How to undo a hair transplant ASAP

[Nebulosity]

1 hour ago, Melvin-Moderator said:

You realize Spex is Dr. Bhatti’s rep right? Also, he left on his own accord. I sent him an olive branch by asking to speak to him personally and he never replied. We’re here for patients and we will always represent patients. We cannot coddle the feelings or egos of paid reps. We did not ban him nor did we tell him to leave; he did that on his own accord.

We’re not defending any doctors, we are being the voice of reason. I spoke with this patient when he was thinking about removing his transplant after a month. This sort of impulsive behavior shouldn’t be accepted as appropriate or normal. In fact, I’m seeing an alarming trend where patients are anxious about their results and start calling it a failure before the results have even started. We will never concede to this unhealthy behavior. We’re all patients ourselves me @Bill - Managing Publisher and @Pat - Community Publisher we’ve been in the chair multiple times, so we know what it’s like.

This is not the first time you throw accusations our way. Our system isn’t perfect and there is always room for improvement, but name one forum that is as actively involved as our forum. I have advocated for this patient and personally sent Dr. Bhatti an email discussing his dissatisfaction thus far. We didn’t hide this thread, edit it or censor him in anyway. 

In fact, I take great offense that you accuse us of pocketing money for our benefit. I work a full-time job. I work here on my free-time because I’m passionate not because of money. We’re not living in mansions and riding in yachts. We completely upgraded our forum last year. We’ve made several upgrades to our patient websites making it mobile-friendly. We’ve put a lot of time and resources back in to the website to make it user-friendly and improve the user experience. You have no idea what goes on behind the scenes. We do this so that patients have a place to speak and be heard. 

Sincerely, 

Melvin 

“I spoke with this patient when he was thinking about removing his transplant after a month. This sort of impulsive behavior shouldn’t be accepted as appropriate or normal.“

Correction: You spoke with me via pm, 3.5 months after my transplant, when I was considering how go deal with my damaged donor area and looking for a refund, and you acted like there was nothing particularly wrong going on in my donor area. You also replied to my messages by telling me that I’m not a candidate for hair restoration surgery - after I had already had a transplant and was trying to figure out how to deal with the result.

Early on, I did come to this forum to ask people what I should do. I could see that the density was lower in the hairline than in the work of top doctors, and wondered if there was any way to deal with it quickly. And I learned that there was not. You commented, but you basically told me that I was wrong.

Seriously guys, I have gone into this whole thing in good faith, and also posted to this forum in good faith. The least you could do is acknowledge the issue with my donor area.

My donor area is still messed up after 4.5 months. Dr Bhatti, whom your forum recommended, is not helping me with it. And you are not acknowledging it as a problem. I’m reluctantly ready to wait to see how the recipient area turns out, although I believe the evidence points to a bad result. How on Earth are you guys being a voice of reason?

Please, everyone here, lets stop this intra forum bickering. I’m going to ignore the mods if they don’t want to help, and continue posting about my apparently damaged donor area as time goes on.

Edited May 23, 2019 by Nebulosity

[Nebulosity]

Parts of my donor area have a burning sensation, especially the left side where it is most thin. Does anyone know if this is normal and what I can do about it? I want to know if I should consult a dermatologist, or if there is any treatment besides minoxidil, or if the burning sensation indicates anything. Any suggestions? I really don’t know who to turn to.

Edited May 23, 2019 by Nebulosity

[hairlossPA]

It comes down to this: you must wait the 12 months to give the new hairline and transplanted hairs a chance to grow and mature. Anything other than this is not fair to Dr. Bhatti. 

Now what should be an easy discussion and an easy point to make is getting the pictures of his extractions post op. I don’t know who to believe here, but it does seem like pretty common practice for Drs to do. This is where I would hope the moderators use their power with the Dr. However if Dr. Bhatti says he doesn’t have any, and he ends up finding some, that won’t look good on him.

I will admit I’ve seen better donors at 4.5 month post op. but there’s literally nothing you can do about it now, pictures or not 

[Melvin- Admin]

2 hours ago, Nebulosity said:

“I spoke with this patient when he was thinking about removing his transplant after a month. This sort of impulsive behavior shouldn’t be accepted as appropriate or normal.“

Correction: You spoke with me via pm, 3.5 months after my transplant, when I was considering how go deal with my damaged donor area and looking for a refund, and you acted like there was nothing particularly wrong going on in my donor area. You also replied to my messages by telling me that I’m not a candidate for hair restoration surgery - after I had already had a transplant and was trying to figure out how to deal with the result.

Early on, I did come to this forum to ask people what I should do. I could see that the density was lower in the hairline than in the work of top doctors, and wondered if there was any way to deal with it quickly. And I learned that there was not. You commented, but you basically told me that I was wrong.

Seriously guys, I have gone into this whole thing in good faith, and also posted to this forum in good faith. The least you could do is acknowledge the issue with my donor area.

My donor area is still messed up after 4.5 months. Dr Bhatti, whom your forum recommended, is not helping me with it. And you are not acknowledging it as a problem. I’m reluctantly ready to wait to see how the recipient area turns out, although I believe the evidence points to a bad result. How on Earth are you guys being a voice of reason?

Please, everyone here, lets stop this intra forum bickering. I’m going to ignore the mods if they don’t want to help, and continue posting about my apparently damaged donor area as time goes on.

I still stand by what I said. I don’t feel you’re a candidate at the moment especially considering you’re not even halfway through your current procedure. Truthfully, I don’t say this to be mean, but this anxious behavior that makes you want to do something impulsive is not conducive to a hair transplant procedure. 

Yes voice of reason, Ive had three hair transplants and I’ve suffered from donor area shock loss. In fact, I’ve posted several pictures of how my donor looked at 2 months vs 7 months. The fact is you are still healing. Donor shock loss and recipient shock loss can take several months to clear up.

If you want to make me out to be the bad guy because I’m not feeding in to your anxiousness and impulse that’s fine. I’m trying to help you. There’s nothing we can do at this point except wait, as hard as that is to hear it’s the truth.

As proof, I’m sharing a picture of what my donor looked like after my second procedure at two weeks and how it looked a year post-op from my third procedure. 

Will things improve only time will tell, but there’s nothing to do but wait. 

[Nebulosity]

1 hour ago, Melvin-Moderator said:

I still stand by what I said. I don’t feel you’re a candidate at the moment especially considering you’re not even halfway through your current procedure. Truthfully, I don’t say this to be mean, but this anxious behavior that makes you want to do something impulsive is not conducive to a hair transplant procedure. 

Yes voice of reason, Ive had three hair transplants and I’ve suffered from donor area shock loss. In fact, I’ve posted several pictures of how my donor looked at 2 months vs 7 months. The fact is you are still healing. Donor shock loss and recipient shock loss can take several months to clear up.

If you want to make me out to be the bad guy because I’m not feeding in to your anxiousness and impulse that’s fine. I’m trying to help you. There’s nothing we can do at this point except wait, as hard as that is to hear it’s the truth.

As proof, I’m sharing a picture of what my donor looked like after my second procedure at two weeks and how it looked a year post-op from my third procedure. 

Will things improve only time will tell, but there’s nothing to do but wait. 

I see the issue in your before picture, but the after picture hardly shows your donor area at all, and where your donor area does show it appears patchy, specifically right above and behind your ear. I'd like to see more after photos at a short length to really assess the difference. Did your shock loss take 4.5 months to start resolving?

I am hoping that what I have is temporary shock loss. Doctors who I respect have told me that it's probably some shockloss, and I believe them. However, one of them also explained that it could be that my donor density was not that high to begin with, and that many extractions were made in a small area. It's hard to tell at this point without a picture showing exactly where the extractions were made. Dr Bhatti never measured my donor density. Did your doctor measure your donor density, Melvin?

Dr Bhatti's staff told me to sit in a chair and took photos of my scalp before and after the procedure. They have not shared those photos with me. Dr Bhatti claims to have no photos from my procedure. Maybe he lost them? But there has been no acknowledgement of that. Furthermore, the only comment Dr Bhatti has made about donor areas in general is that mine should look normal 6-12 weeks after the procedure. Here I am, 4.5 months after the procedure, with little to no improvement. I've sent images to Dr Bhatti, and asked him what's going on with my donor area, but he hasn't even acknowledged the photos or the questions.

I'd like this forum's help to request my photos from immediately after the procedure.

Regarding your standing by what you said. Well, I'm not making you out to be the bad guy, Melvin, but you've been speculating about my psychological state, favoring ad hominem over substance. And you've made erroneous claims about what I'm planning. I'd like to focus on facts and analysis. Maybe you could too.

Edited May 23, 2019 by Nebulosity

[Melvin- Admin]

No my donor density was not measured. Here is a clear picture for comparison. Now it’s illogical to think there will be no signs of surgery or scars, they will always be there. But they’ve improved immensely over time. 

 

[bornwithhighforehead]

I don't think Nebulosity was too harsh on his case. He may be impatient but he can see it was a poor job done. I'm an ex patient of Dr Bhatti myself and if you have seen my photos you would have agreed the density was too low. Even after a full 18 months, the density was unacceptable from a such a highly recommended doctor here. 3 years after my 1st HT with Dr Bhatti I had to get a 2nd HT just to fix the low density.

Edited May 23, 2019 by bornwithhighforehead

[Bill - Seemiller]

@Upshall,

 This is clearly not the first time you have criticized us and frankly, you clearly don’t have any respect for this community.   While I have no problem addressing questions and provide reasons for posts or comments I make, I’m not going to be bullied by someone who doesn’t respect me or the work we do on this community. Therefore, it is time for you to leave. 

Bill

[Bill - Seemiller]

It’s interesting that people think I’m being harsh. The reality is, that there are far too many patients who are impatient and badmouth their surgeon only a couple months after surgery when much can happen between now and the end result between 12 and 18 months. The reality is, the donor area may not look great at the moment but can and will likely heal Immensely and look much better in time. So yes… I stand by what I said originally and feel that this patient should relax, take it easy and do his best to trust the process. If for some reason his donor doesn’t look good but the time the in result comes in,  i’m sure Dr. Bhatti will standby him and do what he can to make things right. 

Best wishes,

Bill

[Bill - Seemiller]

3 hours ago, hairlossPA said:

It comes down to this: you must wait the 12 months to give the new hairline and transplanted hairs a chance to grow and mature. Anything other than this is not fair to Dr. Bhatti. 

Now what should be an easy discussion and an easy point to make is getting the pictures of his extractions post op. I don’t know who to believe here, but it does seem like pretty common practice for Drs to do. This is where I would hope the moderators use their power with the Dr. However if Dr. Bhatti says he doesn’t have any, and he ends up finding some, that won’t look good on him.

I will admit I’ve seen better donors at 4.5 month post op. but there’s literally nothing you can do about it now, pictures or not 

Well said!

[jonnyalex]

2 hours ago, Bill - Managing Publisher said:

It’s interesting that people think I’m being harsh. The reality is, that there are far too many patients who are impatient and badmouth their surgeon only a couple months after surgery when much can happen between now and the end result between 12 and 18 months. The reality is, the donor area may not look great at the moment but can and will likely heal Immensely and look much better in time. So yes… I stand by what I said originally and feel that this patient should relax, take it easy and do his best to trust the process. If for some reason his donor doesn’t look good but the time the in result comes in,  i’m sure Dr. Bhatti will standby him and do what he can to make things right. 

Best wishes,

Bill

Bill I completely respect the work you do here, but I do think Nebulosity has a point. I've not seen a HT look so bad after that amount of time. I have heard of slow growers, but the donor looking like this after months? That is not good, the extraction pattern looks bad. The recipient area also looks terrible after this amount of time. I have had a large HT and even though I wasn't happy with the hairline, both the donor and recipient looked drastically better than this after 3/4 months. If I put myself in his shoes, I would find it hard to walk around in public like this. I am always perplexed by Dr. Bhatti's gappy placement in the recipient area. Sometimes it seems to work, other times it doesn't. 

Nebulosity, what I will say is, a patient of whom I just had my second HT with, Dr Keser, was absolutely fuming and criticizing the doctor on every HT forum on the internet, had to backtrack and admit he was wrong after 6 months when the hair growth suddenly went into overdrive. So I also see where Bill is coming from. For some reason, different people react in completely different ways to this form of a plastic surgery. 

I really feel for you and I am extremely hopeful that in your case things suddenly change. I know it is isn't easy. Try and hold on until the 6/7 month point to get a real idea of where you are headed. Try to avoid mirrors until that point. 

 

Edited May 23, 2019 by jonnyalex

[Nebulosity]

3 hours ago, jonnyalex said:

Bill I completely respect the work you do here, but I do think Nebulosity has a point. I've not seen a HT look so bad after that amount of time. I have heard of slow growers, but the donor looking like this after months? That is not good, the extraction pattern looks bad. The recipient area also looks terrible after this amount of time. I have had a large HT and even though I wasn't happy with the hairline, both the donor and recipient looked drastically better than this after 3/4 months. If I put myself in his shoes, I would find it hard to walk around in public like this. I am always perplexed by Dr. Bhatti's gappy placement in the recipient area. Sometimes it seems to work, other times it doesn't. 

Nebulosity, what I will say is, a patient of whom I just had my second HT with, Dr Keser, was absolutely fuming and criticizing the doctor on every HT forum on the internet, had to backtrack and admit he was wrong after 6 months when the hair growth suddenly went into overdrive. So I also see where Bill is coming from. For some reason, different people react in completely different ways to this form of a plastic surgery. 

I really feel for you and I am extremely hopeful that in your case things suddenly change. I know it is isn't easy. Try and hold on until the 6/7 month point to get a real idea of where you are headed. Try to avoid mirrors until that point. 

 

I don’t even care about the recipient area. I just want my donor area to not be destroyed. At 4-5 months, it seems that maybe it will grow back, maybe it won’t. If it does, then I can probably look normal again.

Yea, I don’t like going out in public, but I have to for my work. I have to meet people all the time, in various office settings with bright overhead lights.

[Looking for HT]

On 1/18/2019 at 2:54 AM, Nebulosity said:

Hey y'all. I'm chill in my actions, but I'm not chill because I expected a higher standard of work and attention to detail than I think I received, and I need a plan NOW to feel better. I already feel better now that I've discovered my options and made a plan. Probably I will look somewhat more attractive in 6 months than pre transplant. But my plan is to most likely get it revised, raise it a little, add some density, and fix the hairline to look more natural. Thanks for the input everyone.

Hey mate. Think you should wait atleast for few months and decide accordingly if you actually need to repair it

Edited May 23, 2019 by Looking for HT

[Looking for HT]

On 1/23/2019 at 12:01 PM, Baldrick101 said:

 

Why not mention the Dr's name? This isn't a case of slander or anything untoward. Nebulosity has simply provided the community with pictures and information of his surgery. I don't see the problem with asking, "Dr x did this transplant. Here are the pictures and my experience. What are your opinions?". That is just what I did for mine. Indeed, this is the whole point of the forum. The community can decide for themselves the quality of the work and make their own decision in the future. It would also give the doctor the opportunity to walk us through your case and provide explanations for his actions. In fact, an ethical doctor will have no problem standing by his/her work in an open forum for all to see. Taking this approach should have no bearing on whether you get a refund or something else.  

I completely agree. I chose the surgeon through this forum and I will openly say who will do my HT and share the pictures etc. What is the point of this forum otherwise !!

[Nebulosity]

3 minutes ago, Looking for HT said:

I completely agree. I chose the surgeon through this forum and I will openly say who will do my HT and share the pictures etc. What is the point of this forum otherwise !!

Hey there. You’re right. Just read the last few pages of this thread and all will be clear.

[Nebulosity]

24 minutes ago, Looking for HT said:

Hey mate. Think you should wait atleast for few months and decide accordingly if you actually need to repair it

Yea thanks. I’m going to wait 8 months, maybe longer. Besides, I don’t want the cost of the repair to interfere with my life too much. The most expensive option could run 40k usd including flights and hotel.

I’m planning to wear my hair longer for the next several months, to cover up the hairline and donor area. I’ve got a nice gf who doesn’t care about my hair, a job, goals in the gym, business goals, etc. I’m going to use this setback to focus on progressing in those areas, and come back to this hair transplant problem later. I’ll keep this thread updated with progress pics and info.

[Looking for HT]

6 minutes ago, Nebulosity said:

Hey there. You’re right. Just read the last few pages of this thread and all will be clear.

Sorry.My bad. I read it and quite surprised as Dr Bhatti has quite a good reputation. I hope you get a full growth back at the donor side and surely you can sort the hairline once it fully grows. Who knows you might actually start liking it.

[Looking for HT]

7 minutes ago, Nebulosity said:

Yea thanks. I’m going to wait 8 months, maybe longer. Besides, I don’t want the cost of the repair to interfere with my life too much. The most expensive option could run 40k usd including flights and hotel.

I’m planning to wear my hair longer for the next several months, to cover up the hairline and donor area. I’ve got a nice gf who doesn’t care about my hair, a job, goals in the gym, business goals, etc. I’m going to use this setback to focus on progressing in those areas, and come back to this hair transplant problem later. I’ll keep this thread updated with progress pics and info.

All the best mate. Dont think too much about it.

[Nebulosity]

Day 146 update: I cut my Bhatti donor area to a number 3, and it looks about the same as it has since about day 1. It’s still patchy, almost like the intention was to advertise that I got a hair transplant. I won’t cut it any shorter, because it’s just too obvious that way. From the left side, it almost appears like I have a linear scar from FUT, because of the dramatic arc of sparseness in contrast to the density above and below. That’s the area that I will have a better surgeon focus on for repair. Note: I cut the entire donor area, and the areas just above and below, to a uniform length.

 

Edited June 6, 2019 by Nebulosity

[AltonMeyer]

19 hours ago, Nebulosity said:

Day 146 update: I cut my Bhatti donor area to a number 3, and it looks about the same as it has since about day 1. It’s still patchy, almost like the intention was to advertise that I got a hair transplant. I won’t cut it any shorter, because it’s just too obvious that way. From the left side, it almost appears like I have a linear scar from FUT, because of the dramatic arc of sparseness in contrast to the density above and below. That’s the area that I will have a better surgeon focus on for repair. Note: I cut the entire donor area, and the areas just above and below, to a uniform length.

 

How's the growth coming along in the recipient area? 

[LonelyGraft]

On 5/22/2019 at 9:23 PM, Melvin-Moderator said:

I still stand by what I said. I don’t feel you’re a candidate at the moment especially considering you’re not even halfway through your current procedure. Truthfully, I don’t say this to be mean, but this anxious behavior that makes you want to do something impulsive is not conducive to a hair transplant procedure. 

Yes voice of reason, Ive had three hair transplants and I’ve suffered from donor area shock loss. In fact, I’ve posted several pictures of how my donor looked at 2 months vs 7 months. The fact is you are still healing. Donor shock loss and recipient shock loss can take several months to clear up.

If you want to make me out to be the bad guy because I’m not feeding in to your anxiousness and impulse that’s fine. I’m trying to help you. There’s nothing we can do at this point except wait, as hard as that is to hear it’s the truth.

As proof, I’m sharing a picture of what my donor looked like after my second procedure at two weeks and how it looked a year post-op from my third procedure. 

Will things improve only time will tell, but there’s nothing to do but wait. 

@Melvin-Moderator- I don’t mean to take away from this thread but what density is your hairline implanted at? Looks good

[Baldrick101]

This just looks like a case of shock loss to me...which can happen. If it still looks like this after 12 months then yes, you have a problem. 

How is the recipient area? 

[Nebulosity]

2 hours ago, Baldrick101 said:

This just looks like a case of shock loss to me...which can happen. If it still looks like this after 12 months then yes, you have a problem. 

How is the recipient area? 

I’m looking for some actual assessment. Yea I’m hoping it’s shock loss, but at this point from what I’ve been told by docs it’s kind of iffy as to how much will grow back. Facts and analysis are appreciated. I’ve read about shock loss. I’ve also seen that in cases where donor areas get destroyed, people are told on forums to just wait, that it will grow back, until it doesn’t. Also, a lot of people seem to suddenly show up who seem to spend a lot of time making those kinds of comments. So I’d appreciate it if you either brought some substance, or didn’t reiterate the “program” (wait 12 months assuming and not assessing, and then, and only then, start to worry).

The recipient area has been kept short until a few weeks ago. I’ll post pics soon.

[Melvin- Admin]

1 hour ago, Nebulosity said:

I’m looking for some actual assessment. Yea I’m hoping it’s shock loss, but at this point from what I’ve been told by docs it’s kind of iffy as to how much will grow back. Facts and analysis are appreciated. I’ve read about shock loss. I’ve also seen that in cases where donor areas get destroyed, people are told on forums to just wait, that it will grow back, until it doesn’t. Also, a lot of people seem to suddenly show up who seem to spend a lot of time making those kinds of comments. So I’d appreciate it if you either brought some substance, or didn’t reiterate the “program” (wait 12 months assuming and not assessing, and then, and only then, start to worry).

The recipient area has been kept short until a few weeks ago. I’ll post pics soon.

Are you looking for genuine responses or shopping for answers? We are all victim of confirmation bias, but it's important to understand the hair transplant process. Yes, you want answers now. That's understandable, but it takes 12 months to know for sure whether the results are good, mediocre or failed. It can take over 6 months for shock loss to subside.

Donor shock loss does occur and I provided you with my own example. My suggestion is to stop going on hair loss forums or obsessing over this for at least a few months. By the time you come back and start asking questions it will be a good time for answers.

Best wishes

[Nebulosity]

4 hours ago, Melvin-Moderator said:

Are you looking for genuine responses or shopping for answers? We are all victim of confirmation bias, but it's important to understand the hair transplant process. Yes, you want answers now. That's understandable, but it takes 12 months to know for sure whether the results are good, mediocre or failed. It can take over 6 months for shock loss to subside.

Donor shock loss does occur and I provided you with my own example. My suggestion is to stop going on hair loss forums or obsessing over this for at least a few months. By the time you come back and start asking questions it will be a good time for answers.

Best wishes

Why comment just to repeat the mantra of 12 months? It would in some sense be absolutely pointless to post progress images if we didn’t assess the progress.

I’m also here to review the results of the service that I purchased. I think it’s fair to assume that surgical technique affects donor area healing, including the duration. I offer my experience for everyone’s benefit.

Also, while you did provide your own example of donor shock loss, as far as I remember it didn’t last 5 months and wasn’t as obvious.

Edited June 7, 2019 by Nebulosity