Hi,

I recently went for a consultation with Dr. Epstein and he explained to me that he wouldn't be able to use the hair from the donor strip to cover both the frontal areas and the crown region. Another doctor might be willing to do it, he said, but he wouldn't because it wouldn't look natural, particularly as I got older. (I'm 31.)

That made sense -- and I really appreciated his honesty and insistence on doing what's going to be best and not just telling me what I wanted to hear. And it seems that many men go ahead with the procedure even though the transplant isn't going to cover the balding area completely.

Is there anybody who's been in this situation who can comment on this issue? I'm just wondering whether to go ahead with HT even though only the front of my head will be filled in (he suggested 2300 grafts) and the crown will remain very thin.

Any thoughts on the subject would be most appreciated...

I would consult with a few more doc's, rssnyc.

If you are referring to the possibility that you do not have enough donor hair to adequately cover your bald spot, then the doctor is covering his ethical bases, sort to speak, so you understand "realistically" what can be achieved.
Just to let you know, I was told the same thing, until Dr. Shapiro discovered I have a loose scalp and he could harvest many more grafts than originally thought. It is good that Dr. Epstein is not telling you what you want to hear, nor is he telling you what he might be able to do. He is telling you what he "can" do, so be relieved with that at least.
I would be loathe to open my virgin scalp for less than 3000 grafts on HT #1, so if I were you, I would look around and check out a few more doc's.

well, my doctor said the same thing to me and so I went ahead and had the front half done and didn't touch the back half. going back in June for another HT for the back half this time

I also met with Dr. Epstein in Miami and he told me the same thing, that I don't have a lot of donor hair to cover the front, top and large bald crown area. He suggested only about 1800 or so for my first HT. But it seems like not enough to be worth the bother. If and when I do it, I want more like 3000+ to fill in more. I appreciate his honesty, but I must say that I went home discouraged. I keep cutting my hair shorter, but I am approaching NW 5 or so and I am almost ready to just give up and shave my head.

I think it all depends on what you want to accomplish along with how much you can spend. I know I wasn't going to be able to fill in all my hair in my last HT but had a plan for two prcoedures if the first went well. I took care of the front half with this last HT and am going back in June for the back half. I personally think this is the best plan for me as I had the 2000 dense packed into the front third and now have a nice hairline. with my next HT I will get the remainder of the midscalp and crown dense packed and hopefully will be done. If the back fills in as well as the front did. It is a test of patience to get the two HT's spread out but in the long run think it's definately the way to go and would tell anyone in my situation to do it this way

Sometimes a moderate hairline with a thinning crown looks OK. Better than being completely bald anyway.Especially when you get older.
I specifically asked my Dr to leave me a little "thin" in the crown because I've been bald for so long and it will look more natural when Im older.
Personal taste I suppose.

From my visit with Dr. Epstein and what i have read and seen here i think he usually doesnt do less than 1700 and more than 2200-2300 grafts a session. If you want a mega session you should look into Hasson and wong. Jojotronic (sp) said his donor hair wasnt much but his results are incredible. Not to say that Dr. E work isnt great bc you can tell by all the pics on his website and ppl here that he does very good work but doesnt do megasessions.