Beginning the transplant journey

[follicleSaver]

I am beginning down the hair transplant journey.  I am posting to document the progress and to hopefully get some questions answered as I progress.

I am a late 30s male with pretty standard male pattern baldness.  I started noticing hair loss in my early 20s.

I'm on Finasteride, which seems to have slowed the progress of the balding.  I wish I had started it earlier, but all the fear-mongering around side effects scared me off.

I don't use Minoxidil as it causes a severe skin rash on my hands.

I always had a pretty high hairline, but the sides and temple have receded pretty significantly.  I also have a rather large bald spot I would like to fix.  On the plus side, my donor area is thick and well populated.

The top is thinning as well, but it doesn't look bad with proper styling.  Success for me would be to get similar density as the top to fill in my bald spot and rebuild my hairline.  I don't think I need to bring the hairline down in the center, just re-fill in the sides and temple area.

I have gotten a consult from one doctor so far and will be shopping around for others (this site has been a great help in finding the wheat in the chaff).

He quoted me 2200 grafts on the front and 1600 for the crown.

Does this look like a reasonable plan and a reasonable quote?

I am considering breaking it into two sessions, one for the front hairline, and one for the crown.  Reading some of the stories on here scare me that an unlucky session could cause me to burn through a lot of the available donor grafts.  By waiting on the crown, I can ensure I have enough grafts to fix a botched job on the front.  Is this a good idea, or is it just a pointless delay?

Some photos:

Old poor quality photos from my late teens:

My current state:

[voxman]

I think it a solid plan.  Address the front first and gauge the results before deciding/attacking the crown.  And please please find the best and most reputable guy for your hair.  You hair in it's present state is quite near where mine is now but I am 70 years old and that is age appropriate for me...but not for late 30's.!  

[Melvin- Admin]

Your hair is very reminiscent of Voxman, fellow blonde guy. It looks like you've always had a high hairline. Do the front first, once the front is done, then you can re-assess the crown. You may not even care. Honestly, once the front is restored it completely changes your appearance. Glad you found our site!

[Britanium]

Sounds like a good plan. Definitely consult with at least a few more Drs. Look at the recommended physicians on the forum. 
Your donor area seems very good. Are you thinking FUE or FUT?

Which Dr have you already consulted with? 

[DrTBarghouthi]

Sounds like a generally good plan. I prefer delaying the crown. However, I think the front and mid sections will likely need a bit more than 2200. You will get good contrast And coverage with that figure since your hair to scalp contrast will help but I think 500-700 more grafts for the front and mid section will be a home run. 

[follicleSaver]

Thanks for the thoughts all.  Good to hear I am on the right track.

I am looking at FUE as I want to be able to get a close cut.

I have a short list of USA docs from the site I am planning on talking to.  Are there any specific recommendations you would have based on what I am looking to do?

Do people generally go to the same doc for all procedures (assuming good outcomes) or are tallents specific enough that I should be looking again if/when I do the crown?

[jimcraig152]

It is a good plan. Plan on not having a botch with the hairline procedure at all. So picking the right doc that can manage donors well is paramount for the first procedure. Get it right the first time. Get a doc that is known to have transection loss down to 5% or less that is known to produce great results. Both have to be in place before the doc can be considered worthy of master/top tier status (trust me on that). People do generally go to the same doc, provided the doc does a good job the first time around with both the donor site and the graft site. If not, people run.

Don't let the convenience of geography be a factor at all in your decision making. If willing to travel, the extra cost of lodging and travel is less than the cost of a doctor that is more conveniently located near you. Once that discipline is adhered to, then don't let a few thousand dollars between this doc and that doc be the deciding factor. Go to your choice for the best doctor.

[Doron Harati]

Sounds good solid plan, if I were you, I would consider do my middle scalp instead of the crown, if it's possible without hurting natural hair of course.