A couple of questions regarding hair loss and doctors

[hairlossPA]

Hi everyone. I have been lurking on these forums for some time now and decided to make an account.

 

I have even thinning throughout my scalp (from receding hairline, to mid-scalp, to vertex). I am not on finasteride because I'm nervous about side effects but would be willing to try in the future. I have contacted a few doctors and have been quoted 3000-3500 grafts.

 

I'm from the United States and am currently looking at doctors (Cinik, Erdogan, H&W, Diep, Alexander, etc...).

 

1) Is there a reason Dr. Cinik is not recommended by this website? All the reviews/cases I have seen from him seem excellent.

 

2) For H&W - do you get to choose which doctor does your procedure? They seem to be mainly FUT. I have not seen many large scale FUE procedures by them. Are they a reputable FUE option for 3000+ grafts?

 

My favorite option is Dr. Erdogan due to his results, KEEP tactic, and relatively good price compared to FUE in the states. Dr. Cinik is a close 2nd behind him.

 

Thanks for the responses in advanced!

[hairlossPA]

bump.

[johnp557799]

It seems that different forums are dominated by the patients from different doctors. You can find numerous reviews from Dr Cinik on the realself.com.

 

I've spent several months doing my research looking at the two. Both Dr. Erdogan and Dr. Cinik provide very good quality work, and customer service. If I am not wrong, Dr. Erdogan's clinic offers manual grafts extraction. Dr Diep's work is also great, but I could not afford it.

 

Due to financial constraint, I decided to go with Dr. Cinik.

[hairlossPA]

are there any concerns with having a transplant for diffused thinning? my hairline has receded but there is even thinning from front to back. how do doctors plant around the hair that is still there? I'm sure theres transection when they make the donor holes?

 

I've read about permanent shock loss and obviously wouldnt want that to happen.

[Hassler]

I think there would be particular concern if the diffuse thinning was "unpatterned" i.e. it extended into parts of the donor area. If that was the case then your immediately not a hair transplant candidate.

 

If it is "patterned" diffuse thinning, and especially if it's not severe, then you can get an excellent result, I know this for sure because I am a mild/moderate diffuse thinner.

 

Having said that, it took 3 consultants before I met a doctor who gave me the confidence to have a procedure, the first one warned me that I would almost certainly get significant shock loss (I didn't) and the second one said he wasn't comfortable going more than 1 fingers width into my native hair from the front hairline (that wasn't enough to my mind).

 

So being a diffuse thinner you may get "mixed messages" from doctors, but it can be done very successfully in the right hands, I'm living proof.

[ArochaHair]

Working with thinning hair to add density is based solely on the comfort level of the physician. Some prefer to shave the recipient region as they feel they can better see the spaces in between the native hair and this helps to avoid transection. It makes sense, but it also depends on the tools that are being used. If a flat blade is used then there is more surface area on the cutting edge that can easily transect native hairs.

 

There are other clinics that do not feel the need to shave. Dr. Arocha has only shaved a patient's recipient zone one time in his career and that was because the patient asked him to. Dr. Arocha prefers to leave the recipient area native hair longer so that he can get an understanding of how the hair flows and behaves. He does not use blades but instead uses solid core needles which have almost no chance of transecting native hairs unless the incision is made on top of native hair. With proper magnification and of course experience this really isn't a probability that is realistic.

[hsrp10]

Some quick thoughts here based on my experience:

 

If you go with Erdogan you are going to 100% have to shave your entire head (donor area and recipient both).

Just want to put this out there as for some people (like myself) there is not enough downtime to do this with work etc. This is even for smaller procedures.

 

For my last procedure in a limited area Erdogan and ASMED was in my final list, but I excluded them as I could not afford the long downtime.

 

Other clinics (Bisanga, Konior) will agree to a mohawk type of buzz cut for FUE where the donor is shaved and then only the immediate recipient area.

 

For diffused thinning I would dense pack into a slightly lowered hairline just below your current one - I'm saying this without seeing any of your pics which is not ideal but it's easier to dense pack into virgin scalp than it is in between existing hairs.

And concentrate on boosting the hairline and frontal third as your first goal.

 

As for H&W I would research their work here on this forum and choose the surgeon whose results matches your desired situation - which one produces amazing results in cases of diffused thinning patients.

My favorite of the two overall is Dr. Hasson who I believe excels at dense hairlines while Wong is more of a master at crown work.

And is H&W a proven FUE leader yet? I'm not sure yet and have only seen a limited number of FUE cases from them at this point..

 

Also have you actually been examined by a hair restoration surgeon yet or sent in photos?

Some clinics may reject patients if they demonstrate advanced balding/thinning and are not on Propecia for maintenance, especially if the donor is very thin and sparse.

 

Oh and as for your second choice for Turkish doctor I would skip him as the only people I see making him their first choice are those who are trying to save a buck.

I had seen some not ideal cases on here as well and I don't have the time to read each and every post but my researched opinion is that he should not be among your finalist list.

HDC and Dr. Maras produce more consistent work at fairly affordable prices for example.

Edited January 1, 2018 by hsrp10

[hairlossPA]

Some quick thoughts here based on my experience:

 

If you go with Erdogan you are going to 100% have to shave your entire head (donor area and recipient both).

Just want to put this out there as for some people (like myself) there is not enough downtime to do this with work etc. This is even for smaller procedures.

 

For my last procedure in a limited area Erdogan and ASMED was in my final list, but I excluded them as I could not afford the long downtime.

 

Other clinics (Bisanga, Konior) will agree to a mohawk type of buzz cut for FUE where the donor is shaved and then only the immediate recipient area.

 

For diffused thinning I would dense pack into a slightly lowered hairline just below your current one - I'm saying this without seeing any of your pics which is not ideal but it's easier to dense pack into virgin scalp than it is in between existing hairs.

And concentrate on boosting the hairline and frontal third as your first goal.

 

As for H&W I would research their work here on this forum and choose the surgeon whose results matches your desired situation - which one produces amazing results in cases of diffused thinning patients.

My favorite of the two overall is Dr. Hasson who I believe excels at dense hairlines while Wong is more of a master at crown work.

And is H&W a proven FUE leader yet? I'm not sure yet and have only seen a limited number of FUE cases from them at this point..

 

Also have you actually been examined by a hair restoration surgeon yet or sent in photos?

Some clinics may reject patients if they demonstrate advanced balding/thinning and are not on Propecia for maintenance, especially if the donor is very thin and sparse.

 

Oh and as for your second choice for Turkish doctor I would skip him as the only people I see making him their first choice are those who are trying to save a buck.

I had seen some not ideal cases on here as well and I don't have the time to read each and every post but my researched opinion is that he should not be among your finalist list.

HDC and Dr. Maras produce more consistent work at fairly affordable prices for example.

 

Thanks for the reply. A lot of good info/suggestions in there.

 

I've attached a couple photos of my head. I'm looking for suggestions here. 1 doctor (Cinik) suggested 3000-3500 grafts. Starting at the hairline and building that strong, then working the way back to the crown.

 

I'd obviously like to go about this correctly and possibly address it all in 1 go. I understand I should get on fin and be prepared that my native hairs will keep thinning.

[johnp557799]

Some quick thoughts here based on my experience:

 

I had seen some not ideal cases on here as well and I don't have the time to read each and every post but my researched opinion is that he should not be among your finalist list.

HDC and Dr. Maras produce more consistent work at fairly affordable prices for example.

 

In opinion it would be beneficial to provide some references when someone is aware of suboptimal results from a doctor(s). If you saw "not ideal cases" but you did not have the time to read the stories, provide links, so the members can study the cases.

Thanks!