2,300 Graft GUE with Dr Jorge Cortez at HMR in Tijuana 9.5 months - Looking for Advice

[FUE2300]

Hey everyone, I wanted to reach out and share my experience and results from HMR in Tijuana with Dr Jorge Cortez. I'm hoping to get some advice as well. For background, I've had a receded hairline since college but it was never bad enough that I thought much about it until the last couple of years. I worked from home through the peaks of COVID and when things started to get back to normal, I saw some pictures of myself and how much my hair had receded during those two years and wanted to find a fix. After seeing patient results on here and reddit, I landed on Dr Cortez at HMR based on the results I saw and the cost ($2.30/graft). I live in California, so it was also pretty convenient.

Overall, the experience was good and the grafts have grown in great. The staff is very friendly and the procedure itself went very smoothly. They've consistently followed up and have been easy to communicate with throughout the process. In hindsight, my only complaint is that I wish that I would have spent more time with the Dr on confirming that the hairline was exactly what I wanted. I know that many people here may think that I'm obsessing about it or that I should just be happy with the results, but the hairline is very straight and appears unnatural. Another concern, similar to experience @Greenlantern2020 had, my hair can now only be styled to the right. I can live with this, but it's something that I wish I would have known to discuss with the Dr ahead of time. I had a virtual consult with the office today to discuss my concerns and they seemed very amenable to working with me to get my desired result. 

Their suggestion is to add another ~300 grafts to the hairline to create a slight widow's peak and a more zig-zaggy hairline to provide a more natural appearance. They also suggested working to round the corners out more but did not suggest removing any grafts. I'm also planning to meet with them in person soon, to get a better idea of their suggestions. Lastly, I'm also planning to have some virtual consultations with other US based physicians such as Dr Pak, Dr Mohebi, and Dr Nadimi. The only downside is that they each charge $200 so I may just pick 1-2 max. I'd love to hear the forum's thoughts or suggestions. To be clear, I'm planning on doing something to fix this - just not sure my exact game plan yet.

For those considering HMR - this seems to be a clinic that does great work but be very prepared with a game plan for your hairline and styling. Otherwise, I've noticed that many of their designs seem to be similar to mine.

Post Op, Immediately after Scab Removal

 

Post Op Donor Area

3 Months Post Op - Ugly ducking phase

 

~7 months out

~9.5 months out

[thetdog666]

I would easily take that hairline off you haha

[Hairdom]

Thats amazing, any pre op photos ?

[FUE2300]

59 minutes ago, thetdog666 said:

I would easily take that hairline off you haha

haha thank you. It's definitely good work, but it's more noticeable how straight it is when zoomed out. I know that some people like this look but for me, it's very unnatural. Hoping I can get it looking more natural with a second, smaller procedure.

20 minutes ago, Hairdom said:

Thats amazing, any pre op photos ?

Not any good ones that I can find right now. I was probably a norwood 2-3. My recession wasn't that bad and I was originally planning on just having the recession filled in to make it closer to a slight norwood 1 but the doctor kept urging me to go lower. This is actually quite a bit higher than the original hairline that he drew.

[Tiger2050]

Consider doing an in-person consultation with Mohebi since he’s local to you. It’s hard to determine if it’s unnatural through a virtual consultation and pictures, an in-person consultation is much better. I think Nadimi is the best surgeon out of the ones you’ve listed. It doesn’t look too bad in the pics you provided and a small surgery will make it perfect. Dr. Gabel in Portland and Dr. Wong in Vancouver are also names to consider that are somewhat close to you and better doctors than anyone in California.

Edited January 4, 2023 by Tiger2050

[Greenlantern2020]

Hi FUE 2300,

2 hours ago, FUE2300 said:

Hey everyone, I wanted to reach out and share my experience and results from HMR in Tijuana with Dr Jorge Cortez. I'm hoping to get some advice as well. For background, I've had a receded hairline since college but it was never bad enough that I thought much about it until the last couple of years. I worked from home through the peaks of COVID and when things started to get back to normal, I saw some pictures of myself and how much my hair had receded during those two years and wanted to find a fix. After seeing patient results on here and reddit, I landed on Dr Cortez at HMR based on the results I saw and the cost ($2.30/graft). I live in California, so it was also pretty convenient.

Overall, the experience was good and the grafts have grown in great. The staff is very friendly and the procedure itself went very smoothly. They've consistently followed up and have been easy to communicate with throughout the process. In hindsight, my only complaint is that I wish that I would have spent more time with the Dr on confirming that the hairline was exactly what I wanted. I know that many people here may think that I'm obsessing about it or that I should just be happy with the results, but the hairline is very straight and appears unnatural. Another concern, similar to experience @Greenlantern2020 had, my hair can now only be styled to the right. I can live with this, but it's something that I wish I would have known to discuss with the Dr ahead of time. I had a virtual consult with the office today to discuss my concerns and they seemed very amenable to working with me to get my desired result. 

Their suggestion is to add another ~300 grafts to the hairline to create a slight widow's peak and a more zig-zaggy hairline to provide a more natural appearance. They also suggested working to round the corners out more but did not suggest removing any grafts. I'm also planning to meet with them in person soon, to get a better idea of their suggestions. Lastly, I'm also planning to have some virtual consultations with other US based physicians such as Dr Pak, Dr Mohebi, and Dr Nadimi. The only downside is that they each charge $200 so I may just pick 1-2 max. I'd love to hear the forum's thoughts or suggestions. To be clear, I'm planning on doing something to fix this - just not sure my exact game plan yet.

For those considering HMR - this seems to be a clinic that does great work but be very prepared with a game plan for your hairline and styling. Otherwise, I've noticed that many of their designs seem to be similar to mine.

Post Op, Immediately after Scab Removal

 

Post Op Donor Area

3 Months Post Op - Ugly ducking phase

 

~7 months out

~9.5 months out

I 100% agree with the statements you made in regards to the overall hairline design/ follicle directions. I have also seen very similar hair design patterns come out of HMR so I am glad I am not the only one who has noticed this.

I do believe that curving the edges into the temporal peaks would certainly help along with adding some grafts onto the hairline to create a widows peak. As far as removing and implanting the current grafts that would be a tall task as you risk losing what is implanted. Definitely keep consulting with multiple doctors and go with your instincts. As you said, it is important to have a conversation with your doctor about hair design and styling options after the procedure. I am currently consulting with Dr. Luis Nader.

 

With that being said, congratulations, I do believe you've achieved a great result in density and yield!

Edited January 4, 2023 by Greenlantern2020

[FUE2300]

2 hours ago, Tiger2050 said:

Consider doing an in-person consultation with Mohebi since he’s local to you. It’s hard to determine if it’s unnatural through a virtual consultation and pictures, an in-person consultation is much better. I think Nadimi is the best surgeon out of the ones you’ve listed. It doesn’t look too bad in the pics you provided and a small surgery will make it perfect. Dr. Gabel in Portland and Dr. Wong in Vancouver are also names to consider that are somewhat close to you and better doctors than anyone in California.

Thank you for the advice and recommendations on surgeons. That's a good point about Mohebi and meeting in person. If I preferred to stay local, would you recommend Mohebi or another California doctor? It seems like Mohebi's name comes up fairly often when I'm looking at recommended surgeons.

1 hour ago, Greenlantern2020 said:

Hi FUE 2300,

I 100% agree with the statements you made in regards to the overall hairline design/ follicle directions. I have also seen very similar hair design patterns come out of HMR so I am glad I am not the only one who has noticed this.

I do believe that curving the edges into the temporal peaks would certainly help along with adding some grafts onto the hairline to create a widows peak. As far as removing and implanting the current grafts that would be a tall task as you risk losing what is implanted. Definitely keep consulting with multiple doctors and go with your instincts. As you said, it is important to have a conversation with your doctor about hair design and styling options after the procedure. I am currently consulting with Dr. Luis Nader.

 

With that being said, congratulations, I do believe you've achieved a great result in density and yield!

Thank you! It's definitely a frustrating situation where many people are telling me to just be happy with my result but when you're the one looking at it, it's not quite the same. I thought I was alone on my disappointment with the straight hairline and follicle direction as many people seem to be very happy with their hairlines at HMR. Would you be comfortable sharing Dr Nader's feedback on correcting your hairline?

[Tiger2050]

1 hour ago, FUE2300 said:

Thank you for the advice and recommendations on surgeons. That's a good point about Mohebi and meeting in person. If I preferred to stay local, would you recommend Mohebi or another California doctor? It seems like Mohebi's name comes up fairly often when I'm looking at recommended surgeons.

Thank you! It's definitely a frustrating situation where many people are telling me to just be happy with my result but when you're the one looking at it, it's not quite the same. I thought I was alone on my disappointment with the straight hairline and follicle direction as many people seem to be very happy with their hairlines at HMR. Would you be comfortable sharing Dr Nader's feedback on correcting your hairline?

I don’t think any doctor in California is very good and I wouldn’t risk it when you’re a short flight away from better doctors like Gabel and Wong. No California docs have a great reputation. Nadimi is also a good option if you’re willing to fly out to Chicago. The recommended surgeons list on this site is just a starting point for research, not all of the doctors are good. Another California doctor, Dr. Diep, was just recently removed from the list because of poor results and questionable ethics.

Edited January 5, 2023 by Tiger2050

[Greenlantern2020]

6 hours ago, FUE2300 said:

Thank you for the advice and recommendations on surgeons. That's a good point about Mohebi and meeting in person. If I preferred to stay local, would you recommend Mohebi or another California doctor? It seems like Mohebi's name comes up fairly often when I'm looking at recommended surgeons.

Thank you! It's definitely a frustrating situation where many people are telling me to just be happy with my result but when you're the one looking at it, it's not quite the same. I thought I was alone on my disappointment with the straight hairline and follicle direction as many people seem to be very happy with their hairlines at HMR. Would you be comfortable sharing Dr Nader's feedback on correcting your hairline?

I hear you, I get frustrated in the morning combing my hair and I joke with my wife "I got a hair transplant so I wouldn't have to do a comb over, yet here I am" lol.

 

I am still waiting on his response as he tends to be in high demand, but I'll let you know as soon as he gets back to me. But overall, other doctors I have talked to have advised me against removing and replanting grafts; instead they suggest to add some shape to the hairline and add density in a few spots so that my desired hair style will be able to stay. Please keep me in the loop if any doctor gives you additional suggestions. We got this brother 👍

[MarkW]

On 1/5/2023 at 3:09 PM, Greenlantern2020 said:

I hear you, I get frustrated in the morning combing my hair and I joke with my wife "I got a hair transplant so I wouldn't have to do a comb over, yet here I am" lol.

Im looking at your 9 month result pic and other HMR results I've seen, but Im not sure what you mean about the direction and the styling inability issue? Can you help me to understand a little more? Im looking at HMR myself. 
Thanks!

[FUE2300]

It's difficult to tell from the photos but the hair grows up and to the right. When my hair is styled you can't really tell but when my hair is unstyled it looks odd. This is especially frustrating to me since I'm unhappy with the hairline as I can't style my hair forward to cover it up. All of my grafts grew in really well and I have nice density but if you do decide to go with that group, I would make sure to have a very specific plan for the following:

• Hairline design - make sure you have him draw it out with zig zags and other irregularities - otherwise you'll end up with a very straight hairline
  • Similarly, he likes to give a very straight line, so if you want a M shape or any kind of conservative hairline, you'll have to push for it
  • Also, make sure he rounds out your temples in the design
  • I'm not sure if this is common or not, but they also made the first few "rows" of hairs very dense compared to the rest of my hair. Again, it's not noticeable when styled but when wet or pushed forward, you can see a dark line in those first few rows compared to the density in the rest of my hair
• Donor area - while mine isn't as bad as others, he definitely pulled more from one side of my head than the other. I would be sure to ask him to spread it out as much as possible

The last thing that I'll mention is that I went back for a consult to see how they would propose fixing my concerns. The Dr seemed open to fixing it and drew a potential hairline on me. However, when I left, they wanted me to book right then but I asked to see examples of hairlines that they've built that looked more like what I was requesting before booking. They never sent me any, even after following up, so not sure if they have any experience doing any hairlines other than what you see on every patient coming out of there

[A_4_Archan]

21 hours ago, FUE2300 said:

It's difficult to tell from the photos but the hair grows up and to the right. When my hair is styled you can't really tell but when my hair is unstyled it looks odd. This is especially frustrating to me since I'm unhappy with the hairline as I can't style my hair forward to cover it up. All of my grafts grew in really well and I have nice density but if you do decide to go with that group, I would make sure to have a very specific plan for the following:

• Hairline design - make sure you have him draw it out with zig zags and other irregularities - otherwise you'll end up with a very straight hairline
  • Similarly, he likes to give a very straight line, so if you want a M shape or any kind of conservative hairline, you'll have to push for it
  • Also, make sure he rounds out your temples in the design
  • I'm not sure if this is common or not, but they also made the first few "rows" of hairs very dense compared to the rest of my hair. Again, it's not noticeable when styled but when wet or pushed forward, you can see a dark line in those first few rows compared to the density in the rest of my hair
• Donor area - while mine isn't as bad as others, he definitely pulled more from one side of my head than the other. I would be sure to ask him to spread it out as much as possible

The last thing that I'll mention is that I went back for a consult to see how they would propose fixing my concerns. The Dr seemed open to fixing it and drew a potential hairline on me. However, when I left, they wanted me to book right then but I asked to see examples of hairlines that they've built that looked more like what I was requesting before booking. They never sent me any, even after following up, so not sure if they have any experience doing any hairlines other than what you see on every patient coming out of there

I cn understand ur concern abt ur hairline and as u mentioned hairs are growing in a particular direction and u have to keep the hair style accordingly ..bt am wondering wht difference it would make if any other surgeon creates a better hairline jst in front of ur existing one ..cause the existing hair have bad angles and they will always grow the same way evn if u create a new hairline... If a new hairline is created and thn if u would style ur hair differently thn those bad angled hair would poke out and u will face the same issue again...jst a new hairline wont solve issue of bad angled hairs and tht too in front rows..tht is just my thinking...

So i would say at least first consult a senior surgeon who has experience in all ths and explain this properly to him and showing the issues by changing ur hair style...

I would advise you to consult dr bisanga once and do video consultation with him and explain ths thng in detail by showing it...

And u said they have put more density on front rows bt actually mostly evry clinic do ths only ...they do high density on first few rows and thn keep on decreasing gradually as they go back...

[Greenlantern2020]

On 2/9/2023 at 5:58 AM, Archan said:

I cn understand ur concern abt ur hairline and as u mentioned hairs are growing in a particular direction and u have to keep the hair style accordingly ..bt am wondering wht difference it would make if any other surgeon creates a better hairline jst in front of ur existing one ..cause the existing hair have bad angles and they will always grow the same way evn if u create a new hairline... If a new hairline is created and thn if u would style ur hair differently thn those bad angled hair would poke out and u will face the same issue again...jst a new hairline wont solve issue of bad angled hairs and tht too in front rows..tht is just my thinking...

So i would say at least first consult a senior surgeon who has experience in all ths and explain this properly to him and showing the issues by changing ur hair style...

I would advise you to consult dr bisanga once and do video consultation with him and explain ths thng in detail by showing it...

And u said they have put more density on front rows bt actually mostly evry clinic do ths only ...they do high density on first few rows and thn keep on decreasing gradually as they go back...

At this point, I think he would be happy with a more natural shape to his hairline than the directions of the follicles. You can always compensate with good hair products. However, hairline design is crucial because it frames your face. I have the same problem.

Edited February 11, 2023 by Greenlantern2020

[A_4_Archan]

44 minutes ago, Greenlantern2020 said:

At this point, I think he would be happy with a more natural shape to his hairline than the directions of the follicles. You can always compensate with good hair products. However, hairline design is crucial because it frames your face. I have the same problem.

Actually from what i found out from his post is tht he is more disappointed with the angles of grafts so i thought a new hairline wont solve ths problm as the bad angled hairs would poke out and thn again have to manage the hair style accordingly which he dnt wish to..so more or less his main concern would remain same 😊

[FUE2300]

@greenlatern2020 has it right. While the angles are disappointing, the bigger concern is the unnatural hairline shape. It's straight across and doesn't round out at all. I'm currently assessing options to have it repaired and so far most doctors I've spoke with agree that adding a zig zagging design, rounding out the temples, and potentially adding a subtle widows peak should help a lot.

[Spring15]

Amazing density

[TwainHughes]

Thanks for posting this. I am considering getting a 2nd procedure done in TJ so this helps a lot. Also, for what it's worth, I think your hair looks stellar. I envy the density!