11 months. 2100. Underwhelmed.

[TheEmperor]

Originally posted by thanatopsis_awry:

Re: graft #'s --> "(which may also be influenced by how many staff call in sick that day. . .)"

 

Do you have legit reason to believe that your doctor would actually waste grafts due to a vagary in staffing, while pulling the wool over the patient's head? Not accusing this of not being true, but it's a pretty bold claim with scary implications.

 

Not wasting grafts, but not stretching the scalp as far as could be based on resources at hand.

 

I got less grafts than predicted. I had done the scalp exercises RELIGIOUSLY and had generated laxity over when I had the in person consult, which was when they predicted 4500. When the Dr. was examining laxity, the assisting technician said "It looks like there is good laxity, this will be a long day" The Dr. then corrected her and said the scalp was fairly tight.

 

If the office is light on resources for a given day, and they have two patients in the chair, they have to balance.

 

If the second patient is getting a 3000+ surgery, they are not going to undertake 6K grafts on the first patient.

 

I never had any tightness post surgery, so this is one of those things that make me go "hmmm", wondering if they could have gotten more grafts.

 

I would have GLADLY paid the extra money for them. This is one of those situations that raises an eyebrow and you are not exactly sure what to think.

 

Also, the Dr. originally drew some temple closure, but did not plant any in that area. No explanation. In fact the drawn hairline was gone when I took my first break. But you are undergoing this big thing, so you just extend trust.

 

I absoluately believe that a doctor who has (say) ten techs, and two are on vacation or sick, the doctor is going to scale accordingly and this will impact your outcome. Did this happen in my case? I dont know, but I am one of the rare that was predicted about 1K more than I got.

 

Another point. . they have techs planting, one on each side. THere is a divide up the middle in the front. It appears that the tech on my left may have had slightly more steady hands as the yield on the right is lower. Just more gaps on that side. Hair grew in slower there and not as dense.

 

People always remark on how growth is not even, funny how that in my case, that happened right along the line where the two different techs were working in the morning. No other way to explain it.

 

My intuition tells me they were a bit short staffed that day.

[Severn]

aaron, just be careful on your expectations on the finisteride. I too was an excellent responder. I regained pretty much all of my crown hair back. However, it lasted roughly 3-4 years before it lost its effectiveness. I slowly lost what the fin had given me and after I stopped, I noticed no difference so the fin had done all it could do at that point.

[Predator]

I Know it's been said before and I can see you follow the comments

If you look at my HT I had 2900 FUT in 42m2

http://www.hairtransplantnetwo...opyID=2175&WebID=920

 

So I'm not surprised that your result for a larger area may see a little thin.

It is still a very positive result

But as you know to get where you would like to go you have to go back, as I may will in the years that follow as the efffectiveness from propecia wears off

Good Luck

[aaron1234]

Severn. Yeah, I have responded well to Finasteride. But I don't think it has completely halted the process. So I do expect to see more thinning in the future. It's a bit scary I must say. How long has it been since you stopped the meds?

 

Predator. I have been following your progress and I am much impressed. I will say that my result looks awful in certain lighting and decent in others. But I have no choice now but to go a second round.

[Severn]

I stopped about 5 years ago but recently started to hopefully counteract any shock loss on my upcoming surgery.

[fnamna]

Here I am at 11 months post-op (2100 FU's) and feeling quite blas?© about the results thus far.

 

As you can see by the pictures, the hairline looks best when it is not seen at all. I'm fairly pleased with the shape and placement of the hairline, with the receded temples. It doesn't look pluggy (although some recipient incision marks are still slightly noticeable) but it lacks much density. Consequently, I am left with the comb-forward look and not much else.

 

The transplanted hair is still quite thinner than the rest and is growing out quite curly. I am currently using a straightener to address this issue. I still feel stubble. Will this hair eventually grow or is it in a permanently shocked state? At 11 months, can I expect much improvement from where it now stands?

 

I am fairly happy with my donor scar as it remains very thin and had little to no shock loss in the surrounding area. However, there remains a pink hue around the incision.

 

Currently, I'm still very dependent on concealers. I use a combination of dermmatch and toppik. I would very much like to lose reliance on them as they can often appear chalky.

 

The question is what to make of these below average results. My doctor has been helpful, by making phone calls to check up on my status and answering questions. However, he is semi-retiring, which is why I requested the pre-op photos you now see posted. It is clear I have made up a lot of ground since going on Finasteride. My doctor thought it best for me to get on the meds before rushing into surgery and that was definitely a wise decision. I have now been on Finasteride for over three years.

 

Or is it my physiology? My hair texture is quite thin and maybe just needs more grafts to accomplish more density. I am also a slow healer. I have had other scars on my body for years before they became undetectable. But I can't help but wonder whether if my yield is mediocre at best.

 

I have by no means been butchered and will not need a 'repair' job. However, I will need another procedure in the very near future and hope the final result will far exceed where I currently stand now.

 

Advice, comments, support welcome.

 

 

hey man

the Doc.G that you mentioned is it doc.Gaffney in LA?

if it is, then im lost,

did you had a good experience with him or not?

just asking because i'm considering him

[MrGio-WHTCClinic]

In hair loss and hair transplantation, it can seem like the progress comes as slowly as the regrowth happens. Hair loss can be unnoticeable for years, and the coverage from surgery can be unnoticeable for over one year. With many individuals, the surgery allows them to be at the point where their loss would have progressed had the surgery never been performed.