New user; 7-weeks post-procedure

[jetfan11]

Shock Loss with Niedbalski

Win,

I also had HT with Niedbalski and prp acell. I have had a horrific amount of shock loss. I am 3 months 2 weeks out from surgery and very little recovery. I mean beyond devastating. Did your shock loss ever grow back? Also I have heard prp and acell treatments can cause hairloss. Please advise.

[yeahyeahyeah]

I'll post some close-ups of the hairline later, but this'll let you see how it looks when combined with my face.

The only problem now is that I'm tempted to get another procedure to drop down the temples a little bit... although I probably should just leave well enough alone.

Very symmetrical face - are you a model?

[win200]

Very symmetrical face - are you a model?

Haha, thanks! Nope, I'm a corporate lawyer (nearly as sexy a career, obviously). I just got lucky in the genes department.

[win200]

Win,

I also had HT with Niedbalski and prp acell. I have had a horrific amount of shock loss. I am 3 months 2 weeks out from surgery and very little recovery. I mean beyond devastating. Did your shock loss ever grow back? Also I have heard prp and acell treatments can cause hairloss. Please advise.

Hi Jet,

Some of my shock loss grew back, some didn't. Keep in mind that my age (under thirty), active hair loss, and the fact that I was not on meds put me in the highest risk category for shock loss. I doubt my shock loss will fully recover, but if those hairs were on their way out anyway, that's to be expected.

I've never heard that PRP and ACell cause hair loss; where'd you come across that? Some folks, like Niedbalski, Jerry Cooley, and others, believe that it can invigorate weakened follicles. But I've never heard a claim that it INCREASES hair loss; I'd be curious about that.

Why don't you post some clear before and after pics, as well as background about yourself? I'd love to see another example of Niedbalski's work. Also, are you in the greater Seattle/Tacoma area?

[win200]

Also, Jet, if you'd like to chat more, please email me at winfield.martin@gmail.com.

[gillenator]

It's very probable that when some patients state that PRP/Acell treatments caused them some additional hairloss, they are experiencing some temporary shedding. I have not heard of this myself but it's my guess that was the culprit, some of the follicles retreating into telogen. But they do rest and re-enter the growth phase once again.

[jetfan11]

Niedbalski shock loss

Win,

Thanks for your response. When did you notice shock loss startng to recover? Also could you tell the difference between shock loss recovering and new grafts growing in?

[win200]

Win,

Thanks for your response. When did you notice shock loss startng to recover? Also could you tell the difference between shock loss recovering and new grafts growing in?

It's really tough to say on both counts. The hardest thing about the process is that it's so gradual that you can't tell it's happening until you notice, one day, that there's been some recovery. It also helped that I chopped my hair short, which caused it to fall forward in the direction that the follicles grow, which kept the hair from being pulled back and exposing any thinness to view. I think it's worth mentioning that I have *not* recovered to full, pre-op density, nor do I expect to. I was probably destined for some thinning in my forelock, and the procedure just shocked out hair that was going to go soon anyway. So while it's annoying, I don't really mind and it's not very noticeable. I do wish I'd been on Propecia *beforehand* rather than only after, because it's fairly well established that being on Propecia can help prevent shock loss. That's my only real beef with Dr. Niedbalski, who I like and trust--that he didn't encourage me to stabilize my hair loss with medications before going under the knife. Having active loss without medication adds a huge element of uncertainty to a procedure and increases the chance of a bad outcome, in my opinion.

[jetfan11]

shock loss

Well I'm glad it worked out OK for you. Unfortunately I've lost a ton of hair and its very noticeable to say the least. I can only hope that some of it comes back. I think its unethical of Niedbalski to not warn people of shock loss when they are working in areas with lots of hair. Also my ignorance for not looking into it on my own. I have heard terminal hair comes back and most of my loss were grafts so we shall see.

You have EXTREMELY thick hair that certainly did not look weak or thin I woulda thought yours would have grown back.

So of shockloss that actually recovered for you at what month did it start to improve. Like I said I'm at about 3 and not much recovery going on.

[win200]

Well I'm glad it worked out OK for you. Unfortunately I've lost a ton of hair and its very noticeable to say the least. I can only hope that some of it comes back. I think its unethical of Niedbalski to not warn people of shock loss when they are working in areas with lots of hair. Also my ignorance for not looking into it on my own. I have heard terminal hair comes back and most of my loss were grafts so we shall see.

You have EXTREMELY thick hair that certainly did not look weak or thin I woulda thought yours would have grown back.

So of shockloss that actually recovered for you at what month did it start to improve. Like I said I'm at about 3 and not much recovery going on.

I'm very sorry to hear that you're having bad shock loss. You should post some pictures and you'll get some good feedback. If you don't want to post them publicly, I'd be happy to take a look if you send them to my email listed above. And FYI, I have no association with Dr. Niedbalski beyond my status as a patient of his. I'm happy with his work, but I also recognize that all experiences vary and I have no vested interest in trying to improve your opinion of him--just in providing helpful feedback. I think I only saw improvement around the six-month mark. It's a very long and protracted process, and I looked like crap (to my eyes at least; we're all our own worst critics) until six, six-and-a-half months. At three months you're at the point where most post-op patients look the absolute worst, so hold off final judgment for awhile. Usually, 18 months is considered the point at which the "final" result is visible, so you've got a long way to go.

[jetfan11]

shock loss

I'm confused. Your shock loss never fully recovered and you never got back to your pre op density, but your happy with his work? How is that?

[win200]

I'm confused. Your shock loss never fully recovered and you never got back to your pre op density, but your happy with his work? How is that?

Part of it is accepting reality: I have MPD. Therefore, I'm gonna lose some of my hair. Specifically, in my case, in the forelock area. Shock loss is an inherent risk in a hair transplant, and there's frequently little to nothing that a surgeon can do about it. A surgeon needs to be careful not to transplant too far back into the existing hairline, but I don't think Niedbalski did in my case. The bottom line is that his hairline design was natural, my scar is barely visible, and he used a conservative design that didn't blow through a lot of grafts but still got me what I wanted. A minor sacrifice in the immediate frontal density--of hair that I was going to lose anyway--is perfectly acceptable to me. I have no reason to think that that shock loss wouldn't have happened with any other surgeon. These guys are incredibly talented, but they're not magicians, and they can't control your body's normal reactions to a surgical procedure, nor can they necessarily predict it.

[jetfan11]

niedbalski

Well I think there lies the difference. Most of your grafts were not in areas where there was hair. All of. My grafts were in areas where there was hair. My procudure blew out almost all of the hair. In those areas. Sounds to me like you lost some density where he put new grafts but most of your grafts were not placed in areas of existing hair and grew in nicely.

Sound right?

[win200]

Well I think there lies the difference. Most of your grafts were not in areas where there was hair. All of. My grafts were in areas where there was hair. My procudure blew out almost all of the hair. In those areas. Sounds to me like you lost some density where he put new grafts but most of your grafts were not placed in areas of existing hair and grew in nicely.

Sound right?

That's true. If you look at my one-week post op pics, you can see that the grafts lowered my hairline and went barely into the existing hairline. My existing hairline sort of retreated a bit, like it was recoiling from the incisions--which is entirely consistent with shock loss; the scalp reacts to being sliced and diced.

That being said, it is *not* necessarily irresponsible of a surgeon to transplant into existing areas that are diminishing in density. I'm seen work from some of the very best surgeons, like Dr. Feller, who transplant into areas where there's currently hair in order to "beef up" density. It's just such a case-by-case evaluation.

How old are you, BTW?

[jetfan11]

niedbalski

I didn't say it was unnethical for him to put grafts where I have density. I said as a surgeon you need to warn people of the risks associated with it. Its commonplace that placing hair where there is hair has significant risk. I also think destroying ALL of exisitng hair where you placed new hair without question the sign of bad work. Especially if the hair lost in my case is previously grafted hair.

I don't think Niedbalski is in same league as Feller or many other doctors. I've read several posts including yours of people who had terrible shock loss with Niedbalski.

I liked him. I thought we was a good guy. I chose to go with him. But my result is w/o question the sign of bad work and to not mention shock loss especially when transplanting heavy into existing hair is not right. Make no mistake I am responsible as well. Didn't do enough research. Hopefully all this shock loss recovers. If not it may well have ruined my life.