What is the latest on hair restoration?

[K_2009]

Hello everyone.

It has been ~13 years since I posted. In 2009 I had a transplant with Dr. Wong here in Vancouver. I have been having 1/4 Finasteride alternate day since then. I am generally content with the results. In fact, I have had a blast with kids, family and social life. You can see my older posts here: https://tinyurl.com/bdea9ded

Now that I am 45+, and age is catching up, I am feeling the need for another restoration. To this end, I have a question to you wonderful people. What is the latest in hair restoration (not theoretical, rather applied or practiced solutions)?  I believe it was FUT method Dr. Wong did on me back in 2009. What are there newer methods (surgical/non-surgical), doctors/clinics out there ? I am assuming over the last 13 years the landscape has changed a bit.

I know I am asking a lot and the info should be out there somewhere. Just trying to pick your brains.

Thanks for reading.

JK

Edited August 26, 2023 by K_2009

[BaldReaper]

can you upload some pics with your current situation?

 

FUE is really widespread right now, basically the choice for more than 90% of the people

[hongkongfue]

I just returned to Dr. Wong in July from an 18 year gap from my first HT he did.  The biggest difference was going from FUT to FUE. I went in thinking I was going to get another FUT since why not, I already had a scar so what was the point of spending more for FUE when I don't cut my hair short to begin with. Fast forward to 7 months after booking when it was day before surgery and seeing Dr. Wong for the first time in 18 years, he said we could do FUT and 2000 grafts would be the goal, but also told me I run the risk of scar stretching because the laxity on my sides were good, but not so much for the back and that he would have to be conservative with the strip removal, and that was with me working on laxity exercises for 7 months. He left it to me, but ultimately I decided it was worth it to go ahead and pivot to FUE and ended up with 21XX.  And let me tell you, I am glad I did. I felt like things healed up so much quicker, no staples to deal with etc, mind you after 18 years I don't remember everything from the first one, but just felt like I got back to normal quicker with this one. To bad FUE wasn't an option for me 18 years ago. I am sure there has been some blade improvement as Dr. Wong is always refining his process. Looks like you were in same original boat as me and needed a lot of grafts and they can only go so far with that much hair loss and finite number of graphs.   I was happy with the first surgery and with all the different variables, I didn't want to take any chances going to a different doctor, so I was happy I went back to Dr. Wong for the second pass.   

[AB2000]

It appears there are a number of good options abroad that are more affordable, with good results, than who you went with before.  When I began my research over ten years ago one of the places I wanted to consult with was H&W, but they had a certain rep who was then working for them which turned me off.  In my case I knew I would need to include beard hair, which was newer, but got a stiff blow off.

Check out the "Gatsby Unplugged" thread for a thorough documentation of a forum dweller's journey from high norwood and scarring to looking like he has minimal hair loss. 

[Gatsby]

2 hours ago, AB2000 said:

It appears there are a number of good options abroad that are more affordable, with good results, than who you went with before.  When I began my research over ten years ago one of the places I wanted to consult with was H&W, but they had a certain rep who was then working for them which turned me off.  In my case I knew I would need to include beard hair, which was newer, but got a stiff blow off.

Check out the "Gatsby Unplugged" thread for a thorough documentation of a forum dweller's journey from high norwood and scarring to looking like he has minimal hair loss. 

H&W knocked me back along with several other elite surgeons/clinics. Looking back (with the greatest respect to these clinics) I’m glad they did. I truly believe that Dr Sethi was the perfect match for me. 

[gillenator]

4 hours ago, Gatsby said:

H&W knocked me back along with several other elite surgeons/clinics. Looking back (with the greatest respect to these clinics) I’m glad they did. I truly believe that Dr Sethi was the perfect match for me. 

Hands down, I could not agree more!

[Britanium]

1 minute ago, AB2000 said:

Sounds legit.

Lol give it some more time and they will try and edit in the obligatory spam hyperlink. 

[Rahal Hair Transplant]

K_2009,

When you underwent hair transplant, surgery, FUT/strip was considered more viable than FUE in terms of growth yield and large single session mega procedures.   But over the last 10 years or so, those surgeons (such as Dr. Rahal) who believed in the potential of FUE as the gold standard for harvesting follicular units worked to improve and perfect the procedure.  Today, FUE is substantially more popular and is considered the gold standard by both leading surgeons and patients alike.

Now, every surgeon does things a little differently, but at Dr. Rahal’s Clinic, transection is checked for during each procedure after extraction using microscopes and is essentially nonexistent.

Furthermore, Dr. Rahal uses various tools for extraction depending on what’s best for the patient rather than simply adapting one tool for every patient.

Also, to minimize any risks of damage to the follicular units, Dr. Rahal and his staff use implanter tools which prevents anyone from having to touch the actual graft, eliminating the risks of crushing them by using traditional forceps.

Long story short, FUE (in the right hands)  can accomplish today what’s FUT did yesterday but without the linear scar and much faster healing times.

Best wishes,

Rahal Hair Transplant 

 

[gillenator]

Yes indeed, “In the right hands”.