Surgeon recommendations (ideally Ontario, Canada)

[Louish]

Rahal team told me on the phone during my first consult, I had to put some there to close the corners but not much. Well like I said when your hairline regresses there you can see it faster because of the direction of the hair is growing. So you are losing hair next to your "immortal" hair not behind so length can't hide it as well as on the front.

[patrick21]

Will Rahal advise me what to do with my temple hairline ? Or could you explain more what to be cautious of

[Louish]

I am surprised about that 4000 thing, every good places where I had consults told me not to touch my crown because I could actually lose more hair that what I would get. Seems to be the consensus to leave the crown alone until really needed. Rahal told me in both online consult and face to face as well as Dr Cole. I also only did my hairline. Be careful with the temple because of the hair not overlapping any further loss will show a lot more than on the top and front.

[patrick21]

I've had three consults

Restore by Katona recommended 1750 grafts FUE
Hassan & Wong suggested doing my whole head 4000 FUT
Rahal recommended 2500 FUE

Note that my hair loss is only my hairline temples and my frontal area. I have some thinning in the mid and and crown area but not really noticeable.

Hassan and Wong suggested so many so it would thicken my whole head.

I am not crazy about the idea of FUT though

[Louish]

No problem at all! How many grafts were you looking for?

[patrick21]

Thank you for all that great info. Makes me feel much more comfortable. Dr. Rahal seems very talented and believes he can fix my hair line and the density right behind it which is my main concern.

I do have some thinning on the top and crown but it isn't really noticeable because of my height and I only notice it when it's wet.

[Louish]

Now the recovery: You will feel some pain a few hours after as the drugs wear off but you have oxy to help you with it or you can just take Tylenol like I did. You will be pretty down for the remainder of the day and you will sleep on the lazy boy in your room to help you not sleep flat. The next morning you have your first checkup/cleanup and they will make sure nothing moved. Then they will show you that you look like Frankenstein lol. To be honest you will be beyond ugly for a few days this is why you better stay at the guesthouse where everyone looks just like you lol. If you can avoir taking a plane you can leave much earlier than if you do. The minimum waiting for a short flight is 3 days and almost a week for a long flight. This is to avoid having the altitude pressure to pop your grafts. You need to clean your scalp twice a day with baby shampoo in a spray bottle and moisture your scalp once an hour for the first few days with a saline/atp solution. Everything is provided. You can't wear anything but the surgical hat they give you for about a week and after that better use a something that is not tight or made wool or anything that will stick to your grafts. After 2 weeks you can take normal showers et after 4 weeks you can stop using the baby shampoo. At around 2 weeks you will begin losing your new hair with some old hair along with the scabs but don't freak out they will be back stronger than ever. For me the growth started after 2 months but for others it can be more. Also my donor area got very painful from day 3 until about 2 weeks in. I won't lie it did hurt like a bitch to the point of waking me up at night but it doesn't do that to everybody and it is still worth it without a doubt.
Hope this helps!

[Louish]

First, try to book on a Tuesday because the clinic is closed during the weekend and you need to see Dr Rahal the day before and you still get 3 post op daily checkup without wasting a weekend there. Also you really want to book in their guest house and not in an hotel for the convenience of being right next to the clinic and not have to face people for a few days after surgery. It about the price of an good hotel room or less and a lot of food is included. As for the surgery itself, it is going to be early probably around 8am. You will have been shaved already the day before so they will only put you in hospital clothing and give you a shot of benzo to keep you relax. Everyone is super nice and way more concerned about your confort than it's actually needed so you are in good hands. You will spend between 3 and 4 hours face down for the extractions performed by a very friendly registered male nurse and you won't feel a thing. You can ask for more anesthetic at any time with the doc's consent. They will offer you breaks way more often than you actually need to drink and eat or go to the bathroom so no worries about that. After the extractions are done, while the team is preparing the grafts in the same room, Dr Rahal will come in to make the incisions where the grafts will go, this will last for about an hour and a half. Then you eat a small lunch and you go back for the grafts to be implanted by a team of 3 quite efficient women. This will last about 2-3 hours. After everything is in place they will clean it up show it to you and Dr Rahal will come in to make sure everything like he wants it then you will be send back to room with your little care package and instructions on how to contact them if you have any question or problem.

I will write about the recovery later today.

[patrick21]

I will make 6 months after pictures in a few days I can show you that as well as a few before pictures. As for my experience just ask me anything you want to know.

Would you be able to share more about the entire day of the actual surgery? Also, how about the first few weeks of recovery.

[Louish]

I will make 6 months after pictures in a few days I can show you that as well as a few before pictures. As for my experience just ask me anything you want to know.

[patrick21]

If you are in Ontario Rahal is a no brainer, went last November for 2500 FUE graft and it went perfectly. Regrowth is already very natural after only 6 months. I suggest that you get a good idea of what you expect to do first because in any of those places they usually try to book you for the max number of grafts. But Rahal is a no B.S kind of guy and he won't tell you to put hair everywhere you don't need even if you want to. He does let most of the job being done by his team but he picked and trained them so well that this is hardly an issue. Prices are competitive too, didn't even charged me for almost 100 extra grafts. When I stayed in their quite confortable quest house I met people from all over the world, as far as Melbourne Australia and a guy from L.A coming back for the second time. He told me he wouldn't do it anywhere else and 6 months later I can say the same even though I was only a 7 hours train ride away. I don't want to sound too much like I am doing promo but I am really happy with the results. Hope this helps!

Hey Louish thanks for the feedback. I did a consult with them via pictures and phone call and am seriously considering Dr. Rahal. Would you be able to post pictures or share more about your experience?

[Louish]

If you are in Ontario Rahal is a no brainer, went last November for 2500 FUE graft and it went perfectly. Regrowth is already very natural after only 6 months. I suggest that you get a good idea of what you expect to do first because in any of those places they usually try to book you for the max number of grafts. But Rahal is a no B.S kind of guy and he won't tell you to put hair everywhere you don't need even if you want to. He does let most of the job being done by his team but he picked and trained them so well that this is hardly an issue. Prices are competitive too, didn't even charged me for almost 100 extra grafts. When I stayed in their quite confortable quest house I met people from all over the world, as far as Melbourne Australia and a guy from L.A coming back for the second time. He told me he wouldn't do it anywhere else and 6 months later I can say the same even though I was only a 7 hours train ride away. I don't want to sound too much like I am doing promo but I am really happy with the results. Hope this helps!

[patrick21]

Thanks for the responses so far.

I looked up Hassan and Wong and they seem pretty good, but I was more interested in an FUE treatment than FUT and it seems they prefer strip, but are exploring more FUE treatments.

I went on their website and they have consultations coming up in Toronto so I'll be going to see more information!


As for Dr. Rahal, is he located only in Ottawa? I've seen his names a few times now so I will also check it out. Could you tell me more about your treatment?


Love to hear more!

[brocktherock]

Dr. Rahal 100%. Im 5.5 months post op and already satisfied with my results. It seems like hasson and wong cram way too many grafts in for the results they show. Rahal has a conservative approach which is way more ethical.

[pkipling]

If you want to stay in Canada and don't mind traveling to the other side of the country, you should definitely consider Hasson & Wong in Vancouver.

I understand the appeal of wanting to stay as local as possible, but I'm glad to hear that that's not a deal breaker for you. If you happen to find a great surgeon with a solid reputation and proven track record who just so happens to be extremely close to you, then go for it. But don't make any sacrifices in any of those other areas based on convenience alone.

At first glance, I will say that you're definitely on the younger side of HT candidates - and not being able to take Propecia may complicate things for you as well. For these reasons alone, I think it's even more imperative than normal that you find a super top-notch surgeon who won't lead you astray just to make a buck. You want to find someone who is trusted in the HT community and will be upfront and honest with you about your expectations, what's possible, what's not, what's a good plan for you, etc. What you don't want is someone willing to operate on you no matter what and just tell you what you want to hear.

It seems like you have a solid head on your shoulders and are doing your due diligence regarding research. Keep asking questions, look at the doctors on here, reach out to former patients and ask them about their experience, etc. Once you've done all this, it really comes down to trusting your gut and making the decision that you think is best for you.

Hope that helps.

I am a patient advocate for Dr. Parsa Mohebi in Los Angeles, CA. My opinions/comments are my own and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Dr. Mohebi and his staff.