2 years post op botched hairline 23 yr old female afro hair

[leiab678]

I finally found the courage to share a hair transplant I got back in July 2021.  At the time I was 21 years old and have always dreamed of getting a hair transplant since I was a kid to cover up my big forehead. I had a few surgeons in mind and I eventually settled with Dr. Siegal at Natural Transplants. I was fooled by all the different videos of african american women like me that went to him since he seemed pretty experienced with afro hair. When I got there I realized I was going to be worked on by 4 different technicans which made me nervous bc I thought the procedure was done by the dr only.  I was not being taken seriously by them while they laughed and joked around while transplanting my hair.. It was a strip harvest "HUE" which took about 4-5 hours and he told me he harvested about 3600 hair follicles. I am 2 years post op and absolutely devastated. Im truly living my worst nightmare. I have  cobblestoning on every single strand and I can't even wear my hair up since it has grown out. My fut scar is very narrow and did healed nicely but that is the only good thing about this surgery. 

I reached out to dr. siegal this month for an explaination on the cobblestone bumps. He said that I already had bumps on my forehead previously when looking at my before pictures and said thats whats causing it!! He took no accountability but he admitted it is cobblestoning and recommended I get another transplant to cover up the bumps. I declined as I am already traumatized already from the FUT surgery since thats all they offer and I dont think I could handle another one. He then recommended I get Kenalog injections around the front of my forehead on the cobblestoning area to help reduce the bumps. 

My mind is all over the place and I am extremely nervous to post this as Ive never posted on a forum. Im grateful to have found this community and I made a huge mistake by not doing enough research on here and other platforms before deciding on this clinic. I was too eager to fix a big insecurity of mine and I'm now paying for it for a lifetime.   I'm unsure what to do and have been feeling really miserable and hopeless lately. No one in my life knows that I got a hair transplant or even worse, that it was botched and I have accepted the fact that I was taken advantage of by this place at such a young age...I just want to know what my options are to repair this. I'm willing to get another transplant and next time around I'm thinking of getting an FUE transplant so I can avoid another linear scar. 

Should I try out the kenalog injections to see if that help reduce the cobblestoning? I am kind of 50/50 on whether I should go back to florida for the injections. Should I try to consult with other doctors for a repair surgery? Who are reputable hair transplant surgeons that would work on afro hair? I have heard of Dr. Umar in los angeles and im thinking of setting up a consultation with him. Im just so hesistant about getting another hair transplant because im scared I will cobblestone again.. any advice would be appreciated.

 

 

 

 

[WoundedWolf]

Only consult with the top ones for repair as you have 1 chance only, do extensive research and take your time, i think dr konior is the best one in US, similarly look for the best of best ones only in rest of the world as well if you are planning for outside US, there are only a handful or surgeons who are capable of repairs, do not rush in ur second attempt do read and study other repair cases in this forum as well take your time ..

Also share your after-surgery immediate pics for reference

Edited August 16, 2023 by WoundedWolf

[A_4_Archan]

@leiab678

Sorry for all the things you have faced due to this...i can understand your concern and imo You should seek opinions of 2-3 more experienced and ethical doctors like konior,shapiro,bisanga regarding this thing and how to move ahead...best of luck..

[Gatsby]

Have a look at Dr Bisanga and Dr Mwamba but also it’s worth looking at Dr Sethi at Eugenix. He has shown me quite a few female results that are incredible along with a few female hairline repairs also. You’re quite young so take your time. Wishing you all the best. 🙏

[Legend007]

No worries you be able to fix that, just caused you more money and time . But you don’t have to live like that forever..

 

When you get cobblestones it’s not because of you, it’s cuz the clinic is not good at what they do. So go to a good surgeon so they can soften up your hairline n hide the cobblestones and probably give you a better designed hairline..

don’t feel too bad,, I always had a big forehead too, and I hated it so much. So you just had to do you to make yourself more comfortable in your own skin, it’s understandable. 

[Melvin- Admin]

Let me tag @DrTBarghouthi and @Bhumik Shah MD perhaps they can chime in. This looks like pitting. You might wanna consider fraxel lasers as well.

 

[Bhumik Shah MD]

Poster,

Sorry you are going through this. You should start out with the least invasive method. Your best bet would be to see a hair transplant doctor who is also a dermatologist. They would understand why you are having the cobblestoning (hair transplant surgery experience), but also have some non invasive tools under their belt to help minimize it (dermatology experience). I think Dr Robert Haber on this forum is a dermatologist who is also a hair transplant doctor. If you tell me your approximate location, I can see who would be good to see close to you.

Unfortunately if the non invasive methods fail then you will have to consider the surgical route. Without getting into too many details there may be a few options all with moderate to high level of complexity. 

Edited August 17, 2023 by Bhumik Shah MD

[leiab678]

On 8/16/2023 at 2:07 AM, WoundedWolf said:

Only consult with the top ones for repair as you have 1 chance only, do extensive research and take your time, i think dr konior is the best one in US, similarly look for the best of best ones only in rest of the world as well if you are planning for outside US, there are only a handful or surgeons who are capable of repairs, do not rush in ur second attempt do read and study other repair cases in this forum as well take your time ..

Also share your after-surgery immediate pics for reference

Thank you I have attached my immediate after pics and after 1 month. I dont see much cobblestoning during the shedding phase so im wondering what happened 😔

[leiab678]

On 8/16/2023 at 1:46 PM, Legend007 said:

No worries you be able to fix that, just caused you more money and time . But you don’t have to live like that forever..

 

When you get cobblestones it’s not because of you, it’s cuz the clinic is not good at what they do. So go to a good surgeon so they can soften up your hairline n hide the cobblestones and probably give you a better designed hairline..

don’t feel too bad,, I always had a big forehead too, and I hated it so much. So you just had to do you to make yourself more comfortable in your own skin, it’s understandable. 

Thank you for the reassurance I've been feeling so hopeless lately. Your right and I would rather take how I was before than deal with cobblestoning

[leiab678]

On 8/16/2023 at 9:37 PM, Bhumik Shah MD said:

Poster,

Sorry you are going through this. You should start out with the least invasive method. Your best bet would be to see a hair transplant doctor who is also a dermatologist. They would understand why you are having the cobblestoning (hair transplant surgery experience), but also have some non invasive tools under their belt to help minimize it (dermatology experience). I think Dr Robert Haber on this forum is a dermatologist who is also a hair transplant doctor. If you tell me your approximate location, I can see who would be good to see close to you.

Unfortunately if the non invasive methods fail then you will have to consider the surgical route. Without getting into too many details there may be a few options all with moderate to high level of complexity. 

Hi thank you for reaching out. I will check out dr. robert haber to see if he can help me. I'm glad to hear there is non invasive methods that may be able to help me.  I'm located in the midwest but im willing to go anywhere in the us

[leiab678]

On 8/16/2023 at 8:05 PM, Melvin- Moderator said:

Let me tag @DrTBarghouthi and @Bhumik Shah MD perhaps they can chime in. This looks like pitting. You might wanna consider fraxel lasers as well.

 

I will look into fraxel laser thank you 🙂

[gojnasv2]

2 hours ago, leiab678 said:

Thank you I have attached my immediate after pics and after 1 month. I dont see much cobblestoning during the shedding phase so im wondering what happened 😔

Hi @leiab678, I am sorry you are going through this. I am also going through the same thing. I started noticing cobblestone after 3 months. Let me know how you go with the repair 

[WoundedWolf]

9 hours ago, leiab678 said:

Thank you I have attached my immediate after pics and after 1 month. I dont see much cobblestoning during the shedding phase so im wondering what happened 😔

Yes the cobblestoning or raised bumps start appearing after 3 months (only when wrongly implanted hairs starts to pop up), and is completely visible at approx 12-14 months, its due to improper depth, thickness, angle and direction of implanted hairs..