HASCI - which surgeon?

[HandyMan]

Hi everyone,

I am a norwood 5 / 6 and planning on getting a HST treatment done with HASCI. I know there are the arguments for the lack of / no regeneration in donor area but I can accept that in order to have a scar free treatment as my hair is quite thin so cannot risk any scar.

Is there anyone else on this forum that had a HST treatment for a norwood 5? I don't expect full coverage by any means, but even to create a shadow at the top of my forehead would be an improvement. I will always have a buzz cut but feel the light stubble effect will help my appearance.

Can anyone recommend which surgeon is best to go for in the Maastricht clinic? I have been in touch with Deborah Smaal... so I think she will do it - has anyone any experience of her work / ability to do a good technical & aesthetic look? I have been told Dr Gho does not do surgeries anymore.

Does anyone else have any other advice? How long is recovery time so the scabs / redness etc are gone? How soon should the results be seen?

All advice welcome thanks!

[hellouser]

I'd recommend you don't get it done at all.

If youre after scarless then wait for Pilofocus to come to the market from Dr. Wesley. Yield rates with Pilofocus are significantly higher than FUE. HST results look pretty thin and not worth it. As has been mentioned by forum members here, if HST did in fact offer regeneration, HASCI would have no problem with patients coming back for 20+ procedures however they have stated on numerous occasions they advise only THREE procedures. This is a red flag for what I would consider dubious claims from Dr. Gho.

Anyway, Pilofocus should be the only option. The other benefit with it is that you'll be able to use hair from your nape which was previously impossible to due.

[HandyMan]

Hi Hellouser, thanks for the reply.

I don't really know much about pilofocus...I've come across a few different / new treatments in this forum but they always seem like IF they did work it'll always be way into the future - that is why I am seriously considering HASCI - purely because it is here now and I really feel I can't keep waiting. In real terms, when do you think pilofocus will be available in the market for people to start using?

[hellouser]

Hi Hellouser, thanks for the reply.

I don't really know much about pilofocus...I've come across a few different / new treatments in this forum but they always seem like IF they did work it'll always be way into the future - that is why I am seriously considering HASCI - purely because it is here now and I really feel I can't keep waiting. In real terms, when do you think pilofocus will be available in the market for people to start using?

Watch this video, it explains Pilofocus in full detail:

https://vimeo.com/77919975

Password: piloscopy

When will it be available? For smaller procedures its supposed to be ready end of this year, for 1,000 grafts or more it may be ready end of this year or early next year. I'd definitely wait.

[HandyMan]

Thanks, looks very promising.


Does anyone else have any thoughts whether I should wait for Pilofocus in the hope it comes onto the market soon or would anyone else suggest going to HASCI for a treatment now rather than waiting..... all opinions welcome! Thanks

[Arashi]

When I went to HASCI I didn't know that much about the (artistic) skill difference between a good and bad doctor. I asked for Gho, but they said he was very busy, but there were other doctors and they said "the doctor just punches the slits, any doctor can do that", so I went with the doctor with the shortest wait period, which was Kristel.

This is my result after 1 1/2 year now: http://postimg.org/image/uhoqmfm5z/

Apart from the fact that it's very thin (remember that at HASCI you will only get average of 1.3 hair/graft, so you will need to go at least twice for decent coverage), the angles are totally incorrect (click on it to zoom and you will see it even much better). So I would advise to go with one of the other doctors and probably would advise to book Gho himself, since he also did the celebs himself.

Good luck !

[Arashi]

BTW, what I would advise is to really think about a FUE instead of a HST. There are some wonderful doctors out there with great artistic skills. Recently I saw these 2 photo's of some clinic I wont name (I'm not here to represent hem) but you will find similar results from other good FUE surgeons:

http://postimg.org/image/edfg5bsxl/

http://postimg.org/image/87u34jtlf/

Compare that to my result, LOL. Of course you will get micro scarring and it WILL be visible if you shave it down to less than 3 mm, but the trade-off here is that there are FUE surgens with MUCH better artistic skills than the people at HASCI plus you will get a lot more hair per surgery ! At this point, if I could do it over again, I would probably have gone to a top FUE surgeon instead of HASCI and just accept the micro scarring as a trade-off for a much nicer result.

[garethbale]

I'd definitely opt for FUE over HST.

I'm still very unconvinced by HST. If donor regeneration was really occurring as they say then there would be guys with full heads of hair now, which there isn't.

There are some superb FUE surgeons out there who will give you an artistic look and try to minimise scarring (which should be very slight)

Just do research and due diligence, visit surgeons and clinics if possible and take your time when deciding

All the best

[Barron]

Handyman, have you ever considered a combination of FUE (or HST) and temporary SMP for the buzzed look? I know many have reservations against tattooing their scalp, but, personally, my hairloss is too aggressive for anything else available, so it's the best option I got!

[ss1980]

Does anyone have any idea when pilofocus will become available, I dont expect any sort of regeneration or doubling, at this point it is a pipe dream but having scarless HT with fut yield appeals to me.

As for HST, results will be so thin its not even funny, as nw6 you will need 15 000 gho grafts to have some sort of illusion, it will take ages and lots of $$. In fact as nw 6 you can consider yourself lucky if they manage to give you 5-6000 grafts, as they dont like givin more than that to high nws since it would damage donor too much.

[HandyMan]

BTW, what I would advise is to really think about a FUE instead of a HST. There are some wonderful doctors out there with great artistic skills. Recently I saw these 2 photo's of some clinic I wont name (I'm not here to represent hem) but you will find similar results from other good FUE surgeons:

http://postimg.org/image/edfg5bsxl/

http://postimg.org/image/87u34jtlf/

Compare that to my result, LOL. Of course you will get micro scarring and it WILL be visible if you shave it down to less than 3 mm, but the trade-off here is that there are FUE surgens with MUCH better artistic skills than the people at HASCI plus you will get a lot more hair per surgery ! At this point, if I could do it over again, I would probably have gone to a top FUE surgeon instead of HASCI and just accept the micro scarring as a trade-off for a much nicer result.

Thanks Arashi... Do you mind me asking what norwood scale you were at before you had the treatment? Do you have a before photo to compare? The reason I was avoiding FUE was because of scarring...I have very thin hair and my hair colour is blonde so any scarring at all will be noticeable I would imagine particularly as I plan on wearing it as a buzz cut...

I presume any FUE will have scarring?

[hellouser]

I presume any FUE will have scarring?

Correct. Even if minimal, its still there and will be noticeable if you shave down.

[HandyMan]

I'd definitely opt for FUE over HST.

I'm still very unconvinced by HST. If donor regeneration was really occurring as they say then there would be guys with full heads of hair now, which there isn't.

There are some superb FUE surgeons out there who will give you an artistic look and try to minimise scarring (which should be very slight)

Just do research and due diligence, visit surgeons and clinics if possible and take your time when deciding

All the best

Hi GarethBale... as I mentioned above the reason I was opting for HST was purely because it is scarless - not because of regeneration claims... I have very thin blonde hair and plan to always wear my hair as a buzz cut or at least very tight, so I presumed FUE was not an option because of scarring....I presume it would be visible given my hair type...

[HandyMan]

Correct. Even if minimal, its still there and will be noticeable if you shave down.

Yes so based on that..this is the reason I was opting for HST as I felt it was the only option for me? I would if Pilofocus was an option now...but would find it difficult to wait another year or two....

[hellouser]

Yes so based on that..this is the reason I was opting for HST as I felt it was the only option for me? I would if Pilofocus was an option now...but would find it difficult to wait another year or two....

Give it a year and keep an eye out on developments with Pilofocus. Essentially the method is already working however engineers are trying to perfect the device before it goes commercial. Shouldn't be long.