My HT Journey: Consulatin with Dr. Pathuri Madhu and my subsequent quetions.

[ashok]

Hello All,

 

I am 26 year old male baldy, check the pics attached(let me know if you need more pics).

 

I have been a lurker here for months now and so I am aware of the HT stuff.

 

I meet Dr Pathuri Madhu and here is the experience, a fairly long write up but should come handy to Indian patients, I also have a question in the end.

 

His facility is posh(every room is air conditioned, most of the rooms has LCD TVs which run the slide show of before and after photos), well equipped, adequately staffed, two separate partitions one for consultation and another for surgeries and follow up patients.

 

Firstly Jr Doc Shanu gave the orientation, there were about 6-7 guys, this is mostly not useful for members who follow this community.

 

Secondly another doc I forgot her name(regrettably so as she is pretty ) took a one to one session, again not really useful to me.

 

Just as I was talking to her Dr. Madhu made his way into the room, I was at home talking to him in Telugu, after listening to me for a while he recognized that I am knowledgeable, he chuckled when I unfolded a piece of paper where I wrote down all my queries and quipped that he is better off with well informed patients like me.

 

He tried to clear all my doubts. He placed me at NW4 progressing to 5(do you think so?)He drew with a pencil on the area that he would cover and arrived at a figure of 2000-2500. but regrettably there is a perceptible rush in the manner in which he answered my queries, after spending some time(not more than 10 mins) with me, he assigned a junior doc Dr.Deepak to clear my doubts if I had any, after I was done with Deepak, Madhu summoned me and made sure that my queries are all answered. Also I felt that the whole staff did not behave as if they have something to hide and were open and practical in results they could achieve.

 

Also I felt though the faculty is probably world class they should manage the consultation process a bit more efficiently(there were two more patients when I was talking to Dr. Madhu, etc) but all the while I saw Dr.Madhu giving instructions to staff so I think it is just a matter of time before they are more organized.

 

consultation charge is Rs 300/- and 40/- per graft and they are going to hike it to 50/- from Jan onwards.

 

Also it seems that the Madhu's clinic works 7days a week and dont take any holiday at all except when Dr.Madhu is out of town and they do 2 ops per day that comes to 60-70 of them per month.

 

Now the question I have is regarding the no.of grafts.

 

Dr.Madhu calculated roughly(In the second meeting I am going to ask him to measure it accurately) measured the area to be covered as 60-70 cm2 and if I go for 2000 grafts(covering 60 cm2) then it comes to 33 grafts per cm2, I feel this is enough for me to give me a fuller look, please let me know your opinion on this. also please consider the following things.

 

1. Being a Indian I am blessed with wavy hair(it doesnt shown up that way in the pic as the hair is short),

2. good hair to body color contrast ratio.

3. I have some hair left even in the bald areas, I should be able to save them, if I react well to finax, I have not started the finax yet.

4. I dont want to resist baldness eternally, it is just that my look doesnt suit my age, I am ok if I go bald say 10 years down the line, also I dont want to undergo more than one procedure.

5. Dr.Madhu's clinic quoted the survival rate of the HTed grafts at > 96%.

 

Taking advantage of my hair characteristics and goals, Can I reduce the avg grafts/cm2 to be HTed to say 20 gfts/cm2?

 

 

After reading this, tell whatever you feel like telling me please!!.

 

Finally a word of praise for this forum, I think this forum should have saved thousands from butchery by unscrupulous docs world over.

 

Proud member of this dwelling.

ashok.

[ashok]

Front of my head clicked out doors.

[ashok]

HairLine I am aiming at.

[Forrest Gump]

Ashok,

 

As you rightly mentioned, you have the hair and skin color/characteristics working in your favor.

 

IMO, 2500 grafts should do a decent job, and something like 3000 grafts should give you a really dense hairline. I personally prefer dense hairlines, but given the fact that you're only 26, a conservative approach of 2000-2500 grafts might NOT be a bad idea.

 

Well written post, by the way.

[SKR]

Dear Ashok,

 

Its so nice of you to share your experience at Dr. Madhu's clinic and his facility. Its really helpful.

 

I have a question for you. Have you met some his patients and how was that experience?

 

Is Dr. Madhu himself performs the surgery or the dunior doctors? Is he just supervising?

 

This is important for all members as I see various recommendations of surgeons on this forum but members/patients do not know who actually is performing the surgery.

 

Thanks again for your help.

[ashok]

SRK,

 

I have not met any of the patients, except one of the folks in our forum,

 

Regarding who does the surgery I need to clarify it further I will check with him in the second meeting and will update the thread.

 

Bill & other knowledgeable members,

 

I am waiting for your VALUEBLE inputs,

 

ashok.

[ashok]

Forest Gump,

 

Thanks for your reply and complement .

 

I think 2500 grafts are needed for a caucausian, Being an Indian I am thinking of going for a sub 2000 grafts, instead of talking about the no.of grafts, I think we can talk about the density(grafts/cm2) needed and arrive at the grafts based on the area that needs to be covered.

 

Please consider my hair chars, goals and the this examplary article regarding the no.of grafts needed from Dr. Ron Shapiro.

 

Please let me know your thoughts.

ashok.

[Bill - Seemiller]

Ashok,

 

I firmly believe you'll be in great hands with Dr. Madhu, if you decide to proceed with surgery. Your hair characteristics and skin type are also optimal to provide an even greater appearance of density and coverage. Dr. Madhu is a master at proper placement to assure you get the most out of your hair transplant.

 

In my opinion, ask Dr. Madhu what he recommends in terms of how many follicular units you'll need per square CM to achieve the density and coverage you're aiming for. But I would imagine that 40 to 50 FU/cm2 would give you very thick looking hair. Though density is usually not evenly distributed, assuming it was, you would require 2400 to 3000 grafts to pull this off in a 60cm2 bald area. Since some of the area already includes existing hair, you'd probably require less.

 

Best wishes,

 

Bill

[mirzaTechie]

HI Ashok,

Im from Hyderabad in India.I Recently Had HT from Dr. Madhu on 20th Nov 2009 @ Hyderabad.He told me that i comes into NW Class 3 category.He placed 2491 grafts for me.The surgery was smooth, i was under local anesthesia,today its 10th day post operation for me, fortunately may be due to good procedure he's using, i didn't face any blood clotting problem on my scalp but slowly im facing shock loss.It would be good if we have more number of grafts as it may give denser look.

 

The surgery will be performed by two experienced staff(girls) who are good at art or design, of course dr madhu will operate at very sensitive areas where already some hairs are available.

 

Dr madhu charges cheaper price (25 /-) @ his rajahmundry clinic.

[ashok]

I meet Dr.Madhu for the second time and this time he spent considerable amount of time and I am impressed,I am convinced that 2500 grafts will do, thanks to this community, escpecially to Bill, Dr. Paul Shapiro for their valuable inputs.

 

I am also done with my surgery, I will spawn a new thread to share my experience.

[avi]

thanks ashok for all the information you have shared with us. its indeed very helpful in clearing alot many doubts. i am myself from bangalore and i went to see two famous doctors here in bangalore but was not satisfied with the conversation i had with them. i am thinking of fixing an appointment with dr madhu. though i have a question (anyone who can answer plzzz)- do you have any idea about alopecia reduction surgery. i have heard that with it the bald area decreases but have also heard that it has got some complications?

can anyone clear my doubts about ALOPECIA REDUCTION surgery?

thanks everyone who are a part of this forum; in particular the moderators for taking such a step.

[Bill - Seemiller]

Avi,

 

Are you referring to scalp reduction surgery? If so, I'd advise against it. While it can be a successful procedure for a few, there are a great deal of drawbacks and serious risks that go along with the procedure. Frankly, the majority of patients who've undergone such a procedure have not had good long term success with it.

 

Learn more about Scalp Reduction Surgery.

 

Best wishes,

 

Bill

[KaYKaY]

Ashok,

One thing I would like to suggest is that while you have a chance, you may want to increase the hair density. Think abt 10 yrs down the road...Some of the existing hair might fall off. Going with more hair might cover you for long term..Just a thought.

[avi]

hey thanks Bill. though i too had some information about its complications i just wanted to be cent percent sure as this idea of alopecia reduction surgery sounded very tempting. but now its certainly off the chart for me.

[simplycomplicated]

Sorry for being off-topic, but can anyone please reply to the query on the following thread. Would be really helpful.

 

http://www.hairrestorationnetwork.com/eve/161617-query-regarding-hair-transplantation-hyderabad-india.html

 

Regards