3,900 grafts Norwood 6/7 Dr. Diep

[Melvin- Admin]

I'm going to post the pictures full size, it gets annoying to have to click on the attachments and let them load, especially if you're viewing on your phone.

 

Anyhow, subtle improvements have occurred particularly when taking pictures facing the sun, I have posted left side, right side views, facing the sun, under a light, and downview, my hair is far from perfect, but considering where I came from, I cant be more pleased, now its just time to do the crown and make things look uniform.

 

sunlight

 

rightside view

 

leftside view

 

downside view

 

Under a light

[Britanium]

looking fantastic at 6 months !

[spyk777]

Nice dude. Do you have a gel or some product. It looks very neat.

[JON86]

You results get better and better each month. This looks like a year result it's really quite amazing from where you started. Still six months for it to improve. Great pictures in the different lighting.

You should be very happy.

[Melvin- Admin]

looking fantastic at 6 months !

Thanks for the kind words John

Nice dude. Do you have a gel or some product. It looks very neat.

 

Yea Spyk I use Redken Working Wax, its not heavy, its perfect because it doesn't weigh your hair down or stiffen it.

 

You results get better and better each month. This looks like a year result it's really quite amazing from where you started. Still six months for it to improve. Great pictures in the different lighting.

You should be very happy.

 

Thanks Jon, now I really want to do my crown, im currently back to the drawing board in regards to researching doctors and going to consultations. I feel once I have my crown done, ill have a complete look, although not perfect, but complete.

[Hairsearch21]

Hey man!

 

Amazing 6 month result

From completly bald to a nice head of hair .

And it is a nice head of hair.

I know its an illusion but the way you style your hair helps you a lot .

It looks really good .

 

Just one question.

At the 6 month mark you have short hairs to between the long hairs for sure!

What do you plan to do when they are long enough?

Cut it all to one lenght?

Im at the 5 month mark next week and Dr. Koray said to my 4,5 months update it looks very good for that time and he would like to see pics after the 7 month mark to.

Exciting times ahead for me!

 

Wish u luck with your crown research.

[romperstomper29]

Wow looks great HTsoon. Life changing improvement

[Hair4MePlz]

Very impressed with the progress! Thanks for updating!

[Melvin- Admin]

Hey man!

 

Amazing 6 month result

From completly bald to a nice head of hair .

And it is a nice head of hair.

I know its an illusion but the way you style your hair helps you a lot .

It looks really good .

 

Just one question.

At the 6 month mark you have short hairs to between the long hairs for sure!

What do you plan to do when they are long enough?

Cut it all to one lenght?

Im at the 5 month mark next week and Dr. Koray said to my 4,5 months update it looks very good for that time and he would like to see pics after the 7 month mark to.

Exciting times ahead for me!

 

Wish u luck with your crown research.

 

Thanks man, I actually cut my hair last weekend to make everything even. Willy Wonka would say, Illusion of density my dear friends, is 93% perspiration, 6% electricity, 4% evaporation, and 2% butterscotch ripple”

 

Wow looks great HTsoon. Life changing improvement��

Thanks Romp, yes its been amazing, I cant wait to see your updates.

 

Very impressed with the progress! Thanks for updating!

Thanks for the nice comment.

[don174]

Dude that's a sick result. If I got anything close to that I'd be ecstatic

[esrec]

Totally awesome. Your pace is just silly.

 

You're giving all the the black hair / light skin post-op peeps a reason to believe

[Aftermath]

HTsoon, as I said before it's looking great. Can I ask though; after such a good result so early on why are you researching new docs? Why not use the same doc or is crown work not a strength of his? I have to say though, if I was getting FUE and I wanted the crown done id be seriously considering Lorenzo

[Melvin- Admin]

Totally awesome. Your pace is just silly.

 

You're giving all the the black hair / light skin post-op peeps a reason to believe

Thanks man, yea the light skin and dark hair is a disadvantage, but it can still be managed, looking forward to your updates.

 

HTsoon, as I said before it's looking great. Can I ask though; after such a good result so early on why are you researching new docs? Why not use the same doc or is crown work not a strength of his? I have to say though, if I was getting FUE and I wanted the crown done id be seriously considering Lorenzo

Thanks, that means a lot considering your result is probably the top 3 best ive seen ever on this site, you bring up a good point, honestly the reason why I dont want to return to Dr. Diep is not cause I doubt his skill, he's a very skilled surgeon, its mostly cause I didnt have a good experience, the post op care was not very good and bedside manner was lacking, of course results is ultimately what matters, but with so many good surgeons out there, its not difficult to find good results and good post op care. But never say never, I am really impressed by his work.

 

I actually consulted with Dr. Lorenzo, but he didn't want to operate on me cause im under 45 and dont take finasteride, even though finasteride in my case wouldn't be that beneficial, seeing as I lost most of my hair by 30, but still he didn't want to do it. I tried finasteride twice in my life and suffered side effects, at this point why suffer side effects and spend money every month to save a few whispy miniaturized strands of my native hair.

[Aftermath]

Thanks man, yea the light skin and dark hair is a disadvantage, but it can still be managed, looking forward to your updates.

 

 

Thanks, that means a lot considering your result is probably the top 3 best ive seen ever on this site, you bring up a good point, honestly the reason why I dont want to return to Dr. Diep is not cause I doubt his skill, he's a very skilled surgeon, its mostly cause I didnt have a good experience, the post op care was not very good and bedside manner was lacking, of course results is ultimately what matters, but with so many good surgeons out there, its not difficult to find good results and good post op care. But never say never, I am really impressed by his work.

 

I actually consulted with Dr. Lorenzo, but he didn't want to operate on me cause im under 45 and dont take finasteride, even though finasteride in my case wouldn't be that beneficial, seeing as I lost most of my hair by 30, but still he didn't want to do it. I tried finasteride twice in my life and suffered side effects, at this point why suffer side effects and spend money every month to save a few whispy miniaturized strands of my native hair.

 

Thanks mate, I've been lucky to be fair. I can see why you wouldn't go back. My first surgeon had good bedside manor but there was literally no aftercare aside from suture removal (I didn't realise how it should be until I went to H&W). I wonder if Lorenzo would reconsider now you're at the point you're at. There are a few other great FUE surgeons though like you said. I think with FUE though I'd always choose an FUE only surgeon and not a strip surgeon who uses techs to extract and a motorised punch.

[thisguy1]

Great "wow" results and congrats - amazing jump you had from month 3 to 5.5. Can't imagine what result you will have in 6 more months.

 

Just a few questions - you wrote you were Norwood 6 to begin at age 29? Is the very first photo in your first post (bottom half of the photo) where you were at age 29? I see you have hair loss to the crown but I guess when I think of a Norwood 6 I think of someone with just "wisps" of hair on their scalp. You look like you were headed there in 5+ yrs but still had some decent hair there. That makes the current result all the more amazing because I assume many of those hairs from before procedure 1 have fallen out since. Maybe it is the "diffuse" that is throwing me off here.

 

What was the time difference between procedure #1 and #2? You didn't note it.

 

Why did you change doctors between procedure #1 and #2 as you wrote you thought you got very good results with HT #1?

 

Curious why you decided on FUE as a Norwood 6? At that level of loss the general advice is go FUT since you can get more grafts and at a much more economical price. Did you have any fear the FUE would leave you lacking the desired results? In retrospect it didn't matter since your results were so good but I guess from all I read if I was 29 Norwood 6 I'd think I'd need 6K+ eventually and would feel more confident I could get that via FUT.

 

On the positive side the FUE really allows you to wear the hair short on side and back and you can have a cool hair style.

 

Did you get any comments between month 3 and say 4 by co-workers? Your look changed so differently in such a short period of time - it looks like in October you had shedding hair with patches of scalp showing and by Thanksgiving almost a full head of hair. Was anyone asking what was going on with you in October?

 

Last, you noted lack of aftercare - what aftercare should a patient expect? I ask that because I had my done out of state so other than responding to an email question or two I have no serious aftercare expectations. I went in the following 2 days to the office to get cleaned and such but after that back to my home state so not sure what other patients are expecting from their doctors if they live in the same state in the months/years after the HT?

 

Again amazing result esp in light of only 4K grafts; this is a result I would think would require 5-6K.

Edited January 21, 2016 by thisguy1

[Melvin- Admin]

Great "wow" results and congrats - amazing jump you had from month 3 to 5.5. Can't imagine what result you will have in 6 more months.

 

Just a few questions - you wrote you were Norwood 6 to begin at age 29? Is the very first photo in your first post (bottom half of the photo) where you were at age 29? I see you have hair loss to the crown but I guess when I think of a Norwood 6 I think of someone with just "wisps" of hair on their scalp. You look like you were headed there in 5+ yrs but still had some decent hair there. That makes the current result all the more amazing because I assume many of those hairs from before procedure 1 have fallen out since. Maybe it is the "diffuse" that is throwing me off here.

 

What was the time difference between procedure #1 and #2? You didn't note it.

 

Why did you change doctors between procedure #1 and #2 as you wrote you thought you got very good results with HT #1?

 

Curious why you decided on FUE as a Norwood 6? At that level of loss the general advice is go FUT since you can get more grafts and at a much more economical price. Did you have any fear the FUE would leave you lacking the desired results? In retrospect it didn't matter since your results were so good but I guess from all I read if I was 29 Norwood 6 I'd think I'd need 6K+ eventually and would feel more confident I could get that via FUT.

 

On the positive side the FUE really allows you to wear the hair short on side and back and you can have a cool hair style.

 

Did you get any comments between month 3 and say 4 by co-workers? Your look changed so differently in such a short period of time - it looks like in October you had shedding hair with patches of scalp showing and by Thanksgiving almost a full head of hair. Was anyone asking what was going on with you in October?

 

Last, you noted lack of aftercare - what aftercare should a patient expect? I ask that because I had my done out of state so other than responding to an email question or two I have no serious aftercare expectations. I went in the following 2 days to the office to get cleaned and such but after that back to my home state so not sure what other patients are expecting from their doctors if they live in the same state in the months/years after the HT?

 

Again amazing result esp in light of only 4K grafts; this is a result I would think would require 5-6K.

 

Let me try to answer all of these in order, yea the very first picture pre-op I was 29 years old, my hair literally stopped growing, I hadn't cut the top in months, I will post a picture of what I looked like pre-op at the bottom of my response to show you, I was a clear norwood 6 no doubt about it headed there in 5+ years nah I wish but I was already there.

 

The difference between procedure #1 and #2 was the area I had worked, my first procedure, I went to a very conservative doctor, being norwood 6 and young, I had to be very careful and proceed with caution so we did the midscalp and started an inch behind my hairline, my second procedure, I wanted to be more aggressive so I went in for my hairline with Dr. Diep, if you see his hairline videos on youtube you'll see why I decided to go with him, and to be honest he's done a fantastic job on me I couldn't be happier.

 

I decided on FUE because I have always worn my hair short, it wouldn't make sense to spend so much money on my hair and not be able to wear the hairstyles I like, if that was the case I might as well just shaved my head and been done with it, that's just my personal opinion though, don't believe the hype that FUT is so much more superior than FUE and that FUE gives you terrible growth, I think FUE is only as good as the surgeon performing it, there are disadvantages to FUE for sure, the cost being one of them, and another is that you have to do more surgeries to achieve what you could do with one FUT surgery, I knew going in that this would take 3-4 sessions to achieve the desired result, this year I'll go in for my 3rd for the crown.

 

I have a bald co worker who started looking at my hairline around Novemeber, he started asking me if I use a laser comb etc. I told him that I use lipogaine and nizoral shampoo, im sure he suspects it but I don't really care, no one else told me anything, remember the change is subtle, these people see me everyday so it's not like I changed like that over night, it took months to start seeing growth, I'm sure they're asking what am I doing, but I don't think they suspect I had surgery, either way I don't really care.

 

Lack of aftercare, meaning after my procedure was done, I had a question for the doctor and he left me waiting in the lobby for a long time and I just ended up leaving, he didn't bother to call me back or anything, I know it may sound like "who cares" and in a way its true, I'm just personally like that, I could go to a restaurant that has fantastic food but if the service sucks I probably wont return.

 

Thank for the kind words, I should mention I have a really small head, it's really tiny, another reason why I didn't want to shave my head, so I think the 4,000 grafts on my size head has given me 6K graft results. My head size was a burden when I was looking for hats but I guess its been a blessing in disguise.

 

In this photo you'll notice im standing away from the light, yet you can see all of my scalp, you can see my hair is literally gone.

 

This picture was taken the day after my first surgery, notice again my scalp is completely see through, the hairs are there but they're vellus hairs on their way out.

[Stig]

I should mention I have a really small head, it's really tiny,

 

Aaaahhhh - that explains a lot

 

 

 

 

just kidding!

[thisguy1]

Thanks for the new photos. I am sure its a 6 to a doctor To me I just had the presumption that NW6 is a guy with a nearly bald head and you still had quite a bit of hair to me. I know to you that is "bald" haha. I guess maybe I think of NW6 as the look of a guy in his 60s with almost nothing on top etc. That's on me ....not questioning you.

 

I didn't ask my doctor what Norwood he thought I was but if you were a 6, I was definitely a 6 too. Thought I was more of a 5A but probably not as I had less on top.

 

So in your post op #1 I see you still had your native hair - is it less typical to shave the recipient area with FUE?

 

Honestly I do not know much about FUE - I have read up on some cases the past 2 weeks as I begin my recovery and yes it looks very dependent on the doctor and maybe the yields are a bit lower than with FUT but with a good doctor not by much. I did the bulk of my research on this forum in the 2011-2013 time frame and FUE was not quite as widespread as it sounds like it has become now. Also the cost differential then was way more - and even now it is quite a bit; not a big deal for say 1500 grafts but once you get to 4k it really adds up.

 

I'd be curious the ratio of FUT v FUE overall in 2016 v 2012 - but I am sure no one has the stats. I see multiple non full time HT doctors advertising FUE on the radio locally which also would worry me a bit for those patients - it probably helps market share but guys who do nose jobs one day and then FUE the next don't make sense to me. Maybe with the motorized punches it is something that has a relatively quick learning curve to at least be "mediocre" at it? (I am not well read on the process) I did read another thread a lot of cosmetic doctors are adding FUE to their practice as a money driver so it might be giving it a bad name in some areas as well. Again I am not educated enough about it to really discuss, was just curious and like you I had always worn my hair short so that is the one thing I will have to give up although I do think I might be able to get away with "clipper guard 2" level even with FUT - on the back and sides but maybe I am naive on that.

 

Thanks for the answer on changing doctors - one question you didnt answer was time difference between surgery 1 and 2? Was it 18 months or multiple years etc? I expect I will need a 2nd surgery at some point and if cost wasnt an issue I'd go after 14-16 months but obviously this is an expensive foray especially to go to the top doctors in US/Canada.

 

Got it on the aftercare but frankly if you said to me choose between (a) 10 on results/5 aftercare or (b) 8 results/8 aftercare I'd choose the former. You got a 10 on results IMO so I'd be ok with the doctor ignoring me to get that result lol. Of course going in you have no idea what "#" your results will be (genetics play a big part along with surgeon skill) whereas you can predict the aftercare pretty well by reading other people's reviews.

 

Yeah with the coworkers the only reason I asked is because you had such a stark result between the 3 month and 5 month periods so that is a relatively small piece of time (45-60 days) where you filled in dramatically. But yes like a child growing taller, you don't notice it the same if you are there every day.

Edited January 22, 2016 by thisguy1

[Melvin- Admin]

 

So in your post op #1 I see you still had your native hair - is it less typical to shave the recipient area with FUE?

 

Honestly I do not know much about FUE - I have read up on some cases the past 2 weeks as I begin my recovery and yes it looks very dependent on the doctor and maybe the yields are a bit lower than with FUT but with a good doctor not by much. I did the bulk of my research on this forum in the 2011-2013 time frame and FUE was not quite as widespread as it sounds like it has become now. Also the cost differential then was way more - and even now it is quite a bit; not a big deal for say 1500 grafts but once you get to 4k it really adds up.

 

I'd be curious the ratio of FUT v FUE overall in 2016 v 2012 - but I am sure no one has the stats. I see multiple non full time HT doctors advertising FUE on the radio locally which also would worry me a bit for those patients - it probably helps market share but guys who do nose jobs one day and then FUE the next don't make sense to me. Maybe with the motorized punches it is something that has a relatively quick learning curve to at least be "mediocre" at it? (I am not well read on the process) I did read another thread a lot of cosmetic doctors are adding FUE to their practice as a money driver so it might be giving it a bad name in some areas as well. Again I am not educated enough about it to really discuss, was just curious and like you I had always worn my hair short so that is the one thing I will have to give up although I do think I might be able to get away with "clipper guard 2" level even with FUT - on the back and sides but maybe I am naive on that.

 

Thanks for the answer on changing doctors - one question you didnt answer was time difference between surgery 1 and 2? Was it 18 months or multiple years etc? I expect I will need a 2nd surgery at some point and if cost wasnt an issue I'd go after 14-16 months but obviously this is an expensive foray especially to go to the top doctors in US/Canada.

 

 

Sorry I missed that question, in regards to why my recipient area wasn't shaved the first surgery, well I was basically bald, the doctor didn't feel it was necessary to shave my head, plus it was easier for me to conceal at work, typically though they will ask you to shave your head, the second surgery I had my head was shaved.

 

FUT is still the standard as its been around longer and is cheaper for patients, but I think FUE is catching up very quickly, I would venture its probably 40-60 but thats just my guess based on this forum, yea my yield may have been a bit better with FUT who knows, I doubt it would've made that a visual impact though, I think visually speaking the results would've been very similar would I have gotten 4,000 grafts FUT. FUE is becoming more economical most U.S. doctors will charge maybe a $1 or $2 more per graft for FUE, so its not as much as it used to be back in 2007 when it was like literally double the cost. Many times FUE is actually cheaper if you go to places like Turkey or India, even in Europe the prices are comparable to FUT prices in the U.S.

 

The time between my first surgery and second surgery was close to 18 months, I'm planning my third surgery at the year mark perhaps a little bit sooner, you don't have to wait the full year if you are transplanting to an area that has had no grafts like for example my crown, I want to wait the full year however to allow my donor to fully recover in case I have some shock loss that may grow back. If you are transplanting to an area that has already been worked on its best to wait the full year to make sure you give the grafts ample time to mature and grow, if you transplant too soon you may harm the grafts that haven't grown yet and that could lead to poor growth.

[harin]

Ah!, how did I miss your recent results?. Looks fabulous!, very happy for you. I think it will get even better with time.

 

Have you zeroed in on a surgeon for your #2? or should I say#3?.

[Melvin- Admin]

Ah!, how did I miss your recent results?. Looks fabulous!, very happy for you. I think it will get even better with time.

 

Have you zeroed in on a surgeon for your #2? or should I say#3?.

 

Thanks Harin, i'm really looking forward to your updates, you must be at 4 months right? im still researching, but Dr. Bhatti is really high on my list, the only thing is that plane ride to India from the U.S. is a killer.

[Malik333]

Hi, Hru. I just want to know are you still using Lipogaine? How was your experience with Lipogaine ? Any side effects? Do you prefer Lipogaine over rogaine? I m 26 suffering from hairloss and thinning for last two years.. I have contacted few surgeons they advised me to stop my hairloss using finasteride which I don't wanna use Coz of its side effects. So I was thinking about minoxidil.

Please reply.

Thanks

[harin]

Thanks Harin, i'm really looking forward to your updates, you must be at 4 months right? im still researching, but Dr. Bhatti is really high on my list, the only thing is that plane ride to India from the U.S. is a killer.

 

Yes bro, coming along decent so far, after initial shock loss now having new sprout, just used No 2 to buzz cut the unruly ones. But will grow it long from now on. Thought I would post the update towards 4th or 5 th month. Its been 3 months and 4 days since the HT. here is just one pic of the current hair growth. (by the side is my head before HT!!!, its been a nice change since!!, I am very happy so for.

 

Actually site has been so slow.....its pain to even upload one picture!.

 

And travel to India is not too bad, try avoid traveling in peak summer or peak winter. Choose Delta,JET,Qatar or Emirates - Don't fly AA or United (I have had bad experience). There are direct flights from Chicago, Newark and NY to New Delhi.

 

Good luck.... and RU considering any European guys for crown work?.

[Melvin- Admin]

Hi, Hru. I just want to know are you still using Lipogaine? How was your experience with Lipogaine ? Any side effects? Do you prefer Lipogaine over rogaine? I m 26 suffering from hairloss and thinning for last two years.. I have contacted few surgeons they advised me to stop my hairloss using finasteride which I don't wanna use Coz of its side effects. So I was thinking about minoxidil.

Please reply.

Thanks

Lipogaine in my opinion is way better than Rogaine, the rogaine foam did nothing for me, the lipogaine has stopped my shedding. Lipogaine doesn't give any side effects besides itchy scalp sometimes.

 

Yes bro, coming along decent so far, after initial shock loss now having new sprout, just used No 2 to buzz cut the unruly ones. But will grow it long from now on. Thought I would post the update towards 4th or 5 th month. Its been 3 months and 4 days since the HT. here is just one pic of the current hair growth. (by the side is my head before HT!!!, its been a nice change since!!, I am very happy so for.

 

Actually site has been so slow.....its pain to even upload one picture!.

 

And travel to India is not too bad, try avoid traveling in peak summer or peak winter. Choose Delta,JET,Qatar or Emirates - Don't fly AA or United (I have had bad experience). There are direct flights from Chicago, Newark and NY to New Delhi.

 

Good luck.... and RU considering any European guys for crown work?.

 

Dude the growth is looking good, especially since you're only at three months that's quite amazing, Im thinking of having my procedure maybe in May not quite peak summer. Yea im thinking of booking a flight to Chicago then a direct flight from there, I sent some consults to Bisanga and Lorenzo, Bisanga needs to see me in Person and Lorenzo didn't want to perform the procedure because im under 45 and don't take finasteride. I consulted with Feriduni, but I've seen some poor results from him on this forum and the consult response seemed like an auto message.

[Hairsearch21]

Hey man,

 

 

Hope youre doing well!

And good luck for the research on your final round .

 

Your hair looks so long already... And you can wear such a nice hairstyle.

I looked at some Lorenzo results on Youtube and the most results seem to be dense at 5 months and the hair is already pretty long.. Thats crazy and i have no clue how this is possible.

Maybe they never shedded?

 

I have a challenge against myself since saturday.

I will not look at my hair for the next 2 weeks (or even more if i can)

Its a hard challenge but i can wear a hat in the work so its possible.

I really wanna see how far i can come in 2 weeks not looking at it.

I really hope my small baby hairs will give me more density in the next few months..

So harf to stay cool when you look at others with crazy density after 5 month.

 

Lets see how this experiment will turn out and if im strong enough to do it.

I hope i am.^^