Scheduled An FUE Session: Need Some Advice!

[Cookieboy]

I think you have a nice set of goals honestly. You have got to be putting in some serious thought on this. Hope it goes as well as you're shooting for!

[Sean]

Hello,

I have an FUE session scheduled with a top hair transplant Doctor, and I wanted some last minute advice.


MY STATUS:

I am a Norwood 3 vertex with temple recession and a thinning crown.
In the future, I will likely be a Norwood 5 or 6 (this can be seen by the already thinning hairs in the area between my temples and crown). It's passable for now, but will likely continue to thin out on the top of my head and bald over time.

My drug regimen includes nothing, as I can't handle the side effects of Minoxidil or Finasteride.
I am 38 years of age.
My loss is slow but steady, taking about 12 years to progress to where it is today.

MY PLAN:

I am looking to fill in my temples in the first hair transplant, and do a second hair transplant a year down the road to fill the crown.
I am expecting to do a third hair transplant in the future, to address further balding in my hairline, forelock, and midscalp areas (that won't be filled in during my first two hair transplants).

All of these planned hair transplants are going to be FUE.
Since I plan to do the entire top of my head, this will likely result in a significant amount of follicular units being used (I assume 5,000 FUEs? I dunno) as well as doing some damage to my donor area (since it is FUE).

MY GOALS:

1. My short term goals are... to give myself a nice framed hairline, and cover the bald spot in the crown...finally allowing me to sport a hairstyle that doesn't look like I am trying to hide bald spots.

2. My long term goals are... to provide some stubble all over my scalp, so it can look half decent when I shave it down to a one or two guard (after I've simply lost too many hairs to maintain a decent hairstyle) and hopefully not show any noticeable FUE scarring (so that nobody will ever know that I had a hair transplant).

I had hoped to do SMP to cover any FUE scarring and maybe fill out any gaps in the top of the head, but a lot of the SMP examples I've seen online do not look that great. Also, there aren't that many resources on finding a top SMP clinic, and there is also the health issue of constantly having to put ink in your scalp.

MY ASK TO ANYONE ON THIS FORUM...

Is my plan a viable one?
Are my goals realistically achievable?
Or is this just a pipedream that looks like it's going to fail?


Any responses are much appreciated. Thanks.

Answer: imo it's 50/50 odds.

For better chances of success, The surgical protocol needs to be on point. If safely and meticulously done, your odds increase. Working around native hairs probably is risky especially if the doc dense packs it more than 60cm2 in those native hair filled recipient zones imo. Make sure the hairline design is well designed and properly framed inclusive of temple work and is even. Some docs may have a habit of keeping the left side lower and the right side higher in elevation. You do not want to deal with hairline issues later on. Make sure the doc marks your hairline with a skinnier pen or marker, if they use a thick line marker, it can throw you off of the real hairline which could be starting behind the thick marking. Take plenty of photos during hairline design and before and after and keep everything well documented. Make sure donor extractions are well placed and spread out so you do not have any shockloss issues or uneven donor depleted areas that may look like distinct halos later on. Most of all, best of luck to you and i wish you the best, hope you have a safe procedure.

[jschwartz]

Hello,

I have an FUE session scheduled with a top hair transplant Doctor, and I wanted some last minute advice.


MY STATUS:

I am a Norwood 3 vertex with temple recession and a thinning crown.
In the future, I will likely be a Norwood 5 or 6 (this can be seen by the already thinning hairs in the area between my temples and crown). It's passable for now, but will likely continue to thin out on the top of my head and bald over time.

My drug regimen includes nothing, as I can't handle the side effects of Minoxidil or Finasteride.
I am 38 years of age.
My loss is slow but steady, taking about 12 years to progress to where it is today.

MY PLAN:

I am looking to fill in my temples in the first hair transplant, and do a second hair transplant a year down the road to fill the crown.
I am expecting to do a third hair transplant in the future, to address further balding in my hairline, forelock, and midscalp areas (that won't be filled in during my first two hair transplants).

All of these planned hair transplants are going to be FUE.
Since I plan to do the entire top of my head, this will likely result in a significant amount of follicular units being used (I assume 5,000 FUEs? I dunno) as well as doing some damage to my donor area (since it is FUE).

MY GOALS:

1. My short term goals are... to give myself a nice framed hairline, and cover the bald spot in the crown...finally allowing me to sport a hairstyle that doesn't look like I am trying to hide bald spots.

2. My long term goals are... to provide some stubble all over my scalp, so it can look half decent when I shave it down to a one or two guard (after I've simply lost too many hairs to maintain a decent hairstyle) and hopefully not show any noticeable FUE scarring (so that nobody will ever know that I had a hair transplant).

I had hoped to do SMP to cover any FUE scarring and maybe fill out any gaps in the top of the head, but a lot of the SMP examples I've seen online do not look that great. Also, there aren't that many resources on finding a top SMP clinic, and there is also the health issue of constantly having to put ink in your scalp.

MY ASK TO ANYONE ON THIS FORUM...

Is my plan a viable one?
Are my goals realistically achievable?
Or is this just a pipedream that looks like it's going to fail?


Any responses are much appreciated. Thanks.