FUT Reccomendation: Bloxham vs Wong

[Everyday_Platypus]

Hi Everyone.  I'm trying to decide between these two Drs for a hair transplant.  I think going FUT over FUE is better for me since I have a family history of NW 6/7s and I know without meds I'd be there right now (30M) so I want to preserve my donor supply for as long as possible in case I need any additional transplants.  Does anyone have any guidance on who I should go with? I narrowed it down to these two based on reputation and availability.  I also live in NY so I am starting to lean towards Bloxham. 

Any additional advice or if I'm overthinking FUT vs FUE would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks and have a nice day!

[John1991]

You're probably not crazy to want to do FUT for the reasons you stated and I think both options are good.  I'm a bit short of the 5.5 month mark after a Bloxham surgery and things are really growing in well.  I'm sure Wong would be a good choice too, though.

[Tiger2050]

Wong has a much stronger reputation and has been doing surgery for a very long time. Bloxham seems like a decent surgeon but he’s pretty new and I don’t like the misinformation he promotes on his YouTube channel about FUE being the devil. All of the anti-FUE propaganda Bloxham spreads is because he’s not good at FUE.Get an evaluation from a surgeon who is great at both FUE and FUT like Wong, Konior or Shapiro.

Edited September 10, 2022 by Tiger2050

[Hair4Days]

Bloxham gives the best hairlines. Don’t go anywhere else for strip. But in all honesty, that scar is not worth it bro. You’ll get very close to the total amount of Grafts in your donor via FUE if your donor is relatively average. Do you have a decent beard? If so, that makes it an even easier decision to go fue 

[John1991]

26 minutes ago, Tiger2050 said:

Wong has a much stronger reputation and has been doing surgery for a very long time. Bloxham seems like a decent surgeon but he’s pretty new and I don’t like the misinformation he promotes on his YouTube channel about FUE being the devil. All of the anti-FUE propaganda Bloxham spreads is because he’s not good at FUE.Get an evaluation from a surgeon who is great at both FUE and FUT like Wong, Konior or Shapiro.

So what was Feller's reason for being against large sessions of FUE?  Is he bad too?  And aren't they both fundamentally correct that you allow yourself the most lifetime grafts by starting with strip?

Edited September 10, 2022 by John1991

[Tiger2050]

9 minutes ago, John1991 said:

So what was Feller's reason for being against large sessions of FUE?  Is he bad too?  And aren't they both fundamentally correct that you allow yourself the most lifetime grafts by starting with strip?

Yes, Feller was a dinosaur who trained Bloxham and promoted a lot of anti-FUE propaganda because his clinic is not good at it. Most of the top doctors who are excellent at both FUE and FUT (H&W, Bisanga, Konior, Shapiro, etc) agree you get a few more lifetime grafts doing FUT first. However, Feller and Bloxham have a bunch of YouTube videos saying you get poor growth from FUE grafts which is not true when FUE is done properly, the growth is equally good compared to FUT.

Edited September 10, 2022 by Tiger2050

[mister_25]

Dr Wong has excellent results and donor management on Norwood 6 patients. As mentioned above he is highly skilled in both FUt and FUe meaning he will give good judgement on what you could use.

[BaldReaper]

You can also try Hattingen in Switzerland

[MissMyLongHair]

Curious, how long have you been on meds for OP and did it maintain your Norwood? I have a similar family history.

[sunsurfhair]

If you want to end up with an axe wound aka Michael Meyers, go to Bloxham. Trust me when I tell you I have personal contacts who have massive scars from him and need multiple repairs to fix. 

Edited September 10, 2022 by sunsurfhair

[John1991]

2 hours ago, sunsurfhair said:

If you want to end up with an axe wound aka Michael Meyers, go to Bloxham. Trust me when I tell you I have personal contacts who have massive scars from him and need multiple repairs to fix. 

My scar isn’t wide and I did dumbbell presses starting 6 weeks after the op. How much of that is to Bloxhams credit, I can’t say. It could just be my physiology. Same for your friends.  As for OPs concern, he should definitely go the FUT route if he’s really that concerned about that much loss.  I think either of these choices plus Hattingen would be good. 

Edited September 10, 2022 by John1991

[sunsurfhair]

3 hours ago, John1991 said:

My scar isn’t wide and I did dumbbell presses starting 6 weeks after the op. How much of that is to Bloxhams credit, I can’t say. It could just be my physiology. Same for your friends.  As for OPs concern, he should definitely go the FUT route if he’s really that concerned about that much loss.  I think either of these choices plus Hattingen would be good. 

Happy to hear that - you’re lucky! FUT is old tech - FUE has come so far there is no need to do FUT anymore if you go to a top FUE surgeon. I would never want to deal with a scar like that for any reason, even if small god forbid things went sideways. Some bias here of course seeing what my friend went through which was torture for the poor guy. 

[John1991]

How is it torture to have a scar that no one sees?  Even stretched, it should be pretty easily coverable by even medium length hair.  I'm not saying I wouldn't be annoyed if mine had stretched - I would be - but I'm not sure I'd call it horrifying.  And FUT + FUE combined still is considered to be the best way to maximize lifetime graft availability.  How is you calling FUT "old tech" not every bit as much anti-FUT propaganda as Feller's videos are anti-FUE propaganda (your words, not mine)?  If anything, a bad FUT scar is less likely to be cosmetically damaging than a badly harvested FUE donor...

Edited September 11, 2022 by John1991

[Z--]

Agreed^

Anyone discounting FUE or FUT def has an agenda. Each has their place. Some like wearing their hair short, so FUT isn't feasible; other's feel that they need the extra 2-3k grafts given their loss, so FUT could be their best option.

[Gatsby]

I think Dr Wong has more experience than Dr Bloxham in doing Norwood 6 cases if that means anything. All the best. 

[Everyday_Platypus]

22 hours ago, Hair4Days said:

Bloxham gives the best hairlines. Don’t go anywhere else for strip. But in all honesty, that scar is not worth it bro. You’ll get very close to the total amount of Grafts in your donor via FUE if your donor is relatively average. Do you have a decent beard? If so, that makes it an even easier decision to go fue 

Yeah I tend to wear my hair short and can definitely pull grafts from my beard.  I figured I'd get a second HT for added density/touch up and to fill in the scar down the line.  

[Everyday_Platypus]

10 hours ago, BaldV said:

You can also try Hattingen in Switzerland

I look into him.  Thanks for the suggestion!

[Everyday_Platypus]

9 hours ago, MissMyLongHair said:

Curious, how long have you been on meds for OP and did it maintain your Norwood? I have a similar family history.

On fin, min, and microneedling since Mar 22.  Switched to dut last month.  Definitely lacking density but stabilized at like maybe a NW5 and grew out what remained on top for some coverage at least.  A little bit of regrowth in the temples and forelock but nothing crazy.  But at least I'm getting some confidence back.  Just kicking myself for not starting sooner

[Everyday_Platypus]

46 minutes ago, Gatsby said:

I think Dr Wong has more experience than Dr Bloxham in doing Norwood 6 cases if that means anything. All the best. 

Yeah that's some great context.  Thanks for the insight.

[sunsurfhair]

2 hours ago, John1991 said:

How is it torture to have a scar that no one sees?  Even stretched, it should be pretty easily coverable by even medium length hair.  I'm not saying I wouldn't be annoyed if mine had stretched - I would be - but I'm not sure I'd call it horrifying.  And FUT + FUE combined still is considered to be the best way to maximize lifetime graft availability.  How is you calling FUT "old tech" not every bit as much anti-FUT propaganda as Feller's videos are anti-FUE propaganda (your words, not mine)?  If anything, a bad FUT scar is less likely to be cosmetically damaging than a badly harvested FUE donor...

Look at everything they are doing in Europe. Who is doing FUT anymore? FUE in the right hands is the superior method. I have no agenda here. The advantage of FUT was the potential for slightly more grafts. But you also lose the ability to cherry pick grafts vs being constrained to what’s on the strip. I’m just saying it truly looks like FUT is on the way out.
 

You’re lucky you have a good scar and I’m happy for you, others go through a really rough time with it and like I said, if things go south, I wouldn’t want to be stuck with a huge smile scar on the back of my head. That’s my own preference sorry. I’ve seen some horror stories w scars first hand. 
 

Also, the ability to use beard, body hair grafts has come a long way. Look at Melvin for example and Eugenix. Incredible result so far. FUT is most certainly on the way out. Look at Rolandas. All FUE and one of the best results I’ve ever seen considering his loss. 

Edited September 11, 2022 by sunsurfhair

[Tiger2050]

4 hours ago, Everyday_Platypus said:

On fin, min, and microneedling since Mar 22.  Switched to dut last month.  Definitely lacking density but stabilized at like maybe a NW5 and grew out what remained on top for some coverage at least.  A little bit of regrowth in the temples and forelock but nothing crazy.  But at least I'm getting some confidence back.  Just kicking myself for not starting sooner

Norwood 5 at age 30 means you should definitely go FUT for your first procedure. Strongly recommend Wong over Bloxham. Hasson and Wong are probably the best in North America for high norwoods and best in the world at FUT mega sessions.

[TommyLucchese]

20 hours ago, BaldV said:

You can also try Hattingen in Switzerland

What i like about Hattingen is they offer both and go with the method that suits the individual's case. This makes it an unbiased opinion.

A clinic that only does one type of surgery will not recommend you going somewhere else that offers the other method. 

To the point of the thread: if you want FUT, I don't think you can go wrong with either of them. Wong is obviously much more experienced but Bloxham has been around for a while now and the transparency on his youtube channel is great. 

From what I hear, Wong will suggest either FUT or FUE depending on the case so that's obviously a plus.

You reasoning for choosing FUT makes sense. I can't speak for other people but my scar has been a complete non issue over the last 10 years. 

[sunsurfhair]

13 hours ago, Tiger2050 said:

Norwood 5 at age 30 means you should definitely go FUT for your first procedure. Strongly recommend Wong over Bloxham. Hasson and Wong are probably the best in North America for high norwoods and best in the world at FUT mega sessions.

I would go with Wong too 

[Tiger2050]

27 minutes ago, sunsurfhair said:

I would go with Wong too 

OP I would also consider getting a consultation with Hasson. The clinic allows you to choose between Hasson or Wong, both are great at FUT but Hasson has more cases doing FUT mega sessions than just about any surgeon in the world. 

[Hair4Days]

19 hours ago, Everyday_Platypus said:

Yeah I tend to wear my hair short and can definitely pull grafts from my beard.  I figured I'd get a second HT for added density/touch up and to fill in the scar down the line.  

If you could get 6/7k fue grafts from your scalp plus 1500-2000 beard then i wouldn’t even bother with fut at this point. I used to feel fut was the better option for advanced hair loss but that scar could be devastating. Especially if your wear your hair short