Pilofocus timeline

[Le Bald]

Hi all,

don't often post on here, but just a brief background is that I am a 33 year old Australian male - NW 3.5 that has been visibly balding for about 6 1/2 years. I have been on Rogaine for 5 years - tried Propecia but got sides and quit.

One of the main reasons that I am so self-conscious of my baldness is that I am a single guy who is looking to settle down and find a girl. I think a lot of guys here would be in the same boat and Spencer has touched on it before that the main reason baldness really sucks for men is when you are trying to find a wife.

Having read so many of the posts/comments, it seems to me that, even optimitistically, a full-blown baldness cure is AT LEAST 10 years away if not longer. I am not trying to be pessimistic with this statement, I am just trying to be realistic. If it is, say 15 years away, at least our balding brethren at that time won't have to go through what we are all going through.

However, not trying to wallow in self-pity but this doesn't help me much. Having said that I want to do something positive and constructive with my baldness. I am looking at CB in addition to rogaine and I want to have a hair transplant.

It seems to me that Pilofocus is looking like a viable treatment. Just a few questions:
* My understanding is that Dr Carlos Wesley is trialling this procedure at the moment. Has he set a release date when this will be available as a treatment at his clinic?
* I am in Australia, so what timeline would it be after Dr Carlos Wesley has shared the techniques with other surgeons that it will be available at other clinics? Will this be Wesley-centric technique/technology for some time after he completes his trials?

My point is that I want to do something sooner rather than later with the best technology that is coming out relatively soon. I can't wait for a full blown hair loss cure because that could be decades away.

Cheers,

Le Bald

[kobefan234]

Hi all,

don't often post on here, but just a brief background is that I am a 33 year old Australian male - NW 3.5 that has been visibly balding for about 6 1/2 years. I have been on Rogaine for 5 years - tried Propecia but got sides and quit.

One of the main reasons that I am so self-conscious of my baldness is that I am a single guy who is looking to settle down and find a girl. I think a lot of guys here would be in the same boat and Spencer has touched on it before that the main reason baldness really sucks for men is when you are trying to find a wife.

Having read so many of the posts/comments, it seems to me that, even optimitistically, a full-blown baldness cure is AT LEAST 10 years away if not longer. I am not trying to be pessimistic with this statement, I am just trying to be realistic. If it is, say 15 years away, at least our balding brethren at that time won't have to go through what we are all going through.

However, not trying to wallow in self-pity but this doesn't help me much. Having said that I want to do something positive and constructive with my baldness. I am looking at CB in addition to rogaine and I want to have a hair transplant.

It seems to me that Pilofocus is looking like a viable treatment. Just a few questions:
* My understanding is that Dr Carlos Wesley is trialling this procedure at the moment. Has he set a release date when this will be available as a treatment at his clinic?
* I am in Australia, so what timeline would it be after Dr Carlos Wesley has shared the techniques with other surgeons that it will be available at other clinics? Will this be Wesley-centric technique/technology for some time after he completes his trials?

My point is that I want to do something sooner rather than later with the best technology that is coming out relatively soon. I can't wait for a full blown hair loss cure because that could be decades away.

Cheers,

Le Bald

absolutely

[fred970]

Seriously, I don't think pilofocus will become the new gold standard. FUE is working pretty well in the hands of the right surgeons and it has been around for 15 years now. I chose FUE over waiting for pilofocus exactly for the same reasons I chose PRK over LASIK for my myopia surgery.

What is the actual benefit of pilofocus compared to FUE? No scarring? Come on, if you displace a graft, they will be no hair there, so it will be white anyway. More yield? What 5, 10%? Would that justify the higher costs? The fact that you have to travel to New York?

I see a lot of these threads with people pondering if they should wait for pilofocus. I see it as an other excuse to not take the plunge with a FUE. It ables some sufferers to stay in their misery. Some people like the feeling of pretending that "we have nothing to treat MPB!".

I've just had 2000 grafts FUE in Belgium as a 24 year old NW5 for only 4500€. Let's say I had waited for pilofocus to become mainstream (after Wesley will have trained other surgeons) and ready for 2000 grafts sessions. Most likely I would have waited until the 2020's, and would have spent the rest of my 20's still bald. Plus 2000 grafts for a FUE hair transplant in the US is already very high, so pilofocus... I think it would have costed me like 20000€, not counting the flight ticket, the hotel etc.

Not, worth, it.

[Hicks]

I have to agree with Fred. I took meds for a year with no sides before I had my HT. If I had sides I would look into PRP. I know PRP is not proven but it's really hard to know. Usually with Fin it takes 8 months to even see a change. If PRP just keeps you from losing more you might not really notice it.

I had FUE from Cole. I had to do something. I'm 34 and I am was not waiting for an unproven technique. 1 year on meds then another year waiting for fur to grow. 2 years of dealing with this mess. What ever you do start saving money.

I will try a PRP treatment in a few months.

[fuzzyballs]

Seriously, I don't think pilofocus will become the new gold standard. FUE is working pretty well in the hands of the right surgeons and it has been around for 15 years now. I chose FUE over waiting for pilofocus exactly for the same reasons I chose PRK over LASIK for my myopia surgery.

What is the actual benefit of pilofocus compared to FUE? No scarring? Come on, if you displace a graft, they will be no hair there, so it will be white anyway. More yield? What 5, 10%? Would that justify the higher costs? The fact that you have to travel to New York?

I see a lot of these threads with people pondering if they should wait for pilofocus. I see it as an other excuse to not take the plunge with a FUE. It ables some sufferers to stay in their misery. Some people like the feeling of pretending that "we have nothing to treat MPB!".

I've just had 2000 grafts FUE in Belgium as a 24 year old NW5 for only 4500€. Let's say I had waited for pilofocus to become mainstream (after Wesley will have trained other surgeons) and ready for 2000 grafts sessions. Most likely I would have waited until the 2020's, and would have spent the rest of my 20's still bald. Plus 2000 grafts for a FUE hair transplant in the US is already very high, so pilofocus... I think it would have costed me like 20000€, not counting the flight ticket, the hotel etc.

Not, worth, it.

Dude you're still bald, 2000 grafts is bugger all, as your hair continues to thin if you're not on fin or min than you'll have to keep getting hair transplants.

FUE / FUT scars... they all suck.

Also the 2020 is total speculation. Pilofocus could be here next year for all we know and it might turn out to have 15% extra yield. We have no idea.

And yes I would like that extra 15% yield if I had a choice :P

[fuzzyballs]

Also Pilofocus is going to be cheaper than FUE and FUT. If you'd waited a year you might have got zero scars, 15% extra yield for less $$$$.

Isnt that right Arisha/Arista (I always forget who is who).... except now I'm just speculating in the other direction.

All we can do bro is hope that its cheaper. Lobby for cheaper prices!!!! And hope that it happens soon.

[fred970]

And, thank you for proving my point. I suppose you haven't seen the topic about my FUE: http://www.baldtruthtalk.com/showthread.php?t=16218

If you call that "still bald", but you must be one of those guys who will only accept the hair line and density they had when they were 12.

My hair loss was stabilized, well everything was pretty much gone so...

Look at my donor, seriously, the surgeon used a 0,8 mm punch, I don't think it will leave any visible scars at all, unless you know people who are walking around with magnifying glasses.

Pilofocus, cheaper than 4500€ for 2000 grafts? Yeah right...

[hellouser]

Also Pilofocus is going to be cheaper than FUE and FUT. If you'd waited a year you might have got zero scars, 15% extra yield for less $$$$.

Isnt that right Arisha/Arista (I always forget who is who).... except now I'm just speculating in the other direction.

All we can do bro is hope that its cheaper. Lobby for cheaper prices!!!! And hope that it happens soon.

It's not going to be cheaper. It SHOULD cost less if the time required to perform the procedure is reduced; majority of costs are in the doctors time. There's no 'raw materials' we need to pay for for Dr. Wesley to produce.

[Hicks]

You're better to negotiate a price. Think about this.
1. Get 2 guys together that needs 2,000 grafts
2. Agree on a Dr. and a day to have the OP done
3. Ask the Dr. to drop rate for 2 guys showing up on the same day for 2,000 grafts each.

Even ask if you can be put on a list to replace guys that back out last minute.

[clarence]

I see a lot of these threads with people pondering if they should wait for pilofocus. I see it as an other excuse to not take the plunge with a FUE. It ables some sufferers to stay in their misery. Some people like the feeling of pretending that "we have nothing to treat MPB!".

Do we have anything.... for people younger than 30? Provided that you aren't thinning all-over in a clear pattern, maybe like yourself?

[fred970]

Not much I admit, it's true that you have to be bald to get a FUE and more or less be done with it.

It must be hard for a 25 young NW2's who are slowly receding.

[Le Bald]

I understand people's concerns with pilofocus, but are there any answers to my original questions?

1. What is the timeline for having pilofocus @ Dr Carlos Wesley's office for treatment beyond trials?
2. What timeline can we expect adoption for pilofocus for other surgeons to adopt it?

Cheers,

Le Bald

[fred970]

1. mid-2015 if I remember well. That's vague I know but it was supposed to be available already.

2. After that, he'll have to train the surgeons who are willing to learn it, after he presented it at some conferences. My guess would be mid-2017.

A lot of guesses, but we do not know. Let's see when Artista comes back for his... pilofocus, are we calling it that way, like we would say FUE?

[Artista]

Hi Fred hi everyone,
I haven't been as active here lately ..so much to do at home and work.
We had a death in the family too. We are all doing OK now-thanks.

I certainly will update everybody on my experience once it happens.
I have yet to hear from Dr Wesley but I am confident that either, late Spring or early Summertime he will be contacting me for Phase Testing scheduling.
The instrumentation updating that is underway was/is intensive so patience certainly is a virtue.
Hope everyone is doing OK , Desmond must really be enjoying his time out in S. Korea. He has been doing a very good job of it. Cheers-Stay Strong

[FearTheLoss]

Could you talk to dr Wesley about us seeing the PowerPoint spence and you saw? I, and everyone else here, just really want to get a better idea of why you guys are so excited about it.