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Hair Transplant Surgery

G

greg12580

Valued member
Hi everybody.
I began to lose my hair when I was around 23 and since I was around 26, I have kept it cropped very short. I have always thought about undergoing a transplant but I was not in a financial position to do so and I also wanted to wait until I was a little older to see if I would suffer any more hair loss before undertaking a transplant.
I am 37 later this year and I have been growing my hair in (to see exactly how it looks at the sides and back for any possible donor area). The back and sides are thick but as you can see the front is not. (I hope the photos have uploaded).
I had a consultation with DHI in Glasgow and they told me that they could perform the transplant with good density after examining my follicles. I had mostly 2/3 hairs in each follicle. It was only after I had left that I realised I do not know my Norwood scale number (although I suspect 6).
I have another consultation arranged for this weekend with another surgeon (Darren McKeown) and also will be making a consultation with The Glasgow Clinic.
My main concern about a transplant is poor density and I am afraid that my hair will grow in too thin with the scalp showing which I think would be worse. Do you have any idea by looking at my photos, about the amount of follicle grafts I may need for good density.DHI suggested I would be best with their Giga 2 day session, but I do not know how many follicles that would be that could be transplanted.I am thinking of having another appointment with them to ask more questions.
Does anyone here have knowledge of DHI in Glasgow? I have emailed some customers from their Facebook pages but have not had responses yet. Some of the Forum posts for DHI are not that great although they date from 2011 etc. I have seen some more positive ones online recently.
I have found the Forum really helpful too in reading other experiences about hair loss.
Thanks for taking the time to read this,
Greg.
 

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greg12580

Valued member
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greg12580

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B

Bastion

Member
Most clinics who have been around a long time will have some results that weren`t as good as expected. The last 5 years have seen DHI and The Glasgow Clinic produce great results. I believe you will be ok going with either clinic, only you can decide, though.
Graft estimate: How much coverage are you going for? Full coverage will take 4-5000 grafts. This will provide good density with the frontal half, thinning out towards the crown.
Frontal half will take 3-3500.
Both are just my estimates, more experienced members or clinics will be able to advise more accurately.
 
G

greg12580

Valued member
Hey, thanks for your reply.
Yes at the consultation, it was agreed to keep my hairline still back as it would be unnatural to have it forward especially with age.
I would prefer to have the best coverage at the front and thinner towards the crown (as this is also more natural).
They recommended me for the Giga session over 2 days. I either cant remember how many grafts they said or he forgot but its likely that Ive forgot!
They advertise as much as 10,000 with Giga Session. I think I would have remembered if he had said that though.
I have emailed to ask again
 
B

Bastion

Member
10,000 is most likely hairs, not grafts. 2.2 hairs per graft on average will work out at 4-5000 grafts.
 
B

Bastion

Member
It sounds your consultation was informative with DHI. The Glasgow Clinic will be similar. I`ve not heard of the other guy you mention. When you have a consultation, it`s advisable to go away and think about it before making any decision. It`s quite common to forget or not understand something, this can then be followed up with no commitment.
 
G

greg12580

Valued member
I have emailed them to ask because he did go over everything with me including examining my hair follicles. It is possible that I've forgotten the amount when I came away from the meeting - should have written it down!
 
G

greg12580

Valued member
Im not making or rushing into any decision about this. Its too important and too expensive to do that.

I just wanted to see if there were any more recent reviews from the clinics. I have emailed asking for a list of their clients which they said they can supply me with.
I have also corresponded with a client who used them too - in one of their different clinics though.
It just seemed that the forums were full of mixed information but not that much about them, recent
 
B

Bastion

Member
There is a poster named Ryan who updates his surgery with DHI on a regular basis.
 
G

greg12580

Valued member
DHI replied this to me (sorry its long!)


Not a problem for your questions, I am more than happy to assist you as much
as I can.

As for your Norwood scale I should say that you are between 5 and 6 and
closer to 6. For the hair follicles you asked, we always go for the maximum
possible in order to cover the areas of interest. We avoid giving exact
numbers as every case is different and the extraction is different to each
person.

What we can guarantee though is that we will cover the area with the maximum
possible density meaning on the day of your session we will not stop the
extraction until we get the numbers we need. Even if we need to extend the
session total time we always do it (without charging you anything extra of
course).

Now and as I have explained over the consultation and because it is a quite
large area to cover, it would be better to focus on the front and middle
part of your head (A+B Zones) and place as much as possible on the crown.
That means that the density on the crown might be a bit lower but for all
the rest will be the maximum possible and I believe you will love it! You
might need another session for the crown later on and if the hair loss
continues also, I cannot promise you that you won't but I think you will be
the one to decide that as you might be happy and satisfied with one session
as you won't see the crown every day as you know.

I hope I helped you as much as possible but we can always have a small chat
again over the phone if you prefer and I can answer to any more questions
you might have.​

 
G

greg12580

Valued member
The Glasgow Clinic replied this:

Hi Greg,

Many thanks for your enquiry and although it's always difficult to be
accurate whilst looking at pictures, the images indicate you would probably
need 2500 grafts to restore middle to front. It looks like you have
sufficient density in the donor area, but this could only be confirmed at a
face to face consultation. The crown would require a second procedure at a
later date.

When considering hair transplant, you need to be realistic about future
density and at best you're shooting for around 30% - 40% of what you
previously had. If you po into the clinic, I can show you an example of a
similar patient and explain in greater detail.

You may also want to consider medication such as Finasteride (Propecia) or
Minoxidil (Rogaine). They are both clinically proven to stop or
significantly slow down further hair loss.
 
C

close

Member
Hi Greg,
I've done all of my HTs with DHI and as a "clean" NW6 I can say that 6.000 hairs (almost 3000 grafts) should be enough in order to cover the front of your scalp (zones A & B) and maybe they can also use some grafts for your vertex too. Your advantage is that you have really high sidewall-hairs and you will need less grafts for your mid and front part than a regular NW6 patient. However, you will definitely need another HT in order to fully cover your vertex. For me that is an advantage as you will also have the possibility to add some density, if needed, to the front part as well during your second HT. In my opinion, I think that trying to cover NW patterns like ours with one operation is really a wrong strategy. So take a look on my case (which however was more difficult and demanding than yours) and have a look what someone can achieve with patience and perseverance.

So here is my story: http://imgur.com/a/hyVtt#0

I hope you will have a great result.
 
G

greg12580

Valued member
Thanks very much for your reply - I will have a look
I really appreciate it :)
 
G

greg12580

Valued member
I have received further information regarding the doctor who would perform my transplant. He is Doctor Epameinondas Bonaros who has performed around 1000 procedures. His GMC Number in the UK is 7566786

Does anyone have knowledge of him?

Thanks.
 
G

greg12580

Valued member
I have emailed the DHI clinic to say that I really need to think about this more. They will probably thing I am a time waster as they arranged for me to meet the doctor I mentioned above.
I was just so uncertain when I could not find any info about him and that he had only been working in the UK since November.

Have I been unreasonable in cancelling - I think I would be wasting their time and mine :(
 
Bigmac

Bigmac

Administrator
Staff member
Hi Greg, welcome to the forum.
With your level of loss you're never going to get density that hides the scalp completely. You could achieve a great look, with the appearance of a full head of hair and a nice framing to your face.
I'd guess somewhere in the region of 4000 grafts for you. Your donor looks good and you have a good beard supply if you wanted to use some of that as donor.
Take your time, have consults, speak to patients and ask any questions you're unsure of.
Remember, a HT is a big decision.
All the best.

Bm.
 
G

greg12580

Valued member
Thanks for the reply BM.
Ive had a few consultations now - some face to face and some online.
I think I know now that I will need to have more than 1 HT to achieve a better density. The density is what concerns me the most. I am afraid that after I go through with it, they tell me they were only able to transplant 2000 grafts, then I am going to be really disappointed. As I said I am aware that I will probably want a further session at some point.
The Glasgow Clinic said that I would require 2,500 grafts to rebuild the hairline and mid.
DHI Glasgow said that it wasn't about how many grafts they placed, but how many would actually grow and added that what would be the point of placing 3000 grafts if only 2000 grew, but added that in my case they anticipated 2,500-3000 or more grafts in extraction was good. This would be for the hairline and midsection and less for the crown. Then if I wanted to have another smaller session later they could look at that with me.
A Brussels clinic told me they thought I would require 2 separate sessions each with 3,200 grafts.
I also contacted a clinic in Canada who told me 3,000 grafts too.
There are so many different things out there on forums etc!

 
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