Advise for Clinics

[TheGreatPretender]

First of all hello to everyone, I am currently new in the forum,I have passed years reesearching places and everyone pointed this place to be a good start for looking into clinics when searching for an ideal one.

My story:

I am portuguese 27 , currently residing in the UK (mostly exiled due to my hair loss, no not joking saddly) who is currently looking for a good clinic. I saddly lost a great deal of my hair 6 to 7 years ago which is when shedding was at its worst and due to MPB it never came back.
I am a diffuse thinner currently on norwood V (diffuse) with dark hair, I am not entirely bald but my hairs have significantly thinned out resulting in a "see through" of my scalp, temples also receded a bit but I am an odd case in which my thinning hairs still grow long even despite the hair loss. 
Been using Finasteride since 2020 and started Minoxidil last year, I have improved a bit and stabilized so my next step really is starting to search for an ideal clinic that could restore my hairline up to the point where I dont have to think about it everyday. 

I have been keeping contact with a clinic here in the UK and the doctor mentioned that I do have a mixture of DUPA and DPA on the whole top, my sides and my back are very thick howeaver and was optimistic about my chances on pulling a good result with a transplant, he still advised me to be off until I finish being a year on Minoxidil which I will be when March comes. He was basically the first one to advise me to hop into medications before comitting to any transplants while also not rushing in to surgery before measuring the pros and cons of each one. I am willing to take his advise seriously.

Hair Loss has taken a massive toll in my daily life up to the point where I need to start taking action and plan a proper transplant but I need to make sure that I am taking the right decision and do not want to jeopardise things if I need to wait.

Current situation:

Finasteride and Minoxidil have been helping me to keep a peace of mind of at least ensuring myself that things not getting any worser than they are as I have been taking pictures with wet hair everymonth from similar angles to reaccess the situation at the end of each month. So I can say that my hair loss is stable at the moment.

Objectives:

Since my thinning hairs do grow long and quite quick I feel like a long hairstyle would suit me well granting that these would provide me a decent enough coverage. I am looking for a doctor that may be able to work with diffuse thinners and can plant the grafts under the directions necessary to grow the hairs and have the possibility to have the flexibility of styiling on the right, left and middle. 

Shortlisted Doctors:

I have shortlisted three doctors as far as I know from my reesearch with Bruno Ferreira possibly being the one that I am mostly tempted since he speaks my language which is something that keeps me at ease while also having earned a good reputation, I know his waiting list is quite long but to be honest I am willing to wait if it means that he gives me good chances of getting good results. I also heard good things from Bruno Pinto and Bicer from Turkey. 

I am always open to any suggestions that anyone else has. 

[Britanium]

Absolutely Pinto + Ferreira ! However Dr Bicer is a good consideration if you do have a high level of loss. Could you share some pics ? 
And yes it’s worth waiting for a elite Dr, are you open to FUT ? Or is it just FUE your most interested in ? 

Edited January 5, 2022 by JC71

[TheGreatPretender]

14 minutes ago, JC71 said:

Absolutely Pinto + Ferreira ! However Dr Bicer is a good consideration if you do have a high level of loss. Could you share some pics ? 
And yes it’s worth waiting for a elite Dr, are you open to FUT ? Or is it just FUE your most interested in ? 

Well, I am open for both ends but am thinking more about FUE as I heard that FUT can be a bit more painfull. On the other end it has the advantage of harvesting more folicles which may indeed be a good thing if I am wanting to get more density on the middle. 

I hope I am not sounding like a prick but I am not confortable sharing pictures online and I know its not very convenient but I can give at least some insight on how it is. 

In terms of recession I have something similar to what Rolandas had pre-op (which is what made me consider Ferreira in the first place), but I am a bit more dense then what he was, especially in the front and I even have some folicles in the front of the scalp that are not even in line with the rest of the hair making it look awfull when its grown out, main reason why I need to cut it out constantly, some of these folicles are quite thick too, unfortunately they are very few. 

BTW: I have already contacted DR Ferreira through his assistant Alexandra, I know he is currently busy with a lot of patients but I will be contacted as soon as the consultations become available again.

Edited January 5, 2022 by TheGreatPretender

[Britanium]

If your open to travelling then you could also consider Hattingen as they do both FUT/FUE. Some other considerations could be Dr Bisanga, Dr Mwamba, Dr Feriduni, Dr Zarev, @DrTBarghouthi(Vertex), HDC @Doron Harati

Edited January 5, 2022 by JC71

[TheGreatPretender]

5 minutes ago, JC71 said:

If your open to travelling then you could also consider Hattingen as they do both FUT/FUE. Some other considerations could be Dr Bisanga, Dr Mwamba, Dr Feriduni, Dr Zarev, HDC @Doron Harati

Thanks for the help! Certainly some good clinics to "chew my mind" on. 

I am open for travelling of course, though as I said previously, maybe due to my familiarity with Portugal I feel a bit more at ease on doing the proccedure at my own country. Howeaver I feel like its always worth a shot having a chat with other surgeons so I can have a better idea on my own needs.

As we speak I know there are loads of factors that you should have in mind when considering a transplant as I have done some reesearch on them, mostly the angles, the directions alongside other things. I dont know if there are any good articles that would be recommended to have a read so I know what I am getting myself into.

Edited January 5, 2022 by TheGreatPretender

[Britanium]

Just now, TheGreatPretender said:

Thanks for the help! Certainly some good clinics to "chew my mind" on. 

As we speak I know there are loads of factors that you should have in mind when considering a transplant as I have done some reesearch on them, mostly the angles, the directions alongside other things. I dont know if there are any good articles that would be recommended to have a read so I know what I am getting myself into.

Just take your time in looking through the forum In general, look at the various headings and sub headings/topics. So much valuable information contained within  ! 

[Melvin- Admin]

Definitely consider Dr. De Freitas in Spain, he’s one of the best in Europe, and he’s Brazilian, so he speaks Portuguese. 
https://www.hairtransplantnetwork.com/physician/Spain/Rafael-De-Freitas/693

[TheGreatPretender]

5 hours ago, Melvin- Moderator said:

Definitely consider Dr. De Freitas in Spain, he’s one of the best in Europe, and he’s Brazilian, so he speaks Portuguese. 
https://www.hairtransplantnetwork.com/physician/Spain/Rafael-De-Freitas/693

Thanks Melvin, I heard a lot about Dr Freitas as well and he seems to be a top surgeon. How long are usually waiting lists from him?

[Britanium]

3 hours ago, TheGreatPretender said:

Thanks Melvin, I heard a lot about Dr Freitas as well and he seems to be a top surgeon. How long are usually waiting lists from him?

This can vary depending on your case, and if your available for cancellations. At least 6 months, and maybe around 12 months. Contact them and find out how busy they are. @De Freitas Clinic

[TheGreatPretender]

1 minute ago, JC71 said:

This can vary depending on your case, and if your available for cancellations. At least 6 months, and maybe around 12 months. Contact them and find out how busy they are. @De Freitas Clinic

Will do, thanks. 

[TheGreatPretender]

Just an update, I have contacted Dr Bicer for an evaluation. I was recommended to have 3200 grafts on the first proccedure focusing mostly on two of the frontal thirds with the back being the focus after a few surgeries, she does mention that I might require more than 3800. She also mentioned that she wanted to be gentle on my donor area.

I was also advised a Micromotor FUE in which the doctor extracts the folicles with the help from the nurses after which she performs the incisions on the recipient area alone and in the end the nurses once again make the implantations under her supervision.

I did like the evaluation overall and I liked the fact that she is ethical, howeaver I still rather wait to see what other doctors say.

I may not be thinking correctly but I feel more confortable going in with doctors that make the implantations and incisions alone without the involvement of nurses, howeaver I do understand that each one has their own methods. I also know that the doctor also has the option for Manual FUE but I may not be suitable for it under her vision which is worth consideration. 

Let me know your thoughts, howeaver this was only the first evaluation I had, still waiting for Freitas and hopefully Ferreira once he is available.