Living in CA, see a lot of recommendations to leave country for transplant, is there really no good surgeons close by?

[Cammmmmmmmm]

Dont love the idea of traveling to another country, dont mind paying premium to not have to, are there any good option in or nearby CA? Will attach pics to hopefully help. Tried living with it but I will always be self conscious about it. 

[Melvin- Admin]

You have an extreme case of baldness. There are only three surgeons who would probably accept you as a patient. Getting surgeries will be EXPENSIVE; if you stay in the US, you're looking at easily 100k for the number of grafts you need. Unless you're willing to invest in multiple surgeries and spend lots of money, the best option might be to keep shaving. 

[Cammmmmmmmm]

25 minutes ago, Melvin- Admin said:

You have an extreme case of baldness. There are only three surgeons who would probably accept you as a patient. Getting surgeries will be EXPENSIVE; if you stay in the US, you're looking at easily 100k for the number of grafts you need. Unless you're willing to invest in multiple surgeries and spend lots of money, the best option might be to keep shaving. 

Not disagreeing but I do think lighting is bad in this pic, and just shaved a few days ago, when grown a little more its mainly just recession on the temples

[Gatsby]

I have to agree with @Melvin- Admin on this. Your lateral humps are getting low, the crown has gone and that is a large area to cover. As mentioned the costs will be huge and it will take beard grafts and you will need an in patient consultation to assess your donor (which is hard to tell from this picture). What are your goals? Are you looking to have the frontal area restored to frame your face or are you wanting total coverage? I could only recommend Dr Pittella, Dr Sethi and Dr Zarev worth having a consultation with. However if you can buzz your head or add SMP it will leave you with a lot of money and zero scars.

[FUEtile]

1 hour ago, Cammmmmmmmm said:

Not disagreeing but I do think lighting is bad in this pic, and just shaved a few days ago, when grown a little more its mainly just recession on the temples

Your entire scalp is bald its way more than temple recession. 

[mr_peanutbutter]

8 hours ago, Cammmmmmmmm said:

Not disagreeing but I do think lighting is bad in this pic, and just shaved a few days ago, when grown a little more its mainly just recession on the temples

the only realistic options for you are eugenix (india), pittella (brazil) and dr.umar (usa)

Edited July 10 by mr_peanutbutter

[asterix0]

9 hours ago, Cammmmmmmmm said:

Not disagreeing but I do think lighting is bad in this pic, and just shaved a few days ago, when grown a little more its mainly just recession on the temples

Mate sorry you couldn't be more off the mark, you are norwood 7 with even some diffuse thinning in the donor area. Many surgeons will unfortunately reject you as a patient. 

[Berba11]

10 hours ago, Cammmmmmmmm said:

Not disagreeing but I do think lighting is bad in this pic, and just shaved a few days ago, when grown a little more its mainly just recession on the temples

Huh? You're a NW7 mate. By all means share a recent picture with your hair grown out but this blatantly isn't "just recession on the temples"!

[HappyMan2021]

to answer your direct question - Dr D**** in Los Gatos, CA had a mixed reputation the last year or so, but recently had a really good result. A free consult never hurt anyone.

But yea just as everyone else said, I think you have lost the hair war before it has even begun. You would basically need 3-4 surgeries minimum - and each one of those would have to be a 10/10 homerun (which is very unlikely), and even then, at best Id say you could pull off a NW 4, potentially 3. 

And if any of your surgeries go badly (a realistic possibility) that will completely derail your plans. 

I honestly think - if you MUST have hair - you should get a wig. Wigs can actually work very well for some people, but you have to have the right attitude and mindset for it. 

Or, if you can accept life as a bald person - just stay fit, be fashionable, and make your baldness work for you. 

[FUT4000]

14 hours ago, HappyMan2021 said:

to answer your direct question - Dr D**** in Los Gatos, CA had a mixed reputation the last year or so, but recently had a really good result. A free consult never hurt anyone.

But yea just as everyone else said, I think you have lost the hair war before it has even begun. You would basically need 3-4 surgeries minimum - and each one of those would have to be a 10/10 homerun (which is very unlikely), and even then, at best Id say you could pull off a NW 4, potentially 3. 

And if any of your surgeries go badly (a realistic possibility) that will completely derail your plans. 

I honestly think - if you MUST have hair - you should get a wig. Wigs can actually work very well for some people, but you have to have the right attitude and mindset for it. 

Or, if you can accept life as a bald person - just stay fit, be fashionable, and make your baldness work for you. 

do you mind sharing that recent good result that los gatos doctor had?

[Melvin- Admin]

24 minutes ago, FUT4000 said:

do you mind sharing that recent good result that los gatos doctor had?

He’s not totally satisfied, but he’s at 6 months.

 

[rs525]

I hate to say it but it looks like you're too far gone. Either just shave your head or get a hairpiece.

[4chanhrn]

Share pics after growing out donor. I think it is possible to fix your issue. I would grow out donor+go on meds after consulting a doc(oral min 5mg+dut 0.5mg/day if possible).  Then you would need to use lot of body hair. I think there are only 2 docs that can do decent work on you and those are Sethi and Pittella.

[Aperez]

I’m not 100% satisfied. I understand my results are not bad but for what I paid I feel I could’ve gone somewhere else. He took most of my grafts from my right donor and he could’ve used more baby hairs for the front hair hairline.
 

Also Melvin told me to wait to rate the results. However, its not a matter of density. I just fee like he could’ve done better with my donor and more baby hairs for front line.

Therefore, I would not suggest dr D**** for this person.

[Aperez]

Also why not recommend dr Mwamba in Atlanta?

[JoeD]

3 hours ago, Aperez said:

I’m not 100% satisfied. I understand my results are not bad but for what I paid I feel I could’ve gone somewhere else. He took most of my grafts from my right donor and he could’ve used more baby hairs for the front hair hairline.
 

Also Melvin told me to wait to rate the results. However, its not a matter of density. I just fee like he could’ve done better with my donor and more baby hairs for front line.

Therefore, I would not suggest dr D**** for this person.

Agreed, it’s not bad, but it’s odd to only extract grafts from one side of the donor. Never heard of that before. Were you given a reason for that?

[Aperez]

Yes, according to Dr D**** he saved the left side for a future possible HT. My problem with this explanation is two things:

1) what if I don’t want a future HT

2) Why not extract both sides so that is less noticeable 

Again I know my results dont look bad , but I could’ve spent that money on Freitas (Spain) or Mwamba.

[HappyMan2021]

On 7/11/2024 at 12:15 PM, Aperez said:

Also why not recommend dr Mwamba in Atlanta?

Mwamba is a Belgian doctor who is only in Atlanta very very rarely lol. You do not know this doctor well enough to recommend him if you thought he is based in Atlanta. 

Mwamba has had issues with density lately. He also has techs perform alot of the surgery (not sure if that is an issue but just fyi). There is also a VAT tax in Brussels which is 25% of the cost of surgery. 

What Mwamba is good at is donor restocking, working with African/non-Caucasian patients, and select repair cases, which OP is none of the above. 

Edited July 12 by HappyMan2021

[Aperez]

Well I know Mwamba is based in Brussels. But since he wants to stay in the country ideally I suggested Atlanta. But I agree you probably know more than me regarding HT I am just knew here.

[HappyMan2021]

56 minutes ago, Aperez said:

Well I know Mwamba is based in Brussels. But since he wants to stay in the country ideally I suggested Atlanta. But I agree you probably know more than me regarding HT I am just knew here.

no worries man. I am just adding facts about the doctor, not arguing or anything 👍

[Al - Moderator]

If you're looking specifically in CA then I really like Dr Parsa Mohebi, but I think he would probably turn you down as you're a NW 6 to NW 7. If you go anywhere in the USA it's going to cost you in the $100k range to get good coverage... if you can even get enough donor grafts to do it.

How is your beard? If you a lot of beard hair then you can use that along with scalp donor. That could make you a much better candidate depending on how your beard area looks.