NW6/NW7 help and advice needed please

[usmn-m]

Hi all,

 

I'm new to this forum and having read it for a while now and found all your posts insightful and extremely helpful. I have now decided to approach some specialist with a view to arranging surgery in the near future.

 

After emailing 3 different Dr's in Istambul only to be told that they are unable to help. I'm from the UK and feel Turkey would be the best option for me in terms my finances. Essentially I'm hoping some of you more experienced members can help point me in the right direction and provide some recommendations of who I could speak to?

 

I have posted a picture to give you all an idea of how advanced my hair loss is.

 

Thanks in advance.

[Garageland]

I would take the fact that you have been turned down by all 3 clinics as a sign that perhaps surgery is not the best route for you to go down. Have you tried shaving your head to see how you get on? If not try this for a while before reconsidering the surgery.

 

I am sure you do not need to be told that you are a marginal candidate with limited donor hair, thinning into the nape of your neck. There will be clinics that will provide you with surgery but it is most likely not in your best interest. It is tough to hear when you want hair but most likely you have only enough to restore the very front of your hair unless you have a big budget and a wealth of good beard and body hair.

 

If you are happy with a sparse amount of hair on the front just enough to frame your face and keeping it very short a small FUE session might be possible it depends what your expectations are?

[gillenator]

Good points by David. How are old are you usmn-m? You are already in the Norwood class 7 stage so any meaningful coverage would not be possible and this is where David makes an important point in that one's goals and expectations need to be realistic and in accordance with one's limitations.

 

It does appear that there is some retro-alopecia going on and the three doctors may have examined your donor and considered it not suitable for surgical hair restoration if the donor hair is diffusing and showing signs of miniaturization. This would imply that your donor hair is DHT receptive and that you would lose that hair in the future or a significant amount of it.

 

I am not stating that this was the case but usually when several doctors state the same thing referring to not being a candidate, there is usually donor suitability issues that they clearly see. So at least they did not take advantage of you and take your money.

 

If you must have hair, there are upper end quality full hair systems as an option. They have come a long way over the years. And you get what you pay for so you want to stay away from cheap systems.

[usmn-m]

Hi Garageland,

 

Thank you for your response, I am realistic about my expectations and would be happy with anything that provides the appearance that it is thinning and not completely gone. Do not mind it looking a bit wiry or sparse as long as there is more coverage than I currently have and I don't mind keeping it short. I'm not looking to be able to style my hair like a GQ model (don't think I have the body to pull it off).

 

As for body hair and beard, I did not know this was possible.. I have a very overgrown chest (kinda wish this growth was on my head) and my beard is relatively dense and does get quite thick if i fail to shave for a week or so.

 

The 3 clinics in question were sent pictures for an online consult, at the time my head was shaved. I have let it grow out a little to see if that helps any surgeons decision and wanted to ask the memebers of this forum for suggestions.

 

Budget wise depending on what is possible I'm happy to look at figures and make an informed decision heeding any professionals advice. Ultimately if I can look my age of 32 with thinning hair as opposed to a 32 year old with the bald head of a 45 year old. I would be happy

 

Alas by the sounds of it I may have to resign myself to shave head for the foreseeable future.

Edited July 15, 2015 by usmn-m

[sutureless]

More pictures including side shots and frontal shots would help for some of us of to give better informed opnions.

[Britanium]

You could try consulting with Dr Umar and Dr Bhatti ? As you mentioned you have plentiful chest and beard hair? Combine that with your available FUT or FUE and you may just get enough for decent frontal third coverage. BHT has worked for others in similer position to you.

I agree that your other option is a hair system which are pretty damn good these days.

[usmn-m]

Hi Gillenator,

 

Than you for your suggestions, as stated to Garageland I am 32 and think I'm not over doing it with my expectations being that I would behappy with anything that provides the appearance that it is thinning and not completely gone. Do not mind it looking a bit wiry or sparse as long as there is more coverage than I currently have.

 

The only concern i have with the consults I have received is that they have all been via pictures sent of when my head was shaved and only had a few days growth. I have now taken pictures along with the one above with a little more growth.

 

If it is not possible I'm happy to continue as I am, I don't think I could put up with or even want to bother with a hair system. This is a little pipe dream for me so either way if it is possible I would be ecstatic if not then I'll plod along as I have..

 

Again thanks for your suggestions if there is anything else you feel may help with the additional responses above. I would really appreciate your input.

[usmn-m]

A few other pictures to give you a better idea of my hair loss.

[Britanium]

You could also get some pics of your beard when grown and also your chest. If your thinking of Turkey why dont you consult with Dr. Ali Emre Karadeniz ? He does FUE/BHT/FUT and can combine the 2 techniques if needed.

Again i think just sorting out hairline/frontal third would give you a better look in framing your face.

[ontop]

Yep a combo of body hair & FUE could at least frame the face.

take a look at Dr Umar Videos hes a member on here send him some pics of your face / chest hair, same goes for Drs another member mentioned also.

The fat lady is not singing yet buddy.

[sutureless]

Agree with opinions above. Though there are cheaper options available both in Europe and India which can get you same results as other pricey operators. You do have thin donor areas particularly on sides. May be some grafts (1500-2500?) from the back can be used to restore frontal hairline and rest from beard or body (mainly chest) to restore your middle and crown?.

 

I am not an expert but I am just saying that you do have options available. Lots of Indian docs who do good BHT will probably charge 1-2$ per graft which is a good price, I dont know the price in Europe. Either way good luck buddy, keep us updated about your progress.

[ontop]

re looking at your pics it looks like you have some hair on your back so i guess you got a bit of body hair, which can come in very handy for guys like you.

also look into SMP the temp tattoo stuff this could also give you the look of density/coverage if you decide to go for it. ive seen it work well on guys like yourself who had a combo of all the above.

 

let us know be interesting how you get on.

Edited July 15, 2015 by ontop
edit

[delancey]

Your donor area looks very weak (diffused) and it appears that you are headed towards a NW7. You have a nice head with a nice skin complexion, so I would consider a short buzz cut (2 mm). I think it would look really good on you. Have you considered wearing your hair short?

[Garageland]

Thanks for the response and posting some more photos. After looking at those the donor is even more limited than I first thought. I do think that framing your face would be cosmetically beneficial to you and I think you will require body hair if you want to get anything into the mid scalp. You have quite a contrast between hair and scalp and this will make the job harder to look natural and provide any illusion of density which you are just not going to get.

 

I still think you would be better shaving and not going through with a procedure. If you are determined then you should 100% see some cases in person similar to yours before you take that step. Seeing in person is so important for you. I wish you all the best.

[HairGuy86]

Thanks for the response and posting some more photos. After looking at those the donor is even more limited than I first thought. I do think that framing your face would be cosmetically beneficial to you and I think you will require body hair if you want to get anything into the mid scalp. You have quite a contrast between hair and scalp and this will make the job harder to look natural and provide any illusion of density which you are just not going to get.

 

I still think you would be better shaving and not going through with a procedure. If you are determined then you should 100% see some cases in person similar to yours before you take that step. Seeing in person is so important for you. I wish you all the best.

 

This is the best advice in this thread.

 

I also think you should shave your head. Reading what you wrote earlier saying that you would be okay with it "looking thin or like I'm beginning to bald would be okay with me". In my opinion (I'm not a doctor), I think you're setting yourself up to be let down. I know it's hard to hear, but with the amount of loss, and the fact that it is likely to progress, it will be very very hard if not impossible to get good coverage. Try shaving your head with a zero guard and wear that for a few weeks and see how you feel. If you still feel like getting a procedure after that, go for it. At least give it a try though. Whatever you do, do not get a FUT. The scar will be visible and you will regret it. I can almost guarantee that.

 

I had a procedure done 5 months ago.. I always thought I would look like a freak if I shaved my head because of a weird head shape. I had my head shaven prior to the surgery just to make things easier, and I actually ended up really liking it and my head shape wasnt as weird as I thought. I seriously considered just cancelling my surgery right before it was about to start. Thinking back on it now, I probably should have just cancelled it because now I will always have a FUT scar. So I urge you to at least try the fully shaven head look. You have a good head shape and I'm sure you could pull it off. You could even try temporary SMP or something as another option.

 

Best of luck.