Forrest Gump

1. No idea regarding this. I used to shower only once a day. I had normal scabbing, that went away in about 2 weeks. 2. I don't think dissolvale sutures has anything to do with preventing scar stretching. For my first HT, I had dissolvable suture, and I still got quite a bit of scar stretching. 3. I just go to my regular hairdressing place. I never told the hairdressers anything about my HT, and they usually don't ask anything. After my 1st HT, once one of the hairdressers asked me about the scar and if I had injured my head. I just told her that I had a surgery on my head (I didn't specify what type of surgery and she didn't ask). Recently, I had a haircut after my 2nd surgery. I know I have a clear wide scar, and I had my hair cut quite short. However, the hairdresser didn't ask me a thing about my scar, but I noticed that she had deliberately kept the hair just above the scar slightly long enough to hide the scars. So the next time you go to the hairdresser, just take it easy. If they ask you anything, feel free to tell them you had a surgery.

If you don't see any growth at all after 4 months or so, talk to your doctor.

Kaounis makes a good point. In almost all cases, no amount of HT surgeries from even the best doctors will give someone their original head of hair. At the most, there would be some coverage and some illusion of density. Maybe for a very small percentage of patients, who have had very minimal hairloss, there might be scope for achieving true density, but such cases are rare, and also susceptible to other risks (such as shock loss issues). IMO, before going for a HT one should have realistic expectations and be aware of the limitations of HT.

Suri, I personally saw the results of Dr Khanna's HT on someone, and it looked horrible. This guy was much better off before the HT. I don't know if this was a rare bad case or if it's a pattern. As a sidenote, I also checked out Dr Khanna's website. It seems he is a breast implant doctor who also does HT. In fact his website seems to contain more breast implant pictures than of HT pictures. I would stay away from this doctor.

Since you're over 25, you are potentially a possible candidate for HT. Do some research on this forum on people with similar types of hairloss patterns. You might also try out minox and/or finasteride to see if it helps. Good luck!

I have seen some positive posts regarding Dr. Madhu. Do a search on this forum using the "Find" option at the top, and you'll see quite a few posts about Dr Madhu.

Mane, your hair looks very nice, and that too at only 5 months! I am sure it'll get even better over the next few months.

Thana, very informational post. Thanks for the info! I look forward to seeing your before/after pics without/with these products.

Pavlov, it's really based on an "honor" code. There is no way a patient can tell the exact number of grafts that have been transplanted. You'll have to go totally by what the doctor tells you regarding the number of grafts placed. The assumption is that well known and/or ethical doctors are likely to be truthful about this.

Your scenario seems theoretically very feasible. However, cost and technological constraints might prevent widespread use of such options in the near future (that is, anytime in the next 5-10 years). However, who knows what might be possible say 20 yrs from now.

Raphael, interesting points. I believe each patient is different in terms of how they might gain from a HT. I've seen pictures of some people who had extraordinarily positive transformations after a HT, and these are the profiles that gave me the encouragement to proceed with a HT surgery. On the other hand, I have seen pictures of some HT patients who I think might have been better off instead with a shaved head or something. Finally, some had really scary outcomes. I guess like most things in life, it depends on several uncontrollable variables(like hair characteristics, etc.) and other uncertainties. So in many cases, it's very difficult to judge if someone is a good patient for HT or not. I think you have taken the right step in talking to your doctor about this.

Looks very nice!

azza, sorry to hear that there hasn't been any marked improvement between months 10 and 11. I did go through your weblog, and yes, there is some "see-through" effect. You can hope that you're one of those slow growers, and there'll be a spurt of growth from the 12th month onwards. Good luck! By the way, did you talk to your doctor? See what he has to say.

Vikas_009, your location says Delhi. In that case, if you go to doctors in India (e.g., Dr Madhu) or in Thailand (e.g., Dr. Path), they would charge less than what Sparky has quoted. Also, I am guessing you're referring to 1000 grafts (which equals about 2000 hairs). You might want to send emails (with pictures) to some of the doctors whose work you like. Ask them directly how many grafts you'll need, and the amount they'll charge for those grafts.

Dr Mohmand, impressive results! You should open up an office in Dubai or somewhere similar. That way, several western-country patients who might have apprehensions about traveling to Pakistan, but comfortable in visiting a place like Dubai, will be able to consult you.

Balboa, on this forum, I have read about the concept related to "seasonal shedding." In fact there have been a thread or two on this topic. Do a search using the "Find" tool at the top regarding "seasonal shedding." Also, as sparky said, you might want to talk to your doctor about this too, and get his opinion.

I wouldn't say the side effects are "all false." It varies from person to person. Some people are fine taking finasteride, while others have had serious problems (side effects), and some had problems even after they stopped using it. So discuss this with your doctor.

Yes, Finasteride and any related medicines are all optional, after HT surgery. The only required medicine after HT surgery is an antibiotic that you'll need to take for 10 days or so.

As Pratik rightly said, Dr Radha is listed on Dr Path's (Bangkok) website. It seems that Dr Radha is working (or has worked) with Dr Path at the latter's clinic in Bangkok.

Scottishguy, each person is different in terms of shedding, etc. I am guessing it is normal for some people to have more shedding post-op than others. If it's bothering you too much, you can talk to your doctor and/or his staff. As long as this is a temporary shock loss, you should be fine in a few months. The only worrying factor is permanent shock loss for minitiarized hairs on their way out, or hair transected during the surgery. You mentioned the shedding about non-transplanted hair. How about the transplanted grafts? Have they all shed? Is it possible that you're counting the shedded transplanted grafts with the non-transplanted ones? Good luck!

From what I could see from the pictures, your hair looks very good. Of course, sometimes pictures can be deceiving. Unless that's the case, the HTs seem to have gone off well.

Escobaro, I remember reading a post on this forum, about this doctor. If I remember correctly, someone mentioned about his low prices. Do a search on this forum using the "Find" option, and you'll see the post I am referring to.

Looks nice, especially at only 6 months.

B Spot, I'll also add that most clinics that I am familiar with, give substantial travel discounts in some form or another. So it might actually be cheaper to fly and have a surgery in North America than to have it in Australia.

Can I ask why you had a HT surgery in the first place? Your hair looked pretty good, as far as I can tell from the pictures. Also, I never heard anyone getting any cosmetic change with 251 grafts. I don't think you needed the surgery in the first place. Regarding your question: It is tough to say if it's transection or shock loss or both. My guess is it's a bit of both. The best solution is to wait for 3-4 months. If the hair comes back, then it's temporary shock loss. Otherwise, it's transection. Hopefully, it's shock loss only. Good luck!