FUE Experience w/Dr. Diep MHTA Clinic

[WS2020]

4 minutes ago, anotherhairlosssufferer said:

@WS2020 - good luck, I hope you post your results here! When did you schedule the surgery, mine was scheduled 11 months out FUE or FUT/how many grafts/what norwood scale are you?

Thanks. I will report back. 

Since I am local (my office is couple miles from his office,) I am able to squeeze in with a last minute cancellation. I am a 4 Norwood and schedule to do a 2k FUE. 

[jimcraig152]

50 minutes ago, WS2020 said:

I don't understand why there is so much hatred toward Dr. Diep here. I really think Jim's result looks really good. I am getting my HT with Diep this week. Will report back with my experience. Diving in!

Please take meticulous hi-res photos of your donor the minute the bandage comes off. Should be on the Day 1 (surgery day is Day 0). Page me when you create your thread. This is harder to do than you think. Here is some instruction on how it is done. Thanks and good luck!

[asterix0]

26 minutes ago, jimcraig152 said:

Please take meticulous hi-res photos of your donor the minute the bandage comes off. Should be on the Day 1 (surgery day is Day 0). Page me when you create your thread. This is harder to do than you think. Here is some instruction on how it is done. Thanks and good luck!

Don't clinics usually take these high res photos anyway? I would think if you request them, the Doctor should be willing to provide them to him. 

[jimcraig152]

3 hours ago, anotherhairlosssufferer said:

@jimcraig152 - your donor looks pretty ok now don't you think? Plus I don't really see the corn rows any more - never saw them in your case actually to be honest. The density could be better but it's been only 4 months, you're too early, and the density is something we all agree Diep does a good job on.

I tend to take these photos in the best possible setting. Always, they are taken after a shower, after I've applied Rogaine foam, then soon after everything is dry or near dry. This done in a bathroom in the house where I can close the doors so sunlight doesn't make for inconsistent photos. When I look at myself in my other bathroom, the story is different than what you see in the photos.

Here is my donor 4 days after the surgery where I can illustrate the problems with my donor:

1. Encircled in red is my vertex where I had some thinning already
2. Encircled in yellow is where extractions went really high right next to the vertex and I feel too many punches were taken from too small of an area there
3. Encircled in purple is an area where donors were heavily harvested from too small of an area

So now is how these things look in a different light (from my master bathroom):

Extractions near vertex. Also notice the surrounding donor. Virgin areas are at the absolute bottom of the photo for you to compare. Also those virgin areas are the thinnest part of anyone's scalp naturally.

The band of overharvesting towards the bottom of the donor. Also, notice the state of the surrounding donor.

As for the corn rows, he is a photo closer to what I see in the mirror everyday. I do know it is early. This should fill in at the end of this. But compare those rows to the surrounding natural hair.

As for the density thing, I know things are early. But even with Diep patients that have come to full term and have good density, I believe there is a high toll paid for that density. My procedure was for 2332 FUE grafts. Go take a look around this forum at donor areas for 2000-2500 graft procedures s and see if the math adds up for you.

Edited November 8, 2020 by jimcraig152

[jjsrader]

All you OCD-anal types earning big $$'s considering Diep - can you obviously not see that you are paying premium prices for mid-level results?  Stop rationalizing 'cause you either live close or his results aren't that bad.

Just pick from at least 5-10 other very outstanding very experienced surgeons in N. America who are way more meticulous & typically only do one patient per day & have outstanding staff & follow up & bedside manner.

It is clear at this point - learn from those that are just as anal/OCD that have paid the price & given you good guidance.

Good luck & good growing.

[Noodles123]

On 11/8/2020 at 3:25 PM, jimcraig152 said:

I tend to take these photos in the best possible setting. Always, they are taken after a shower, after I've applied Rogaine foam, then soon after everything is dry or near dry. This done in a bathroom in the house where I can close the doors so sunlight doesn't make for inconsistent photos. When I look at myself in my other bathroom, the story is different than what you see in the photos.

Here is my donor 4 days after the surgery where I can illustrate the problems with my donor:

1. Encircled in red is my vertex where I had some thinning already
2. Encircled in yellow is where extractions went really high right next to the vertex and I feel too many punches were taken from too small of an area there
3. Encircled in purple is an area where donors were heavily harvested from too small of an area

So now is how these things look in a different light (from my master bathroom):

Extractions near vertex. Also notice the surrounding donor. Virgin areas are at the absolute bottom of the photo for you to compare. Also those virgin areas are the thinnest part of anyone's scalp naturally.

The band of overharvesting towards the bottom of the donor. Also, notice the state of the surrounding donor.

As for the corn rows, he is a photo closer to what I see in the mirror everyday. I do know it is early. This should fill in at the end of this. But compare those rows to the surrounding natural hair.

As for the density thing, I know things are early. But even with Diep patients that have come to full term and have good density, I believe there is a high toll paid for that density. My procedure was for 2332 FUE grafts. Go take a look around this forum at donor areas for 2000-2500 graft procedures s and see if the math adds up for you.

Everything you pointed out is what I noted with my own surgery. I completely agree with your point that there's a high toll even if you do end up with a decent result. With my transplant he went very far up the back of my head into an area that is potentially vulnerable to Future thinning, my crown. He also focused too much of his extractions in one area resulting in a very visible patch of thinness.   At this point it's very clear that these aren't flukes this is how the man operates.  

[deitel130]

With FUE the extraction can be higher up. But this can still be the safe zone provided you are not destined to be a norwood 6. 

[WS2020]

Thanks for all the great pointers here. This is the list that I will bring in with Dr Diep this week for my HT:

1. Use single hair draft for the hairline
2. Don't get all the donor hair on one side of the head
3. Don't go to far up for the donor hair
4. I did bring up the corn row concern with him during my initial consultation. He gave me the same explanation about the density. I may bring it up again.

Otherwise, I am diving in. Btw, I am neither OCD nor take life (or hair) too seriously. Not having too high an expectation going in and hope for a pleasant surprise. Actually, if my front looks like Jim, I am good. 

Edited November 10, 2020 by WS2020

[anotherhairlosssufferer]

@WS2020 - his work looks very very reasonable so you didn't make a mistake. It might not be perfect in some cases but that is fixable.

Please report back what he did regarding the donor and hairline design, like the single hairs in front!

Good luck!

[Noodles123]

Jimcraig152.... I also highly suspect that Diep extracted far more grafts than he implanted in my case.  I had authorized him to only extract up too 1200 grafts due to budgetary constraints.   When the surgery was done I saw that he had extracted 1500 grafts according to my paperwork.  I was alarmed because I thought I would be charged for the grafts but he said he just gave them to me for free which made me very puzzled.  What I have always suspected is that he extracted many more grafts because there was a very high transaction rate.   The fact that he extracted 300 grafts over my limit suggested his transection rate on me was 20%.   

When I have posted my pictures here before people have told me they guessed that the number of grafts implanted was closer to 1200 which coincides with my suspicions.

[jimcraig152]

5 hours ago, Noodles123 said:

Jimcraig152.... I also highly suspect that Diep extracted far more grafts than he implanted in my case.  I had authorized him to only extract up too 1200 grafts due to budgetary constraints.   When the surgery was done I saw that he had extracted 1500 grafts according to my paperwork.  I was alarmed because I thought I would be charged for the grafts but he said he just gave them to me for free which made me very puzzled.  What I have always suspected is that he extracted many more grafts because there was a very high transaction rate.   The fact that he extracted 300 grafts over my limit suggested his transection rate on me was 20%.   

When I have posted my pictures here before people have told me they guessed that the number of grafts implanted was closer to 1200 which coincides with my suspicions.

Ding ding ding! Winner winner, chicken dinner!

The high toll that I speak of has nothing to do with him venturing out of the traditional safe zone. It's math. For your procedure @Noodles123, the rate of Transection Loss is actually 25%:

• 1500 punches - 1200 grafts = 300
• 300/1200 grafts = 25%

By all recognized measures in the industry, 25% Transection Loss is Turkish-scam/Black Market level of deficiency. I am, and some members too, witnessed to an instance where the rate of Transection Loss was at least 45% from Dr Diep. So getting back to fundamentals. Does anyone remember why one would pay the extra premium for FUE? Anyone? Anyone? Bueller? Bueller?

Furthermore, extracting follicular units is a delicate process that cannot be rushed. Otherwise the primary goal of FUE is defeated:  to have less visible scarring allowing for increased flexibility to wear shorter hairstyles. Look at this video here at even how brisk Dr. Gabel performs the activity, there would be no way Dr. Gabel could complete 1000 excisions in one hour. But there are testimonies from patients where with Dr. Diep, that is exactly what happens plus the graft incisions and anesthesia is administered within that same hour! Go read them for yourselves (here, here, and here). We all know a Diep FUE patient's donor looks eviscerated after surgery. There is no doubt of that. Even happy patients don't deny that. Thus far, this has been contributed to Dr. Diep using a large punch. But behold!!!!! Here you have it, a patient telling you he had 25% Transection Loss!!! The higher the transection rate, the more visible the scarring. Dr. Diep rushing to get to his other patients waiting in the other procedure and consultation rooms means he is playing darts with the surgical punch and your donor supply is the dart board.

When I mentioned earlier to you @anotherhairlosssufferer to go see if the math adds up, now you know what I mean. Just do a search and look at donor photos of MHTA patients. Download GIMP and start counting the excisions. See if the math adds up. Right now, I can't help but to think you really are one of the court officials sent by the Emperor to check on the status of the cloth. Remember, it is very easy to please a balding man. Some are happy just wearing rugs on their heads.

Well placed hairlines and density is not an exclusivity of Dr. Diep. Plenty of skilled surgeons can achieve these things and far surpass what Dr. Diep can do (and many can do it for less money even factoring in lodging and travel expenses). And if you put in some time before your procedure, you can pretty much draw the hairline you want and work it out with your surgeon to achieve it. But time after time, it is proving to be that eviscerated donors might just be the price you pay for what Dr. Diep does well. Just take a look:

• The Harvey "Two-Face" Dent donor treatment,
• The "Border-crossing donor treatment",
• The "Leopard Print" donor treatment",
• and everyone's favorite---"The FUT Scar from a FUE procedure donor treament",

Yes, I am being cheeky with the those descriptions. But that is just the thing that comes to mind when I look at the donors of those fellow hairloss sufferers. On top of that, the man saves himself time by barely lifting his surgical tool as he lays out the graft incisions in a straight line in rapid fire succession. Resulting in the infamous corn rows! And if you are really lucky, you'll have the same tech that worked on @rocknrollman, @Dadda, and @Tentpole91 incorrectly sorting your grafts into 1's, 2's, 3's, and 4's, then placing baby-doll plugs in your head. True, some patients get results. But it is a dice roll. A factor of there being only 24 hours in a given day and Dr. Diep squeezing in as much productivity as possible for MHTA to amass revenue. That revenue is first and foremost what MHTA achieves above all other clinics. The patient's needs........I can't even say comes second. Time in surgery is split with other patients, then is further divided with consultations. Compromises must be made. Those compromises affect the aesthetic qualities of the surgical hair restoration results you are seeking and paid a hefty price for. And you might be doing yourself a disservice in the future as you'll likely need to treat progression and will have less donors available to you when that time comes. Perhaps, those that have good results had the other patient cancel that day? Perhaps a flock of consultations canceled that day, then Dr. Diep's admin whispered to him he didn't need to be out of surgery within the hour. And it is those lucky patients that have better results. Perhaps it is just a dice roll. What more must we have to tell you? What aren't you seeing? 🙈

6 hours ago, jjsrader said:

All you OCD-anal types earning big $$'s considering Diep - can you obviously not see that you are paying premium prices for mid-level results?  Stop rationalizing 'cause you either live close or his results aren't that bad.

Just pick from at least 5-10 other very outstanding very experienced surgeons in N. America who are way more meticulous & typically only do one patient per day & have outstanding staff & follow up & bedside manner.

It is clear at this point - learn from those that are just as anal/OCD that have paid the price & given you good guidance.

Good luck & good growing.

Word. Eloquently put.

5 hours ago, WS2020 said:

Thanks for all the great pointers here. This is the list that I will bring in with Dr Diep this week for my HT:

1. Use single hair draft for the hairline
2. Don't get all the donor hair on one side of the head
3. Don't go to far up for the donor hair
4. I did bring up the corn row concern with him during my initial consultation. He gave me the same explanation about the density. I may bring it up again.

Otherwise, I am diving in. Btw, I am neither OCD nor take life (or hair) too seriously. Not having too high an expectation going in and hope for a pleasant surprise. Actually, if my front looks like Jim, I am good. 

See what I mean when I say it is very easy to please a balding man :).

One word of advice, get those 4 bullets/conditions in writing and signed. Also, realize the absurdity of needing to pose these things to your surgeon, OMFG.

Edited November 10, 2020 by jimcraig152
grammar + spelling

[jimcraig152]

2 hours ago, anotherhairlosssufferer said:

It might not be perfect in some cases but that is fixable.

No reasonable person would even take their car into a shop known to do bad work, let alone their hair. Using the term fixable as a superlative to describe an HT surgeon's work even in passing isn't even an indictment; it is condemnation.

Think about it.

[tressful11]

I never understand it when previous HT patients from a particular surgeon blindly defend them just because they had a great procedure and a great result when they went under the knife. People's ethics change over time and even the most famous/top surgeons are fallible. Trying to defend the surgeon when the photos clearly indicate otherwise is absolutely absurd.

I am not trying to attack any surgeon here (I've no reason to), but as someone who had a botched procedure by a surgeon who lied to me and misled me, I totally understand how heartbreaking it is for the patient. Hairloss is a huge insecurity for men, HTs are costly and require significant emotional as well as monetary investment. Most of us are not ultra-rich billionaires who can just throw away money on a second repair procedure. The patient approached a top surgeon expecting top results and that's what he deserves. Simple as that!

Asking the patient accept substandard results is victim blaming and that is unacceptable in my books.

@jimcraig152 All your frustration and complaints are understandable. As fellow balding dude who had a botched surgery I totally undestand the pain and emotional turmoil you might be feeling.

Whatever be the case please don't let it affect your health (physical or emotional) and hope the best for the final results. If the need arises, only consider an ethical surgeon for repair.

I wish you the best and hope you have great results.

[jimcraig152]

Thanks @tressful11.

Fear not. I am actually quite level-headed now since about the 6th day after the procedure. I see improvement just about everyday, but struggle with the oddities as a result of the compromises taken by my surgeon. I am just being honest about my journey and responding to the dialog as it comes. You can see, past MHTA patients are chiming in with supporting details with their experience. I find it amusing to be called biased and insane, because on the flip side, I could clap back and call those that do, myopic.

I very much appreciate that you recognize that we are brothers in the struggle. I hope that I am not coming off as too combative. We are all well aware of happy Dr. Diep patients. I am in private dialog with several members here and elsewhere who are like-wise MHTA patients and thankful for my honestly, the investment I've put in, and thoroughness of my updates. I don't need to do this at all. But we are brothers in this struggle and it's been expressed that exploration of my journey helps them.

But you bring up a very interesting point that presents me with an opportunity to respond. In any profession, in any field, the well is not in-exhaustible. How many more games do you think LeBron James has left in him? How many more passes does Tom Brady have in his arm? How many more kicks does Messi have left in him? How many more emails do you think you can read, meetings you can attend, fire drills you can put out? It is not infinite.

I've been in the presence of Dr. Diep three times now:

1. During my pre-consultation
2. On the day of my procedure (interestingly enough, it feels as if I spent the least amount of time with him here)
3. In the follow-up meeting via Zoom

When I saw him the first time, he looked remarkably older than he looks in his videos. When I saw him on the day of the procedure 8 months later, even older (given he hadn't had a hair cut in months likely due to COVID). And in the Zoom meeting, he looked really old. As Dr. Diep and I are both Vietnamese and probably very close in age. Youthfulness is something Vietnamese dudes tend to retain well into middle-age (aside from my hair loss, of course). But in looking at the man last, his skin was heavily pock-marked. Corners of his eyes folding over. And swaths of gray all throughout his hair. He looked worn out. I spoke earlier of the toll MHTA patients pay in chasing the results Dr. Diep is known for. Well, Dr. Diep's paper chase is taking a heavy toll on him.

There might have been a time where Dr. Diep might have been able to pull off more consistent results even with two procedures a day. Or he might have never been able to do this, and people just kept giving him a pass because they assess the situation pragmatically--as black & white, as before vs. after, or remind themselves "I was bald and sexless a year ago now have hair and female interest today", "I was down-trodden a year ago on top of the world today." But clearly that well he is drawing from is running dry.

[ShadowMoon]

5 hours ago, jimcraig152 said:

Furthermore, extracting follicular units is a delicate process that cannot be rushed. Otherwise the primary goal of FUE is defeated:  to have less visible scarring allowing for increased flexibility to wear shorter hairstyles. Look at this video here at even how brisk Dr. Gabel performs the activity, there would be no way Dr. Gabel could complete 1000 excisions in one hour.

This is more telling than you know. Dr. Gabel is fast. He is the type of person that walks 4 mph. He does iron man triathlons. Not only that, he has been performing FUE since 2003. If he does it at that speed, that is the rate that he has found to be the absolute fastest you can go while still achieving the most optimal results and avoiding transection. 

[jimcraig152]

@Noodles123, next time you get a fresh haircut, please post nice photos of your donor (I don't mind if you post in my thread). I've seen your post here, but the pics are a little fuzzy. Maybe ask your barber to take the photo. Thanks!

Edited November 10, 2020 by jimcraig152

[ShadowMoon]

On 7/29/2020 at 1:04 AM, jimcraig152 said:

Here are Day 3 Pics.

• Swelling has went down significantly, but my right eye is black & blue
• You can see the donor site
• Top of head pics show the graft sides. They are the reddish areas, obviously
• And there is my new hairline. I am liking the shap and curvature. I do feel it is a bit too much of a line however

 

 

 

Hey @jimcraig152, I only just realized we had basically the same procedure. You had 13 more grafts than me, and we have almost identical placement, albeit mine is a bit more conservative. I wanted to throw in my 3-day post op as contrast:

I think objectively, I like your hairline design more than mine. I think your age and pattern afforded you a bit more wiggle room. I think the temple closure I got is about as aggressive as I'm willing to go at the moment. 

[jimcraig152]

46 minutes ago, ShadowMoon said:

Hey @jimcraig152, I only just realized we had basically the same procedure. You had 13 more grafts than me, and we have almost identical placement, albeit mine is a bit more conservative. I wanted to throw in my 3-day post op as contrast:

I think objectively, I like your hairline design more than mine. I think your age and pattern afforded you a bit more wiggle room. I think the temple closure I got is about as aggressive as I'm willing to go at the moment. 

No doubt about it, Dr. Diep places hairlines well. If only he truly made it about the work and the patient in the procedural chair, and not about the paper, he wouldn't be so polarizing. He'd have to give up >50% of his revenue stream to achieve that though. Knock it down to one surgical patient per day. Put back say 2.5 hours he spends a day in consultation back into the one surgical patient per day. Reinvest the time into that one surgical patient per day. EDIT: and uses a smaller punch. Not make those compromises. He might be able to make back some of revenue charging $14 per graft and charging a mandatory consultation fee.

Thanks for the contrast. Trust me when I tell you though, we as canvases are totally different. I have a big ass melon for a head :). Your work looks great though. When internalizing my own issues, I always relate to the fundamentals I've learned over the last 3 or so months:

1. With any surgical hair restoration, the primary goal is naturalness.
2. If paying the higher premium for FUE, the primary goal is less visible scarring to allow for shorter hairstyles. The secondary goal is low transection loss (5% or less), as higher transection loss leads to more visible scarring.
3. If choosing FUT, the primary goal is to maximize donor supply. The secondary goal is to minimize the linear scar. The tertiary goal is cost savings.

Though your hairline may be conservative, it is appears as if Gabel's surgical instrument was guided by Mother Nature herself. And you're much younger than I am. You'll need to maximize the donor for the road ahead. Your FUT scar is imperceptible. And I am sure you paid 30% less. All initial goals met. Now it is the waiting game for the results. Can't be easier if you stick to the fundamental goals.

Edited November 10, 2020 by jimcraig152

[Melvin- Admin]

12 hours ago, WS2020 said:

Thanks for all the great pointers here. This is the list that I will bring in with Dr Diep this week for my HT:

1. Use single hair draft for the hairline
2. Don't get all the donor hair on one side of the head
3. Don't go to far up for the donor hair
4. I did bring up the corn row concern with him during my initial consultation. He gave me the same explanation about the density. I may bring it up again.

Otherwise, I am diving in. Btw, I am neither OCD nor take life (or hair) too seriously. Not having too high an expectation going in and hope for a pleasant surprise. Actually, if my front looks like Jim, I am good. 

Overall, I think this is a healthy way to think in general. Being OCD is not healthy, and it can bring you to a state of madness, especially in the beginning. My best friend last year had surgery with Diep, he kept his hat on for a year.

I recall he sent me the  picture below freaking out, it looked like most of his grafts had disappeared in the front. He was at 1.5 months. I told em it was normal and told him to put a hat on for the next 8 months. Once he hit a year- below was his transformation. He finally gave me authorization to share the image. He’s a private guy.

 To ensure this doesn’t become another echo chamber. I’m only sharing this because I have personally gone, and sent my childhood best friend to Diep, and we’ve both had incredible results. Is that a guarantee that you’ll get good results? Absolutely not. As with everything, take in the negative reviews, but don’t ignore the good ones either.

Just like Yelp, I look at both the good and the bad, and using Jim’s analogy, of course no one would ever take their car to a shop with only bad reviews, but Diep does not only have bad reviews.  Contrary to what you’ll read by a few members on this thread, his positive reviews outnumber his negative ones, and every patient that has posted a negative review recently isn’t even at a year yet.

I think @baldlivesmatter is a perfect example of a hairline that at 6 months appeared somewhat chunky, and had BLM been OCD, he may have thrown a fit without waiting the appropriate time. But BLM has an incredible outlook, even after being a repair patient the first time around. In the end, his patience paid off. It is important we don’t jump to conclusions, how we look at month 3,4,5,6 will be vastly different to month 12-18. Either way, I hope you guys take this as healthy discussions, I’m in no way trying to tell any of you how to feel, merely sharing my point of view.
 

 

 

BLM month 6 vs 12

[hybonix]

On 11/8/2020 at 3:25 PM, jimcraig152 said:

Here is my donor 4 days after the surgery where I can illustrate the problems with my donor:

1. Encircled in red is my vertex where I had some thinning already
2. Encircled in yellow is where extractions went really high right next to the vertex and I feel too many punches were taken from too small of an area there
3. Encircled in purple is an area where donors were heavily harvested from too small of an area

Not to be be rude, but Diep's donor site always look terrible. My FUE punches were already closing after one day and on the 4th day, you could barely even tell they were present. 4 days for you is a much different story than my own experience. But results talk, and Diep achieves high/mass volume. Even Dr. Shapiro said Diep is capable of high density transplants. Ethics are a different story though with Diep though based on my own experience... That is partly why I went to SMG as they were more honest with me.

Edited November 10, 2020 by hybonix

[Skyb]

5 hours ago, hybonix said:

Not to be be rude, but Diep's donor site always look terrible. My FUE punches were already closing after one day and on the 4th day, you could barely even tell they were present. 4 days for you is a much different story than my own experience. But results talk, and Diep achieves high/mass volume. Even Dr. Shapiro said Diep is capable of high density transplants. Ethics are a different story though with Diep though based on my own experience... That is partly why I went to SMG as they were more honest with me.

 

[anotherhairlosssufferer]

Something I am thinking about - why does it matter how big the punches are? Each punch will extract a graft (1/2/3/4 hair graft) so no matter who you go to you will have the same issue - a certain number of grafts will be gone and your ability to wear your hair shorter will be affected the same? The only issue I see is if a doctor doesn't distribute the extractions randomly and evenly across the whole donor, but the size of the punch shouldn't matter.

[jjsrader]

22 hours ago, WS2020 said:

Thanks for all the great pointers here. This is the list that I will bring in with Dr Diep this week for my HT:

1. Use single hair draft for the hairline
2. Don't get all the donor hair on one side of the head
3. Don't go to far up for the donor hair
4. I did bring up the corn row concern with him during my initial consultation. He gave me the same explanation about the density. I may bring it up again.

Otherwise, I am diving in. Btw, I am neither OCD nor take life (or hair) too seriously. Not having too high an expectation going in and hope for a pleasant surprise. Actually, if my front looks like Jim, I am good. 

Diep is gonna' stomp all over your demands and bulldoze through his 2 patients a day regardless.  You are treating this not nearly as serious as you should.  It is cosmetic surgery.  A bad result will haunt you.  Good luck.

[Melvin- Admin]

2 hours ago, anotherhairlosssufferer said:

Something I am thinking about - why does it matter how big the punches are? Each punch will extract a graft (1/2/3/4 hair graft) so no matter who you go to you will have the same issue - a certain number of grafts will be gone and your ability to wear your hair shorter will be affected the same? The only issue I see is if a doctor doesn't distribute the extractions randomly and evenly across the whole donor, but the size of the punch shouldn't matter.

I had 0.8 mm my first surgery with a local surgeon in LA, the result was mediocre at best. My second surgery was 1mm, and my last surgery was 0.9 mm. I honestly didn't notice a difference in terms of scarring. My donor felt a little more sensitive my last surgery at 0.9 mm, but that could've been because of my two previous surgeries. I did post my donor a few months ago, feel free to check it out. My hair was cut at a 1/2 guard 

30 minutes ago, jjsrader said:

Diep is gonna' stomp all over your demands and bulldoze through his 2 patients a day regardless.  You are treating this not nearly as serious as you should.  It is cosmetic surgery.  A bad result will haunt you.  Good luck.

I would appreciate you stop with the sensational comments. These comments get reported, and I don't want to constantly be babysitting the thread. You can share your opinion with out being sensational "stomp all over your demands" you don't know that, you're not even a Diep patient. A bad result will haunt anyone regardless of the surgeon, and a good result will change your life, as it did mine. You can say, " I doubt he will listen to your request" that is not being sensational while voicing your opinion. That said, he would listen to his requests. My best friend made several requests, which he listened too.

[SWdan]

Dr. Diep performed my FUT Feb. 2018. I was very impressed with how professional everyone treated me.  As for my results, well I couldn't be happier. Doctors are humans.  And everyone's head of hair is different, so I don't see how people can expect a perfect HT every time. I think Dr. Diep's results are up there with the best of them. I looked at literally hundreds of his YT video's before choosing him, and for me, I feel I made the correct choice. I wouldn't hesitate to go to him again.  I posted my story on this forum, (I'm not sure where to find it-but it's here somewhere). 

 

Edited November 11, 2020 by SWdan