Good day,
I have held back on doing this for the last 2 years out of shame, shame about the way my hair transplant turned out.
Since September 2022 (12 months after my 1st procedure with Dr Arocha) I have been incredibly self conscious about the state of my hairline - a hairline I entrusted in Dr Arocha's hands to restore.
My hair loss journey started in 2010, slow thinning started in the hairline and advanced over the years, I resisted medication. Along the way I sought out opinions from leading hair transplant surgeons in the cities I lived in, tying PRP to support growth but that too did not help. The pandemic forced working from home and presented an opportunity for me to explore hair restoration discreetly. I was living in Houston at the time and after doing some research visited the leading hair clinics in the city for assessments. I ended up deciding to entrust Dr Arocha with my hair restoration - finally I was going to take a step to counter the loss I had been dealing with for 11 years. As experienced with each doctor I visited, the question of medication came up and I respectfully declined at the time (I since started using medication as of April 2022). After meeting Dr Arocha I agreed to move forward with ~2,200 grafts for a date in September of 2021.
Disclaimer - I am not a medical doctor, I do not have innate knowledge on hair transplant procedures. I am merely an individual wanting to share my experience with other men who may find themselves in a similar situation. It is my hope that sharing this experience will allow for men to make better informed decisions about their choice in doctor. Hair restoration is an expensive procedure (especially in the US) and if done well can change a mans life, if done poorly it is as bad as starting to lose your hair or even worse. By sharing this experience I do not stand to gain anything other than being able to be of support to other men and even women who may be considering hair restoration in Houston.
If my hairline was designed with care I would not be sharing this story, I could tell immediately after the surgery that the hairline was not going to be great - as a result I have since visited Dr Arocha's clinic a number of times and had email correspondence over the last 2 years expressing how unhappy I am. The very best they could do was to offer another procedure at a slightly discounted rate.
Fact - I did not create the hairline I ended up with.
Hair Transplant - September 2021
The 3 images below date back to day of the surgery in September 2021.
The hairline was mapped out and I was happy with the shape that Dr Arocha drew out and felt confident that I was making a good choice to move ahead. The focus of the procedure was to restore the hairline and rebuild the frontal 3rd. The new hairline was complimentary of a mature hairline and was following along where there was still some existing native hairs. Dr Arocha expressed that he would focus on the left and right humps to build up foundation. He placed a lot of emphasis particulatly on the left hump
I unfortunately do not have any post-op photos available to share, those could be made available through Dr Arochas's team (taking care to hide my personal identity and features).
I would like to highlight that I have a natural cowlick in the right corner and when younger would use that to style my hair to the left - the cowlick elevated the hairs when styled in an opposing direction. Additionally I also have very fine and light weight hair which naturally goes flat especially when clean (that has also been the case for me).
Lets examine the hairline
Image below taken circa Jan 2023 - my hair was at a longer length, by this stage I had already started medication to counter further loss (started in April 2022).
This photo was taken during one of many follow-up visits with Dr Arocha - I had visited several times to discuss the issue with my hairline. From this angle and considering the hair was styled with pomade it looks reasonable, but there are problems here that the hair is covering. During this visit I drew out the hairline seen in the image - I was disappointed with the gaps leading into the temples and the direction and angles chosen by Dr Arocha left my head structure unbalanced as can be seen from this shot. I had to overemphasize the combover to control the hair as natural hair direction was not followed during the procedure (this can be seen on my shaved head shots further down this thread).
The next image(s) show the lack of hairline structure when the hair is pulled back and also show some gaps in the centre - dated August 2024
Hairline shot with direct light from above, further exposing the gaps and lack of hairline structure (August 2024). This photo was taken after exercise (before hair was washed).
The below image is showing many random singles which Dr Arocha created incisions for and his team planted. These are not native hairs. I have had to shave them every few days with clippers because they grow and are not connected to any body of hair. Please note the random direction these hairs were placed - that too should confirm these are not native hairs - my native hairs slope down the head.
September 2024 - corrective surgery on hairline and frontal 3rd and removal of the random grafts (they were recycled into the new slightly lower hairline).
Extraction / implants (shaved head view)
The below image was taken pre-op (repair surgery) on September 16th. The size of the punch used was quite large as is evident by the scarring I have. I endured a lot of pain during the extraction, the tool used was incredibly noisy and many times during the extraction the level of anesthetic was not enough to endure the pain I was feeling. I do not know if that technician is still employed by Dr Arocha - if he is I hope that he has improved or has a better extraction tool 3 years later. Certain areas were over harvested and that became apparent when I grew may hair out, I was left with these thicker clumps of hair on the side and back of my head - it was not an even extraction.
I will allow the doctors on this forum to comment on the direction of the implanted hairs in relation to my native hairs and the general condition of my scalp which received incisions by Dr Arocha. This planting structure created styling issues for me, particularly when not wearing any styling product in my hair. I have always had a natural cowlick on the right side. Additionally there is cobble-stoning - when a comb runs through my hairline I experience discomfort as it moves over the scarring.
A few more photos to have a look at from various angles - all from August / September 2024
I have held back on doing this for the last 2 years out of shame, shame about the way my hair transplant turned out.
Since September 2022 (12 months after my 1st procedure with Dr Arocha) I have been incredibly self conscious about the state of my hairline - a hairline I entrusted in Dr Arocha's hands to restore.
My hair loss journey started in 2010, slow thinning started in the hairline and advanced over the years, I resisted medication. Along the way I sought out opinions from leading hair transplant surgeons in the cities I lived in, tying PRP to support growth but that too did not help. The pandemic forced working from home and presented an opportunity for me to explore hair restoration discreetly. I was living in Houston at the time and after doing some research visited the leading hair clinics in the city for assessments. I ended up deciding to entrust Dr Arocha with my hair restoration - finally I was going to take a step to counter the loss I had been dealing with for 11 years. As experienced with each doctor I visited, the question of medication came up and I respectfully declined at the time (I since started using medication as of April 2022). After meeting Dr Arocha I agreed to move forward with ~2,200 grafts for a date in September of 2021.
Disclaimer - I am not a medical doctor, I do not have innate knowledge on hair transplant procedures. I am merely an individual wanting to share my experience with other men who may find themselves in a similar situation. It is my hope that sharing this experience will allow for men to make better informed decisions about their choice in doctor. Hair restoration is an expensive procedure (especially in the US) and if done well can change a mans life, if done poorly it is as bad as starting to lose your hair or even worse. By sharing this experience I do not stand to gain anything other than being able to be of support to other men and even women who may be considering hair restoration in Houston.
If my hairline was designed with care I would not be sharing this story, I could tell immediately after the surgery that the hairline was not going to be great - as a result I have since visited Dr Arocha's clinic a number of times and had email correspondence over the last 2 years expressing how unhappy I am. The very best they could do was to offer another procedure at a slightly discounted rate.
Fact - I did not create the hairline I ended up with.
Hair Transplant - September 2021
The 3 images below date back to day of the surgery in September 2021.
The hairline was mapped out and I was happy with the shape that Dr Arocha drew out and felt confident that I was making a good choice to move ahead. The focus of the procedure was to restore the hairline and rebuild the frontal 3rd. The new hairline was complimentary of a mature hairline and was following along where there was still some existing native hairs. Dr Arocha expressed that he would focus on the left and right humps to build up foundation. He placed a lot of emphasis particulatly on the left hump
I unfortunately do not have any post-op photos available to share, those could be made available through Dr Arochas's team (taking care to hide my personal identity and features).
I would like to highlight that I have a natural cowlick in the right corner and when younger would use that to style my hair to the left - the cowlick elevated the hairs when styled in an opposing direction. Additionally I also have very fine and light weight hair which naturally goes flat especially when clean (that has also been the case for me).
Lets examine the hairline
Image below taken circa Jan 2023 - my hair was at a longer length, by this stage I had already started medication to counter further loss (started in April 2022).
This photo was taken during one of many follow-up visits with Dr Arocha - I had visited several times to discuss the issue with my hairline. From this angle and considering the hair was styled with pomade it looks reasonable, but there are problems here that the hair is covering. During this visit I drew out the hairline seen in the image - I was disappointed with the gaps leading into the temples and the direction and angles chosen by Dr Arocha left my head structure unbalanced as can be seen from this shot. I had to overemphasize the combover to control the hair as natural hair direction was not followed during the procedure (this can be seen on my shaved head shots further down this thread).
The next image(s) show the lack of hairline structure when the hair is pulled back and also show some gaps in the centre - dated August 2024
Hairline shot with direct light from above, further exposing the gaps and lack of hairline structure (August 2024). This photo was taken after exercise (before hair was washed).
The below image is showing many random singles which Dr Arocha created incisions for and his team planted. These are not native hairs. I have had to shave them every few days with clippers because they grow and are not connected to any body of hair. Please note the random direction these hairs were placed - that too should confirm these are not native hairs - my native hairs slope down the head.
September 2024 - corrective surgery on hairline and frontal 3rd and removal of the random grafts (they were recycled into the new slightly lower hairline).
Extraction / implants (shaved head view)
The below image was taken pre-op (repair surgery) on September 16th. The size of the punch used was quite large as is evident by the scarring I have. I endured a lot of pain during the extraction, the tool used was incredibly noisy and many times during the extraction the level of anesthetic was not enough to endure the pain I was feeling. I do not know if that technician is still employed by Dr Arocha - if he is I hope that he has improved or has a better extraction tool 3 years later. Certain areas were over harvested and that became apparent when I grew may hair out, I was left with these thicker clumps of hair on the side and back of my head - it was not an even extraction.
I will allow the doctors on this forum to comment on the direction of the implanted hairs in relation to my native hairs and the general condition of my scalp which received incisions by Dr Arocha. This planting structure created styling issues for me, particularly when not wearing any styling product in my hair. I have always had a natural cowlick on the right side. Additionally there is cobble-stoning - when a comb runs through my hairline I experience discomfort as it moves over the scarring.
A few more photos to have a look at from various angles - all from August / September 2024
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