Dr Feriduni 9 month update 2200 FUE

[BaldingBogger]

Ezel. Sorry to hear bout your bad result. Dr Feriduni is one of the best though and i would give him another chance. There are so many variables to hair transplantation so i always say it is a gamble regardless of FUT or FUE. Transection or damage to grafts whilst implanted is a big factor which remains 'invisible' until we see the grown out result. In my case i also believe excessive scabbing or trauma to one area was responsible for a small area of poor growth in my first procedure. (I was given a lot of anethesia in the area).

 

My subsequent procedures were great though and near 100% so i would get back on the horse if i were you and try put this behind you as soon as you can. You still have donor as you have not used too many grafts.

[ezel]

The doctor has responded and has offered a free surgery as well as travel costs. It's a lot to swallow now as my life is pretty full. Wife is 5.5 months pregnant. Would need to take off another few weeks off from work which means closing my Dental practice again and losing income. I've been training for my second itonman which is in October thus if I did the surgery before I'd probably not race and my wife has been so kind to inform me that my days of training 12-16 hours a week will soon be gone once our first child is born......bummer on that note. My biggest concern though is another failed procedure as well as depletion of the donor area. It was assumed that I'd need an additional surgery way down the road to off set any further loss that may occur. Would this potential procedure then but me behind the cure on having enough grafts let to acomodate for this? like I said its a tough pill to swallow as its another year of the waiting game and I'm not sure I can handle that again. Life is gonna be new and probably hectic with a new born thus that plays into my decision. Also what percentage of the grafts do you guys feel actually took hold?

[thatoldchestnut]

The doctor has responded and has offered a free surgery as well as travel costs...

 

I won't advise you on your decision because of course, that's not my place. Good to know that Feriduni is willing to handle things though. I wish you all the best, whatever you decide.

[Xkos48]

maximum 25% up to now.

[MAGNUMpi]

The doctor has responded and has offered a free surgery as well as travel costs.

Wow. That is really amazing. It shows what a stand up doctor he is. I've read many threads here and on other forums where the doctor backs away when things don't go as planned. Feriduni sounds like a good guy.

[FUE2014]

Ezel do you have any opinions on why it may not have grown as much as it should?

[ezel]

FUE2014

Long story short-I have zero idea. I spent about 3 days in belgium after the procedure. Saw the doc the following day for my post opp and things looked good. I healed great and followed post opp instructions to the dot. Took almost 3 weeks off from work in which I stayed out of the sun and basically just chilled out. My grafts didnt really fall out until almost 2 weeks plus. Followed the clinics directions on applying lotion to the area and letting it soften the scabs up and then gentle massaging to get them off. Again all looked good. But like I said in past thread-I really never felt I saw any growth. I documented my case myself very well. Tons of pics initially at 1/2 week increments. I didnt post much bc it was pointless due to the limited growth but if you guys want I can post literally from day 2 up to now. Like I said before also-i'm super healthy so I dont think that played a factor. All I can think/remember is that the procedure was long. I believe longer then planned thus maybe the grafts sat out to long? Something about the extractions being more difficult then planned. My biggest thing was that I felt the tecs did much of the labor. The doc did get me numb and did make the incisions but other then that I didnt really see him. I know he implanted the last few grafts as well. I know this has been discussed at length as well about tecs doing the extractions VS the doc. I'd side with the fact his staff is extremely trained and on average he gets much better results then what I achieved. I did voice this to the doc among other questions and am waiting for a reply. Maybe in my case if I choose to have the additional procedure he would perform the procedure himself thus if it didnt work out again we would know its not from his or his teams error but more maybe im not someone that can have a good result. My wifes biggest concern is obviously the time and the depletion of the donor area. She has looked at my sides all the time and always feels my left side took a huge hit on its donor side. Very sparse looking compared to the right thus she thinks that side cant really give up much more grafts without looking pretty bad later on....

[MAGNUMpi]

ezel, Could you post some pictures of your donor area? Not good about possible depletion.

Could have been an inexperienced tech, but there were more than one, one on each side, right? So not likely because your growth would have been better on one side.

The grafts could have been out of your head too long but thats debatable. Transection? Yes some but not to this extent.

I guess the only question is what to do now.

You could:

1. Go back to Feriduni and try again (being sure to discuss your donor situation)

2. Go to another doctor (more expense)

3. Walk away (but then you lost a lot of time and money for nothing)

Sorry about the poor outcome. Hope it's not getting you down. I do think it is still solvable. Good luck.

[ezel]

Magnumpi-Ill post pics later today as Im at work and dont have access. Yeah there was two tecs. One for each side. Id say obviously transection and graft time out of the body had to play some factor. Im not down/depressed at all. I knew it was a possibility but really did feel I was eliminating it by traveling from the states to one of the best docs. I'm 100 percent disappointed though. Cant deny that. My issue as ive said earlier was that it was basically planned or mentally accepted that i'd more then likely need an additional procedure in the future. Now that this failed and ill need to remove more of my donor grafts to hopefully fill the area again what does that do to my future situation. My wife has pointed out that my left side really does look pretty thin when compared to my right side. Obviously that has to be taken into consideration. Walking away is a thought but your right. I spent a good deal of money. Flight for myself and wife, hotel, food, travel while there and the procedure. Probably close to 15-17k when all is said and done. And the amount of time I closed my dental practice for the healing period was quite a bit of money lost as well.. I understood the risks so I'm not complaining i'm just pointing out the facts..I can think of a whole lot of other things to do with that money!!!! To correlate it to my profession(im a dentist). I have had my failures as its medicine. Although few and far in between my usual was of handling things is i'll redo the procedure at no cost or ill give the patient their money back. The truth is if I redo the procedure its just my time. Any good doc that has faith in his or her work should redo the work. I get consults all the time from patients that had a procedure and the outcome wasn't what they expected and their doc wont redo it. It amazes me bc truthfully it really doesn't cost us much more then time and a little loss of sleep. I'd say in the few times a year this happens its 20:80 with those that want their money back and those that want the procedure done again. Obviously teeth and hair are on different ends of the spectrum but im just using what I experience in my life. As i said earlier Im very appreciative of the docs offer to redo the work. He is for sure a stand up doc and very ethical in my book.

[FUE2014]

You're right though Ezel, end of the day it's half to a day's work for the clinic compared with you taking another year out of your life to have another procedure so soon. Clinics in general take no hit redoing procedures free of charge (where they are warranted) and it's good for their reputation too, especially when it's likely to be documented on the HRN.

 

Anyway, did the doc indicate how many grafts you have left and have you sent him photos of your donor area which you have observed to be quite depleted?

[ezel]

FUE2014-I havent heard back from the doc as I only emailed his yesterday with a long lists of questions and im sure he is busy at work also. I would assume if only about 25 percent of the 2200 grew that were placed then 1600-1700 would be what i need in that area. No clue on what I have remaining. Agreed on the hit that a practice takes. Legit zero really. Yes I have to pay my staff and its time but really its all built into running a practice anyway and a the end of a day a happy patient is priceless.... An unhappy patient is very costly. I will send pics to him as im sure he will need to see whats going on and ill also post them on here later today of what my donor area looks like. Thanks again for all the replies and keep the info coming for those involved. This forum has been a great place of knowledge and info and at the end of the day it will be a part of what helps me make my decision to either move on and forget another surgery or "take the plunge" again.

[goozer]

Ezel and all,

 

I just want to reiterate how important it is for docs to either refund or perform a second surgery (including travel expenses) at no cost for failed first attempt surgeries.

 

As a potential first time HT patient I will now consider your doc as a result of his good faith gesture.

 

Thanks for sharing Ezel and please post pics of your donor area when available.

[voxman]

ezel, I find your candor and acceptance of this, at this point, refreshing. It sounds like it will take some effort to take advantage of the Drs. offer, and I do not envy you finding the time. I was a new dad in a hectic environment myself at one time. You sound like the kind of Dentist I wish I had! Hang in there!

[Xkos48]

FUE2014

Long story short-I have zero idea. I spent about 3 days in belgium after the procedure. Saw the doc the following day for my post opp and things looked good. I healed great and followed post opp instructions to the dot. Took almost 3 weeks off from work in which I stayed out of the sun and basically just chilled out. My grafts didnt really fall out until almost 2 weeks plus. Followed the clinics directions on applying lotion to the area and letting it soften the scabs up and then gentle massaging to get them off. Again all looked good. But like I said in past thread-I really never felt I saw any growth. I documented my case myself very well. Tons of pics initially at 1/2 week increments. I didnt post much bc it was pointless due to the limited growth but if you guys want I can post literally from day 2 up to now. Like I said before also-i'm super healthy so I dont think that played a factor. All I can think/remember is that the procedure was long. I believe longer then planned thus maybe the grafts sat out to long? Something about the extractions being more difficult then planned. My biggest thing was that I felt the tecs did much of the labor. The doc did get me numb and did make the incisions but other then that I didnt really see him. I know he implanted the last few grafts as well. I know this has been discussed at length as well about tecs doing the extractions VS the doc. I'd side with the fact his staff is extremely trained and on average he gets much better results then what I achieved. I did voice this to the doc among other questions and am waiting for a reply. Maybe in my case if I choose to have the additional procedure he would perform the procedure himself thus if it didnt work out again we would know its not from his or his teams error but more maybe im not someone that can have a good result. My wifes biggest concern is obviously the time and the depletion of the donor area. She has looked at my sides all the time and always feels my left side took a huge hit on its donor side. Very sparse looking compared to the right thus she thinks that side cant really give up much more grafts without looking pretty bad later on....

 

 

exactly what happened to me the first time,took longer(grafts were out longer)techs did most of the work.It seems like doctors don't understand the gravity of importance of the procedure.

[FUE2014]

To be fair Dr Feridunis techs have years of experience between them and judging by his results are among the best at what they do in the world, so don't think the extent of their involvement can be to blame. Can't obviously comment on the length of time grafts were out, but I'd be surprised if this was a factor given the advanced solution clinics use these days to preserve them...Ezel what time did you start and finish surgery at?

[Yonex]

I wonder did you also suffer permanent shock loss to your existing hair?

[ezel]

voxxman-thats for the kind words. I think my attitude stems from being in the medical profession as well and understanding that things for some odd reason can fail. Ive geared my practice as of late to embracing the placement of dental implants and I have my failures here and there. One positive thing is usually you know if the body rejects its within a few weeks thus the ability to correct it is usually much faster... Any i'd love to have you as a patient!!! We are always accepting new patients!!!

 

 

So here are the pics of my donor area as of today. Now that I look at it my sides really did take a hit. I can see my scalp. The back looks pretty solid(at least to me) but I cant see how taking to many more grafts from the sides would be a good thing.I'm three days now from my initial email with Dr.Feriduni and still waiting for a response from all of my questions. A large chunk of my decision will be based on his responses. If you guys need pics of the donor area at any time during the 11 plus months i have those as well but i think this will probably be enough. To put it bluntly my staff has joked with me that I get bad haircuts all the time bc it always looks like someone did a bad job cutting the sides. They havent said it in a few months but id say the last time was around the 7-8 months mark. So with that said I guess you can deduce that there is a visible depletion of my donor area on the sides.

[chrisdav]

I think the fact Dr Feriduni has offered to stand by you Ezel is excellent and a true testimony to the type of person he is. Very few would do this and I believe what he is offered should really be the minimum by any surgeon from the Coalition if the final result is below normal standards.

 

When a surgery is not successful, there could be several reasons why a result is not optimal. It could simply be no fault of the surgeon or the team. They could have performed another surgery the following day on another patient using exactly the same protocol obtaining an excellent result.

 

It could well be the result is better than we are lead to believe. There could have been further loss of the native hair in the recipient area through further male pattern baldness or more likely transplanting into a weak miniaturising area of hair which can run a high risk of shock loss. I am interested to hear the Drs thoughts. This is the risk of surgery and I am sure you were aware of that before going into surgery.

 

I feel you are right to be disappointed as I would be too. I myself had two albeit poor surgeries so I know who it feels to go through year of waiting to find you are no further forward. The result is not optimal and the yield is not as high as we expect from the clinic.

 

I think it is important to anyone viewing not just this thread but the topic in general about unsuccessful surgery - they do happen and even to the very best of which Dr Feriduni clearly is.

 

Choosing a top surgeon never eliminates the chance of an unsuccessful surgery entirely unfortunately but it does reduce it significantly.

[1978matt]

Wise words from chris. He should take over from Blake when he stands down;).

 

At this stage you may as well wait things out for 9 months. Who knows what might happen.

 

No harm either getting some local opinions if you're located anywhere near other top docs. Maybe consider a biopsy or something to see if any underlying issues could have affected the result.

[ezel]

fue2014-surgery started at 930 and i was done at 410. Doc says 1500 more grafts and if he feels there is a need for mor then he would do that. He would perform the entire surgery from A to Z(extractions/incisions/implantations) Saturday surgery to allow all his attention. He stated that my HGi(hair graft index) was 1.92 and with the next surgery he would try for 2.5-2.9. Cherry picking the grafts as he put it to get this higher index. My only worry is it really leaves a moth eaten appearance. All in all i'm behind his offer and again I have no hard feelings towards him bc in life sometimes "shit happens" and we have to roll with it. I will write an email to him in the next few days to try and put my thoughts together and go from there. HE also said we would try an minimize the amount of time the grafts are out of the body to no more then an hour. Intermittent FU he calls it. Pretty cool strategy.

[MAGNUMpi]

While I agree with chrisdav and 1978matt that these things can sometimes happen, I also think this is a slippery slope. A patient blaming themselves before the doctor seems an unusual approach. I would think more about the fact that the techs did almost all of your work. Was there a tech that was not as talented as the others? Were they training someone new? Do you have this info?

Poor result and depleted donor is not something to just brush off so lightly IMHO. A poor result in the front sometimes does happen but the donor (sides) shouldn't be looking that bad. That, I think, was controllable.

Dr. Feriduni is an excellent doctor and obviously sees that this situation is in need of repair. It would be great if you could get him do the procedure himself if that is possible as you said. Also I agree that speaking with some other doctors at this point is a good idea too.

Good luck. Keep us posted.

[Beestig22]

How sad to see a bad result from a Top doc.

I know that at Dr. Feriduni the technicians are doing virutally all of the work and produce good results time and time again. Maybe there is a newbie technician that helped out during your procedure?

 

I hope all goes well and things will be resolved.

[ezel]

magnumpi-

I have been in contact with the doc and voicing my questions. My sides are pretty depleted in my opinion as well as my wife's and a few of my friends. I have had a few people who I work with joke and ask if I received a bad haircut on my sides only. I asked the doc about this and he responded with all the measures he takes to prevent it. I asked the question again and am waiting for his response. He had two of his veteran tecs doing the extractions he said as well. My worry is truthfully I can't see how I can have many more donor grafts on my sides. What's the point of making one area bald only to cover another?!? Again he has offered to perform the entire surgery himself which I am considering but I have many questions that need to be answered before I move forward. With the result that I achieved and the moth eaten appearance on the sides a part of me thinks maybe my body just wasn't a good candidate. He believes that I had about 50-60 percent growth. Seems kind of high as people have said in this thread that they can't really tell much difference at all between the before and after. Lots of questions and lots of uncertainty remain. Fun fun!!!

[LondonHTseeker]

The thinness in your donor area looks like it's due to your hair type, which seems to clump together a bit thereby revealing the scalp where it has been thinned. More FUE will make it more obvious, I'd imagine.

[MAGNUMpi]

magnumpi-

I have been in contact with the doc and voicing my questions. My sides are pretty depleted in my opinion as well as my wife's and a few of my friends. I have had a few people who I work with joke and ask if I received a bad haircut on my sides only. I asked the doc about this and he responded with all the measures he takes to prevent it. I asked the question again and am waiting for his response. He had two of his veteran tecs doing the extractions he said as well. My worry is truthfully I can't see how I can have many more donor grafts on my sides. What's the point of making one area bald only to cover another?!? Again he has offered to perform the entire surgery himself which I am considering but I have many questions that need to be answered before I move forward. With the result that I achieved and the moth eaten appearance on the sides a part of me thinks maybe my body just wasn't a good candidate. He believes that I had about 50-60 percent growth. Seems kind of high as people have said in this thread that they can't really tell much difference at all between the before and after. Lots of questions and lots of uncertainty remain. Fun fun!!!

Sorry to hear about the tricky situation. Maybe something like mFUE would be a option to look into. They could take the punches from places that look the fullest and avoid the sides (?). Please do keep us posted. And let us know when you hear back from the Dr. Good luck.