HT surgeon recommendation for around 5K

[UnbaldEagle]

So I had a video consultation with David Anderson from the Maitland Clinic, and it was very reassuring. He said they could add extra density to my hairline and transplant through the thin areas, while also reusing some of the odd multi grafts in the hairline by moving them behind. He was very professional and pleasant. However, they are fully booked until April.

He also said that this could be achieved with roughly 600-700 grafts, which seemed like a very low estimate. What do you guys think, could that be enough to make a cosmetic impact?

[LondonRamen]

6 hours ago, UnbaldEagle said:

So I had a video consultation with David Anderson from the Maitland Clinic, and it was very reassuring. He said they could add extra density to my hairline and transplant through the thin areas, while also reusing some of the odd multi grafts in the hairline by moving them behind. He was very professional and pleasant. However, they are fully booked until April.

He also said that this could be achieved with roughly 600-700 grafts, which seemed like a very low estimate. What do you guys think, could that be enough to make a cosmetic impact?

Seems about right to me. For most people the width of your hairline is about 15 cm. Keep in mind it takes around 50grafts/cm2 to achieve a native looking density. For 700 grafts thats an area of 14cm2. meaning he can get a dense looking hairline around 1cm deep with that.

However, you also have native hairs present. I can't comment on the density of that, but because of that he can implant less hairs per cm2 and therefore can make implantation deeper into your hairline with 700 grafts, maybe 2cm deep instead of 1cm. Maybe enough to cover your entire thinning area. Who knows. Hard to say and only the doctor can confirm after seeing your scalp in person and making measurements.

One thing you can try is take a clear plastic sleeve and place it on your scalp. While facing a mirror draw the region that you want work on with a marker pen. The plastic sleeve is flexible and can bend to touch your scalp as you mark so the lines you draw will be fairly accurate. You can then put the clear plastic sleeve on some grid paper and get an estimate of your thinning area size based on the markings you drew on it.

 

Edit: I just reread your first post on this thread and it's still a bit unclear to me, but 700 would be slightly on the lower end. Maybe more towards 1000. Though in your video consultation the Dr may have seen things we didn't in the pictures and saw fit to use a smaller amount.

Edited November 19, 2020 by LondonRamen

[Kspin87]

This thread jumped out at me as I've got a very similar budget and shortlist (though not a repair and looking at approx 2000 grafts so Maitland clinic is more than I can afford). I was told that Ferreira is booked up till end of Feb so leaning towards Maras ATM.

[UnbaldEagle]

10 hours ago, Kspin87 said:

This thread jumped out at me as I've got a very similar budget and shortlist (though not a repair and looking at approx 2000 grafts so Maitland clinic is more than I can afford). I was told that Ferreira is booked up till end of Feb so leaning towards Maras ATM.

Yes, HDC would be a good choice. Do you mind sharing pictures to estimate how many grafts you might really need?

There's Dr. Barghouthi too, I had a video consultation with him yesterday and he told me he's got a few available dates in January. He charges 3 USD per graft which would be within your budget. 

Dr. Arshad in the UK can also be considered, or Dr. Saifi, HLC, Dr. Pekiner, they all charge about the same (well, Dr. Arshad is slightly more expensive than the rest). Oh, and Eugenix of course. 

[cnkp21]

On 11/18/2020 at 4:27 PM, UnbaldEagle said:

So I'm bumping this thread because I need further advice.

I'm currently in talks with HDC via Doron Harati, who has been very, very helpful, albeit the clinic is unsure if they are able to transplant through the thin areas without hurting the old grafts. So they asked for more pictures and I await their response. I would be thrilled if they accept me and wouldn't look any further. 

I'm uploading a few more pictures of better quality, I'm curious what do you guys think. Has anyone had a similar case, where they just needed some density in the thin areas and a clinic accepted to proceed? I would lower my hairline a bit if that's what it takes, I think I have a rather high forehead? The density on top is alright thanks to many years of fin + min, apart from the crown. I'm not too bothered about that though. 

Also, I just reviewed my shortlist and I realized I never meant Cinik, lol. I confused him with Civas - although I'm fairly uncertain of him too. 

However, I'm adding Dr. Taleb Barghouthi, Dr. Bruno Pinto and Dr. Arshad to my list.

 

Hi Tom. What was your response from HDC about them not being able to work near your old grafts without damaging them? 
 

I am similar and they are unable to carry out my procedure. This has completely thrown me as I never thought this would be the case. 

[UnbaldEagle]

Hey cnkp21!

Sorry for not updating this thread, in the end HDC accepted me and I'll have the procedure done on Monday 30th November. 

Well, they said they need to lower the hairline to create the zigzags and were unsure if I have enough space, they also needed more pictures of the thin areas to make sure it's possible to transplant through them. 

Sorry to hear you're in a similar position. So you contacted a clinic and they turned you down? 

[Kspin87]

On 11/25/2020 at 10:44 AM, UnbaldEagle said:

Yes, HDC would be a good choice. Do you mind sharing pictures to estimate how many grafts you might really need?

There's Dr. Barghouthi too, I had a video consultation with him yesterday and he told me he's got a few available dates in January. He charges 3 USD per graft which would be within your budget. 

Dr. Arshad in the UK can also be considered, or Dr. Saifi, HLC, Dr. Pekiner, they all charge about the same (well, Dr. Arshad is slightly more expensive than the rest). Oh, and Eugenix of course. 

Hi Unbaldeagle, thanks for the info :-) I've been told I'll need about 2000 grafts. Would be great to hear about your experience at HDC. Is Dr Maras doing your procedure or Dr Vryonidou? Hope everything goes great on Monday :-)

[cnkp21]

17 hours ago, UnbaldEagle said:

Hey cnkp21!

Sorry for not updating this thread, in the end HDC accepted me and I'll have the procedure done on Monday 30th November. 

Well, they said they need to lower the hairline to create the zigzags and were unsure if I have enough space, they also needed more pictures of the thin areas to make sure it's possible to transplant through them. 

Sorry to hear you're in a similar position. So you contacted a clinic and they turned you down? 

Hi Tom. Yeah HDC said they could not carry out my procedure because they would damage the grafts from the first procedure. I wasn’t aware that this was an issue. I am currently exploring other options. 
 

I am really pleased you got booked in. Good Luck. I hope you have an excellent result 👍

[UnbaldEagle]

7 hours ago, cnkp21 said:

Hi Tom. Yeah HDC said they could not carry out my procedure because they would damage the grafts from the first procedure. I wasn’t aware that this was an issue. I am currently exploring other options. 
 

I am really pleased you got booked in. Good Luck. I hope you have an excellent result 👍

Sorry to hear that. Did they give you a definite no? I mean a few days ago I was pretty much in the same shoes so they asked me to come to Cyprus for a personal assessment of my situation, with no surgery booked. Then Dr. Maras decided he could do it after a new batch of higher quality pictures. 

Have you been in touch with them via Doron?

Oh and thank you for your kind words, I really hope so too.

[UnbaldEagle]

14 hours ago, Kspin87 said:

Hi Unbaldeagle, thanks for the info 🙂 I've been told I'll need about 2000 grafts. Would be great to hear about your experience at HDC. Is Dr Maras doing your procedure or Dr Vryonidou? Hope everything goes great on Monday 🙂

Thank you.  It will be Dr. Maras. 

Will update this thread soon. 

[cnkp21]

4 hours ago, UnbaldEagle said:

Sorry to hear that. Did they give you a definite no? I mean a few days ago I was pretty much in the same shoes so they asked me to come to Cyprus for a personal assessment of my situation, with no surgery booked. Then Dr. Maras decided he could do it after a new batch of higher quality pictures. 

Have you been in touch with them via Doron?

Oh and thank you for your kind words, I really hope so too.

Yeah a definite no. I went through Doron on this site. Doron consulted with Dr Maras and they both said they will damage existing grafts if new grafts are implanted close by. They said that I would need to be balder but I don’t see the logic in this as I am wanting to be proactive. 
 

I never thought this would be an issue. I posted a question on Realself and William Rassman has replied saying the risk to a 2nd HT is depletion in the donor area and not damage to the existing grafts. I am therefore confused why HDC have said it is an issue.