• Welcome to Hair loss Experiences hair loss forum.

    Free impartial hair loss advice, hair transplant advice, hair loss medications and hair loss news.
    You can contact us directly at [email protected] if you experience any problems.

FUE & SMP or just FUE

F

F0llicle

member
Hi Everyone,

I would really appreciate your honest thoughts please.
I have been considering a hair transplant or SMP for a number of years, I have finally decided this year I will go ahead (even told my wife! lol)
Starting my research I must admit I feel overwhelmed with different results and conflicting information, anyhow I am trying to make the best decisions for my stages of hair loss while being realistic!. I am 39 years old this March and suffering gradual hairloss since early 20 €™s.
Ok, firstly from the pictures what Norwood scale would you say I am?
The last 3 months I have been taking finasteride and using minoxidil and I have managed to grow some more hair back which you can see on the top. I actually feel really happy about this little hair which has grown, which is why I think having a procedure will really help restore my confidence.
I have been for a SMP consultation here in the midlands UK, and fairly impressed with the results on offer €¦. However the lack of 3-D effect puts me off. Therefore I was thinking the ultimate scenario is to have a FUE and SMP combination, as I have seen some really good results from this combination, especially for someone having my amount of hairloss, and I don €™t mind the buzz type cut.
Therefore €¦ €¦ €¦.
Option 1 - FUE & SMP
Hair transplant to get the appearance of hair coverage, bring my frontal hairline to where it was originally, you can see from some of the smaller hairs where this was (but I am realistic and want the slight receded look).
Combining the FUE and SMP will allow me to grow hair approx. 2mm instead of shaving very close to allow SMP to look realistic. I have attached a typical picture to show the effect I imagine.

Option 2 €“ FUE Only
This is where my concerns are.
I see very mixed results from people with my stages of hairloss, Some are amazing and allow you to grow your hair long, but they have had huge amounts of grafts.
Some cases, even with top recommended doctors, the hair ends up a bit whispy as they possibly don €™t have the density even with 4000 grafts.
Also to achieve the density and thick hair, the hairline is put in further back and it doesn €™t look right in my opinion, thick dense hair and a nice hairline starting too far back, it looks odd!
Anyhow, I would appreciate your comments and feedback, obviously I would love an FUE only and to grow my hair longer, but I still think the FUE & SMP combination will look better on me and allow me to have my frontal hairline restored somewhat.
I think the FUE only would restore my frontal hairline, but I would need further surgery to restore the crown area in a few years.

Also I don €™t plan to keep taking Finateride forever, even though I have no side effects.
 

Attachments

  • IMG_0644.JPG
    IMG_0644.JPG
    26.9 KB · Views: 867
F

F0llicle

member
sorry i dont know how to attach all the pictures together
 

Attachments

  • IMG_0677.JPG
    IMG_0677.JPG
    31.9 KB · Views: 608
F

F0llicle

member
fue and smp combo
 

Attachments

  • smp.png
    smp.png
    135.5 KB · Views: 1,449
Bigmac

Bigmac

Administrator
Staff member
Hi and welcome.
If money is not a factor, my choice would be.
Stay on the meds for 6 months to a year, you may regrow a lot of hair and decide you don't need anything.
After the year, I would go with FUE. Lower the hairline slightly and see how it looks once grown out. Then decide if it's dense enough to be happy. This will give you styling options. You will have a fringe that will frame your face.
Then consider SMP to thicken it up in appearance.
If you don't mind shaving your head for the rest of your life, then SMP only could work.

 
F

F0llicle

member
Bigmac,
Thanks for your advice.
I think this is a logical approach, i have already booked 2 weeks off in August, by that time i will have been on meds almost 12 months.
I really dont think i will gain the thickness through meds, i think i am only growing dormant hair, therefore i am now looking for FUE only option to start with.

I find looking for a good dr really difficult, so many mixed reviews!
Very impressed with Health Travel international results on youtube, then you get the odd mixed review which puts me off. Does anyone know the dr there in Turkey?
As people only tend to recommend Erdogan,Yaman,Karadeniz and Keser in Turkey.

Also Gethair Turkey, the doctor Dr Tayfun has over 20+ years experience, yet i cannot find anyone reviewing him?

really do appreciate anyones help
 
Bigmac

Bigmac

Administrator
Staff member
I have no idea on the doctor you mention from that broker. You could contact the Turkish clinics on here, there are 3 in the doctors section further down the forum. Mike from Cosmedica is from the UK, you can see his results in person.
It €™s good you €™re on the meds imo, hopefully bo side effects. Some people do achieve amazing results but the main objective is to stop or slow down any future loss.


 
F

F0llicle

member
thanks for your input, i will do some searching on this forum.
Yes i am shocked how much hair i have grown back already in 3 months, i really didnt expect it to be honest.
But taking finasteride long term does worry me...
 
Bigmac

Bigmac

Administrator
Staff member
Like any drug, there is a possibility of sides. It's a small percentage of Finasteride users according to all the studies.
I`ve been taking it since 2005 and feel fine. It has definitely helped me and really slowed down my hair loss.
 
Bigmac

Bigmac

Administrator
Staff member
I`ve just looked at their website. HEALTHTRAVELINTERNATIONAL don`t list any doctors name, there's no UK address, although they claim to be British based. They sound like a broker, why use a middleman for something as life-changing as this?
Personally, I would not have cosmetic or hair restoration surgery if I could not research the doctor first.
 
SADbutTRUE

SADbutTRUE

Valued member
Hello, welcome to the forum, i would say ur nw pattern is nw5a. With high sides, my advice is research while being on meds, i wont let distance n cost be a issue,remember you only have a fixed amount of donor hair, cant be careless, research the results on the forum , find 3 clinics u like n have consults , then take it from there. Best of luck in restoring your hair.
 
SADbutTRUE

SADbutTRUE

Valued member
Check out Shapiro medical group, maitland clinic, n medikimos clinic , research them n any other clinics your intrested in , the three clinics i mentioned are from three different countries, best of luck.
 
F

F0llicle

member
Hi Bigmac,
Yes i have decided to go with FUE with the view to add SMP if i cannot have the density when it grows.

I am speaking with a few companies at the moment all in Turkey. my donor is average but not tightly packed, however i have been told it looks ok to go with 3200 grafts.
Just about deciding where to go now, as even in Turkey there are some huge differences in prices, even when comparing registered dr's with huge amounts of experience
 
JoeTillman

JoeTillman

Valued member
Hi Follicle,
I've read your thread with interest and one thing that caught my attention was your donor area. Your donor density is very good, like VERY good, but more impressive is the expanse of your donor area. You're one of the few patients with what could be classified as aggressive loss but combined with very strong temple points. See definition here... https://www.hairtransplantmentor.com/what-are-the-temples/. Usually, temple points recede or most of the hair miniaturizes.

One of the issues I have with most clinics is how they connect the hairline with the temples, and by extension the temple points. They haven't appeared to have mastered how to adjust the angle and direction of graft placement to blend properly into these areas. It is quite possible the trickiest aspect of hairline design, so I highly encourage you to look at this particular aspect of the results you're using for your research.
Also consider the use of microscopes. This is a big issue that has been largely forgotten about until I released a video on the subject a few months ago. I encourage you to watch closely and hopefully learn.



You have one chance to get your hairline to be as natural as possible. If the first go is unnatural then you'll be undergoing more work just to try to achieve what the first should have given you in the first place. Density is secondary with hairlines, as no amount of density matters if the world can see from a block away that your hairline is man made.

Please, tread carefully.
 
Last edited:
F

F0llicle

member
Hi Joe,

Thanks for your comments and links to these videos, i found them very informative, also like the humour element too!
The single follicle and hairline is definitely something I will address once i have chosen the right clinic, i agree i am less concerned over density, hairline and naturalness is key.

It's interesting you mention my donor density being strong, this is something i am struggling with at the moment as different clinics are saying different things.
I think the pictures are possibly misleading, dependant on how the light is on my donor.
I have attached a few more pictures in a very light area very close up, these are the pictures i have sent the various clinics for online assessments.

1. Dr Tayfun is saving i have average density but donor region is good enough for FUE and recommends 3,200 grafts. I have a meeting with this Dr in London next week in person. I have attached his report image.

2. The leading Dr Koray everyone on here recommends, cannot assess until i grow my hair long! 4cm of growth! i sent some recent pictures with longer hair but they said they need to be pictures as of now. Unfortunately i am not willing to grow my hair, it looks stupid, therefore i see no option to move away from this clinic, which is unfortunate as i really wanted to go with them having seen their fantastic results. ;ss;

3. UK Dr. Krishnan said i was a good candidate for surgery and recommends 2,000 grafts

4. Dr Yaman, says my donor looks good and will be a successful surgery, he recommends 3700-4000 grafts! I have attached the hairline he recommends.
Therefore I have a few different views regards donor, it worries me, as I don €™t want my donor destroyed by over harvesting, I €™m obviously assured it won €™t be.
Difficult decisions ahead, what are your thoughts on my close up donor areas?
 

Attachments

  • IMG_1116.JPG
    IMG_1116.JPG
    39.9 KB · Views: 502
Top