Dr Arshad- The Hair Dr 4,817 FUE

[JDEE0]

31 minutes ago, Melvin- Moderator said:

I have certainly seen cases grow well past the 9th mark, and even past the 12th mark. 
 

7 months vs. 2 1/2 years Arshad patient, one of the best HTs I’ve ever seen to be quite honest. I don’t there was ever a doubt that you’d need another HT with your leveL of hair loss. I’ve had three and still want/need more hair. Anyone who acts like you could’ve achieved everything in one go is being disingenuous. The crown alone takes thousands of grafts. 

I remember seeing that result a while a go, and there's no doubt he's come out with a dense result after two surgeries.

Thing is though, I looked up his thread and the picture you posted is actually at 6 months and there is clearly a lot of hair there that just hasn't fully matured yet, as you would expect for most people at 6 months. Difference in comparison to OP is that you can clearly see a lot of hairs there that are just maybe at 50-60% growth, whereas OP's hairline is clearly sparse. Hence why a few years later it looks full as they obviously all grew out at that point.

In OP's case,  there don't look to be as many non matured hairs just waiting to fully grow and thicken, and at this stage I don't see where they're going to appear from. So I don't think the comparison really fits at all to be honest.

Also, I agree that you wouldn't by any means expect for OP to have his head adequately covered with the one surgery, you're right his level of loss was too high. But I don't understand why the grafts were placed as they were, spread over the whole top. Generally, in his case I would think something like 3500 would have been put into the frontal third/half and then another surgery for the crown/back of the midscalp would be done at a later date so that he didn't end up in this position.

Regardless of that though, (nearly) 5000 grafts is a lot and I'd still expect to see more growth regardless of this. That being said, you are still only at 8 months so can't really judge it yet, hopefully things pick up a bit and you don't need a big touch up to get where you want to be!

Edited July 27, 2021 by JDEE0

[Classygentleman]

1 minute ago, Melvin- Moderator said:

Yes he did, which is customary. Anyone pretending like you should get amazing density and coverage in one go either doesn’t know or has no personal experience with HTs, as I said I’ve had three and I need another HT. Sometimes you’ll need another HT for coverage or to boost density. There’s nothing wrong with that. You can always add in more hair if needed. 

Thanks again @Melvin- Moderator

to achieve a density close to Mike’s, how many further grafts do you estimate I would need?

[Classygentleman]

1 minute ago, JDEE0 said:

I remember seeing that result a while a go, and there's no doubt he's come out with a dense result after two surgeries.

Thing is though, I looked up his thread and the picture you posted is actually at 6 months and there is clearly a lot of hair there that just hasn't fully matured yet, as you would expect for most people at 6 months. Difference in comparison to OP is that you can clearly see a lot of hairs there that are just maybe at 50-60% growth, whereas OP's hairline is clearly sparse. Hence why a few years later it looks full as they obviously all grew out at that point.

In OP's case,  there don't look to be any non matured hairs just waiting to fully grow and thicken, and at this stage I don't see where they're going to appear from. So I don't think the comparison really fits at all to be honest.

Also, I agree that you wouldn't by any means expect for OP to have his head adequately covered with the one surgery, you're right his level of loss was too high. But I don't understand why the grafts were placed as they were, spread over the whole top. Generally, in his case I would think something like 3500 would have been put into the frontal third/half and then another surgery for the crown/back of the midscalp would be done at a later date so that he didn't end up in this position.

Regardless of that though, (nearly) 5000 grafts is a lot and I'd still expect to see more growth regardless of this.

Thanks @JDEE0

appreciate the input. I do tend to agree that Mike had better density at 6 months after his first surgery than I do at 8. (Clear pics on Mikes Instagram)

 I’m so torn here as some are saying I will get more growth and others the opposite.

[Melvin- Admin]

Just now, Classygentleman said:

Thanks again @Melvin- Moderator

to achieve a density close to Mike’s, how many further grafts do you estimate I would need?

From looking at this picture it was clear you would need a minimum of 6,000 grafts and that is for coverage, even more for density 

What’s the difference between coverage and density? Well, density is the number of grafts per cm2, and coverage is the area that is transplanted. The number will vary depending on the surface area and shape. That is why no two people are the same, and why one person may look a certain way with 4,000 grafts and another completely different. 

Me and you have nearly the same hair loss, I’ve had 5,300 grafts and my crown is all but bald. I have a small head, so I peg myself at requiring another 1,500-2000 grafts. For you, your head looks bigger. So I’d imagine you’d need another 1,000 more than me. 

Stop listening to people who have no clue about surgery. What you see is what people want you to see. Hair Transplants are not perfect and as a high Norwood this is something you have to accept.

Lastly, there are two schools of thought on how to approach large Norwoods. One is to work densely in a small area, namely the hairline, the other is to cover more area with less density and then add more hair in subsequent sessions. Neither method is wrong. It depends on the patient. If you had all the grafts on your hairline, you’d be complaining that the crown is still bald. Take a look at the thread below, coming from someone who’s been in your shoes three times and has your level of hair loss.
 

 

[JDEE0]

1 minute ago, Classygentleman said:

Thanks @JDEE0

appreciate the input. I do tend to agree that Mike had better density at 6 months after his first surgery than I do at 8. (Clear pics on Mikes Instagram)

 I’m so torn here as some are saying I will get more growth and others the opposite.

I think it's best to just wait a few more months and see where you end up; all I'm saying is if I was you I would certainly be looking into and researching having a touch up in the not too distant future. It's not that you're done growing and that's it, you will see improvements, but I can't see how it will be anywhere near enough to make you happy, especially if you want the sort of density that the other guy ended up with when all is said and done. 

As a result, I personally think that you should prepare for that outcome after the 12 month mark as I just don't see the point in sugarcoating things, it's best to be honest so you can be prepared, avoid further disappointment and get yourself in a position to be where you want to be as soon as you can and not have to wait any longer than you need to.

[Melvin- Admin]

This is a substantial difference, especially in the crown. For one surgery and your level of hair loss, it’s quite jarring if I’m being honest. Will it be perfect? No, will you need more hair after 12 months? Yes, but will it be better? Yes. It has continued to improve month to month as seen below. I don’t doubt that this will look a lot better in 4 months. That said, you will need another HT there’s no doubt about that.

Significant improvement from the previous month.

[JDEE0]

And for the record, listen to whoever you want to @Classygentleman. You're a grown man so you can make your own decisions of how to use your brain and who to listen to, I don't think you need to be told how to do that. 

The whole point of your postings here were to get feedback, so not sure why anyone who disagrees with Melvin automatically has no clue about surgery or has some agenda to make you see something rather than just their honest opinion. 

Either way, I'll be out of this thread now as it gets boring listening to that gibberish, but I hope it comes in a little more for you over the next few months and turns out ok!

[Melvin- Admin]

7 minutes ago, JDEE0 said:

And for the record, listen to whoever you want to @Classygentleman. You're a grown man so you can make your own decisions of how to use your brain and who to listen to, I don't think you need to be told how to do that. 

The whole point of your postings here were to get feedback, so not sure why anyone who disagrees with Melvin automatically has no clue about surgery or has some agenda to make you see something rather than just their honest opinion. 

Either way, I'll be out of this thread now as it gets boring listening to that gibberish, but I hope it comes in a little more for you over the next few months and turns out ok!

Stop being so antagonistic. I’m speaking from someone who’s had surgery, and you based on your own admission, haven’t even had surgery. I’ve provided my own pictures and my own story. The whole antagonizing tone is not gonna be tolerated. 

[Britanium]

@ClassygentlemanI think the takeaway here is that yes you will need to have another ht to improve what’s already been done. Multiple hts for the higher Norwood levels are very common. If you reinforced the hairline and added to the density across the scalp next time I think it will be more than satisfactory.

Yes you will get further growth/enhancement over the next 4 months (maybe beyond) but unlikely to have any new grafts suddenly spurt in to life.

 

[Britanium]

Having been in a similar starting out position to you it’s taken me x5 hts so far and i still need another ! 
Infact my first result wasn’t too dissimilar, for some reason it proved difficult to get density in the middle part of my hairline. And I have seen others facing the same issue. 

[JDEE0]

2 minutes ago, JohnAC71 said:

@ClassygentlemanI think the takeaway here is that yes you will need to have another ht to improve what’s already been done. Multiple hts for the higher Norwood levels are very common. If you reinforced the hairline and added to the density across the scalp next time I think it will be more than satisfactory.

Yes you will get further growth/enhancement over the next 4 months (maybe beyond) but unlikely to have any new grafts suddenly spurt in to life.

 

I agree with John completely, you'll be fine in the end @Classygentleman. No need to worry, like has been said, the chances of one HT sorting you out were extremely slim from the get go, so it is what it is. 

As for Melvin, I believe I was doing nothing but replying to OP of my opinion, not being negative in any way and just being truthful that he's extremely unlikely to end up happy in another 4 months time whilst trying to encourage him to prepare for that outcome so he's not blindsighted after the year mark. I said nothing towards you in any way, but disagreed with the inaccurate example you provided and your response was to completely ignore my points and instead say that I have no clue what I'm talking about and to ignore what I'm saying. So I really fail to see how I'm antagonising anyone and would argue that it's actually you doing so. 

Do as you please. Anyway, I'll not be responding as this thread isn't about your dislike of me, but good luck @Classygentleman. I hope things thicken up a bit more in the coming months. 

[RandoBrando517]

Op looks like you’ve been improving slowly but steadily the mod makes sense and I can see how someone really bald would need way more grafts stay patient.

[Classygentleman]

Thank you everybody, I really do appreciate all of the feedback so far. I will continue to post my results over the coming months. Thanks again, this forum is a great place for knowledge

[Britanium]

Just now, Classygentleman said:

Thank you everybody, I really do appreciate all of the feedback so far. I will continue to post my results over the coming months. Thanks again, this forum is a great place for knowledge

Look forward to seeing your continued journey. I know your in contact with the clinic and they are being responsive which is also good 👍🏽 

[Britanium]

@Classygentlemanhope all is well ? Any improvements happening since your last pics ? Thanks 🙏 

[Classygentleman]

7 hours ago, JohnAC71 said:

@Classygentlemanhope all is well ? Any improvements happening since your last pics ? Thanks 🙏 

I’m now just short of nine months, latest pictures attached.

I visited the surgery last week for a checkup. The doctor was in agreement that growth is slower than we would hope for and that the left side of the donor was a little light, but not over harvested.
Under the microscope, he noticed mild scalp irritation which could be preventing growth and has provided shampoo and medication to help here.

I was also given PRP treatment, oral minoxidil and laser therapy to help growth.

it was made clear to me that if I was not happy with my results then a top up procedure would be offered.
Whilst my result is behind where I would have liked it to be at this stage, I cannot fault the way the clinic have treated me post treatment. 

[ITA]

Yes, you will probably need a touch up.  It's nice to hear that the doctor has been supportive and continues to support you.

[Melvin- Admin]

I think overall it looks decent. Yes there’s a small section that is a little light, but considering where you were it’s good, especially the crown. Dr. Arshad is one of the most ethical doctors I’ve ever spoken too, he’s always very supportive. In the end, if you get a top-up it will be a small number of grafts necessary.

 

[Classygentleman]

19 minutes ago, Melvin- Moderator said:

I think overall it looks decent. Yes there’s a small section that is a little light, but considering where you were it’s good, especially the crown. Dr. Arshad is one of the most ethical doctors I’ve ever spoken too, he’s always very supportive. In the end, if you get a top-up it will be a small number of grafts necessary.

 

Thanks @Melvin- Moderator as always for your thoughts.

how many grafts do you think I would require on a top up and can I expect much change over the coming months?

[Kingthin]

Do you have to go for follow ups on the PRP? What sort of dosage on the Oral Minox will you be taking?

[Classygentleman]

7 minutes ago, Kingthin said:

Do you have to go for follow ups on the PRP? What sort of dosage on the Oral Minox will you be taking?

Yeah, back in a month.

dose is half a tablet per day

[Kingthin]

13 hours ago, Classygentleman said:

Yeah, back in a month.

dose is half a tablet per day

Good luck. Hope you get the gains that give you a bit more satisfaction!

[Britanium]

@ClassygentlemanHey 👋 how is your situation? Any improvements? Just wondering how the talks are going with the clinic. 

[Classygentleman]

6 hours ago, JohnAC71 said:

@ClassygentlemanHey 👋 how is your situation? Any improvements? Just wondering how the talks are going with the clinic. 

No real change. Will take some pics but nothing new to report.

I’ve had another session of PRP and low level laser therapy,  but much the same as last month. 

The clinic have prescribed topical fin so will see what happens.

They have been great in terms of trying to get the best result for me, but I think (unless I get growth in the 10-12 month stage), I will need a top up surgery.

[Classygentleman]

Month 10 update 

 

 

Edited September 21, 2021 by Classygentleman