Removal of mini's?

[Stimpson]

Hello. First, a brief history...

 

I had my first procedure with Bosley in Dallas during the height of the mini-graft craze in the early 90's. 132 grafts total. It was fine, until my hair continued to fall and the minis became more visible. In the subsequent 15 years I had two procedures to cover the mini's, the two combined for about 3100 grafts. Much better and very competent work.

 

Yet, if I cut my hair too short, the blasted mini's still show because they are sticking up at a higher angle than the rest of the surrounding hair. If I leave my hair long, it's great and you cannot tell a thing, and the mini's even contribute to the overall percieved density.

 

So, I would REALLY REALLY REALLY just like these damn mini's gone, or at least the problem ones for sure. Of the 132 if maybe about 50-70 of the worst offenders could be removed that would be thrilling!

 

I know some people on this board (e.g. Dewayne) have had mini's removed. However, it seems like they are always removed from the HAIRLINE. Thankfully, I do not have, and never have had, mini's in the hairline.

 

So, my questions are as follows:

 

1. I plan to get an HT early next year, and if I had some of these mini's removed, could I do that at the same time as the HT? Could they just take those suckers out and replant them in a less clumpy more distributed pattern, along with a strip surgery the same day? While I would prefer the same day, I will do whatever is better (which my intuition tells me is probably two seperate procedures).

 

2. Since the mini's are not in the hairline, would a good doc even remove them? Or would they instead just try to do the thick camo coverup (which hey, I'm all for that, I just kind of want the best of both worlds, removal AND thickness). I know Dewayne at least said they did not remove the mini's that were further back on his scalp. These are precisely the ones I want removed, becuase they are the limiting factor when cutting my hair short. Is it generally practical to have a fairly large scale mini-graft removal process? And what of scarring? What are the chances that it will leave huge pits where the mini's were removed? If the risk of this is very real, I would rather just leave them be and get by with more camo.

 

These are of course questions that I will discuss when I start going for consultations. But I thought I'd try to seek some expert opinions on here first.

 

Here is a picture. It is a dreadful picture taken during the WORST DAYS of the ugly duckling period following the second coverup procedure about 1.5 years ago. This was taken about 2.5 months post-op and does NOT represent my current situation, as I was in the dark days of post-op shock-loss, still some visible pits, and so forth. There are no such issues now, as the recovery was fine. I post this picture, though, because it clearly shows the mini's that I would like removed. They are right freaking there for all to see. So, what do you guys think?

 

 

Here is another picture that shows my current situation. As you can see, it is not bad. Which is kind of the reason for this thread. Am I crazy for wanting the mini's removed? Should I just deal with them?

 

 

Thanks for all input - Stimpy

[Stimpson]

Hello. First, a brief history...

 

I had my first procedure with Bosley in Dallas during the height of the mini-graft craze in the early 90's. 132 grafts total. It was fine, until my hair continued to fall and the minis became more visible. In the subsequent 15 years I had two procedures to cover the mini's, the two combined for about 3100 grafts. Much better and very competent work.

 

Yet, if I cut my hair too short, the blasted mini's still show because they are sticking up at a higher angle than the rest of the surrounding hair. If I leave my hair long, it's great and you cannot tell a thing, and the mini's even contribute to the overall percieved density.

 

So, I would REALLY REALLY REALLY just like these damn mini's gone, or at least the problem ones for sure. Of the 132 if maybe about 50-70 of the worst offenders could be removed that would be thrilling!

 

I know some people on this board (e.g. Dewayne) have had mini's removed. However, it seems like they are always removed from the HAIRLINE. Thankfully, I do not have, and never have had, mini's in the hairline.

 

So, my questions are as follows:

 

1. I plan to get an HT early next year, and if I had some of these mini's removed, could I do that at the same time as the HT? Could they just take those suckers out and replant them in a less clumpy more distributed pattern, along with a strip surgery the same day? While I would prefer the same day, I will do whatever is better (which my intuition tells me is probably two seperate procedures).

 

2. Since the mini's are not in the hairline, would a good doc even remove them? Or would they instead just try to do the thick camo coverup (which hey, I'm all for that, I just kind of want the best of both worlds, removal AND thickness). I know Dewayne at least said they did not remove the mini's that were further back on his scalp. These are precisely the ones I want removed, becuase they are the limiting factor when cutting my hair short. Is it generally practical to have a fairly large scale mini-graft removal process? And what of scarring? What are the chances that it will leave huge pits where the mini's were removed? If the risk of this is very real, I would rather just leave them be and get by with more camo.

 

These are of course questions that I will discuss when I start going for consultations. But I thought I'd try to seek some expert opinions on here first.

 

Here is a picture. It is a dreadful picture taken during the WORST DAYS of the ugly duckling period following the second coverup procedure about 1.5 years ago. This was taken about 2.5 months post-op and does NOT represent my current situation, as I was in the dark days of post-op shock-loss, still some visible pits, and so forth. There are no such issues now, as the recovery was fine. I post this picture, though, because it clearly shows the mini's that I would like removed. They are right freaking there for all to see. So, what do you guys think?

 

 

Here is another picture that shows my current situation. As you can see, it is not bad. Which is kind of the reason for this thread. Am I crazy for wanting the mini's removed? Should I just deal with them?

 

 

Thanks for all input - Stimpy

[Jotronic]

If I were you, and I was at one point, I'd leave them. Your hairline appears to be high enough that they could be camouflaged and the angles do not seem to be so off that they would cause problems for new grafts.

 

 

[Stimpson]

Thanks, Joe. I actually thought of your case when I made this thread, as I know you had a *very* successful recovery from a situation that was *so* much worse than mine. I have seen all of the pictures documenting your trip down this road, and you do have a truly undetectable camo job. Those mini's are so far buried they are truly hidden. If I can get them buried like that, hey, all would be great!

 

Stimpy

[BigBill1234]

What is the difference between Mini's and FUT?

[Leeson]

A FU is a natural bundle grouping of 1-3 hairs (sometimes 4), and a mini can be 2-3 FU's in one graft and are divided not according to nature, but at the doc's leisure. In the early mini days, it was an over-sized "plug" that was quartered.

[Winston baby]

By the grace of mighty God, how many grafts have you in head jotronic?

 

I' am blown away