Dr. Konior

[Ryno68]

I'm a 44-year-old white male seeking to have hair restoration surgery; I'm currently a Norwood 2 or 3. I had a consultation with Konior who reccomended the strip surgery consisting of 1500-2000 grafts. My greatest fear is the linear scar which will be left on the back of my head. I normally like to keep my hair short (Clippers #3) on the back and sides of my head. Can anyone give me any insight or advice? Dr. Konior insists the scar will not be visible. But, I have seen many linear scars from bad hair transplants, and they look terrible. If I have this surgery I want it seamless, undetectable. Thanks to all of you who have taken the time to read this. I look forward to your responses.

Sincerely,

Ryno

[dudemon]

RE: visible with #3
Most likely, yes, if someone is closer than 3 feet from you and in normal light. He isn't being completely truthful with you, IMO. Most of the time, the donor scar will be visible under a #4, and even at #4 or more, then it might still be visible if you have less dense donor hair.

You should definately look into a good FUE doc instead of strip (FUT) if buzzing down below a #4 is what you want to do. FUE will not likely be noticeable at #3, but strip FUT probably will.

[Ryno68]

Do you know of any good FUE Docs? I live in the Chicago area, but I'm willing to travel for quality and undetectable work?

Thanks.

Ryno

[s.a.f]

Firstly Dr who???
Never heard of this guy - not a good sign.

2ndly Strip for 1500-2000 grafts is ridiculous in this day and age.
Strip is a barbaric procedure the only time it should be used if if the patient needs more than 5000 grafts and has no intention of every buzzing down the hair.

3rdly The scar depends on 2 factors only a good surgeon will leave you with a scar thats almost invisible and only then if the patients scalp laxity is suitable.

4thly Never limit yourself to Dr's that are only in your area, 90% of the time you will have to travel.

[s.a.f]

A Dr recommending strip for 1500 does'nt have the patients best interests in mind.
Obviously this guy cant do FUE and as I stated before no surgeon on earth can guarantee that the scar wont stretch.
Strip should be for NW5/6's.

[Ryno68]

I really only need frontal hairline work and the temple region. Also, they classified me as a Norwood V, and I still have most of my hair. I got mixed signals. I have heard the FUE is the way to go from many people. I may consult with Dr. Bernstein (New York) next. I don't want to screw this up.

[Free]

It is true that strip scar depends on doctor’s abilities but also on the characteristics of patient’s skin. Although I have seen a lot of nicely made strip surgeries-results , If I were you I would consider FUE as a solution, it is generally safer in terms of scars marks etc and general healing.

[dudemon]

I really only need frontal hairline work and the temple region. Also, they classified me as a Norwood V, and I still have most of my hair. I got mixed signals. I have heard the FUE is the way to go from many people. I may consult with Dr. Bernstein (New York) next. I don't want to screw this up.

Hey, I'm not trying to put you down or be rude, but I'm going to be straight with you. As a NW5, (BTW, I am NW5-6) you are going to need A TON of grafts in order for it to look decent. 1500 is not going to do $hit for you I'm afraid. (It will literally look like Joe Biden ... seriously!) It will look like a little peachfuzz on a bald head. Trust me, you don't want this few grafts being done! If you are OK with this, then you should plan on having 4-5 of these 1500 graft sessions at 9-12 months apart. since you are 44 (I am 43, BTW) trust me, you don't want to have to be getting hair transplants every year for the next 5 years in order for it to look decent. Even then, you may still be disappointed. (seriously)

You are going to need a 'megasession' with like 4-5000 (or more) grafts for it to make any significant impact on you. I only recommended FUE to you earlier because you said you wanted to buzz down. But I was unaware that you were at an advanced stage of MPB.

saf is right, FUT (strip) should only be for NW5 and above. You could possibly get a mega FUE session but it will be no more than 3000, maybe 4000 or so if done by one of the top FUE docs. You will need a minimum of 2 FUE sessions done 9-12 months apart.

You could still possibly get enough density if you have 2-3 big FUE sessions. But FUE will thin your donor out to the point that, in your situation, you may not be able to get enough FUE donor to get decent overall density and coverage. That is why strip would probably be the best way to go.

But, as you know with strip, the downside is the linear 'ear to ear' smiley face donor scar going across the back of your head, which will be visibile under #4 typically.

In you area, there is Rahal in Toronto and Ron Shapiro in Minneapolis. Other thasn that, I wouldn't really recommend anybody else, But, also like saf said, you really don't need to stay local.

If you do strip, about the ONLY strip HT surgeons in the world that can do 5000+ is Hasson and Wong (H&W) in Vancouver BC. They have done like 6-8 thousand grafts in ONE session, but this is HIGHLY out of the ordinary. Most guys don't have the scalp laxity to get more than 3-4000 grafts strip in one session. But, IMO, they are about your best bet if you want to get a lot done and make a big impact to your hair.

These guys have perfected the strip HT and are one of the top HT clinics in the world. You should think about traveling to them if you canlive with the donor scar. You should also know that their strip scars ARE virtually undetectable. Not trying to say anything bad about Konior, but H&W's scars are about the BEST in the bizz, and that is no joke.

[Ryno68]

Hey, I appreciate the advice. But, I'm NOT a Norwood V. However, that is what was written down at Dr. Konoir's office. I have primarily a full head of hair with slight recession in the hairline and temple region. Based on the actual Norwood scale I would consider myself a 2 or 3. I've had several consultations with other HT docs who all reccomended 1500 - 2000 grafts. I want to do this without anybody knowing. From what I see that donor scar can be a dead give-away.

[roadrunner]

as chrisdav says, Konior is top notch. Truly top notch. Do some research on the other forums and you'll find a lot of his work.