FUT Scheduled with Dr. William Lindsey, Virginia, July 8, 2020

[elicochin]

Hi everyone,

Long time lurker here. I have a procedure scheduled with Dr. Lindsey in Virginia on July 8, so I'm about two and half weeks out from the surgery. I intend on documenting it as much and as well as I can. This forum has been a great source of information for me and I want to pass along the help by trying to document whatever I can about the experience, my progress and results. I will try to post pictures at the major milestones, i.e., before (Link), after surgery, 1st & 2nd weeks, 1st month, and then monthly beyond that.

I'm 53 years old, although my hair loss began around 25 and I think I'm now a NW6+. I believe that my hair loss/balding has been stable for more than 6 years or so. I've never taken any hair loss medication of any kind ever and not planning to take any in the future as well. I have been trimming my hair to zero for more than 8 years or so.

Throughout my research, I was leaning towards FUE method and consulted multiple FUE surgeons. However, during the last few months, it became clear to me that an FUT as the first surgery would give me better options in the future; I could choose to have another FUT or FUE as a second surgery if I wanted.

I had reached out to Hasson and Wong in Canada, Dr. Bloxham in NY and Dr Lindsey in Virginia since they are all highly recommended on this forum. I met with Dr. Lindsey in person about two weeks ago and was impressed by his straightforward approach and the facility. His clinic is very close to where I live and another consideration during the time of a pandemic.

Details of Consultation/Recommendation by Dr. Lindsey

• Norwood scale: VI+
• Hair type: Fine/Thin
• Suggested/Estimated number of Grafts: 2500 - 2700  
• Target Recipient area: Conservative Hairline with coverage on mid-scalp (I originally wanted the temples restored, but Dr. Lindsey is not offering that option to me)
• Supplemental: PRFM (Platelet-Rich Fibrin Matrix)

I may need at least one additional procedure for coverage towards the back and the crown. I hope is to come out of this with good results and emerge from the quarantine with something achieved.

Regardless, I just wanted to put my long-awaited procedure and experience on interested parties' radar in case they're interested in following along as a source of info and also to get any feedback from the forum members to get the most out of the procedure.

Thank you.

Edited June 21, 2020 by elicochin

[Melvin- Admin]

Dr. Lindsey is great, look forward to your post 👍🏼

[elicochin]

Just wanted to share my frustration here. While I am excited about the upcoming surgery, one thing keep turning me off is Dr. Lindsey's communication style. He is very very short (few words) with his responses and hesitant to get into the details. Is this normal? Most of the time his response is 'will do our best'.

Honestly, I started freaking out since I paid the advance and scheduled the surgery. This surgery is a big deal for me and years in the making. Am I asking too much and being too sensitive here? I would appreciate your comments.

Regards,

Edited June 23, 2020 by elicochin

[Sam818]

You’ve met the doctor in person which was a great thing and came away feeling good. Now your having some doubts which is totally normal. I never had a procedure with Dr. Lindsay but one thing I always liked about his videos is he seem like a “no BS” kind of doctor. And his responses to you are very much along the same “no bs” attitude in saying he will do his best. That’s the only thing an ethical doctor will guarantee you is that they will do their best. I agree though he could do a better job of providing a more detailed answer to you. At least you have direct contact with him and not a consultant. 
      The best advice I can give you since you live in the area is maybe try to see if you can speak and possible meet up with a couple of his patients in person if possible to ask them about their experience and see the results. If that doesn’t put your mind at ease then you shouldn’t go thru with it and consult with more doctors. Good luck with everything!

Edited June 22, 2020 by Sam818

[elicochin]

Thank you @Sam818 for your assuring words and @transplantedphil for sharing your post, quite informative and thought provoking.

[HairLostYears]

Suck it up, buttercup!!

Haha, I felt similar when communicating with him a few years back.  His responses came quickly, but seemed a bit curt.  He's just a no-frills guy...nothing more to it, imo.

I'll be following, godspeed.


 

[jmghair]

On 6/22/2020 at 3:24 PM, Sam818 said:

You’ve met the doctor in person which was a great thing and came away feeling good. Now your having some doubts which is totally normal. I never had a procedure with Dr. Lindsay but one thing I always liked about his videos is he seem like a “no BS” kind of doctor. And his responses to you are very much along the same “no bs” attitude in saying he will do his best. That’s the only thing an ethical doctor will guarantee you is that they will do their best. I agree though he could do a better job of providing a more detailed answer to you. At least you have direct contact with him and not a consultant. 
      The best advice I can give you since you live in the area is maybe try to see if you can speak and possible meet up with a couple of his patients in person if possible to ask them about their experience and see the results. If that doesn’t put your mind at ease then you shouldn’t go thru with it and consult with more doctors. Good luck with everything!

That it was you want with a doctor. Not overpromising goes hand and hand with informed consent. Better to be honest and not make any guarantees and give the patient the facts than to overpromise so the patient has a false expectation.

Edited June 26, 2020 by jmghair

[whattheFUE]

What made you go with FUT over FUE? Did Dr. Lindsey tell you how much he does of each?

[elicochin]

I did it!!! Over 10 years in the making!!! I had my FUT surgery as planned. Overall the surgery went well and lasted about 7 hours. I was really nervous and anxious during the last couple of days leading up to the day of the surgery and reached it's peak when I actually walked into the clinic. I never had a surgery or anything closer to it ever so I was unsure of what to expect and how to cope with it! Dr. Lindsey and team made the whole process as comfortable as they could. I was also counting on the Valium pills to calm my nerves

Started around 7 am with discussion about the hairline, coverage, density etc. As I mentioned at the begging of this thread, I consider this surgery as a foundation and I would certainly need one more for my crown and some possible hairline refinement down the road. 

Strip extraction process was not as painful as I thought it would be, but you still feel it, more like a root-canal procedure. You know they are doing stuff to you LOL. The recipient area mainly consist of Hairline,frontal and mid-scalp. My balding pattern has been uneven so there were existing patches on both sides of scalp which we decided to work around and in some areas we added density to the existing patches of hair. Dr Lindsey warned me that I may lose these patches in the future, but I couldn't just abandon my existing loyal hairs for now. 

Original estimates were between 2500 and 2700 grafts, but I was very happy when Lindsey told me that the donor was better than expected and they were able to get 2999 grafts. I don't have the exact breakdown, but I was told about 2000 grafts were 2s, about 700 1s and the rest were 3s. Here are some Pre-op and immediate post-op pictures; donor area sutures are not quite visible due to the Vaseline-sticky hair, will try to get a better picture later on. I will post regular updates as much as possible.

 

Edited July 10, 2020 by elicochin

[elicochin]

On 7/9/2020 at 1:18 AM, whattheFUE said:

What made you go with FUT over FUE? Did Dr. Lindsey tell you how much he does of each?

Great question. In fact, I have been leaning towards FUE all these years and was decided to go with FUT only 4 months ago. I concluded that an FUT is a better choice for higher Norwood case like me where the supply is limited. Yield from a strip is generally higher to achieve decent coverage. In addition, FUT as a first surgery leaves major donor area (minus the strip that's removed) untouched leaving you with option to do another FUT or FUE down the road. Of course this is my view and I know many members here have done multiple FUEs and achieved great results. While I know Dr. Lindsey performs both FUT and FUE, I do not know how many he does of each.

Edited July 10, 2020 by elicochin

[InterventionalPDoc]

Congrats on your procedure, happy growing! 

Keep the forum updated, I'm interested to see the density you are able to achieve when everything grows in. Have to say that Dr Lindsey implantation pattern/spacing is peculiar.

Good luck ! 

[HairFunk]

Interesting case. A very large area to cover! Let's see how this pans out. Second strip and FUE to finish off will seal the deal I think. 

[elicochin]

Will be 6 weeks on Aug 19. So far so good, everything went as per what was expected. I think most of the transplanted hair shed except for the patches that existed before. I was thrilled to hear that my son had difficulty finding my scar while taking pictures . I guess the long wait starts.

Cheers

 

[pkipling]

1 hour ago, elicochin said:

Will be 6 weeks on Aug 19. So far so good, everything went as per what was expected. I think most of the transplanted hair shed except for the patches that existed before. I was thrilled to hear that my son had difficulty finding my scar while taking pictures . I guess the long wait starts.

Cheers

 

Yep, the long wait begins! Honestly, the ugly duckling phase is often the most frustrating part - but at least you're experiencing it during some sort of shutdown/limited social activities, I suppose.

And for what it's worth - I don't think you were being overly sensitive in regards to not being happy with the communication method. I can't speak to your experience with Dr. Lindsey directly, but I will say that I experienced a lot of the anxiety/second-guessing/cold feet/etc. leading up to my HT with Dr. Mohebi, and the amount of patience he and his staff had to reassure me along the way was one of the main reasons I followed through. It's also why I truly believe there's no "one surgeon" that's right for everyone, as we all need different things from our doctors. Some people may respond well to surgeons being short, direct, and to the point - and some of us need surgeons who have a bit more finesse with their bedside manner. 

Happy you stuck it out though! Looking forward to seeing how this progresses for you. Happy growing!

[elicochin]

I wanted to give you an update since my 2-month mark coming up tomorrow. So far so good based on what I can see and what I feel. I trimmed down my hair to a #2 to get a better view of my donor scar. I know that the next few months are cultural (and slow) and I am anxious as much as I am optimistic! Any suggestions and feedback would be greatly appreciated. Stay safe.

[Britanium]

Looking good at this stage. Your donor looks strong if your thinking of more transplants in future.

[elicochin]

I am certainly planning for a second one (possibly an FUE) as soon as I am settled with the first one.

[Britanium]

I had x2 FUT before moving on to FUE. Did Dr Lindsay say if you could have another FUT if required? 

[elicochin]

Yes he did. He thinks he can easily get another 2000 - 2500 grafts. In fact that's his typical two-step approach he recommends to most of his clients. I am considering an FUE because I think I will be able to mix another 2000 scalp grafts with 2000 beard hair. Of course It all depends on how my current surgery results turnout.

[Britanium]

Your in good hands with him for sure. Great knowing you have lots of options open for future Hts. It’s all about planning and it seems you have this well thought out. 

[Allen Jones]

I am in Richmond and trying to find right Doctor. It is almost 9 months for you...how are you doing?

 

[Melvin- Admin]

Any updates?

[dmv]

Any updates on this? I’m considering this dr but would like to see results before committing 

[SLA]

13 hours ago, dmv said:

Any updates on this? I’m considering this dr but would like to see results before committing 

Here is the thread in which the OP posts about his results so far. 

 

 

[elicochin]

Hi @Melvin-Moderator, I have not had any further communication yet. I feel that my best shot of getting a satisfactory HT was in July 2020 when I was actually sitting on that chair. Everything else would be just fixing and I am not sure if I am comfortable to go through that with the same surgeon. It seems he has done his best and it's not enough! 

Edited May 21, 2021 by elicochin