Is hair transplant supposed to come out very thin, please help I think I got ripped

[SD777]

Last year I had a FUE of 1700 units done. My goal was to fill in the temples and the crown. I have attached before and after of the right temple, but only have after of the left temple but you can get an idea from the right side. The crown was thinning but not bald before. He also lowered my hairline very very slightly.

 

I researched 3 different doctors, the one I chose wasn't the cheapest, but talked the biggest game and was close to where I lived. He promised that the temples would be filled in and match the thickness of the rest of my hair. As you can see, the temples are very thin and sparse and look awful. Very hard to style and I basically just brush my hair forward to let the longer hair in the back partially cover them. It looks worse because previously I just looked like I lost my hair, now it looks like very odd because it doesn't match.

 

For the crown he promised a "CD sized" fill, but the area transplanted was only about the size of a mini disc, if that. There is some thickening and improvement, but once again not the thickness of the rest of the hair that was promised.

 

The hairline is also sparse and looks odd under my otherwise thick hair. The hairline is a little crooked and the grafts all the way into the right side are higher than the left, he said this is normal and he didn't want it too perfect because that would make it look fake.

 

This was done over a year ago, and I did follow up with him periodically and he would tell me most of the transplants stayed, so it wasn't an issue of them falling out. He was very pleased with the overall look at my 1 year follow up. When I expressed how dissatisfied I was he noted that basically he can only implant the hairs so close together due to the blood supply, if he implanted too many then the lack of blood supply would mean not all of them would stay. His solution was a 2nd transplant of 1200, and he gave me a very very small discount (I think it was 50 cents a graft) because I wasn't happy. Even with the additional 1200 grafts even then he didn't think he would achieve full thickness. Keep in mind that none of this was discussed prior to the grafts, I specifically asked if the new hair would match the old thickness and he said definitely yes. I asked if I would need any further grafts and he said only years from now when more of my hair (possibly) might fall out.

 

So I would like to ask the expertise here if this thinness is typical in a FUE procedure and if that is accurate about the hair needing to be not too close together. I've seen lots of marketing, and in their pictures the hair always looks thick and matches the rest of the hair. Did I get ripped off here? Well I can't say I got ripped off if most of the 1700 grafts stayed, but I just feel like there were some really big false promises made.

 

What do you guys think? Should I let him do an additional 1200 grafts, or should I just go to someone else to fix this? Should he be responsible for footing some of the bill, or is this just the way it is? It's disheartening to have to do another procedure as my job involves lots of contact with the public and it's very hard to take the time off to heal.

[Melvin- Admin]

Was it 1700 grafts in your crown and hairline? The crown can take up to 60% of the available donor hair. That’s why it’s often referred to as the black hole for grafts. Can you post pictures of what your hair looked like before?

[Cheddar]

Unfortunately it’s not a good result after 12 months. The crown looks ok and natural, but the front is not good. You would have needed approx. 1700 grafts to fill in the front alone with good density. You should look for a highly reputable clinic to fix this.

[Legend007]

A good transplant won’t look like that .. if u go to a good clinic n get good growth u would of not had a see through hairline .. u also had too little grafts transplanted for the amount of coverage u needed . This sux , u have to have to plan for the next step ..

[Legend007]

For reference , a good dense hairline would need about 2000 grafts to match the current hair u have now .. fill in ur temples n reinforce ur hairline .. u did 1700 grafts spread to ur hairline n crown , so it’s not going to be as dense as u want .. ur surgery didn’t go well but it wasn’t awful ,u just need more grafts .. m definitely not with the same clinic .. .50 cent discount per graft discount To waste more of ur donor on a clinic that didn’t do a great job seems like a bad plan ..

[Dr. Lupanzula Emorane]

The hairline alone, from looking at the hairline design before the procedure, would necessitate 2000 grafts to "match" the density of your still thick native hair, particularly in the forelock. Assuming the crown photo you shared is the result from the work already performed another "1700" would be necessary to create an acceptable result. I believe this is a classic case of not enough hair transplanted to meet the goal. It is a simple matter of adding additional density, properly, assuming there are no surprises revealed during clinical examination.

[MAGNUMpi]

I would not take him up on that little discount. Go to a different (top) doctor. Go to a few different consultations and choose the one with the best track record (do your research) and one who seems the most down to earth and truthful. Seems like your doctor might have a touch of snake oil salesman in him. Travel and dont let distance be what stops you from a solid HT. You can sort this out with one more try but you have to choose well.

Hope it works out.

[SD777]

Thanks guys. So I didn't get ripped off, from what I'm reading on your reactions he did the 1700 grafts. It's just that 1700 was too little. It's odd, I wonder why he just didn't advocate more grafts. I even asked him on the day of the op if he needed more grafts to go ahead and I'd pay for them after the op, he said no 1700 was plenty. I also am not sure why he said he couldn't implant more at one time due to the blood supply, other than he was just covering up his own lack of skill. On the plus side everything is mostly even, and I can't detect any scars at all so I guess I'll treat it as a starter surgery. Although it sucks to have to go through post surgery again.

 

I did previously do an email consult with Dr. Rahal, who I really liked his before/after pictures, but he was very expensive and a long trip. I may look into him again. I'm going to peruse the doctors recommendation board to see if there is anyone good in NJ as well, as it's really difficult to travel and take time off.

 

BTW this was Jeffrey Wise in Wayne NJ, so everyone knows to stay far away from this guy. I agree about the "snake oil salesman" description from Magnumpi, these guys wined and dined me and promised me everything, but when the result was in he didn't care at all to stand behind his reputation.

[Cheddar]

Thanks guys. So I didn't get ripped off, from what I'm reading on your reactions he did the 1700 grafts. It's just that 1700 was too little. It's odd, I wonder why he just didn't advocate more grafts. I even asked him on the day of the op if he needed more grafts to go ahead and I'd pay for them after the op, he said no 1700 was plenty. I also am not sure why he said he couldn't implant more at one time due to the blood supply, other than he was just covering up his own lack of skill. On the plus side everything is mostly even, and I can't detect any scars at all so I guess I'll treat it as a starter surgery. Although it sucks to have to go through post surgery again.

 

I did previously do an email consult with Dr. Rahal, who I really liked his before/after pictures, but he was very expensive and a long trip. I may look into him again. I'm going to peruse the doctors recommendation board to see if there is anyone good in NJ as well, as it's really difficult to travel and take time off.

 

BTW this was Jeffrey Wise in Wayne NJ, so everyone knows to stay far away from this guy. I agree about the "snake oil salesman" description from Magnumpi, these guys wined and dined me and promised me everything, but when the result was in he didn't care at all to stand behind his reputation.

Dr. Rahal would be a great choice! If you can’t afford him right now, then wait. Don’t rush into anything until you can do it right. Distance should not be a factor in your decision since this is something you will have to live with for the rest of your life. There’s no point wasting any more valuable grafts on a subpar transplant.