Looking to get a Surgery by January 2023 - Please Help

[Joker06]

Hello everyone, 

 

I am a 24 Yr old Male and have been on finasteride for 12 months now. I really want to get a surgery by January. 
Many of the great surgeons are booked 1yr in advanced. 

 

Can you guys please recommend great doctors in the world that may have an opening in the next 3-4 months? 

For example, the following are fully booked. 

Dr. Wong in Vancouver 

Dr. Konior 

Dr. Cooley in North Carolina 

 

The ones that may have an opening would be: 
Dr. Jefferey Epstein

Dr. Mcgrath in Texas 

[AlexMeister21]

I think Dr. Bisanga's wait times are supposed to be like 3-4 months after consultation.

[HappyMan2021]

20 minutes ago, AlexMeister21 said:

after consultation

important to keep in mind lol. 

Edited September 23, 2022 by HappyMan2021

[HappyMan2021]

31 minutes ago, Joker06 said:

I am a 24 Yr old Male

you have pretty advanced MPB considering you are only 24. I looked at your pics before your text and honestly thought you were in your mid-40s at least. 

You are definitely going to need at least 2 surgeries in order to feel any sense of "normalcy". 

Even if you miraculously do get in with a good doctor before 2023, you I predict you definitely will need a follow-up surgery as well. 

24 is quite young to be getting a HT to boot....

It's Marathon, not a sprint unfortunately. 

Edited September 23, 2022 by HappyMan2021

[Joker06]

It really sucks. Being 24 ( I turned 24 3 week ago) I don't feel comfortable going out without a hat. 

I'm also getting married in August 2023 and I really want to look appealing to my partner. 

 

[AlexMeister21]

17 minutes ago, HappyMan2021 said:

important to keep in mind lol. 

Looks like OP is going to be in the stable for the next 8 months bahahaha

Just kidding.

I think Dr. Laorwong in Thailand, his waiting times are like less than a month. I haven't done much research on him, but I've seen good results from him. He's also on the recommended list of surgeons.

[MisterBreakfast]

Well rest assured, if you are getting married in August, getting a hair transplant in January is a very bad idea.  Maybe see a dermatologist and talk about medical intervention.  At least you can see results if you are lucky, within that time frame.

Edited September 23, 2022 by MisterBreakfast

[Joker06]

Can you guide me to the Recommended list of Surgeons?  I cannot seem to find it on this site. 

 

Thank you 

[John1991]

Some honest observations - come to your own conclusions.

1.  You have very aggressive loss for your age especially considering that you've been on fin for a year.

2.  There is no way you will have a full, dense head of hair after one procedure.  Even if you do get surgery by January you won't be free from your desire to wear a hat by your wedding date.  And even the final results of your first procedure (if you have it in January) won't be entirely present by August.

3.  You're engaged to be married, so it's not as if you're in a situation where you "need" this to go out and have an active dating life.  You have someone who (presumably) cares for you quite a bit regardless of your hair.

4. You have to be judicious with the finite donor you do have and the results of hair transplantation are something you will have and have to maintain for years to come, far beyond just your wedding in August.  You should go to someone who's top notch (not McGrath).

5. To piggy back off point 2, if this is an arranged marriage and the two of you haven't yet met, you will still have visible loss next August regardless of whether you have a procedure in January.

I very much empathize with your situation, but the worst thing you can do now is rush the process.  If you're going to go down this road it's going to take 2 procedures and much patience.   I wish you the best, but I just don't want to see you throw yourself into something rashly and then end up feeling worse.

[Joker06]

Thank you for the response John1991. Very much appreciated. 
My partner and I met and know each other for years. She just prefers a man with a head of hair but it won't break the relationship. 

I guess I'll wait till Dr. Wong is available. Which is exactly 11 months from now. 

[Antlor]

Click on the orange box on the top right corner that says OUR FORUM'S RECOMMENDATIONS for a list of recommended doctors.

You should shave your head. Try it for a while and see whether you like the bald look.

You are not an ideal candidate for hair transplant. Even with your hair long in the back, it does not look super dense.

If you insist on the hair transplant route, you need to keep in mind that a hair transplant is about moving hair around and is an illusion of density.

You will need an initial hair transplant and then wait 9 to 12 months or so for a second hair transplant. 

You are only 24 and let's say you live another 50 years. You will need another hair transplant a decade or so later. In your lifetime, you will need 4 or more hair transplants.

It is an expensive and long journey for hair transplantation, why not go for the bald look? It is quite acceptable now.

 

 

[NARMAK]

21 minutes ago, Joker06 said:

Thank you for the response John1991. Very much appreciated. 
My partner and I met and know each other for years. She just prefers a man with a head of hair but it won't break the relationship. 

I guess I'll wait till Dr. Wong is available. Which is exactly 11 months from now. 

If your partner is willing to marry you and the hair isn't a deal breaker, then you can work on restoring your hair down the line BUT you have to be realistic and understand that your hair loss is really advanced for 24. The patterns heading towards a full blown Norwood 7 sooner if the medication doesn't help stop it in its tracks and reverse things over the next few years. 

I think you could probably try shaving it down for now, i don't think with your level of hair loss you'd get away with styling it in a manner that could suitably cover it but then again, hair fibres can make things look like a miracle in the right hands. 

[NewHare]

Joker, your donor looks rather sparse.  I think there's a chance you may not achieve what you're setting out to do.

Especially at your age. As someone else mentioned I'd look into the shaved look. It might suit you well.

Best, NH

 

[Boomerang]

Ask the HT surgeons to show you some pictures of what sorts of results can you expect. A good surgeon will be very upfront.

This will enable you to make a well informed decision. 
 

You are on this forum, means hair are important to you (like all of us here) but you need to be realistic with your expectations as you donor does not appear to be strong. It’s hard pill to swallow but I am just being honest. If afterward you not happy with results and go down the shard head look anyway, remember you will have FUE scars.

do not make rushed decision and do not give your partner false hopes either. It won’t be good for either of you. 

[Hairy Henderson]

4 hours ago, Antlor said:

Click on the orange box on the top right corner that says OUR FORUM'S RECOMMENDATIONS for a list of recommended doctors.

You should shave your head. Try it for a while and see whether you like the bald look.

You are not an ideal candidate for hair transplant. Even with your hair long in the back, it does not look super dense.

If you insist on the hair transplant route, you need to keep in mind that a hair transplant is about moving hair around and is an illusion of density.

You will need an initial hair transplant and then wait 9 to 12 months or so for a second hair transplant. 

You are only 24 and let's say you live another 50 years. You will need another hair transplant a decade or so later. In your lifetime, you will need 4 or more hair transplants.

It is an expensive and long journey for hair transplantation, why not go for the bald look? It is quite acceptable now.

 

 

I disagree

 

6 hours ago, AlexMeister21 said:

I think Dr. Bisanga's wait times are supposed to be like 3-4 months after consultation.

I don’t understand why his wait times are so low?  He’s clearly an elite surgeon and price is not bad.

 Is it their in person consults that turn people off?  Is it the extra VAT in Belgium?

 I’m seriously wondering here…..

Edited September 24, 2022 by Calihome1

[Gatsby]

At 24 and with advanced hair loss what are your goals? Are you expecting a full head of hair? Are you only wanting the frontal third filled in? How will you deal with future loss in the coming years? You need to have consultations with surgeons who have great results with Norwood 6/7 cases. I would be looking at getting a consultation with Dr Pitella and Eugenix. Rushing into surgery this fast is a recipe for disaster. If your fiancé loves you unconditionally, she’ll be happy to postpone the wedding, if hair means this much to you. But most importantly you need to know if you are even a candidate for a transplant? The worst thing you could do right now is to have a consultation with a surgeon who will tell you what you want to hear. You have however named some excellent surgeons. Remember also there are reasons why the top surgeons are booked out for a year, etc. Take your time and all the best! 

[HappyMan2021]

21 minutes ago, Calihome1 said:

Is it there in person consults that turn people off?

of course its this. I'm a repair patient and would be thrilled to have Bisanga operate on me. But no way im flying all the way to Brussels just for a consult. 

Plus, instead of just the wait time till surgery, you are now adding wait time to consult + wait time to surgery, adding unnecessary months to the agonizing waiting period leading up to surgery.  

Ditto with Cooley. 

[mafpe]

if you're getting married next year, you can also opt for hair piece for the period.

as most have pointed out, your balding is very aggresive, and it's possible that you'll continue to lose the hair after HT.

imo, if you do want to go through HT, please come to term with the possibility of you losing the hair, and only having them on... borrowed time.
it's only a possibility, and you might or might not lose the transplanted hair on the coming years, but i think you should know before really making a decision.

since it's your marriage is august, i agree with your assesment that you best have the HT by january at the lastest since it needs time to grow. so, if you end up picking a long queue doctor, you start wearing wig/hair piece some time before the marriage to get used to the feel and so that people don't just get "surprised" that you have a full head of hair, and prevent possible accident such as it slipping due to you not being used to having one on top of your head.

 

congrats on your coming marriage!

[HairRun]

9 hours ago, AlexMeister21 said:

I think Dr. Bisanga's wait times are supposed to be like 3-4 months after consultation.

I am very surprised, why is his sooner compared to other top people? 

I believe Dr Nadimi has shorter times, 1-4 months. 

Edited September 24, 2022 by HairRun

[LookMaxx]

8 hours ago, Antlor said:

It is an expensive and long journey for hair transplantation, why not go for the bald look? It is quite acceptable now.

Telling to just shave it bro on a hair transplant forum 😂

If that was his goal, he would be on baldcafe won’t he?

[John1991]

4 hours ago, LookMaxx said:

Telling to just shave it bro on a hair transplant forum 😂

If that was his goal, he would be on baldcafe won’t he?

I’m truth, shaving is the best option for some people. 

[Joker06]

Hello everyone, thanks for the kind words. 

I am looking into a toupee now and am speaking with more doctors to get an assessment. Will also be going to an appointment in person to get a better assessment. 

 

Also note, the pictures posted are of 4 months ago when I was 23. 

Here are my pictures today as of now. 

[HairEnthusiast101]

Sorry about this man! I wish no one dealt with hair loss…especially at a young age. It can definitely ruin a persons confidence. But rest assured patience is your best friend. Your fiancé clearly still loves you and having hair or not has never really been grounds for divorce as far as I know. So clearly you are an enjoyable person that people like to be around regardless hair or not. My advice is only reach out to recommend surgeons. You could spend hours a day on here hearing about young patients going to a mill just to have a donor not able to produce anymore results. Research hard, talk to the people on this forum(Melvin and Gatsby are very knowledgeable) and go to a quality doc wether it is in 4 months from now or 1 year. Dr Konior, Dr Pittella(Brazil), Eugenix(India), Camacho(Bogota), and Hasson/Wong are great options to begin with. Take the advice from these surgeons seriously because even though they could make a ton of money off someone they care more about ethics than money. If they say you aren’t a candidate then they truly mean that even if you don’t want to hear that. But I believe with some patience and research you will end up with a great head of hair one day wether it is from a transplant or hairpiece. I understand the impact it can have on you so don’t worry you are not alone and people will still show up on your wedding day because they care about you… not your hair!!!

[HappyMan2021]

I would be surprised if you have enough donor to get to a Norwood 1. 

Im not sure its worth your time having multiple surgeries (that must be homeruns) in order to just be a NW3 or NW4. 

No young person wants a hair transplant just so they can go from bald->balding. 

Also please keep in mind, even if your mpb was less severe, its still very shady to get a hair transplant at 24. 

Ethical doctors should reject you for your age and severity of loss. 

IMO you should grow out facial hair, wear nice hats or get a toupee if you cant stand going out in public as a a bald person, get fit, get fashionable clothes. 

Essentially do anything you can aesthetically to divert attention away from your MPB.

[NARMAK]

1 hour ago, Joker06 said:

Hello everyone, thanks for the kind words. 

I am looking into a toupee now and am speaking with more doctors to get an assessment. Will also be going to an appointment in person to get a better assessment. 

 

Also note, the pictures posted are of 4 months ago when I was 23. 

Here are my pictures today as of now. 

OP, if you are 100% committed to getting your hair back and keeping it natural, then you need to assess the options everybody else mentioned of a realistic higher hairline, your donor capacity which is looking on the lower side and you probably aren't a good candidate right now i would seriously say you need to probably make sure you're taking 1mg of Finasteride a day and probably would seriously benefit from adding in Minoxodil. Probably in oral form if possible for maximum efficacy and then Microneedling with a derma pen 1x a week at 1 to 1.5mm.

You literally need to be as aggressive as possible on a hair restoration protocol and allow 12 months. Just be aware, if you go with a hair system, you can keep taking Finasteride but the glues and stuff a hair system uses can affect your hair negatively. Particularly making them susceptible to further loss permanently if they are at the delicate stages of being saved or lost.