thanatopsis_awry

IMHO, nothing wrong with being critical -- it's entirely normal and natural, and it's fundamental to this site and most any other endeavor. I think this looks good for the low # of grafts to such a large balding area. However, I also think his hairline looks extremely and conspicuously low, especially for his age; also, given how bald he is, placing *such* a low hairline can't help his cause in allocating remaining donor. If he really wanted it to conceal his scar (which I honestly didn't notice), I guess that explain it -- but it seems pretty risky no matter what with regard to his donor.

Hey, did you lose a lot of hair since your HT?

Really nice turn around for this guy, and a nominal # of grafts! Do you have any hairline shots at quick access? Either way, looks real good, and goes to show the power a HT can have. It even seems like his vertex thickened a bit, though that might just be a reflection of the restoration you performed bringing better "balance" to his entire head.

Well said, Predator, well said!

Ya, I've said this before but I'll say it again --- after a bit of a rocky start, I've been pretty impressed by basically every result I've scene. I think in another ~4months this result will look even better, too, as the hairs mature.

Very little is known about him. What other docs are you considering?

Looks like you've had a little bit of shockloss in the recipient, but nothing too bad; otherwise, you've healed really well. You should be a happy bloke in another few months.

600-800 is an ideal number for FUE. I would recommend you research and do thorough consults with Dr. Feller and Dr. Ron Shapiro. Generally, when someone mentions a doc being "too conservative" it is with regard to # of grafts; someone "too aggressive" can also be # of grafts, but also in regard to hairline design. Quite often, FWIW, I think the descriptor "too conservative" isn't really even fitting, and it isn't an honest issue of being conservative or not conservative. My 2cents on that. Usually you wanna wait a ~year or so between FUT; with FUE, though, you can go back realllllly quickly. Oftentimes, an FUE goal will be taken care of in subsequent days; I'm not *exactly* sure on this, but I think it's kosher to have separate FUE surgeries after but a couple month wait.

It's true that in the UK there is Farjo and then there is everyone else -- and you don't want the latter. Belgium has a lotta options, indeed. I think Dr. Devroye is extremely impressive, and I have a lot of faith in his work and his ethics as a doctor. The more you see about him and his clinic the more impressed you get. If you decide to go the route of FUE I would still certainly consider Dr. Devroye, too; at the same time, I would absolutely research Bisanga for FUE. Unfortunately, he basically has never been involved in this forum, and like the one time his name popped up it was that peculiar situation with a patient showing a "gap" in his HT. And unfortunately once again, no new information or explanation was ever shed on things. If you consult with Dr. Bisanga I'd bring this up. But, I have seen more FUE work from Bisanga's than most anyone else (not just the stuff he shows on his site but on other forums) and it's pretty remarkable. The only other Dr. of whom I've seen as much quality FUE work from is Dr. Feller in the U.S. And for pretty much everything TC said about Prohair (as well as lackluster results), I wouldn't seriously consider them.

A HTN classic: "Predator" shows us his James Dean hair and we tell him how crazy he is to not be utterly elated with his result. But ya, I'm not sure why your hair would he suddenly thinning....at least not the HT hairs....could be a shed, or could simply be MPB further revealing itself. You have a reallyreally good head of hair by virtually anyone's standards, though, outside of a 16yr old Disney star, perhaps!

That's kinda ironic...cool pic; and it's funny catching the distinct "HT-head". The most prominent thing in the pic, though, is just a really good, bold hairline. Sweet garb, too! haha I like collections like StyleQuotient -- I finagled my way into a book like that on NYC...don't know if I coulda pulled it off 2weeks after my HT.

Definitely sucks to hear, man. But -- and this is a huge "but" -- you are on an absolutely incredible path to get back your follicular swagger! So, ya, it sucks that this punk () called you out like that, but with the world-class HT you just got, you are well on your way to having this kid's comment be a funny memory and story to one day tell!

Ya, totally agree...the more competent techs the better; there is a general "sweet spot", though, for a given session size. You can never have too many quality techs, though, for sure. I'm actually kinda curious how many Bernstein has.

I think this really would vary clinic to clinic (theoretically). In practice, I think the # of techs is irrelevant insofar as the proof being in the pudding (the actual results). I would imagine that a clinic performing an elite HT of X session size would have a similar number of working techs as another clinic performing an elite HT of X session size. Feller and Rahal are obv quite good, and have a ton of techs to be able to handle larger cases. H+W have the most techs, I believe, in part because they of the insanely large sessions they sometimes do. I don't know who the clinics you talked to where w/ 4 techs....my opinion on them would likely not be dictated by this number, so much as their history of performing elite HTs with excellent patient care. Could always ask Feller, Rahal, Hasson, Shapiro, etc. to see how many techs they would want to have at their disposal on a 2500-3500 case.

There are a couple good threads in the "open section" about people using PRP. How much are you charging per session? Also, are you performing it on anyone, irregardless of how advanced their MPB is?

Dr. Rose & Co., how would you compare the scarring of your typical strip procedure to that of FUE? (in terms of visibility and the ability to shave down) It definitely seems that with the perfection of "ledge closure" the strip scars can come out extremely well -- but is this "extremely well" for a typical strip scar, or in stacking up to the "non-visible" scarring associated with FUE?

You can go swimming 10 days out from a strip op?

Dr. DeVroye certainly seems to be meticulous in running his operation. I'm kinda surprised more forum members haven't gone to him; he really does ace work.

Hmmm, interesting. My recovery wasn't too bad....I was working out/training again after 2weeks; once the staples came out and I buzzed my head I was able to go out without much problem. Typically, I just wore a nice hat, but after the 3rd week, in tandem with some concealer on the scar, I was going out w/o a hat and feeling fine. All in all, I really don't think the recovery for strip is that bad, even compared to FUE. Especially, if you aren't shaving your recipient zone....with your modest level of loss you might be able to get away with not having to shave.

No probs; and thx (and I did get strip/FUT for my procedure). I understand the desire to get FUE, though, and I will likely go in for FUE at some point myself. I believe that Dr. Feller could deliver you an equally fine result by way of FUE -- when he does FUE, he does it right, and he gets good yield. You'll be in the best of hands, and won't get sold a bill of goods. Btw, did SMG advise you to do strip with them, vs. FUE, because of the extent of your loss and the grafts it would take? They recently started performing FUE on a consistent basis.

Dude, you're always making various threads under various names saying the exact same thing (not that what your saying is wrong). You seem engrossed by the botched HT they gave you; have you given any thought to getting a "repair"? There's a very legit chance you can get hooked up and make some huge strides....should seriously consider this if you already haven't, and look to write a new chapter in your follicular-life.

Great result....can't believe he had that butchery done to his head prior...just stunning....**shivers**

2500 to 3500, of course.....If Master Armani was paying me for the surgery I wouldn't go to him. A strong case could be made that he's the worst surgeon on the planet, outside of docs still performing ancient plug work. Dr. Cole is a shady cat, too, but compared to Armani he's a golden boy. Armani will absolutely bludgeon you; and, if you aren't too emotionally crippled by your "result", and try to get compensation, you might get a nice, threatening lawsuit, too. Out of the docs you've mentioned it's really R. Shapiro or Feller, and it's honestly not even close. Shapiro is considered "The Godfather of the Hairline" and Dr. Feller is at the absolute vanguard of performing FUE. Research their strip work for hairlines and see whose you like more. If you contact them I'm sure they'd hook you up with examples that mimic your case, too.

Look into Bisanga, too, for FUE. Unfortunately, he has a very low (if not non-existent) presence on this forum; but I would sincerely recommend looking into him. I think TC gave you a very good list of people to consider and consult with. You are essentially a "strip candidate", yet you aren't because you simply won't go a route other than FUE. Thus, a very large FUE session is what you want; the problem here, of course, is that getting a lot of grafts in a single FUE session isn't the simplest thing, and there is a ton of hype in this realm. So, where am I going with this.....I would give particular investigation into both who is *willing* to do a larger FUE session for you, and who has the *actual* capabilities (re: yield). My impression is that: DeVroye does FUE sessions upwards of ~2500 (this is from something I remember him saying); Dr. Feller ~1800-2000 (this is from what I've actually seen); and SMG on a slightly smaller scale, ~1000-1500 (this is just from what I've anecdotally observed). But ya, the only docs who I've seen megaession-FUE from that rivals strip pound4pound is from Bisanga and also Dr. Mikelas from HDC Cyprus. I personally wouldn't go to them tomorrow, so I wouldn't recommend you do either; but, in your circumstance, I would absolutely investigate in that direction.

This certainly isn't encouraging, but it is true that you have another couple months before I'd officially shut the door on expecting legit growth. I'd keep expectations very tempered, but don't lose hope on ultimately getting to where you want to be. Bleh, I'm very sorry to hear/see this. Dr. Alexander seems to be a stand-up doctor, though, so I'm sure he will work with you on making good on things.