Thanks to this excellent forum, I have come to the conclusion that HT is the way to go and I can't wait to get it done.

Being a NW 5 though, I want to take an aggressive approach and tackle this in one big session (assuming I have enough donor hair).

Are there any doctors in North America that routinely do 4500 - 5000+ grafts in one session.

This seems to be hardly a challenge for Hasson and Wong, but I haven't seen/heard of any other docs who do this on a very regular basis.

Has anybody else on this forum had such a mega-session with anybody other than H&W?

Furless,

Welcome to our community.

Most of our coalition doctors do megasessions of 3000 grafts on a regular basis.

However, doing a 4500-5000 megasession is hardly routine for any hair transplant physician. Of course it's possible, but a lot of this depends on a patient's physiology (donor laxity and density) as well as the physician's philosophy and skill level.

I do have a tendency to lean toward the larger single sessions personally, but a case can be made for subsequent smaller sessions.

My advice would be look at before/after pictures of patients who have received these types of larger mega-sessions and then consult with the physicians that "wow" you.

Best regards,

Falc

Thanks Falc,

I have gone through lots of photo galleries, blogs etc, but have hardly seen any 4500+/1 session results from physicians other than H&W.

I will keep looking, but I was hoping to hear from patients of other doctors who've undergone similar megasession.

Thank you.

Good news is that even a lot of guys with less than optimal donor banks can get a lot of transplants. Hoewever it will need a combo of both strip and FUE in that case.

Furless, it seems you have no problem traveling to get your HT.

And yes H&W are king of the mega sessions if that is how you decide to go.

A one shot stand alone HT where you won't need anymore work is a nice thought if you are the right candidate with the right surgeon.

good luck,

H&W are definitely the group performing the majority of the larger sessions. Others are capable but I don't believe it is as routine.

NN

I had a 4600+ session done by Dr Rahal and I know he routinely does these Megasessions. I am very happy with my results and you can check out my progress in the logs section for "Undercover",
I will be updating the pics soon and start a new thread telling people to check out the pictures.
I really think you would be vey happy with Dr Rahal.

Undercover

quote:

Originally posted by Furless:
Thanks to this excellent forum, I have come to the conclusion that HT is the way to go and I can't wait to get it done.

Being a NW 5 though, I want to take an aggressive approach and tackle this in one big session (assuming I have enough donor hair).

Are there any doctors in North America that routinely do 4500 - 5000+ grafts in one session.

This seems to be hardly a challenge for Hasson and Wong, but I haven't seen/heard of any other docs who do this on a very regular basis.

Has anybody else on this forum had such a mega-session with anybody other than H&W?

Undercover,

You may want to fix the link to your weblog in your signature .

Falc

I guess I did overlook Rahal. Didn't know that 4000+ was considered routine for him? What defines routine anyways? 1*week, 1*month???

NN

but which doctor moves the most amount of hairs rather than grafts and still does very refined work? Recently I have seen some impressive pics from Ron Shapiros office of double follicular units which produce alot of hair in fewer grafts.......

Thank you all for the replies.

I also discovered (thanks again to this forum) that Dr. Sharon Keene in AZ does 5000+ megasessions, split over 2 days.

Folica,

quote:

A one shot stand alone HT where you won't need anymore work is a nice thought if you are the right candidate with the right surgeon.

Could you please help me better understand this?
I am 31, a NW 5 with very good donor hair (so I'm told).
Does that make me a good candidate?

What are the potential pitfalls with my planned agressive approach?

The one pitfall I can think of is that there's a limited supply of donor hair, and if all/most of it is possibly used by an unsatisfactory mega-session (God forbid), then there's nowhere to go from there.
I guess that should be a big concern, and should probably make me think twice about my approach.
However after seeing some consistently amazing results with such super sized sessions at this forum, the instant gratification that's afforded (well as instant as it can get), it seems like a very attractive option.

Are there any other pitfalls? (proven higher risk of shockloss etc.)

Thanks again.

Furless, Being a NW6 myself a single stand alone HT sounded very attractive to me.

I found out that there are risk & limitations to these mega sessions.

First of all at 31 you may not be a candidate for a mega session because of there being a good chance that your hairloss will progress as you age.

Also, even the best mega sessions surgeons can't always take 5 to 6k grafts if you don't have excellent scalp laxity.

And finally, I think having two mid size 3K graft sessions leaves your options open for the next anticipated surgery buying you some more time to see where your hairloss might progress.

I'd like to see a pic of where you are now. That would be helpful.

Also, there was quite a discussion about ther two day mega session that a couple of surgeons offer.
IMO, after going through the first day of surgery, the next day I don't see how I could have felt up to a surgery the following day, no way!
My head ached & I just wanted to lay my head softly on a pillow, not the surgery chair again!

Think about your options, your surgeon & your approach carefully before you proceed.

And as you can see in my signature, I do not recommend Finasteride due to possible side effects that may be irreversible.

I definitely agree with Folica on his point on the two day surgery. After the surgery is over, you are so sore that you just want to lay down. I still don't knowif I can go for another round 10 months later let alone the next day.

Undercover

Hi all

The most notable is surely H & W as far as posted results ( Amazing results). There are a couple others who can do it as well. I looked throght the posts and did not see how old you were?

All things constant, I would agree it would be best to do one megasession as far as cutting back on surgeries. Just been sure to do scalp exercises to maximize the session. A conservative approach is fine too ( as I went) bit if you can shave your hard and have the laxity/money it is ideal. But if you are young and havent stabilized your hairloss, all bets are off.

I am assuming you are in your mid thirties or above?

Thank you all for the responses.

Mrjb,
I am 31. I have consistent diffused hair loss on the top of my head. My native hair density is down to about 10 FUs/cm2 througout on the top.

I will post a pic soon.

Undercover,

I'm sorry I couldn't find your weblog. Could you please point me to it.

Folica, NervousNelly,

Yes, H&W were top on my list. Being an international I have to get 3 different visas to get there (this really takes months and is not as straight forward as it should be).
This was a deterrent, and hence I set out to find a reputed Coalition Surgeon in North America who routinely does such mega sessions.

I will bite the bullet and get those 3 visas if I have to if H&W or Dr. Rahal are my best options.

BTW, I have consulted with 3 clinics and they all seemed to think that I would need about 4500 grafts for good coverage.

H&W said they could do it in one session.
Dr. Sharon Keene would split it up in to a two day session.
I just didn't "feel it" with the third clinic.

The Link is right at the bottom of this response or under my name to the left. Just click it and you will be there.
Undercover

Amazing results, Undercover!
You must be ecstatic. Compliments to Dr. Rahal.