WARNING, if considering Dr Hakan Doganay, read this first

[paleocapa89]

We have talked about how rushed we felt the whole procedure is.

 

I read that the extraction of the grafts is a delicate process because whoever does it have to mach the exact angle and depth of the follicle, which sometimes can be hard, because the graft might have a curve under the skin.

 

I would like to get a professional opinion on a video that shows the extraction procedure. It starts at minute 1.

 

http://www.fuetur.ru/images/video/HT15SDRU.mp4

 

Is this speed normal for extraction?

Edited November 9, 2015 by paleocapa89

[Xkos48]

We have talked about how rushed we felt the whole procedure is.

 

I read that the extraction of the grafts is a delicate process because whoever does it have to mach the exact angle and depth of the follicle, which sometimes can be hard, because the graft might have a curve under the skin.

 

I would like to get a professional opinion on a video that shows the extraction procedure. It starts at minute 1.

 

http://www.fuetur.ru/images/video/HT15SDRU.mp4

 

Is this speed normal for extraction?

 

maybe they were just pulling out hair?

[PupDaddy]

It should be plain by this point that this clinic is little more than an FUE mill, with minimal surgeon involvement with the procedure and technicians creating recipient site incisions, including for frontal hairline and temporal work.

 

I know of NO REPUTABLE HT SURGEON that delegates to technicians or nurses the critical surgical task of cutting graft recipient incisions, regardless of the tool used (blades, needles, or implanter pens). Certainly no other coalition or recommended surgeon on this forum does so that I am aware of. This is the heart, soul, and artistry of hair restoration surgery.

 

The fact that this doctor seemingly can't be bothered to carry out even this critical surgical task himself is, IMO, per se disqualifying. Add in the other disturbing clinical practices and online practices described in this thread and in the other related thread, not to mention the unprecedentedly numerous patient reports of poor practices and poor results, and it seems clear that this is not the sort of surgeon and clinic that should be vouched for and recommended by a patient-oriented surgical hair restoration site.

[Stig]

I know of NO REPUTABLE HT SURGEON that delegates to technicians or nurses the critical surgical task of cutting graft recipient incisions, regardless of the tool used (blades, needles, or implanter pens).

 

The fact that this doctor seemingly can't be bothered to carry out even this critical surgical task himself is, IMO, .

 

PupDaddy - I take exception to your words above - "this doctor seemingly can't be bothered to carry out even this critical surgical task himself" - that statement is incorrect and you know it. The assistant admitted that the Doctor only performed two thirds of this, and the tech the other third. Thats different from the statement you made that he can't be bothered to perform this task which is implying any of it. Love how words get twisted. I definitely agree that it is unacceptable for the cdoctor to be performing anything less that 100% of the incisions himself.

[srdonjuan]

I think the moderators and owners of this site need to keep in mind the great influence that the Hair Restoration Network and specifically there "recommendation" has on people who are researching and deciding on a HT doctor.

We are often living on the other side of the world from these doctors and constrained by with language differences. It can be very difficult to get a good sense of these clinics and the quality of their results. This forum and its contributors were a HUGE assistance to me and my decision. I for one, put a great deal of trust into the "official recommendation" that was given to Dr. Hakan Doganay by HRSN. I'm not blaming this site or those who endorsed him for my less than stellar results and experience. In the end the choice was mine. I did as much research as was available to me and made the decision myself, so I take responsibly. I felt like, man, of all the many thousands of HT doctors in the world this guy (Doganay) is one of few officially recommended, and my understanding was that was hard to obtain. His results looked good, and as a guy with a limited budget it felt perfect. I took the plunge.

 

If I had known the procedure would take place in a side room in the basement of a hospital, and the kind of attention I would receive, I would have gone elsewhere. Dr Doganay seemed like a very nice guy as did most of the staff. It's not my goal to hurt his business or reputation. But I do feel I owe it to this community to be honest.

[ZeoRanger]

Have to agree. The recommendation is a huge deal because ultimately it serves as an endorsement in the consumer's mind. But when a doctor/clinic with so many unhappy patients has this "endorsement", it has little meaning...

[CJD]

This thread sure has taken off !

It should be a sticky as it contains examples of so much that is wrong with the HT process, some surgeons, forums, and the way people often seem to be treated for bringing up their bad experiences in an effort to help others. It also sheds light on the fact that results widely vary and those often posted for advertising purposes are far from what the average results actually are. There are so many unspoken "secrets" about a HT procedure and bad things about some of the people who perform them that we need a separate section of the forums for that so they aren't lost in other posts nor end up at the back end of other sections.

 

Before seeing this thread, I had already concluded that Turkey is not the magic HT oasis people are often led to believe. In addition to my terrible experience with Dr. Erdogan that I will hopefully soon have time to document in its own thread, I have had conversations with others who have also had terrible experiences with him and other surgeons in Turkey. They all regret having ever considered going to Turkey to begin with. It sure seems like Paleo was ill-advised regarding his procedure. I would like to comment AT LENGTH on things I have learned since my bad experience and about things I have noticed in order to help prevent newcomers from ending up in a bad situation or falling victim to bad "doctors". They apply to Paleo's situation in many ways.

 

While I am respectful of others' opinions, their own experiences, and right to do as they choose, my personal opinion about HT's has changed after my bad experience and after witnessing some of the mistreatment of others who have had them. I am aware some people have claimed to have gotten good results from HT's using some surgeons in Turkey. But.... people are often "sold" by the advertising the various doctors do and by the support they "appear" to have by people who are often compensated by the "doctors" in some form or fashion to portray them in a good light. Now it even appears that there are fake accounts some "doctors" use to push themselves. I was initially surprised at how often people are attacked for discussing bad experiences with certain doctors or for commenting about them in a negative way. it has become the norm. There should be no reason why an independent person would desire to attack someone who is describing their bad experience with a doctor unless they have a stake in the situation. Think about it. It is just not a normal reaction.

 

Although some things I mention will be obvious to people who have been here a while, someone fresh to this forum with a desire to have every possible lost hair back can often see things with a different perspective. They may not have the knowledge to understand the many problems associated with the HT process , especially if poor decisions are made or luck just isn't on their side. The truth is that some people are just not good candidates for a HT, much less a FUE, and that seems to be overlooked or not even considered in Turkey often. To give just one example, I continually see stories of people who went to Erdogan who were in their early twenties ( if that ). Many genuine, reputable doctors would not even speak to someone about a HT at that age. I also see people who are obviously headed for a high Norwood scale classification getting densely packed, extremely low hairlines there. It might make them feel good initially, but it makes no sense long term. I think that might be one reason so many patients who start threads seem to disappear before their results become clear and why it is difficult, if not impossible, to do a search that results in finding people many years down the road who are satisfied with their HT's.

 

If having a successful result was easy to obtain and had everything to do with money, why are there so many cases of failed HT's in celebrities ? So many of them wear hair pieces for a reason.

 

People forget that hair transplantation is surgery, although it is somehow on the fringes of medicine in an area that seems unregulated and leaves openings for people who have no business performing it to be doing it. When going abroad, it only makes it even more difficult to know the truth about who you are going to and the things they may have previously done or be associated with. It can set anyone up to be a victim. That is what this forum is supposed to help protect against. People have virtually no recourse abroad, even when they are severely mistreated. The clinics abroad are smart enough to know this, and you can bet that they are betting on you not coming back to confront them once you leave. Often patients with bad experiences and bad results will not even go back for free. Who would ?

Would you take your car right back to a mechanic you paid to fix it if they did poor work ? Rather than offering patients a refund, patients with bad results/experiences will often be offered a free second surgery. That is effectively holding them hostage by forcing them to go back in order to get their "refund". It is even often offered on the condition they remove negative comments or promise to post positive comments.

 

 

Any time a doctor tries to see more patients in the same amount of time, the quality of care provided and the attention given to each patient will suffer. It is one reason that the quality of health care is currently going down the tubes in the USA. The most often mentioned "doctors" in Turkey on this site perform multiple surgeries at a time or at least more than one in a day with surgeries often overlapping. They are like mills. This forces the "doctors" to use mostly techs to perform nearly the entire HT process in some instances. The title of some of these results threads should actually be......... " My surgery with Dr. so and so's technicians whose names and qualifications I do not know ". I am not knocking the techs, but there are reasons a real surgeon is required to have the long education and training that they are. In my opinion, technicians should be helping prepare the surgery and assisting the doctor by helping THE SURGEON to perform the surgery. I feel no one but the doctor should be removing grafts from the patient or putting grafts back into them if the surgeon they are with is to be considered a top level surgeon, especially when the "doctor" is out of the room. FUE obviously places more of a demand on a doctor's time, but it is not impossible for the surgery steps to be performed by the doctor. This is still done by top doctors. There are still ways to easily minimize the time the grafts will be outside of the body if the doctor performs the surgical steps himself. The only thing that makes it impossible is when doctors wish to perform multiple surgeries at one time or schedule more patients. As a result, the need for techs to do the job of a surgeon is fueled by greed and not by the quality of care for the patient. There is a reason these places in Turkey are cheaper. Price should not guide one's decision on a surgeon when it is low nor bolster a surgeon's reputation even if it is high.

 

Can you imagine a plastic surgeon in the USA performing multiple breast implant surgeries at one time in a similar mill type fashion ?? Can you imagine them taking a woman in for surgery and only drawing lines on her before making none, half, or even all of the incisions before leaving ? Then they allow the techs to make the aesthetic decisions , place the implants in, and finish up the surgery while the doctor goes to START another simultaneous surgery. What kind of terrible results do you think people would end up with and how many lawsuits would there be ? That is basically what is being done in most of these clinics in Turkey (i.e. Dr. Erdogan, etc.) and is somehow allowed to become the norm. The surgeon is leaving the room and is not even there to watch at times. These doctors should not be allowed to advertise in a way that implies or even makes it appear as if they are performing the surgery. They only sometimes have fine print in some obscure location to inform people of this minor detail. it is misleading at best, and it has set up so many patients for failure in the past. Some patients only become aware of this fact at surgery time.

 

 

Would anyone want a dental assistant filling a cavity or performing a root canal ? Why would you want a tech performing a HT that has such an visible outcome ?

 

 

Additionally, many of the cherry - picked "good" results that are posted by surgeons and their patients do not contain full disclosure nor tell the whole story. By the fact that many of these places in Turkey can perform several surgeries a day, they are performing tons of surgeries a year. The minimal amount of good results advertised , including those posted on these forums by clinics and their patients, does not even begin to equal a large enough percentage of their patients to allow them to claim the high success rates that they do. They should be posting new results every day at that rate. What is their reason for not posting a sufficient amount ? Will they blame it on the patient's privacy ? That is garbage. Then why are there all the demands for patients such as the OP and those with bad experiences for "proof to no end" or it did not happen ? They can't have it both ways.

 

Newcomers should be aware of the potential for false advertising, gimmicks, and guarantees that are impossible to make that contain fine print just as you would be in any other industry or business. Think about other businesses. If you see a car ad that claims $0 down and 0% financing , do you think that dealer is nice, honest, and just wants you to have a car at a cheap price ? Do you automatically think there is more to it than meets the eye ? When you see an ad by a car dealer claiming they will finance anyone regardless of their credit and financial history, do you believe that they are kindhearted, understanding , and that your price will still be what it would normally be ? They are tactics to get you in the door and make money that do not disclose all the details. Do you buy a house and sign a contract when you know you can barely make payment number one because a company convinced you to let your guard down somehow ? This type of predatory behavior is also what goes on with many surgeons and clinics in the hair transplant industry. Just because someone has "Dr." in front of their name does not mean they have a halo over their head. Doctors are people. There are some bad people in this world . Therefore, there are some bad doctors just like there are dishonest lawyers, police officers, and all other types of professionals.

 

 

In medicine , good doctors do not need to advertise in strange ways nor use gimmicks. They don' t need to have representatives to drum up business for them nor get a clan of people to secretly advertise for them while compensating them in some way for doing so. This applies to other good professionals too.

 

People seem to demand so much from patients regarding "proof" and pictures when claims are made . The OP seems to have agreed to do everything that has been asked of him and more. Where are all the pictures and videos of the surgeons' results from all the 500 and more surgeries some are performing a year to prove their results are without fraud or deception ? It is a two way street.

 

It is disappointing how the OP has been attacked by some and how it seems the people in charge of the forum try to find a way to discredit him instead of actually listening to what he is saying . That seems to be the norm here based on the times I have seen people come forward to talk about bad experiences . It only discourages people from being truthful. Why is the word of the "doctor" being taken at face value ? They apparently did not even state the correct date of Paleo's surgery and have apparently supplied other erroneous data / information to support their side of the story . After doing that, they just say, " I made a mistake ". All is then forgiven and their credibility is considered to be 100 % while Paleo's word about his encounter and what he was or wasn't told is apparently not important nor taken at face value ? What motive is there for Paleo to lie ? I bet he would not go back for free. If so, he has nothing to gain.

 

People can argue all they want to about Paleo's results and how they will turn out. I hope they improve and turn out OK, but focusing too much on photos and the result overlooks important issues surrounding his experience, the things he was told, and the advice he was and was not given in order to get him to take the plunge. When this is combined with the history of the "doctor" on a previously mentioned international forum and some other recent claims of dishonesty made against him on this site, that is troubling. The "doctor" can't have it both ways. Either the OP is a patient under the care of a real doctor who he can completely trust or he is not. The care of a doctor is supposed to be able to be relied upon in addition to the information they provide.

 

Is it that patients are supposed to half trust "recommended" doctors or believe only half of what they say ? The patient can't be blamed for the dishonesty of a "doctor". The patient can't be required to be his own doctor while he endures the process and also documents every conversation he has with a video made using a secret recording device for proof. That is just not the way people live their lives nor the way real situations unfold. A reputable doctor most likely would not have even performed the surgery on Paleo under the circumstances at that time . We can't fault the patient for wanting hair even if his research could have turned up problems with this doctor. So could the research of this forum that they supposedly did when deciding on recommending this doctor !

 

 

It seems like good advice for people to do a lot MORE research than they think is necessary before getting a HT . After seeing this thread, it might be wise to see more than one doctor in person or even delay a HT :confused:. Rather than saying that you get what you pay for, I think people should trust themselves when something does not seem right and ask questions to themselves when things just seem too good to be true. There is nothing wrong with waiting longer to do something.

 

 

It seems that the forum brass should start treating some aspects of patient complaints in a better way. Otherwise, its credibility will always be in question and being "recommended" will not mean much. I am not here to argue nor attack anyone in any way. I don't want to discourage someone who is hell bent on getting a HT if that is your thing that you feel you must do. I am just saying watch out ! I wish the best for everyone on all sides of the issues. I am simply posting information for people to see in the future because I hate seeing things happen to people that could be prevented. I thank all the honest people for being that way on this forum and appreciate this forum for being here. I do realize that it would be very difficult for the administrators to handle complaints all day. Maybe they should simply refrain from commenting in certain ways instead of siding with the doctor all the time when it is obvious there are problems with much of the treatment people receive. Treatment encompasses more than just the results and photos. One cannot forget that.

 

Take this hypothetical situation into account....

Someone could perform a FUE on a patient, take every graft from outside the "safe" zone, and provide them with the completely restored hairline of a 16 year old. The before and after photos would look amazing. The healing would be perfect. All measurements would pan out. Everything could look like a dream. I have actually seen a documentation done on this site in which at least one patient was not supplied pictures of their donor area after surgery and was therefore unable to include that. The pics in this hypothetical situation would be advertised everywhere while the patient would also be thrilled. The unseen problem would be that his family consists entirely of the highest of Norwood numbers, and all of his new hair is going to come out quickly since it came from an "unsafe" place. Despite this, it would appear from posted photos to be a perfect result and would apparently meet all the proof necessary that this forum often requires to confirm that. Moreover, If the patient was told beforehand that all the hair would be taken from a "safe" zone and guaranteed that it could never fall out , which would be worse ? The bad result the patient would end up with or the fact that the patient was lied to before the surgery by being promised something that could not be promised to them ? Some would argue the result. I would say the lie the patient was told to get him to do the surgery because they may never have had it done had they known the truth. A doctor's reputation and a patient's experience cannot only be based on photos. There is nothing in a photo I have seen to this date that can actually prove a result nor show the pretense under which a surgery occurred. A doctor's honesty, integrity, behavior, actions, and character are also important.

 

It appears that the recommendation of this site and reputation of these doctors is solely based on photographs at a certain point in time that honestly cannot "prove" a result. It seems a "recommendation" is all about a doctor just knowing that they are supposed to take a graft from one area and put it in another. The recommendation of this site appears to have complete disregard for any care prior to or after the surgery. It apparently has nothing to do with what the patient is told or the honesty of the "doctor". Patients could be lied to, cheated, abandoned , treated unprofessionally or have things done to them that would normally be considered highly unprofessional (at best) and it does nothing to the status of the doctor in the eyes of this site ? It would also appear to not prevent a doctor being considered for recommendation from being "recommended". That is very troubling and does not help those that come here to seek information.

 

 

The problems I see in Paleo's case are not only with the results if they don't turn out well. Even if they turn out better with time, he was not treated properly. Paleo should not have to be forced to deal with a bad outcome if he was not told the truth and his future situation was not considered in his overall plan. It appears he was promised the moon and delivered the sky and probably should not have done it to begin with. I hope his situation improves for him and turns out OK.

 

Paleo , I wish you and everyone else the best of luck with everything !

Edited November 10, 2015 by CJD

[JON86]

Brilliant post CJD! I agree with everything you said.

[paleocapa89]

I agree everything you have written CJD! Everyone should read it.Too bad 90% of the people won't find it on the 36th page of this thread and 50% the people who find it won't have patience to read it through.

 

That is why it is so pivotal what type of easily accessible, short messages does this website present to the prospective patients, like "recommended surgeon". It carries enormous responsibility.

[Xkos48]

Very well said,and I also blame this website,that gives these dr's the credibility,when people are looking for a ht,at a reasonable price,because they are recommended here,they become a viable option.

[paleocapa89]

I do believe when you use the word "recommend" , you actually vouch for the recommended. That's what the word recommend means and implies.

 

However, I think the joke's on us.

 

If you read the Terms of Services you'll find this:

 

"...The physicians suggested on our Web Sites are to the best of our knowledge quality hair restoration physicians. However, Media Visions cannot vouch for these physicians, their experience, their credentials or the quality of their care...."

 

"...Web Site visitors are expected to do their own due diligence and research in selecting a physician and/or treatments. Media Visions and the Web Sites, and their employees, our partners, affiliates, sponsors, providers, licensors, or merchants make no warranties or guarantees, express or implied, as to the results or quality of care provided by the physicians or treatments presented on these Web Sites. We expressly disclaim any liability arising from consultation with, or treatment from, any of the physicians and their clinics presented on these Sites. ..."

 

..."THE WEB SITES CONTAIN FACTS, VIEWS, OPINIONS, STATEMENTS AND RECOMMENDATIONS OF THIRD PARTY INDIVIDUALS AND ORGANIZATIONS. THE SITES DO NOT REPRESENT OR ENDORSE THE ACCURACY, CURRENTNESS OR RELIABILITY OF ANY ADVICE, OPINION, STATEMENT OR OTHER INFORMATION DISPLAYED, UPLOADED OR DISTRIBUTED THROUGH THE SITES. ANY RELIANCE UPON ANY SUCH OPINION, ADVICE, STATEMENT OR INFORMATION IS AT YOUR SOLE RISK..."

 

I believe if the website disclaims any kind of responsibility they should not use the word recommend, but rather display the physicians as business affiliates.

[Cerrone60]

CJD : Thank you for a very informative posts here and on other threads.

I think you're right you can sometimes be blinded by a positive experience you've had with a particular doctor.

[paleocapa89]

CJD : Thank you for a very informative posts here and on other threads.

I think you're right you can sometimes be blinded by a positive experience you've had with a particular doctor.

 

Read his post again and do not try to twist what he says. It is not what his post is about at all.

This is what CJD wrote:

 

I am aware some people have claimed to have gotten good results from HT's using some surgeons in Turkey. But.... people are often "sold" by the advertising the various doctors do and by the support they "appear" to have by people who are often compensated by the "doctors" in some form or fashion to portray them in a good light. Now it even appears that there are fake accounts some "doctors" use to push themselves. I was initially surprised at how often people are attacked for discussing bad experiences with certain doctors or for commenting about them in a negative way. it has become the norm. There should be no reason why an independent person would desire to attack someone who is describing their bad experience with a doctor unless they have a stake in the situation. Think about it. It is just not a normal reaction.

[Cerrone60]

Paleo ! don’t get too excited I was actually agreeing with CJD

That wasn’t a quote it was a reflection on how I felt.

 

As a expatient you do feel compelled to support a doctor who has helped you to feel better about yourself it really difficult to view it from a negative point as you haven’t experienced it.

[paleocapa89]

you have written: "I think you're right you can sometimes be blinded by a positive experience you've had with a particular doctor."

 

As if CJD said you can be blinded by the positive experience and you agreed with him. He clearly didn't say such thing but the opposite.

[paleocapa89]

I have found some interesting stuff about Dr Doganay again.

 

It has been discussed that he "recently" started to use techs first for extraction then for implantation as well. It seems that he was using them for both part of the procedure long before he publicly admitted it.

 

According to his own website he claimed that he personally extracts and implants all the grafts at least until October 2014

 

https://web.archive.org/web/20141024163348/http://hakandoganayfue.com/

 

and according to his physician page on the hairrestorationnetwork, he claimed to extract and implant all the grafts at least until Ferbruary 2015

 

https://web.archive.org/web/20150204194956/http://www.hairtransplantnetwork.com/Consult-a-Physician/doctors.asp?DrID=668#page=page-1

 

However, according to Xkos48, BFA316 and fueman, who all had their procedures in the end of 2013 / beginning of 2014 techs were heavily involved in their procedures. According to two of them the techs not only did the extraction, but they were knocked out during the implantation and when they woke up they found that techs were doing the implantation without Dr Doganay even being there:

 

This is from BFA316:

 

...I was led to believe that Dr Doganay did all the implantation himself but I found myself waking during the operation to find technicians implanting and was told that Dr Doganay had taken a bathroom break. I was in and out of consciousness for a lot of the operation and I could swear that the technicians were doing the implantation...

 

http://www.hairrestorationnetwork.com/eve/173749-4-500-fue-dr-hakan-doganay-07th-march-2014-a-2.html

 

This is from fueman:

 

i too had a similar experience waking up during the operation.... it was very brief for about 10 secs but it looked like a female and another guy (the 2 who extracted my grafts) were implanting the grafts.... i gave them the benefit of the doubt as i was drowsy and not 100% certain; but this thread confirms my suspicions.... no wonder they are keen on knocking everyone out before operation.... my guess would be Dr Hakan does the hairline, which is the tricky part and leaves the rest for his female assistant to do?!

 

http://www.hairrestorationnetwork.com/eve/173749-4-500-fue-dr-hakan-doganay-07th-march-2014-a-4.html

 

I think this is a clear case of fraud or maybe even criminal felony.

[esrec]

Paleo, your abillity to track down information is now well documented. I can safely say nobody on the forum would never mess with you

 

What are you doing about your situation beyond putting Dr. Doganay out of business? Have you visited any other doctors for opinions? What has their assesment been? How are you looking? Curious what next steps you're taking beyond this thread.

[paleocapa89]

Hi esrec, thanks for asking. I am indeed better, thanks to the proper medical care I received, (not from Doganay) and my recipient area is now only slightly red and not inflamed anymore, however I only see minimal growth. Now I am waiting until 12 months and my next steps will be determined whether I get a cosmetically acceptable result or not. If I get then I will probably have a few good years until my hair falls out in a norwood 5-6 pattern and I either have to shave or get another HT with that in mind I only have very limited donor left.

 

However if my result will be cosmetically unacceptable then I don't get to enjoy even those few years and I will need to do something, again shave or HT. If I chose to shave I will probably need to do SMP into the FUE scars.

 

To be honest, this whole experience was a nightmare to me and put me back years with my life and my career. As much as I love having hair I don't think I could go through with another operation. Maybe I need to accept that I am bald - at least temporarily - and hope that in 10 years they eventually come up with a cure and I get to enjoy having hair again when I am 36.

[Stig]

 

To be honest, this whole experience was a nightmare to me and put me back years with my life and my career. As much as I love having hair I don't think I could go through with another operation. Maybe I need to accept that I am bald - at least temporarily - and hope that in 10 years they eventually come up with a cure and I get to enjoy having hair again when I am 36.

 

Paleo, I don't think you should get another procedure. Psychologically you are just not up for it. Please focus your energy on getting both your life and career back on track, hair issues do not justify ruining those two things. Try to channel all your energy you put into nailing Doganay into turning your life and career around. Just as you believe Doganay should not pe performing procedures, you should not be receiving them. Sorry if that sounds harsh

[Stig]

There won't be a cure in 10 years. The closest thing to date is Fin

[paleocapa89]

Please, don't take my hope away I've read that there are so many thing in research pipelines: Replicel, Histogen, Allergan, JAK inhibitors, dermall pappilla cloning, hair follicle cloning. Something got to work finally, I cant accept that the closest thing to a cure is something that has been on the market for decades and has the potential of killing your di*k. The market is enormous and whoever comes up with something that actually works will make billions.

[Stig]

Sorry mate, just being realistic. Some of these have been in the pipeline for decades as well. They may help our children, but you need to face and come to terms with the fact that Propecia is your best and only bet if you want to try delay your balding and support your HT. You should not be banking on anything else to save you 10 years from now. If you do want future HTs you really need to get on the meds, otherwise you are just wasting your money and you will once again be dissapointed. In fact can I suggest a new thread titled, "warning, if you are considering taking on Paleo as a HT patient, please read this 1st"

[paleocapa89]

haha, I agree, that I should have never been recommended and had a HT concerning the fact that I told Dr Doganay that I don't take propecia due to sides. And yes, it seems people in general should never have a HT unless they agree to take propecia. Period. There are so many little details that I have just learned now.

 

In fact I might create an other thread where I compile all the things I have learned.

[Melvin- Admin]

I know a lot of guys who've had transplants without taking fin, one my bestfriends got FUT back in 2005, when he was 20, fast forward now he's only lost a tiny bit of hair in the crown, he's been on minoxidil ever since though, I think it's incorrect to say HT without fin is doomed, we need to take a lot of things in to account, expectations, age, and level of baldness, right so if there's a 50 year old guy with minor temple recession why on earth would he take finasteride, MPB is unpredictable, you can lose it quickly or slowly, my friend started balding at 18, I didn't notice it until 22, now that we're both 30, I'm Norwood 6 and he's still Norwood 2, he got a transplant at 20 with no fin, should've been a disaster right? Well it hasn't 10 years later still going strong. However, if I would've gotten an HT at 22 it very well could've been a disaster, my thought is that you shouldn't get an HT without fin until your hairloss has essentially hit rock bottom and your pattern is clear, in my case Norwood 6 so essentially, nearly all of my hair on the top was gone nothing worth saving anymore, but my expectations are low now and I'm happy with an overall thin look, which may be unacceptable to some so that makes me a candidate for hair restoration, but I agree with stig, given your age, balding pattern, and expectations you're not a candidate I hope you can put this behind you and move on.

[paleocapa89]

I think you should only get a HT if your balding pattern is finalized. so then you can measure your donor capacity and plan from backwards. Or if your pattern is not finalized yet, it should be assessed, predicted (by family history and by checking hair miniaturization) then your donor capacity should be measured and a plan should be carried out from backwards accordingly. But in this case you should commit to taking propecia. I think anyone who does not fit the 2 category should be denied by an ethical doctor.