FUE with Dr Luis Nader July 25, 2023 - Reynosa, MX - 36M American - 2900 Crown

[jfally]

If not for this forum, I'd have never gone through with this procedure, so I owe it to all here to 'give back' and say thanks by providing my experience and review, and will do my best to update regularly and not become one of those people that go dark after month 2 never to return lol.

Background on me: 

-36 year old male
-Crown thinning started at 32 years old, hairline started thinning at 33.
-Crown MUCH MUCH worse than anything upfront and I was most self-conscious about the big old bald spot on my crown
-My hairline looks okay when hair is buzzed, and okay when hair is an inch or so long, but that awkward in between exposes it as a little thinner (more on progress here in meds)
-I own a health coaching company, I workout 5-6 days per week, I'm a runner/cyclist/hiker, and lover of all things fitness related
-I have a beautiful healthy wife and two beautiful healthy children
-If not for my bald crown, I look my age, but with the bald crown I feel it ages me many many years, and naturally is a big blow to my self-confidence

My journey
-Began looking into treatment options when I was 34.
-Family member advised me to look into Finasteride and Minoxidil, started using topical minoxidil at 34 (2 years ago) but was not entirely consistent because I hated how oily it made my hair and some days just couldn't be bothered.
-Began buzzing my head to make Min application easier and stuck with it alot more at that point.
-Talked to my PCP and was prescribed Fin and began taking that 1.5 years ago.
-Researched mucho and saw the science behind Dut, and switched to Dut away from Fin about 10 months ago (zero sides)
-Decided in the name of both constant adherance due to maximum ease of use and potentially much better results, to switch to Oral Min 4 months ago. Titrated up to 5mg daily over the first 2 months time and have been at 5mg daily since. EKG/bloods from PCP at start, have experienced no sides at all, and he wants to do a 6mo workup again with another EKG.
-Since switching to Oral Min I have most definitely been enjoying some really nice regrowth upfront, and a bit in the crown.

Consulting with Dr Nader 
-I went to a consult at a local clinic where I live (Washington Medical Hair Clinic in Virginia Beach, VA), never actually met the Dr, and a 'consultant' looked at my hair and spoke with me, and recommended 1600 grafts to the crown, cost estimate $8-9k USD depending on graft yield. I got zero warm fuzzies from this encounter start to finish. At this point I knew travel was likely going to need to happen, I considered Eugenix and then came across options in MX, and I'm forever partial to MX due to having Hispanic heritage and multiple great trips to touristy areas of MX (silly reason but whatever lol).
-My initial outreach to Dr Nader was in Oct '22.
-Hours and hours of researching here and on Reddit told me he was amazing at what he does, he CARES (genuinely hard to find in any profession these days), he is present for entirety of procedure, his results amaze with every next surgery review/report, and the price was much much lower than expected. 
-Initial outreach consisted of filling out consult form on his website, answering all the questions and providing background on my history/goals, and supplying the pics requested.
-Brenda replied a few days later (much ahead of schedule to my delight based on other posts at the time) and gave me some figures based on the pics. Potential treatment based solely on pics/not seeing in person was to be 2k-3k grafts to crown and mid, 1k to hairline to restore but not move down.
-These figures sounded MUCH more in line with my thinking vs what my local clinic quoted me. 
-Spoke with my wife about the decision, and the financials, and what it would mean to/for me, and got the greenlight.
-Replied back to Brenda letting her know I'm 'in', and after having to follow up a few times via email and phone call/voicemail after next few weeks, she replied back with a list of dates into the Spring of '23. 
-I replied back immediately and after some back and forth with schedule conflicts on my side, booked the procedure for Aug '23.
-Received an email in May '23 from Dr Nader himself;  profusely apologizing, but letting me know he'd been invited to speak at a conference dates of my surgery, so asking if I could move forward/earlier a month. WHY YES DR I SURE CAN! lol
-We landed on July 25-26, flights/hotels were booked.

Travel/Accomodations
-I flew from Norfolk, VA to McAllen,TX via American Airlines and other than the general woes of air travel these days, no issues at all.
-Part of Dr. Nader's packages include hotel reimbursement if you stay at one of his partner hotels here in McAllen, so $360 reimbursement for 3 nights at this hotel, and it includes breakfast vouchers (with a really nice breakfast spread to boot!)
-My flight arrived super late (11:55pm) and my hotel's shuttle was still running so they picked me up and brought me back to hotel.

Safety/Security/Border Crossing into and out of Reynosa/Reynosa Itself
-Dr Nader has a private driver(s), mine was Mr Santos. He has been driving for Dr Nader and shuttling his patients to/fro their hotels for 13 years now. He's been driving cabs in Reynosa for 43 years, and now works for Dr Nader as well as driving the shuttle for Holiday Inn Express in Reynosa. Consummate professional. Friendly, cordial, speaks un poco de English, respectful. I asked him about his life, his family, and his experience, and with a little bit of inherent language barrier both ways, we passed the time chatting. He's not technically part of Dr Nader's team, but he still made a great first impression.
-25 minutes to get from Cambria Hotel to Dr Nader's clinic.
-1 hour to get back to Cambria Hotel from Dr Nader's clinic (have to stop at US Customs/Border Patrol on the return trip, have to present passport and answer a couple questions, plus line is longer heading to US vs on the way into MX from US).

Reynosa:

-If you follow US headlines, Reynosa is where you go to mingle with the cartel, get kidnapped, get murdered, get held for ransom, etc.
-If you go to US State Dept website, Reynosa and the state of Tamaulipas on the whole is on the DO NOT TRAVEL LIST for more political translations of the above line.
-I'd be lying if I wasn't stressed/scared in light of a few recent articles popping up regarding the above. Escalated violence, an incident with Americans a few months back, a shallow mass grave found last week,etc. 
-My MIL sent me article just last week and pleaded with me not go go <---this was tough.

-MY ACTUAL EXPERIENCE WITH REYNOSA:
-I never feared for my safety.
-I never feared for my security.
-Mr Santos had us on major roads and Dr Nader's clinic is within 10 minutes of the border crossing.
-Dr Nader's clinic is on second floor of a nicer looking medical clinic, with multiple gates, multiple locks, and security cameras literally everywhere. If there is a 'safest complex' in Reynosa, I'm confident saying it's this complex.
-I saw zero guns, knives, heads on stakes, bodies hanging from trees, mass graves, or rubble from shootouts.
-It looked not dissimilar from areas of Mexico just outside of major tourist areas (think Cozumel, Cancun, etc if you were to leave the main area and stroll for a mile or two).
-Lots of street food vendors, lots of pedestrians, run-down/past it's hey day, but still full of life and full of normal people trying to make a normal living and provide for their families.
-To anyone reading, and fearful of Reynosa, I cannot tell you how to feel, but I really truly wish I would not have been as anxious as I was about the safety of this place.
-This is not to say you cannot find yourself in the wrong place at the wrong time, but that applies to any city in any state. 
-Your choices and feelings are yours, and I respect that.
-I would confidently refer friends/family to Dr Nader now having firsthand experience of traveling through Reynosa, with zero reservations. And I say that genuinely.


ANYWHOOOOO

To remind, tentative gameplan for procedure (based on Oct '22 pics) was going for 2-3k grafts for the crown and midline, up to 1k to reinforce but not move down the hairline.

In between then and now, Oral Minoxidil and Dutasteride have helped me at least a good bit.

After filling out paperwork in the lobby upon arrival, I was warmly welcomed by the man, the myth himself, Dr Luis Nader. 

He invited me into his office and we chatted like two friends just genuinely talking and getting to know each other more.

Goals, life, family, personal experiences (mine and his), nothing and everything. In a weird way I didn't want this chat to end, because there's a genuineity to his spirit that you just do not encounter...anywhere. He's a special human.

After chatting for a long while and going down many digressions (he and I both), we came back to the reason for my visit; my hair.

He took out his trichoscope (not sure what this thing is called?) and plugged it into his laptop via USB, and placed the laptop on his desk so we could both see it clearly. 

The screen showed a highly magnified view of my hair follicles.

Dr Nader got VERY excited with respect to my decision to faithfully take Dut/Oral Min daily and found new growth upon new growth, upfront in the hairline especially.

Knowing Oral Min has been in the mix less than 3 months, he was VERY confident than in another 6-8 months time, regrowth from that (based on what he was seeing under magnifcation) would negate need to add hair here now/at present. He gave me the choice ultimately, but highly encouraged me to exercise a bit of patience bc he was as certain as could be without 'promising' that the thinnish areas would really fill out as the year goes on. No grafts needed for the front, that was the decision we agreed upon.

Which meant my two day procedure would now be just one day, and 2877 grafts would go to my crown.

He arrived at 2877 after drawing a grid pattern on the crown (including a dip that he recommended waiting on, but said he'd not argue if I wanted to fill it in). Once the grid was drawn on, he place 40 dots into each grid, multipled that # of the grid, and oila!, we have our needed graft #. It was 2877.

The plan was in motion, and we'd begin in room 1, which was essentially a massage bed I'd lie face down on for the extractions from donor area.

For whatever reason, this was my least favorite part. He was VERY accommodating and encouraged me to be vocal if I felt any pain at all, and I did ask him several times for more local anesthesia. The pain itself wasn't anything bad even when I need more anesthesia, I think most of the unpleasantness stemmed moreso from the tiny pain coupled with the lying face down for a couple hours coupled with the sound effects of each next extraction from his implements. Compared to my tattoos (3/4 sleeve one arm, 1/2 on other), this pain was 1 if a tattoo was 10. Evidently I'm turning into a wuss as I age but really I think it was the multiple sensory factor that made the extraction process a bit more unpleasant than I'd expected.

After extraction I was escorted to Room 2, where delicious tacos and a diet soda (you get to order from a few choices) were waiting, and I was given the remote to the big screen TV on the wall directly in front of the dentist-chair looking reclining chair where the implantations would occur post-30 minute lunch break.

The implantation process went smoothly and all of it was done in Room 2 on reclining chair, other than the bottom row of grids and dip area, which were done back in room laying face down.

I will say thru entirety of extraction/implantation, I was conversing every few minutes with Dr Nader as needed, and his staff was working diligently with minimal chatter or small talk or laughter (not that I'd have minded at all).

They run a well oiled machine, the manner in which they executed literally every aspect screamed efficiency and high standards, and each tech I interacted with was absolutely as pleasant and professional and accommodating as could be. (As a fellow business owner and employer, I'd be proud to be in Dr Nader's shoes, his team represents him well; a business owner's ultimately goal).

After all implantations were done, they cleaned the area well, and wrapped my head in the glorious infamous Civil War era head wrap. Plus a surgical cap to where back to the hotel.

Then, back to Dr Nader's office, for thorough walk through of post care instructions, for the next 7 days, but then also outward from there. 

I was given the meds, the sprays, and the shampoo.

Mr Santos took me back to my hotel in McAllen, now I sit here recovering/resting/typing a novel of a post procedure report when I should really be catching up on work.

Any questions, anything I've left out, please let me know.

If I had it to do over, I'd 1000% choose Dr Nader all over again.

He gave me his personal cell # and insisted on frequent updates and any and all questions.

He also gave me the surgery report/graft # paperwork and told me it may be useful if I ever need to work with another surgeon in the future at which point I cut him off and told him "No, Dr Nader, as my hair goes, YOU are my surgeon. Whether its next year or 15 years from now or never needed, you're the only one for me."

---

My take: If he were in the US, he'd be considered an elite US hair restoration surgeon/Dr, and he could likely charge literally as much as he wanted. He's that good/his team is that good.

Edited July 26, 2023 by jfally

[jfally]

Before Dut/Oral Min (pics sent to Dr Nader last year Oct '22)

[jfally]

Pics from last week (sorry, rough quality).
Hairline into mid looking slightly beefier, pointing to new meds stack doing it's thing (confirmed by Dr Nader upon exam with maginifier).

[jfally]

Pics of grid drawn on, and afterward.
Note: I elected to fill in the 'dip' in hopes of future-proofing and adding to anything the meds help shore up. Cool Africa shape to overall aesthetic, me thinks.

[Melvin- Admin]

Following this closely, the crown work on @GoliGoliGoliwas fantastic.

[jfally]

1 hour ago, Melvin- Moderator said:

Following this closely, the crown work on @GoliGoliGoliwas fantastic.

@GoliGoliGoli and I have gone back and forth quite a bit. He encouraged me thru any doubts I had and I owe him another huge thanks. His results most definitely have me very very hopeful!

[jfally]

2 days post procedure, first 'shower' via Dr Nader's 5/5/5 method. 

5 mins pouring room temp water from cup over scalp (recipient + donor).

5 mins *gently massaging via finger tips* the neutral shampoo bubbles over and around entire head. Emphasis on gentle, but still contacting all areas to work it thru.

5 mins again pouring water from cup over entire area to totally remove all shampoo.

Follow with *gentle* pat dry.

 

 

Initial thoughts:

Impressed with look of donor area. For basically 3k grafts I thought it'd look much more...violent lol.

I admittedly have very sensitive skin so I expect the redness to last longer than it does for many others, but the actual dots/scars I expected to be a lot more graphic looking. I know it's very early so I'm sure the landscape of the area will change and look different as healing happens.

Recipient area also looks better than expected. I sprayed the solution Dr Nader gave me at least every 20 mins all day long yesterday onto recipient area so I'm sure that helped keep it moist/hydrated, we'll see what the next week or so holds as it all starts healing up.

Heading out for airport and long trip home shortly.

 

Edited July 27, 2023 by jfally

[GoliGoliGoli]

Great write up. I actually got a bit nostalgic reading it because my experience, like yours, was extremely pleasant and actually quite fun. I also remember being impressed with how quiet and focused his techs were. I'm not kidding when I say "monk-like" is a good description of them - very confidence inspiring on a day when you have a lot going on in your head. 

Like you I also remembering being impressed at Nader's insistence that I send him regular updates. I've actually sent him hardly any just because I feel like he probably gets inundated with them, and I also haven't had any reason for concern, so I figured I'd hold off until month 9 or so before shooting him an update. The few times I did text him in the first month he responded same day.

Great write up and very comprehensive reference for future patients on what it's like on surgery day with Nader. Happy growing! 

[HappyMan2021]

On 7/26/2023 at 10:09 AM, jfally said:

-If you follow US headlines, Reynosa is where you go to mingle with the cartel, get kidnapped, get murdered, get held for ransom, etc.

when you think about it, being a hair transplant patient actually would put you at higher risk for the above 🤣. In general getting a hair transplant implies you have more $$$ than the average person

What was your wait time for surgery?

 

[jfally]

And yet I emerged unscathed 🤠

 

He’s currently booked thru Sept ‘24. 

[GoliGoliGoli]

21 minutes ago, HappyMan2021 said:

when you think about it, being a hair transplant patient actually would put you at higher risk for the above 🤣. In general getting a hair transplant implies you have more $$$ than the average person

What was your wait time for surgery?

 

Not so much. Cartel higher ups highly discourage their underlings from targeting American's. They don't want the US government on their back causing issues for their business, and they know going after American's is a surefire way to bring that sort of heat down on them. The last thing they want is some American getting killed or robbed. 

[HappyMan2021]

3 minutes ago, GoliGoliGoli said:

Not so much. Cartel higher ups highly discourage their underlings from targeting American's. They don't want the US government on their back causing issues for their business, and they know going after American's is a surefire way to bring that sort of heat down on them. The last thing they want is some American getting killed or robbed. 

true true. 

I remember a few months ago 3 or so American medical tourists were mistaken for rival cartel members and killed. I think the cartel actually killed the members who carried out the hit because it was a big mistake and caused so much publicity. 

Edited July 27, 2023 by HappyMan2021

[HappyMan2021]

17 minutes ago, jfally said:

He’s currently booked thru Sept ‘24. 

ugh thats disappointing :/. Nader is on my list for my next surgery. 

Very frustrating how in 2022 he was somewhat of an unknown guy with a short wait time to suddenly blowing up this year and getting massively popular. 

[jfally]

5 hours ago, HappyMan2021 said:

ugh thats disappointing :/. Nader is on my list for my next surgery. 

Very frustrating how in 2022 he was somewhat of an unknown guy with a short wait time to suddenly blowing up this year and getting massively popular. 

He does amazing work, and is tremendously underpriced. 
 

As more reviews come out his list will only get longer, no doubt. 
 

I will not speak out of turn but he eluded to more than a few things in the works that I think are going to increase efficiency in all aspects; initial consult and intake all the way thru actual procedure. 
 

What I don’t doubt at all is that quality of service and care will remain where it is now, at 110%. 

 

(Side note: ever read the Mexican fisherman parable? Dr Nader is that man, only he’s a hair restoration Dr rather than a fisherman. I believe he’s fully aware of lots of things he could change, which would mean compromise in all areas of his life and his business, and he’s not interested in going that route. Which I fully respect and appreciate.)

Edited July 28, 2023 by jfally

[jfally]

Post shower day 4.

[jfally]

Day 6, 20, mins post shower. 
 

I have a double cowlick in the crown which Dr Nader invited the challenge of recreating. You can kinda see one of the whirls he created in crown pic.

Edited July 31, 2023 by jfally

[jfally]

Day 8 post shower, little bit of Aloe/Vit E Oil hence the shine 

 

Scabs 99% gone, shedding def already started which had me worried but reading seems to be not uncommon. Zero bleeding so no fear of any lost grafts. 

 

 

[jfally]

Day 9  -

scabs all gone  

 

bit of itching in donor area but seemingly we’re recovered well 👌🏽👌🏽

 

Now to wait patiently for 4-18 months and “not think about it “ lol 🫣☕️🤳🏼

[j_abouassi]

On 7/26/2023 at 11:09 AM, jfally said:

If not for this forum, I'd have never gone through with this procedure, so I owe it to all here to 'give back' and say thanks by providing my experience and review, and will do my best to update regularly and not become one of those people that go dark after month 2 never to return lol.

Background on me: 

-36 year old male
-Crown thinning started at 32 years old, hairline started thinning at 33.
-Crown MUCH MUCH worse than anything upfront and I was most self-conscious about the big old bald spot on my crown
-My hairline looks okay when hair is buzzed, and okay when hair is an inch or so long, but that awkward in between exposes it as a little thinner (more on progress here in meds)
-I own a health coaching company, I workout 5-6 days per week, I'm a runner/cyclist/hiker, and lover of all things fitness related
-I have a beautiful healthy wife and two beautiful healthy children
-If not for my bald crown, I look my age, but with the bald crown I feel it ages me many many years, and naturally is a big blow to my self-confidence

My journey
-Began looking into treatment options when I was 34.
-Family member advised me to look into Finasteride and Minoxidil, started using topical minoxidil at 34 (2 years ago) but was not entirely consistent because I hated how oily it made my hair and some days just couldn't be bothered.
-Began buzzing my head to make Min application easier and stuck with it alot more at that point.
-Talked to my PCP and was prescribed Fin and began taking that 1.5 years ago.
-Researched mucho and saw the science behind Dut, and switched to Dut away from Fin about 10 months ago (zero sides)
-Decided in the name of both constant adherance due to maximum ease of use and potentially much better results, to switch to Oral Min 4 months ago. Titrated up to 5mg daily over the first 2 months time and have been at 5mg daily since. EKG/bloods from PCP at start, have experienced no sides at all, and he wants to do a 6mo workup again with another EKG.
-Since switching to Oral Min I have most definitely been enjoying some really nice regrowth upfront, and a bit in the crown.

Consulting with Dr Nader 
-I went to a consult at a local clinic where I live (Washington Medical Hair Clinic in Virginia Beach, VA), never actually met the Dr, and a 'consultant' looked at my hair and spoke with me, and recommended 1600 grafts to the crown, cost estimate $8-9k USD depending on graft yield. I got zero warm fuzzies from this encounter start to finish. At this point I knew travel was likely going to need to happen, I considered Eugenix and then came across options in MX, and I'm forever partial to MX due to having Hispanic heritage and multiple great trips to touristy areas of MX (silly reason but whatever lol).
-My initial outreach to Dr Nader was in Oct '22.
-Hours and hours of researching here and on Reddit told me he was amazing at what he does, he CARES (genuinely hard to find in any profession these days), he is present for entirety of procedure, his results amaze with every next surgery review/report, and the price was much much lower than expected. 
-Initial outreach consisted of filling out consult form on his website, answering all the questions and providing background on my history/goals, and supplying the pics requested.
-Brenda replied a few days later (much ahead of schedule to my delight based on other posts at the time) and gave me some figures based on the pics. Potential treatment based solely on pics/not seeing in person was to be 2k-3k grafts to crown and mid, 1k to hairline to restore but not move down.
-These figures sounded MUCH more in line with my thinking vs what my local clinic quoted me. 
-Spoke with my wife about the decision, and the financials, and what it would mean to/for me, and got the greenlight.
-Replied back to Brenda letting her know I'm 'in', and after having to follow up a few times via email and phone call/voicemail after next few weeks, she replied back with a list of dates into the Spring of '23. 
-I replied back immediately and after some back and forth with schedule conflicts on my side, booked the procedure for Aug '23.
-Received an email in May '23 from Dr Nader himself;  profusely apologizing, but letting me know he'd been invited to speak at a conference dates of my surgery, so asking if I could move forward/earlier a month. WHY YES DR I SURE CAN! lol
-We landed on July 25-26, flights/hotels were booked.

Travel/Accomodations
-I flew from Norfolk, VA to McAllen,TX via American Airlines and other than the general woes of air travel these days, no issues at all.
-Part of Dr. Nader's packages include hotel reimbursement if you stay at one of his partner hotels here in McAllen, so $360 reimbursement for 3 nights at this hotel, and it includes breakfast vouchers (with a really nice breakfast spread to boot!)
-My flight arrived super late (11:55pm) and my hotel's shuttle was still running so they picked me up and brought me back to hotel.

Safety/Security/Border Crossing into and out of Reynosa/Reynosa Itself
-Dr Nader has a private driver(s), mine was Mr Santos. He has been driving for Dr Nader and shuttling his patients to/fro their hotels for 13 years now. He's been driving cabs in Reynosa for 43 years, and now works for Dr Nader as well as driving the shuttle for Holiday Inn Express in Reynosa. Consummate professional. Friendly, cordial, speaks un poco de English, respectful. I asked him about his life, his family, and his experience, and with a little bit of inherent language barrier both ways, we passed the time chatting. He's not technically part of Dr Nader's team, but he still made a great first impression.
-25 minutes to get from Cambria Hotel to Dr Nader's clinic.
-1 hour to get back to Cambria Hotel from Dr Nader's clinic (have to stop at US Customs/Border Patrol on the return trip, have to present passport and answer a couple questions, plus line is longer heading to US vs on the way into MX from US).

Reynosa:

-If you follow US headlines, Reynosa is where you go to mingle with the cartel, get kidnapped, get murdered, get held for ransom, etc.
-If you go to US State Dept website, Reynosa and the state of Tamaulipas on the whole is on the DO NOT TRAVEL LIST for more political translations of the above line.
-I'd be lying if I wasn't stressed/scared in light of a few recent articles popping up regarding the above. Escalated violence, an incident with Americans a few months back, a shallow mass grave found last week,etc. 
-My MIL sent me article just last week and pleaded with me not go go <---this was tough.

-MY ACTUAL EXPERIENCE WITH REYNOSA:
-I never feared for my safety.
-I never feared for my security.
-Mr Santos had us on major roads and Dr Nader's clinic is within 10 minutes of the border crossing.
-Dr Nader's clinic is on second floor of a nicer looking medical clinic, with multiple gates, multiple locks, and security cameras literally everywhere. If there is a 'safest complex' in Reynosa, I'm confident saying it's this complex.
-I saw zero guns, knives, heads on stakes, bodies hanging from trees, mass graves, or rubble from shootouts.
-It looked not dissimilar from areas of Mexico just outside of major tourist areas (think Cozumel, Cancun, etc if you were to leave the main area and stroll for a mile or two).
-Lots of street food vendors, lots of pedestrians, run-down/past it's hey day, but still full of life and full of normal people trying to make a normal living and provide for their families.
-To anyone reading, and fearful of Reynosa, I cannot tell you how to feel, but I really truly wish I would not have been as anxious as I was about the safety of this place.
-This is not to say you cannot find yourself in the wrong place at the wrong time, but that applies to any city in any state. 
-Your choices and feelings are yours, and I respect that.
-I would confidently refer friends/family to Dr Nader now having firsthand experience of traveling through Reynosa, with zero reservations. And I say that genuinely.


ANYWHOOOOO

To remind, tentative gameplan for procedure (based on Oct '22 pics) was going for 2-3k grafts for the crown and midline, up to 1k to reinforce but not move down the hairline.

In between then and now, Oral Minoxidil and Dutasteride have helped me at least a good bit.

After filling out paperwork in the lobby upon arrival, I was warmly welcomed by the man, the myth himself, Dr Luis Nader. 

He invited me into his office and we chatted like two friends just genuinely talking and getting to know each other more.

Goals, life, family, personal experiences (mine and his), nothing and everything. In a weird way I didn't want this chat to end, because there's a genuineity to his spirit that you just do not encounter...anywhere. He's a special human.

After chatting for a long while and going down many digressions (he and I both), we came back to the reason for my visit; my hair.

He took out his trichoscope (not sure what this thing is called?) and plugged it into his laptop via USB, and placed the laptop on his desk so we could both see it clearly. 

The screen showed a highly magnified view of my hair follicles.

Dr Nader got VERY excited with respect to my decision to faithfully take Dut/Oral Min daily and found new growth upon new growth, upfront in the hairline especially.

Knowing Oral Min has been in the mix less than 3 months, he was VERY confident than in another 6-8 months time, regrowth from that (based on what he was seeing under magnifcation) would negate need to add hair here now/at present. He gave me the choice ultimately, but highly encouraged me to exercise a bit of patience bc he was as certain as could be without 'promising' that the thinnish areas would really fill out as the year goes on. No grafts needed for the front, that was the decision we agreed upon.

Which meant my two day procedure would now be just one day, and 2877 grafts would go to my crown.

He arrived at 2877 after drawing a grid pattern on the crown (including a dip that he recommended waiting on, but said he'd not argue if I wanted to fill it in). Once the grid was drawn on, he place 40 dots into each grid, multipled that # of the grid, and oila!, we have our needed graft #. It was 2877.

The plan was in motion, and we'd begin in room 1, which was essentially a massage bed I'd lie face down on for the extractions from donor area.

For whatever reason, this was my least favorite part. He was VERY accommodating and encouraged me to be vocal if I felt any pain at all, and I did ask him several times for more local anesthesia. The pain itself wasn't anything bad even when I need more anesthesia, I think most of the unpleasantness stemmed moreso from the tiny pain coupled with the lying face down for a couple hours coupled with the sound effects of each next extraction from his implements. Compared to my tattoos (3/4 sleeve one arm, 1/2 on other), this pain was 1 if a tattoo was 10. Evidently I'm turning into a wuss as I age but really I think it was the multiple sensory factor that made the extraction process a bit more unpleasant than I'd expected.

After extraction I was escorted to Room 2, where delicious tacos and a diet soda (you get to order from a few choices) were waiting, and I was given the remote to the big screen TV on the wall directly in front of the dentist-chair looking reclining chair where the implantations would occur post-30 minute lunch break.

The implantation process went smoothly and all of it was done in Room 2 on reclining chair, other than the bottom row of grids and dip area, which were done back in room laying face down.

I will say thru entirety of extraction/implantation, I was conversing every few minutes with Dr Nader as needed, and his staff was working diligently with minimal chatter or small talk or laughter (not that I'd have minded at all).

They run a well oiled machine, the manner in which they executed literally every aspect screamed efficiency and high standards, and each tech I interacted with was absolutely as pleasant and professional and accommodating as could be. (As a fellow business owner and employer, I'd be proud to be in Dr Nader's shoes, his team represents him well; a business owner's ultimately goal).

After all implantations were done, they cleaned the area well, and wrapped my head in the glorious infamous Civil War era head wrap. Plus a surgical cap to where back to the hotel.

Then, back to Dr Nader's office, for thorough walk through of post care instructions, for the next 7 days, but then also outward from there. 

I was given the meds, the sprays, and the shampoo.

Mr Santos took me back to my hotel in McAllen, now I sit here recovering/resting/typing a novel of a post procedure report when I should really be catching up on work.

Any questions, anything I've left out, please let me know.

If I had it to do over, I'd 1000% choose Dr Nader all over again.

He gave me his personal cell # and insisted on frequent updates and any and all questions.

He also gave me the surgery report/graft # paperwork and told me it may be useful if I ever need to work with another surgeon in the future at which point I cut him off and told him "No, Dr Nader, as my hair goes, YOU are my surgeon. Whether its next year or 15 years from now or never needed, you're the only one for me."

---

My take: If he were in the US, he'd be considered an elite US hair restoration surgeon/Dr, and he could likely charge literally as much as he wanted. He's that good/his team is that good.

How long after your initial communication with his clinic did he respond to you?

[jfally]

15 hours ago, j_abouassi said:

How long after your initial communication with his clinic did he respond to you?

Took a few days initially. 
 

[j_abouassi]

35 minutes ago, jfally said:

Took a few days initially. 
 

Ah ok. I reached out to them by email and the consultation from around a few weeks ago close to a month ago and no response just yet. Left the voicemail to the number on their site. What form of communication worked for you when reaching out to them?

[jfally]

13 minutes ago, j_abouassi said:

Ah ok. I reached out to them by email and the consultation from around a few weeks ago close to a month ago and no response just yet. Left the voicemail to the number on their site. What form of communication worked for you when reaching out to them?

My initial email was the fastest to be replied to, after that it took a couple weeks in between.

It's Dr N and Brenda doing all of the replies, and he said they get over 1k emails per week. And he's in his clinic all day every day doing procedures.

 

Include "Follow Up # 1 (2,3,4, etc)" in Subject Line when sending follow up emails. This will bump you to the top and lets Dr N and Brenda know you are serious and not a tire kicker like many that inquire. This is what Dr Nader himself recommends for those inquiring.

Leave a voicemail once every few days or so, same deal, it'll show your serious.

[j_abouassi]

32 minutes ago, jfally said:

My initial email was the fastest to be replied to, after that it took a couple weeks in between.

It's Dr N and Brenda doing all of the replies, and he said they get over 1k emails per week. And he's in his clinic all day every day doing procedures.

 

Include "Follow Up # 1 (2,3,4, etc)" in Subject Line when sending follow up emails. This will bump you to the top and lets Dr N and Brenda know you are serious and not a tire kicker like many that inquire. This is what Dr Nader himself recommends for those inquiring.

Leave a voicemail once every few days or so, same deal, it'll show your serious.

Ah good recommendation. I just emailed them right now using your recommendation. Will definitely attempt the call back a bit later. How long after them reaching back out to you were you able to actually do the procedure? Have been seeing on here people saying due to how popular and good he is, it is a while after due to how busy he is. Was that true for your case?

[CaliforniaLiving]

Following! Work looks really clean, congratulations!. Since its the crown I wouldn't expect much until after 6 months, but even then 12 months seems to be the standard (vs frontal 1/3rd and mid scalp).

Can you share what the cost was for the 2900 grafts? 

[jfally]

2 hours ago, CaliforniaLiving said:

Following! Work looks really clean, congratulations!. Since its the crown I wouldn't expect much until after 6 months, but even then 12 months seems to be the standard (vs frontal 1/3rd and mid scalp).

Can you share what the cost was for the 2900 grafts? 

Thank you!

And yep, I'm ready for a long drawn out period of mentally 'clicking refresh' on that mirror for the next 12 months lol.

My pricing was as of Oct '22, I know he's increased since then for the new year, I'm not sure what current pricing is but I know I've seen it posted here on the forum if you search.