Conflicting advice from Dr Ball and Dr Reddy

[craigjones1982]

I've got thinning on the top of my head, the crown.

Dr Ball looked at some pictures and advised that he did not consider the hair loss extensive enough to allow a transplant. He said it could do more harm than good, endangering the good hair around the hair transplant. Farjo's people said similar, although they only had a sales person rather than a doctor look at my hair in person.

Dr Reddy took a different view - that a transplant was possible and can help, and that his technique is subtle enough to avoid endangering good hair.

I understand all these doctors are excellent and that this is a judgement call. But it's tough getting conflicting advice and leaves me uncertain about how to move forwards. I'd love to get some advice from other patients.

 

[djkillab]

Hi Craig. Have you got a picture of your hair please?

 

[Guest!]

Ask Dr Reddy what his technique is that allows avoiding native hairs and shock loss.

Stick and place technique causes the least amount of damage to surrounding hairs and causes the least amount of scar tissue (as opposed to pre-made slits which have to be bigger), so some clinics are more willing to pursue a transplant with this technique and think it worth the risk. Medications are a must though to avoid shock loss.

Without pics, knowing you age, or medical regime it's tough to give any solid advice. The fact you got rejected by two clinics is something to consider. I'd also try getting a few more consults ... both Bisanga and Feriduni in Belgium I've personally found to give the best advice and probably two of the best clinics in the world generally.

 

[craigjones1982]

 

[craigjones1982]

Thanks for the responses so far.
I've been using 5% minoxidil liquid every morning and 12.5% minoxidil paste in the evening from Belgravia since 2016.
I take finasteride 1mg every day too and have done since 2016.
I'm 40 years old.

 

[Guest!]

given your age, medications and limited losses it really becomes about what youre willing to risk.

Ask Reddy about his technique that prevents endangering the surrounding hair, get a solid answer, and also consider some of the consults like i mentioned earlier

You have a great head of hair tbh, so if the crown was really bothering hair fibres/concealers might ultimately be a better choice than surgery. This stuff can get pretty risky in the wrong hands

 

[craigjones1982]

Thanks. Could you tell me how my age factors into your assessment please? Still learning about all this.

 

[Guest!]

So if you were younger and not on meds and had a lot of balding, well that would means you are more likely a bad candidate for a transplant as future balding is inevitable and its harder to predict just how aggressive your future losses will be.

But as you are older, and only started taking meds 6 years ago it suggests your hair loss is in fact quite stable with very minimal balding it makes you more of a good candidate. There is of course always the risk it makes things worse though

Im guessing most of your friends are jealous of your hair

 

[Tom80]

I agree with Dr Ball

 

[craigjones1982]

Thanks Tom, can you say why you think that please?

 

[Tom80]

Thanks Tom, can you say why you think that please?

I think Dr Ball considers risk of shockloss and the surface to implant is still relatively minor and can be covered by existing hair

 

[Dazzster26]

Hi

I think you have a great head of hair and if the crown is bothering you that much seek further advice from other surgeons, or you could even have SMP just a thought .

 

[LH1992]

I've got thinning on the top of my head, the crown.

Dr Ball looked at some pictures and advised that he did not consider the hair loss extensive enough to allow a transplant. He said it could do more harm than good, endangering the good hair around the hair transplant. Farjo's people said similar, although they only had a sales person rather than a doctor look at my hair in person.

Dr Reddy took a different view - that a transplant was possible and can help, and that his technique is subtle enough to avoid endangering good hair.

I understand all these doctors are excellent and that this is a judgement call. But it's tough getting conflicting advice and leaves me uncertain about how to move forwards. I'd love to get some advice from other patients.

Hi Craig,

I’ve also had this exact scenario with conflicting information which has left me very confused.

Dr Reddy was the only surgeon who seemed prepared and not concerned about filling in my crown region where I still have a fair amount of existing hair.

Can I ask if you asked the question to Dr Reddy about his technique and how it would minimize damage/shock loss.

I’m currently booked in with Dr Vida at the Harley street hair clinic but have my concerns as I can’t find any reviews on him as a surgeon.

I know they’ve been around a long time and it’s where Wayne Rooney has his done all them years ago but I don’t get caught up I’m the whole celebrity thing.

They’ve been around since day dot and have a number of patient review videos on YouTube.

Dr Reddy also gave me two options which I also found confusing. A one day procedure consisting of 1500 grafts or 2 day procedure with up to 3000 grafts. This has left me somewhat confused and hard to make a decision.

 

[Guest!]

I’m currently booked in with Dr Vida at the Harley street hair clinic but have my concerns as I can’t find any reviews on him as a surgeon.

I personally wouldnt feel comfortable booking with a surgeon without knowing their work and seeing patient results

Dr Reddy also gave me two options which I also found confusing. A one day procedure consisting of 1500 grafts or 2 day procedure with up to 3000 grafts. This has left me somewhat confused and hard to make a decision.

Clinics/surgeons can only perform a certain amount of grafts in a day. 1500 grafts would cover lowering the hairline about 1cm and fill in the areas behind (takes about 1000 grafts to drop a hairline 1cm) while 3000 grafts would go to establishing the hairline going into the midscalp.

Do you know your norwood level? Clinics will always give conflicting information to patients based on their skillset/surgical approach/how much they can achieve, but it isn't always what is best for the patient.

 

[LH1992]

I personally wouldnt feel comfortable booking with a surgeon without knowing their work and seeing patient results


Clinics/surgeons can only perform a certain amount of grafts in a day. 1500 grafts would cover lowering the hairline about 1cm and fill in the areas behind (takes about 1000 grafts to drop a hairline 1cm) while 3000 grafts would go to establishing the hairline going into the midscalp.

Do you know your norwood level? Clinics will always give conflicting information to patients based on their skillset/surgical approach/how much they can achieve, but it isn't always what is best for the patient.

Hi,

Thanks for your reply, I’m currently Norwood 3 please see photos below.

Are you able to shed any light on the whole implanting hair where I still have a fair amount of existing hair situation.

The photo of my crown makes it looks worse than what it is in the photo below

I’m currently on 1mg oral fin and have been taking it for the last 9 months.

Thanks in advance for any advice.

 

[Guest!]

Thanks for your reply, I’m currently Norwood 3 please see photos below.

you are a Norwood 3v, or a nw5 depending on how solid your midscalp is. if you wanted to tackle the hairline then you are looking at 1500 grafts or so, and at least another 1500 for the crown.

Are you able to shed any light on the whole implanting hair where I still have a fair amount of existing hair situation.

Ill just give a basic run down of what i understand and hopefully someone can correct me.

Hair sits at an angle on the scalp so the surgeon needs to mimic those exact angles in order to avoid transecting and killing the native hair. Surgery also causes trauma to the scalp so there is also the potential of shock loss of native hair as well (which medications typically prevent). Because of these potential risks different clinics will approach your case differently; some want to avoid those regions entirely concerned about killing any native hair, others will happily transplant into these regions and IF they are skilled enough this would limit the potential need for future surgeries.

So it's really about what you want, what you are willing to risk, and finding the right clinic for your situation.

 

[Salazar]

I've been using 5% minoxidil liquid every morning and 12.5% minoxidil paste in the evening from Belgravia since 2016.
I take finasteride 1mg every day too and have done since 2016.

Your hair is looking great. What did it look like before you started treatment? If I saw you on the street, I would assume the bit at the back was merely a whorl. If it bothers you, I'm sure a good hairdresser could probably do something with it.

 

[LH1992]

Your hair is looking great. What did it look like before you started treatment? If I saw you on the street, I would assume the bit at the back was merely a whorl. If it bothers you, I'm sure a good hairdresser could probably do something with it.

Thanks, to be honest I feel like finasteride has made a slight improvement compared with how it was before but wouldn’t say the results have been drastic. I think if anything it’s just helped stabilize my hair loss.

I just do my best to try and cover the loss and give the illusion it’s not thinning but it’s gone to far now so I’m taking the plunge and getting it done.

 

[Dr Arvind]

Try Gene therapy for stopping your hairloss.

Why is it Gene Therapy?

Gene Therapy

www.fusehair.com

As for HT, remember it's Your donor hair and Your head.
Think everything through and then make your decision.
If you want to go conservative, you can always get more hair transplanted later.

Regards,
Dr A

 

[LH1992]

you are a Norwood 3v, or a nw5 depending on how solid your midscalp is. if you wanted to tackle the hairline then you are looking at 1500 grafts or so, and at least another 1500 for the crown.


Ill just give a basic run down of what i understand and hopefully someone can correct me.

Hair sits at an angle on the scalp so the surgeon needs to mimic those exact angles in order to avoid transecting and killing the native hair. Surgery also causes trauma to the scalp so there is also the potential of shock loss of native hair as well (which medications typically prevent). Because of these potential risks different clinics will approach your case differently; some want to avoid those regions entirely concerned about killing any native hair, others will happily transplant into these regions and IF they are skilled enough this would limit the potential need for future surgeries.

So it's really about what you want, what you are willing to risk, and finding the right clinic for your situation.

Hi,

Thanks for your response I’ve found the information useful. I guess in some ways it would make sense to get it all done and hope to avoid having to have another hair transplant in the future.

Since I booked with the Harley Street Hair clinic it’s been constantly on my mind as to whether or not I’ve made the right decision.

The two day option with Dr Reddy is obviously very expensive but ultimately I want to be satisfied with the result.