Dr. Diep Second FUT Transplant - 1750 Grafts - Approximately 4,000 Grafts Total

[Melvin- Admin]

It is illegal for technicians to score skin in California, they can however, place grafts. The sites determine the graft angles. Placing the grafts doesn’t change the direction. 

[AlexMeister21]

15 hours ago, Melvin- Moderator said:

It is illegal for technicians to score skin in California, they can however, place grafts. The sites determine the graft angles. Placing the grafts doesn’t change the direction. 

I guess that means I had inconsistent incisions then.

Edited May 26, 2022 by AlexMeister21

[K l a u s]

Hey @AlexMeister21, as you mentioned in my topic thread it's much too early to judge the outcome of your 2nd FUT surgery. Try to be patient and maybe in one or two years it's the right time for a final touch-up (if necessary).

[asterix0]

Maybe you should have waited longer to have your second transplant, I still saw some redness in your pre-op pics? 

Also consulting with another surgeon, just for the sake of another opinion, may have been a good idea.

Nevertheless I hope things continue to progress you still have time for the transplant to improve, pulling for ya 💪

[AlexMeister21]

8 hours ago, K l a u s said:

Hey @AlexMeister21, as you mentioned in my topic thread it's much too early to judge the outcome of your 2nd FUT surgery. Try to be patient and maybe in one or two years it's the right time for a final touch-up (if necessary).

Thanks Klaus. I'm hoping for the thin spots at my temples and right frontal hairline to fill in. If that happens, then I'll be mostly fine with the result. 

 

57 minutes ago, asterix0 said:

Maybe you should have waited longer to have your second transplant, I still saw some redness in your pre-op pics? 

Also consulting with another surgeon, just for the sake of another opinion, may have been a good idea.

Nevertheless I hope things continue to progress you still have time for the transplant to improve, pulling for ya 💪

Thanks. Yeah, I wish I was a member of this board before getting my transplants. I was basically making my decisions from YouTube and realself.com reviews.

[Antlor]

@AlexMeister21Dr Diep is considered a good doctor. He is on the recommended list on this forum. Dr Diep also corrected Melvin's first hair transplant.

 

If the angles are not correct, ask Dr Diep to correct them. It's a small job. Even Dr Konoir have some complaints such as one saying the hairline was not symmetrical.

 

Wait it out, the density should increase.

 

 

[AlexMeister21]

12 hours ago, Antlor said:

@AlexMeister21Dr Diep is considered a good doctor. He is on the recommended list on this forum. Dr Diep also corrected Melvin's first hair transplant.

 

If the angles are not correct, ask Dr Diep to correct them. It's a small job. Even Dr Konoir have some complaints such as one saying the hairline was not symmetrical.

 

Wait it out, the density should increase.

 

 

Yes, Dr. Diep has some great results. I do understand some of the critiques he's been receiving in recent years though. I've seen a bit of progress lately so I'll wait it out.

[Jon2345]

On 5/31/2022 at 5:02 PM, asterix0 said:

Maybe you should have waited longer to have your second transplant, I still saw some redness in your pre-op pics? 

 

Wouldn't the doctor know what's best for that though?

[Jon2345]

On 5/25/2022 at 3:43 PM, AlexMeister21 said:

I guess that means I had inconsistent incisions then.

What does that mean?

[AlexMeister21]

4 hours ago, Jon2345 said:

What does that mean?

If the grafts on the left side of my temple area are angled upwards while they are angled more normally on the right side, then that's inconsistency. 

[THE TRUTH]

Hard to judge your result so far. 

You're at 6 months therefore there is still some room for thickening and improvement. 

Like Melvin said, it has certainly gotten better since the 4th month so I'd stay optimistic although I wouldn't expect miracles at this stage. 

You mentionned you had an issue with growth and density during your 1st HT. 

Maybe you have some underlying condition such as scarring alopecia or lichen. Worth getting a scalp biopsy done by a very good trichologist. 

Also repair surgeries are always harder because the surgeon is dealing with scarring tissue. 

Ultimately, I would still expect SOME degree of improvement over the course of the next few months but be prepared for a 3rd round. Do your research diligently and do not rush things. 

All the best. Good luck. 

[AlexMeister21]

1 hour ago, Unrealistic expectations said:

Hard to judge your result so far. 

You're at 6 months therefore there is still some room for thickening and improvement. 

Like Melvin said, it has certainly gotten better since the 4th month so I'd stay optimistic although I wouldn't expect miracles at this stage. 

You mentionned you had an issue with growth and density during your 1st HT. 

Maybe you have some underlying condition such as scarring alopecia or lichen. Worth getting a scalp biopsy done by a very good trichologist. 

Also repair surgeries are always harder because the surgeon is dealing with scarring tissue. 

Ultimately, I would still expect SOME degree of improvement over the course of the next few months but be prepared for a 3rd round. Do your research diligently and do not rush things. 

All the best. Good luck. 

Thanks for the response. I reached out to Pinto and Freitas. Freitas wants me to send my 12 month result photos and Pinto and his clinic advised I withhold from further procedures for 2-3 years to prevent permanent scarring in my frontal area. Both of them agreed that my scar may have compromised my donor availability because my FUT scar is almost like an inch wide. That's what bothers me the most at this moment is that even if I end up getting the density I want from this procedure (not expecting that), I may only have possibility for one more procedure in my lifetime.

[THE TRUTH]

31 minutes ago, AlexMeister21 said:

Thanks for the response. I reached out to Pinto and Freitas. Freitas wants me to send my 12 month result photos and Pinto and his clinic advised I withhold from further procedures for 2-3 years to prevent permanent scarring in my frontal area. Both of them agreed that my scar may have compromised my donor availability because my FUT scar is almost like an inch wide. That's what bothers me the most at this moment is that even if I end up getting the density I want from this procedure (not expecting that), I may only have possibility for one more procedure in my lifetime.

I see...

How is your crown looking ? Are you on oral finasteride/dutasteride ? 

Also who performed your 1st FUT surgery ? 

[AlexMeister21]

29 minutes ago, Unrealistic expectations said:

I see...

How is your crown looking ? Are you on oral finasteride/dutasteride ? 

Also who performed your 1st FUT surgery ? 

I'm currently taking Fin every day and Dr. Diep did my 1st and 2nd surgery. My crown has some visible thinning, which I noticed happened after I went vegan for two weeks and my crown got itchy as hell. Pinto told me that they wouldn't operate on my crown at the moment as it would cause shock loss, but I see the NW5-6 pattern forming so I don't know how it'll be 1-3 decades from now.

[THE TRUTH]

1 minute ago, AlexMeister21 said:

I'm currently taking Fin every day and Dr. Diep did my 1st and 2nd surgery. My crown has some visible thinning, which I noticed happened after I went vegan for two weeks and my crown got itchy as hell. Pinto told me that they wouldn't operate on my crown at the moment as it would cause shock loss, but I see the NW5-6 pattern forming so I don't know how it'll be 1-3 decades from now.

Allright. 

So my next question is how long have you been on finasteride ? Are you using generics ? Cutting Proscar 5mg ?

And is that thinning on the crown something that you are 100% sure it wasn't there before and that happened while you were on Finasteride ? Could you please upload a picture of your crown ? 

I am asking because you mentionned you are unsure how your hairloss situation will be progress during the next couple decades and you wanna be on a very strong protocol that will minimize your hairloss as much as possible since your donor area is has already been partially used up. 

Finasteride is enough in for majority of men to halt further hairloss but if it is really agressive than it might not be. 

Maybe using Dutasteride, adding oral minoxidil and a topical anti androgen like Fluridil will help better than Finasteride alone. 

[AlexMeister21]

16 minutes ago, Unrealistic expectations said:

Allright. 

So my next question is how long have you been on finasteride ? Are you using generics ? Cutting Proscar 5mg ?

And is that thinning on the crown something that you are 100% sure it wasn't there before and that happened while you were on Finasteride ? Could you please upload a picture of your crown ? 

I am asking because you mentionned you are unsure how your hairloss situation will be progress during the next couple decades and you wanna be on a very strong protocol that will minimize your hairloss as much as possible since your donor area is has already been partially used up. 

Finasteride is enough in for majority of men to halt further hairloss but if it is really agressive than it might not be. 

Maybe using Dutasteride, adding oral minoxidil and a topical anti androgen like Fluridil will help better than Finasteride alone. 

I take generic 1mg. I started Fin around Feb 2021. Took it for about 3 months but then stopped because I noticed decreased libido. Then I picked it back up in October or November 2021 and been consistent with it since.

The thinning in my crown started around mid-2018 and progressed since then. I wouldn't say it's aggressive progressing, but it's definitely thinning. I can cover it up decently, but don't feel too comfortable with getting my hair wet. Here's a photo of my crown:

 

[sukh123]

I Swer a lot of people on this forum have experienced  side effects from fin, i see it a lot not just here but on Reddit and YouTube too . So I think the consensus that a small number suffer from it is defo wrong. 

Edited June 8, 2022 by sukh123

[THE TRUTH]

Thank you for the picture bro. 

Yes definitely some thinning but still at the early stages and managable with a solid anti androgenic stack. 

 It would be wise to get a microscope evalutation or phototricogram every 6 months for 1 or 2 years by a very good HT surgeon or specialized trichologist for example like Oscar Muñoz or Sergio Vaño do in Spain in order to determine whether the miniaturization on the vertex area keeps progressing despite Finasteride. 

You need to be 100% sure things are stable and hopefully remain that way for the next 15-20 years given your limited donor supply. 

[AlexMeister21]

18 minutes ago, Unrealistic expectations said:

Thank you for the picture bro. 

Yes definitely some thinning but still at the early stages and managable with a solid anti androgenic stack. 

 It would be wise to get a microscope evalutation or phototricogram every 6 months for 1 or 2 years by a very good HT surgeon or specialized trichologist for example like Oscar Muñoz or Sergio Vaño do in Spain in order to determine whether the miniaturization on the vertex area keeps progressing despite Finasteride. 

You need to be 100% sure things are stable and hopefully remain that way for the next 15-20 years given your limited donor supply. 

Thanks for the advice. I wish I went to a good doctor in Spain in the first place. Would have at the very least saved 10-12k and not have a big FUT scar.

 

40 minutes ago, sukh123 said:

I Swer a lot of people on this forum have experienced  side effects from fin, i see it a lot not just here but on Reddit and YouTube too . So I think the consensus that a small number suffer from it is defo wrong. 

I feel like I see a lot of people reporting sides as well. I feel fine taking Fin everyday now, so I guess my body just needed time to adjust.

[HairRun]

12 hours ago, AlexMeister21 said:

Thanks for the response. I reached out to Pinto and Freitas. Freitas wants me to send my 12 month result photos and Pinto and his clinic advised I withhold from further procedures for 2-3 years to prevent permanent scarring in my frontal area. Both of them agreed that my scar may have compromised my donor availability because my FUT scar is almost like an inch wide. That's what bothers me the most at this moment is that even if I end up getting the density I want from this procedure (not expecting that), I may only have possibility for one more procedure in my lifetime.

I'm following with great curiosity as I am also needing to get a repair from a procedure I got from diep, for similar reasons. 

" I withhold from further procedures for 2-3 years to prevent permanent scarring in my frontal area"

Having grafts implanted and extracted too soon would cause scarring? 

"Both of them agreed that my scar may have compromised my donor availability because my FUT scar is almost like an inch wide."

Does this mean your donor area is over harvested? And that's why only one more procedure in your lifetime? I have a similar wide scar. 

". Pinto told me that they wouldn't operate on my crown at the moment as it would cause shock loss"

I was wondering about this. Is this due to your crown not having that much loss yet? 

[AlexMeister21]

8 hours ago, HairRun said:

I'm following with great curiosity as I am also needing to get a repair from a procedure I got from diep, for similar reasons. 

" I withhold from further procedures for 2-3 years to prevent permanent scarring in my frontal area"

Having grafts implanted and extracted too soon would cause scarring? 

"Both of them agreed that my scar may have compromised my donor availability because my FUT scar is almost like an inch wide."

Does this mean your donor area is over harvested? And that's why only one more procedure in your lifetime? I have a similar wide scar. 

". Pinto told me that they wouldn't operate on my crown at the moment as it would cause shock loss"

I was wondering about this. Is this due to your crown not having that much loss yet? 

Hey, do you have photos of your results from Diep?

Dr. Pinto's clinic basically told me I need to give my frontal area proper time to heal and that the skin there is scarred at the moment so having a third procedure could permanently damage the area and affect survival of grafts if I get it done again too soon. I brought up the scarring with Dr. Freitas clinic recently and they just suggested I wait the full year from when I got my second procedure. As for my crown, Pinto said the loss isn't too severe at the moment so having implants there may cause the native hair to die out. 

I'm not sure if my donor was overharvested, but the scar didn't heal well and Dr. Pinto said the scar affects an important part of my donor area. I guess they'd have to examine it in person to get a better idea, but they said they think I may be able to have another surgery. Not sure how many grafts I have left from my donor area, but my scar can be noticeable at times even if I cut my hair with an 8 guard, so I don't think I have much flexibility. 

[FUT4000]

I've been following your case since the start and i can say that you have good growth each month. I would just give it the full 12 months before thinking about getting another surgery man. 

[AlexMeister21]

18 hours ago, FUT4000 said:

I've been following your case since the start and i can say that you have good growth each month. I would just give it the full 12 months before thinking about getting another surgery man. 

Hey, thanks for the comment. Yes, I'll be waiting the full 12 months. I think my transplant looks decent at the moment, it's just those times I see those thin spots not coming in bug me.

[AlexMeister21]

Been slacking with posting my 7 month update. I'm about 1.5 weeks off from 8 months and don't see much improvement. Still a lot of sparse areas and distance between graft placement. The lighting is a bit more harsh in these photos.

 

 

 

 

 

 

I also had a consultation with Dr. Pinto's clinic recently. They had me send a number of photos and videos of my hair and recommended I hold off from further hair transplants until I'm 2-3 years post-op to avoid permanently scarring my frontal area and because the survival rate of grafts may be low if I get a third procedure too soon. They also stated that my scar is very wide and that it may have compromised my donor availability, which is a downer because I'm probably going to need to fill the whole top of my head at some point in time. Here's a recent photo of my scar.

 

 

 

[HairRun]

1 hour ago, AlexMeister21 said:

They also stated that my scar is very wide and that it may have compromised my donor availability, which is a downer because I'm probably going to need to fill the whole top of my head at some point in time. Here's a recent photo of my scar.

 

Did they say why? Is it because they way they extracted it damaged neighboring grafts? I have the same type of wide scar from Dr Diep