Mike4 Posted February 23 Share Posted February 23 Hi all, I finally decided to get a transplant and I'm deciding between Dr. Espinosa Custodio and Dr. Felipe Pittella. I'd appreciate any recs from this community. Here are the pros/cons as I understand them. I'm really torn between going to Espinosa sooner, who is much closer to me, keeping it conservative, and reevaluating after a year and waiting to go to Pittella who is one of the best, but is really far away and also might be more aggressive than I need. Let me know if you have any advice. Dr Custodio: Pro's: Dr. does all the work More conservative. Recommended 3,500 to start and the possibility of a second treatment one year later depending on how it goes and the donor area. Less travel: he's in Mexico City every summer, so it would be a few hour flight as opposed to a very long flight with layovers to Brazil. Availability THIS year. By next year I could be deciding if I want a second transplant based on this year's results. Con's: Not a lot of patient reviews. The best source is google maps for his Madrid clinic, but there aren't any pics with those reviews. He recommends meds, which I had a bad reaction to. His initial consult was a pretty unnatural hairline trying to cover my entire, very large, forehead. I'm okay with keeping the widow's peak and would rather make it look natural with more density right in the middle. Dr. Pittella: Pro's: Tons of great reviews - seems like he is one of the best in the world. Con's: Waitlist until late 2025 Maybe overly aggressive: recommended 5,500 and 6k grafts in two separate recs that were sent to me within a day. A full covered head would be amazing, but I worry that might be asking too much and not look natural. Significant travel: the closest airport requires at least one layover from the US and it would be more than double the time to get there and back. I could probably only afford his cheapest option which has Jr. docs doing most of the work. I haven't seen many reviews on how much of an impact that might have at his clinic. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member BaldGuy Posted February 24 Regular Member Share Posted February 24 (edited) I think you need around 6000 grafts in total. 3500 grafts for front part and another 2500 for the crown. What prices per graft did these propose you? Edited February 24 by BaldGuy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Valued Contributor Gatsby Posted February 24 Valued Contributor Share Posted February 24 (edited) I would choose Dr Pittella. I had to wait two years due to Covid alone for my surgery and I was already 53 back then. Remember this is for the rest of your life. All the best with whom you choose. Edited February 25 by Gatsby 2 GATSBY 'UNPLUGGED!' 15,671 (3 surgeries) Grafts FUE+BHT Dr. Sethi Eugenix Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member baddecisions Posted February 24 Regular Member Share Posted February 24 Pitella all day long, even if you have to wait years. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrators Melvin- Admin Posted February 24 Administrators Share Posted February 24 What are your goals? I’m a paid admin for Hair Transplant Network. I do not receive any compensation from any clinic. My comments are not medical advice. Check out my final hair transplant and topical dutasteride journey: View my thread Topical dutasteride journey Melvin- Managing Publisher and Forum Moderator for the Hair Transplant Network, the Coalition Hair Loss Learning Center, and the Hair Loss Q&A Blog. Follow our Social Media: Facebook, Instagram, Linkedin, and YouTube. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike4 Posted February 24 Author Share Posted February 24 10 hours ago, BaldGuy said: I think you need around 6000 grafts in total. 3500 grafts for front part and another 2500 for the crown. What prices per graft did these propose you? Thanks. Pittella is 4 dollars per graft to do it himself, 3 dollars to do some, and 2 dollars if most of the work is done by other staff. Custodio is 3 dollars and he does it all himself. The other big difference is that Pittella does 5500-6k grafts in one day while Custodio does 3500 over two days. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike4 Posted February 24 Author Share Posted February 24 43 minutes ago, Melvin- Admin said: What are your goals? Good question. I think I'm leaning more conservatively/not trying to get back to a full head of hair. My first priority is to add density to the front. I'd actually like to keep it mostly in the middle and don't mind the receding on the sides. I think that's my natural look and also think it would be hard to cover my whole front because I have a big head. If possible, I'd add to the crown after that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member ITA Posted February 24 Senior Member Share Posted February 24 From the latest testimonials here, in my opinion Pittella is currently the best surgeon around. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Valued Contributor A_4_Archan Posted February 24 Valued Contributor Share Posted February 24 Your decision should be based on your objectives. A prolonged waiting period can be seen as indicative of his good work. Moreover, a longer wait might suit you better, considering you mentioned being unable to afford Dr. Pittela's higher package. If the surgery is scheduled for a year or two from now, you can save up and choose the higher package. 1 Check Out My Hair Transplant Journey --> My Thread 3611 FUE Grafts With Dr Kongkiat Laorwong | Norwood 5 | 2nd May 2023 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member mr_peanutbutter Posted February 26 Senior Member Share Posted February 26 you cant really go wrong with both Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member ScottishGuy21 Posted February 26 Regular Member Share Posted February 26 On raw case data Pittella’s higher package if you can save for it. That’s not to say Custodio isn’t a good option. I just haven’t seen that many independent cases. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member Silent123 Posted February 27 Senior Member Share Posted February 27 Hey man, Dr Pittella is an excellent surgeon if you can go with him 👍 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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