable ,or what is the requirement of the number of grafts at that particular ht. In your case you are having 2500 grafts, so maybe fut makes a lot of sense. I wonder about the final yields from fut and fue after a ht, if one was to look at the percentages, my understanding was both procedures were high in the 90s regardless of fue or fut. If this is true then there is no major advantage there, also I understand a doctor can cherry pick the follicles that might have 1,2,3 or 4 hairs with fue and have absolutely no loss of doner follicles for the future, plus no risk at all of a tight scalp. I personally like to keep the back and the sides of my hair fairly short so a thin line still might show, also taking into account somebody's hair in those areas would naturally thin over the years as well. I know that there is some very small scars like dots after fue but I think you would have to look very very closely to notice. A concern of mine is that peoples scalp can be different and a scar can be a little more noticeable from one person to another . The great advantage of fut is the cost is cheaper , so I suppose it depends on what way each person thoughts are.Im sure you made the right decision for yourself Jim after all the mails and phone calls you had with the doctor, and thanks very much for the info and going to the trouble to write it up as I notice it is your first post. I would be most interested to know how you get on with your final plans and ht.Many thanks Jim.........Paddy.

[mklDK]

Hey Paddy

I did discuss the "forelock" with the doctor. While he examined my hair, he told me that I probably will not loose the hair and I believe him - that part has always been full, even when i was thinning a lot.

I have attached some photos from upclose and an older photo of the forelock. As you can see from the pictures, he has put a small amount of hair into the forelock to continue the hairline (I think he did that personally, but it is hard to feel the exact point they are setting the follicles - techs did the other areas). At the end of the session he also personally put some hairs in the center of the forelock - maybe 3-4 grafts. He also did not make the new hairline go all the way down to the hairline of the forelock to account for futur loss in the forelock hairline.

I also noted that he seemed to account for ones ethnicity in the hairline design.

 

Please do not hold back any questions Paddy. You are also welcome to send me a message personally.

 

Hope you find your guy soon!

[mklDK]

Hey guys - 1 month update for the log.

 

Sensation is returning to the donor area each day and I barely feel any discomfort from the scar any more. It is becoming harder and harder to detect without wet hair, but I will be cutting it tomorrow.

 

Recipient area is good. itches a bit sometimes, but nothing serious. Still quite pinkish. I would like for that to go away, but my skin colour is not really in favour of that happening right away.

 

All pictures are wet hair, except one from top. I figure you can see which one.

[paddyirishman]

Thanks for your reply and current update. All seems to be coming along very nicely from looking at your pictures. That's great news on your behalf that you can not really notice the scar on your head unless your hair is wet. This doc is top class. Im sure in a few more months it could be hard to find it even when your hair is wet.

 

It must be a great comfort to know that the Doc put some grafts in the area you already had hair at the front, and also making a provision if your hairline would recede further, fair play to Dr. Saifi. You sure did get your money worth. That's one thing I would be concerned about, as I have hair on the front and receded each side as well. This doctor seems to take very good care of his patients.

 

Looking at your posts mdlDK , and fellow members on this thread , (and elsewhere) it gave me great belief and confidence to contact Dr.Saifi. I am waiting for him to reply , as you said in one of your posts he is a very busy man, so I just have to be patient.

Did you have any concern regarding shock loss to the excising hair on the front of your head considering grafts were inserted in the area as well,? as I believe sometimes this can happen, Did the doc mention it? I can see from your photos it did not happen, however it might be a concern of mine. I understand the Doc is very capable and experienced,however one just never knows.

 

Many thanks again mdlDK , I appreciate the invitation to send you a personal message, I will keep it in Mind. In the meantime keep up the good work growing all that hair, by the time your wedding comes round your wife to be will be really jealous. ........Paddy.

[mklDK]

@Paddy

Thanks for your comments. I am looking very much forward to month 2-4 to see if I get some of that early growth I need.. But I am also keeping in mind that this might not come out the way I want it to - everything has worked out sofar, but I won't get my hopes up too far. If it fails it would set me back totally and that is not an option. I will take it one day at a time and remember I can only vouch for Saifi as far as the procedure and client care goes, not for the results - yet!

 

Regarding shock loss, I did mention it to him, as BHR clinique told me to not have an op before my hairloss had settled, because it might not give me more hair (I think the representative referred to shock loss, but I really do not know). I also do not know where they got the impression, as my hairloss has been stable and they got the same pictures as everybody else. But see, that is what you get from online consultations with representatives. The contact with Saifi is directly to him, the doc, and I really liked that. Anyway, I told him what BHR told me and he did not really understand it either. I do not remember what he answered, but thereafter I have not been worried about shock loss.

I have also read that it is very uncommon for the hair not to grow back. When looking at the pictures, I think I might have had some consequential loss in the recipient area, but the donor is just fine.

[paddyirishman]

Thanks for your reply. well that is good news regarding you not experiencing shock loss, and if you did lose a few strands on the front it is not really noticeable. So all seems to be going according to plan after 1 month. The sensation is getting better and better on the back of your head as well and their is a big improvement in that scar. So all in all its very encouraging for anyone thinking on the lines of a HT or more specifically FUT.

 

I understand how you feel regarding representatives on the phone, you just dont get the same quality feedback you are looking for,( and I dont mean hearing what we want to hear)

I had a phone call from a receptionist in a clinic in Ireland regarding photos I had just sent them, and she explained to me that a consultant had taken a look at my photos and felt that I needed 3 procedures, and that I could pay for the first one at the time of the first HT, pay for the second one at the time of the second HT, and on the third HT I would not have to pay anything as it was FREE. Now what kind of a sales pitch was that ha ha.The consultant didn't even ring me ,it was left to a receptionist. Furthermore the receptionist informed me that she had just sent all the information to me by email.When I viewed the mail it informed me how many HAIRS not grafts would be inserted in each procedure.All the procedures were FUE, Im a norwood 4, and with all of this not even a follow phone-call from a consultant representing the clinic,to answer a question or concern , so that really opened my eyes to what can go on in the HT industry thats for sure.Needless to say when I initially heard about the 3rd FREE HT, I had my mind made up there and then that I wouldnt be dealing with that clinic. So if there is anyone out there looking for a free HT you can contact me, and I will provide you with the information to contact that very nice receptionist and she will sort it out for you.

 

One other thing mklDK, you mentioned when you arrived at the clinic on the morning of your procedure, you completed some paperwork. Now I understand this is part and parcel of these situations, and you would expect all the general questions regarding ones health.

Was there anything on it for you to sign regarding the procedure was at your own risk?

How long did it take to fill out the paperwork? Do you have a copy of it now?

I would expect anyone in your situation at the time would be feeling a little anxious or nervous with whats ahead of them and when one is feeling like that it is very difficult to fully concentrate on the paperwork because if it comes to that point one has their mind made up anyway. I was wondering would it be a good idea to ask for a copy of the paperwork to be sent to you prior the procedure .I fully understand the doctor and his team would have taken great care to make you feel as relaxed as possible on the morning, and plenty of reviews stated what a great honest and trustworthy doctor you were dealing with,and I would not question it for one moment, but I mean in general terms would it be a good idea to ask for a copy of the paperwork prior to your arrival at the clinic regardless of what clinic in the world one would be dealing with?

Thanks again mklDK ....all the best for now..........Paddy.

PS... The doctor said that your scar would be virtually undetectable after the procedure, and I believe him, and your photos ( and many others ) are true proof of this.

He is a very professional doctor.

I know you were originally looking at FUE, what did all the other clinics tell you about the scar? were they as confident as this doctor? and had they got back up photos to prove it?

Many thanks mklDK..........Paddy.

[mklDK]

Haha, Paddy great story! But it is really sad for alle those people that do not know better.

 

Regarding the paperwork; the first part in the lobby was a lot of pages regarding my medical condition. I do not see why you would need copies of these, but I guess you could take some pictures with your phone. Saifi also orally asked you of some of the important points you had already answered in the sheet. Like smoking etc.

The second part was a one-page disclaimer with very few words on it. See, Saifi is about trust and making you feel comfortable. None of the two things are achieved with a 10 page long disclaimer. Now, even though I am at the end of my law studies I did not ask for a copy like any good lawyer would. Saifi had already shown me the confidence needed to convince me that he will do his best. In the end it might not matter if the disclaimer was 1 or 10 pages, as we do not have the same need to put everything on paper here in Europe as the U.S. citizens do. I hope this calmed you a bit. You will not be signing your soul or first born to Saifi, do not worry. In general I think that it is a good idea to get a copy of the disclaimer, absolutely. In my case, the paper just did not state anything other than the obvious; I had fully informed him and he would do his best.

 

Regarding other clinics statements about the scar; Saifi gave the most information about this, but really after researching fut vs fue I convinced my self that fut is better for me. I did not really discuss it with the other clinics, as they were fut only and the fue clinics I did contact were very slow in returning back to me.

[jimmygea]

I have to agree mklDK, it is a very interesting read regarding your contact with the HT establishment in Ireland. Like anything in this world there are so many people out there, just interested in making money and will do or say anything to cash in on your misfortune of your genetics hair loss regardless of the consequences. I presume the procedures quoted were for FUE and if so can understand as this method can be very time consuming so maybe split over 2 days, but would expect it to be done quite close together.

Obviously, quoting amount of hairs rather than graft would make it sound more appealing to anyone who hadn’t done their homework and knew that graft can contain up to 4 hairs, it makes it sound more value for money!!

Your example just goes to show that doing research in to HT is very important, so you have the confidence that surgeon you have chosen has your best interest at heart and is passionate on getting a satisfactory result as priority rather than just money in his pocket, as a botched HT will not be an easy cover up and something you may have to live with for some time. Hence, one of the main reasons why I have decided to go with Dr Saifi , you were not just dealing with a receptionist and he even gave you his personal number to contact him and when I did he took time to speak to you and answer any question you may have had.

[mklDK]

Not to mention any football results I will instead inform you that I have uploaded some photoes from the operation day. Saifi just sent them this weekend.

Hair Restoration Social Network - Hair Loss and Transplant Photos

[Dolph1969]

Dr Saifi seems to do very neat work, with little post op bleeding. Recovery time also seems to be good. My only concern is, looking at the gallery on his site, he doesn't seem to pack as densely as other surgeons and tends to go for a higher hairline than most. Some of the after results look a bit whispy around the hairline area.

 

I like the fact you don't have to have the whole top of your head shaved when he does it. Might be able to wangle some form of hairstyle, post op....

[mklDK]

I have heard the concerns of density from other patients of his, but I have nothing on the hairline. The hairline is something you can discuss with him beforehand and personally speaking I would not want a unnatural looking low hairline. For me, he designed the hairline with a naturally receeded person of my age and descent in mind. I do not think you can generally blame a doc for the placement of the hairline after you have had the operation.

Regarding the density, one story comes to mind of a guy in here that had two op's with Saifi and then chose a more agressive doctor just to have his donor almost depleted and regretting not going back. You can find him if you want or pm me. However, I cannot speak for density myself yet, but I did do some calculations for fun. I arrived at a density of 36 transplanted hairs per cm2 on average into the area I already had some thinning hair in (if every follicle survives). It was just rough calculations, but if you say that i already had 20 hairs per cm2 on average in the area, which I think is a low but fair estimate (see my pictures), that would mean a density of 56 hairs per cm2. This is not DENSE-dense, but should be enough for a dense look, but that also depends on your skintone and whatnot...

 

I am pretty sure other doctors can pack a lot denser, but at what cost and risk? I took the safe bet and I am aware of that. I do understand why some would go for more density also.

 

Regarding the shaving, I told Saifi that he could shave off what he wanted to. Did not care about looking rediculous (see pictures again...) little did I know that my looks would be borderline retarded... Nevertheless, I managed and I think my hair will be back to normal at about 2,5 months post op. He also took off more hair at the donor to make it easier to remove the stitches - I would be able to wear it shorter than I do now if he had not.

Edited March 24, 2015 by mklDK
one more response to previous poster

[Mickey85]

The work looks insanely prestine. Looking at your immediate post-operative photos the suturing work, recipient, donor closure and cleanliness look great. Reminds me of Konior/Gabel's level of perfection. Keen to see how this turns out.

[Dolph1969]

The work looks neat. Did he place grafts into the forelock? I'm not sure about starting fin, so wouldn't want to end up with what looks like two horns, if the forelock starts to thin out. I'm aware i'll probably need more work, if i'm opting out of taking fin.