Doctor only able to get 1000 of 1700 grafts for FUE procedure?

[cloudboy37]

Hi! I just had an FUE procedure last week. I have VERY curly, thick middle eastern hair. I'm not sure if my doctor didn't know how to work with it, but he was supposed to extract 1700 and only got 1000. He claimed for the other 700, "only the top layer of skin came off" and that the follicle stayed in the donor area. He said that those 700 would grow back normally in the donor area.

Does this sound right? I'm worried he just botched the other 700 and is telling me that to soothe me. I'm already annoyed that he failed to get the promised amount, but if he also ruined 700.......Anyway, does it sound plausible that just the top layer of skin came off and the follicles stayed in my head undamaged? Thanks!

[Britanium]

Who was the Dr/Clinic? This does not sound right at all. 

[cloudboy37]

Duncan Simmons in Kansas City through Bosley....:/

He said I could come back in 3 months once the donor area has healed and get the other 700 (which I obviously won't be doing).

[Abi28]

Good thing it was only 1000 grafts, hopefully they didn't do damage to your donor. 

Please don't go back even for free, do more research.

[Britanium]

Oh jeez. Bosley. Ask for a refund for the grafts you didn’t actually get. 3 months is another red flag. 

[Britanium]

Would you be able to post any pics? 

[aaron1234]

I've never heard "only the top layer of skin came off" excuse before.... smh another Bosley victim. 

[Britanium]

Sounds like they probably only managed the 1000 and had a high transaction rate. 
So sorry your having to go through this. They definitely owe you a refund. 
And at least your on the forum now and we guide you to a decent Dr/Clinic. 

Edited November 25, 2020 by JohnAC71

[cloudboy37]

8 minutes ago, JohnAC71 said:

Would you be able to post any pics? 

Fortunately, they only made me pay for the 1000 that they did get. I will not be going back! I was also a bit sketched out because they were recommending 1700....but then when they got the 1000, he was like "oh yea, 1000 will actually be enough. You probably won't even need the extra 700!" 

So was he just overestimating to charge me more at first or................? Anyway, I attached the pic. The surgery was 5 days ago.

[Britanium]

Thanks for the pic. Have you got one of the implanted area too? 🙏

[cloudboy37]

4 minutes ago, JohnAC71 said:

Thanks for the pic. Have you got one of the implanted area too? 🙏

Haha it looks....gross. But yea, thoughts? My hair is REALLY thick, so I'm hoping that regardless, it'll cover the area. And does the donor area look okay?

[Britanium]

I’m going to be honest, personally I don’t think 1000 grafts is enough for that area. I’m not even convinced it looks like a 1000 grafts has been implanted. It’s highly likely you will need to seek out another decent clinic in a years time.

Trust me I would like to be more positive. Definitely seems like your hair type was causing them issues. Please stay with the forum and keep posting though. So many decent Drs to consider for the future. 
 

Out of curiosity what is your age? 

Edited November 25, 2020 by JohnAC71

[cloudboy37]

Just now, JohnAC71 said:

I’m going to be honest, personally I don’t think 1000 grafts is enough for that area. I’m not even convinced it looks like a 1000 grafts has been implanted. It’s highly likely you will need to seek out another decent clinic in a years time.

Trust me I would like to be more positive. Definitely seems like your hair type was causing them issues. Please stay with the forum and keep posting though. So many decent Drs to consider for the future. 

I was worried about that...I'll keep you posted. Do I need to wait a full year to add some more grafts? 

[Britanium]

2 minutes ago, cloudboy37 said:

I was worried about that...I'll keep you posted. Do I need to wait a full year to add some more grafts? 

A year between transplants is quite usual. All you can do from now is to hope for decent growth from what has been implanted and  do loads of research on the forum. It’s a massive positive that you have such good donor hair to a decent Dr/Clinic. Bosley have not done anything like a refined procedure here. 
Im honestly not trying to say anything to upset you, it just makes me mad that Bosley are still doing Hts. 

[cloudboy37]

5 minutes ago, JohnAC71 said:

A year between transplants is quite usual. All you can do from now is to hope for decent growth from what has been implanted and  do loads of research on the forum. It’s a massive positive that you have such good donor hair to a decent Dr/Clinic. Bosley have not done anything like a refined procedure here. 
Im honestly not trying to say anything to upset you, it just makes me mad that Bosley are still doing Hts. 

I see! Well thanks for your honesty, haha. I'll wait a year and see! And figure out where to go next 😛

[Britanium]

Look at the find a prescreened physician (top right of page) and then look for actual patient results. Look for similar hair types to get a better idea of what can be achieved. Stay with the forum and get to know us 🙏

Edited November 25, 2020 by JohnAC71

[Gatsby]

1 hour ago, JohnAC71 said:

Look at the find a prescreened physician (top right of page) and then look for actual patient results. Look for similar hair types to get a better idea of what can be achieved. Stay with the forum and get to know us 🙏

+1 to everything that John has said! You have great hair for a transplant candidate so don't feel too dejected. I would actually go to a reputable hair transplant surgeon in your country now to get a second and even a third opinion on what actually took place during your surgery. I would also hold off on any more immediate surgery for the time being. Stay with the forum and absorb as much as you can. This is a game of patience in the hair transplant industry whichever way you cut it (pardon the pun). Take care!

[cloudboy37]

3 hours ago, Gatsby said:

+1 to everything that John has said! You have great hair for a transplant candidate so don't feel too dejected. I would actually go to a reputable hair transplant surgeon in your country now to get a second and even a third opinion on what actually took place during your surgery. I would also hold off on any more immediate surgery for the time being. Stay with the forum and absorb as much as you can. This is a game of patience in the hair transplant industry whichever way you cut it (pardon the pun). Take care!

Thank you! That gives me hope. I looked at the list of top surgeons here and none of them are in my state. Is it possible to have them evaluate it online? I don't think I can travel to get it checked out again due to Covid...

[Britanium]

Just now, cloudboy37 said:

Thank you! That gives me hope. I looked at the list of top surgeons here and none of them are in my state. Is it possible to have them evaluate it online? I don't think I can travel to get it checked out again due to Covid...

Yes they could evaluate online. Contact a few? 

[Britanium]

Check your inbox. 👏

 

[DrTBarghouthi]

This is quite unfortunate. I deal a lot with middle eastern hair and in my humble opinion, hair can be slightly longer or deeper into the skin. I tend to use a slightly longer punch at times (5mm) instead of the (4 mm) length punch. What you had experienced is a technical issue called "decapping" of the follicle. This means that when the root is firmly tethered or deeper than what they are used to, they tend to try and pull harder when releasing the graft. This ends in the more fragile skin part to come off with the remainder of the root still inside. The right way around this is to go a bit deeper with the extractions until the punch releases all this tethered tissue and then things are smooth again. It is always important to check the areas being extracted every few grafts to make sure that follicles are coming out nicely and without transections. This in fact is done for all FUE cases as direction and depth vary in different areas. Give it a year and hopefully then you can add density to the area. 

[Richie888]

On 11/25/2020 at 11:18 AM, DrTBarghouthi said:

This is quite unfortunate. I deal a lot with middle eastern hair and in my humble opinion, hair can be slightly longer or deeper into the skin. I tend to use a slightly longer punch at times (5mm) instead of the (4 mm) length punch. What you had experienced is a technical issue called "decapping" of the follicle. This means that when the root is firmly tethered or deeper than what they are used to, they tend to try and pull harder when releasing the graft. This ends in the more fragile skin part to come off with the remainder of the root still inside. The right way around this is to go a bit deeper with the extractions until the punch releases all this tethered tissue and then things are smooth again. It is always important to check the areas being extracted every few grafts to make sure that follicles are coming out nicely and without transections. This in fact is done for all FUE cases as direction and depth vary in different areas. Give it a year and hopefully then you can add density to the area. 

I hope people appreciate the priceless information I see you dish out on this forum, I doubt the clinic he visited could even give him that explanation. Bravo to you doc 

[DrTBarghouthi]

Thanks @Richie888for your comments. This forum is full of knowledge and knowledgeable members and I think it’s important to continually build on that. I think members and doctors learn a lot from here. I personally got to know a lot about what people worry about before and after, what they experience in their post op recovery period (which we usually follow up on but might not be with them on a day to day basis) and this helps us provide better aftercare instructions for example. I think patients should also learn about how intricate the work can be (if done properly). This particular case is intriguing. It is a pure example of how different each patient can be. Even in the same donor, hair direction and depth changes all the time.
Patients often think of hair transplants as a procedure where the same steps are just repeated. What is hard to imagine (and makes it exciting to us on a daily basis) is how much of a difference a one millimeter adjustment in our technique or punch choice or even fluid injection volumes can alter the outcomes. When patients leave happy about the numbers they yielded or the comfort of the procedure, trust me in saying that it takes a huge deal of planning, adjusting and often calculated steps in reaching such goals and getting you to leave the clinic with a smile. You can surely hear about patients having horror stories by the end of their session in some underground clinics.
If it was something repetitive and straightforward, then everyone would be having the same outcome and all patients will be happy. It is not unfortunately.