Considering FUE for restoring hairline (NW2)

[prettyboy]

I've been snooping these forums (and the wider web) for a few months considering a FUE for a receding hairline, I would like to have a more 'flat' hairline - as opposed to a 'M' shape.

 

I went for a consultation with Transform (link removed) at their Manchester clinic, and was advised I would need around 1000 grafts at ?5 per graft - the surgeon (sorry, didn't get his name) told me he wouldn't be able to go for a 'flat' hairline as he "doesn't want to give me a feminine hairline" - not sure what he meant by this.

 

I then saw Kyle Christie (of reality TV fame) had undergone a hair transplant at The Hair Transplant Clinic in Liverpool. Here is his video testimonial

and here is his Instagram where he posts a great deal of higher quality pictures of himself where you can see his hairline very clearly. https://www.instagram.com/kylecgshore/?hl=en.

 

I spoke to Dr. Jyotsna Kumari at the clinic via e-mail and sent her pictures of my scalp, I then spoke to her on the phone and she advised me she would do 2500 grafts (which is what she did for Kyle) and this would cost me ?2 per graft - so the same overall price as Transform for 1500 more grafts!

 

I then discovered the negative forum posts about her and the clinic on here from a couple of years ago.

 

I know there are the recommended clinics / Dr's on the forum, but i was wondering what everyone thinks of Kyles results, if anyone has had a positive experience with either Transform of The liverpool clinic. Or if anyone could recommend a good surgeon (preferably UK based) for a NW2 - my hair is pretty much exactly the same as Kyles was pre-op, which is shown in the video. As in, I have pretty decent hair density and coverage everywhere except for the hairline - the Transform Dr said I had a very good donor site.

 

Thanks all.

[TrixGlendevon]

First, don't get one at your age. You'll regret it later. Use the medication - that is exactly what it is for. Secondly, if you must do it go abroad. The surgeons in the UK don't have a good reputation. Look at Wayne Rooney if you want an example. Thirdly, 2,500 grafts is a LOT of your donor area (maybe as much as half depending on your donor site) and you will inevitably need more transplants over the coming years. I think it is a terrible decision.

[prettyboy]

First, don't get one at your age. You'll regret it later. Use the medication - that is exactly what it is for. Secondly, if you must do it go abroad. The surgeons in the UK don't have a good reputation. Look at Wayne Rooney if you want an example. Thirdly, 2,500 grafts is a LOT of your donor area (maybe as much as half depending on your donor site) and you will inevitably need more transplants over the coming years. I think it is a terrible decision.

 

Do you say don't get one because if/when I continue to bald, I will need more procedures? I've seen a lot of people say "don't get them young" - but surely that's the only time it matters? I'm young, and that's when looking good and attracting a partner and all that stuff matters. I'm a competitive bodybuilder, I groom myself and go to salons etc - I put a lot of work into those things that I can change no matter how much hard work is involved, my hair I cannot change, I'm genetically cursed with it, therefore why not change it if I can with surgery?

[TrixGlendevon]

You have a limited amount of grafts in your donor area. Let's say it is 5,000 that you have. You would use 2,500 (half) to make your hairline a NW2 to a NW1. Then in 5 years you'll be mid-late twenties (you've removed your age from the original post now) and your hair will have receded more. You need more than 2,000 for the crown alone, depending on the size/shape of your head. You will have hairy temples and a good hairline and then be bald behind it. You will look stupid. You won't even be nearly 30.

 

If you're concerned then look into the medication and prevent further loss. I would say offering to do 2,500 grafts at your age is unethical. I also wouldn't go anywhere near a UK surgeon. Go to Belgium or Spain. Cheaper and much better quality.

[Bill - Seemiller]

I disagree that he's too young for a hair transplant. At 28 years old (assuming the year of birth posted on his profile is accurate), getting a hair transplant may just be appropriate depending on other factors. I had my first hair transplant at 28 and though I needed a lot of grafts and it took many years to reach my goals, I'm still very happy with my results 8 years after my last procedure.

 

Prettyboy,

 

I'm not familiar with the clinic "Transform", but if you're in the UK, we recommend some outstanding surgeons who have a long, proven track record of producing outstanding results. This includes Dr. Bessam Farjo and Dr. Radhu Reddy. I encourage you to click on their profiles to learn more and to see examples of their results. You are also encouraged to use the "search" feature of this forum to view other real patient results presented on this forum.

 

Best wishes,

 

Bill

[TrixGlendevon]

Bill,

 

If he is 28 then I stand corrected but I could have sworn that I saw "age 21" in the original post when I answered the first time.

 

Thanks!

[prettyboy]

TrixGlendevon,

 

I see, that all makes sense thanks. As Bill pointed out the age on my profile is correct, not sure where the 21 came from if it was there!

 

My older family members - from 50-70 - all have similar hairlines but mostly decent heads of hair, the older lot are thinning on the crown.

 

I will look at some of the surgeons abroad as you suggested, cheaper and better seems like a no brainer!

 

Bill,

 

I did look at both those clinics based on the posts on this forum - I suppose I feared i'd be costed out of those ones. I know you get what you pay for, and that's why I was enquiring about the results Kyle Christie had got (from the links in my original post) - he seems to have an incredible head of hair now - possibly the best i've ever seen from looking at quite a lot of hair transplant photos - and got it for ?5000. I was just checking what peoples thoughts were on that really I suppose.

[TrixGlendevon]

Yeah sorry again for that. I don't know where I imagined that 21 years old age. 28 is fine. I have made a short list and will be visiting them in a few weeks. The Spanish ones do a lot of La Liga's stars' hair but the waiting lists can be as long as 3 (!!!) years. The result are amazing though. I will be visiting 3 in Belgium, 1 in Turkey and 1 in Cyprus. Two of those in Belgium are recommended doctors on this sitem as is the Cypriot (although it comes under "Greece" on this site, not sure why). The other two are Doctors Keser and de Reys.

[prettyboy]

Yeah sorry again for that. I don't know where I imagined that 21 years old age. 28 is fine. I have made a short list and will be visiting them in a few weeks. The Spanish ones do a lot of La Liga's stars' hair but the waiting lists can be as long as 3 (!!!) years. The result are amazing though. I will be visiting 3 in Belgium, 1 in Turkey and 1 in Cyprus. Two of those in Belgium are recommended doctors on this sitem as is the Cypriot (although it comes under "Greece" on this site, not sure why). The other two are Doctors Keser and de Reys.

 

I'll have a little look into those and start to re-consider the foreign option. My worry was not having BMA protection - but whats life without a little risk, ay!

 

Thanks again

[TrixGlendevon]

I think if you're still in North America and the EU then this is fine as they have as high, if not higher, standards than the UK. This only becomes an issue when you go into the 3rd world and there is no/loose/poorly implemented regulation. I was reluctant to go to Turkey (and had outright dismissed it as an option) but Dr. Keser uses manual tools, does his own work (i.e. doesn't have technicians doing half of the procedure) has a great reputation, his hairlines are amazing and is very cheap. Flights from continental Europe to Turkey are cheap at about 130 euros return so it can't hurt to at least have a chat with him (that's my rationale anyway). The others, if you're interested, are Drs. Feriduni and Lupanzula, both based in Belgium.

[CaptainO]

I had my first FUT at 28 with Dr Meshkin for 1500 grafts. It lasted about 2 years where more of my native hairs continued to fall out. At 30 I went in for another 1800. 1500 to my mid section to front hairline and 300 for the crown. I am now 37 and have been contemplating a final FUE procedure to solidify my frontal hairline. You need to rethink this realistically. You will need 2-3 procedures over the next 10 years to achieve the results you want.

[prettyboy]

I think if you're still in North America and the EU then this is fine as they have as high, if not higher, standards than the UK. This only becomes an issue when you go into the 3rd world and there is no/loose/poorly implemented regulation. I was reluctant to go to Turkey (and had outright dismissed it as an option) but Dr. Keser uses manual tools, does his own work (i.e. doesn't have technicians doing half of the procedure) has a great reputation, his hairlines are amazing and is very cheap. Flights from continental Europe to Turkey are cheap at about 130 euros return so it can't hurt to at least have a chat with him (that's my rationale anyway). The others, if you're interested, are Drs. Feriduni and Lupanzula, both based in Belgium.

 

Dr. Keser looks like he gets incredible results - are you visiting him soon, if so, I'd love to hear what he had to say to you if you could message me once you have been! Do you have any idea what he charges per graft? Also - on his website it says he can look at pictures and tell you what you need, is there any need to travel there unless you have decided you want to have it done?

 

I had my first FUT at 28 with Dr Meshkin for 1500 grafts. It lasted about 2 years where more of my native hairs continued to fall out. At 30 I went in for another 1800. 1500 to my mid section to front hairline and 300 for the crown. I am now 37 and have been contemplating a final FUE procedure to solidify my frontal hairline. You need to rethink this realistically. You will need 2-3 procedures over the next 10 years to achieve the results you want.

 

Are you saying in hindsight you would not have had a hair transplant? It seems to me like at 28 you gained a much better hairline than you had, then over the next 10 years stopped your genetic baldness with a further procedure, and now you just want to touch up what you're happy with? I'm happy to have 2-3 procedures over the next 10 years if it means from this year until the day they put me in a box I've got a great head of hair and sky high confidence?

[TrixGlendevon]

Dr. Keser looks like he gets incredible results - are you visiting him soon, if so, I'd love to hear what he had to say to you if you could message me once you have been! Do you have any idea what he charges per graft? Also - on his website it says he can look at pictures and tell you what you need, is there any need to travel there unless you have decided you want to have it done?

 

Maras is another you should look into for hairlines. He is the Cypriot. Feriduni is also widely regarded as a hairline expert.

 

Yes, they all do email consults but looking at some pictures isn't the same as getting checked in person. Ferduni et al in Belgium actually map how many grafts you've got in your donor area by shaving a small part of your head and then using a microscope to examine the area. Photos just aren't the same. I also think given the result, good or bad, will be with me for the rest of my life, spending 100-150 euros on a flight there isn't a very big investment in terms of money but will massively help me decide who I want to go with from my short list of 5.

 

No idea on cost. I haven't asked that in any of my emails with any of them. If they don't do what I want then there is no point in discussing cost because I won't be going with them. Cost isn't the biggest factor for me either. The only one who gave me a cost is Dr de Reys and I didn't ask him for it. He seems very professional and open.

[JayLDD]

Dr. Keser looks like he gets incredible results - are you visiting him soon, if so, I'd love to hear what he had to say to you if you could message me once you have been! Do you have any idea what he charges per graft? Also - on his website it says he can look at pictures and tell you what you need, is there any need to travel there unless you have decided you want to have it done?

 

 

 

Are you saying in hindsight you would not have had a hair transplant? It seems to me like at 28 you gained a much better hairline than you had, then over the next 10 years stopped your genetic baldness with a further procedure, and now you just want to touch up what you're happy with? I'm happy to have 2-3 procedures over the next 10 years if it means from this year until the day they put me in a box I've got a great head of hair and sky high confidence?

 

+1 for Dr. Keser. He is the goat of hairline work in terms of yield, design and density. Even great dense packing FUT surgeons such as Rahal don't achieve the same density and I find Keser's designs more European and modern (just a visual feeling, if that makes any sense at all).

 

Personally I opted for Erdogan over Keser as Keser only does 500-800 grafts per day and I wanted it all over and done with quickly in a single day at 3000 grafts.

 

He charges 3.5 euros per graft I think.

 

Why don't you get on finasteride just to stop your hairloss getting worse?

[TrixGlendevon]

+1 for Dr. Keser. He is the goat of hairline work in terms of yield, design and density. Even great dense packing FUT surgeons such as Rahal don't achieve the same density and I find Keser's designs more European and modern (just a visual feeling, if that makes any sense at all).

 

Personally I opted for Erdogan over Keser as Keser only does 500-800 grafts per day and I wanted it all over and done with quickly in a single day at 3000 grafts.

 

He charges 3.5 euros per graft I think.

 

Why don't you get on finasteride just to stop your hairloss getting worse?

 

The thing putting me off Keser is that he is in Turkey and it is unregulated there. If he has an off day I would be screwed. On the other hand, his work (that I have seen) looks amazing. This is why I want to head out there and speak to him personally. Thus far, I am having trouble just getting a reply from him by email though.

[JayLDD]

Do you think that the higher level of regulation in the US or UK stops doctors from having "bad days"? Does regulation magically turn human beings into super hair transplant robots? Regulation does jack shit aside from making some areas less competitive than others. Those that are more competitive due to less regulation tend to have the best surgeons because of more experience, aside from a select few in the US and Canada. It's easy early on to focus on regulation and subconsciously race potentially, but the important thing is to look at results and technique.Also I should mention that on another forum I saw a 10/10 homerun result from him that had EXTREMELY minor issues in terms of even hairline density and he agreed to fix it. No American doctor would have agreed to this situation, which probably had 95% yield.

 

Keser does the whole procedure himself, he uses a manual punch, takes things slow and his online results appear extremely consistent. I don't think I've seen a "bad" Keser result.

 

Also I would say don't expect easy initial communication with high end foreign doctors, when they have 4-5 month waiting lists they don't typically have to bother with people on the fence, there are more than enough who are desperate for their choice. Makes it easier because they'll end up with customers unlikely to cancel or go elsewhere. In my experience with ASMED with Koray Erdogan they were fairly lazy on the pre-op organization and messaging but as soon as I had booked it improved drastically.

 

 

Even a doctor using techs isn't anything to worry about, why wouldn't a doctor outsource certain parts of their procedure to someone who has had years and years of experience in day in day out?

 

The main thing to look for is that the FUE is manual, that the forum results online are as consistent as possible, and that you like VISUALLY the results they are producing. Some people focus far too much on novelties like the doctor doing all the work, what actually matters is the results they are producing in terms of design, yield and management of the donor area.

 

Both Keser and Erdogan in Turkey fit this criteria

[TrixGlendevon]

Do you think that the higher level of regulation in the US or UK stops doctors from having "bad days"? Does regulation magically turn human beings into super hair transplant robots? Regulation does jack shit aside from making some areas less competitive than others. Those that are more competitive due to less regulation tend to have the best surgeons because of more experience, aside from a select few in the US and Canada. It's easy early on to focus on regulation and subconsciously race potentially, but the important thing is to look at results and technique.Also I should mention that on another forum I saw a 10/10 homerun result from him that had EXTREMELY minor issues in terms of even hairline density and he agreed to fix it. No American doctor would have agreed to this situation, which probably had 95% yield.

 

Keser does the whole procedure himself, he uses a manual punch, takes things slow and his online results appear extremely consistent. I don't think I've seen a "bad" Keser result.

 

Also I would say don't expect easy initial communication with high end foreign doctors, when they have 4-5 month waiting lists they don't typically have to bother with people on the fence, there are more than enough who are desperate for their choice. Makes it easier because they'll end up with customers unlikely to cancel or go elsewhere. In my experience with ASMED with Koray Erdogan they were fairly lazy on the pre-op organization and messaging but as soon as I had booked it improved drastically.

 

 

Even a doctor using techs isn't anything to worry about, why wouldn't a doctor outsource certain parts of their procedure to someone who has had years and years of experience in day in day out?

 

The main thing to look for is that the FUE is manual, that the forum results online are as consistent as possible, and that you like VISUALLY the results they are producing. Some people focus far too much on novelties like the doctor doing all the work, what actually matters is the results they are producing in terms of design, yield and management of the donor area.

 

Both Keser and Erdogan in Turkey fit this criteria

 

Good post. I agree to a point. The thing is, lots of people outside of Turkey also meet your criteria but they are also regulated so they can't just do whatever they want. Take your two examples of doctors aside, I imagine there are a lot more "amateur" jobs being done in Turkey than in the US, for example.

 

I also think have technicians do substantial parts of the surgery is not a good thing. Depending on how much they do, this might be illegal in some countries (back to regulation). If I am paying for a doctor to do the surgery, I want the doctor doing it. Not a technician. It is cosmetic surgery but it is still surgery. I would be far from impressed if I showed up to have a heart transplant and the doctor said "I'm going for a break but my technician here will take your heart out and get the new one ready - I'll be back in an hour". I want the person who did 6 years of medical school and then 4-5 years training to do the surgery.

[azakdan2682]

Hate to break it to you, but appearance matters as you get older as well. I'm just about to turn 35 and it certainly still matters. Now I'm not way older than you but I thought once I was in my early 30s, women would care more about the complete package, but looks are still very high on the list. Sucks that balding detoriates looks soo much.

[azakdan2682]

I had my first FUT at 28 with Dr Meshkin for 1500 grafts. It lasted about 2 years where more of my native hairs continued to fall out. At 30 I went in for another 1800. 1500 to my mid section to front hairline and 300 for the crown. I am now 37 and have been contemplating a final FUE procedure to solidify my frontal hairline. You need to rethink this realistically. You will need 2-3 procedures over the next 10 years to achieve the results you want.

 

 

Is this pretty normal? Once you start going down the path, likely have to get a few more to catch up to new balding or fix everything ? I read about it here n there, but wondering if it is a coomon thing.