Recommendation for surgeons in Europe good with NW6 and BHT and ideally offer some sort of financing?

[baldingsince13]

Hi everyone,

Sorry for the duplicate post. I posted one in the wrong section and can't figure out how to remove it.

A bit about me. I'm 28, balding since the ripe old age of 13. I'm already on Fin and Minox. for 5 and 11 years respectively.
2 years ago I went to Dr Bisanga's clinic in Greece. Initially he advised me not to do a transplant as i'm a bad candidate but he came around after discussing it with his assistant. I know this means that I should probably not do it but it's been something stuck in my head since I was 13 and I'm pretty adamant on exhausting my options.

Some numbers
My average donor density is around 60FU/cm2.
The plan was to have two surgeries spaced 6-12 months using a total of 7500 graft, 4000 scalp and 3500 BHT(Beard and chest, I'm a hairy mf). A third down the line is also possible after seeing if my hair will get worse in the donor area.

Another thing that complicates my HT is being very pale with very dark hair.


After further research I decided to not go with Dr Bisanga for unrelated reasons. I might be wrong but from my research/seeking advice I was told that Dr Bisanga has less involvement in the surgery in his Greece clinic than in his Belgium clinic. Given that the price is pretty high(around 22k euros, would be higher in Belgium making it out of my budget) I prefer doing it with a surgeon with more involvement. I don't know if my thinking is correct here.

I'm aware that my situation is difficult and that I basically have only one chance to get it right so I'm trying to optimize the following:
- Cost. I don't want to skimp given the above but if I can reduce the cost it would be great. I'm not European and the average wage in my country at the moment is like 100$ a month. I've been lucky to work remotely as a software engineer and receive a high salary but I've been laid off recently. I will obviously not do it before I get a new job (which I believe I can do soon) but I can travel for consultations in the meantime.

- Method of payment. 22k euros would be the majority of my savings at the moment. The good thing is that there will be about a year between the two surgeries so the payment of each half will be a year apart but it would be ideal if i can pay over monthly instalments.

- Quality with high NW.

- Skilled in BHT.

Do you have any recommendations ?

 

[Bobbins]

Welcome, and good luck with your journey.

Can I ask why you're limiting your travel to within Europe? As you're probably aware, many recommend an Indian clinic for high norwoods.

 

[baldingsince13]

Welcome, and good luck with your journey.

Can I ask why you're limiting your travel to within Europe? As you're probably aware, many recommend an Indian clinic for high norwoods.

Thank you!
Mostly because it's better regulated in Europe. I'm a bit concerned after reading some things in Indian clinics. Again I might be wrong and open to being corrected.

 

[Bobbins]

Thank you!
Mostly because it's better regulated in Europe. I'm a bit concerned after reading some things in Indian clinics. Again I might be wrong and open to being corrected.

I'd personally consider the reputation and results of specific clinics rather than where they're located. I'd consider Eugenix for their results in high Norwoods and the cost per graft/pricing options. That's purely going on the results I've seen - I have no personal experience. I think Bisanga would have been on my short list too, though appreciate you've already considered and discounted him.

Do you have any pictures of your hair? It'd be useful to the extent of your loss.

 

[baldingsince13]

I'd personally consider the reputation and results of specific clinics rather than where they're located. I'd consider Eugenix for their results in high Norwoods and the cost per graft/pricing options. That's purely going on the results I've seen - I have no personal experience. I think Bisanga would have been on my short list too, though appreciate you've already considered and discounted him.

Do you have any pictures of your hair? It'd be useful to the extent of your loss.

It's pretty bad to say the least

 

[Bobbins]

Thanks. Were you considering FUE/FUT or a combo?

From what you can see from the pictures your donor looks dense, though better pictures would help confirm that.

Did Dr Bisanga say why you’d not be a good candidate other than your early/extensive loss?

 

[baldingsince13]

I'm open to all options. I did ask for FUT or a combo as from what I understand this leads to more donor being harvested but Dr Bisanga said that proper FUE gives as much harvest as FUT. Further I believe he checked for skin elasticity for FUT and it wasn't satisfying.

The reasons why he initially considered me a bad candidate was my donor hair density being 60 FU/cm2 and having thinning near my ear. (I always suspected it was because of wearing glasses all the time and the itching that causes sometimes).

Alongside my early/extensive hair loss he wanted to be overtly conservative with using my donor area in case i have further hair loss and I want to shave my head.

 

[Bobbins]

It's quite the quandary; using scalp hair that may miniaturise where a large number of grafts are required is the risk you would be running. With body hair, you need scalp hair to provide balance.

I shared your belief - the FUT would be most efficient, but I'm no expert.

Did you have an idea about the result you'd be satisfied with - the density, focus on framing your face, crown coverage?

Have you looked at other NW6 patients on this forum for inspiration in terms of possible clinics?

 

[baldingsince13]

It's quite the quandary; using scalp hair that may miniaturise where a large number of grafts are required is the risk you would be running. With body hair, you need scalp hair to provide balance.

I shared your belief - the FUT would be most efficient, but I'm no expert.

Did you have an idea about the result you'd be satisfied with - the density, focus on framing your face, crown coverage?

Have you looked at other NW6 patients on this forum for inspiration in terms of possible clinics?

I'm fine just filling up the frame i still have now with moderate density, although if better results can be achieved it would be great. Especially over a third/fourth surgery in the future if I can afford it.
I'm trying to look for NW6 patients but not finding a lot of results and struggling to figure out if those are legit clinics or not. I'm new to the forum I might be just not used to it

 

[Bobbins]

I'm fine just filling up the frame i still have now with moderate density, although if better results can be achieved it would be great. Especially over a third/fourth surgery in the future if I can afford it.
I'm trying to look for NW6 patients but not finding a lot of results and struggling to figure out if those are legit clinics or not. I'm new to the forum I might be just not used to it

Whilst finances will be a challenge, I think you’re as likely to run out of donor.

The search facility isn’t very intuitive, I can’t work out how to make it search for the term ‘Norwood 6’, for example.

However, searching for Norwood will bring up quite a few discussions on high Norwood cases and examples, it’ll just require a bit of manual effort to sort through the results..

 

[Kevboy]

You can use Google to search Norwood6 hairlossexperiences to see pages of results.

 

[repairmybadangles]

As you're probably aware, many recommend an Indian clinic for high norwoods.

Eugenix is only well-known because they have a massive marketing budget. There is no reason an individual elite doctor is not equal or even better than Eugenix when it comes to high norwoods. If OP is willing to spend the money, he should indeed stick with one of the European doctors.

Not to mention if he goes to Eugenix he is likely going to get some cookie-cutter treatment plan. I highly doubt - even with a premium package - that OP will get the same personalized attention he would get if he were to go to a Cuoto, Freitas, Bisanga, Mwamba, etc.

 

[Bobbins]

Eugenix is only well-known because they have a massive marketing budget. There is no reason an individual elite doctor is not equal or even better than Eugenix when it comes to high norwoods. If OP is willing to spend the money, he should indeed stick with one of the European doctors.

Not to mention if he goes to Eugenix he is likely going to get some cookie-cutter treatment plan. I highly doubt - even with a premium package - that OP will get the same personalized attention he would get if he were to go to a Cuoto, Freitas, Bisanga, Mwamba, etc.

There are 2 or 3 recent cases on this and ‘the other’ forum where a custom treatment plan for Norwood 6 patients appear to have delivered excellent results.

I’d have thought the cost her graft would have been lower that European equivalents. IIRC, the budget mentioned was in the region of €3/graft which would rule out the elite surgeons you mention.

 

[baldingsince13]

Whilst finances will be a challenge, I think you’re as likely to run out of donor.

The search facility isn’t very intuitive, I can’t work out how to make it search for the term ‘Norwood 6’, for example.

However, searching for Norwood will bring up quite a few discussions on high Norwood cases and examples, it’ll just require a bit of manual effort to sort through the results..

For sure. As I mentioned Dr Basinga's plans was just to use 4000 scalp donor and 3500 beard and chest hair mostly. Later on if my donor area is not affected by MPB I think further donor can be harvested from there.

 

[baldingsince13]

Eugenix is only well-known because they have a massive marketing budget. There is no reason an individual elite doctor is not equal or even better than Eugenix when it comes to high norwoods. If OP is willing to spend the money, he should indeed stick with one of the European doctors.

Not to mention if he goes to Eugenix he is likely going to get some cookie-cutter treatment plan. I highly doubt - even with a premium package - that OP will get the same personalized attention he would get if he were to go to a Cuoto, Freitas, Bisanga, Mwamba, etc

Can you recommend all surgeons you have in mind ?
I'm going to spain soon and will check if I can visit surgeons there for consultations.
My research has pointed me towards Dr Vila, Dr Pinto, Dr Freitas.
Further I'm considering Dr Peniker in Turkey as I've read he's particularly known for his BHT skills but most of that is word of mouth and can't seem to find anything to verify that.

 

[baldingsince13]

I booked an appointment with Dr Freitas for a consultation.

 

[Bigmac]

It’s impossible to comment on your donor from the pictures you posted. If Dr Bisanga said it is 60FU, then that is on the lower side. Have you noticed any improvement with the meds?
Harvesting 4000 grafts via FUE will significantly thin out your donor. Having FUT is an option but there is a risk the donor closure could stretch. If you're wishing to stat within Europe you could take a look at HDC. Check out @Doron HDC coordinator repair/result he achieved.
Have a look at Jim Gaffigan, he has achieved a nice result with a modest approach. Jim Gaffigan Hair Transplant

 

[baldingsince13]

It’s impossible to comment on your donor from the pictures you posted. If Dr Bisanga said it is 60FU, then that is on the lower side. Have you noticed any improvement with the meds?
Harvesting 4000 grafts via FUE will significantly thin out your donor. Having FUT is an option but there is a risk the donor closure could stretch. If you're wishing to stat within Europe you could take a look at HDC. Check out @Doron HDC coordinator repair/result he achieved.
Have a look at Jim Gaffigan, he has achieved a nice result with a modest approach. Jim Gaffigan Hair Transplant

Dr Maras is on my list and Cyprus is ideal for me as it's a 30 minutes flight. However I didn't see any BHT results from him. I'm still considering doing a consultation with him anyway.
I believe that Minoxidil delayed the hairloss a bit. Finasteride did stop it but i started pretty late so there wasn't too much to save. I have been trying dermarolling on and off but hopefully will be doing it consistently every week now.

 

[Doron HDC coordinator]

Dr. Maras is doing beard sessions when needed, however our clinic don't do chest hair, 50% of these grafts don't absorb on many cases and you need around 4 single grafts to create the effect one single graft from donor scalp, very hard to make exceptions with chest hair, however when HDC do beard sessions we schedule a special day only for beard session because the area is softer which make it more demanding to punch and extract the grafts, since the grafts have time limit to survive we don't rush anything and make this special day for beard sessions only, you're welcome to pm on WhatApp +972526542654 and will gladly schedule consultation for you.

Please follow and check our results here:

https://instagram.com/doronhairadvisor_hdc?igshid=Yzg5MTU1MDY=

 

[MaxMidlander]

Shame about body hair . I'd happily remove all my chest and back hair to my head