Dissappointed... and confused

[gb62]

Hi - I sent some photos to one of the hair transplant clinics in Europe and received the following reply:

'We duly received your online request and pictures of your actual hair situation. Dr. ******* assessed your pictures but he unfortunately had to conclude that you are not an eligible candidate for hair restoration surgery :

Due to you major crown area, your hair loss pattern and the imbalance between the recipient and donor area. SMP could be an alternative option.'

I knew I was thinning out, but obviously not to this degree - I thought I was a NW6 and an FUT candidate.

I'm also not expecting a full of head of hair and would be happy as a NW3. The crown also isn't a priority to me. I did have an online assessment with another clinic about two years ago who said that they would suggest around 4000 grafts and my hair is pretty much now as it was then.

Should I give up on the hope of an FUT or FUE - any advice would be greatly appreciated

Best,

GB.

[FlightTL]

Hi - I sent some photos to one of the hair transplant clinics in Europe and received the following reply:

'We duly received your online request and pictures of your actual hair situation. Dr. ******* assessed your pictures but he unfortunately had to conclude that you are not an eligible candidate for hair restoration surgery :

Due to you major crown area, your hair loss pattern and the imbalance between the recipient and donor area. SMP could be an alternative option.'

I knew I was thinning out, but obviously not to this degree - I thought I was a NW6 and an FUT candidate.

I'm also not expecting a full of head of hair and would be happy as a NW3. The crown also isn't a priority to me. I did have an online assessment with another clinic about two years ago who said that they would suggest around 4000 grafts and my hair is pretty much now as it was then.

Should I give up on the hope of an FUT or FUE - any advice would be greatly appreciated

Best,

GB.

You look great the way you are!

[dutchguyhanging]

honestly these surgeons are only looking for NW3 or below candidates. then they can show to society that they could do a miracle which is nothing short of an illusion. he probably said no because he knows ur case would not be of something they can put up on their walls and show to everyone. in other words f them!!!

[gb62]

Yes I'm beginning to think the same thing - I had an email from another clinic after an online consultation that said 6000 grafts. I'm tempted to shave the whole lot off and get on with other things in life :-)!

[gb62]

Dear Dr K - thank you for taking the time to reply. I was being rather flippant in my last post. I suppose this is the problem with having an online consultation as you mention that it isn't possible to assess the other factors that contribute towards a successful FUT or FUE treatment. The clinic I initially had the refusal from was focused on FUE treatments. I'm quite realistic in terms of what can be achieved given my hair loss - I don't expect a full head of hair at my age (52) and would settle for being close to a Norwood 4 that I could keep short. I guess my next step would be to arrange a personal consultation to have a proper assessment carried out to see what could be realistically achieved with a FUSS/FUT treatment.

Best wishes,

GB.

[dutchguyhanging]

doc,
things u said are spot on!! however underlying message hides in between lines. "realistic expectations" is a BS sorry doc... i just dont believe it. what you or the top notch surgeons can offer him a slick bald hairline which is in my opinion way worse than being nw6. i ve had alot friends who got hair transplant (all high NW) and end up regretting their decisoins even more....
stick to pills and deplete your donor, well then ok u may have a chance... but is it worth taking pills and altering your hormones for the REST of your LIFE? because thats what all doctors say nowadays. do not even step into their room without taking fin or dut whatever
i honestly think pills are dangerous and transplant alone wont do any good if you are high on NW scale and again lets be honest slick bald is the worst of all kind

[dutchguyhanging]

thanks doc for ur response. so to summarize your points:

- NW1: use meds
- NW2: use meds + conservative transplant (1000 grafts or so)
- NW3: use meds + 2000 grafts or higher
- NW4-5-6: use meds + 4000 or higher grafts (thats for conservative hairline design)

its also fair assumption to say that almost 30-40% of the patients are actually coming again for restoration due to various reasons. to my humble opinion it is huge. In other words those miracles of yours are maybe 5-10% of the patients. dont you think it is huge?

well again i am only saying this for the guys who just dont want to have few hairs on top while whole crown is empty. i just think it looks really unnatural.

I also witnessed such miracle transplants in the long run. one of my closest friend actually had one of them. he was NW5 and used all his donor supply to make himself NW2 and it was pretty successful.... but only for 2 years. Afterwards due to his medical condition he needed to drop the meds and he lost almost all of his hair and became NW4-5 only in a year time. -yes these patients exist but apparently no one talks about them!!!

Unfortunately while we are aging, all sorts of medical situations may arise. In other words I just honestly dont understand how a doctor in his healthy mind could suggest his patients to use fin for the rest of his life?? After all this is not a life threatening disease. Even cancer patients are not doing chemo all the time... This is the point where we all stuck and sickened of hair loss!! and thats why we have this forum to say it out-loud.

with all due respect thats why I think hair transplant industry is just illusion. because people are so desperate to try anything. everyone speaks about how good wayne rooney hairline is.. but no one talks about the fact that he is or going to be permanently impotent.... sorry guys to lash out like this but grass is always greener on the other side (when u r doctor)

[Notcoolanymore]

everyone speaks about how good wayne rooney hairline is.. but no one talks about the fact that he is or going to be permanently impotent

Good dialogue between you and the Doc up until this point. Your point of view was actually pretty solid until you decided to start lying. Looks like your main problem isn't with transplants at all. Your problem is that hair transplantation usually involves maintaining with finasteride. You are unable to improve your situation because you refuse to take it.