My experience with Dr. Diep 7600 Total FUT so far 2 surgeries

[Hairtodaystilltheretomorro]

Hey, so I have waned back and forth whether or not to write a review but I decided it might help those who need it and I don't want people to feel the pain I have. There is so much stuff I could say so I might omit some and it might be poorly written but I hope enough to tell my story. The videos at the bottom are probably better than the pictures I have.

 

 

Basically, I was balding since 18 which is hilarious because my father in his 70s still has a full head of hair. My grandfather also went bald early. By the time I was mid 20s it pretty much was all gone.

 

 

I tried everything. Finasteride / Dutasteride (bad side effects so I stopped), Rogaine, some other things I can't remember the name of that you rubbed on your head and stained pretty much everything, minerals, etc. I was desperate and depressed. Nothing really worked.

 

 

During 2009, I started to look for hair transplants even though I was broke. I figured I was going to learn as much as I could, read as many reviews as I could, and try to find the right surgeon no matter the location.

 

 

I thought I did, but reviews came in saying the surgeon’s results were very hit or miss, so I decided I might do one of the proteges if I had the money but I decided to keep searching. It's not like I had the money anyway.

 

 

So, a few more years goes by hoping to save up and finally managed to get earn enough by 2016. So, seven long years since I first started and I decided I was start fresh and start looking for a new surgeon.

 

 

I joined https://www.hairrestorationnetwork.com because it seemed that it tried to be non-bias except for the people who worked for a surgeon, but those were obvious biases.

 

 

I looked and looked. I was a Norwood 6/7 so I knew FUE wasn't going to cut it. To get the most, I needed to do multiple FUT and then FUE to even have a chance. I didn't really care about the scar as I cared about being bald. So, I looked for 4000+ FUT reviews and photos and compared so many surgeons. I eventually limited it down to a few, sat on that list and kept looking for possibly better ones. I didn't really find too many, so I looked at my list and decided to book consultations with doctors. I was hesitant and embarrassed because they wanted photos of all my bald head.

 

 

I did it anyway and booked a consultation with a doctor I felt I might do a good job.

 

 

The doctor was Dr. John Diep in California. He has consistent results for FUT even though some reviewers had some over harvest concerns for FUE. But I was going for FUT as of now and was going to need a shitload off grafts anyway. So, I chatted and he said I had very advanced hair loss (obvious) and would need multiple surgeries. He said he was booked for like 9 months and to schedule a surgery if you felt comfortable.

 

 

I kept looking but I felt I had done enough research and decided to go with Dr. Diep.

 

 

I had to reschedule the first surgery for very personal and painful reasons regarding my family so I won't get into that but Dr. Diep understood and told me reschedule the surgery because of what happened.

 

 

So next month I go back and everything goes as scheduled and I get ready for surgery. He said he would try to do as much as he could for the front half with FUT. It was around 4500 FUT with focus on the hairline and front.

 

 

I go in and out of consciousness in surgery and before I knew it, it was 7:00 PM. I was there for almost 14 hours. The nurse gives me instructions of what to do and be careful with not bumping your head. I go back to the Airbnb and sleep upright all night until I have to go back for a checkup the next morning. They slightly clean the area and put another cap on. I get a TSA pass so I won't have to remove anything and fly back to Florida where luckily, I have some time off and my brother would help me with things while I healed.

 

 

I follow everything to the letter and take what I need. My whole head felt weird but the again I had surgery. I sleep up every night and some of the pills help me with the pain and sleep for the first few days.

 

 

Few months goes by and I hit the ugly duckling phase. No hair and now a nice linear scar. But thanks to forums and such, I knew this was normal. Several months later I start to see some progress and at the six-month mark, I felt confident in the results enough so far to book another session to finish the back.

 

 

So long story short, I do it again except this time it is 3100 FUT. I try to do everything the same or at least better. It was less stressful but still stressful nevertheless. Luckily, I see some decent growth around the same timeline as the last surgery.

 

 

My hair was thin but more or less got full coverage. Dermatch and Toppik when applied helped fill in some of the areas.

 

 

The video of me here is four years past my first surgery and three years past my second. 7600 FUT in total.

 

 

So, some advice:

 

 

PRE-SURGERY:

 

 

-Do research like you are studying for law school

-Know that no surgeon is perfect

-Look for consistency with doctors

-Do it for ONLY yourself and don't feel bad about spending the money. I could have bought a new Lexus but I don't care. I rather would have done the surgeries.

-Be extremely careful and follow all instructions of the doctor

-Buy a good neck pillow. The ones they give you aren't great.

-Hope for the best.

[Hair4Days]

Do you have any photos of the crown area?

[Hairtodaystilltheretomorro]

Hi, I don't have good photos off crown unless I had someone take them for me. Here is one good enough hopefully. The crown wasn't great after two FUT because I was so bald:

[Britanium]

Could you please post some pre ht pics here ? And share some post op pics after both your hts ? How is the FUT scar ? Thanks 🙏 

[Hairtodaystilltheretomorro]

Just now, JohnAC71 said:

Could you please post some pre ht pics here ? And share some post op pics after both your hts ? How is the FUT scar ? Thanks 🙏 

I avoided cameras like the plague because of how bald I was. The video should be good enough. I was completely bad. The FUT scar is not great. I don't have too many photos of it. I would have to look to see.

[Hairtodaystilltheretomorro]

 

Here is a photo of scar and crown from back.

Edited September 20, 2021 by Hairtodaystilltheretomorro
Edit

[SLA]

Love the videos- great results for sure!

[Melvin- Admin]

Wow incredible results, but in your posts you seem like you’re not happy, or am I reading it wrong?

[Hairtodaystilltheretomorro]

1 hour ago, Melvin- Moderator said:

Wow incredible results, but in your posts you seem like you’re not happy, or am I reading it wrong?

Ah, no. I am just being honest. My scar is just not the thinnest (I don't really care about the scar that much honestly) and I have fine hair (he said my hair follicle width is half the thickness of his) so coverage wouldn't be as much as normal width hair. 

Don't get me wrong.

I have told Dr. Diep personally that he gave me new life. 

 

Edited September 20, 2021 by Hairtodaystilltheretomorro
edit

[Melvin- Admin]

6 minutes ago, Hairtodaystilltheretomorro said:

Ah, no. I am just being honest. My scar is just not the thinnest (I don't really care about the scar that much honestly) and I have fine hair (he said my hair follicle width is half the thickness of his) so coverage wouldn't be as much as normal width hair. 

Don't get me wrong.

I have told Dr. Diep personally that he gave me new life. 

 

Ahh I understand. Dude you probably got top 5 results I’ve ever see on a Norwood 6. It’s jarring. Can you post some pictures of how you wear your hair normally?

[Hairtodaystilltheretomorro]

I try to slick it back to make it look as full as possible almost like how you wear your hair. I don't have many pictures as I said I am still trying to knock the habit of getting my photo taken. Hopefully I get the courage to do so soon.

I use Dermatch to thicken the hair, and Toppik if need to for the crown and usually finish it off with pomade.

And thank you for the kind words.

Edited September 20, 2021 by Hairtodaystilltheretomorro
edit

[Melvin- Admin]

I fixed the links btw, so now the community can see the videos without having to copy and paste in their browsers.

[RandoBrando517]

This doc gets hate on here but damn he can perform some miracles its a shame he’s too expensive how much did you pay per graft for FUT? 

[Hairtodaystilltheretomorro]

For my first time in 2017 it was like $4 FUT. I know as of early 2021, his FUE is $8 for returning clients.

Not sure for other times.

[SLA]

Have you thought of SMP for the scar?

[Hairtodaystilltheretomorro]

I have thought about it, but I just have to wear my hair beyond a 4 guard. 

[Melvin- Admin]

Can you share some before and after photos like the ones in the video?

[Hairtodaystilltheretomorro]

I would have to go through old sd cards and find them if I still have them but the two photos above are after the 2 fut surgeries are probably the best I have for dry natural about 9 months post the second surgery.

I honestly don't have a good before photo. I found the before video on Dr. Diep's youtube channel before my surgery 4 years ago. Again, I avoided cameras or wore a hat through my dozen years or so of suffering hair loss so hopefully this will be good enough.

 

 

Edited September 21, 2021 by Hairtodaystilltheretomorro
edit

[Melvin- Admin]

Wow seeing it in video is quite shocking

 

[Hairtodaystilltheretomorro]

On 9/21/2021 at 7:15 PM, Melvin- Moderator said:

Wow seeing it in video is quite shocking

 

Yeah, I was bald as hell and it really sucked.

[Al - Moderator]

On 9/23/2021 at 9:05 PM, Hairtodaystilltheretomorro said:

Yeah, I was bald as hell and it really sucked.

 

I know the feeling  😕

I like the hairline, but I wonder if you feel like you would like it better (or not) if the hairline was a bit higher and you had more put into the crown.

 

[Hairtodaystilltheretomorro]

Ah, actually this is where I kind of had to convince Dr. Diep. He gave me an initial male white mature hairline higher. For the second FUT, I was still conscious of it and I kind of wanted it a little lower. He said it he would do a little lower but anymore wouldn't be natural and said he wouldn't do it again. 

So no, I still have some FUE left and I could do beard hair from someone like Dr. Nadimi if needed for some off the crown (for now, I use hair concealer) but I am happy with the decision I went with.

Edited September 26, 2021 by Hairtodaystilltheretomorro
edit

[Al - Moderator]

On 9/26/2021 at 9:11 AM, Hairtodaystilltheretomorro said:

Ah, actually this is where I kind of had to convince Dr. Diep. He gave me an initial male white mature hairline higher. For the second FUT, I was still conscious of it and I kind of wanted it a little lower. He said it he would do a little lower but anymore wouldn't be natural and said he wouldn't do it again. 

So no, I still have some FUE left and I could do beard hair from someone like Dr. Nadimi if needed for some off the crown (for now, I use hair concealer) but I am happy with the decision I went with.

 

For myself I'm kind of torn on which way to go. I want the hairline a bit lower, but the crown really bothers me the most. I think it's because my hair loss started in the crown and I can still remember being 18 or 19 years old and frantically trying to comb my hair to cover my crown (which I couldn't do) for a date with a girl I hadn't seen in a while.

 

[Melvin- Admin]

4 minutes ago, BeHappy said:

 

For myself I'm kind of torn on which way to go. I want the hairline a bit lower, but the crown really bothers me the most. I think it's because my hair loss started in the crown and I can still remember being 18 or 19 years old and frantically trying to comb my hair to cover my crown (which I couldn't do) for a date with a girl I hadn't seen in a while.

 

You should really experiment with fibers, trust me it’s a game changer.

[SLA]

23 hours ago, Melvin- Moderator said:

You should really experiment with fibers, trust me it’s a game changer.

YES!!! Game changer. You will fill that crown in 2 minutes! Undetectable