HAIR TRANSPLANT FORUM

Hi,
This is my first time on this forum.
I'd like to post my photos 10 months post-op for your expert opinion.
I am very disappointed because as you can see, hair on the left and the right temples are filling in very badly – they are almost bare.
The transplanted area is very noticeable because of the growth density is very low, compared to the hair around it.
It has been this way for the past 5 months, and I don’t think it’s going to get better.
I wonder if anyone on this forum has any thoughts on the results demonstrated here.
I dont think it's necessary to post the pre-op photos because as you can see, the transplanted areas are where the bare patches are.
Thank you!

Hi, I am sorry to hear that you are disappointed. was it strip or fue? who did your surgery?
How old are you?

As forhair said, I am very sorry you are disappointed with your results so far. However, I have to say that it doesn't appear that you had very much hair loss to begin with. The reason you may feel that the hairline work looks unnatural is that your native hair is so dense and the transplanted hair was likely added at a lighter density (as physicians must do in order to maximize yield). This does not mean that you've necessarily had a poor yield- just that you may need additional procedures to achieve a density more comparable to your existing hair.

I'm also curious to know who did your procedure?

Maybe some Minox might help are u a Cole patient?

It's a CIT procedure, done by forhair's affiliate office in Seoul.
1,500 grafts.
I've been using minoxidil & procecia concurrently for many years.
I've started to lose hair since 13 years ago, and hesitated for the past 3 years before I finally decided to do it - after extensive research on the different types of transplants and all the established transplant clinics out there.
I'm 36.

Sorry to read these results but I would give it 18 months before I decide the job went bad although u do have me nervous now I'm almost 3 month post op.

I'm not a fan of low hairlines such as this one and i would caution both physicians and patients against them. I also do not like bringing the temple areas out like this on the side of the head. Many physicians do this and it is never a good idea. Unfortunately, patients tend to encourage physicians to do it and some physicians do what they are asked. Neither the patient or the physician should want to place grafts on the side of the head in the temple area like this.

It is natural for hair to be lost in the temple regions such that a natural male hair line forms. Many men wish to bring this area back out. It's not a good idea. i never do it. It is one thing to graft a temple point. It is entirely differnt thing to graft this gutter or hair loss. My advice to all physicians is to avoid doing it. If the patient wants it done, refuse to do it. Make them go somewhere else to get this look because it is very difficult to make it look natural and full.

in this case, pre-op photos would have been very nice. It appears to me that there really is no hair loss other than an elevated frontal hair line. If patients want to lower the hair line onto the vertical part of the scalp, they better anticipate more than one procedure to get the density they want. This is because when you graft onto the vertical aspect of the scalp, you are going to be able to look straight through the hair when you look in a mirror and so is anyone looking at you from the front. When you read a book, you hold the book 90 degrees to the eyes. When you hold it parallel to the eyes, the words become blurred, but at 90 degrees you can read every letter clearly. When you keep the grafts on the horizontal plane, you often do not need more than one session because the hair becomes blurred and it looks thicker than it really is. When you graft onto the vertical plane, you now can see each hair clearly just like every letter in a word at 90 degrees to the eyes. When you graft onto the vertical plane, you are going to be able to see through the hair after one session. It is going to take more than one session and perhaps even three sessions to reach the density you require to match the density behind your grafts. The maximum density usually on a hairline is about 45 to 50 grafts per sq cm. The hair line is built with one hair grafts. the density of your natural hair behind this is perhaps 80 per sq cm and it is composed predominately with two and three hair groups with some four hair groups. If you consider that your density is about 45 hairs per sq cm on your new hair line and at least 160 hairs per sq cm in your native hair, it is no wonder that the new hair line looks thinner than the hair behind it. You need more work. You are never going to complete a low hair line on the vertical plane with a natural wall of thick density behind it in a single session.

I do not like the temples at all. you should consider having this removed. I do not think it looks natural.

Asians commonly have a broader hairline than Caucasians, but it requires more grafts to build and has the potential to look thinner after a single pass.

I'm SHOCKED that the forhair korea never told me any of that.

Would you suggest that I wait another couple of months to assess results, or is this the maximum density I should expect, especially at the temples? Do you think I should even bother to go back to forhair Korea, or seek out another doctor to go through the same long, emotionally draining process again?

I had anticipated the clinic would come with forhair's expertise/professionalism plus a strong understanding of Asian hair. It obviously isnt the case here. Here's the reply from forhair's korea clinic about my situation:

It is good to hear from you.
10.5 months, you still have a lot of hair to grow.
it is just beginning. you will have to wait until 12 month to see the maximum result.
for some people grow is much slower compare to other.
you don't have to worry. your hair will be kicking out.
Put rogain on the hair and alway take propesia for the best result.
thanks.

forhair Korea appears to believe the density will turn fuller even though it has been more than 10 months.

I've seen new hair grow in even after 18 months so it is certainly possible that more will come in the months to follow. Still i think that most of it has probably grown in at this time. Some of the hair has just started to grow. As it continues to grow, the increased length will add more coverage. There is nothing wrong with waiting a full 12 months. I think you are certain that you want more density on the hair line so you probably already recognize that you will need another procedure to reach the density you desire. Therefore, you probably can safely begin scheduling for that. I hope I am wrong and that you will get far more growth soon, however.

Hair line work must be done well in order to create a natural result. If you perform the procedure poorly, you will get an unnatural result. It is far better to have a hairline grow in thin and natural rather than thick and unnatural. Right now you have a thin hairline and need more grafts. Asian hairlines are often much broader than those of western caucasians. Asians prefer to have broad hairlines recreated for them. This was done for you. I do not like grafting on the temple side of the head to bring this frontal-temple border forward on the face. I think it is very difficult to make this look natural. Of course this is my opinion. There are many physicians all over the world who do it all the time. Every physician has his own aesthetic sense. All I can ever do is teach a physician how to perform a transplant well. I cannot make another physician always agree with my opinions regarding aesthetics. Furthermore, many times it is the patient who wants the work done and the patient who tells the physician where to place the grafts. For all I know, you helped design your hairline. I always want my patients input, but if a patient wants me to do something that i do not feel will look natural or good, I will tell the patient and generally I will not do it even if the patient insists. I refer these patients to physicians that will gladly do things that are high risk. Grafting the sides of the head in order to pull the frontal-temple border is a high risk procedure. I don't like to do it, but other physicians will do it and I guess they have a high degree of success with it. Again, this is an individual physician decision that is made with a patient.

The photos you have sent are not ideal and I would like to see more pre-operative photos. I would have a better opinion with better photos and the full story. I think you are in good hands with the clinic in Korea. They got good growth. I don't personally love the hairline design in the temples, but this this is easy to resolve. Alternatively, you may wish to simply add more density and see how it turns out. The main thing is to get a great result that you can be proud of. Trust me, it is far worse to have your hair grow in to the point that it looks like a hair transplant. I don't think you want that. It is always better to be thin and natural in appearance rather than thick and unnatural or pluggy. Also, I've seen far worse yields at other clinics in Korea so there is risk choosing a different physician. I was not there when you scheduled your procedure. It is important for patients to know that anytime you work on a hairline, there is a 50% probability that you will need a second procedure and a 25% probability that you will want a third. There is a 5% probability that you will want more than three procedures to add density on a hairline. Every patient is different in terms of what they expect. I think you should sit down with your physician and discuss you goals and expectations with him. Let him know what you expected and try to resolve the difference. He's a good guy and he will listen to you.

I do not like to place grafts below the blue line in this photo, which is the fronto-temple boarder. Some patients prefer to have grafts here and some physicians think it is a good idea to place grafts here. In other words, it is a personal preference. I don't like it and I will never do it in male patients. With female patients, it is often necessary, however.

If you had left your hairline higher, you would have decreased the probability that you would need a second surgery. Many patients do not like to keep their hairline higher. Many patients want it as low as possible. Anytime you go as low as possible, you are going to have an increased risk that you will need more than one pass of grafts.

Any updates from this thread?