Almost 25 and need advice for my second procedure.

[dan144]

Hi everyone,

I want to start out by saying how helpful this forum has been to me in the last couple of years. While this is my first post, I have spent the last three years researching as much as possible. Reading the first-hand stories of countless hair transplant patients and the advice of some of the more veteran members on here has really helped me realize what it is that modern hair transplantation provides, and just as important - what it does not.

Here's my background:

In 2010 at the age of 20 I started noticing my hairline receding. At first it didn't bother me too much as my dad and brother have very thick, straight, hispanic hair and I thought that there was no way I'd lose all my hair. I started doing research though, and began monitoring my hairline.

By 2011 I began to worry when my hairline appeared to continue to recede at a rapid pace. I did some research and began taking Finasteride daily. Within 6 months of starting it I noticed my hairline continued to recede. Looking back, I was more than likely just experiencing a shed induced by the meds. At the time I thought I needed something stronger and started researching Dutasteride. I made the switch in 2011 to 0.5mg of Dutasteride daily and since then it has really slowed down if not halted my hair loss for the time being.

In July of 2012 at the really (too) young age of 21, I had a strip hair transplant procedure. The procedure was done by Dr. Brett Bolton in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida and was made up of about 650 grafts, the bulk of them (about 450 or so) being multiple follicular units. While the results are not horrible and luckily none of my friends have called me out for having a hair transplant (I have a different set of friends now), there are some large grafts with pitting very close to the hairline, the hairline itself is straight and low, and the scar is not the best.

As soon as I got back home to Massachusetts after my procedure in 2012 I started to worry. I had seen many recipient sites online with really refined grafting and I could tell right away that something was off. Fast forward a year to 2013 and I was growing my thin, straight, brown hair to at least 2 inches in the back to hide the scar and three inches on top to hide the large grafts. I was not very satisfied with the transplant comb-over and the results. I began researching heavily, and realized I was way, way too young to get a hair transplant. I should have waited probably until about now, being almost 25. Even now I'm pretty young.

This past year I've started buzzing my head with about a #6 guard in back and #8 on top every month or so. It actually looks better this way, although I let the top grow and continue cutting the back and sides at a #6. I consider myself fortunate that at an inch or so, my transplant doesn't look too unnatural. I've read about many other young guys who underwent FUT's where their lives were turned completely upside down.

Fast-forward to today and my hair is currently an inch on top and about 3/4 an inch on the sides. When I take a photo of the back of my head you can see a crease in the hair, more so on the right side where my scar is probably about 3mm. While the average person wouldn't think twice about it, when I see it with a mirror I'm not too happy about it. The sides of the transplanted area appear thin under lighting as well, but I've learned to kind of mask it with careful styling and a dry-look hair spray.

I've been in touch with Matt over at Shapiro Medical Group this past week because I'm thinking about having a second procedure and I want as little risk as possible. I want to correct my scar, add a few grafts in between the MFU's, and potentially remove a few unnatural grafts at my temples. My 3+ years of continual research I feel has helped me realize what is actually possible. I know I'll never be able to shave my head without signs of a scar, and I realize that the density in my recipient area will never match what was there before I lost hair. The average donor just doesn't support that.

I come to you guys asking for your honest thoughts and advice. Matt has recommended a small strip procedure to (hopefully) improve my scar, add no more than 1000 grafts, and refine my hairline just a bit. He also mentioned that FUE is an option by grafting into the scar, but that the yield on top could be a bit lower (90% FUE vs 100% FUT). The reason he recommends strip is because both my grandfather and uncle on my mother's side are Norwood 6's, and there is a high likelihood that I could progress to that eventually, even though I'm on meds. If that is the case I would need every graft I could get, and longterm FUT allows for more grafts than FUE.

The trauma of my first strip procedure is what has me hesitant. I was in pain for the first couple of weeks. It was tight for at least two years. I still to this day sometimes feel odd sensations at the scar line that I hadn't felt before the procedure. Not to mention I pretty much had to completely stop working out and I could feel my scar tighten while lifting a small amount of weights even 6 months later. Today I'm in worse physical shape because of it.

My thinking is that I might prefer FUE to fill in my scar with a few grafts (I don't need perfection), remove a few at the hairline, and add maximum 800 to the top. I think that would solve my problems for now and allow me more time if I did need a strip sometime in the future (8-10 years). I feel that I'd be more prepared for it then, and the grafts that were added into the scar could be re-used.

I've also read about the risks of each procedure. With strip - the changing hair direction below the scar, and the potential for it to widen especially after the first procedure. With FUE - the white-dotting effect especially on those with olive skin, less yield, and less overall grafts.

Sorry for the long rant, but what do you guys think? Should I attempt to revise my scar via FUE or FUT? Or should I do nothing and wait until I absolutely need surgery? I'm attaching a few pics. Anything that you can tell me about my situation, my donor, etc, would be very much appreciated.

Thanks! -Dan

[Dr. Lindsey]

Unless I'm missing something... you don't need any surgery now. Sure, your hairline isn't perfect...but you really have to look with the hair pulled back to see that, and its not something that would call attention to itself. And your scar...that is not a bad scar. Given that you are young, and you might, just might, need a BUNCH of hair in 10 years....don't waste hair camouflaging a scar that doesn't show. My advise...quit looking in the magnifying mirror and go out and have fun for a few years. Then, and only then, consider getting more done.

Dr. Lindsey McLean VA

[DAVE52]

Unless I'm missing something... you don't need any surgery now.
Dr. Lindsey McLean VA

As the good Dr says.
I looked at your pics and thought I was going to see a mess
You look fine , now .
But yea you were way too young for a HT

[Artista]

Hello Dan'
and its a GOOD thing that you joined this (Spencer Kobren's) forum!
I am in total agreement with what Dr. Lindsey said to you.(a GREAT Doctor)
DAVE52's response as well!

Dan' you do NOT need any hair-transplantation.
Your hair DOES look GOOD!
Being that you are 24 going on 25, more than likely, you are only experiencing a maturing of your hair. That might be all it is bro!!~ Lucky you.
At that age I too experienced a maturing of my hairline.
I did not experience any (noticeable) hairloss until I was into my late 30s.
Later on STRESS made it worse for me.
Keep that in mind my friend.
Do not ALLOW stress to consume your thoughts and your feelings.
Also, do not assume anything negative bro.
Again, your hair looks GOOD.
No reason for any of us to lie to you, of course .
Cheers Dan144'