Best repair surgeons for a third hairline repair?

[coinflipdrifter]

Hi everyone, 

I’ve been a lurker for awhile - but I finally need your counsel. I’m looking for recommendations on world-class repair surgeons. Money and location isn’t an issue here. 

A quick rundown of my situation:

• In 2016, I got a 2000-2200 graft FUT with Dr. Sara Wasserbauer that was a  complete botch. I really didn’t need it at the time - and it resulted in basically zero growth. She really shouldn’t have operated on me given my age at the time (23) and it’s been anxiety inducing since. 

 

• Eight months ago, I went for a 1250 graft FUE with Dr. Ben Paul in NYC (who is truly one of the nicest and seemingly caring surgeons out there). While Dr. Paul did manage to get growth going, it was far too conservative of an approach and the results thus far are extremely thin. I know I have about 6 months more of healing to go - but I’m pretty distraught with how this turned out. 

 

• I’m fairly confident I’m a NW 2.5 diffuse thinner. Luckily, I haven’t lost anything on my crown. 

While I understand I’m nowhere close to going under the knife again and don’t intend to until the 18 month healing period is over, it’s extremely important for me to feel like I’m building a plan with the right surgical partner who I feel confident can help find a reasonable resolve for my hairline. 

I’m fairly confident I should still have around 3-4k grafts (as well as a thick beard I’m more than happy to pull from) - but in person consults are imperative. I’ve lined up conversations with Dr. Hassan of H&W, spoken to Bisenga’s team, and reached out to Konior. 

Who else should I be lining up conversations with? 

TL;DR - I need a third HT for a hairline repair, probably have half my donor left, no crown loss, and currently recovering from a poor 1250 FUE that was far too conservative for a large area. 

Appreciate you all,

CFD

[coinflipdrifter]

Just to add some photos (which I apologize are not as recent as I’d like). The first three are poor quality, but fairly recent of left, right, and donor.

The left side (which is the pic without the hand pulling it back), you’ll notice I have to still push my hair forward to cover the extreme thin look. It’s worth noting I’m extremely pale with no resolve there (mother is an insane redhead and I inherited her skin … I do have a ginger beard though) - so thinning sticks out like a sore thumb. If it’s combed upwards, it’s extremely see through. 

Third pic is the remaining donor area. There’s an FUT SCAR there hidden there.

 

 

This pic was in October. This was month four of recovery. It gives a good look into the total area that we tried to cover with just 1250 grafts:

 

Here was a good look at the hairline pre-op on the recent 1250 graft FUE: 

Thanks in advance!

- CFD

[Melvin- Admin]

Repairs are always trickier, and more expensive. Have you consulted with Dr. Gabel, Dr. Cooley, Dr. Mohebi, to name a few. 

Feel free to send some consultations to some of the surgeons recommended on this forum. 

https://hairtransplantnetwork.com/best-hair-transplant-surgeons

[BurnieBurns]

Dr Hasson and Konior are very strong contenders as far as north America goes

[A_4_Archan]

Yeh as melvin suggested u shud consult the recommended surgeons and see what their opinions are and thn ask for results (cases similar to urs) from thm and their compare them and thn take ur decision ..as u r not a high grade norwood scale patient and considering u have got good donor (frm ur pics) u can achieve a good result...

[Rafael Manelli]

Feller & Bloxham

Rahal

Lupanzula

Mwamba

Feriduni

Couto

Ball

To name a few

[Gatsby]

Did you find out why there was poor/zero growth from the first surgery with Dr Wasserbauer? That’s the first thing I would want to know. So you are coming up to month eight for your second surgey? What has Dr Paul said about your progress? Apart from being told ‘wait until twelve months have passed’ I would seriously be looking at medication in your case (unless you are already on meds). I’m not a doctor but look at Finasteride and oral minoxidil and give these meds a good twelve months. I would hate to see you undergo a third surgery only to discover that their is an issue with your biology in growing transplanted hair. You could consider a biopsy with a good dermatologist to rule out any conditions. Wishing you all the best! 

[AladdinSane]

Did Dr. Wasserbauer explain why the grafts didn’t take? Did it have anything to do with how she performed it? I don’t know much about her at all.

Because you started with FUT that should mean you have plenty of donor left. Maybe even more than you think but obviously you would know better than me. Your donor looks very good. Are you able to do a second strip? How well did the scar heal?

[hairthere]

I'd add Dr. Jerry Cooley but at this point I wouldn't really even be thinking another surgery. Try to put some faith in Dr. Paul (who I never heard of but recently saw his work in person at my SMP clinic and thought it was quite good). Good growing to you!

Edited February 2, 2023 by hairthere

[coinflipdrifter]

Thanks for the recs guys. 
 

@hairthere- to reiterate, I’m not going to rush the actual surgery for another year. I just want to get going on finding the right surgeon given my experiences thus far. 
 

Does Cooley have a visible portfolio I’m missing? I have to say, I saw his website and wasn’t that impressed (but I know he carries status). 
 

@AladdinSane - she didn’t, but I’m pretty damn confident that they let the grafts die during surgery. It was an 8 hour procedure and I vividly remember an hour lunch happening after they’d pulled them out and before they’d implanted. Also, her techs are young; it just wasn’t something I was old enough or educated enough to recognize. 
 

@Gatsby - Dr. Paul has been positive about the fact there was growth at all - but he’s worried about blowing through donor to fix just the front. The problem is, though, that it’s very obvious the front is too thin. While it’s better than before, I’ve giving myself a noticeable diffuse thinning look. 
 

I was on Fin for 7 years before hitting absurd sides shortly after the last procedure. I switched to the topical fin and use min daily. 
 

 

[coinflipdrifter]

@Melvin- Moderator- thanks for the recs. Money isn’t an issue here; I’ll pay what I have to to find comfort and settle this unease. 
 

What is it about those four that have you thinking they’re best with repair work? Honestly, I’m not sure what to look for in this scenario outside of word of mouth referrals. 

[A_4_Archan]

Till you find out a good surgeon via reviews and consulting them. You shoud try oral minoxidil and finasteride for few months and even prp sessions ...do this and thr cn be a chance whr u will nt need surgery ...

[Melvin- Admin]

1 hour ago, coinflipdrifter said:

@Melvin- Moderator- thanks for the recs. Money isn’t an issue here; I’ll pay what I have to to find comfort and settle this unease. 
 

What is it about those four that have you thinking they’re best with repair work? Honestly, I’m not sure what to look for in this scenario outside of word of mouth referrals. 

They’re excellent surgeons. I like Dr. Cooley in particular for your case, check out this repair from him

 

[BurnieBurns]

4 hours ago, coinflipdrifter said:

Thanks for the recs guys. 
 

@hairthere- to reiterate, I’m not going to rush the actual surgery for another year. I just want to get going on finding the right surgeon given my experiences thus far. 
 

Does Cooley have a visible portfolio I’m missing? I have to say, I saw his website and wasn’t that impressed (but I know he carries status). 
 

@AladdinSane - she didn’t, but I’m pretty damn confident that they let the grafts die during surgery. It was an 8 hour procedure and I vividly remember an hour lunch happening after they’d pulled them out and before they’d implanted. Also, her techs are young; it just wasn’t something I was old enough or educated enough to recognize. 
 

@Gatsby - Dr. Paul has been positive about the fact there was growth at all - but he’s worried about blowing through donor to fix just the front. The problem is, though, that it’s very obvious the front is too thin. While it’s better than before, I’ve giving myself a noticeable diffuse thinning look. 
 

I was on Fin for 7 years before hitting absurd sides shortly after the last procedure. I switched to the topical fin and use min daily. 
 

 

She should be answerable to the grafts not growing at all. Unless you have a medical conditional that would take a monumental screw up. There are plenty of surgeries that last 8 hours or even longer which have no issues with growth

[Tomas]

well updated.

[coinflipdrifter]

Hey everyone,

 

Figured I'd do an update here on recent developments. I happened to fly to Vancouver for work and managed to snag some time with Dr. Hasson. While it was a good first step, I have to say I wasn't left feeling like this was going to be easy (but he and his team are top notch). In short:

 

• The donor area is...fine. Hasson thinks there's likely 3-5k remaining grafts for the rest of my life. He thinks he can work with those - but it's not promising due to aggressive thinning. More on that below. 
• That said, I learned a few disappointing things about my current situation:
  • The Wasserbauer transplant had sort of worked - but it grew in farther back than I had ever realized. I genuinely had no idea/memory of having planned for implanted grafts behind the hairline... but here we are. Dr. Hasson thinks without it I'd be a IV or V. 
  • I'm rapidly thinning behind my recent transplant. While not noticeable to the naked eye yet, I can tell the density has lessened significantly this year. He immediately called out hairs that were 90% miniaturized. In response, I decided to hop immediately back on oral fin and oral minoxidil. No sides yet....
  • We both agreed that density is sorely needed - especially on my left side. 
  • He immediately called out extremely poor angulation in Dr. Paul's work... and frankly it's something I've seen myself. It's what makes my combover look asymmetrical; this type of repair with poor angulation is one of the tougher ones. 

Last, Dr. Hasson didn't want to talk again for 8-12 months. I'm praying that the oral fin/min does some heavy lifting until then. 

I'd love to ask for the groups opinion on what I can do here given the new information. I don't expect intensive density - but I really do seek symmetry in existing and added density that can provide a normal styling pattern (so, not completely just pushed forward, lumpy, and messy). cc @Melvin- Moderator

I plan on flying to Chicago in the coming weeks to meet with Konior, Charlotte for Cooley, and Maryland for Bisenga when he's in town. I've seen others mention Shapiro; is he accredited like Konior, Dorin, and Bisenga are? 

Appreciate you all,

CFD 

[Melvin- Admin]

On 2/15/2023 at 8:43 AM, coinflipdrifter said:

Hey everyone,

 

Figured I'd do an update here on recent developments. I happened to fly to Vancouver for work and managed to snag some time with Dr. Hasson. While it was a good first step, I have to say I wasn't left feeling like this was going to be easy (but he and his team are top notch). In short:

 

• The donor area is...fine. Hasson thinks there's likely 3-5k remaining grafts for the rest of my life. He thinks he can work with those - but it's not promising due to aggressive thinning. More on that below. 
• That said, I learned a few disappointing things about my current situation:
  • The Wasserbauer transplant had sort of worked - but it grew in farther back than I had ever realized. I genuinely had no idea/memory of having planned for implanted grafts behind the hairline... but here we are. Dr. Hasson thinks without it I'd be a IV or V. 
  • I'm rapidly thinning behind my recent transplant. While not noticeable to the naked eye yet, I can tell the density has lessened significantly this year. He immediately called out hairs that were 90% miniaturized. In response, I decided to hop immediately back on oral fin and oral minoxidil. No sides yet....
  • We both agreed that density is sorely needed - especially on my left side. 
  • He immediately called out extremely poor angulation in Dr. Paul's work... and frankly it's something I've seen myself. It's what makes my combover look asymmetrical; this type of repair with poor angulation is one of the tougher ones. 

Last, Dr. Hasson didn't want to talk again for 8-12 months. I'm praying that the oral fin/min does some heavy lifting until then. 

I'd love to ask for the groups opinion on what I can do here given the new information. I don't expect intensive density - but I really do seek symmetry in existing and added density that can provide a normal styling pattern (so, not completely just pushed forward, lumpy, and messy). cc @Melvin- Moderator

I plan on flying to Chicago in the coming weeks to meet with Konior, Charlotte for Cooley, and Maryland for Bisenga when he's in town. I've seen others mention Shapiro; is he accredited like Konior, Dorin, and Bisenga are? 

Appreciate you all,

CFD 

I think Hasson’s approach makes sense. Stabilize before you do anything. Are you on finasteride? 

[Z--]

Shapiro is top notch. 

That said, I’d defer to Konior over the rest, though all are highly reliable. He’s extremely meticulous when it comes to donor management. 

[HairNTear]

This is quite similar to my situation and Dr Cooley knocked it out of the park with the repair.

I reckon he’s your man but go with your gut feeling following the consultations.

 

[Rawkerboi]

Why Dr. Mwamba is not on your list? 

[Pubichair]

Fuegenix in the Netherlands is good. But one of the most expensive in the world. If money is no option you could check in with him. 
 

He did my repair job 3 months ago.