Why are we so adverse to FUE?

[inbrugge]

I know this is slightly off-topic, but I believe the audience is correct.

It is an interesting topic, the search for uncovering the cause of MPB and a possible cure. And I am also interested in occasionally following up on the topic to see what advances and discoveries are made.

However, after spending 2 years on this forum, I honestly believe waiting for a topical/medical solution is not really reasonable at all. Most of us have either lost a significant amount of hair already, or losing it at a much faster rate than the pace of the scientific development. In their own light, It is great to have topicals and treatments like Replicell in the pipeline. But realistically, none of these most likely will be a complete saviour or a great reversal of hair loss. They will at most be an intermediary step to what we actually envision. I would say at least 10 years. Shit, we're looking at 2018 jist for Repicell and that's not guaranteed to reverse any hair loss either so.

So, with all this in mind, we do have something that is available on hand which, for the most part, answers our needs. A reversal of NW loss. And that is FUE. Of course with anything else, there are cons. But beyond all that, to me it is bounds ahead of any other solution we are eyeing or experimenting with ourselves.

A) Price: Flight included, you can most likely get a decent sizs transplant abroad for around 6k-7k from very respectable, experienced clinics. I know this is not super cheap. But looking back, I have probably forked over at least a couple grand just on Minoxidil, Topical Fin, Ru, and all other bullshit "natural" supplements in just about the 2 years I played around with these "treatments". Not even mentioning how crazy it is to play with black market experimentals and the side effects I got from them, (including shitty skin from Minox and libido loss from Topical Min and Ru).

B) Temporary Scars/Scabs: Most of the scabs in the graft areas go away with in 10-15 days if I'm not mistaken. And I haven't really hard the FUE scars from the back lf the head being an issue or being visible at all unless you wanna completely shave your head bald.

C) Some Grafts falling out: I believe there are cases when this can happen, but what can you do about it? With Minox, Fin, Ru we're practically accomplishing nothing anyways, but with FUE you have a high chance of most grafts settling and actually recovering NW.

D) Not natural: Ehhh, I don't know. I used to think it doesn't look natural, but look at some of the results here in the FUE section posted by IHRS clinics. Some of them look amazing tbh.

E) Not enough donor grafts: I'd say this is the only significant issue. If your NW is too high then this might not be feasible, but I'm surprised with some of the results in the FUE section here. You have NW 6-7 with 4000 grafts and they made a huge difference.

I know it's not perfect, but with all the desperation and frustration here, with people cursing scientists, making up conspiracy theories against men, trying black market experimentals, there is a signifcant solution that's I would say about an 70-90% satisfactory.

And aside from saving up money, you don't have to wait for 10 year FDA trials and magical Congress Bills to speed them up and all this bullshit. And heck in the meanwhile, some revolutionary treatment does come along (IMO very unlikely to occur within minimum the next 3 years) you can still benefit from it. You don't think Wayne Rooney is not gonna use a magic cure if it's not discovered, just because he's already had FUE?

So, yeah, I am personally on the verge of deciding on getting a FUE. If I do decide to get one, I will probably wait till the end of this year. I am done waiting on FDA results to see if BIM, SM, Sepi, or all this other stuff will give me 5 new baby hairs 5 years after they actually come to market.

What are your opinions.

[bigentries]

Problem with hair transplants is if you get a bad transplant, and many people get them, you get deformed figuratively speaking, even with FUE. No hair is better than weird hair. Then you get into that never ending cycle of correction surgeries, concealers and hats

For guys, relatively young, with bad hairlines, we understand that transplants are not an option unless a treatment in the near future guarantees no further hair loss

[Occulus]

Simple: It's expensive, it doesn't produce a full head of hair, and there's a chance you can be disfigured. A fourth issue is this: will previous surgeries interfere with future new protocols (particularly the wounding protocols like Follica's)? Surgeries cause scaring - can the new protocols in the pipeline (CB, HSC, etc.) grow hair in that scared tissue, or does scaring make hair growth impossible? Like Spencer says: Once you're cut, you're cut.

If I were a NW 4 or worse, I'd get an HT; there's nothing coming out anytime soon that's going to grow a NW4 into a NW 2 or better. But if I were a NW3 or less, I wouldn't get an HT in the near future; there are too many promising treatments coming out in the next three to five years to risk a surgery.

[NeedHairASAP]

If you're positive you'll die an nw2.5... then you can get fue

Otherwise, if you're destine for nw4+ you really can't swing one fue... you need at least 3 or 4 and even then you may not make it out.

On top of that, even the best results cant compare to natural hair.

FUE is good, but not a viable solution for the majority of people (who are destined for nw4 or worse)... and even for those who it is viable, the results can be lackluster.

[allTheGoodNamesAreTaken]

Can't be bothered writing too much here but if Histogen aren't bullshitting about results and timelines then combining that with FUE seems like a great solution for almost everyone.

[pilipili]

@Occulus
1.HT : Expensive ? There are very good and honest surgeons at « cheaper » prices. if you(=all) have the wallet why would you hesitate. If you choose a good surgeon, he could make a « defensive » transplant regarding the possible evolution. I don't talk about the ridiculous 5000 HT with low hairlines done on guys in their mid 20s.
2.The drugs(non approved for the most) you are currently taking to maintain your hair might also interfere with futur protocoles.
3. « there are too many promising treatments coming out in the next three to five years to risk a surgery. » Maybe, maybe not...
4. Btw SM could give you new hair..
5. Maybe, maybe not...

[Occulus]

@Occulus
1.HT : Expensive ? There are very good and honest surgeons at « cheaper » prices. if you(=all) have the wallet why would you hesitate. If you choose a good surgeon, he could make a « defensive » transplant regarding the possible evolution. I don't talk about the ridiculous 5000 HT with low hairlines done on guys in their mid 20s.
2.The drugs(non approved for the most) you are currently taking to maintain your hair might also interfere with futur protocoles.
3. « there are too many promising treatments coming out in the next three to five years to risk a surgery. » Maybe, maybe not...
4. Btw SM could give you new hair..
5. Maybe, maybe not...

1. A good IAHRS surgeon is going to charge >$8 graft. Even a conservative transplant at around 1000 grafts is going to cost close to $10,000, depending on who does it. No way would I go to some surgeon in Turkey or Mexico - sorry, it's US/Canadian IAHRS surgeons or nothing.
2. There is absolutely no reason to think that, and no credible researcher has suggested that, no has any of the many studies of the Big Three. All drugs have half-lives, and once they're out of your system, it's gone. A sight different than a physical alteration of your scalp that results in fibrous tissue in the very place you hope to grow hair.
3. Fair enough, and if none of the current crop of contenders makes it to stage III trials, then I would be much more open to an HT. But we should know within two years if anything makes it to phase III.
4. I sure hope so, as could bimotoprost, Histogen, refined PRP, Follica, and a few others.

[Dimoxynil]

I don't have the guts

[Swooping]

I'm not really. Have had a HT myself. Turned out awesome.

My only concern is maintenance now pretty much, no more regrowth .

I concur with you. No treatment is going to challenge hair transplants in terms of growth (from the current pipeline treatments).

Time is an important aspect of life, no sense to wait forever.

[Hicks]

Even a HT is a years wait. Even Fin you'll wait a year for results. So say HSC grows hair. Just the treatment would be thousands and a years wait to see results. If you're lucky it'll be 3-4 years out for results. I can beat this drum to death but fin and HT is the standard for the next 5 years easy. My life has gotten way better after my HT. I'm still diffused and I do need another pass to clean up the hairline but I'm looking at donor management sense I'm diffused.

Just need to break away from these forums. What a curse that is to break!