Decision time - advice required please!

[Timetodecide]

Hi all,

 

In the process of trying to pick a HT surgeon over the coming weeks and would really appreciate your input.

 

For some background, I'm 25 years old, experiencing diffuse hair loss since age of 21. I actually had a pretty fully head of hair at 21 but have been aggressively losing it for the last four years and lurking on these types of forums on-and-off throughout that time.

 

I tried propecia for two years and while it certainly stemmed the hair loss, it impacted my libido and when Boots asked me to sign a form absolving the drug maker of blame in case of loss of fertility, I decided to stop. I tried Minoxidil for 5 months recently but ultimately decided that I didn't want to spend the rest of my life putting foam into my hair before sleeping.

 

So I'm now in the process of trying to pick an FUE surgeon. My initial instinct was to go with ASMED due to reputation/value for money. However, I've sent them the consultation form 3 times with no response - not sure if there's something they don't like about me but in any case, the idea of taking a bag of cash to Turkey to pay for a serious piece of surgery like this just doesn't sit very well for me. I've decided that I'm willing to pay the extra cash for a better surgeons and would appreciate your thoughts on the below:

 

1. Dr Bisanga - I've had a consultation with Dr Bisanga. He proposed 3000 FUE to cover my frontal area as a first sitting and then potentially returning again in 6-8 months to cover the crown as a separate operation. I'm swinging towards him simply due to his conservative approach and that he didn't attempt a "hard sell" on me. He told me that my donor strength is the only reason he'd consider operating on me at my age and was honest that I would need to stay on propecia for a while after to mitigate the risk of a bad result in my 30s.

 

2. Farjo / Crown Clinic / Private Clinic - I'd like to investigate one of these UK-based surgeries because they seem to get a lot of positive press, don't require travel and come in at a similar price point to Bisanga. However, I'm concerned that these guys have very, very few reviews on forums. Does anyone know why this may be? I'm fairly suspicious of positive news stories and no reviews! I'm also curious to understand if Farjo is the one who actually operates on his clients? Bisanga was clear that it was him who does so but this isn't mentioned anywhere on Farjo's website.

 

3. Have I missed any other options out?

 

What do you guys think? Is my thought process valid and could anyone provide clarification on these UK clinics?

[Sean]

3000 grafts still seems a lot for just frontal area, esp since native hairs exist. Best way is when theose finer hairs shed and are gone, then a graft should be pkanted. Esp the crown, let that area glissen skin lecel before you hammer that area with grafts. Shockloss can destroy native and even transplanted hairs.

 

If you are considering FUE, have you also considered also getting a consult with Dr Lupanzula?

 

Theres also Dr Keser in Turkey who actually also does true manual.

 

 

This surgery is no joke and should be done with proper surgical protocol. You do not want to chase transplants later nor ruin your life. Best of luck, but Id get several more opinions before jumping on this.

[Slush]

While you have done a lot of research, I suggest you talk to Dr. Scott Alexander in Phoenix, AZ Of Biltmore Hair Restoration. I found him to be the best, and he's backed by Spex, so why not? You only get one face/head, so get it right...

 

Good luck!

[Timetodecide]

Thank you for the input Sean. The 3000 grafts are actually recommended only for the frontal area. I think that photo, and my hair generally, conceal exactly how much hair I've actually lost.

 

I will certainly consult other doctors to get other views. Do you know why these UK based clinics essentially have barely any reviews on sites such as these? Makes no sense to me.