Opinions Needed

[jetfan11]

Folks,

I could really use some opinions on some pics. I had 3rd transplant on 12/14 so I am am 5 months and 1 week out. I had horrific shockloss but have grown a lot back. My view is so distorted I cant even tell how close to my pre op state I am. Need some fresh eyes.

The 1st pic is before the shockloss and the others are around now. Lighting is tough because it makes photos look so different.

Could someone reply on a %'ge basis how close to pre op I am? For example if you think I have grown 60% pf the hair back I am at 60%. If you think I am 10% better say 110%. I realize its an odd request but it would help. And again I posted several photos from now so consider them all 1 photo in a sense because lighting can skew so much. BE HONEST!!!

Again 1st pic is before shockloss all the others are around now in different lighting.

[mattj]

I'm not clear on something: is the first photo from before the procedure itself?

The lighting is different but your hair definitely looks fuller in the other four photos.

I can't put a percentage on it but for 5 months post-op it looks like you're where you should be. Of course I don't know how many grafts you had.

[itsmyhairs]

You went to some random country to get it done, didn't you?

Turkey?
Far east?

[UK_]

Folks,

I could really use some opinions on some pics. I had 3rd transplant on 12/14 so I am am 5 months and 1 week out. I had horrific shockloss but have grown a lot back. My view is so distorted I cant even tell how close to my pre op state I am. Need some fresh eyes.

The 1st pic is before the shockloss and the others are around now. Lighting is tough because it makes photos look so different.

Could someone reply on a %'ge basis how close to pre op I am? For example if you think I have grown 60% pf the hair back I am at 60%. If you think I am 10% better say 110%. I realize its an odd request but it would help. And again I posted several photos from now so consider them all 1 photo in a sense because lighting can skew so much. BE HONEST!!!

Again 1st pic is before shockloss all the others are around now in different lighting.

Are you on propecia?

[gillenator]

jetfan,

I agree totally with Matt. All four post-op photos show a huge improvement in gain and coverage. For only being five months post-op, you look remarkably improved.

The first photo shows lots of diffused loss from front-to-back. In all of the other four photos, not only is there more hair volume, but the hair does not appear as diffused so you must be ahead of the timelines.

And you still have more to come!

[John P. Cole, MD]

The lighting is different, but I think you have made really great progress. It's hard to put a number on percent improvement, but I'd say 100% better though lighting can make a difference. I would say you are OK right now and you don't need more work at this time. I'd encourage you to just have fun in life now. You look awesome.

[jetfan11]

Thanks Dr. Cole. I agree the top of my poor head has had enough trauma for a while! All I want to do now is start the marathon of getting this scar to grow some hair. Coming to see you in July about that. Again thanks for the feedback.

[jetfan11]

You went to some random country to get it done, didn't you?

Turkey?
Far east?

Now had it done by independent guy in Seattle. What do you think.....how close to pre op am I?

[John P. Cole, MD]

Look, there are a few things to recognize. The first is that you can get a good hair transplant in Turkey. You can also get a bad one. What we began to do in the early 90s was to encourage good results by training. Sure some physicians caught on slower than others and some caught on faster. Take Craig Ziering for example. When I first met him, he was cutting 2 mm plugs on the scalp. Now at that time I would have never put a 2 mm plug on a scalp as we had move to true follicular units years before at that time. Some physicians are leaders and some are follower. Craig follows. The good news is he follows. Many don't. Today, most physicians produce acceptable results. The big difference today is many are moving to FUE based on all the benefits we began to preach years ago. The difference today is that FUE requires more physician surgical skill. Catching up with someone like me who has been doing FUE for 11 years is not possible. You can't doe one an month or even 20 month and catch up to someone who has done over 5000 FUE procedures. Still a good FUE procedure offers many benefits over multiple strip procedures.

You have perhaps three areas that need grafts on top. By 12 months these may be OK and need nothing. It is best to wait and see on these perhaps to next December. As far as your scar we need to look at quality of hair above and below the scar, hair growth direction above and below the scar and then the scar itself. It is far too common for physicians to focus on the scar itself and forget about hair quality and hair direction. Sometimes neither is an issue, but sometimes they are the main issue. One cannot truly assess what needs to be done without looking at the scar itself. then again one needs to know what a person wants to do regarding hair styling. Sometimes all we can do is help hide a scar. We can't conceal a scar with hair growth problems and hair quality options without a major overhaul. Every scar must be dealt with individually. Sometimes the solution is easy and sometimes it is difficult.

[jetfan11]

Good stuff. Thanks for the input.