Got very worrying advice from a surgeon

[clerksband]

I consulted with a dozen different HT doctors (basically the top ones in Turkey --all of them with this forum's seal of approval-- and the top ones in my country, Spain) and after reviewing my case, they all agreed that I was a very good candidate for HT based of my loss pattern and the health of my donor area. 

All of them minus one, one that told me that I wasn't a good candidate and that HT not only wouldn't work but that it'd accelerate the loss of my native hair and I'd end up much worse than now... He says that not only my transplanted hair wouldn't grow but that the native hair would fall due to shock loss.

Is this reasoning scientifically sound? How come all the other ones agree on doing it but this one is so adamant against it?

At the moment I prefer not to name the one that told me not to do it, I want to avoid comments like "oh, he's a quack, look at this particular experience from this user". All I'm saying is that all the Turkish surgeons consulted all considered according to this forum as the best ones.

[Mikey1970]

You can definitely accelerate the loss of native hair if you undergo a transplant too early. It is a genuine risk and reason why you must go with a recommended surgeon recognized as being a top quality doc.

Although I have a much better hairline now, I have significantly weakened a fair bit of my frontal third by persisting with a "quack" for too many small procedures chasing a perfect result that he was not capable of delivering.

Sometimes I feel tempted to try and correct this but I know how real the risks can be & have learnt to live with a reasonable result.

 

[Melvin- Admin]

Are you on finasteride and minoxidil? Perhaps, the surgeon feels that your hair loss isn’t stable. Sharing pictures would help us asses your situation better. It’s difficult to say without photos.

[Fozzie]

From your previous photos on a different post, you seemed to still have a lot of native hair. The frontal area was thinning yes but don't believe there was any full on slick bald areas and so any HT would involve a lot of transplanting amongst thinning native hair.

Did the Dr who advised that you're not a good candidate suggest you start medication first? I can understand why a surgeon may raise concern because he/she may well be thinking that those native hair's could be shocked out permanently in the worst case scenario and even if they do come back, you will carry on losing if not on medication hence you may not be satisfied with your result further down the line.

What I do find strange is when you say the surgeon feels the transplanted hair wont grow. Were any reasons provided?

Edited November 28, 2018 by Fozzie

[Dazed]

Clerksband, I am probably a little biased on this because I had a plastic surgeon advise me against a procedure when all others advocated it.  I listened to him and within a year a new much more effective procedure was introduced.  This was non hair transplant related, but if a surgeon, who stands to make money off the procedure advises against it, I tend to listen. 

Edited November 29, 2018 by Dazed

[Spaceman]

On your other thread, you mentioned your hair was thinning everywhere. If you’re showing any signs of miniaturization in your donor area and proceed with a HT then the transplanted hair may not grow, and if it does, you may lose it in 1-2 hair cycles. That would be a disaster. 

Were your consultations in-person? If not, then you should have your donor carefully and thoroughly examined in person by a doctor that you trust to accurately diagnose your hair loss. Don’t go to a hair mill for that consultation, even if they turn out great HT results. 

[pkipling]

If I were you, I would talk to this surgeon specifically about how every other recommended surgeon you spoke to felt that you were a good candidate, and pick his brain as to why he specifically doesn't agree... And then reach out to your 2 top picks from the other surgeons and ask them the same question: "Dr. So-and-so really advised against me getting a HT and these were his concerns. What are your thoughts about this? Are his concerns valid?" 

Having an open, honest dialogue with the surgeons about this where both sides get to express what basis they're using to make their recommendations on would be very valuable.