Narrowed it down to 3 clinic choices; Rahal, Hasson, Bisanga. Any other insight on who I should chose?

[deeznuts]

45 minutes ago, civic said:

There is dense packing & then there is overpacking. Why would you want a 5 mile worth of forest planted on 5 inches of land? More is not better, overpacking can in fact be detrimental for optimal  graft  survival rate as they will fight for blood supply & by looking at what other top clinics achieve with less  is where the disagreement comes in.

Not really a great analogy seeing as that original 5 inches of land had "5 miles of forest". Actually it possibly even had "10 miles of forest" originally. Hasson and Wong get pretty strong survival rates and they dense pack like no other. Just ask Dr. Konior. 

Why would you want to dense pack? Density in the front scalp where it matters the most. Letting people avoid going 2 or 3 trips to get the same result. It seems like a solid choice for people who are older, stabilized their hair loss, have minimal hair loss. i.e. lots of supply to create a fantastic result

Does it compromise graft survival rate? Honestly, the survival rates from H&W look very good. 

[Savemyhairline]

7 minutes ago, deeznuts said:

Imo they use more hair to achieve better results than other surgeons. H&W have great results using a limited number of grafts. But they can give you hair that's dense packed 

They quoted me at 2.5k-3k with the possibility of going over or under. I am more than fine with doing 3k for the frontal third. This is a very tough call, honestly I had upwards of 8 surgeons I was considering so now having it down to 3 helps, but still a lot of deciding to do. Thankfully it seems all 3 I am considering are excellent and very likely to produce a good result.

[NARMAK]

15 minutes ago, civic said:

I am not by any means impying he is bad, h&w are one of the best, i just don't agree with their philosophy, is all, which i mentioned earlier somewhere in this thread.

It's a fair enough point if you feel there's a better surgeon for your case, but objectively i think they're hitting great results and have done so for a significantly long time to have the reputation they do. 

Personally i think i wouldn't mind that approach if the graft survival is as high as everybody else and it just results in significantly more density. 

I personally would lean to Dr Hasson or Dr Bisanga given their respective reputations as i do not know of Dr Rahal as well as perhaps some because i hadn't seen as many results recently here. 

[civic]

Just now, NARMAK said:

It's a fair enough point if you feel there's a better surgeon for your case, but objectively i think they're hitting great results and have done so for a significantly long time to have the reputation they do. 

Personally i think i wouldn't mind that approach if the graft survival is as high as everybody else and it just results in significantly more density. 

I personally would lean to Dr Hasson or Dr Bisanga given their respective reputations as i do not know of Dr Rahal as well as perhaps some because i hadn't seen as many results recently here. 

Nice! Yeah, one of the great things about ht is that we have many surgens which have differernt approach, & each patient can decide what is best for them.  All a matter of opinion -)

[NARMAK]

3 minutes ago, civic said:

Nice! Yeah, one of the great things about ht is that we have many surgens which have differernt approach, & each patient can decide what is best for them.  All a matter of opinion -)

I hope OP here manages to select their best choice for them but i think if Dr Hasson is close to OP, there's probably an amazing home run waiting to happen. Fingers crossed of course, we can never predict 100%.

[Eugenix Hair Sciences]

19 hours ago, Savemyhairline said:

Sure. First is what I would look like as if I just came out of the shower and it was pushing my hair forward. Then if I REALLY want to make it look bad, I pull/move it apart with my fingers when wet. I assume I would be headed for NW6 or at the least NW5 if I just did nothing at all. The only question is when as MPB typically has effected the men in my family later in life, 60s and beyond, whereas it seems to be hitting me earlier, other than maybe my paternal grandfather who also had significant recession though I only have pictures of him in his late 30s and I’m only 26.

Thank you for sharing your pictures. We still feel that your requirement is 1500 grafts approximately in the frontal zone. You have thinning on the rest of your scalp. You could try finasteride and it could help in increasing the density on the rest of your scalp. You can have a consultation with our doctors if you would like to.

[Eugenix Hair Sciences]

19 hours ago, Savemyhairline said:

 

The results of finasteride take at least 8 to 12 months to be seen.

 

Edited June 27, 2022 by Eugenix Hair Sciences

[Savemyhairline]

So it looks like the wait time for Dr. Hasson is currently about a year. I know being patient is ideal and I of course won’t make any rash decisions; though I can’t help but feel like every passing year of my 20s with my hair is another year I’m not feeling great about myself. I regret that in college , my early 20s, I was constantly making sure my hair was covering my thinning/bald spots and was always paranoid about my hairline showing. I’ll be 27 in November. By the time I get the final results from Hasson, I’ll be pushing 29. If he were the only elite surgeon in the world I would brush it off and wait, though there are of course others to consider without the wait time. I really hope Bisanga gets back to me soon, I am really interested to see what his wait times are.

[Melvin- Admin]

While it’s a good to get consultations with several surgeons, never let time dictate your decision. You’ve been balding for years, one more year is nothing in the grand scheme of things. 

[HappyMan2021]

30 minutes ago, Savemyhairline said:

By the time I get the final results from Hasson, I’ll be pushing 29.

🤣

[Jon2345]

On 6/25/2022 at 1:54 PM, HappyMan2021 said:

-A few suspect H&W cases on the forum lately, but I wouldn't let a few bad apples scare you off. As long as you have a thick, plentiful and luscious donor, and your hairloss isnt too bad, I wouldnt be concerned with the bad cases. (again though, you are only 26.....so your future hairloss is still really uncertain)

 

 

Which ones do you consider suspect? They say each surgeon has some ones that aren't a knockout, but I don't think I've ever seen a bad case from Hassan and Wong.

[Savemyhairline]

I put down a $500 refundable deposit to book Dr. Hasson next summer. I also am doing an in-person consultation with Dr. Bisanga in a couple months when he comes to the US. Rahal was a close third but I have narrowed it down to H&W and Bisanga, likely to have a final decision after the in-person consultation.

 

 

Thanks for the help everyone! As I said I will for sure post my review on here when the time comes.

[Hairy Henderson]

24 minutes ago, Savemyhairline said:

I put down a $500 refundable deposit to book Dr. Hasson next summer. I also am doing an in-person consultation with Dr. Bisanga in a couple months when he comes to the US. Rahal was a close third but I have narrowed it down to H&W and Bisanga, likely to have a final decision after the in-person consultation.

 

 

Thanks for the help everyone! As I said I will for sure post my review on here when the time comes.

When and where is Bisanga coming to the US?

[Savemyhairline]

1 minute ago, Calihome1 said:

When and where is Bisanga coming to the US?

Late August for surgery and consultations in Frederick Maryland. He is apparently going to do surgery again in the US next year, though the dates are undetermined last I spoke to Ian. 

[A Fue Good Men]

5 hours ago, Savemyhairline said:

I put down a $500 refundable deposit to book Dr. Hasson next summer. I also am doing an in-person consultation with Dr. Bisanga in a couple months when he comes to the US. Rahal was a close third but I have narrowed it down to H&W and Bisanga, likely to have a final decision after the in-person consultation.

 

 

Thanks for the help everyone! As I said I will for sure post my review on here when the time comes.

I wouldn’t write off bisanga just yet. He’s a solid choice.

[Savemyhairline]

8 minutes ago, 5BetaReductase said:

I wouldn’t write off bisanga just yet. He’s a solid choice.

Oh no I am certainly not writing him off at all, I am driving 3.5 hours and paying $50 to do a consultation with him. I would not be doing that if I wasn’t very seriously considering him. I put down the deposit for H&W because it is fully refundable as long as it’s more than 3 weeks before the surgery and I just wanted to set a date in case I go with Hasson, nothing to lose.

Edited June 30, 2022 by Savemyhairline

[Gatsby]

On 6/28/2022 at 2:43 PM, Melvin- Moderator said:

While it’s a good to get consultations with several surgeons, never let time dictate your decision. You’ve been balding for years, one more year is nothing in the grand scheme of things. 

This ^ One more year should be viewed as an investment into your future.

[Rahal Hair Transplant]

Save my hairline,

From the photos you presented you look like a good candidate for surgery.  Having been a participating member of the forums (this one in particular) for almost 20 years, I can tell you that I’ve king been impressed with Dr. Rahal, his results and his devotion to his patients.   I only started working formally with his clinic several months ago but I’ve worked with him in other ways for almost as long as I’ve been a member here.  I’ve met and spoken to him in person several times and have met several of his patients before they’ve undergone surgery and after their results have grown in.  I’ve always been highly impressed with him.

If you are interested in a one in one session with Dr. Rahal to discuss your situation and how he can meet your hair restoration goals, please send me a PM and I’ll go ahead and get that setup for you.

Best wishes,

Rahal Hair Transplant 

[Fue3361]

I'd personally go with Hasson myself.  While others achieve results with less density, less density is always less density.  I'd rather get very good density in one go, than get a HT, and then spend years considering a second HT to add more density.

[Curious25]

Temple points - If you are looking to regain a solid framing of your face, your hair loss pattern requires quite a bit of focus on this area, which isn’t the easiest thing for even accomplished surgeons to get right - so for that reason, I would focus on searching for doctors who are able to provide a multitude of results/have patient posted results, of temple point restoration. 
 

The three names you have provided are good doctors, so you have clearly done some research to get to this point - however I suggest you think about what your goals are, and consult with doctors who are able to provide you with exactly what you want.

Simply lowering and straightening your hairline will still leave you looking somewhat recessed  - maybe you don’t mind this, which is fine, but it’s just worth being aware of this before proceeding. 
 

Contrary to popular assumption, temple point work doesn’t actually require a huge amount of grafts, and good doctors will take them from areas of the scalp that wouldn’t provide optimum coverage for other areas of your recipient anyway - so the whole ‘higher Norwoods shouldn’t be wasting grafts on temple points’ argument is just something of an old wives tale IMO, on a patient such as yourself anyway. 
 

Good luck with your choices, 

Edited June 30, 2022 by Curious25

[Curious25]

Very rough sketches - but you can see how the reinforced temple points have a massive impact on your overall facial framing, compared to what just a hairline lowering would do. 
 

Again, totally your call and what you’d be satisfied with, but worth a consideration none the less, because a lot of people new to the game tend to get so hung up and focused on having a straighter hairline, and overlook the temple points. This is usually further encouraged by surgeons purposefully neglecting on doing them, not because they are unnecessary or a waste of grafts - but because they are hard to do. 
 

Going off your hair type from your photos, both these designs by the way would require more than 1500 grafts, as I see one clinic has seemingly quoted you. Not sure what their design would be, however. 

Edited June 30, 2022 by Curious25

[Savemyhairline]

31 minutes ago, Curious25 said:

Temple points - If you are looking to regain a solid framing of your face, your hair loss pattern requires quite a bit of focus on this area, which isn’t the easiest thing for even accomplished surgeons to get right - so for that reason, I would focus on searching for doctors who are able to provide a multitude of results/have patient posted results, of temple point restoration. 
 

The three names you have provided are good doctors, so you have clearly done some research to get to this point - however I suggest you think about what your goals are, and consult with doctors who are able to provide you with exactly what you want.

Simply lowering and straightening your hairline will still leave you looking somewhat recessed  - maybe you don’t mind this, which is fine, but it’s just worth being aware of this before proceeding. 
 

Contrary to popular assumption, temple point work doesn’t actually require a huge amount of grafts, and good doctors will take them from areas of the scalp that wouldn’t provide optimum coverage for other areas of your recipient anyway - so the whole ‘higher Norwoods shouldn’t be wasting grafts on temple points’ argument is just something of an old wives tale IMO, on a patient such as yourself anyway. 
 

Good luck with your choices, 

Thank you and I totally agree, I don’t mind a forehead a little on the higher side, I really need the temple points/temples refined and filled in, along with some thinner areas on my frontal third. I also have a tall head/face so a junior hairline would look very out of place. I have been very impressed with all 3 docs as far as this is concerned, I do like the way Dr. Bisanga seems to close off the temples.

Edited June 30, 2022 by Savemyhairline

[Fue3361]

Ditto to what was said about temple points.  I wanted mine done, but my surgeon went extra aggressive on them, and I’m very glad he did.  My HT would look a lot worse without them.

[Hairy Henderson]

5 hours ago, Curious25 said:

Temple points - If you are looking to regain a solid framing of your face, your hair loss pattern requires quite a bit of focus on this area, which isn’t the easiest thing for even accomplished surgeons to get right - so for that reason, I would focus on searching for doctors who are able to provide a multitude of results/have patient posted results, of temple point restoration. 
 

The three names you have provided are good doctors, so you have clearly done some research to get to this point - however I suggest you think about what your goals are, and consult with doctors who are able to provide you with exactly what you want.

Simply lowering and straightening your hairline will still leave you looking somewhat recessed  - maybe you don’t mind this, which is fine, but it’s just worth being aware of this before proceeding. 
 

Contrary to popular assumption, temple point work doesn’t actually require a huge amount of grafts, and good doctors will take them from areas of the scalp that wouldn’t provide optimum coverage for other areas of your recipient anyway - so the whole ‘higher Norwoods shouldn’t be wasting grafts on temple points’ argument is just something of an old wives tale IMO, on a patient such as yourself anyway. 
 

Good luck with your choices, 

I really like this response and agree.  For this reason I reached out to Bisanga for a consult after seeing one of his videos explaining temples.

Which doctor would you consider skilled in creating these temples points and transition to the hairline?

[Hairy Henderson]

5 hours ago, Fue3361 said:

Ditto to what was said about temple points.  I wanted mine done, but my surgeon went extra aggressive on them, and I’m very glad he did.  My HT would look a lot worse without them.

I think the temples on yours made a huge difference.