New and needing a bit of advice

[Houseofwolves]

Hi all, was linked here from reddit and would appreciate any help. So I'm on verge of putting down my deposit for my first hair transplant. But a few things holding me back, so looking for advice or whatever you can give me

 

 I spoke to 2 clinics both located in nearest to me (glasgow and Edinburgh) and for same procedure, both quoted me different amounts. For Giga plus FUE between 3500-7000 grafts I was quoted

 

1. £4000 Glasgow hair clinic done by Dr Pantelis Valvis. This also covers a free second surgery if needed as well as 3 follow ups at 3, 6 and 12 months. Any corrections are free provided it's not my fault. Aka putting hats on before grafts have settled etc etc. 

 

2. £10000 DHI 

This is there costing 

 

"Thank you for the clear photographs. I have assessed your case with the medical team, please see summary of your diagnosis below: 

 

Our recommendation to meet your needs and expectations would be a DHI Giga Session aiming to extract the maximum possible number of hairs in order to achieve the maximum possible growth and we will be focusing on your B (top) and C zone (crown).

 

The cost of your treatment will be £10000 and it is a two-day session. You will have a full shaven haircut for the procedure which will be done on the day.

Dates we have available for

Theatre Fees.

Hair Transplant Consultation Fee.

Hair Transplant Fee.

DHI Instruments.

All evaluation appointments for the next 12 months after session"

 

So I'm skeptical as I don't know if the first clinic is massively under charging me and I'm going to get bad results or the second one is over charging me. 

Additionally, I'm worried I pay 4k and it turns out to be weird looking and I end up shaving it off and it's the most expensive skin head ever. So any stories of success or failure appreciated!

[makemefamous19]

I heard of giga plus fue offers from Harley street medical and they are ones to avoid. Maybe they got another branch in Glasgow with same offers and new name. Which is what a lot of these crap hair clinics do. Just checked they are linked to Harley street medical. 

 

I also never heard of Dr Valvis. Can’t find any results of him from here, so personally I would avoid that. If you want to travel there are better doctors in Belgium, Spain, Portugal and Turkey. I know it’s tough travelling now. There’s also Dr Arshad in Leeds. 

[Houseofwolves]

41 minutes ago, transplantedphil said:

While im unfamiliar with either clinic, id say there are massive issues with both. How many patient verified results have you seen from either clinic? If you are nearby why not go in for a consultation with the doctor for a life changing procedure rather than rely on photos?

For the first clinic, while I admire the fact a clinic is offering a free second surgery for corrections, that also sounds extremely vague to me. How would they verify something was a "correction" and not your fault? If its a case of poor growth they could just as easily blame you wearing your hat on your grafts or something else. I'd want a lot more information before proceeding. It's pretty standard to offer follow ups as well.

For the 2nd clinic, 3500-7000 grafts is astounding vague (so much so I'd be terrified of proceeding with them). For most patients thats the entire donor supply - it sounds like they want to harvest everything you have just for one operation. You only have 1 donor supply and you dont want to waste it.

As you were after advice Id start off by saying PLEASE do not limit your choices just to the nearest clinic, nor let the cost of these clinic dictate your approach. Each HT candidate is different, has different needs, different goals so just going by what you posted is difficult to analyse. This is a serious procedure.

Would you be comfortable sharing any photos here and maybe myself and others could give you some advice?

 

 

Everything you've mentioned is what brought me to this group! My issue was i couldn't find any information on the Dr that would be doing it, other than a new other hair places that had his name attributed to it that had some good results but there was nothing substantial. I also was skeptical, as i got the 10k valuation first, could only do online consolation but seemed very professional whilst the second that quoted me 4k, it was a zoom call and he was on his phone walking about what looked like an empty office and i didn't get the same vibe. Additionally, when he sent me through more information he kept emailing me and asking what my thoughts were and it put me off and i couldn't work out how they could establish if i'd decided to wear a hat or not and caused damage, which made me think they'd perhaps find a way to blame me and i'd have to pay for a second surgery.

It's something i've thought about for a long time, i'm getting married next year so i thought i'd quite like to have better hair for it but at same time the more i read into it part of me feels is it a money and time saver to opt for something like scalp micropigmentation instead etc. 

Sure, i'll attach some photos! 

[Sijac09]

As the others have said really, I’d really avoid those two clinics you mentioned and offering a free second surgery doesn’t sound great to me. Personally if they mess up the first time, I wouldn’t want to risk wasting my donor area on that clinic. Abroad is honestly the best option but can’t exaggerate enough to research the surgeon and check the surgeons results on here. I’ve used Dr Demirsoy on turkey and he is brilliant, loads of positive results on this forum from him. I know of a few friends have had theirs done in the UK and results have been so poor, you’d barely knew they had it done. Only decent surgeon in the UK really is Dr Reddy but he is big bucks and still not amazing imo 

[Britanium]

Echoing what the others have said i would not choose the 2 clinics you have mentioned. Look at the forums recommended list of people in the Uk ! And add Edward Ball as another. That’s it for the Uk. 

Look further afield if your able to travel. So many other decent Clinics are out there

 Especially Eugenix in India as they are very skilled at doing high Norwood cases. You will need a lot more grafts for a decent result than the 2 clinics have mentioned.

but with a strong front already i believe you could get a really good result with maybe 4000/4500 grafts (2 day surgery) 

[makemefamous19]

2 hours ago, Sijac09 said:

As the others have said really, I’d really avoid those two clinics you mentioned and offering a free second surgery doesn’t sound great to me. Personally if they mess up the first time, I wouldn’t want to risk wasting my donor area on that clinic. Abroad is honestly the best option but can’t exaggerate enough to research the surgeon and check the surgeons results on here. I’ve used Dr Demirsoy on turkey and he is brilliant, loads of positive results on this forum from him. I know of a few friends have had theirs done in the UK and results have been so poor, you’d barely knew they had it done. Only decent surgeon in the UK really is Dr Reddy but he is big bucks and still not amazing imo 

Yeah, UK it’s expensive and shit besides a few doctors. There’s also a lot of pushy sales people involved. Remember you not buying a car this is a life changing surgery that you can’t just go back and change if it goes wrong. 
 

Also OP, your donor area looks good. So you could get a good result with the right clinic. 

[Portugal25]

@Houseofwolves the diagnosis you received are ridiculous and scary because one clinic actually includes repairs so I assume fuc**ng up is normal for them.

In the UK there`s 1 doctor getting a steady flow of good results who is Dr. Reddy but he`s overpriced for his level or results.

The quote you got of 4000 grafts is actually much less than I would expect because looking at your pictures you should have around 125cm2 of area to fill in and rebuilding the frontal hairline requires higher density so I would say you need at least 6000 grafts split into two surgeries. Also, your hair is blond and thin which makes it a challenge for most Doctors.

My friend @PT#31 has similar hair to yours and had his surgery aborted by my doctor in Turkey (and he is one of the TOP 3 in Turkey) after 250 grafts were extracted and most were miniaturized. @PT#31 asked for a second opinion to @Dr. Bruno Ferreira and ended up having his HT in May with him with steller results so far (he will be posting soon as I`ve been nagging him to do so).

@Rolandas also lives in the UK has similar hair to yours and also went with Dr. BF you should check his thread.

You should consider FUT because it would allow you to optimize your donor area thus getting more grafts (your donor area is limited and every graft is precious so chose a proper doctor that won´t waste grafts). Feriduni and Muresanu ate the kings of FUT in Europe and H&W are the Kings of North America. 

Dr. Muresanu would be a better option for you should you go with the FUT route because he`s more experienced with FUT mega sessions and could probably do the grafts you need in just 1 surgery.

If you want to know prices you can check the list I made when I was doing my research.

Edited July 30, 2020 by Portugal25

[aaron1234]

10 hours ago, transplantedphil said:

Youre' an almost slick bald NW6/7 with a bit of a hairline left over.

If I were you id contact Hasson and Wong in Canada (FUT and FUE)

This!  For someone with your level of baldness, FUT at H&W is the way to go for your first few procedures.  Yup, that's what I said... "first few procedures".  Think longterm planning. You're not going to be content after round one.   

[Melvin- Admin]

You’ve been given great advice, take some time and look at our surgeons review section. Remember, there’s no rush. I know you’re getting married, but if that’s the sole reason, I’d hold off. You have the rest of your life to look forward too, don’t rush and make a mistake for one day.

[Houseofwolves]

22 hours ago, Portugal25 said:

@Houseofwolves the diagnosis you received are ridiculous and scary because one clinic actually includes repairs so I assume fuc**ng up is normal for them.

In the UK there`s 1 doctor getting a steady flow of good results who is Dr. Reddy but he`s overpriced for his level or results.

The quote you got of 4000 grafts is actually much less than I would expect because looking at your pictures you should have around 125cm2 of area to fill in and rebuilding the frontal hairline requires higher density so I would say you need at least 6000 grafts split into two surgeries. Also, your hair is blond and thin which makes it a challenge for most Doctors.

My friend @PT#31 has similar hair to yours and had his surgery aborted by my doctor in Turkey (and he is one of the TOP 3 in Turkey) after 250 grafts were extracted and most were miniaturized. @PT#31 asked for a second opinion to @Dr. Bruno Ferreira and ended up having his HT in May with him with steller results so far (he will be posting soon as I`ve been nagging him to do so).

@Rolandas also lives in the UK has similar hair to yours and also went with Dr. BF you should check his thread.

You should consider FUT because it would allow you to optimize your donor area thus getting more grafts (your donor area is limited and every graft is precious so chose a proper doctor that won´t waste grafts). Feriduni and Muresanu ate the kings of FUT in Europe and H&W are the Kings of North America. 

Dr. Muresanu would be a better option for you should you go with the FUT route because he`s more experienced with FUT mega sessions and could probably do the grafts you need in just 1 surgery.

If you want to know prices you can check the list I made when I was doing my research.

I've contacted @Dr. Bruno Ferreira for a consult so thanks you for that! 

I've also contacted a few others for consults, all been very helpful guys extremely appreciated