New user; 7-weeks post-procedure

[gillenator]

I remember him joining MHR just before I left. I had never ever seen MHR use any scopes to dissect whatsoever and had visited and observed their clinic locations in several states. IMHO, I would rate his results similiar to a Dr. in the same area or even a Dr. Ziering, another former MHR doctor who practices in California.

My guess then is that he instituted scopes in his private practice. IMHO, cutting down the hair length within the recipient area is the best way to note direction and angulation. The longer the hair length, the more gravity pulls the hair shafts downward and can be misleading. Many docs will buzz the area down to about a 1/4 inch in length to see the acute angulation of the shorter hair shafts.

I would still give it time and see how the overall yield manifests. I feel better about Win's comments who also had the same doctor.

[gillenator]

I think it was a Dr. Melvin Meyer that also was an MHR doctor in the Seattle and Portland area and I think he was with MHR when Dr. Niedbalski started with MHR.

You see, Bosley bought out MHR several years ago and not sure if Dr. Mel Meyer went with them or if he is now retired. From what I remember, Dr. Meyer was a good guy.

My impression of Dr. Niedbalski is that he is a professional, but I have not seen much of his work other than what is at his website.

[jetfan11]

niedbalski

Hair wasn't cut, but did use microscopes to dissect new grafts and make recipient holes.

I don't think new grafts will grow in as don't remember them even being there. I wasn't really looking for them but they didn't stay in very long.

My only hope is for shock loss of my previous grafts to grow in. Otherwise I'm screwed for life.

[jetfan11]

niedbalski

I know most of history.

My question is with a surgeon of his caliber what are chances he transected the follicles. Or maybe just having tough shock loss through 3.5 months.

Is transection done by only whe worst surgeons or can anyone outside the elite really screw up and damge follicles?

[gillenator]

I know most of history.

My question is with a surgeon of his caliber what are chances he transected the follicles. Or maybe just having tough shock loss through 3.5 months.

Is transection done by only whe worst surgeons or can anyone outside the elite really screw up and damge follicles?

It really depends on each individual doctor and how meticulous their approach is when grafting within an area that has exisitng hair. Again I think someone like Dr. Niedbalski would be conscious and aware of that risk. Just the fact that he is using scopes when MHR did not, is a good sign.

Does the name Dr. Mel Meyer sound familiar?

[jetfan11]

niedbalski

No don't know the name.

This better grow back or I'm screwed.

[win200]

Just an update. I visited a surgeon yesterday to consult on a potential follow-up procedure, and I thought I'd share the comments. Out of consideration for the doctor's privacy, I'll say he's uniformly regarded as one of the very best surgeons in the world, but I'll stop short of identifying him.

I sat down with this clinic's consultant first, who participates on this forum, and his eyebrows shot up when I told him who had done my first procedure. "Niedbalski did that?" I nodded. "I have to be honest: that is far and away the best result I've ever seen from him." He brought the doctor in. "I've got a shocker for you--Niedbalski did that work." The doctor walked over and took a closer look at my hair. "Wow," he murmured.

The consultant sat down and looked me with a serious expression. "Look, Win, we don't say this lightly... but that's superb work." The doctor leveled his eyes at me and said, "You'd be crazy to touch it." They asked if I was on Propecia. When I said yes, the consultant told me, "Your hair loss worries are behind you."

All of this, obviously, was incredibly gratifying to hear. I've never seen another transplant patient in person, so I have no idea how to compare results. I really like my hairline, but I didn't have much concept of where this falls in the context of quality of work. Now that I've got one of the best docs in the world telling me that's it's so good that I shouldn't tamper with it, I'm going to take his advice. All I was curious about, anyway, was just dropping the temple corners a bit. But no one would look at the hair on my head now and ever guess I'd experience hair loss--I'm in NW1 territory.

And the doc is right--even in the hands of a great surgeon, something can always go wrong in a procedure. If it ain't broke, don't fix it. I'll definitely keep posting here, and I'll follow up with pictures soon, but I'm pretty much "over" hair loss.

[jetfan11]

niedbalski

Just an update. I visited a surgeon yesterday to consult on a potential follow-up procedure, and I thought I'd share the comments. Out of consideration for the doctor's privacy, I'll say he's uniformly regarded as one of the very best surgeons in the world, but I'll stop short of identifying him.

I sat down with this clinic's consultant first, who participates on this forum, and his eyebrows shot up when I told him who had done my first procedure. "Niedbalski did that?" I nodded. "I have to be honest: that is far and away the best result I've ever seen from him." He brought the doctor in. "I've got a shocker for you--Niedbalski did that work." The doctor walked over and took a closer look at my hair. "Wow," he murmured.

The consultant sat down and looked me with a serious expression. "Look, Win, we don't say this lightly... but that's superb work." The doctor leveled his eyes at me and said, "You'd be crazy to touch it." They asked if I was on Propecia. When I said yes, the consultant told me, "Your hair loss worries are behind you."

All of this, obviously, was incredibly gratifying to hear. I've never seen another transplant patient in person, so I have no idea how to compare results. I really like my hairline, but I didn't have much concept of where this falls in the context of quality of work. Now that I've got one of the best docs in the world telling me that's it's so good that I shouldn't tamper with it, I'm going to take his advice. All I was curious about, anyway, was just dropping the temple corners a bit. But no one would look at the hair on my head now and ever guess I'd experience hair loss--I'm in NW1 territory.

And the doc is right--even in the hands of a great surgeon, something can always go wrong in a procedure. If it ain't broke, don't fix it. I'll definitely keep posting here, and I'll follow up with pictures soon, but I'm pretty much "over" hair loss.

Wish I didn't read this as I am still no where near back to pre op from all my shock loss. From what I've heard Niedbalski is garbage as well. I should go there and ring his neck.

Also I don't say this to be mean or bc my situation sucks but the fact you even risked a transplant in the 1st place and checked in about another is crazy. You have a completely full head of hair.

[win200]

Wish I didn't read this as I am still no where near back to pre op from all my shock loss. From what I've heard Niedbalski is garbage as well. I should go there and ring his neck.

Also I don't say this to be mean or bc my situation sucks but the fact you even risked a transplant in the 1st place and checked in about another is crazy. You have a completely full head of hair.

Well, I'm glad I took the plunge and did it, because I have a result I'm thrilled about.

But something to keep in mind: I was *pissed* about the way my hair looked until about 7-8 months. Most people claim that you start looking decent at 3 months, but that certainly wasn't the case for me. I was *positive* that I'd had a botched procedure. So don't lose hope--you can have horrible-looking results at 3-4 months that look beautiful in double that time. So wait until at least August until you decide to wring his neck. :-p

[john2399]

Well, I'm glad I took the plunge and did it, because I have a result I'm thrilled about.

But something to keep in mind: I was *pissed* about the way my hair looked until about 7-8 months. Most people claim that you start looking decent at 3 months, but that certainly wasn't the case for me. I was *positive* that I'd had a botched procedure. So don't lose hope--you can have horrible-looking results at 3-4 months that look beautiful in double that time. So wait until at least August until you decide to wring his neck. :-p

Im curious to see a better before picture of your hairloss, the first couple of pics did not reveal too much. If you could post a clear before pic and a now pick, btw it looks really good. congrats.

[gillenator]

win,

Awesome feedback from your recent consultation.

And I agree, "why fix something that is not broken?"

Enjoy your new look my friend!

[win200]

New pics--buzzed edition!

Thought I'd resurrect the thread and post some new pics, given that it's been over three months since my last update. I got my hair buzzed to a 3 grade this morning, which made me SUPER nervous. My hair has been really long, which, as we all know, can hide thinning, leaving a stomach-churning surprise for the poor guy who buzzes down to an unforgiving length. I've been on Propecia since October, and while my loss has reduced, it hasn't ground to a halt. So I was a little nervous that the buzz was going to reveal either (a) thinning immediately behind the transplants, or (b) thinning elsewhere, like in the crown or vertex. But all went well, and I *love* the buzzed look. The transplanted area is definitely thinner than the density behind it, unsurprisingly, and I didn't like how my hair look when it was swept back, because standing the hair at my hairline straight up had a bit of a "see-through" effect, particularly given my skin tone and dark hair color. You can see that there's lower density at the forelock in the pics where my head is tipped down, but it's not a *drastic* difference. The nice thing about the buzz cut is that at this length, you see scalp even at 100% density, so when some scalp shows through in the transplanted area, it seems wholly normally. No one will notice the thinner area at the front.

All in all, I continue to be completely happy with the hairline design and graft placement. Honestly, I think this looks like a mature hairline, with maybe a very slight touch of recession at the corners. My goal with a procedure was to have a hairline that didn't look like it had suffered any MPB, and I think I got that. What would you guys call this? NW1.5? NW2?

Now I just have a rhinoplasty to look forward to in August...

[J_B_Davis]

I would call it a full head of hair! You look great!

[win200]

Thanks! I'm pretty happy with it!

[J_B_Davis]

Thanks! I'm pretty happy with it!

You should be! I never heard of your hair transplant surgeon, but he obviously knows what he is doing. Keeps us posted on how life is going for you. It's always cool to see how people get on after they feel better about themselves.

I see all of these guys spending so much time in the cutting edge section, all very unhappy people, fighting about doctors offering this BS or that BS. They are all trying to avoid doing what you have done for yourself and that's moving forward with your life with the proven stuff that we have today, like transplants and Propecia.

It's great that you're happy with everything!