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Upcoming surgery - having worrying thoughts.


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  • Senior Member

Hey all,

I have a surgery in a few months, but now that's it approaching, I'm starting to worry about, well everything haha.

My surgery is with Dr. Konior, so I am extremely lucky, and have ZERO worry about him as a surgeon. I'm over the moon to have been able to book in with him.

I'm more-so worried about me.

I'm 29, and am about a NW3. I've been on finasteride and minoxidil for about 3 years, and it has slowed my loss, considerably, but it's still happening slowly. 

I also have veeeery extreme balding on my dad's side. I.e. dad is a NW 7, and my older brother is a NW 5/6 in his late 30's. (Mother's side has kept their hair). 

I'm worried, as I'm clearly predisposed to balding, and even though I'm on meds, I'm slowly losing still my hair - but I'm committing to a transplant.

Dr. K didn't express any real concerns, but out consultation was only via photos as I am in Australia (there are no reputable surgeons around to even have a consult here). 

Has anyone grappled with similar worries? I.e. will it all be for nothing? 

Sorry for the ramble, a bit on my mind at the minute 😄

 

 

Edited by bonkling
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  • Senior Member

First of all, congratulations for being smart and doing your research and being willing to travel to have your surgery by one of the elite surgeons in the USA. The fact is once you get a hair transplant especially at your age you need to be prepared for the strong possibility that you’ll more than likely want to get another one in the future as your hair loss continues to progress. You are on meds though which is a good thing it will stabilize and slow down your hair loss. Dr. K is an ethical doctor who will no doubt consider all this and judiciously plan your procedure. I wouldn’t worry if I were you but like I said hair loss is progressive and you need to be mentally prepared that you might want another procedure down the line. I would even go so far as to say you need to be prepared for the possibility that the procedure might not be as successful as you’d hoped and you may want to have another procedure to correct it....but the odds of that with the doctor you’ve chosen are extremely low.

Edited by Sam818
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  • Senior Member

My dad is a NW5 and I had the pattern for NW5 and I don't take meds and I still had an FUT but conservative hairline to preserve grafts. Maybe take photos of your dad and brother (front, sides, back, top) with you so he can picture how your pattern may evolve and plan accordingly.

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  • Senior Member

How do you know you're losing hair?  Do you see it on the sink, tub, pillow?

Stay on the meds. Maybe add a laser and ask the doctor to add PRP at the time of the procedure.  This can help reverse miniaturization and can bring in the grafts sooner.  The modalities we refer to when dealing with this debilitating condition work if different ways and there tends to be synergism when used simultaneously.

 

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  • Senior Member
16 hours ago, bonkling said:

Hey all,

I have a surgery in a few months, but now that's it approaching, I'm starting to worry about, well everything haha.

My surgery is with Dr. Konior, so I am extremely lucky, and have ZERO worry about him as a surgeon. I'm over the moon to have been able to book in with him.

I'm more-so worried about me.

I'm 29, and am about a NW3. I've been on finasteride and minoxidil for about 3 years, and it has slowed my loss, considerably, but it's still happening slowly. 

I also have veeeery extreme balding on my dad's side. I.e. dad is a NW 7, and my older brother is a NW 5/6 in his late 30's. (Mother's side has kept their hair). 

I'm worried, as I'm clearly predisposed to balding, and even though I'm on meds, I'm slowly losing still my hair - but I'm committing to a transplant.

Dr. K didn't express any real concerns, but out consultation was only via photos as I am in Australia (there are no reputable surgeons around to even have a consult here). 

Has anyone grappled with similar worries? I.e. will it all be for nothing? 

Sorry for the ramble, a bit on my mind at the minute 😄

 

 

I met a poster off here in person some years ago who had been on fin since 1996.  He was a NW4 (pre 2 x transplant) and his brother and Dad were full NW6 (aggressive balding) by the time they were 30.  I guess he was about 25 when he started taking it.  If I had to estimate I guess Fin slowed things down by 80%, so instead of NW6 by 30 he would end up there nearer 65-70.

You will probably need a second HT at some point, maybe 10 years after, then maybe another 10 years after that.  By that time you will have probably covered 2/3 to 3/4 of the top of your head.  Being 50 with a bald crown is no big deal, you may also have grey hair by then and really look quite normal.

If really bothered maybe you could consider adding DUT into the mix if there is a Doctor willing.  I think that guy in Melbourne (Knudsen) may be worth a try.

I've no doubt Dr K will inspect your hair - he had a good root in mine on every visit to see where things may progress - and will pick an appropriate hairline, reserving enough donor to keep up with future loss.

4,312 FUT grafts (7,676 hairs) with Ray Konior, MD - August 2013

1,145 FUE grafts (3,152 hairs) with Ray Konior, MD - August 2018

763 FUE grafts (2,094 hairs) with Ray Konior, MD - January 2020

Proscar 1.25mg every 3rd day

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