What are my options realistically?

[bmp010]

Hi, Im 32 years old with a family history of male pattern baldness. Am I a viable candidate for a transplant? Or should I just give up and shave it? I have clean shaven for about 3 years and just got a new job so I've grown it out to see if I may be a good fit for a transplant. I went to a doctor yesterday who suggested I do 3 months of prp injections, Minox, fin and a laser cap to strengthen donor hair a possibly promote new growth. Then do a 2k graft transplant that will start at the hairline, then, depending on results, a possible follow up procedure. My quote for all that was $15k ( I’m in the US). 
Any feedback or advice  is greatly appreciated.

[BackFromTheBrink]

I'd agree that you should start on finesteride and oral minox to see how you respond to the medication.

I'm less convinced by prp and laser caps.

In terms of surgery, you need to prepare yourself for a long journey. I'd suggest you would need in the region of 7-8k grafts over multiple procedures. I doubt you have that amount of scalp donor capacity, so it'd mean considering body hair (which produces single hair grafts with a lower survival rate).

Consider clinics like Eugenix who specialise in high Norwood cases with limited donor capacity. 

 

Edited to add: it may be the photo/haircut but your hair looks thinner lower in your head, so I would also be aware of the possibility of retrograde alopecia.

Edited November 19, 2023 by BackFromTheBrink

[DomTransplant]

1 hour ago, BackFromTheBrink said:

I'd agree that you should start on finesteride and oral minox to see how you respond to the medication.

I'm less convinced by prp and laser caps.

In terms of surgery, you need to prepare yourself for a long journey. I'd suggest you would need in the region of 7-8k grafts over multiple procedures. I doubt you have that amount of scalp donor capacity, so it'd mean considering body hair (which produces single hair grafts with a lower survival rate).

Consider clinics like Eugenix who specialise in high Norwood cases with limited donor capacity. 

 

Edited to add: it may be the photo/haircut but your hair looks thinner lower in your head, so I would also be aware of the possibility of retrograde alopecia.

I share the sentiment of @BackFromTheBrink - this is all super solid advice. I'd recommend looking at @Gatsby journey. His thread should be able to give more information on Eugenix and options for high Norwood cases.

[Doron Harati]

You'll probably need 2 procedures to not overharveste your donor, it's a bit hard to make estimation based on these photos only.

Let's say you don't have diffused hair over your donor, you may can get 3500 grafts with FUE for the hairline and some of the top area, 2nd procedure to continue from the top back as possible to the crown, this time also to combine beard grafts.

The good thing is your back neck looks stable, so Finasteride can help to maintain this.

HDC clinic specializes with NW6 cases, you're welcome to contact me and read reviews of high Norwood cases our clinic did.

 

[bmp010]

3 hours ago, BackFromTheBrink said:

I'd agree that you should start on finesteride and oral minox to see how you respond to the medication.

I'm less convinced by prp and laser caps.

In terms of surgery, you need to prepare yourself for a long journey. I'd suggest you would need in the region of 7-8k grafts over multiple procedures. I doubt you have that amount of scalp donor capacity, so it'd mean considering body hair (which produces single hair grafts with a lower survival rate).

Consider clinics like Eugenix who specialise in high Norwood cases with limited donor capacity. 

 

Edited to add: it may be the photo/haircut but your hair looks thinner lower in your head, so I would also be aware of the possibility of retrograde alopecia.

Thank you for the feedback. The good news is I have plenty of good facial hair to harvest from. I have heard good things about the eugenic clinic so I will definitely look into that. As far as the retrograde alopecia I think it’s just the way it was cut. I’ve been to several docs and they haven’t brought that up.

[bmp010]

51 minutes ago, Doron Harati said:

You'll probably need 2 procedures to not overharveste your donor, it's a bit hard to make estimation based on these photos only.

Let's say you don't have diffused hair over your donor, you may can get 3500 grafts with FUE for the hairline and some of the top area, 2nd procedure to continue from the top back as possible to the crown, this time also to combine beard grafts.

The good thing is your back neck looks stable, so Finasteride can help to maintain this.

HDC clinic specializes with NW6 cases, you're welcome to contact me and read reviews of high Norwood cases our clinic did.

 

Thanks for the input. Will definitely check out HDC clinic. 

[BackFromTheBrink]

I also wanted to talk to the cost you were quoted. Finding a satisfactory outcome will not be cheap given your situation.

However, the medication is very cost effective - certainly less than 100 dollars a month for those 6 months to assess how you tolerate them and hopefully respond.

PRP is a few hundred dollars a go, but i don’t think you’ll see any where near the value in doing that.

You didn’t mention which clinic you had spoken to.  The US has some excellent surgeons, but I wouldn’t personally choose them unless I had a very large budget. Even then, I think I would probably select outside the country.

The gold standard (in my view) is Dr Zarev. However, he only does in person consultations and has a very long waiting list. If anyone can get the grafts you need out of your scalp, it’s him. He’s expensive for Europe, but at €5/graft, probably cheaper than the clinic you spoke with locally. 

Eugenix have a variety of pricing options from as little as $2/graft but with your case, I’d opt for one of their founding surgeons and pay the premium. 

 

Edited November 19, 2023 by BackFromTheBrink

[Gatsby]

It makes excellent sense to start medication first to strengthen your donor hair and secondly to stop the crown from dipping. Personally I see finasteride and perhaps oral minoxidil prescribed by a dermatologist as two useful medications (I'm not a doctor). With the advanced level of baldness that you have I would seriously consider augmenting your donor with beard grafts to give you more coverage without compromising you donor. Eugenix are at the top of the game when it comes to this. Wishing you all the best!