Trying to decide on Thailand surgeon and surgery type

[Thrillhouse]

I consulted with the top 3 doctors in Thailand that are mentioned online. All of them said I would need a surgery now for the front and another in a year for the crown:

1. Dr. Laorwong, Absolute Hair - 4000 grafts FUE, 70thb/graft (~$2)

2. Dr. Patty, Hairtran Clinic - 3600 grafts FUE, 41.5thb/graft (~$1.20)

3. Dr. Path, DHT Clinic - 3800 grafts FUE/FUT/beard, 117thb/graft (~$3.38)

- Dr. Path is out of my budget, although the approach would conserve the most donor hair for future surgeries.

- I believe that Dr. Laorwong could perform a combined FUE/FUT procedure although I haven't followed up with him on that yet. Is this worth considering, or should I just go straight FUE?

- If I do FUE only, is Dr. Laorwong worth the price premium over Dr. Patty? I've seen people say they're of similar skill, and would obviously prefer to spend less especially if I'm going to need a 2nd surgery

[Gatsby]

Have a look at the results of the recommended surgeons on this forum. Look for patients that have the same hair loss as yours with results you are after. Are you from Australia choosing Thailand? The two surgeons I like are Dr Path and Dr Laorwong. Also are you taking Finasteride, etc to stabilize your hair loss? All the best. 

[Thrillhouse]

I'm from the US, currently staying in Thailand until May. Yes I'm on Fin/oral Minox for the last couple of months.

Dr. Path is too expensive. I'm trying to decide between Dr. Laorwong either FUE or FUE/FUT combo, or Dr. Patty FUE.

[A_4_Archan]

12 hours ago, Thrillhouse said:

I'm from the US, currently staying in Thailand until May. Yes I'm on Fin/oral Minox for the last couple of months.

Dr. Path is too expensive. I'm trying to decide between Dr. Laorwong either FUE or FUE/FUT combo, or Dr. Patty FUE.

I don't knw abt dr patty..bt dr path and dr laorwong are good doctors and worth considering ....and yeh dr laorwong does perform fut as well...i jst had conversation with 2 recent patients of him who undergone fut+fue combo...evn am booked with dr laorwong for my surgery probably next month ...yet to confirm exact date

[coolbreeze]

Did Dr paddy's 3600 include both the front and the top of you scalp or just the font?

[Gatsby]

On 3/13/2023 at 8:45 PM, Thrillhouse said:

I'm from the US, currently staying in Thailand until May. Yes I'm on Fin/oral Minox for the last couple of months.

Dr. Path is too expensive. I'm trying to decide between Dr. Laorwong either FUE or FUE/FUT combo, or Dr. Patty FUE.

My advice would be to give minoxidil and Finasteride 12 months before even considering surgery. See what these meds can do first. You may find your donor is stronger and you may have less area to cover. You won’t know this for at least a year on meds. It sounds like you are pressuring yourself to get it done now because you are in Thailand and want to get the hair transplant done before you leave. Personally this is a bad decision because it’s an emotional decision. Patience is the key to everything when it comes to hair transplants. Don’t go home with regrets because you chose not only the wrong surgeon but also the wrong surgical technique. Spend the time while on the meds to do your proper research and then make a more informed choice of surgeon and technique. In the long run this will save you much more money and give you a much better result for life. All the best! 

[Thrillhouse]

On 3/17/2023 at 3:54 PM, coolbreeze said:

Did Dr paddy's 3600 include both the front and the top of you scalp or just the font?

It was mainly the front, up to pretty much the midpoint of the top of my head. The picture with the blue drawing in the pink ring shows the area for the 3600 grafts.

[Thrillhouse]

On 3/17/2023 at 7:03 PM, Gatsby said:

My advice would be to give minoxidil and Finasteride 12 months before even considering surgery. See what these meds can do first. You may find your donor is stronger and you may have less area to cover. You won’t know this for at least a year on meds. It sounds like you are pressuring yourself to get it done now because you are in Thailand and want to get the hair transplant done before you leave. Personally this is a bad decision because it’s an emotional decision. Patience is the key to everything when it comes to hair transplants. Don’t go home with regrets because you chose not only the wrong surgeon but also the wrong surgical technique. Spend the time while on the meds to do your proper research and then make a more informed choice of surgeon and technique. In the long run this will save you much more money and give you a much better result for life. All the best! 

Thank you for your thoughtful response and advice. Unfortunately it was just a little late because I had another consultation with Dr. Laorwong and paid a booking deposit just a few hours before your post haha.

You are correct that I'm pressuring myself to get it done before I leave, but it's not really an impulse decision for me. My first HT consult was 10 years ago, and honestly I should've gotten on meds back then. That being said, I can't really picture that they'll make that much of a difference in the front as my hairline has been gone for so long. I already know that I'll need a 2nd procedure in a year for the crown, so maybe the meds will help for that. It feels like if I don't get the surgery and then also don't experience significant regrowth, it will be a much bigger regret for me in a year for my hair to be in the same state as it is now... especially if I'm not able to come back to Thailand at that point.

I've seen many people here and elsewhere recommend Dr. Laorwong and say he is an excellent choice of surgeon with solid results, so I don't think he's necessarily the "wrong" surgeon. The current plan is a combo procedure, 2000 grafts FUT + 2500 FUE, done on 1 day. The choice of FUT+FUE was Dr. Path's recommendation because I have a roll of excess skin on the back of my head that theoretically can be improved with a strip surgery. From my research it also appears that utilizing both methods yields the highest amount of grafts from the donor, as currently I need about 7k grafts for full coverage (shown in pic with the gold ring). Dr. Laorwong said that he has done many combo procedures.

I was happy to have finally made a decision on this, and it seemed like a good one. Now I'm having doubts based on what you said. I'm not sure if the clinic would return my ~$900 deposit or not if I cancelled with them... do you still think it's a bad decision to proceed with the surgery in light of the additional details I've laid out?

[Gatsby]

My concern is the very real risk you run in possibly regretting this in a year from now and wishing that you had have spent more time researching who the best surgeon is for you and waiting to see how medication improves your donor/growth situation. I totally get it and what your doing is what I would have done when I was younger. But what I did when I was younger on an impulsive plan ended up being a huge mistake that left me botched. I know that when you are there in teh moment and everything sounds perfect that it's almost impossible not to give in to. But I really think that if you have to pass up the $900 it's probably the best money that you have spent in the long run.

If it were me, again I would give the medication a full year to see how it works (and the fact that you can tolerate it is a win in itself). During this time spend it researching doctors and have consultations with doctors. Look at patient results here on the forum from the recommended doctors. It may very well end up being Dr Laowong in the end. But trust me, you will feel so much more confident in your results and choice if you arrive there from the journey of due diligence in your research and patience with your medication before getting cut. Shifting 4,500 grafts in one day via strip and FUE is not unheard of but it is a push. Either way I am just trying to give you what I believe the best advice if it was me or a family member. All the best!