Stephen Mason was just 22 years old when he first began to lose his hair. By the age of 28 his hairline had receded noticeably, and by age 30 he was starting to experience thinning throughout his frontal region, mid-scalp and crown. As is the case with many young men in his situation, Stephen’s hair loss dealt a significant blow to his confidence, prompting him to look for ways to address – and hopefully even reverse – the situation.
It wasn’t long before the concept of hair restoration surgery caught his attention. Looking to gain more information on the subject, Stephen approached Hasson & Wong for an initial consultation in December of 2016. During the consultation, Dr. Hasson confirmed what Stephen already suspected: that he was indeed experiencing male pattern hair loss, and that the sooner he sought treatment for it the better. He recommended a 3500-graft FUE surgery to the frontal zone of his scalp, as well as Proscar to prevent further hair loss in his mid-scalp and crown.
Unfortunately, Stephen found the cost of the hair transplant at Hasson & Wong to be somewhat prohibitive and decided instead to pursue his options abroad. He travelled to Istanbul, Turkey in March of 2017, where he underwent a 3500-graft FUE procedure at what he considered a much more reasonable price. Having failed to conduct proper research before selecting a clinic, however, he fell victim to the idea that all hair transplant surgeries are created equal. While there are a select few capable surgeons in Turkey, Stephen had unluckily found himself at a less reputable establishment – with the results to prove it.
Dissatisfied with the outcome of his procedure in Turkey, Stephen approached Hasson & Wong for advice. Upon evaluation of the work done in Istanbul, Dr. Hasson noted that the hairline and tissue exhibited ridging, cobblestoning, misdirected hairs, multi-hair grafts and low overall density. In addition, his temporal angles had been blunted – resulting in the unnaturally-shaped and ‘pluggy’ hairline characteristic of a poorly performed procedure. A well-executed modern hair transplant should never present any of these characteristics, as they are unnatural and thus prone to drawing the wrong type of attention.
Thankfully, Dr. Hasson agreed to perform a second procedure on Stephen in order to repair the damage incurred in Turkey. Shortly after his consultation, he returned to the clinic to have 95 misdirected grafts in the temporal angles removed – a sacrifice necessary for the creation of the masculine, natural-looking hairline he has today. Dr. Hasson and his team then went on to rebuild his hairline and frontal zone by means of a 2000-graft FUE procedure. Of these grafts, 343 were single-hair grafts, 1329 were doubles and 328 were 3-4 – hair grafts. A year later, he now boasts a full, dense and entirely natural-looking head of hair.
In the final video of this three part series, Stephen shares his final results one year after his surgery. You can clearly see the difference in density when you compare Dr Hasson’s work with the work of the clinic in Turkey, where Stephen had his first surgery.
Summary
Sadly, Stephen’s story is not an uncommon one, and it should serve as a warning to all: when it comes to cosmetic procedures of this nature, you truly do get what you pay for. As Stephen himself remarked, ‘if you’re trying to get a hair transplant for the best price, then you shouldn’t get a hair transplant at all’. Fortunately for Stephen, we were able to salvage his result – but this is not always the case. So whether you elect to have surgery at Hasson & Wong or a reputable clinic abroad, it’s best to do your research and get it right the first-time round.
Why don`t you have a small clinic station in Norway and some other countries around the world? It`s a unrealistic deal for everyone to travel around the globe to Canada for an hair transplant.
Nice blog! Very well written in an easy-to-understand manner. I appreciate your sincere efforts you have made in writing this kind of informative blog. Keep sharing!
Hello,
My donnor area in back of head is week,do you use beard hair as donnor area? If so what is success rate?Thanks
I had a hair transplant in India about 9 months ago. I did not get full coverage and they did just the hairline. I’m also finding my hairline to be a bit pluggy but i’m also concerned about future hair loss even though i’m on 1 mg finestride. Given my family history i don’t know if i should correct my hairline or save my grafts in case i need them later considering my dad is a norwood 6. Currently living in Calgary. I consulted with a clinic who mentioned they could probably grab 3000 grafts for my midscalp and frontal area before the hairline. I do have long thick donor hair on the sides and back. At first i was thinking of having a second procedure done again in india, maybe Turkey or here in Calgary but after doing more adequate research i’ve decided against it. And so i’m considering your clinic. I really want to know what’s best for me. If i don’t have full coverage but my donor hair is still thick, dark and long should i do fut? or fue again? currently missing hair on the crown, midscalp and front portion before the hairline been using the hair on the sides to sort of hide it.
Hi ,
I had a hair transplant in 1997 with Dr Wong at about the time he was still working in Maple ridge .
My situation is one where I had very little donor hair and so what I have is sparse . Over the years I have seen more and more procedures from other areas of the body . I recently watch a video of one of your patients who has now had ten procedures including a small transplant from the beard areas.
If you are now doing transplants from the beard , I would be very interested .
Please contact me , regards Paul Caylor