FUE v FUT - fresh thoughts

[chrisis]

Originally Posted by Delphi

Personally I would not feel comfortable, but that's an individual choice. I would also feel a little concerned about the doctor being fatigued doing all the work himself. Sounds good on paper, but 700 grafts all by himself both extracting and implanting will be a long tiring day. Did you check out Dr. Mwamba’s prices? He trained with Cole and he’s in Belgium. Might be worth a look.

Prices aren't the main consideration for me really. It's important that the surgery is in my budget, but I tend to prioritise getting a good result, i.e. a dense hairline. I haven't seen anything from Dr Mwamba to be honest.

[25 going on 65]

I agree with those who recommend smaller FUE sessions. I also have never had an HT but it makes sense that it would minimize scarring and poor growth risks, due to surgeon fatigue and "over-traumatizing" (if such a thing exists) areas of the scalp by moving so many grafts in a day. Also after the first session you will have a better idea of your hair and healing characteristics. However I know there are practical considerations that might make this a difficult option for some people.

Another thing to remember, doctors on their websites will be showing their best work just like artists show their best pieces in their portfolios. There have been poor results from just about every doctor on the planet (including guys like Rahal who have admittedly done some of my favorite hairlines--nobody can bat 1.0) so as a patient your job is to do as much as possible to minimize the risk to yourself. topcat seems to have a lot of useful advice on that.

As for Keser, maybe this is unfounded personal bias, but I too would feel uncomfortable traveling outside of "first world" countries to get cosmetic surgery of this kind. What legal options would you have if there is malpractice? How easily could you get repair work done if the result is bad (not that you would necessarily want repair work by the same doctor if things go wrong)?
One red flag for me looking at his website: the claim of "no scarring" in the donor area from FUE. This is on the front page in the upperleft hand corner. People need to know that every hair transplant introduces some amount of scar tissue to the scalp, and scarring from FUE is much less noticeable, but you aren't going to come out of the procedure with completely "virgin" tissue in your donor region if you get this done. The fact that his website claims otherwise makes me a little uneasy.

[Highlander]

Originally Posted by Delphi

Personally I would not feel comfortable, but that's an individual choice. I would also feel a little concerned about the doctor being fatigued doing all the work himself. Sounds good on paper, but 700 grafts all by himself both extracting and implanting will be a long tiring day. Did you check out Dr. Mwamba’s prices? He trained with Cole and he’s in Belgium. Might be worth a look.

Supposing that the extraction of the grafts is as difficult as the insertion, he is only doing 1,400 grafts per day.

Perhaps you have a naiive view of the HT industry, but FUT is popular for a reason. HT surgeons can do well over 10,000 grafts per day using that method.

You are sorely mistaken. His 700 graft limit shows he is concerned about quality, and also not concerned about profiteering off his patients. Please find me another surgeon that has a limit that low. The only other I can think of is Gho at 2,000 per session / per nine months which is set for scarring reasons.

[Highlander]

No scarring is possible with FUE, as long as the surgeon is using a fine enough tool. Gho also achieves "no scarring" via his method. You also need to consider that Keser, as far as I'm aware, is only doing smaller sessions which helps with the healing.

Under 2k according to Dr Gho allows for the best healing, whereas when you are doing mega-sessions the body just simply isn't able to recover properly.

I am not that concerned with the website, I am more concerned with the results and patient feedback that has been posted on various hairloss forums across the web. And based on those I've not seen a single negative comment, nor a single HT that I wouldn't be happy to have myself. I suppose that is why I'm thinking Dr Keser is a valid option.

[chrisis]

Highlander, what's your skype? I'll add you. I want to share links and chat if possible

I'd put mine out but it's my surname and my surname is quite rare.

[Delphi]

Originally Posted by Highlander

Supposing that the extraction of the grafts is as difficult as the insertion, he is only doing 1,400 grafts per day.

Perhaps you have a naiive view of the HT industry, but FUT is popular for a reason. HT surgeons can do well over 10,000 grafts per day using that method.

You are sorely mistaken. His 700 graft limit shows he is concerned about quality, and also not concerned about profiteering off his patients. Please find me another surgeon that has a limit that low. The only other I can think of is Gho at 2,000 per session / per nine months which is set for scarring reasons.

I understand your reasoning but it is not entirely correct. Manuel FUE is an extremely labor intensive procedure that takes great concentration and dexterity. Most doctors who still do manual extraction will do no more than 1000 extractions per day, and then create the sites and have the technicians place the grafts. This still takes the whole day to do it right. It’s not about profits it's about quality of care. Hey Kesser might be great, but I would not be comfortable and this is just a matter of personal preference.