29 Year Old, Diffuse Thinner - Dr Bisagna.

[JBone88]

I have my first consultation with Dr Bisagna tomorrow in Brussels. I've contacted the clinic twice through email and exchanged pictures.

I've had a Hair Transplant before in the UK, but it was poorly research and poorly carried out. It was like a shameful one night stand. I was 25, didn't know what I was doing. Went in and got it done and then never spoke to them again. I've never really noticed anything from that procedure. It was 1000 grafts on the crown and 500 up top on the hairline. Now having spent a year or two reading and researching, I understand what a mug I was letting a clinic tell me 500 hairs along my hairline would make a difference.

From what I've read about Dr Bisagna, he is a very solid and reliable choice. I've seen results elsewhere that perhaps have maybe impressed me more, but I feel there is greater care taken in his work. I'm 29 and know there is a possibility I'll need further work someday, so I want to set myself up for that as appropriately as I can.

I've decided now is that time to act, I'm working remotely at the moment and have the opportunity to hide away for a while post procedure. I've explained how I'm looking to fast track this to the lady at the clinic, who has been very helpful. So hopefully you all won't have to wait long to begin tracking my progress.

I'll share some pics of the current state of my hair below. I'm using Minoxidil 5% twice a day, one Biotin 10,000mcg tablet, Nizoral 2% 3 times a week and Reviviogen once a day(shut up). I was on Finasteride 1mg a day for 9 months and started to feel sides kick in so came off it. There were a few things happening at the time that led to me coming off it that were unfortunate, but I don't think I 100% recovered since. It's been almost a year since I came off.

 

[JBone88]

Met with Dr Bisagna Thursday. Like you said, he recommended 2k for my hairline and 1k for the crown. My meeting was brief and I was very tired of traveling so I probably didn't come forward with as many questions as I would have liked to. I was glad that he was real about my situation. No over the top marks showing how far my hairline was going to come. Which was the case in my first place. I've always had a five head and I don't think that's a big problem with how I look. I just want to maintain the frame of my face.

1k in my crown is modest, but as he said, you could go really hard at it and it still might not be completely worth it. So I'm happy to try improve some of the density. He was worried about my donor area from my previous procedure, that they over harvested the back of my head. He was keen on not taking too much in order to facilitate a possible follow up procedure.

I definitely felt an extra level of care from Dr Bisagna. It wasn't just about getting my money for the procedure, he was very open with me about the negatives involved and areas where he had some concerns. Overall though, he said I had a good donor area, some miniaturization but overall decent with good grouping.

While I have some time at home where I can hide at home in work, I'm eager to get this done as soon as possible.

 

[whatintheworld]

I wouldn't get a hair transplant if I was you. You went off finasteride so your native hair behind will likely fall out, albeit who knows how quickly.

Plus, your hairline isn't bad at all for 29.

 

[JBone88]

Yeah, I see your point. I've been off finasteride for over a year now. I've been receding since I was 21/22 and it's been very slow. I'm hoping that slow loss will give me some time. I'm also not opposed to trying finasteride again, like I said there were a lot of things happening with me at that time which I think contributed. I got a pretty bad physical injury to my junk which forced me off it and it started to play in my head.

I'm not sure what you can do to test that your body is a good candidate for finasteride, are there any threads here that people are aware of that discuss this?

 

[Trichosan]

Topic here might be relevant:

https://www.hairlosstalk.com/intera...or-finasteride-response-and-hair-loss.108584/

New treatments and technology is advancing rapidly, so, I also recommend you what for acouple more years. Your hair is not making you a social reject at this point. Maybe try 12-15% Minoxidil.

 

[JBone88]

Got some information back from my meeting with Doctor Bisagna.

Norwood classification: Norwood 3V
Hair Characteristics: Brown, Straight, Medium Fine Hair
Donor Density: Measured in 2 areas as 70/70 Follicular units per cm2, over harvested area in donor from previous surgery
Miniaturisation: <15% of miniaturised hair
Dermoscopy: Normal

 

[JBone88]

I guess I should mention the first place I got it done in case anybody else on here thinks of going to them. It was the Ailesbury Hair Loss Clinic in Dublin. I have researched well now, but back then I hadn't. If I was unresearched going into Dr Bisagna I would have came out with a better understanding of my situation. I never felt like that during my first procedure. It was just get me in and out and that was it. Such terrible follow up care.

One thing that has frustrated me slightly from BHR'S response, is some ambiguity around price and graft amount. When I met with the doctor he recommended 2k up front 1k round the back. In the email response, this was 2k up front and 2.3k round the back. I had asked for a price, which I understand is dependent on the amount of grafts. The price I got was for 2,500 graft. Which was neither mentioned by the doctor, or in the new estimate given by email. The price was also excluding VAT. It came in at just under 10k, which I guess looks better than a 5 figure sum. I'm not sure why they would give me a price for a random amount of grafts, instead of the cost if everything went to plan.

It came off a little ambiguous and seemed like they were afraid the price would scare me off. I chose Dr Bisagna because I know his reputation, and with that comes cost, as is generally the case for this procedure.

I'll reach back out to the clinic and share my concerns, but I'm still hopeful to make a date for the end of next month.

Also, I appreciate the above comments. It's always great to hear view points from others with experience.

 

[john12341]

All of these people saying to just get another hair transplant and not take Finasteride are being ridiculous. Don't lie to yourself. If you're not on that drug the hair is not going to magically stop receding/diffusing. That's an essential aspect of getting a transplant.