HAIR TRANSPLANT FORUM

Hello everyone,

My first posting on here. I thought it was time I became involved in the discussions about hair loss and treatments – a subject which is very relevant and close to my heart. I’ve read with interest the experiences of some of you and at least I know that, with my own history of dealing with unscrupulous hair companies, that I am not the only one suffering from the effects of being lied to, misled and paying to be butchered. I’m not sure whether naming and shaming those responsible for wrecking a good portion of my life is allowed on here or if it’s worth it. But what I will say to anyone planning on having surgical hair replacement is that you should do your research thoroughly and ask questions. Try to meet people who have had surgery – in the flesh is always best. I don’t always think that pictures are a reliable way to make a sound judgment about who you might entrust with performing surgery on you. A doctors track record is also important. The internet is useful and yet can leave you none the wiser in many respects when it comes to evaluating a surgeons merits. There is always going to be a tendency to publicise success stories or at least leave out details of guys who have been heavily scarred or disfigured by their experiences. I wish that at the age of 20, in 1990, when I wanted to meet my hair loss problem head on, someone stopped me, or something happened on the way to the surgery or that the internet was available then. Well all these “if only’s” have been playing over and over again in my head for a long time. But hindsight is a wonderful thing. I do feel cheated and from the very moment I took of the bandages after the very first procedure, the shock was more than I could bear and even though the “butchers” tried to make me aware of what to expect on removing the bandages, it’s funny I knew right then, right there, standing in front of the mirror that my life had been changed, had taken a different turn, that things were going to be very different from then on. I wasn’t far wrong. I made 4 attempts at trying to improve the mess. I was very unlucky again to end up going to a dr who I thought sympathised with my situation. Well in the end when the day came to have surgery he left the WHOLE procedure to his nurse. I never saw him again until I was in the recovery room. ( I was anaesthetised in the neck – bloody painful!) Not only was the work of a poor standard but it also caused pitting and wasted much needed donor hair. How crude. What a waste. My next stop was with Dr Farjo, he said he would soften my hairline. I had one session with him where he tranplanted 220 single hair grafts to the hairline. On reflection, Dr Farjo is the only hair surgeon I have so far come across in the UK who made a positive difference to me. A minimal one owing to the now thinning donor hair, but at last a step in the right direction during a dark time in my life. I wish everyday that I just left it and went bald. I would have looked better, perhaps and been a bit richer too. Now my hair loss, or more specifically, trying to hide the cobblestones, pitting and gappiness has become all consuming. It fills my thoughts more than I think is good for me. All that energy that could have been channelled into something more productive. Still I have to deal with what’s in front of me. My challenge. I haven’t completely given up hope. My spirits aren’t totally crushed. I am hoping and praying that using my chest hair will enable more transplant work to take place when I can afford it. I’m hoping that now aged 35, after 15 years of trauma I will be able to feel normal again in the future. Be taken seriously again. I have an abundance of chest hair which grows to about 3 inches long and I’m keeping my fingers crossed that I will be able to have this surgery sooner rather than later. I would like to know if anyone knows a dr who would be willing to carry out a sample of 30 - 50 chest to scalp grafts, to establish my suitability and growth rate. Isn't it wiser to have a sample before having a full blown treatment? Especially as this is still relatively new.
Finally I hope that via this forum and others like it, I will feel less alone in my hair war. The only consolation so far (apart from Dr Farjos corrective work) is to know that I’m not alone. That doesn't mean I would wish this fate on anyone, but I hope I can make contact with and meet other guys who can in anyway relate to my story. Other guys who know how restrictive and imprisoned a person can feel. A little mutual support can make a whole lot of difference! This whole experience has left me very self conscious and a little “friendless”. Thanks for reading. Feel free to mail me gappy_guy@yahoo.co.uk (London, UK)

I hope every one that is considering hair transplant reads this post.

I hear this story and ones just like it far too often. We do a lot of repair cases, which led us to work more with bht and plug redistributions using FIT. A test patch is a great idea. Keep in mind, however, that bht is newer and can take much longer than scalp hairs to grow. Let me know if you have any other questions and feel free to call our office.

Are you from a transplant clinic then? Which one?

Yes. I am from IHTI, Dr. Cole's clinic. I am one of his surgical techs.