21 year old, Norwood 4.75, some question towards the end

ihategenetics

Hello Dr. Cole And Team,

First off I just want to say WOW!!!! I absolutely commend you all on everything you all are doing at IHTI. Dr. Cole is a god in this industry.

But I am writing this post because I am a 21 year old that is somewhere between a Norwood 4 and 5 but closer to 5 which is why I made the subject of this post Norwood 4.75. Anyways, I probably first started noticing hair loss somewhere around 17 or 18 but it wasn’t that bad or noticeable. But now 3 almost 4 years later I have lost a considerable amount of hair (at least in my eyes). I promise I am not another young 20 year old worried about a few hairs falling off my hair line (it’s more than that). And taking a look at the family tree I can see that I am on a one way train to horseshoeville. Being so young and losing so much hair has allowed me to really get to know a few new friends, Anxiety and Self Consciousness.

I began researching hair transplants several months back. I started off looking into Bosley and quickly found that I would be better off rubbing my scalp up against rocks (the result would probably be much better than a Bosley transplant, Hahahah). Needless to say I wasn’t too interested in the Texas Chainsaw Approach. My father was going to get a transplant with Dr. Richard Giannotto (Northern VA) and he set me up a consultation with him. So I quickly hit the net to find out anything I could find out about Giannotto. I found a handful of positives but it was a lot easier to find negatives. So, there will be no consultation with Giannotto, I’m not really interested about what he has to say. I then found out about the IAHRS, and through their website I found Dr. Cole. The FIT procedure immediately appealed to me, and the fact that Dr. Cole is one of only 25 surgeons currently inducted in the IAHRS gave me a sense of comfort. But I still had that “it’s too good to be true” voice in the back of my mind. So once again I hit the net trying to find any negatives I could about Cole, and I tell you what, I probably had a better chance at winning the lotto. You can find anything on the internet nowadays and if you can’t find what your looking for then there is a good chance it dosen’t exist. So what does that say about Dr. Cole’s negatives?

I do apologize for such a long post, I did not intend to write a novel, but I am someone who is not easily impressed and I must say I currently am. I don’t think any other surgeon can touch Dr. Cole and his FIT procedure.

So, if your still reading here are the questions I had:

Have you performed a good amount of procedures on people between the ages of 18-23? And if so, any pics I could look at?

I know Dr. Cole is a busy gut but, after the consultation, if I am found to be a good candidate for a transplant, how long down the road would I have to wait for the procedure?

Last Question: I live 30 min south of D.C. so going to the D.C. office for a consultation wouldn’t be a problem, but would it be more beneficial if I had the consultation with Dr. Cole himself or am I in good hands either way?

I know Dr. Cole turns away a lot of patients my age because they still have a lot of hair loss to go, or financial issues. And that to me shows honesty. Just another reason I have respect. But once again I do assure you I’ve lost a good amount of hair. After all the research I really couldn’ta see myself getting a transplant by anyone else.

Look forward to hearing the responses.

drewsturner

Hello:

I had my first session with Dr. Cole when I was 23 years old. Like yourself I had some time to research for a few months after I graduated from college but Cole fit the mold I was looking for. I would encourage you to have a consultation at your earliest convenience...

Michelle

There are many factors that Dr. Cole considers when anyone under the age of 30 wants to get hair transplant.

1. What are your expectations?
2. Has your hairloss stablized?
3. What are your donor resources?
4. What is your family history of hairloss?
5. You must have been using maximum medical therapy for at least 1-2 years i.e. Propecia, Rogaine, Nizoral and www.haircycle.com shampoos
6. Do you have the resources to keep up with your hairloss?

There are more factors that he considers but these are some of the most important.

donebeingbald

About a year ago...14 months to be exact I had a procedure with Dr Giannotto in Washington DC. I misplaced the card and went online to get the number and came upon this. I too did extensive research befor moving forward with Dr Giannotto. I found the internet to be helpful but being in the IT world Iknow that you can't always believe everything you read. Actually the main reason I chose Dr Giannotto to do my surgery was his proximity to where I live and teh consultation that I had with him. I went to other Dr's in the area, but nobody locally practiced fuul time. Also he has been there for yeras and years. I had already scheduled teh surgery but still called some guys on the referral list...all obviously very happy. I am glad that I chose him. The results for me have been nothing short of amazing. Nobody can tell I had hair transplants. I am now deeply considering another round to fill in some. I also take Propecia and think that has definitely helped me hold on to the locketts that I have.

Anyone considering Hair Transplants should take the time and meet personally with Dr Giannotto I certainly am happy that I did.

I would also highly reccomend Propecia and Minoxidil to help hold on to the hair you have today...When I was there, there was a younger guy in the lobby that was upset that teh doctor wouldnt do surgery on him due to his age. At first i was alarmed then quickly realized it wasnt all about the money!

Just a thought.

Good luck to all of you looking for the right solution. There are a lot of great doctors out there and the resulats are pretty darn good!

See ya

MM

CITness

donebeingbald,

Mark Long is a long time patient of our clinic, he is the actual senior consultant attending our DC consultation session on the 3rd of November, 2007. I would be more than willing to helpfully answer any questions that you may have about what we offer.

I just viewed your doctors site but I don't particularly understand the pattern of his photo gallery results. In the gallery, the after photos are all forward shots of the hairline and the presentation is not consistent with showing the treated regions.

I didn't find the site to be informative about this clinics approach to restore hair. It seems that there are no follow-up photos of the patients' donor sites and or information on exactly what procedure is performed at the clinic.

In hair restoration, one must be fully aware of his or her options and convenience may not be the best solution to obtain desired results.

My advice is not medical advice

ineedsomehair

donebeingbald,

are your results posted and are you in your docs patient photo gallery?

ihategenetics

hey drewsturner....
I'm just curious what your degree of hairloss was when you got your transplant and do you have any pics you'd be willing to share?

drewsturner

I'm not sure what degree of hr I was at the time, probably a norwood 3. I sometimes look at an old id right before I did the first procedure and I was bald, bald, bald! I'm really glad I did it and plan on going back for a touch up in the near future. Dr. Cole has all the pictures of me which I have given permission to view. Contact them...