A few people on various forums have asked about long term results and since it’s my 7 year anniversary I thought I’d put in my .02 worth.
On March 18th 2002 I had my first procedure with Dr. Wong where he restored me back to a “normal” appearance. This after living for nine years with a bad grafting job where my hairline consisted of thick, ten and twelve hair mini-grafts. I had two subsequent procedures to add to the mix up to November of 2003 so I’m five and half years out from my last procedure.
Sx #1 2406 Grafts
Sx #2 2425 Grafts
Sx #3 2488 Grafts
And add a couple hundred more with FUE and BHT.
Below is a collage of photos showing how my hair has held up. My hair in the final result, taken two days ago is with no product and no real effort at styling (obvious, I know). I wanted to show what it looks like with zero effort. It is not how I normally wear it at work or out on the town but is more of a lazy Sunday type of style.
My results have held up rather well. At first I was taking Proscar per Dr. Wong’s instructions but then three years ago I switched to Avodart to see if I could get the increase in growth that others were getting. That didn’t work so well for me. I had no increase in hair growth but I did have a decrease in my wallet so a few months back I switched back to Proscar. I experienced no side effects from either medication.
The only real scare I had was late last summer. I had a MASSIVE amount of dandruff rear it’s ugly head and it made my hair thinner. Honestly I was pretty worried. No rhyme or reason as to why but it was impossible to get rid of. I tried about ten different shampoos with no luck then I found one shampoo that did the trick.
Those that know me know I do not endorse products, especially shampoos, because I believe(d) they were all the same. Polytar AF is my magic bullet. Not only did it get rid of my dandruff, it has made my hair, in Dr. Wong’s words, “as good as it’s ever been”. If any of you have dandruff issues, this stuff is the bomb!
Looking good Joe. Gotta say I’m impressed with what I have seen from H&W. I did meet Bobman in person last year, and his results were great.
Out of curiousity, you mentioned you had some BHT and FUE grafts thrown in there after the 3 big procedures you had. How many grafts were these? And where did you have them placed? I’m assuming they were used as filler in your crown and/or into your strip scar? Just curious.
crazy that you walked around with these plugs for 9 years. i cant imagine how that must have been. what did the people say and how did they look at you? how did you cope with this situation?
I had maybe 100 or so grafts from FUE and BHT. The BHT was a joke with roughly 30% yield. We did a small test patch years ago and extracted 87 grafts, of which 67 looked good enough to plant. 20 some odd grafts grew. The FUE was with Dr. Hasson as a test patch as well but was only about 40 grafts. It is hardly worth mentioning. What I forgot to mention though was that Dr. Wong got a few hundred more grafts for my crown when he did a scar revision for me a few years ago. I was one of the first test subjects when he wanted to try tricho. It worked quite well. In all I have 7917 grafts not including the two mini-graft sessions I had in 92.
Helpme007,
Good question. It wasn’t easy. I figure guys with pluggy hairlines do one of two things in general to cope. They either withdraw from situations where there hair is obvious (work, social settings etc.) and where a hat. Some overcompensate by becoming more outgoing and social and ignore it. I was the latter and since I was always in a position in work where I could not wear a hat I had to just suck it up. I had a few people mention it to me over time, the worst time was in a sales meeting in front of my peers, but for the most part I buried the issue inside myself. I still did alright, married a good looking blonde, and dated without much issue. I would notice though that upon first meeting someone I would rarely get to have them look me in the eyes. It was always my hairline that they’d stare at. Yeah, that sucked.
» Helpme007,
»
» Good question. It wasn’t easy. I figure guys with pluggy hairlines do one
» of two things in general to cope. They either withdraw from situations
» where there hair is obvious (work, social settings etc.) and where a hat.
» Some overcompensate by becoming more outgoing and social and ignore it. I
» was the latter and since I was always in a position in work where I could
» not wear a hat I had to just suck it up. I had a few people mention it to
» me over time, the worst time was in a sales meeting in front of my peers,
» but for the most part I buried the issue inside myself. I still did
» alright, married a good looking blonde, and dated without much issue. I
» would notice though that upon first meeting someone I would rarely get to
» have them look me in the eyes. It was always my hairline that they’d stare
» at. Yeah, that sucked.
you’re a tough guy, i guess, if you sucked it up like that. I already have problems with my thinning hair, but I couldnt imagine walking around like that.
how old have you been when you got a nw6 and how old have you been when you got the plugs?
How much donor hair do you now have available Jotronic?
Congrats on pulling though your struggle. I can’t imagine how tough it was for you as one’s image can easily make them or break them. I’m happy for you bud.
That’s painful to hear, glad this is all behind you. For how many years did you live with the plugs before you went to Dr. Wong and did you get married before or after you had the repair work?
» How much donor hair do you now have available Jotronic?
»
» Congrats on pulling though your struggle. I can’t imagine how tough it was
» for you as one’s image can easily make them or break them. I’m happy for
» you bud.
Yes, I want to know too, roughly how many grafts you have left ?
Joe, you have come such a long way. Great story and transformation. I felt bad for you just thinking how it must have been like to walk around with the early HT work.
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