39 yr male starting HT quest - request feedback

[givemehair2019]

Hi All,

Thanks for the opportunity to post here. I am a 39 yr old male. started losing hair since I was around 30 and had pretty much reached the stage indicated in the pictures by around 35. I intermittently used Rogaine (not very regular) so could not really gauge if it would have helped me or not but wanted to indicate that I did use it. At this stage, I am pretty much looking at Hair transplant as the key option to move forward.

I am based in the US but wanted to explore hair transplant options in India. i would appreciate any tips to a beginner like me and apologize if I am asking any redundant questions.

I did some basic research and am reading up on the various techniques that are used in this domain ... FUT, FUE, FUSE etc. Will go through the forum as well

I established initial contact with the HT docs in India (mainly going by the docs on the IAHRS list - all of whom seem very well regarded on this forum as well). Below is a summary of what I have received and would appreciate feedback from the senior members here. 

1) Norwood 6/7

2) Would require 2 sessions.

3) For 1st sessions focus on frontal scalp and hairline - all indicated similar number of 3500-4000 grafts (mix of scalp/donor and beard)

4) For 2nd session - feedback was varied. 1 clinic indicated meds (finasteride 1 mg daily) would suffice or go for 2nd session of 2000 grafts. Rest of feedback varied from anywhere from 2500-4000 grafts in second session. Am not sure how to evaluate this feedback.

5) based on some posts I have read here, the density/placement of the transplant is also important...am still getting familiar with the technicality of this aspect.

6) Is FUSE another new technique other than FUE? Any guidance on what this entails?

7) In general does the transplant technique really depend on the candidate or is there a common currently recommended technique in the HT world?

😎 I am scheduling online/video appts with the clinics and would appreciate some guidance on what type of questions to ask? Honestly am a little overwhelmed by the information on this form and online and cannot make out what information online is paid-advertisement and what is genuine recommendation. Would truly appreciate any feedback you can provide.

9) Any feedback or recos in general for Medlinks/Dr.Gaurang Krishna, Eugenix (Dr bansal/Dr Sethi), Dr Poswal, Darling Buds/Dr.Tej Bhatti, Medispa (Dr Suneet Soni)

Thanks so much for this forum!

Edited December 30, 2019 by givemehair2019

[watterot]

Any specific reason for the India option? Price?

In India I believe the most popular options are Eugenix and Dr. Bhatti. Both are FUE. Eugenix seems to be having great results with large / mega sessions like you would need. Why not consult with both and decide?

[givemehair2019]

1 hour ago, watterot said:

Any specific reason for the India option? Price?

In India I believe the most popular options are Eugenix and Dr. Bhatti. Both are FUE. Eugenix seems to be having great results with large / mega sessions like you would need. Why not consult with both and decide?

Thank you for the response.

Reason for india...actually will be visiting there for work so thought I could schedule the surgery during that trip. And other reason is I am from there originally :).

"Mega" session sounds intimidating :). I guess it is what it is. I am consulting with both the doctors this week. 

- Does the number of grafts needed overall seem in the range for my type of situation?

- Are there any candidate specific questions that would be good to clarify (seems FUE is a commonly used technique now and nothing to question about it really).

- I heard about a "shave" and "not shave' option. Does it mean shaving the entirely of the donor and recipient areas without transplant? And non-shave does not shave the donor area? Any specific pros or cons of either that need to be pondered over?

Thanks again for the patience in answering my novice questions.

[watterot]

2 hours ago, givemehair2019 said:

Thank you for the response.

Reason for india...actually will be visiting there for work so thought I could schedule the surgery during that trip. And other reason is I am from there originally :).

"Mega" session sounds intimidating :). I guess it is what it is. I am consulting with both the doctors this week. 

- Does the number of grafts needed overall seem in the range for my type of situation?

- Are there any candidate specific questions that would be good to clarify (seems FUE is a commonly used technique now and nothing to question about it really).

- I heard about a "shave" and "not shave' option. Does it mean shaving the entirely of the donor and recipient areas without transplant? And non-shave does not shave the donor area? Any specific pros or cons of either that need to be pondered over?

Thanks again for the patience in answering my novice questions.

 

A qualified doctors would be able to comment on the number of grafts needed. I recently had by procedure with Dr. Bhatti (3500 grafts). I had a consultation with Eugenix as well. They had quoted 4000 grafts. Both are profession and great options in India.

There are no specific FUE questions I can think of. You could check on the punch size and the resulting scars (dots). But other than that I would focus on the hair-line design, density, future donor harvestibility etc. Nothing different from what you would ask in a FUT procedure. 

A no-shave option would not be feasible in your case. Based on the discussions I've had with doctors it is only feasible in cases where the graft requirement is low. Since you're looking the maximize the number of grafts I would go for the regular option. Look at some of the examples on this site. Most FUEs are shave options.

 

Cheers,

[1978matt]

You have quite poor donor and I would recommend FUT rather than FUE.  At best you can expect to get a bit of a thin comb over result in the front half of your head, that's the reality I'm afraid.

If that represents a meaningful change to you then go for it.  Dr Soni and Dr P probably the best of those mentioned.

[givemehair2019]

Thanks for your feedback 1978matt. Out of curiosity, could you share how you determined the donor area is poor? is it based on density you see in the pictures? And how does FUT help more than FUE in case of low donor density>

[1978matt]

23 hours ago, givemehair2019 said:

Thanks for your feedback 1978matt. Out of curiosity, could you share how you determined the donor area is poor? is it based on density you see in the pictures? And how does FUT help more than FUE in case of low donor density>

FUE requires a large area.  Your donor is narrow and thin as quite a lot of scalp is visible, especially near the ears.

FUT will access the best quality hair from the centre of the donor whereas that above and below it may not be 'safe'.

[skallig]

@givemehair2019 your donor area looks thinner, and the scalp is visible, which unfortunately means a FUT procedure, even with a trichophytic closure, may still reveal the strip scar on your scalp. Have you tried any medications for hairloss like Finasteride, Dutasteride or Minoxidil? I am on Finasteride for 2-3 months now, and I started feeling my hair as dense and thicker. I'm trying Finasteride ✌️ to check if it works on me without giving sides. 

For your case I would highly recommend visiting a clinic first to get it examined by the doctors. Perhaps you can me on medications for sometime, and see the progress in an year time and get your transplant once you have slightly more denser hair.