Dr. Rahal or Dr. Feller?

[Ziggyz123]

Hey guys, I had a consultation with dr. Feller and had an online/phone consultation with Rahal's clinic.. I need hairline work as I have a very deep widows peak. I really want to go into my existing hair so that I can stop worrying about further recession, but would also like to lower my hairline a little bit.

When I saw dr. Feller he was pretty much awesome. Such a nice guy and actually cared about my situation. He told me to come back in 6 months and then he'd reevaluate me.

I spoke with Rahal's clinic and they were equally as proffessional and genuine. I was quoted around 1300 to strengthen my hairline and 2200 if I wanted to lower it and strengthen.

My issue is that I'm 23 and am always surfing and what not so even when my hair grows back out, will the scar show when my head is wet? I Was debating just doing 1500 grafts fue with rahal and just going a tad under my hairline while strengthening behind it. But Will this make a future strip procedure or fue impossible?

I've seen some scars from Dr. Rahal and they seemed to be quite wide and stretched really far across the head.. Dr. Fellers scars are harder to locate on the Internet, but they seem to be thinner?..

Can you guys guide me on this?

[J_B_Davis]

Hey guys, I had a consultation with dr. Feller and had an online/phone consultation with Rahal's clinic.. I need hairline work as I have a very deep widows peak. I really want to go into my existing hair so that I can stop worrying about further recession, but would also like to lower my hairline a little bit.

When I saw dr. Feller he was pretty much awesome. Such a nice guy and actually cared about my situation. He told me to come back in 6 months and then he'd reevaluate me.

I spoke with Rahal's clinic and they were equally as proffessional and genuine. I was quoted around 1300 to strengthen my hairline and 2200 if I wanted to lower it and strengthen.

My issue is that I'm 23 and am always surfing and what not so even when my hair grows back out, will the scar show when my head is wet? I Was debating just doing 1500 grafts fue with rahal and just going a tad under my hairline while strengthening behind it. But Will this make a future strip procedure or fue impossible?

I've seen some scars from Dr. Rahal and they seemed to be quite wide and stretched really far across the head.. Dr. Fellers scars are harder to locate on the Internet, but they seem to be thinner?..

Can you guys guide me on this?

I would say that at 23 strip should be out of the question. You are far to young to make that type of lifelong commitment and if for some reason if doesn’t work out, you will be stuck with a strip scar for life. Both Feller and Rahal have great reputations and you will most likely get great work by either, but having a strip is a huge deal and should not be taken lightly. At least with a good FUE you can always change gears in the future if you choose not to have anymore work done and clip your hair really short.

One thing that Spencer Kobren always says on his show is that if you are under 35 you should not even consider strip surgery unless there are special circumstances, and I think those are wise words to live by. Don’t let your emotions get the best of you and take your time before making such a big decision.

[JoeTillman]

By placing new hair into your existing hair you are not preventing further recession. You don't fill a glass with water hoping to stop evaporation, the same applies to your hair. Once you have one procedure, the chance for another becomes highly likely, so don't fool yourself into thinking you'll be done.

I know both doctors personally and I worked for one of them. They don't want to do anything less than the best job possible for you but it is your responsibility to decide your own future but you can't do that unless you have all the information you need.

My advice, don't do strip. You're 23. You surf, you're active. The scar might be visible while you're in the water, it might not be, but do you want to risk that possibility? Further, don't have surgery till you know you've done everything possible to stop your loss and that means Propecia and even better, Propecia and Rogaine combined. Wait a year as your hair may actually improve negating the need for surgery. If you don't want to take meds then don't have surgery.

[Ziggyz123]

Thank you guys so much for the responses. I have been on finasteride 1.25 for 1 year and 5 months. No better and slightly more recession. I figure that being on this for as long as I have been, I'm doing all I can and now I'd like to strengthen the hairline. Joe, you're right when you say I won't prevent further loss. What I really meant was to stay on top of it more or less. fue sounds like the plan then and thank god for those replies because I was really about to do fut..

Also, Joe I watched some documenteries with you and with Spex. Thanks so much for these words. It really means a lot coming from you! And you as well, j_b_davis!

I think I'm going to go with dr. Rahal because of price even though I love dr. Feller. Is this a wise choice?

[JoeTillman]

Ziggy,

I'm glad to help but one thing I want to address is that you said you are taking finasteride 1.25mg. This tells me you are taking generic finasteride 5mg quartered (taken daily?). Please correct me if I'm wrong. If I'm not then I highly suggest you consider trying the name brand Proscar as I've seen too many cases of generics not working as well as name brand. Try it for a year and if there is no difference in your response then switch back to generic to continue saving money but I feel that anyone that is looking to stabilize their loss before surgery, which should be everyone, should stick with the basics and not try to cut corners. As far as going with Rahal or Feller, either is a wise choice. It's up to you to decided if it is wise you. One thing I can say about Rahal is that the follow up care will be exemplary.

[Ziggyz123]

Wow, I was actually using generics and recently switched because my hairline was taking a hit. I do take proscar now 5mg and have been for 5 months (generics for the year). Would doing fue making having strip later on harder?

[JoeTillman]

In that case give Proscar a full year, 7 more months, to see if it makes a difference. You won't see much of a difference one way or another at five months.

FUE causes dermal scarring that is more significant below the epidermis and than it is in the epidermis (where you see the dots) and if the extractions are not spread out enough it will cause a confluence of scarring. As scarring forms it tends to pull on the neighboring tissue and this can distort hair shaft angles which may lead to slightly higher transection rates if the FUT incision passes through the former FUE extraction zones. However, in the end it doesn't really make much of a difference especially if your FUE is only 1500 grafts or so.

[Ziggyz123]

Ok great, I need to save a little more anyway! Thanks again Joe. You're a MASSIVE help. It's weird how generics do not work.. And I was using dr reddys too. I read a lot of bad about reddys not working..

[JoeTillman]

It's not that generics don't work and I don't want to give the impression that that is my message. they usually do but there are cases where it hasn't worked as well as name brand, or at all, and I think it is too important of an issue to risk to a product that has some inconsistencies. If the name brand doesn't work any better than generic then you can eliminate any question of it's efficacy once and for all.

Keep reading while you're saving, you can never learn too much.