50 And Still Dealing With This Thing.

[Oncall]

Hi Everyone,
Firstly I just want to say hello. I live in Melbourne, Australia. I just turned 50 and for the past 25 years I have been wearing a hair piece. It's a long story which I'll post in the right forum later (and I will attach photos) but in brief at the age of 18 I discovered that the corners of my hairline were receding. I had always had a high forehead so I decided to have a hair transplant. This was in 1985 so not only was it back in the days of punch grafts only but also I had no idea what a hair transplant looked like! They saw a young kid with money so I was conned.
After the procedure I wasn't happy with the result so I had another one to lower my hair line (and even bigger mistake)! After about a year I couldn't bare these plugs which I could hide with my hair so I had them surgically removed. The only way really back then was by a plastic surgeon so I had the frontal pluggy hairline area excised in several stages which ever since has left me with a linear lateral scar (that looks very surgical) right across the top of where my hairline once was from one side to other. As my hair continued to recede back it became increasingly difficult to camouflage the scar with my own hair so at the age of 25 I opted for a hair piece.
I have two punch graft scars across the back of my head and I had one of these scars excised but this has left my scalp a little tight so I never went back to do the other punch graft scare.
Either way it is what it is. I feel for all the many guys, who like myself, made the mistake of panicking and opting for a hair transplant at such a young age. I know their must be many others out there who just like myself wish that hey could just shave their head and put the whole 'hair thing' to bed (and not have to worry about the scars). Anyway, once again I just want to say hi and I post later on. Wish everyone the best for 2017.
Regards,
Oncall.

 

[diffuse_thinner]

Hi Oncall, welcome! Who did your hair transplant if you don't mind my asking? Have you looked into perhaps getting FUE done or are you happy to keep wearing a wig?

 

[Oncall]

Hi diffuse thinner,
The Dr's name is/was Dr Robert Reed. I have tried to chase him up but can't find anything. It's possible he has quit or even passed away.
Yes I would consider FUE but I would still be very self conscious of the hairline scar. It has improved a lot over the years but it's still there.
I've just come to the point in my life where I'm just so sick and tired of wearing a wig! It's the hassle of it more than the look of it. I would love to not have to wear caps or hair pieces but I doubt I would have enough to give me enough coverage. I would consider FUE, beard/body hair if it could achieve the right result but I would hate to jump back out of the pan back into the fire if it didn't work.

 

[Spanishlad]

Hi Oncall, sorry to hear you have had bad experiences in the past but you know hair transplants have come a long way. It may be worth a consult with a well respected Doctor. Without seeing pics its hard to say but with a combination of FUE and SMP you might be able to hide the scars.

 

[Oncall]

Hi Spanishlad,
Yes I am going to make an appointment to see Dr Knudsen here in Australia just to get his opinion and I will email a few doctors overseas. If I did have anything done I would go overseas for any procedures.
It's great today with the internet that information can be read and results viewed. However for every big name doctor in the industry I keep reading of a horrible result. I am very open to the idea of FUE, SMP, etc but with time I now have something I didn't all those years ago which is patience and wisdom. If anyone here can recommend who I would benefit from contacting I would be most grateful.

 

[diffuse_thinner]

Hi Spanishlad,
Yes I am going to make an appointment to see Dr Knudsen here in Australia just to get his opinion and I will email a few doctors overseas. If I did have anything done I would go overseas for any procedures.
It's great today with the internet that information can be read and results viewed. However for every big name doctor in the industry I keep reading of a horrible result. I am very open to the idea of FUE, SMP, etc but with time I now have something I didn't all those years ago which is patience and wisdom. If anyone here can recommend who I would benefit from contacting I would be most grateful.

I'm in Melbourne too, Oncall. If you're interested in FUE, definitely consult Dr Woods in Sydney, especially as you are a repair case. I wouldn't get strip done with any Australian surgeon, although Knudsen is probably the best and most experienced. As you already have hair transplant scars I wouldn't rule out strip either. Do an online consultation with Hasson and Wong and see what they say.

 

[Oncall]

Thanks diffuse thinner.
I actually went to see Dr Woods about ten years ago in Sydney. Sounds weird but he just criticized the bad scar repair at the front and never really gave me response or cost about whether he would do anything??? I had the feeling that he was full up with other patients and wasn't really interested. I also had to wait about 15 minutes after our confirmed appointment time. However, this would not put me off seeing him again.
Once I get some good photos I will email to Hasson and Wong with their online consultation.
One thing I really want is a definite confirmation of either yes or no as to whether I would be a suitable candidate for repair and/or hair transplant coverage. Over the years I have seen probably a hundred hair transplants in public and many I notice have been on people who personally would have been better off not having them.

 

[diffuse_thinner]

Thanks diffuse thinner.
I actually went to see Dr Woods about ten years ago in Sydney. Sounds weird but he just criticized the bad scar repair at the front and never really gave me response or cost about whether he would do anything??? I had the feeling that he was full up with other patients and wasn't really interested. I also had to wait about 15 minutes after our confirmed appointment time. However, this would not put me off seeing him again.
Once I get some good photos I will email to Hasson and Wong with their online consultation.
One thing I really want is a definite confirmation of either yes or no as to whether I would be a suitable candidate for repair and/or hair transplant coverage. Over the years I have seen probably a hundred hair transplants in public and many I notice have been on people who personally would have been better off not having them.

Yes, It's a big eye opener when you see hair transplants in the harsh light of day and not just cherry picked photos on a doctors website. I wouldn't let your earlier experience with Woods put you off. He's very busy and does not use any assistants or consultants whatsoever, and can sometimes come across a little abrupt.

 

[rclark]

@Oncall

Don't be so rough on yourself. There wasn't any medication around until the late 1980s Even that
wasn't really anti balding medication.

During 1985, what could we do?

 

[Oncall]

Thanks rclark,
The worst thing about the whole thing was the shame and and the feelings of looking deformed at the time. On top of that you still want to have your hair back. Yes it was tough from around 18-25. Even though the scar was horrible along the top of my hairline it was still better than the plugs back then. I was trying Minoxidol as it was only just released but I had to get a script from a dermatologist and pick it up from a hospital pharmacy. I used it for probably two years. It may have slowed the rate of hair loss at the time or that may have been my genetic rate of hair loss anyway. Very hard to tell. Even if it had have been a placebo, you still felt better, because you felt you were taking charge of your situation at least.

 

[rclark]

Thanks rclark,
The worst thing about the whole thing was the shame and and the feelings of looking deformed at the time. On top of that you still want to have your hair back. Yes it was tough from around 18-25. Even though the scar was horrible along the top of my hairline it was still better than the plugs back then. I was trying Minoxidol as it was only just released but I had to get a script from a dermatologist and pick it up from a hospital pharmacy. I used it for probably two years. It may have slowed the rate of hair loss at the time or that may have been my genetic rate of hair loss anyway. Very hard to tell. Even if it had have been a placebo, you still felt better, because you felt you were taking charge of your situation at least.

So true. People don't understand that Finasteride didn't come out until eight years later (1997).

On another blog, people always tell me "It's your fault, should've used Finasteride". How was
I supposed to do that?