All - just wanted to inform you, that this morning I had a consultation with Dr Griffin in Atlanta. I was extremely impressed and have decided to have a procedure with 900-1200 Grafts. The team was extremely professional; I was with them for over 2 1/2 years. They gave me the re-assurance I needed.

I had previously been to Bosley. How that place is still making money is beyond me. They are focused 100% on sales and dont seem to care about the patients needs.

Dr Griffin on the other hand was genuinely concerned, there wasn't any 'salesy' B.S!

I am 30 years old and generally balding from the top of the head down to the crown. We decided we should first focus on the top of my head and then the crown could be addressed further down the road. (a. because of my age, b. am taking propecia and would like to see impact of that first). I do however, have the option to do the top of the head and crown all at once - 1500 Grafts.

Any thoughts / comments welcome.

Difficult to say without seeing pictures, but 1500 is not many grafts. Most people could easily put that many and more in just the crown area. Depends on where your baldness level is. Dr. Griffin has had good reviews. He does quality work.

Think about getting another consultation i would suggest 3 in total, 1500 graphs is not that much IMO, i wasnt happy with 2500 (2000 in front) but im hard to please, if i only needed 2000-3000 graphs to be complete there is no way i would have strip surgery, no way, so if 1500 makes you done think about your options, good luck on your journey, research-research-research and then more reading

nrn,

Congratulations on finding your way to one of the very best hair restoration surgeons in the world. I have had the privilege of watching Dr. Griffin do surgery at his clinic on two separate occasions and both times I found his technique, staff and care to be absolutely first rate. Click here, to view the highlights from my most recent visit to his clinic.

He and his staff are one of the quiet gem in the rough clinics that do not get their fair share of accolades online.

While I'm confident in the quality of their very refined surgical work, I do think that 900-1200 grafts does sound like a small first session. Are you just receding in the temples or is your hair loss on top and in the crown more extensive?

Are you limiting your session size because of money considerations? I know that Dr. Griffin has a very large staff with over eight microscope equipped work stations so I know they could do a much larger session.

If you could post your photos this would be helpful.

Best wishes, Pat

See attached Photo, Thanks for help

NHair.JPG (165 Kb, 65 downloads)

nrn,

I hope you got a precription for Propecia because you look like an excellent candidate.

If you have not been on Propecia I would try that for 9 months to a year before doing the surgery.

Thanks nrn,
I see you still have some hair in your balding areas. I agree that Propecia could actually thicken that up for you.

Thanks for responses guys. So do you think I should hold off on surgery for now? What are the drawbacks of undergoing surgery in my current state?

I have been on propecia for 6 months. Haven't seen a significant difference. Thanks

nrn,
First off, thanks for posting your experience with Dr. Griffin. It is important that we get this feedback in order to see what type of care is being given by members of the coalition. I looked at your picture, and I would assume that Dr. Griffin spoke with you about a series of surgeries over a certain length of time, starting with the front first while you go on propecia to see if you can thicken the crown? BTW, you will probably not notice a difference with Propecia for about a year unless you take photos month by month for the first year. As always, I suggest you do several consults, simply from an experience standpoint. You seem to have retained some hair in the mid-scalp region and some of the frontal forelock, so Dr. Griffin is probably going to accentuate that with 1500 grafts first, and then see what gets shocked out through surgery or simply falls out in the coming months. I am not a doctor, but my personal opinion is wait and go big. Wait and see if your hairloss stabilizes, then go in for 3000+ and fill in the front half. You are going to need at least 2 surgeries to fill in everything, so unless you want to sit through 5 1500 graft sessions, just hold off until you are ready to do it fully. I completely understand what Dr. Griffin is telling you, so do not get thrown off by a low graft number. I just think that a virgin scalp is the most elastic it will ever be, so to cut it open on such a small procedure hardly seems beneficial. Ultimately it is your choice, but I think you are in good hands and the doctor has set up a solid treatment program for you that will not waste donor hair in the wrong areas. Good Luck and keep asking questions!!
PS. Let us know how you are proceding, OK?