Help deciding

[BritZillian]

Hi Everyone,

First, let me thank all of you for everything you do here. Ive been a long time lurker of a bunch of forums and this one is by far, one of the best and most informative.

I've finally decided to take the final step in my hairloss journey and going with the surgery A little bit of background: 33, male, men go bald in my family around 28-30, I used avodart/Dutasteride for a few years and stopped 5 years ago.. and thus, it progressed.

I've consulted with a few doctors after reviewing multiple recommendations from diff forums, and landed on the list below. My budget is app 25k U.S dollars, and preferably would do it this year or January 2022. (but willing to wait ofc). Thing is, I think I nailed some really strong options, and would love your thoughts?

I've also attached my pics below if that helps. Interested in getting volume in front/close the temples and some work on the crown. (I did the awful line which I sent to the doctors as well for them to have an idea)

I will say, I'm pretty close to closing with Bloxham, as he can do it this year and has been super responsive (and the feedback I get from everyone here in the forum is pretty incredible). I'd say my top 2 preference would be him or HLC.

Appreciate all of you!

 

 

 

Edited August 23, 2021 by BritZillian

[Britanium]

HLC if you want to go FUE, Hasson & Wong if you want to truly maximise your donor potential by starting out with FUT (Megasession) Although I also really like the larger FUT sessions that Hattingen do.. have you considered them ? 

However your going to need a long term plan, have you considered Fin/Minox to help retain your current hair. I know you said you already lost ground, you would continue to do so unless you reintroduced a med regime. 

Edited August 23, 2021 by JohnAC71

[BritZillian]

6 minutes ago, JohnAC71 said:

HLC if you want to go FUE, Hasson & Wong if you want to truly maximise your donor potential by starting out with FUT (Megasession) Although I do really like the larger FUT sessions that Hattingen do.. have you considered them ? 

However your going to need a long term plan, have you considered Fin/Minox to help retain your current hair. I know you said you already lost ground, you would continue to do so unless you reintroduced a med regime. 

Thank you! I don't really have a preference on FUT vs FUE to be honest. I will re-start Min/Dutasteride, but unless I'm wrong, some doctors asked me to stop taking it a month or so prior, so I have the prescription, but waiting until surgery since if I go with Bloxham, it's soon.

 

 

[Britanium]

2 minutes ago, BritZillian said:

Thank you! I don't really have a preference on FUT vs FUE to be honest. I will re-start Min/Dutasteride, but unless I'm wrong, some doctors asked me to stop taking it a month or so prior, so I have the prescription, but waiting until surgery since if I go with Bloxham, it's soon.

 

 

Yes it should feature in your long term plan. I do really like Dr Bloxhams work it’s just that I would put Hasson & Wong above just about anyone 😉 However everyone will have a Dr/Clinic which appears more suitable for their individual needs. If your gut feeling is to go with Bloxham/Feller then go for it ! 

[Britanium]

I do like that Hasson & Wong has come out as Hang and Wong on your spreadsheet 😂 which Bruno ? Ferreira or Pinto ? And I don’t know the other Barcelona Dr you mention ? 

[BritZillian]

1 minute ago, JohnAC71 said:

I do like that Hasson & Wong has come out as Hang and Wong on your spreadsheet 😂 which Bruno ? Ferreira or Pinto ? And I don’t know the other Barcelona Dr you mention ? 

LOL! I edited the topic as soon as I saw your reply.. 02:00 am here making these spreadsheets, my bad, haha

I do like Bloxham and have seen some great results from him, truly hard to decide, to looking for a push, ha!

Bruno Ferreira

[Britanium]

Did you look at Hattingen? Just curious. I do think that you will need more than 500 grafts for the crown, I notice Bloxham graft count is lower at 3500. Where as the others seem to be 3000/1500 which personally I think is the better plan. 

[Britanium]

Dr Zarev is someone else who I think is doing some excellent work ! Not sure who else you have considered but Eugenix is recommended a lot here, with very good reason.. basically I just want to see your spreadsheet expand 😂

[BritZillian]

13 minutes ago, JohnAC71 said:

Did you look at Hattingen? Just curious. I do think that you will need more than 500 grafts for the crown, I notice Bloxham graft count is lower at 3500. Where as the others seem to be 3000/1500 which personally I think is the better plan. 

Bloxham recommended an extra session for the crown in the future, so his focus is mostly 3000 for the front/temple, and about 500-800 for crown, knowing that it'll require a second session, so likely why it's lower? Haven't heard back from Hattinger yet, and Eugenix availability is like, end of 2022

I'll look into Dr Zarev  

 

 

 

[Britanium]

Yes I wondered that with Bloxham, personally I think it would be better to get it done in one session. Hattingen seem pretty busy, but definitely worth consulting with. Eugenix are getting booked up a lot now, was that both Drs ? That waiting list is getting longer and longer 😳

[BritZillian]

4 minutes ago, JohnAC71 said:

Yes I wondered that with Bloxham, personally I think it would be better to get it done in one session. Hattingen seem pretty busy, but definitely worth consulting with. Eugenix are getting booked up a lot now, was that both Drs ? That waiting list is getting longer and longer 😳

I'm with you, I'd prefer it all done in one session too, which is why HLC is attractive, and even Hasson. HLC requested I stayed there for 6 days.. 4 days of surgery + 1 or two post op 

[Britanium]

Yes In your shoes I would leaning toward HLC or H&W. Difficult choice. Your research has been good 👍🏽 

[Future Hair Doc]

I would choose @Dr Blake Bloxhamin a heartbeat. His FUT work is impeccable and the donor area scar is virtually nonexistent. Very clean and refined work and he is extremely nice and ethical. Please share your journey with the community and reach out anytime. 

[Melvin- Admin]

In my opinion, there's few surgeons on this planet that can restore crowns like Dr. Wong. Why wouldn't you opt for a large strip with H&W and get everything all at once? Seems like the most reasonable solution. Also, why did you stop taking dutasteride? Are you on Fin?

 

[BritZillian]

13 hours ago, Dr. Suhail Khokhar said:

I would choose @Dr Blake Bloxhamin a heartbeat. His FUT work is impeccable and the donor area scar is virtually nonexistent. Very clean and refined work and he is extremely nice and ethical. Please share your journey with the community and reach out anytime. 

Yes, I've been chatting with him and he seems like a great guy! but, did propose two sessions to focus on the crown later.

 

4 hours ago, Melvin- Moderator said:

In my opinion, there's few surgeons on this planet that can restore crowns like Dr. Wong. Why wouldn't you opt for a large strip with H&W and get everything all at once? Seems like the most reasonable solution. Also, why did you stop taking dutasteride? Are you on Fin?

 

 

You mean FUT strip? they recommended FUE for my situation (but told me I could choose FUT if I'm so inclined), FUT would bring the cost per graft to about 5 dollars.

I stopped for no reason honestly, had no side effects or anything, but I had to keep commuting to this particular doctor to renew the RX, and it got difficult due to my work schedule, up to a point where 5 years later and I haven't renewed yet, haha!

That said, now that I need to stop taking for the surgery anyway, I'm waiting in case I do go with Bloxham, since he has October available

[Britanium]

I would choose a large strip session with H&W, much better way of maximising your grafts. And the FUT scars are pretty amazing (depending on the person/laxity) 

[Al - Moderator]

Bloxham has been doing great work and getting some very fine FUT scars from what I've seen, so I would be OK going with him for FUT. I think 4500 grafts that HLC recommended may be a bit too much because you still have a lot of hair in the midscalp and even in the frontal center. You don't want to use up too many grafts now and then run out of donor if/when the rest of your hair falls out and/or the crown widens at some point in the future. Looking at your crown, I personally would want to get at least some grafts into that crown, so I would probably rule out Bernstein if it were me.

Don't base your decision too much on specific graft counts. These are all just estimates. You may get more or less grafts during the actual procedure especially with FUT and you can always adjust how many grafts go where. It's not like you have to stop at 500 in the crown just because that's what Dr. Bloxham estimated. You could end up with a few hundred less in the front and a few hundred more in the crown depending on how the operation goes and exactly where the hairline ends up being.

 

[MachoVato]

It's probably a good idea to go with FUT at your age. Maybe a FUE for a second HT in 10 years or so?

I can't imagine you'll be happy with 500 in the crown. I agree with the 1500 estimate. I had success with HLC. If you ask nicely, or allow them to use your photos in their social media (no face), they can offer you 2.5/graft, as they did with me. 

I know those lines on your photos are just quick sketches, but they are very off. 

Edited August 24, 2021 by MachoVato

[BDK081522]

You definitely don't need to quit taking finasteride before or after surgery. So, it would beneficial to get back on it asap. 

[BritZillian]

On 8/24/2021 at 12:47 AM, JohnAC71 said:

I would choose a large strip session with H&W, much better way of maximising your grafts. And the FUT scars are pretty amazing (depending on the person/laxity) 

Thank you so much!

 

On 8/24/2021 at 4:43 PM, MachoVato said:

It's probably a good idea to go with FUT at your age. Maybe a FUE for a second HT in 10 years or so?

I can't imagine you'll be happy with 500 in the crown. I agree with the 1500 estimate. I had success with HLC. If you ask nicely, or allow them to use your photos in their social media (no face), they can offer you 2.5/graft, as they did with me. 

I know those lines on your photos are just quick sketches, but they are very off. 

Thank you! H&W actually recommended to go with FUE, but they did say I could pick FUT and would still be happpy.

 

On 8/24/2021 at 7:39 PM, BDK081522 said:

You definitely don't need to quit taking finasteride before or after surgery. So, it would beneficial to get back on it asap. 

I'm getting mixed responses from doctors here.. some are saying to stop 2 months or so prior, and others are  not

[yesplease]

On 8/22/2021 at 10:29 PM, BritZillian said:

Hi Everyone,

First, let me thank all of you for everything you do here. Ive been a long time lurker of a bunch of forums and this one is by far, one of the best and most informative.

I've finally decided to take the final step in my hairloss journey and going with the surgery A little bit of background: 33, male, men go bald in my family around 28-30, I used avodart/Dutasteride for a few years and stopped 5 years ago.. and thus, it progressed.

I've consulted with a few doctors after reviewing multiple recommendations from diff forums, and landed on the list below. My budget is app 25k U.S dollars, and preferably would do it this year or January 2022. (but willing to wait ofc). Thing is, I think I nailed some really strong options, and would love your thoughts?

I've also attached my pics below if that helps. Interested in getting volume in front/close the temples and some work on the crown. (I did the awful line which I sent to the doctors as well for them to have an idea)

I will say, I'm pretty close to closing with Bloxham, as he can do it this year and has been super responsive (and the feedback I get from everyone here in the forum is pretty incredible). I'd say my top 2 preference would be him or HLC.

Appreciate all of you!

 

 

 

Looks like you’ve done your research, and I don’t have much to add that others haven’t already astutely pointed out.

 

ILooks like you’ve done your research, and I don’t have much to add that others haven’t already astute be pointed out.

 

I was wondering, however, If FUT was discussed with HW at all. I see you wrote FUE on your chart in regards to their consultation. As others have said, I think FUT is likely the better choice with your presentation and family history. I am curious because it seems HW are consistently recommending FUE or even switching the plan from FUT to FUE on the day of surgery, even in cases of advanced loss in young patients. And despite the fact that they have an extremely long track record of success with strip. I find this change in their practice potentially troubling, given the greater amount of money charged for FUE. 

[BritZillian]

Quick update: after lots of more research and conversations, going with Hasson for a FUE, 4000-4500 (about 3k front and 1-1.5k crown).

P.s: FUT was discussed, but the more I learned the more I wasn't sure I wanted to actually go with FUT.. I don't feel like I have a good (what's it called, elasticity??) but also cause having the incision etc has always terrified me.. that plus the fact I'll be flying in, and I am not sure I wanted to deal with it for 6+ hours.

The reason why I considered FUT with Bloxham was mainly because he's just a few hours drive, so the idea terrified me less

Doing it October 12th and 13th, so pretty soon . I'll document it, assuming the forum benefits from it!

 

 

 

[Britanium]

Good choice ! And you mean laxity 😀

[Gatsby]

Hmmmmmm. First surgery? Hasson and Wong definitely come to mind! 😉

[BDK081522]

Great choice! They'll have you looking fantastic with your hair characteristics!