Repair procedure 7 months - Can I expect much more?

[knivesout09]

Hi all

I’ve been losing my hair since my 20s – mainly diffuse loss in a Norwood V pattern, forunately managed to pop on finasteride + minoxidil, which I’ve responded very well to and held decent ground. Unfortunately by the time I had started meds I had lost a lot of the hairline.

Cue 2021, in the wake of the Covid pandemic, remote working etc, I felt that this was a good opportunity to address the hairline and as such booked a transplant in a UK clinic which was forum recommended. At the time they gave 2660 grafts, however as you can see they were distributed quite sparsely and I feel like the yield was fairly poor.

I elected for a repair at a different clinic and have had 1400 grafts to the area.
I’m now past 7 months and while my results a certainly an improvement, the density still feels quite poor and I’m quite limited in how I can style my hair.

 

I’ m starting to feel a bit of deja vu unfortunately. Can I expect much more over the next few months? Will the maturation of grafts be enough to give satisfactory density or will need a further procedure at this point?

 

[botchedguy95]

Can you try uploading again mate? The links seem to be broken

[knivesout09]

Apologies!  First time posting on the forum.

I can see the photos when access the website on another device.

Is there another way to upload?

 

[botchedguy95]

2 hours ago, knivesout09 said:

Apologies!  First time posting on the forum.

I can see the photos when access the website on another device.

Is there another way to upload?

 

I see them now, sorry it might have been me! 

To answer your question, I 100% believe you will be satisfied by month 10 based on those pictures.

Keep in mind the results will be delayed by a month or two in a repair procedure, so wait until AT LEAST month 10 and you will most definitely see an improvement and very likely be happy.

[HappyMan2021]

the pictures are not in chronological order which makes this a bit confusing. perhaps re-order them for clarity

who were the 1st 2 surgeons? If there were no other complications or anything really unique about your case, it is unfortunate but indeed quite possible they simple were poor and gave you low-yield. 

I'm sure you are really sick of hair transplants by this point and want to leave the journey. If you do indeed need a 3rd HT, ensure you go to an elite doctor so you can really get this done and over with. 

[knivesout09]

First was a uk recommended. Second was a elite repair surgeon also recommended on the forum.

[HappyMan2021]

9 minutes ago, knivesout09 said:

First was a uk recommended. Second was a elite repair surgeon also recommended on the forum.

their actual names would help out alot

[Spring15]

There might be some thickening in the next couple months, looks good however - chuck some sevich hair fibres you'll look full head 100%

[knivesout09]

Thought I'd give an update at 8 months.  Attached are photos under favorable and harsh lighting.

I think there has been some improvement - certainly in hair calibre, but am still not 100% happy. Although I have got growth, I'm not sure I've yielded particularly well. I have a meeting with the Dr later this month so will discuss then.

Is there usually a significant change from month 8 onwards or should I prepare myself for a further repair?

[knivesout09]

Anyway to rotate the photos?

Wanted to give this a bump, am unsure if I need to consider a second surgery.

[BackFromTheBrink]

For me, your hair is looking good.

There's clearly a lot of grafts/hairs in your hairline giving a natural look.

If you're being really picky there is a less dense area (left centre in your pictures).

In my opinion, that's likely to stay less dense than the rest, but may thicken enough to make it less visible. 

We rarely look at people without hair loss, but if you were to, you'd see that there's some inconsistencies naturally.

[HappyMan2021]

14 hours ago, knivesout09 said:

Anyway to rotate the photos?

Wanted to give this a bump, am unsure if I need to consider a second surgery.

if I were you I would just post again in this thread with the photos rotated correctly. Or edit the post

[Gatsby]

@knivesout09 there is plenty of hair to come your way. 👌

[knivesout09]

Wanted to give an update as I approach 12 months.

The density unfortunately hasn't improved so much, although my hair calibre has developed.

Unfortunately I've also been left with cobblestoning.

Fair to say I don't consider the repair to be a success.

I'm now reviewing further options.

[Berba11]

47 minutes ago, knivesout09 said:

Wanted to give an update as I approach 12 months.

The density unfortunately hasn't improved so much, although my hair calibre has developed.

Unfortunately I've also been left with cobblestoning.

Fair to say I don't consider the repair to be a success.

I'm now reviewing further options.

It would be beneficial to name the clinics that you went to - the whole point of this forum is transparency. Without it, these threads and journey's don't really help anyone.

It would be good to see some pictures in clear chronological order so we can see the proper progress:

1. Pre-any HT

2. 12 months after the first "failed" HT

3. 12 months after the "repair" work.

I note you have posted 7, 8 & 12 month repair photos, but they're a bit mixed. Some look really good, others less so. A bit of consistency with the photos would help (same shot, same location indoors or outdoors to match the lighting, same hairstyle that you normally wear).

 

Lastly, in your 8 month update you said you were meeting the surgeon again. What was the outcome (and who was the surgeon)?

[WoundedWolf]

how many cms ur hairline was lowered, even though i can  see some singles in ur hairline, the ridges are  still a concern, can u share after repair pics 

[knivesout09]

Hello

I do agree, partly the difficulty is I want to respect my anonymity.

The photos in which it looks good are in low lighting, given the high skin to hair contrast it looks better there. 

Surgeon was Dr Mwamba.

Original was Dr Arshard.

Surgical placement is detailed in the 1st post - last image.

[Berba11]

39 minutes ago, knivesout09 said:

Hello

I do agree, partly the difficulty is I want to respect my anonymity.

The photos in which it looks good are in low lighting, given the high skin to hair contrast it looks better there. 

Surgeon was Dr Mwamba.

Original was Dr Arshard.

Surgical placement is detailed in the 1st post - last image.

Ok thanks. What did Dr Mwamba say when you raised your concerns during your follow up appointment around month 9 or so?

And was the cobblestoning present from the first surgery, or the second?

[knivesout09]

There was a little from the hair dr, but it's mostly new.

He advised things may improve, advised a silicone based scar gel - which hasn't helped.

He advised a small top up could help, but didn't elaborate much further.

It was quite disheartening tbh. He had struggled to tell apart the pre and post intervention photos apart.

[Rahal Hair Transplant]

@knivesout09,

Without getting into the specifics of your case since I don’t know a whole lot, I can simply say that it’s always advisable to wait 12 to 18 months before evaluating your result. So to answer your question, yes - a lot can happen between 7 and 12 months although it really depends on the patient as everyone’s growth timeline looks a little different.  So for now, I would say hang in there and wait until at least 12 months before deciding your next course of action.

i hope this helps. 

Rahal Hair Transplant

Edited June 16, 2023 by Rahal Hair Transplant

[knivesout09]

Thanks for the reply.

I'm presently 6 days away from 12 months so doubt there will any groundbreaking change.

[BaldingEye]

Sorry to see this is happening @knivesout09 

The repair has not resolved the previous situation and as you say you are almost at 12 months. 
Bare in mind that hair transplant results could have many variables affecting the final result. And since you went to 2 great clinics/doctors, maybe there is something going on with your skin/blood circulation or other. 

What medication are you taking? Using Finas, Dutas or Minoxidil? 
Also, could you share real photos from further away so we can see the result I normal person would see? Also, how is your donor area?

[Turkhair]

Damn!

 

[knivesout09]

Donor is good. Mwambas donor management is superb.

Thankfully I'm blessed with good calibre hair so can sort of camouflage the scaring.

I've been on fin for 10 years - hair has been stable in time. 

With regards to the Dr's. I think there were a lot of poor results with hair dr at the time I was there. I think I may have a degree of bad luck unfortunately.

[TheGreatPretender]

1 minute ago, knivesout09 said:

Donor is good. Mwambas donor management is superb.

Thankfully I'm blessed with good calibre hair so can sort of camouflage the scaring.

I've been on fin for 10 years - hair has been stable in time. 

With regards to the Dr's. I think there were a lot of poor results with hair dr at the time I was there. I think I may have a degree of bad luck unfortunately.

For what's worth I kind of envy having your density. Guys like me would have settled with what you currently have and called it a day. You could easily grow out some serious locks with your caliber and make it look like it thickened out, that alone would be enough for me. But well, different stokes for different folks I guess. 

It's not good but it could be worse.