1300 Grafts Dr. Nadimi

[baldlivesmatter]

Hey Baldies,

Almost didn't post this since it's kind of a pain in the ass to organize all the pictures (and also I forgot my password) but I have a duty to help my fellow Norwoods!

I had my third transplant last week (first with Dr. Nadimi). The two main goals of the procedures were to:

1. Soften the hairline and add density
2. Even out my donor area due to my last procedure only taking grafts from one side of my donor (discussed ad nauseum in my last thread)

Overall my experience with the clinic was excellent. Karen at the front desk was very responsive and helpful throughout the whole process and did an excellent job putting me at ease before surgery started. Dr. Nadimi took the time to thoroughly discuss goals, expectations, medical therapies, etc. with me. She obviously cares greatly about her patients, which is likely a big part of the reason she's such a good doctor!

I'll aim to post updates every few months. Happy to answer any questions about the process.

Pictures (all taken within a few weeks of each other)

Good--pre-op pictures in favorable lighting, favorable hair length, etc.

Bad--pre-op pictures highlighting the harsh hairline, lack of density, etc

Donor (pre op)--grafts were only taken out of my right side last procedure, hence the density difference

 

 

Recipient (post-op)

Donor (2 days post-op)-- grafts were only taken from the left side to even out the donor (per my insistence)

Donor (Day 4 post-op)--already looks better than the side where no grafts were taken from IMO

[Melvin- Admin]

Welcome back BLM, Dr. Nadimi is excellent. You already looked like great, now you’re going to be a rock star! 🙌🏼

[baldlivesmatter]

1 hour ago, Melvin- Moderator said:

Welcome back BLM, Dr. Nadimi is excellent. You already looked like great, now you’re going to be a rock star! 🙌🏼

Thanks Melvin!

Looking forward to looking like a rock star! (provided it's not Moby 👨‍🦲)

[HappyMan2021]

What is your Norwood level? (I'm sure you've mentioned this previously - I don't have time to dig into your profile history. )

I know you first went to Dr. Harris and not much (if anything) grew. 

DR. Diep (1700) + Dr. Nadimi (1300) for a total of 3k grafts - doesn't seem like you had much hairloss to begin with. 

BTW I am also a former patient of both Dr. Harris and his quack gynecologist assistant "Dr." Shelley Lovitt - what a horrible clinic 

Not sure if you ever keep up-to-date with Dr. Harris - but seems he has turned his clinic into a straight-up Bosley business model. 

[ray35]

Looking good! Solid result and thanks for going through the trouble of sharing... did they mention any issues of grafting so dense in an area that is already established. I see positive results and obviously it's done to success, but I've always wondered about that and just not seen a lot of comments on it

[Chetman2112]

I’m 10 days out from my HT with Dr Nadimi and couldn’t be happier with my new hair/ hairline, she’s definitely a hair artist! I posted earlier today if you want to take a look at my early results! 

[baldlivesmatter]

1 hour ago, HappyMan2021 said:

What is your Norwood level? (I'm sure you've mentioned this previously - I don't have time to dig into your profile history. )

I know you first went to Dr. Harris and not much (if anything) grew. 

DR. Diep (1700) + Dr. Nadimi (1300) for a total of 3k grafts - doesn't seem like you had much hairloss to begin with. 

BTW I am also a former patient of both Dr. Harris and his quack gynecologist assistant "Dr." Shelley Lovitt - what a horrible clinic 

Not sure if you ever keep up-to-date with Dr. Harris - but seems he has turned his clinic into a straight-up Bosley business model. 

Yeah no worries, i think i was a NW 3A with a 5/6 future pattern. My loss was very much focused in the front. Fortunately finasteride has been working for me, so I think I haven't lost much in the last 10 years or so. If it stops working i'm open to hopping on DUT or buzzing my hair and doing SMP. Based on how my donor looks already i think i have another 1500 grafts in the tank (if needed). Also, I hear the cure is coming out next year...🙄

Sorry to hear about your bad results with the clinic. I didn't find your specific thread, but sounds like you had Dr. Mwamba do repair work so I'm hoping that turned out well for you. Good for the readers on here to know that a bad result can be fixed, as it can definitely be depressing. Much better to get it right the first time though and not have to play catch up.

 

 

[baldlivesmatter]

1 hour ago, ray35 said:

Looking good! Solid result and thanks for going through the trouble of sharing... did they mention any issues of grafting so dense in an area that is already established. I see positive results and obviously it's done to success, but I've always wondered about that and just not seen a lot of comments on it

Thanks Ray.

I'm sure one of the other forum members more knowledgeable than me will know for certain, but I think there can be issues with blood supply if too many grafts are implanted in an area--but with only 1300 grafts implanted that's fairly unlikely. It could potentially be more of an issue if all 3K of my grafts (this surgery and prior) were implanted at one time (i.e., less blood to go to each new graft). It's possible a newly implanted graft transected an old graft here and there, or that there's shock loss, but if you go to a great clinic there shouldn't be anything to worry about since they deal with situations like this regularly.

1 hour ago, Chetman2112 said:

I’m 10 days out from my HT with Dr Nadimi and couldn’t be happier with my new hair/ hairline, she’s definitely a hair artist! I posted earlier today if you want to take a look at my early results! 

Hey Chet!

Yes, i looked through your post before posting. "As someone that takes care of them self I always felt regardless of how much I work out or am successful the fact that I couldn’t hide my hair loss anymore really bothered me"--this quote really resonated with me, and I'm sure a lot of other members on here. If only we could just go to the gym and workout hair, or put in extra hours at the office to become NW 1 🤣

Your post-op pics looks great! I'm expecting us both to look like Fabio here in the next 6 months or so 🙌

[Chetman2112]

26 minutes ago, baldlivesmatter said:

Thanks Ray.

I'm sure one of the other forum members more knowledgeable than me will know for certain, but I think there can be issues with blood supply if too many grafts are implanted in an area--but with only 1300 grafts implanted that's fairly unlikely. It could potentially be more of an issue if all 3K of my grafts (this surgery and prior) were implanted at one time (i.e., less blood to go to each new graft). It's possible a newly implanted graft transected an old graft here and there, or that there's shock loss, but if you go to a great clinic there shouldn't be anything to worry about since they deal with situations like this regularly.

Hey Chet!

Yes, i looked through your post before posting. "As someone that takes care of them self I always felt regardless of how much I work out or am successful the fact that I couldn’t hide my hair loss anymore really bothered me"--this quote really resonated with me, and I'm sure a lot of other members on here. If only we could just go to the gym and workout hair, or put in extra hours at the office to become NW 1 🤣

Your post-op pics looks great! I'm expecting us both to look like Fabio here in the next 6 months or so 🙌

Lol I’ve been joking with my wife all week about growing my hair out this summer… telling her to call me Fabio🤣🤣🤣🤣

[ray35]

Thanks @baldlivesmatter appreciate the insight! 

[HairRun]

On 11/24/2022 at 5:07 PM, baldlivesmatter said:

Thanks Ray.

I'm sure one of the other forum members more knowledgeable than me will know for certain, but I think there can be issues with blood supply if too many grafts are implanted in an area--but with only 1300 grafts implanted that's fairly unlikely. It could potentially be more of an issue if all 3K of my grafts (this surgery and prior) were implanted at one time (i.e., less blood to go to each new graft). It's possible a newly implanted graft transected an old graft here and there, or that there's shock loss, but if you go to a great clinic there shouldn't be anything to worry about since they deal with situations like this regularly.

Hey Chet!

Yes, i looked through your post before posting. "As someone that takes care of them self I always felt regardless of how much I work out or am successful the fact that I couldn’t hide my hair loss anymore really bothered me"--this quote really resonated with me, and I'm sure a lot of other members on here. If only we could just go to the gym and workout hair, or put in extra hours at the office to become NW 1 🤣

Your post-op pics looks great! I'm expecting us both to look like Fabio here in the next 6 months or so 🙌

I see you had your other procedure done with Dr Diep, as did I. From your 5th picture, it seems that Dr Diep used the same graft selection for the front as in my procedure, taking grafts too far high which tend to be blunter, they should be used for the mid/back. I looked at your review of Dr Diep, and that indeed seems to be the case. This isn't my conclusion, but that given to me from the consultations of the best hair transplant doctors in the world according to the coalition, including the one I ended up with in Dr Shapiro. 

I also saw that you were considering using beard grafts to replenish your donor. I am in the same situation, except I have a wide FUT scar from my first procedure with Dr Diep that would need to be filled in. 

[baldlivesmatter]

9 hours ago, HairRun said:

I see you had your other procedure done with Dr Diep, as did I. From your 5th picture, it seems that Dr Diep used the same graft selection for the front as in my procedure, taking grafts too far high which tend to be blunter, they should be used for the mid/back. I looked at your review of Dr Diep, and that indeed seems to be the case. This isn't my conclusion, but that given to me from the consultations of the best hair transplant doctors in the world according to the coalition, including the one I ended up with in Dr Shapiro. 

I also saw that you were considering using beard grafts to replenish your donor. I am in the same situation, except I have a wide FUT scar from my first procedure with Dr Diep that would need to be filled in. 

Hey HairRun,

Just took a spin through your thread i think you're going to have awesome results 🙌

You're spot on with your analysis re: Diep. I'm a bit conflicted on how to feel about that procedure. On the one hand, the grafts grew well and I looked substantially better one year post op. On the other hand, there were things that seemed to suggest a lack of attention to detail or rushing through the procedures (e.g., taking grafts from one side of head, planting in rows, knocking patients out completely for the procedure [maybe so they don't complain about things being rushed?], barely being involved in the process [due to 2 surgeries in same day as well as consults], etc). Communicating with the front desk post-procedure was also a pain in the ass. Given I paid $15k I don't think it's unreasonable to expect a high level of attention to detail.

On the flip side, Dr. Nadimi (who's also obviously very busy) never seemed rushed and took the time to answer all my questions, explain her thought process on overall strategy (e.g., punching out and replanting certain grafts, taking grafts from one side to even out donor, etc). Honestly the two experiences felt like surgery from a doctor who is methodical and cares about the patient's end result vs. a doctor just trying to get the 💰

 

[HairRun]

1 hour ago, baldlivesmatter said:

Hey HairRun,

Just took a spin through your thread i think you're going to have awesome results 🙌

You're spot on with your analysis re: Diep. I'm a bit conflicted on how to feel about that procedure. On the one hand, the grafts grew well and I looked substantially better one year post op. On the other hand, there were things that seemed to suggest a lack of attention to detail or rushing through the procedures (e.g., taking grafts from one side of head, planting in rows, knocking patients out completely for the procedure [maybe so they don't complain about things being rushed?], barely being involved in the process [due to 2 surgeries in same day as well as consults], etc). Communicating with the front desk post-procedure was also a pain in the ass. Given I paid $15k I don't think it's unreasonable to expect a high level of attention to detail.

On the flip side, Dr. Nadimi (who's also obviously very busy) never seemed rushed and took the time to answer all my questions, explain her thought process on overall strategy (e.g., punching out and replanting certain grafts, taking grafts from one side to even out donor, etc). Honestly the two experiences felt like surgery from a doctor who is methodical and cares about the patient's end result vs. a doctor just trying to get the 💰

 

What did she say about the punchouts vs leaving them in? I actually also had a consult with Dr Nadimi when considering my next surgeon. Though I didn't get a ton of critique of Dr Diep's technique like I got with the other surgeons I went to.

I've been meaning to write a review of Dr Diep. I've been trying to get my pictures from them over a year now. I gave up for a while until Dr Gabel informed me that those are a part of my medical record, and that I am legally entitled to them. I started following up again for months, they keep saying 'We're trying to find them' until they stop responding to my followups. I will be asking the forum soon on guidance for legal options. 

I saw your thread with Dr Diep. I don't think you were given the best advice from the community in my honest opinion. I think they were just trying to cheer you up on a obviously problematic result, or didn't have the skill to observe it. I think if you had gotten feedback from other hair transplant surgeons, you would have got a higher level of detail and honesty. What did Dr Nadimi say about your first procedure? I didn't get much from Dr Nadimi, but I did from others, some of which expressed deep concern about this doctor's practices in general. 

One paradigm I learned on reddit is that if say you were a famous person, and someone said you had a transplant, would everyone just believe it right away, or would people have a debate? I think from your 5th picture, it would be the former. 

I would say your procedure is a repair case, and it may be helpful to others if you titled it that way. I was really interested in Dr Nadimi, so much so that I paid the 200$ consultation. Out of all the doctors on my shortlist, I liked her hairlines  the best out of available results. But ultimately, I didn't see any repair cases from her, and so I crossed her off my short list. 

I think your review will be a demonstration in an area we haven't seen yet based on available Dr Nadimi reviews. I think there would be others who may be in a similar situation as us, and search 'Nadimi repair' or 'diep repair' and not find anything for Dr Nadimi doing a repair, and may not look into this review, when it has potent information on Dr Nadimi's skills as a repair surgeon. In my review I specifically put the words Dr Shapiro, Repair, and Dr Diep in the title for this reason. 

 

 

 

 

[HappyMan2021]

2 hours ago, HairRun said:

I would say your procedure is a repair case

I was thinking this exact same thing when this thread was created. 

Even though @baldlivesmatter definitely wasn't botched by Diep (no horrible scars, no bad angles), in my view this should definitely be considered a repair case - as the items addressed are not due to natural MPB but rather due to the bizarre manner Diep performs his surgeries. 

A repair case doesn't always mean the patient needs to look like Frankenstein 😂

Edited December 1, 2022 by HappyMan2021

[HairRun]

On 12/1/2022 at 2:30 PM, HappyMan2021 said:

I was thinking this exact same thing when this thread was created. 

Even though @baldlivesmatter definitely wasn't botched by Diep (no horrible scars, no bad angles), in my view this should definitely be considered a repair case - as the items addressed are not due to natural MPB but rather due to the bizarre manner Diep performs his surgeries. 

A repair case doesn't always mean the patient needs to look like Frankenstein 😂

Yeah, I think if someone who is not familiar with hair transplants can definitely tell if it's a hair transplant, then it needs a repair. Maybe there's some instances where the patient chooses this to gain more coverage or something like that, but in this case it was just subpar technique and subpar overall surgical workflow, which is something I also directly experienced with Dr Diep. 

Edited December 2, 2022 by HairRun

[baldlivesmatter]

On 12/1/2022 at 12:53 PM, HairRun said:

What did she say about the punchouts vs leaving them in?

She'd mentioned in my consultation that we might need to punch out some of the heavier grafts that looked unnatural.

Initially I was kind of against this since I paid so much to get them in, i didn't want to start punching out a bunch of grafts (especially since there were already density issues).

Ultimately though, it was only 7 grafts that when she pointed them out to me and i agreed they were placed very strangely. She punched them out and replanted them in a less conspicuous place. The scars on these punch outs are nonexistent, which is good because they were literally at the very front of my hairline.

[baldlivesmatter]

On 12/1/2022 at 12:53 PM, HairRun said:

I saw your thread with Dr Diep. I don't think you were given the best advice from the community in my honest opinion. I think they were just trying to cheer you up on a obviously problematic result

LOL!

I get the sentiment, but literally half of that thread is people s******* all over my donor area (myself included). 

I'm glad though--i don't think it helps anyone if we're just overly optimistic about every surgeon "trying their best". This isn't a crappy picture my niece drew me that I have to pretend is good. They're expensive surgeries, they should be nitpicked to a degree.

 

On 12/1/2022 at 12:53 PM, HairRun said:

I would say your procedure is a repair case, and it may be helpful to others if you titled it that way.

I think you're right on this.

Initially i thought repairs were only for when you get "butchered" but it sounds like it's more broad than that; that is, when a previous procedures needs to be "fixed".

Dr. Nadimi also referred to it as a repair in my virtual consultation (IIRC).

Happy to have the title changed on here if helpful to other users (i don't think i can change it myself though).

Edited December 5, 2022 by baldlivesmatter

[HairRun]

3 hours ago, baldlivesmatter said:

She'd mentioned in my consultation that we might need to punch out some of the heavier grafts that looked unnatural.

Initially I was kind of against this since I paid so much to get them in, i didn't want to start punching out a bunch of grafts (especially since there were already density issues).

Ultimately though, it was only 7 grafts that when she pointed them out to me and i agreed they were placed very strangely. She punched them out and replanted them in a less conspicuous place. The scars on these punch outs are nonexistent, which is good because they were literally at the very front of my hairline.

May we can a close up of where they were extracted? I am interesting in seeing how the healing is like. How long did she take for each graft? Transplanted FUE is different from normal ones because they may grow in different angles. Sometimes each can take a lot of time. 

[HairRun]

3 hours ago, baldlivesmatter said:

LOL!

I get the sentiment, but literally half of that thread is people s******* all over my donor area (myself included). 

I'm glad though--i don't think it helps anyone if we're just overly optimistic about every surgeon "trying their best". This isn't a crappy picture my niece drew me that I have to pretend is good. They're expensive surgeries, they should be nitpicked to a degree.

 

I think you're right on this.

Initially i thought repairs were only for when you get "butchered" but it sounds like it's more broad than that; that is, when a previous procedures needs to be "fixed".

Dr. Nadimi also referred to it as a repair in my virtual consultation (IIRC).

Happy to have the title changed on here if helpful to other users (i don't think i can change it myself though).

Yeah, if Dr Nadimi says it's a repair case, that pretty much seals it. Of the younger doctors, she has probably the best training along with Dr Josephitis at Shapiro Medical. Is the edit button still available on your opening post? Clicking it will also open up the title edit. After a while the edit button disappears and then @Melvin- Moderator would need to change it for you.  

[baldlivesmatter]

18 hours ago, HairRun said:

May we can a close up of where they were extracted? I am interesting in seeing how the healing is like. How long did she take for each graft? Transplanted FUE is different from normal ones because they may grow in different angles. Sometimes each can take a lot of time. 

Yeah, for sure.

First pic is right after surgery with extractions circled. Second pic is as of today ~2.5 weeks post surgery.

 

[HairRun]

5 minutes ago, baldlivesmatter said:

Yeah, for sure.

First pic is right after surgery with extractions circled. Second pic is as of today ~2.5 weeks post surgery.

 

 

 

Looks pretty clean, no sign of scarring. 

[A Fue Good Men]

1300 grafts in that area under Nadimi’s hands? This is gonna be a home run.

 

Did she mention how many grafts you have left after this surgery?

[baldlivesmatter]

On 12/6/2022 at 5:27 PM, 5BetaReductase said:

1300 grafts in that area under Nadimi’s hands? This is gonna be a home run.

 

Did she mention how many grafts you have left after this surgery?

Thanks!

She didn't give me a specific graft count estimate, but she did mention that if i wanted more density we could do another surgery (which I interpreted as a good sign I still have adequate donor--i would estimate 1500).

I'm hoping this surgery gets my frontal area all sorted and then it's good to have grafts for future use if needed, though if my crown thins/balds in like 10 years I'm not sure it'll bother me that much. Obviously it's not ideal, but thinning on your crown as a mid-40 something is a lot more benign than losing your frontal third in your early 20s. 

[HappyMan2021]

26 minutes ago, baldlivesmatter said:

though if my crown thins/balds in like 10 years I'm not sure it'll bother me that much. Obviously it's not ideal, but thinning on your crown as a mid-40 something is a lot more benign than losing your frontal third in your early 20s. 

not to mention it's fairly easy concealing crown loss with Toppik, etc. The frontal third is infinitely harder - often impossible in many cases - to conceal. 

Hair loss totally sucks regardless of location, but its often more livable, manageable, and less anxiety-inducing when the loss is in the crown. 

[baldlivesmatter]

OK, one month pics are below.

I shed fairly early, noticed most of the grafts were shed around the 3 week mark. I restarted using minoxidil foam at the 3 week mark post shed to hopefully accelerate growth. I also take finasteride and biotin daily.

There's a pretty big "silver dollar" sized bald spot in the front which makes using Toppik a no go. Maybe i need to get some Regenix 🤪

I'm guessing it will be 2-4 weeks before using Toppik is feasible for in-person gatherings, so i'll be wearing hats over the holidays 🤷‍♂️

I work from home so it looks a bit less noticeable over zoom calls and also i care less about those interactions (what are they going to do, fire me for being bald?)

Overhead

Front

Nadimi Donor

Diep Donor