FUT after FUE, need advise!

[xpressabhi]

Hello Everyone, I am immensely grateful to a lot of people in this forum who have been sharing their experiences and advise for people who are planning to undergo HT surgery. I have been following the forum since last 6 months and finally created my account.

I am 34 years old and losing hair since more than last 10 years. I am currently in a stage where i have lost a lot of my frontal sides with lot of crown and midsection thinning. Although with longer hair, i am comfortable styling my hair to hide my baldness. But whenever i get a hair cut (a very conservative cut with only slight cut in front and mostly in sides), it becomes almost impossible to hide my baldness because sides are not long enough and it looks terrible for couple of weeks. 

I probably have progressive NW3/4 baldness with stable hair loss but lot of thinning and already on finasteride and minoxidil for last 4 months (haven't notices any major difference yet). Based on my research i should definitely go for FUT to maximise donor planning for future hair loss. However i am unwilling to get a long scar in my head at this stage of my life. My current plan is to go for the hairline, just to cover the sides and if possible fill a bit in frontal thinning areas. I want to go as conservative as possible right now so i can opt for a FUT later.

I recently had a consultation with Eugenix and they suggested 1500-1700 grafts for the above. I want to even push them for an even more conservative hairline so we can do it in less than 1500. My question to all the experienced people and doctors in the forum is if it's possible to opt for an FUT later if i have a 1500 FUE now. I am sure i don't want to risk getting FUT scar right now but will probably be okay with it 5 years down the line. My donor is not the best but it's good. Also i think my head circumference is little smaller which means donor capacity should be 10-15% lesser than average in my opinion.

Is there anyone who had similar experience of getting FUT post FUE. Appreciate advise from members of the community!

[Melvin- Admin]

Yes it’s possible, but if you want to eventually do FUT, it’s best to do that first.

[xpressabhi]

Thanks for replying @Melvin-Moderator I agree. I am based out of India and i do not have the money right now to opt for the best FUT surgeons like H&W. I was considering going for FUT at Medispa (Suneet Soni) but i saw couple of people posting really wide scars which scared me off. So a conservative FUE at Eugenix seems like the best option to me right now.

Also if you could help tag others who could probably advise more in my case, it would be immensely helpful.

Edited January 4, 2021 by xpressabhi

[Melvin- Admin]

1 hour ago, xpressabhi said:

Thanks for replying @Melvin-Moderator I agree. I am based out of India and i do not have the money right now to opt for the best FUT surgeons like H&W. I was considering going for FUT at Medispa (Suneet Soni) but i saw couple of people posting really wide scars which scared me off. So a conservative FUE at Eugenix seems like the best option to me right now.

Also if you could help tag others who could probably advise more in my case, it would be immensely helpful.

Well, if that is the case you are probably right sticking to Eugenix would be best case. 

[A_4_Archan]

On 1/4/2021 at 9:25 PM, xpressabhi said:

Thanks for replying @Melvin-Moderator I agree. I am based out of India and i do not have the money right now to opt for the best FUT surgeons like H&W. I was considering going for FUT at Medispa (Suneet Soni) but i saw couple of people posting really wide scars which scared me off. So a conservative FUE at Eugenix seems like the best option to me right now.

Also if you could help tag others who could probably advise more in my case, it would be immensely helpful.

My case is same as urs bro...wanna go for fut first ..i m frm india..bt no option other than medispa..but evn i have seen some bad scar issues...so that made me skeptical...So m finding out other doctor so i can atleast have some comparison 

Edited April 28, 2021 by Archan

[xpressabhi]

1 hour ago, Archan said:

My case is same as urs bro...wanna go for fut first ..i m frm india..bt no option other than medispa..but evn i have seen some bad scar issues...so that made me skeptical...So m finding out other doctor so i can atleast have some comparison 

Yeah bro, i do not want feel like risking an FUT surgery in India. But right now, i have just accepted my hair loss and concentrating on other stuffs. Feels like it's also a lot more about mindset. I will eventually need to get the hair transplant done, but not being panicky about it right now. So will wait for a year or so before i make an informed decision.

[A_4_Archan]

4 minutes ago, xpressabhi said:

Yeah bro, i do not want feel like risking an FUT surgery in India. But right now, i have just accepted my hair loss and concentrating on other stuffs. Feels like it's also a lot more about mindset. I will eventually need to get the hair transplant done, but not being panicky about it right now. So will wait for a year or so before i make an informed decision.

Thats good...keep calm..and stay safe 

[Gatsby]

3 hours ago, xpressabhi said:

Yeah bro, i do not want feel like risking an FUT surgery in India. But right now, i have just accepted my hair loss and concentrating on other stuffs. Feels like it's also a lot more about mindset. I will eventually need to get the hair transplant done, but not being panicky about it right now. So will wait for a year or so before i make an informed decision.

That is great advice you have given (and taken on board yourself). Don't feel like you are currently just biding time either. As you are on finasteride and minoxidil you are still being proactive in not only maintaining the hair you have but also improving the quality of your donor hair with the possibility of regrowing some as well. It can take up to 18 months - 2 years to see the full beneficial effects of finasteride. You have very realistic goals opting for a conservative approach and I wish you all the best!

[xpressabhi]

7 hours ago, Gatsby said:

That is great advice you have given (and taken on board yourself). Don't feel like you are currently just biding time either. As you are on finasteride and minoxidil you are still being proactive in not only maintaining the hair you have but also improving the quality of your donor hair with the possibility of regrowing some as well. It can take up to 18 months - 2 years to see the full beneficial effects of finasteride. You have very realistic goals opting for a conservative approach and I wish you all the best!

Thank you and great hearing from you Mr. Gatsby. Your insights in the forum have been really helpful.

[Britanium]

Just now, xpressabhi said:

Thank you and great hearing from you Mr. Gatsby. Your insights in the forum have been really helpful.

Gatsby is a top guy and always offers sage advice 👌

[xpressabhi]

1 minute ago, JohnAC71 said:

Gatsby is a top guy and always offers sage advice 👌

Cannot not say the same thing for you @JohnAC71 🙂

All you people taking out so much time to help others with a very real life changing problem without any benefits in return is too under appreciated in my opinion.

[Britanium]

1 minute ago, xpressabhi said:

Cannot not say the same thing for you @JohnAC71 🙂

All you people taking out so much time to help others with a very real life changing problem without any benefits in return is too under appreciated in my opinion.

Thanks for your kind words 🙏 it’s reward enough knowing it’s appreciated. 

[SLA]

So @xpressabhi- I have heard some surgeons who perform both FUT and FUE talk about when doing FUE 1st, leaving hair in the strip zone just in case a patient wants to have an FUT done in the future.

I have seen this from Dr. Bisanga @Raphael84 and @DrTBarghouthi, Dr. Barghouthi, both recommended surgeons here do thi; curious to know their thoughts on this matter.

Even with Eugenix, since they used to perform FUT, you might be able to work with Dr. Arika or Sethi letting them know you want to save donor in FUT area for the option of doing strip in the future.

 

[DrTBarghouthi]

6 hours ago, SLA said:

So @xpressabhi- I have heard some surgeons who perform both FUT and FUE talk about when doing FUE 1st, leaving hair in the strip zone just in case a patient wants to have an FUT done in the future.

I have seen this from Dr. Bisanga @Raphael84 and @DrTBarghouthi, Dr. Barghouthi, both recommended surgeons here do thi; curious to know their thoughts on this matter.

Even with Eugenix, since they used to perform FUT, you might be able to work with Dr. Arika or Sethi letting them know you want to save donor in FUT area for the option of doing strip in the future.

 

I totally agree. If someone has FUT as a future option for any reason, I usually leave about 1 cm of non extracted FUE donor if the conditions are favourable, for any future FUT work. 

[SLA]

4 minutes ago, DrTBarghouthi said:

I totally agree. If someone has FUT as a future option for any reason, I usually leave about 1 cm of non extracted FUE donor if the conditions are favourable, for any future FUT work. 

Thanks for chiming in @DrTBarghouthi

Would a surgeon need to leave more hair above the 1cm of non extracted FUE donor to hide a future FUT scar or would there still be enough hair left after FUE extraction above a future scar to conceal it?

[DrTBarghouthi]

1 minute ago, SLA said:

Thanks for chiming in @DrTBarghouthi

Would a surgeon need to leave more hair above the 1cm of non extracted FUE donor to hide a future FUT scar or would there still be enough hair left after FUE extraction above a future scar to conceal it?

There would usually be enough hair to cover as with FUT scars you are relying not only on density but also on hair length to cover the scar. So even a reasonably extracted zone will cover once the hair grows long. The reason for leaving a non extracted zone is to maximise the number of grafts in that strip. 

[SLA]

Just now, DrTBarghouthi said:

There would usually be enough hair to cover as with FUT scars you are relying not only on density but also on hair length to cover the scar. So even a reasonably extracted zone will cover once the hair grows long. The reason for leaving a non extracted zone is to maximise the number of grafts in that strip. 

thanks @DrTBarghouthi.

In maximizing lifetime donor hair, seems as if combination of FUT and FUE over multiple procedures is optimal.

I am trying to understand how top FUE doctors, some of which used to perform FUT dispute this claim.

I have heard a variety of reasons given disputing this claim, but would be curious to know your thoughts!

Thank you!

[Melvin- Admin]

Doing nothing is never a bad thing. There’s plenty of time!