9-16-2004

Looking good. Please tell us where your Doc is located and your stats: number of grafts, breakdown, etc ...

fireman,

Thanks for posting your pictures.

To be honest, and I don't mean to be critical at all, so I hope you don't take it personal, but it appears that you may have received mini or micro grafts rather than Follicular Unit Transplantation.

From your day after pictures, the grafts are spaced far apart and the grafts seem relatively large. How many grafts did you receive? From the date you have posted (9/16/2004), this surgery was obviously done sometime ago. Do you have an recent pictures of how your surgery turned out? Your 5 month photos don't show any real growth, so I'm wondering what the results look like now that the surgery has fully matured.

Again, I am not trying to be negative, but since you posted your pictures on an open forum, I want to give you my honest evaluation. By today's standards of FUT, this looks like old school work. I'm sorry man. How do you feel about your results?

Falc

Falc,

I agree with most of what you say but let me offer what I think may have possibly happened here.

First, I do not think these are mini or micro, I think these are FU's spaced way to far apart.

Second, The larger scabs could be that larger blades and non-lateral slit techniques were used.

Third, Either there was some permanent shockloss or loss of native hair due to MPB occuring during the time of HT and now.


The net result of the low number of grafts did not outpace the hairloss both natural or from HT trauma shockloss. This is giving the overall look still unfinished.


Glock, We are not trying to be negative here, I hope your expectations were met. The one big positive is that your transplanted hair will not fall out. You look relatively young based on the lack of wrinkles on your skin. Are you taking propecia?? This can help save what native hair you have.

Fireman, I mistakenely refered to you as glock, sorry that was another thread.

Falceros,

I believe your comments are uncalled for and very rude. As a senior member on this forum I believe you should know better than to make such derogatory statements. Obviously this new member has taken the time to post his experience with members of this forum and the last thing he wishes to hear is such poor remarks.

I believe that we should be offering words of encouragement on his decision to make changes, not telling him his procedure was performed using " old school" technology. Obviously your initial transplants were less than optimum, hence your decision for further transplants to augment it. Would it have been fair for others to comment that your first transplants were woefully inadequate for your state of hair loss? I am sure you would not have been amused at such remarks.

Since he states "first HT", it would be prudent to assume that he intends in obtaining additional procedures to accomplish his intentions. Perhaps I am wrong in this assumption, and this was his desires. Whichever the case, it his decision. His progression over 5 months shows healing went along very well, and appears quite natural. I believe your assumption that it was performed using mini or micro grafts was incorrect. If you had concerns over the surgery, I believe it would have been more tactful to illicit further information from him before your criticism. It seems you jumped the gun on this one, Falceros. I hope you have not alienated a prospective member by your hasty comments.

STFU dork.

pushing 40, in a "battle of wits" you obviously have presented yourself unarmed. One would have thought at your age you would have grown up, apparently not, some people never do.

NoBuzz,

You may be right about the mini/micro grafts. Having a second look at the pictures, it seems that I may have mistaken the scabs for larger grafts. But indeed the grafts are a bit far apart. It's possible also what you say about shockloss or advanced MPB. Of course, at 5 months, it's still early on, so I hope fireman will post updated pictures.

Studentjay,

I am very surprised at your reaction honestly. Since you have initially started posting here, you've been screaming Hasson and Wong first above every other doctor who has been "unqualified" in your opinion. All I'm stating is my honest assessment of the surgery and I did it tactfully with no intent to harm fireman. Are you suggesting that I should not give an honest assessment? Honesty is honesty, whether it sounds positive or it sounds negative. I made it clear that my intent was not to harm but only to give an honest evaluation. Anyway, I am not going to debate with you on why honesty is the best policy. If you can't figure that one out, then it's beyond your understanding.

Falc

I missed this thread earlier, but I have to say that Falceros' comments mimic what my own would have been.

Why are the grafts spaced so far apart and what type density was promised?

Student, you are assuming that fireman is treating his hairloss conservatively, and has already planned additional surgeries which may correctly be the case.

However, it may be that fireman is expecting full frontal restoration and does not know that he will require additional surgeries to attain a higher density.

Either way, we all see the issues and it simply depends on firemans response before any additional comments are necessary.

I would appreciate it if we all decided NOT to hijack this thread and allowed fireman to share additional information.

I would also like to be able to help fireman ascertain his options should he want to discuss his and his Doc's thought process and gameplan.

Thanks for understanding.
J

Hi

I don't think there was anything said out of line. Falc was simply stating an observation which is a legit point..If he was wrong, OK but it was not an attack or blantant comment. We don't know of this doctor and maybe we want to know his strategy for this HT..

No foul

Play on

studentjay

I echo the other forum members who agree with what falc said. Would you rather have had him say?: "Wow...great job"

I believe these forums should help educate people of the good and bad hts. We want to hear people's opinions. If your "prospective members" don't join because someone here is telling it like it is, then that's their problem. They have to wake up and realise that not all hts are rosy.

Fireman-
Before this thread devolves further, could you in narrative form, tell us what you and your Doctor discussed prior to your HT? How much hair you had available for transplant --
What your desires were for a hairline--
How much density you were going for--
etc--

Thanks for contributing to this forum .
S-n-P

B Spot...great post. I agree...it would be best not to hijack the thread with anything else than to give fireman the chance to share his story and situation and if he wanted further help, to offer it to him. I thank everyone who has been so diligent with helping people on this forum.

Falc

Falceros,

First, I appreciate your response to my rebuttal, secondly I am pleased you have retracted your previous statement indicating the use of mini/micro grafts due to the erroneous impressions you initially voiced. Honesty, as you stated, is the best policy, but one must be cautious in voicing it until all the fact are in, to do so prematurely, as you have, diminishes its validity. In my opinion, it would have been more prudent to illicit more information from this poster of his procedure to determine certain aspects of his transplant before judging it as a success or failure. It appears that HK500, in his post previous to yours, was attempting this before offering his opinion.

I understand that your intentions were not to unfairly criticize his photo, noted by your disclaimer of not having him take it personally, but this in no way can ameliorate the impact of your criticism, the end result being identical. Hopefully Fireman has not viewed your comments before your retraction, and regretted his efforts of making his experience public. We all make mistakes, to err is human, but many can be avoided by not making haste.



B spot,

Yours is the prudent approach, obtain additional information first, then offer an evaluation one way or another. We are not privy to certain thoughts or intentions Fireman has concerning his transplant and the possibility of future transplants, if any. I hope Fireman will take the time to inform us of these facts, so informed opinions can then be offered.



All others (except pushing 40)

See above. No one is asking you to lie to this individual, but it is imperative that further information be gathered before an informed opinion can be properly generated.


Pushing 40,

"Better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak out and remove all doubt" (AL), words I believe you should live by.

Studentjay,

Intelligent post...well done. I agree that the questions first approach is the best one, though I'll still hold that giving an evaluation of what I see from the photos is acceptable. Using words like "appears" and "may" convey that I'm only speculating by the photos, not making an indefinite claim to which I'd have to retract later in the event I was wrong. Looking again, after nobuzz's evaluation, I realize that I was probably incorrect in my initial assessment/speculation about mini/micro grafts, though again, it is unknown and may honestly remain unknown unless someone with knowledge of this doctor's philosophies and practice come forward sharing such information. However, nobuzz pointed out another perspective about what may have happened, and he very well may be correct or incorrect. Truth is, we don't really know until fireman comes forward (hopefully he does) to share with us his experience and any other relevant information.

BUT, that being said...you are correct that it is very possible that one can be negatively impacted by criticism. Yet at the same time, one must ask whether or not the one making the critisicm is to blame for the negative impact or the interpretation thereof of the individual that is to blame. Truth is, it is impossible to know which individuals respond well to constructive criticism and which individuals do not. But I appreciate the challenge of the recognition that some people may take offense to things, even if offense is not intended.

Fireman,

We hope you'll share your experience with us.

Falc

STFU dork.

I agree 100% with Falc's posts on this thread. In my opinion they were tactful, honest and right on. As others have already expressed well, Falc would have been doing this patient a disservice if he sugar coated his feedback or ignored this topic.

Falc and the other veterans on this site are merely helping this patient get to the best work sooner than letting him learn the hard and expensive way.

StudentJay your sniping at the valued members of this forum and chest pounding is getting very old. This is not a high school debating forum where we strive to match your delusional brilliance.

Let's get back to the issue at hand - getting this patient honest feedback and guidance.

Pat

Amen Brother

Well stated ..

fireman0423,

Can you shed any light to your posting of pics? Were you looking for an opinion on your HT? Why is the date beside the pic 9-16-04?

I don't really have anything to add but would like to hear how we can help you here. From what is depicted in the photos, you likely won't end up with any density to speak of since the grafts are space so far apart.

Any light you can shed on your situation will help!