FEEDBACK ON A 2900GRATFS FUT PROCEDURE

[HT2900GRAFTS]

Dear Hair loss community,


I wanted to share my experience but also to have a feedback from you concerning my FUT procedure of 2900 grafts from November 2012. The picture on the left is pre-operative and the one on the right is 12 months post-operative.
I'll provide more pictures in a couple of months as I don't currently have them at reach.
Please do not hesitate to share your thoughts on that,

Cheers

 

[GoldenMane]

The lighting isn't consistent, but I'm sorry to say this, but it looks the same cosmetically to me, from looking at it, I couldn't tell that you had 2900 grafts... Are you on finasteride? Are you a good finasteride responder?

 

[HT2900GRAFTS]

Absolutely, the light might be a bit misleading, but I don't believe the cosmetic aspect with the same light exposure would vary much though...And you're right, there's not much difference to me either, I think it's actually a lot worse...
I'm not on finasteride because of its side effects and because my hair loss seemed to be quite stabilized before my surgical operation. But I used it for some time and got I think I had results.
Could you think that the difference pre/post-op of hair density could be due to a progressive alopecia despite a stabilized hair loss before surgery?

 

[I.D WALKER]

Are you still applying minoxidil sporadically? Thanx for sharing.

 

[GoldenMane]

Absolutely, the light might be a bit misleading, but I don't believe the cosmetic aspect with the same light exposure would vary much though...And you're right, there's not much difference to me either, I think it's actually a lot worse...
I'm not on finasteride because of its side effects and because my hair loss seemed to be quite stabilized before my surgical operation. But I used it for some time and got I think I had results.
Could you think that the difference pre/post-op of hair density could be due to a progressive alopecia despite a stabilized hair loss before surgery?

Oh no... Your hair loss doesn't stabilise, it will keep getting worse if you are not on finasteride! All non transplanted hair in the balding zone will continue to fall out (this should be common sense), and most likely this is what happened, possibly explaining why it looks no better. You need finasteride if you're having a hair transplant,

You should have been on finasteride for minimum one year prior to the transplant to ensure you are a good responder and the non transplanted hair won't keep falling out, and the surgeon should have made sure you were committed to a lifetime of finasteride prior to the surgery. You must have went to a bad doctor/surgeon, there are many of them. Get on finasteride asap...

 

[HT2900GRAFTS]

No, since it never had a clear effect on the hair fall, if not the opposite effect...

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Yes, indeed you're right, however I said my hair loss was QUITE stabilized, hinting that the hair loss was still ongoing but progressive. In other words, the alopecia could not account for a sudden and dramatic hair loss (after a year only) that could counteract the cosmetic effect of 2900 grafts... Besides 6 months after the 12 months post-op (time of the usual final surgical result), I have again the feeling that the thin hair (not the grafted one) will remain for some time and will not fall in a year or so...
I tried the finasteride treatment but gave it up due its side effects.

You're right, I placed my trust into the hands of this officially renown Doctor but really got disappointed...

 

[heisenberg]

Regardless of you staying on finasteride or not, I would accept the results to look a lot better (albeit, for a relatively shorter amount of time compared to if you had stayed on finasteride).

The yield does look poor, in fact the after picture you look worse off .. even in the absence of lighting effects.

Definitely try to get in contact with the doctor again. This may be another case of patients who go oversees to get surgery done without doing full research just so they can save a buck. When it comes to surgeries like this, I think it's better to wait until you have enough money to spend for the top/more known surgeons.

 

[jamesrav2]

hairloss doesn't stabilize? who proved that? a lot of men begin to lose hair (only) in the crown at 20-25 and it reaches a maximum and then never gets any worse. I'm that situation at 52. If this guy does not want to use finasteride that's his choice, but he should certainly use minoxidil in the crown.

 

[HT2900GRAFTS]

I'm not sure whether Finasteride would have really helped better than this surgery since anyone knowing me unanimously said I lost a lot of hair lately (without knowing I had surgery), when it didn't come to their mind before my intervention. My feeling is (other than my gulfs that were bald) that surgery made it a lot worse than it was before...

As you said, and as I said, it looks worse, so finasteride medication could only have been better...

This Doctor and his clinic did not respond any longer as soon as I asked for compensations...Look, from the moment you paid them you don't exist any more to their eyes, and even less if asking for reparation. This clinic is awfully dishonest and soon after posting my experience on another website (with whom they connive), my post o this site disappeared. It is not a matter of saving a buck so much (not everyone can afford paying thousands of dollars for an operation), but I officially had a so-called refund guarantee through an agency based in my country, which ultimately let me down despite this guarantee (I'll probably sue them). And that was the point from the beginning, for a first surgery, you want to have ground on which you can get your money back, and I anticipated this current situation thinking I could sue them...

Would you know by chance efficient ways to make my story known of the greater number (so that others do not get ripped off)?

Anyway thank you for your feedback

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@jamesrav2 : That's what I would have tended to believe too... Indeed, I was told, including by medical doctors that hair loss could sometimes stabilize, in particular because some hair follicles are less sensitive to the 5-alpha-reductase (just like in the crown)