New Member - needs advice (pictures)

[Still-Researching]

Dear all,
Thanks for a great forum with some fantastic members, who help people, like me and others, not to jump in the trap of visiting the local doctor with no skills, but good marketing.

My Story:
- 36 yrs old. Started loosing my hair in my 20's and in early 30's I started to have an "island" of hair in the front (see pictures) and some thinning on my crown and top
- Family with loss patern of NW3-4 but no real thinning in the crown area even in the 60's
- The pictures are 10 months old (sorry for that will get them updated) which means they are just before I started taking proscar (1.25 per day) + rogaine once a day both without sideeffects - this has helped a lot on my thinning on crown and top. Black full line is my goal of a nice but still somewhat conservative hair line
- Have researched a lot and started with FUE (thats the dotted line in pics) and now I am quite sure I want strip
- I work in a suit and tie - 12 hours a day in the corporate world in Europe
- I want a nice hairline, but still conservatively so it will last a life time - and I need to be able to buzz to minimum a #3 like in the pictures
- This summer i buzzed the entire head down to #2, some people liked it, I was not a great fan and therefore would prefer to have a hairstyle like in the pictures - just looking good

I have narrowed it down to following top strip doctors:
Rahal, H&W (Hasson) or Feller.
I like all their hairlines and styles and we are now down to the small details - maybe at this point prefer Rahal's scars, H&W's consistency and guarantees and Feller's convenient location and attitude - so far so good...

My Questions:
1) Do you think I am a good candidate, from the pictures in terms of goal, hairloss pattern, medication, worried about the scar and how short I can buzz it down post ops
2) How many grafts do you think, I will need to go to my goal of the full black line? - I will not have work done on the top or crown
3) How good are the chances, that I would be able to buzz down to #2-#3 after a HT from above guys?
4) Is it possible to keep the ear to ear strip scar mainly in the back so only till 1 cm before the ears on each side - and not "pass the ears on the side"?
5) Which doctor would you recommend, especially I would be happy to hear from someone, who has had their HT with any of the above
6) Knowing that I lost more hair and regained it - of course i am worried that proscar stops to work - what is the risk of that?
7) If proscar should stop working in 10 years, and I would start loosing hair again and recede 3 cm behind my HT hair lines (same as my farther's hair loss) - how many grafts more would I probably need - 3-4000 grafts more?
8) How many total grafts would a guy like me have in my donor area - 10.000?
9) I can only take out 2.5 weeks of holiday for the travel and procedure and down time - will I be able with topik or special hairstyle to keep it a secret for everyone except my wife?

Again thanks for a great forum and thanks in advance for everyone's time.
Have a nice weekend.

[Spex]

Questions:
1) Do you think I am a good candidate, from the pictures in terms of goal,
hairloss pattern, medication, worried about the scar and how short I can buzz it down post ops

You appear to be a good candidate, yes.

2) How many grafts do you think, I will need to go to my goal of the full black line? - I will not have work done on the top or crown

approx 2800- 3000 , possibly a little more depending on goal, density and characteristic, also donor supply.


3) How good are the chances, that I would be able to buzz down to #2-#3 after a HT from above guys?

Scars are scars, all docs do same closure and your physiology will play an important role however due to the numbers required its not going to tax your supply greatly - unlike a 4000+ session.

4) Is it possible to keep the ear to ear strip scar mainly in the back so only till 1 cm before the ears on each side - and not "pass the ears on the side"?

Scars length will be determined by a few factors (donor density laxity etc) - However the longer the scar is the thinner it will be

5) Which doctor would you recommend, especially I would be happy to hear from someone, who has had their HT with any of the above

All good solid clinics (i had mine with Dr feller and now showcase in the UK)

6) Knowing that I lost more hair and regained it - of course i am worried that proscar stops to work - what is the risk of that?

tHIS IS WHY DONOR MANAGEMENT IS VITAL AND GOING IN WITH A CONSERVATIVE NUMBER initially IS IMPORTANT - think long term not short (sorry for caps) so that you always have sufficient supply to meet the demand.

7) If proscar should stop working in 10 years, and I would start loosing hair again and recede 3 cm behind my HT hair lines (same as my farther's hair loss) - how many grafts more would I probably need - 3-4000 grafts more?

hard to say, all depends on size of area and donor supply to facilitate goal - but not a bad guess.
8) How many total grafts would a guy like me have in my donor area - 10.000?

on average 8-10 k in donor area - then you can always tap into further via FUE.

9) I can only take out 2.5 weeks of holiday for the travel and procedure and down time - will I be able with topik or special hairstyle to keep it a secret for everyone except my wife?

Tricky but doable - dont underestimate downtime - you will need to be shaved down for the session

All the best
spex

[Spex]

Here are some examples for you:

Strip scar with Tricho closure - 2800 grafts Dr Feller patient

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uiQgXY4K-uI


2500+ session strip
http://www.baldtruthtalk.com/showthread.php?t=1887


2500+

http://www.baldtruthtalk.com/showthr...highlight=2500

[mattj]

I think spex has covered your questions. Regarding your appearance post-op, it's possible that redness will persist past the point that you will be able to keep yourself hidden. I would plan on keeping your hair longer during this time to have the best chance of styling it in such as way that you can cover the recipient area.

[Still-Researching]

Hi Spex and Matt,
Thanks a lot for your comments. Have read a lot on this forum and you are truly great assets for this community.

To everyone with a post 2005 HT, anyone who has got an HT from a top (IAHRS) doctor and could not shave down to a #3?

Also anyone can comment further on an experience with any of the above docs?

Thanks.

[Spex]

Hi, thanks - here to help. I had repair work performed by D Feller and now showcase my results in the UK.

Here is a recent write up from a UK guy who if you like i can get you in touch with to speak :

http://www.baldtruthtalk.com/showthread.php?t=3818

FYI, I would trust my head with your 3 choices of surgeon.

[darren]

Hey there
Just read your post and had to smile to myself as you are currently at where l was a little over a year ago now. Like yourself l did masses of research and decided to go with Doc Feller and the rest is history as they say!! I opted for FUT and Doc Feller advised on 3000 hairs although he squeezed out 3300 at no extra cost!...l am currently at the 8mth post op stage and the results, in my humble opinion, have been awesome! To say l'm pleased is an understatment. You can see my forum posts on; www.**********************.com...my profile name is thoughtsbecomethings....check it out because l think it will help you in moving forward. My hairloss was very similar to yours and l had the exact same level of apprehension. Also check my donor scar video out, at only 4 mths my scar was minimal and since the 5mth stage l have had my hair at blade 3 round the sides with no visible scarring.

Any q's give me a shout and all the very best with whoever you choose, but my choice would be Doc Feller everytime of the day!!!...not that i'm now biased

Good Luck!!
thoughtsbecomethings

[Boston Joe]

I am fairly new here and I have to say it is nice to see all the candid responses from representatives of the Dr.'s community. I almost went under the knife with Dr. Leonard. I was fairly ignorant and was told that within three days the procedure would not even be noticable. No mention of shaving the back of my head or prolonged redness in the recipient area. I would have been devestated.

I put down $500 when I made the appointment. I cancelled two weeks in advance. They kept the $500.