Should I even go forward with a transplant?

[mfive39]

Hello everyone,

 

I've been losing hair for about ten years, I'm currently 35. It started as a small bald spot on my crown, and really accelerated in the last five. I've been considering hair transplantation for a while now. About four years ago I went to see a local well-regarded surgeon in Miami, who told me that my donor area was small and all that could be done was restore the hairline, and not cover the crown. That, combined with the high cost of the procedure, dissuaded me from going forward.

 

I recently started researching again, after having heard about the affordability of having it done in Turkey. I've reached out to several surgeons that were highly recommended on this and other forums. One rejected me due to small donor area size. All the others, however, were fine with proceeding. I've gotten estimates between 2800 - 3500 grafts harvested via FUE to restore the hairline (and some being placed on the crown). Another surgeon gave me options for FUE, FUT, and FUE+FUT, with the latter offering double the amount of grafts over solely FUE. I also inquired about using beard and chest hair to cover the crown — I have plenty of that — and while it is possible, I am concerned about the different texture and quality of the hair.

 

I'm hesitant to go FUT due to scarring, and I have been having second thoughts as to whether it is worth it to do anything, considering the crown will still be bald. I'm attaching a couple of photos — what do you thing?

[Melvin- Admin]

What are your expectations? You have to realize that hair transplantation is a surgical technique, it does not create new hair it simply moves existing hair to another part of the body. It sounds like you’re expecting to receive full coverage including the crown. In my opinion, if this is your expectation than you’ll likely be disappointed. Your donor area does not appear to be very strong, and your balding area is large, in order to achieve adequate density in the most important part of the scalp (front two thirds) you will likely have to accept having a thin or bald crown. This is why hair transplantation isn’t for everyone. It all comes down to how much donor hair you have vs how much space needs to be covered, if you have a small donor and large space, the surgeon is limited on what he/she can achieve.

[mfive39]

Thank you for your reply. I am aware of what hair transplantation is. Of course, ideally, I would have liked full coverage, I do not expect that to happen considering the feedback I’ve had from doctors.

 

My question was, considering the limitations of the donor area and the size of the area of loss, would having the procedure done be worth it? Are there any members in a similar situation who went through with it? I’m also wondering whether it would be better to do FUE or the FUE+FUT. The doctor estimated that the latter would yield double the grafts. I wonder if that would make a significant difference in appearance but am also put off by the scarring and longer recovery time.

[Melvin- Admin]

FUT+FUE is certainly the way to go if you're trying to maximize your donor supply. Can you post some pictures of what you would be satisfied with? in terms of results. My fear is that you have high expectations and to be completely honest you are a very difficult case. If it is worth it is completely subjective, because to some guys just having a hairline and thin coverage in the midscalp, with a completely bald crown is better than nothing. However, on the flipside there are guys that want full coverage or nothing at all, they would rather shave their head and move on.

 

There is no right or wrong answer it just depends on how you personally feel. No one can tell you if its worth it, I can speak for myself in saying that some hair is better than no hair. But I can totally understand guys that don't want to go through the hassle of having surgery, spending money, and still look like they're balding.

[Legend007]

HT is right, u will be a difficult case .. u have to think of this logically .. r u willing to spending $thousands of dollars .. for multiple surgeries .. ur results won’t be great , if the docs r able to transfer 3/4 of ur current donor hair to the top of ur scalp .. will it look that much better than a shaved head? Fut then FUe will give u max coverage , but ur donor is already weak , there’s no way the fut scar won’t be noticeable given the amount of grafts u will need . N all FUe won’t give u enough coverage .. u have to decide either to have a bald crown with a hairline + midscalp .. or have total coverage , with low density all over .. a buzzcut kinda look .. or shave it or just accept how u r .. n save thousands of money n time ..

[Sean]

I wouldnt do anything right now. Save yourself the heartache and hassle. If you end up being a repair case, you will regret it as your supply of donor is low. This is a very dangerous game. All that marketing some docs use, honestly, i now can see it isnt really how it is for 95% of the folks that do this surgery (i might be being generous with that number as most docs will show you less than 1% of their clients online).

 

Be really careful and trust me, it is very damaging physically and emotionally when docs do not deliver safely nor ethically.

[Guest unnati11146]

As visible through the pictures that your donor area isn't very dense and baldness is quite visible as well, and to cover the whole area you need a good amount of hair. You may need both FUE+FUT methods but consulting other doctors from Turkey is no harm. As Turkey is a hub for Hair transplantation which provides the best facility within budget, you can consult once again. Turkey hair transplant is most renowned for its expertise doctors and treatment facilities.

 

You can visit the site listed below for Hair transplant and look out for other options available as well. I hope this could help your query. Thank you.

Edited May 8, 2018 by Melvin-HTsoon
Removed promotional links

[voxman]

Last edited by Melvin-HTsoon; Today at 03:10 PM. Reason: Removed promotional links

 

Way to go Melvin! The old 1st post about some place we've never heard of with a link to it is getting tedious, eh?

[Slush]

Please keep us posted. Take a look at my links as well, as you may feel the condition is similar. I did FUT to leave open the option of more grafts down the line. It absolutely was not an easy decision, but I TRUSTED the work of Dr. Alexander, and the scar I have left is extremely difficult to detect.

 

Body hair is something I think about. Chest hair is different color/texturr for me though, but maybe...

[BHRClinic]

Hi Mfive39,

 

If you have the chance, try to have a personal appointment with several doctors, ideally those ones who use FUE + FUT (and maybe Body Hair as well).

 

A personal assessment will tell you the approx. capacity of your donor area with the different techniques. Based on that you could know if your expectations can be accomplished.

 

The first impression based on your pictures is that the combination of FUE + FUT is probably the option which will maximize your donor follicles, thus you could cover a bigger area (not sure if 100% of it to be honest), but usually on crowns the main goal is to get some coverage with a lower density.

 

Could you share some sides pictures also?

 

Best wishes,