26 yr/old, NW3-ish, transplant options? (pics)

[tofur]

Hello!

 

I started losing my hair around 19-20 ("coincidentally" when I took accutane) and it wrecked havoc for 3-4 years. The last two years however it has slowed down a lot, my hairline hasn't moved at all and it seems the crown/top of the head is the only place thats been slowly progressing.

 

I started finasteride a few weeks ago and my body has handled it well, got dull ball ache and sensitive nipple area for the first week or so like a lot of people but they have both gone away, libido and everything else is running 100%. I've been careful to avoid placebo-ing myself.

 

 

My question is this: If I were to get a HT, A) How many grafts, and B) where should they go?

 

I would obviously prefer not to have a giant scar across the back of my head, but it seems FUT has serious advantages for someone like me who realistically will need ~4000 grafts to get a decent head of hair from where I am now and would likely need future HT's. Seems the route is to go FUT first and then use FUE as needed.

 

 

I've been to a surgeon who is recommended on here and he said I have an average donor area and the best bet would be to leave the crown/vertex alone and do a conservative rebuild of the hairline with 1700-2000 grafts.

 

I get that route, I'm pretty young and who knows how far the loss could go.... but to me, rebuilding the hairline without also fixing the top of the head seems a little pointless, you end up with that friar tuck look since there is no body/fullness to the hair on top. I'm on board with the conservative hairline though, I've always had a naturally high one anyway.

 

If I'm going to do a HT why not go all out with a FUT 4k+ (say 2k on the hairline, 2k on the vertex/top) and then go fue in the future for any places that need filling in? Assuming fin stops or drastically slows any further loss of course, I'll hold off on a HT to make sure its working for me first.

 

What do you guys think? Money is not an issue and I'd be going to one of the top surgeons in the world for the procedure. I'm also looking at the future and setipiprant/PGE2 and RCH-01 seem really promising for maintaining current hair and regrowing a bit.

 

[wong2000]

i am 26 and recently went hasson & wong they are the best out there IMO from my own experiences and reading various forums. i had 1980 grafts done by Dr Wong and i could not recommend it any higher.

[Melvin- Admin]

Currently you don't need 4,000 grafts, getting that many grafts at this point will only accelerate the chance of shock loss, I know you may be eager to get it all over with at once. Unfortunately, that's not the case in most situations, I think the best plan for you would be 2,000-2,500 grafts. In the future if your hairloss progresses you'll have grafts in the bank to address future hair loss. Your hair looks pretty thick, aside from the receded temples, you have what appears to be a relatively strong frontal forelock, I think reinforcing the forelock slightly and conservatively bringing the temples down would do wonders for your overall appearence. Me personally, I wouldn't go FUT for the amount of grafts you need, you can still get a good result with FUE, and if you check out romperstompers recent thread, you can even leave a strip of untouched hair should you wish to go FUT in the future.

[Spanker]

I wouldn't do anything for a year. See what the fin does first. You don't want to pay for grafts to put places you won't need for another 10 years.

[Shadow of the EMpire State]

You're thinning in a NW5 pattern at age 26. That's a fairly ominous indication.

 

Frankly, I think any transplant at this stage is too risky. If you are tolerating the medication, stay on it and then reassess at 30.

[tofur]

You're thinning in a NW5 pattern at age 26. That's a fairly ominous indication.

 

Frankly, I think any transplant at this stage is too risky. If you are tolerating the medication, stay on it and then reassess at 30.

 

Isn't that the point of fin though, keeps hair loss from progressing? I agree I'm thinning on the whole top of my head but if fin holds it (or regrows some of it which it seems apt to do on young guys with crown/diffuse thinning) then whats the issue? I'd imagine most guys who get HT's would progress to a sad state of affairs if they weren't on fin.

 

Wish I was one of the guys who only has the hairline to worry about, crown/diffuse thinning sucks.

[esrec]

Have you considered buzzing down? Think you would see a major improvement in look to take it down to a 3 blade all around. You have the head for it and hair already short. I bet you it looks awesome.

 

Take fin (if you feel comfortable with it) and reassess as others have said.

[Rawkerboi]

I would recommend you to add Minoxidil to your daily regime too and as you started Fin a week back, be on it for at least one year and monitor your results from Fin. If your loss has stabilized then you may consider HT. As you said money is no issue for you, so I would recommend you to have consultation with Dr.Hasson and Dr. Wong as they are pioneer in FUT and are very successful in large procedure!!

Patience is key!

[KO]

You have diffuse MPB, so a lot of risk of shocking native hairs. Whatever you do, keep a very conservative hairline, just lower the temples a bit and that should be it.

[Shadow of the EMpire State]

Isn't that the point of fin though, keeps hair loss from progressing?

 

Yes, it is. But you need to see how effective the drug will be for you. The more aggressive your balding, the less effective it tends to be. And I don't think you can determine its long-term efficacy after being on the drug for a few weeks.

 

I'd imagine most guys who get HT's would progress to a sad state of affairs if they weren't on fin.

 

Some, sure. Most? I don't know.

 

Wish I was one of the guys who only has the hairline to worry about, crown/diffuse thinning sucks.

 

Heh. We play the hand we're dealt. There's no other choice.