Bad hair transplant photos?

[HT09]

There are quite a few people on these boards who say that they totally regret getting an HT and that it was a horrible decision, ruined their life, would give anything to be able to just shave their head, etc, etc.

 

However, I have not been able to find any photos posted by those who have recieved an HT and now regret it.

 

Can someone who has recieved a "modern" day HT, but recieved poor results and now regrets it please post photos of their HT?

 

The only photos I see on here of bad transplants are those that were performed years ago using outdated methods (plugs, micro-graft).

 

I'm just curious, how could my hair look any WORSE after going to a doctor like H&W, Feller, etc? Please see my other post "Good HT candidate?" for photos of my hairline.

[Forrest Gump]

HT09, I have seen quite a few posts on this forum with pictures of HT results that look quite bad. I don't remember all the names, but I think balboa, chenzhenzhou (sic), and others have recently posted pictures of HT that looked horrible.

 

Mind you, there is a big difference between someone at the 2-month mark FEELING he got bad quality work vs. who genuinely looks worse off at the 12-month mark. I am referring to the latter category.

 

If you search around on this forum, you'll see some of those pictures. However, the overwhelming majority of patients on this forum seem happy with their results. In fact, for some doctors (such as Shapiro), I do not recall seeing any unhappy patient posts at all.

[HT09]

Yes, I am also only talking about those whose HT results have been fully realized, after the 12 month mark. I have seen some photos that people have posted showing results that they feel are poor, but I have yet to see any photos posted by those that say things like "I only wish I had the luxury of shaving my head now", or "what I would give to have not gotten an HT" etc...

 

I plan on having my HT performed by who I consider to be the best in the biz, so I feel pretty comfortable, but I would like to know more about those people who have experienced HT horror stories from a MODERN HT, from a reputable surgeon.

[rainmanrock]

HT09 Check my results and tell me what you think.

[HT09]

Rainmanrock:

 

Thanks for pointing me to your pictures. I would agree that your results could have been better, however, I do not think that you look WORSE than before the HT. Despite the poor result, I still think you look better than pre-HT. Although the re-growth looks minimal, I still see a difference between your before and after photos. It almost looks like your surgeon took those 3K grafts and just planted them throughout your entire scalp, instead of concentrating any of them in one area (i.e., hairline and midscalp, or crown).

 

With that in mind, your results do give me more comfort in going forward with an HT. This is due to the fact that your "Bad HT" is simply the result of poor results, not a butcher job like you see with those who got the "plugs" in the 80's, hair flap procedures, etc.

 

If all I have to lose is poor regrowth and losing money, but the potential to hopefully have good results by going to a reputable surgeon exists, I will gladly take that chance!

 

After all, your pictures, in my opinion, demonstrate that with modern HT's you will not necessarily look WORSE if you have poor results. You may instead just be pissed off that you spent the money. But hey, Im pissed off that Im going bald already!

[Balboa]

HT09

 

im sure if you do your research properly unlike me and a few others you will be fine. the best of the best IMO are Hasson & Wong / Dr. Feller / The Shapiro Clinic.

 

Dont let cost come into making up your mind. and also make sure you consult with as many clinics as possible and see who you think you feel is the best option for you.

 

Never rush into anything and stay away from any clinic that sudenly says '' we have a cancelation date and the cost will be reduced if you pay your deposit within ...... of time etc. ect. ''

 

if you stick to those rules you should be ok but all in all nothing is gauranteed. However the good docs will look after you in the rare occasion that all doesnt turn out as expected.

 

IMO stay away from the Armani clinic. i think my results tell you why. this is just my opinion as stated and you have to make your own mind up.

 

Advice, advice and more advice never hurt anyone

 

Best of luck in the path you choose.

[EpilepticSceptic]

I've been following these boards closely as well (this one, HLH, Hairsite, etc.) and I have seen the threads from some of the posters you are talking about. I also found it strange that they did not post their photos yet went on endless tirades warning people not to get a modern HT. But if you spent enough time (like I did) reading between the lines of all the endless ranting they did, the one distinguishing trait they all had in common was that they were all guys in their 20s whose loss had progressed much further post-HT. They had a few good years of having the hair they wanted, only to discover that as time progressed they would have to face the issue of going for a second HT if they wanted to look natural. So they blamed the entire HT industry for allowing them to get a HT in the first place, which is a joke!! They were probably also bitter that they were heading to NW6 territory and finally realizing that they probably were not even good HT cantidates to begin with; but again, this was surely the doc's fault in their minds because he didn't have a crystal ball to see what was coming.

 

One guy actually did post a pic of his donor scar which was exceptional and one that most would pray to get! Yet, he was still extremely bitter about the whole experience and claimed that he was sold a bill of goods. Suspiciously, he also waited over 10 years to come to terms with how bad he felt about it -- another JOKE!! He only started feeling bad about it IMO when he realized he'd be heading to NW6 and had poor donor characteristics to begin with.

 

It was, however, thoroughly informing and educational to hear from the horses mouth all the reasons why these patients felt their modern HTs were the most horrible mistakes of their life. What I learned from them mostly is that if you are 30 or younger and think you may head to NW6 then you should NOT consider a HT until you see where you will end up. I'm 40 and still a solid NW3V, so all of their incessant ranting about the pitfalls are meaningless to me. But it was like pulling teeth to get the SPECIFICS out of them about their individual cases.

 

I also felt some of these guys were complete hypocrites to claim that they wish they had accepted themselves and went bald naturally. trust me, if HM came out tomorrow and they could afford it they would be the FIRST in line!!

[HT09]

You touched on another issue I have some confusion over. I have read many times in these boards that if you are heading towards a NW6 that you should not even bother getting an HT. I am 30 and obviously heading towards an NW6.

 

So is it the fact that I will most likely need more than one procedure that makes people say NW6's should not get HT's?

 

Or is that a NW6 will not be able to get decent results at all?

 

What's the deal with this?

[Bill - Seemiller]

I disagree that those heading towards a level Norwood 6 shouldn't consider a hair transplant. While the characteristics of each patient vary, many (including me) in the advanced stages of baldness have had a very successful hair restoration experience.

 

Keep in mind that I'm not suggesting a careless use of grafts. Ultimately, a physician must strategically plan with their patient how to make the best use of the available donor supply to meet the patient's short and long term hair restoration goals. These plans should be discussed in detail prior to even the first procedure and a certain degree of flexibility and adaptability may need to take place depending on how the patient's hair loss progresses as time goes on.

 

For examples of hair transplant photos on class 6 patients, click here. You can also view my patient website below since I've successfully restored my hair from a class 5A/6.

 

Best wishes,

 

Bill

[EpilepticSceptic]

Well, you said in a post on your other thread that a doc examined your head and said you have a good donor area, but also said you have straight and thin hair. That sort of sounds like a contradiction to me, so was this a respected HT doc ?

 

Keep in mind that an excellent donor area means several crucial things:

 

1) above average FU density per sq. cm. (mine is 90) What is yours ? Did the doc use a densometer machine to determine this ?

 

2) medium to coarse hair shaft caliber. Medium is 70 microns. Coarse is 80 or higher I believe. So, if your hair shaft diameter is considered thin then it could be as low as 40 microns which means that somebody with coarse donor hair will need 1/2 as many grafts as you to get the same result.

 

3) hair texture is also a BIG factor. Mine is considered "slightly wavy". If yours is totally straight then it will require more grafts than someone with wavy hair to get the illusion of density.

 

4) contrast of hair color to scalp/skin color. Mine is auburn/brown to tan scalp, pretty decent. Yours looks to be really good. The worst is jet black straight hair on pale white skin (think of the average asian male).

 

5) scalp laxity. How loose is your scalp ? If it's really tight then they might only be able to get as little as 5000 FU grafts total before you're all stripped out.

 

 

 

It seems to me based on your description that you have several things working against you, but that does not mean you are not a good HT cantidate. I would say that if you do not know already all of the specifics I mentioned above then you should by all means get on a plane and visit a top doc and have him/her look at your head and give you a detailed assesment. Thin, straight donor hair needing to cover a NW6 head is not an easy thing to do.

 

One of the things that really bothers me about this site (and others) is that hardly anyone ever gives you all the specific details when you see a great result posted on someone who went from NW 5/6 to a NW 2 with 7000/8000 grafts. What was that person's hair caliber (microns), scalp laxity, and donor density ? I think it should be REQUIRED for this information to be presented along with the photos of the results !! For example, what was Bobman's hair shaft diameter and donor density ??? That guy went from advanced NW 6 to having ALOT more hair than me with 8000 grafts!! I WANT TO KNOW THE SPECIFICS of cases like this, but it's like pulling teeth to get them -- and it shouldn't have to be that way !!!

[MikeTheDane]

Originally posted by labrat69:

Well, you said in a post on your other thread that a doc examined your head and said you have a good donor area, but also said you have straight and thin hair. That sort of sounds like a contradiction to me, so was this a respected HT doc ?

 

 

That's two different things. What the doctor is referring to is that the donor area has a lot of grafts per square inch, and that it is mostly dominated by 3's and 4's grafts rather than 1 and 2's.

 

Thin simply refers to the diameter of the hair shaft.

 

The absolute best donor areas is hair same color of your scalp, with many grafts/cubic cm, curly and thick.

 

The opposite is the worst.

 

Many people fall in categories in between, so while you may have curly thick hair, donor area density is poor, the hair is black and you're caucasian that's a drawback.

[MikeTheDane]

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[arnolder]

look at my blog to see the results. I am just not happy with the results so far...

[saifudheen]

dear arnold ure result is very good.i dont know why ure telling ure result is very bad,1st of all dr asked u to stop smoking atleast 6 month.why u did not obey that.in ur previous mail u had mentioned that after 10 days u started smoking,in my veiw ure result is very good.

[HT09]

Originally posted by labrat69:

Well, you said in a post on your other thread that a doc examined your head and said you have a good donor area, but also said you have straight and thin hair. That sort of sounds like a contradiction to me, so was this a respected HT doc ?

 

Yes, this was a doc that is a member of the coalition who just did a basic visual inspection, but I have also sent pictures to other top docs on here that have also said I would be a good candidate for an HT.

 

However, I have not had any of the in-depth microscopic hair analysis that you talk about.

[HT09]

Originally posted by arnolder:

look at my blog to see the results. I am just not happy with the results so far...

 

I think your hair actually looks better than before. You may have not gotten the desired results in terms of density, but your hair actually looks pretty good, and you definitely do not look worse, or like you had a "bad hair transplant". In addition, you only had 1800 grafts. To be honest with you, your density looks like about what I would expect from 1800 grafts.

 

I plan on having 4500-5500 grafts transplanted to my hairline and frontal third. If I had the same results you did with 4500+ grafts, then yes, I would be disappointed. However, your hair look like what I would expect to see from 1800.

[saifudheen]

dears

also got the ht from dr mahadevia.pls see my 3 month pic and advice.again how many graft i need to get cover little back and little front.dear Bill i need ur help here

[2ndTimesTheCharm]

This is just one of the pictures you can view on my blog. This is what a bad hair transplant looks like. I went to Dr. Rashid Rashid of Houston for an fue procedure. As you can see the density is nowhere near enough to even obscure the scalp and does not blend with my existing hair at all. Dr. Rashid placed multiple unit grafts in the front (I have been told be every hair transplant surgeon I have seen since is a huge "No no" in hair restoration) which gives the grafts a pluggy look. Do your research and NEVER go to a doctor unless they have good results posted publicly (and a lot of them). Even if they say all the right things in your patient interview, nothing can substitute for experience.

[2ndTimesTheCharm]

I have received a poor hair transplant from Dr. Rashid Rashid in Houston. Go to my blog if you want to see what it looks like