Difference in opinion between doctors

[JJ1187]

About five years ago, I got my first transplant done by a doctor recommended on this site. Being a desperate 21 year old, I kind of rushed into surgery without doing my research and it definitely came back to bite me on the backside. I had 3300 grafts placed however for some reason only a third of the grafts grew. Of course the clinic offered a free touch up but I decided not to take them up on the offer. Before my first surgery I was told I had thin, fine hair which would require higher number of grafts to cover the area. I consulted a few other doctors since I was unhappy with the density and a couple of them felt as if the result looked natural and made it seem like the result was what I should have expected, which kind of put me off having a second procedure done. Fast forward to this year and I finally took a plunge with a clinic in Turkey back in Nov, which is also recommended on here. The difference between the two procedures was night and day and I am really happy with how things are proceeding thus far. The main reason why I waited so long was because the initial clinic I got the procedure done from claimed my hair type was unfavorable for surgery due to the nature of my hair being thin and fine as mentioned earlier. However before my second procedure in Turkey the doctor measured my hair and determined that I had good density with medium hair, instead of fine hair as the other clinic claimed. Since then I have kind of been thinking about why both doctors would have differing opinions on my hair type. The first doctor did not measure it, while the second doctor did which is why  I trust the second doctor more. Is it possible that hair characteristics change over time or am I right in assuming that the preop before the first surgery was done poorly

[LaserCap]

Ca you post photos? It would be interesting to see where you are at this point.

Through the years I've consulted with many patients in similar circumstances.  Rushing into surgery is not uncommon.  It seems, however, little to no education was provided initially. So my first question....To what do you attribute that only a third of the grafts grew?  Did you have any native hair to start with?  Were you doing any medical therapy at the time?  

The next thing I see - the clinic offering a touch up.  So, if you had 3300 grafts and only 1100 grew, I would say that's more than a touch up.  Were they admitted something did happen, was that only to appease you?  During that particular meeting - did you speak directly to the doctor or the consultant? (It makes a huge difference). How long after the initial procedure did this happen? Oh, where were the grafts placed?

When exactly did this procedure take place?  During the initial consultation, did they discuss a second procedure?  Do you know anything about the doctor and his experience?  Where did he learn to do this?  I ask because, not too long ago, it was believed a separation in between grafts was needed for survival.  Seems this is exactly what happened.

Opinions as to the caliber of the hair really have nothing to do with how apt the doctor is at his craft. 

[JJ1187]

29 minutes ago, LaserCap said:

Ca you post photos? It would be interesting to see where you are at this point.

Through the years I've consulted with many patients in similar circumstances.  Rushing into surgery is not uncommon.  It seems, however, little to no education was provided initially. So my first question....To what do you attribute that only a third of the grafts grew?  Did you have any native hair to start with?  Were you doing any medical therapy at the time?  

The next thing I see - the clinic offering a touch up.  So, if you had 3300 grafts and only 1100 grew, I would say that's more than a touch up.  Were they admitted something did happen, was that only to appease you?  During that particular meeting - did you speak directly to the doctor or the consultant? (It makes a huge difference). How long after the initial procedure did this happen? Oh, where were the grafts placed?

When exactly did this procedure take place?  During the initial consultation, did they discuss a second procedure?  Do you know anything about the doctor and his experience?  Where did he learn to do this?  I ask because, not too long ago, it was believed a separation in between grafts was needed for survival.  Seems this is exactly what happened.

Opinions as to the caliber of the hair really have nothing to do with how apt the doctor is at his craft. 

I will be posting pictures and a report of my experience within a couple of days.

When I booked the surgery I was told the waiting list was eight months but there was a cancellation at the last second so I was able to schedule surgery within three weeks of contacting the clinic. The day before I was supposed to meet the doctor, however he was busy with another patient and thus the consultation was scheduled for the next morning before the procedure. I was a NW 4 at the time and was only using rogaine. The doctor had to cover a large area although he did mention being able to get a density of 30-35 grafts which would have been decent. I knew a second procedure would be required although like I said the consultation was rushed and I was not really properly educated as to what I should expect. I was pretty much bald in that area so there was minimal native hair left. I emailed the clinic two years after the procedure and told them about my concerns although I was not sure how many hairs grew. Before my second procedure the doctor was able to use a camera and other things to measure density and mentioned that it was around 10-12 grafts per cm which is about a third of what the doctor told me was transplanted.

As far as the doctors experience, he is recommended on here and has done great work, but I honestly don't know what went wrong. I followed the postop instructions and the clinic did all my washings until 10 days after the procedure when the scabs fell off. At the same time on the day I had my procedure done, I met someone who was having his transplant repaired since the first one failed and I have kept in touch with him and seen his posts on here. His second procedure also failed, which led me to believe it was the fault of the clinic since it is highly unlikely two procedures done on the same day would fail.

I would assume not but I just found it strange how one doctor thinks the hair is thin and fine, hence requiring almost 6k grafts to fill in the hairline and midscalp whereas the second dr said i had medium hair which would allow me to get the job done with less grafts and also cover the crown with lower density.