Result of second FUE surgery in Pakistan 4800 grafts

[BaldTruth]

I am a 50 year old male, living in the US.  I started losing my hair in the early 40s.  Long time lurker here, first time poster.  I am a dual citizen of US and Pakistan.  In 2016, in my mid 40s, I decided to get a hair transplant after not finding success with fin and the min.  Getting one in the US was cost prohibitive, and I happened to know a friend of a friend in Pakistan who was offering FUE hair transplants.  I decided to gamble.  I am not entirely sure it paid off.  I present the evidence here and let you guys decide.  First HT was about 2,800 grafts.

Pre HT1 Top.  Most of the hair on the top and front are thinning and on their way out, I think.

 

Pre HT1 Crown:

I looked like a NW6'ish, headed into NW7 territory, eventually.

Here is a picture 2 days after HT1:

There was a lot of ground to cover and 2,800 grafts weren't going to do it.

3 weeks after HT1, I lost most of it, as expected:

And this is where I was 4 months later:

Sure, there is improvement, but nothing to get super excited about.  Things improved a little after this and I resorted to using concealers for a few years.  But life with concealers is a miserable existence, as I suspect many of you know.  With ideal lighting, long hair and concealers, I could go far in hiding my hair situation:



But, I could not let rain or my girlfriend touch my hair.

Reality as of Aug 2021:

I have lost a lot more hair since 2016.  Given that the surgeon had to cover a large area and that I was still losing hair at a rapid pace, I personally consider first transplant to mostly be a success.  We cannot expect magic with HT.  For my second HT, I consulted some local docs and the good ones were even more expensive than before and were booked 9 months out.  I figured it was time to go back to the original doc.  So, I got second HT with 4,800 grafts.  About 3,800 from the back of my head and about 1,000 from beard.

Day of surgery (Sep 12th, 2021):

HT2, at the end of the day when it was all said and done:

Donor area and crown, 2 weeks after second surgery:


I wonder if it has been over-harvested.  I guess we'll find out in a few weeks.

So far, I am cautiously optimistic.  I know I am about to go through a shedding phase.  And in fact, many hair have already fallen out with the scabs.  I think this is normal?  Let me know what you guys think.

I do see a 3rd surgery in my future.  To cover the crown a little better.  I may not have a lot of hair left on the head donor area, but I have *a lot* of beard hair left.

I had previously given up on fin and min, but I hear good things about microneedling with minoxidil.  I am thinking about giving it a shot as well.  I had side effects from using finasteride, so I'll have to stay off of it.

 

Edited September 27, 2021 by BaldTruth
Added missing photo

[Britanium]

Ok can you please let me know if I can be honest In my opinion ? What I can see doesn’t look good. 

[BaldTruth]

3 minutes ago, JohnAC71 said:

Ok can you please let me know if I can be honest In my opinion ? What I can see doesn’t look good. 

Yes please!  Honest opinion is what I am hoping for.  What are the areas of concern, as you see them?  Also do keep in mind that I was not necessarily an ideal HT candidate, with a large area of hair loss.

[Britanium]

Well to be honest it’s a poor procedure which hasn’t helped. It’s not refined work either time. The density implanted from the first wasn’t ever going to be enough and besides it doesn’t look like all of the grafts grew in. I would not have gone back to the same place. There is a reason they are cheap and were able to fit you in. The donor area does look like it could be over harvested now. Your best hope is that this time you get a better result and more grafts grow in. Please consider someone like Eugenix in future that could use your remaining beard grafts wisely. Post again at regular intervals and hopefully your donor might improve and you will get some growth this time. I honestly hope so 🙏 your fast running out of donor otherwise. 

Edited September 27, 2021 by JohnAC71

[BaldTruth]

15 minutes ago, JohnAC71 said:

Well to be honest it’s a poor procedure which hasn’t helped. It’s not refined work either time. The density implanted from the first wasn’t ever going to be enough and besides it doesn’t look like all of the grafts grew in. I would not have gone back to the same place. Their is a reason they are cheap and were able to fit you in. The donor area does look like it could be over harvested now. Your best hope is that this time you get a better result and more grafts grow in. Please consider someone like Eugenix in future that could use your remaining beard grafts wisely. Post again at regular intervals and hopefully your donor might improve and you will get some growth this time. I honestly hope so 🙏 your fast running out of donor otherwise. 

For my own sake, I hope you are incorrect in your evaluation.  But, I will post regular updates and see where this goes.

[Britanium]

I would love to be proved wrong here believe me. But i just wanted to prepare you for whats likely going to happen. Which clinic was it ? Thanks 

[BaldTruth]

53 minutes ago, JohnAC71 said:

I would love to be proved wrong here believe me. But i just wanted to prepare you for whats likely going to happen. Which clinic was it ? Thanks 

Amin Clinic in Bahawalpur, Pakistan.  Dr. Mughese Amin.

[BaldTruth]

I classified myself as NW6'ish hurtling towards NW7, before my first HT.  Would you guys agree with that assessment based on above pictures?

[Britanium]

1 minute ago, BaldTruth said:

I classified myself as NW6'ish hurtling towards NW7, before my first HT.  Would you guys agree with that assessment based on above pictures?

With a crown that’s starting to dip then yes I would agree with your assessment. 

[Berba11]

I desperately hope this turns out at least passable for you. NW6/7 needs to be carefully considered, carefully planned and carefully executed. It hurts my soul a little bit that you flew all the way from the US to Pakistan when one of the world's top NW6/7 specialists were just the next country along from the place you ended up at (twice!). Going to a clinic because of a friend of a friend is simply not any kind of research at all. You put your head at irreparable risk with that kind of approach my friend!

I'll be following with my fingers firmly crossed for you!

[BaldTruth]

"I desperately hope this turns out at least passable for you."

Me too. 

I personally think it will turn out alright.  Not stellar, but alright.  My crown will need work.  I always understood that.  I have plenty of beard hair to spare for that.  And A LOT of chest hair, if it comes to that.  And for my 3rd HT, perhaps next year, I will try one of the more well known HT places.  Here is a picture from today.  Almost 16 days post op.  It is all going according to plan so far.  I can't find serious fault by looking at the pictures.

[Gatsby]

22 hours ago, BaldTruth said:

In 2016, in my mid 40s, I decided to get a hair transplant after not finding success with fin and the min.  Getting one in the US was cost prohibitive, and I happened to know a friend of a friend in Pakistan who was offering FUE hair transplants.  I decided to gamble.  I am not entirely sure it paid off.

This is where the first mistake lay. If you were in your late teens/early twenties then I could understand making this kind of a decision. But if you had have done any kind of research then you would have known that you live in the heartland of some excellent surgeons. If you can't afford surgery (ANY SURGERY) then don't do it. As a long time lurker on this forum the fact that you went to Pakistan of all places is beyond me. Forgive me for my frank and upfront manner. It is in no way personal but it is a cautionary statement for others. It is far too early to make a call at 16 days (regardless of the surgeon) on the outcome. You won't really have an idea to gauge how things will appear until at least 6 months. I wish you all the best.

[BaldTruth]

"You won't really have an idea to gauge how things will appear until at least 6 months. I wish you all the best."
 

I don't disagree with what you have said.  And it is possible that I may have overestimated my friend's service offering.  I think I was swayed by the fact that I knew the doctor quite well personally.  Anyway, the jury is still out.  And at this point there is nothing that I can point to and say that this is a sign of things gone horribly wrong.  We'll find out one way or the other in 5 and half months.  In the meantime, I will post frequent updates to this thread.

[Euphoria]

On 9/29/2021 at 7:33 AM, BaldTruth said:

"You won't really have an idea to gauge how things will appear until at least 6 months. I wish you all the best."
 

I don't disagree with what you have said.  And it is possible that I may have overestimated my friend's service offering.  I think I was swayed by the fact that I knew the doctor quite well personally.  Anyway, the jury is still out.  And at this point there is nothing that I can point to and say that this is a sign of things gone horribly wrong.  We'll find out one way or the other in 5 and half months.  In the meantime, I will post frequent updates to this thread.

Updates?