How valid is the criticism of potential horizontal rows in hairline?

[Kraki77]

I have seen many comments about that, especially when it comes to De Freitas. Even though I'm strongly biased with operation with him scheduled for December I don't see any big issue with that.

Horizontal rows are sometimes present, but always behind initial line of finely refined singles which is perfectly fine.

Will it look unnatural with buzzcut? That argument is absurd to me since I don't think I will look good with all the scars that are visible with such a short hair. If you're looking to get hair transplant in order to rock buzzcut than you're not familiar enough with FUE or you simply don't care about the scars.

Feel free to discuss. I would like to hear from community members that are not fans of mentioned doctor and have opposite opinions.

Edited October 17, 2023 by Kraki77

[gillenator]

What about the effects of bright lighting?

[Will_the_way]

5 months post op with de Freitas, and while my hair has grown out, there is no visual indication of any such rows. I have been updating with photos on this forum for those that are curious. 

Edited October 18, 2023 by Will_the_way

[gillenator]

Happy for you!

[mister_25]

Not all rows/patterns are created equal.

The ones that you see from Couto and De Freitas are undetectable when the hair is grown out, and when buzzed short they still look somewhat normal most of the time. These should be easy to correct with minor touch ups by adding grafts in a staggered/random pattern.

Then you have your Turkish hairmill rows or even the cornrows you see from D****. Which are absolutely horrific to go through, I’m pretty sure there are some active members here who got some of these repaired and they can tell you what it’s like. 

From what I’ve researched, only really the techniques and the surgical instruments have really developed in the past couple of years, and these types of rows you are seeing from doctors like Couto, De Freitas, Wong and even Bisanga are still relatively new but are getting increasingly more common,

 

It really interests me because when you read any material on the nature of a good hair transplant, they condemn rows of all kinds, even by some of these doctors that I listed, maybe it’s outdated information. I think it would be a interesting topic for @Melvin- Adminto discuss on his podcast with a doctor like Couto, Freitas or Wong to kind of air out the topic in a offical/public manner considering I’m seeing more and more of these threads when I visit here.

Also, for your short hair argument, if your transplant doesn’t work out or expires after a couple of years. You would usually fall back on shaving your head or buzzing it. So it is perfectly reasonable to be concerned, there are also ways to conceal FUE and FUT scars like SMP, Fit farming and donor restocking. People want to be informed and to be ready for situations like that.

[Chrisno]

Please read this article by Hasson & Wong. https://hassonandwong.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/lateral_slit.pdf

See how hairs grow in "groups" of rows. This is similar to how many surgeons implant.

[Melvin- Admin]

This is an excellent thread @goatnole for you to participate in, as it is relevant to what your posting. 

[BurnieBurns]

I can understand one could be quick to judge when looking at immediate post op pictures and think it's 'lazy work' or 'not natural'.

The bottom line is in the hands of surgeons like Couto and Hasson & Wong, based on their experience they believe is for the greater good of the outcome. 

Anyone is welcome to disagree with a doctor and has their own choice in the end.

E.g. one patient won't care about it looking like that temporarily if it will give a greater certainty of a good yield. Another may object with it out of principle or want the option for a buzzcut fearing it will be noticed. Their reasons are ultimately their own.

It's important to remember that a HT comes under the 'practice' of medicine. You can have two surgeons (even renowned ones) that have very differing approaches.

This can be based on a combination of their own skill, how they were trained, what they've noticed or experimented with, as well as their own personal values.

[Pop]

Thank you @Chrisno for sharing this article. Even I remember when I checked my natural hair I could recognize the rows so it seems according to this article and Dr. Wong's experience it can also produce more coverage. I can recall once DR.Wong in this forum completely replied on this topic and answered some doubts. 

I believe post-op pictures as always @Melvin- Admin mentions are not good indicators to show if rows are detectable in buzzcut or not. Usually, after one year when the surgery is complete and the redness is gone, you should judge about the buzzcut. Below I selected one of the patients from Dr. Freitas who had two interventions one for frontal and after one year the crown. I selected a picture of the pre-op of the second intervention. As you can see here after one year you can barely detect the rows. I won't say it is not detectable. But for normal people that are not looking for rows, I guess it is hard to find. 

Anyway, I'm also open to more thoughts. I don't want to be biased 

 

 

[mister_25]

17 hours ago, Pop said:

Thank you @Chrisno for sharing this article. Even I remember when I checked my natural hair I could recognize the rows so it seems according to this article and Dr. Wong's experience it can also produce more coverage. I can recall once DR.Wong in this forum completely replied on this topic and answered some doubts. 

I believe post-op pictures as always @Melvin- Admin mentions are not good indicators to show if rows are detectable in buzzcut or not. Usually, after one year when the surgery is complete and the redness is gone, you should judge about the buzzcut. Below I selected one of the patients from Dr. Freitas who had two interventions one for frontal and after one year the crown. I selected a picture of the pre-op of the second intervention. As you can see here after one year you can barely detect the rows. I won't say it is not detectable. But for normal people that are not looking for rows, I guess it is hard to find. 

Anyway, I'm also open to more thoughts. I don't want to be biased 

 

 

Do you have the photo of this patient after the first op and when the scabs came off after his first hair transplant? So we can clearly see the difference?

[Pop]

4 hours ago, mister_25 said:

Do you have the photo of this patient after the first op and when the scabs came off after his first hair transplant? So we can clearly see the difference?

Here is the full video.

[Konsole93]

Hello, I've seen several photos here of patients who had row implants and it just looked unnatural.
If it works and the growth rate is high you save a lot of grafts but if it doesn't it looks strange.

 

 

[LaserCaps]

"What a great looking transplant!" comes to mind.  I'd be horrified.

There are reasons for "irregularly irregular."  Staggering, blunting corners. using the caliber that most match the area.  A random placement.  The basis of it all is you!  If you look carefully at yourself, can you see rows?  Can you see coarse hair in the front?  How about your temporal points?  There's a reason for things.  A doctor who can match and mimic is the true artist.

This is far more complicated than just saving grafts.  You have to consider both offense and defense.  If you've shown the propensity to lose, you'll continue losing.  Getting on some sort of regiment to halt the loss is part of the equation.  Donor limitation is another.  

Research.  Review photos of results, particularly of those close to your own case.