Poor growth after six months

[CastleHill]

Hi guys,

I had a transplant roughly six months ago and am worried with the lack of progress so far. I had just under 3000 grafts to the front of my scalp.

Any thoughts or words of wisdom?

Thanks

[ITA]

Hi @CastleHill

Could you post some pics  of the pre-surgery, the procedure and if you like, tell us at which clinic you operated on?

[CastleHill]

1 minute ago, Egy said:

Hi @CastleHill

Could you post some pics  of the pre-surgery, the procedure and if you like, tell us at which clinic you operated on?

Surgery was done in London at City Clinics. 
 

I have add some photos of pre and post transplant.pos

[ITA]

You still have a few months to see how the situation will evolve, I don't know the clinic, why did you choose that one?  Have you personally seen other patients with the same degree of baldness as you who have had the transplant there?  From the photos I have seen, at least from the sides, your donor area did not look bad before the transplant, it is likely that you need another trasplant, and the fact that they only took 3,000 u.f.  , play in your favor. Maybe, for the next one, you could take a look and ask for online consultations, from the surgeons / clinics recommended on this forum.

[Britanium]

If I can be honest the work looks poor. This clinic is not a good option. We have very few decent options here in the UK unfortunately. I’m sorry that the results are not better at this point. Usually even the slower growers would see some proper growth at this point.

Yes you have another 6 months to go but I honestly think you will be having to seek another transplant to refine the hairline and add density. We can definitely help you choose a much better clinic/Dr next time. 

[CastleHill]

11 minutes ago, JohnAC71 said:

If I can be honest the work looks poor. This clinic is not a good option. We have very few decent options here in the UK unfortunately. I’m sorry that the results are not better at this point. Usually even the slower growers would see some proper growth at this point.

Yes you have another 6 months to go but I honestly think you will be having to seek another transplant to refine the hairline and add density. We can definitely help you choose a much better clinic/Dr next time. 

Thanks - appreciate the offer of help to find another surgeon/clinic.

What makes you say the work looks poor?

 

[Britanium]

3 minutes ago, CastleHill said:

Thanks - appreciate the offer of help to find another surgeon/clinic.

What makes you say the work looks poor?

 

The hairline we can see isn’t very refined at all. The difference in density they have implanted in your frontal third isn’t good either. Sorry but I have only ever seen poor work coming from that particular clinic. None end up that good. Always complaints of poor growth/density/planning etc. 
But we do have the following which are forum recommended:

https://www.hairtransplantnetwork.com/Consult-a-Physician/surgeon-list/UK/United Kingdom

Although if you was to add in Europe you will have access to some really elite clinics. 

 

[Britanium]

It’s difficult to see in your hairline but do you have any multi grafts implanted ? The hairline should only include single hair grafts. Thanks 🙏 

[Gasthoerer]

Unfortunately, I have to agree. The lack of growth is only one issue. 

The amount of grafts in the middle was not even close to be enough to achieve a good result. The hairline was more densely packed, but still not dense enough IMO. Also, it appears that the angels of the grafts and therefore the growth direction is wrong. of course I can be misled and you have only styled the hair poorly. If you are lucky, less than 3000 grafts were used - it appears like that. 

Again, sorry, to be negative, but I think you should take your time in the next month to find out about the top clinics for a case like yours and have F2F consultations with 2-3 top clinics. Until, this is done, your results should be final and you can address the next step. You have to chose your next step wisely. Not many bullets left.

[Berba11]

- It doesn't look like 3,000 grafts from these photos. The photos the clinic took immediately post surgery (please say they took some!) should reveal a bit more.

- The hairline appears to lack any micro irregularities that are found in natural hairlines. Instead the hair*line* is an actual linear line.

- Possible multi graft hairs in the hairline instead of exclusively (or at the very least, overwhelmingly mostly!) single graft hairs.

There are three UK clinics recommended on this website that are very good clinics, and Dr Ed Ball in Portsmouth (not listed here) which is another excellent clinic. I have to ask, what was it that you found in your research that led you to *this* particular clinic? 

[Britanium]

Yes the graft count was another concern of mine. I feel bad for pointing out a lot of the issues, but sometimes it just needs to be said. We cannot sugar coat this unfortunately… it’s pretty poor all round.. 

[Britanium]

Please do show some pics of the donor area pre and post op, thanks 🙏 

[HappyMan2021]

Poor result, for all the reasons already stated. Don't waste another 6 months waiting around and obsessing for a miracle to happen. Instead, accept reality and the poor outcome, so that you can now start putting the wheels in motion for your repair surgery. 

Once you have your repair surgery marked on the calendar (hopefully from a better clinic!), you will start to be able to put this poor surgery behind you. 

Edited August 22, 2021 by SadMan2021

[TEXAN35]

A couple of more months wait will definitely give you a more certain outlook. On the positive side you have got ok growth for a slow grower and your grafts are not lost. If you are not satisfied in few month a corrective filler procedure to add density and single hair grafts in the hairline can be easily done.

[CastleHill]

10 hours ago, Berba11 said:

- It doesn't look like 3,000 grafts from these photos. The photos the clinic took immediately post surgery (please say they took some!) should reveal a bit more.

- The hairline appears to lack any micro irregularities that are found in natural hairlines. Instead the hair*line* is an actual linear line.

- Possible multi graft hairs in the hairline instead of exclusively (or at the very least, overwhelmingly mostly!) single graft hairs.

There are three UK clinics recommended on this website that are very good clinics, and Dr Ed Ball in Portsmouth (not listed here) which is another excellent clinic. I have to ask, what was it that you found in your research that led you to *this* particular clinic? 

Thanks for the detailed feedback and recommendation - much appreciated.

In all honesty, I was a little naive in my approach to choosing a clinic and based my decision on reviews etc. 

[CastleHill]

7 hours ago, TEXAN35 said:

A couple of more months wait will definitely give you a more certain outlook. On the positive side you have got ok growth for a slow grower and your grafts are not lost. If you are not satisfied in few month a corrective filler procedure to add density and single hair grafts in the hairline can be easily done.

Appreciate the positivity! I think I will wait another couple of months and see what the final outcome is, before deciding on a clinic for the second procedure (which, I agree with you all, looks likely to be needed).

[CastleHill]

17 hours ago, JohnAC71 said:

The hairline we can see isn’t very refined at all. The difference in density they have implanted in your frontal third isn’t good either. Sorry but I have only ever seen poor work coming from that particular clinic. None end up that good. Always complaints of poor growth/density/planning etc. 
But we do have the following which are forum recommended:

https://www.hairtransplantnetwork.com/Consult-a-Physician/surgeon-list/UK/United Kingdom

Although if you was to add in Europe you will have access to some really elite clinics. 

 

In terms of good clinics in the £5k region, either in the UK or Europe, where would you recommend?

[Britanium]

1 hour ago, CastleHill said:

In terms of good clinics in the £5k region, either in the UK or Europe, where would you recommend?

I would be heading to Europe which is around €2.50 per graft. If it’s likely to end up costing more than £5k then save up. Some names to research are: De Freitas, Dr Bisanga, Dr Villa, Dr Pinto, Dr Feriduni, Dr Ferreira, Dr Lapunzula and Dr Lorenzo. Look at HDC @Doron Haratior Vertex @DrTBarghouthialso. 

Edited August 22, 2021 by JohnAC71

[Al - Moderator]

The good news is that it looks like all of the transplanted hair is growing, so there wasn't any wasted donor grafts. Look at it like you have a nice base of transplanted hair to work with that just needs more grafts added to it. Wait a few more months to let everything grow in fully and then go to a better clinic that will finish it the right way.

 

 

[Melvin- Admin]

I don’t think it’s the time frame 6 months that we can say its a poor result. But I do think it wasn’t a well-planned surgery to begin with, here’s my advice. Wait until 12 months and re-assess your situation. Start submitting virtual consultations to as many surgeons as possible below

https://www.hairtransplantnetwork.com/Consult-a-Physician/hair-transplant-surgeons.asp?sr=HRN-MOB

[JohnCasper]

Like Melvin says...give it a few more months and see if you have some late growth.  Hope you see improvements and new growth. 

[deeznuts]

I've never seen such a sudden transition from hairline to midscalp density lol. Usually it's a gradient isn't it?

Edited August 31, 2021 by deeznuts

[Britanium]

2 minutes ago, deeznuts said:

I've never seen such a sudden transition from hairline to midscalp density lol. Usually it's a gradient isn't it?

Yes it is, this was very poorly planned by the clinic. Feel bad for the OP but let’s not sugar coat it too much. 

[pkipling]

It looks like you're being pointed in the right direction and given lots to consider. I would like to point out that while this procedure is by no means ideal, it's also not a complete botch job. In addition to waiting a full 12 months before diving into another procedure, I would also start coming to terms with the fact that even if it does improve over the next few months, it most likely won't meet the expectations you had going into it. The work itself simply doesn't appear to be up to par with what the elite surgeons are doing. 

Keep your head up and know that this is most likely a fairly easy fix - given that you do way more research this time around and consult various surgeons. The list of recommended surgeons here is the best place I know of to start, so it's great you've found this forum just in time for you to start researching a repair procedure.