FUE (with BHT): NW 6/7

[InTheSix]

11 minutes ago, PizzaWolf said:

I've had some communication issues with them. Kinda worried about that if I experience any issues post-surgery.

Like what ?

I do hear their post surgery etiquettes are a bit lacking

[PizzaWolf]

12 minutes ago, InTheSix said:

Like what ?

I do hear their post surgery etiquettes are a bit lacking

Just that I have to repeatedly email them the same question multiple times, and it seems to take between 3-7 days to get a response.

[Gatsby]

This is just my humble opinion, but if you are psychologically ruling out FUT, then I really think that Eugenix could be your best option. They have a lot of experience in the use of beard grafts and knowing where to place them to optimize your results. Also no matter who you do choose, ensure that they have an accurate assessment of just how many grafts you have available. There would be nothing worse than rocking up to an overseas clinic and to be told that you have 1,500 less grafts available than what you were told initially. Would you cancel? Still go ahead with the surgery? You need to have a life long plan with hair transplants. If you are realistic with your goals and they reflect what your surgeon can do then you will have a successful surgery. One last thing on finasteride. Even though you state yourself as a Norwood 6, etc, there has been a lot of anecdotal evidence that finasteride can strengthen the donor area (and the transplanted hair) so it's worth a thought in terms of the longevity of your results if you choose to go ahead with surgery. All the best!

[InTheSix]

5 hours ago, Gatsby said:

This is just my humble opinion, but if you are psychologically ruling out FUT, then I really think that Eugenix could be your best option. They have a lot of experience in the use of beard grafts and knowing where to place them to optimize your results. Also no matter who you do choose, ensure that they have an accurate assessment of just how many grafts you have available. There would be nothing worse than rocking up to an overseas clinic and to be told that you have 1,500 less grafts available than what you were told initially. Would you cancel? Still go ahead with the surgery? You need to have a life long plan with hair transplants. If you are realistic with your goals and they reflect what your surgeon can do then you will have a successful surgery. One last thing on finasteride. Even though you state yourself as a Norwood 6, etc, there has been a lot of anecdotal evidence that finasteride can strengthen the donor area (and the transplanted hair) so it's worth a thought in terms of the longevity of your results if you choose to go ahead with surgery. All the best!

Totally agree with everything you wrote. And I am considering taking Finas, however we are currently in the process of IVF (another expensive roller coaster) and all doctors that I have asked have advise to wait for IVF to be over before I jump onto Finas. 

Coming back to your point, what is the best way to avoid being in that situation where you end up in a clinic with totally different possiblities ? 

In my case, the only doctor closest to me (Dr jones is 20 mins away) is not meeting patient in person due to covid. On our call he said the first time i meet him will be for the surgery, asked him if that increases the chance of a surprise, he told me the number of cases  and years of experience he has and said he was confident in his assessment (he suggested a 3000 FUE (all scalp donor) and said a lifetime reserve of maybe 6000 grafts)... i got the feeling that although he has performed BHT, he doestnt do it as often) Dr Nadimi offered an in person meet in Jan (there is $200 charge, which I dont mind) but I will have to fly to US (which i can figure out)... One positive I see is that all recommendations so far have been pretty close to each other.. I am not sure if that is because of assessment accuracy or a template response .

[deitel130]

@InTheSix if you are starting with 3000 grafts perhaps start with only scalp. Did Dr. Jones provide some cases of BHT he performed? If you are sticking within Canada Hasson and Wong also has great FUE cases. There is also Dr. Rahal who performs FUE exclusively however, not sure if he performs BHT.

[elicochin]

As a Norwood 6+, I was always leaning towards an FUE. However after years of research, I finally decided to go with FUT for maximum yield and choices it provides in the future. I am currently 4 months post-op with some decent growth. If I had to redo this today, I will still go with FUT first followed by FUT or FUE as a second surgery. I think the FUT scars are much better than what they used to be in the hands of an experienced FUT surgeon. Assuming I get decent results from my FUT, I am currently thinking of going ahead with FUE combining BHT as soon as I can. Link below to my surgery and post-op details with pictures for your reference. Hope this helps; Good luck.

 

 

Edited November 22, 2020 by elicochin

[JohnBob]

On 11/21/2020 at 11:46 AM, Melvin-Moderator said:

Ohhh ok, yea I can understand that. I chose FUE myself, but in retrospect, I would’ve had more grafts if I did FUT first.

Why is that? Can't a good FUE doctor nowadays get the same number of grafts compared to FUT?

[Baboon]

On 11/22/2020 at 7:30 AM, InTheSix said:

I too am leaning towards them, given that I feel they are good with BHT, something I "have" to rely on.. I spoke twice with their consultant.. and he said they are booking Feb 2021.. told them I was hoping Dec 2020, and he said I will let you know if their was any cancellation.. frankly, there has been no pressure to book dates, and both calls were requested by me. There has been no hard sell tactic at all, almost to a point where I wouldnt mind some lol..

I had a consultation with HLC. They have a good response. But being on the 4/5 with 2 previous Strip l was asking about using BHT, but there was and still is silent response from them. I’m just if this is how they are treating a potential customer/patient, how will they be acting post op in case l need help?😊

My feeling so far is that HLC do great job, but they are bit cherry-picking and want the nice hairline job patients which can produce good final results. 
 

if you are 5/6 l wouldn’t focus on HLC. I haven’t seen  barley any results for such high Norwood patients from them. 
 

i would definitely look into Eugenix, which have repeatedly delivered on high Norwood patients. On top it, they have so far given very detailed and fast response in their consultation. I am to in search for FUE/BHT combo😊

[InTheSix]

On 11/22/2020 at 1:03 PM, deitel130 said:

@InTheSix if you are starting with 3000 grafts perhaps start with only scalp. Did Dr. Jones provide some cases of BHT he performed? If you are sticking within Canada Hasson and Wong also has great FUE cases. There is also Dr. Rahal who performs FUE exclusively however, not sure if he performs BHT.

I am sure Rahal/H&W are good, but dont believe they are big on BHT. So I am not considering them.Dr Jones did share a photo (which seem acceptable) but he didnt sound too big on BHT. 

[InTheSix]

On 11/22/2020 at 1:19 PM, elicochin said:

As a Norwood 6+, I was always leaning towards an FUE. However after years of research, I finally decided to go with FUT for maximum yield and choices it provides in the future. I am currently 4 months post-op with some decent growth. If I had to redo this today, I will still go with FUT first followed by FUT or FUE as a second surgery. I think the FUT scars are much better than what they used to be in the hands of an experienced FUT surgeon. Assuming I get decent results from my FUT, I am currently thinking of going ahead with FUE combining BHT as soon as I can. Link below to my surgery and post-op details with pictures for your reference. Hope this helps; Good luck.

 

 

Thanks for sharing... Good on you to go ahead with the HT and change your strategy based on your research.. Look forward to seeing your progress pics..

[Portugal25]

2 minutes ago, InTheSix said:

I am sure Rahal/H&W are good, but dont believe they are big on BHT. So I am not considering them.Dr Jones did share a photo (which seem acceptable) but he didnt sound too big on BHT. 

If you are dead set on a FUE mega session with BHT you should book Eugenix. They are by far the clinic with the highest count of successful mega sessions. 

[InTheSix]

2 minutes ago, Portugal25 said:

If you are dead set on a FUE mega session with BHT you should book Eugenix. They are by far the clinic with the highest count of successful mega sessions. 

Whats you definition of "mega session" ?.. So far the approach that 'feels right' to me is a) 1st HT: aim somewhere  between 3k-4k grafts to target frontal and midscalp  b) 2nd HT (potentially after a year or so): aim for crown (if possible)..

I like what I see about Eugenix, but have 2 reservations:

a) I dont want to do the whole scalp (if possible) all at once

b) getting paperwork to go to India will be very difficult..

 

[SLA]

You definitely will not have to do the entire scalp all at once as there have been NW6s on this forum that didn't do this. One example is PaddyIrishman who did all but the crown. @juanjs84just completed surgery with Eugenix- he is an NW 6 and only went for some grafts in crown in 1st sitting because he insisted he didn't want to keep in bare.

I saw a recent interview of Dr. Sethi with Joe Tillman in which he said that they are trying no longer to do the entire head in one sitting; no explanation was given as to why.

 

[deitel130]

@InTheSix it's a good strategy to split it out. Finish off front and mid and worry about the crown later. Eugenix does have excellent BHT results as suggested by others. 

[InTheSix]

Update: after a few more months of pondering, very close to booking an HT. I have narrowed down 3 options (some quite different) and hoping to get some insights

 

Recap:

Advance hair loss (NW6). I understand how starting with FUT will most likely yield more lifetime grafts. I also understand strips scars can be managed expertly, and even filled with FUE/SMP later on. But I am not comfortable with FUT, and have ruled it out. I like shaving/keeping my back and side short and would like to keep that option. In addition, to mitigate the potential “lost” grafts by not going down FUT route, I am willing to fill the crown very sparingly or not at all. I am fine with a conservative hairline also.

Narrowed down options:

-       H&W: Although, I didn’t initially follow up with them after contacting them previously, I changed my mind, and got the following recommendation from Dr. Wong via James (consultant). Dr Wong initially recommended that for my first procedure, I go with 4000-4500 graft FUT that will address the hairline and half of the head. I refused the FUT option. He then recommends an FUE with 3000 grafts that will address the hairline and frontal 1/3

-       Dr Nadimi: I flew to Chicago to meet her in person. She typically doesnt do above 2000 grafts, but was willing to do a 2500 (2000 scalp + 500 beard) first procedure. She said my donor were of good caliber, and I can come back after 8 to 10 months for follow up procedure

-       HLC: They said they can do a 2 or even 3 day procedure, that will address the hairline and give me ‘light’ coverage over majority of the scalp. This would be done using scalp and beard hair. I realize many will argue that Nadimi/Wong are in a different league (which they probably are), but I am keeping HLC in consideration as I believe they have more BHT experience, and are a better option in Turkey (bit cost effective too.. which is not the main criteria, but still a consideration given my potential multiple future procedures)

 

Notable clinics that I consulted but didnt add to final list for various reasons that I will skip for now:

Eugenix (I realize this may be the best option, but I cant travel to India, even minus the pandemic) Bruno F, Bisanga, Hattingen, Rahal.

Decision:

I am leaning towards H&W. I realize this may be a slow and steady (and expensive) approach, but hoping I can do a FUE/BHT as my second procedure after a year.

Question:

-       Is this a decent approach?

-       Should I be asking for Hasson, as I read that he is more experienced with FUE ?

 

Thank you