Hello everyone. I've been monitoring this board for a few weeks and wanted to say thanks to you all for your informative posts and pictures. Your comments have helped me feel much more comfortable with considering a hair transplant as a solution to correct some of my hair loss. For the record, it's not that bad yet, but noticeable. I would say I'm currently a type 2 in terms of the pattern of loss and looking to restore my hairline. My current age is 31.

I had an initial consultant with Dr. Ziering in Southern California last week. I spent 3 hours at his office. The morjority of my time was spent with Kelly, Dr. Ziering's patient advocate. She was very informative and went through many of the details with me. We also spent about 30 minutes just going through "before and after" photos and trying to find as many photos that were "like me" as possible. Finally, Dr. Ziering came in and I asked a few questions and we talked about the hairline, etc. He concluded that about 1200 - 1300 units would provide me with what I was looking for and also recommended that I start taking Propecia and possibly Rogaine. I was also lucky enough to speak to a patient who was coming in for a post-op 5 month appointment. He showed me his scar, we talked about the procedure, etc. Very helpful. Anyone else use Dr. Ziering and can share their experiences? Based upon my research he seems like one of the best, but any additional feedback would be great.

I think I'm going to move forward with the procedure, but I'm still really nervous about doing this. My plan is to have the surgery on a Friday and take the following week off of work allowing for 10 days of recovery. Based upon your experiences, will that be a sufficient amount of time? What are the biggest things I need to be aware of in terms of post op?

Most of you on the board seem happy with your decisions so I hope I feel the same way.

Thanks,

If you've spent some time on this board, then why are you going to this doctor? You need to be very careful. The majority of hair transplant surgeons are bad (I'm being nice).

Wait a while SoCal. You are not ready.

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2700 Total Grafts w/ Keene 9/28/05
663 one's = 663
1116 two's = 2232
721 three's = 2163
200 four's = 800
Hair Count = 5858

1000 Total Grafts w/Keene 2/08/07
Mostly combined FU's for 2600+ hairs

My Photo Album

See me at Dr. Keene's Gallery

Thanks for the response Gorpy.

I did a search for Dr. Zeiring on this board and did not come up with any information on anyone who had a bad experience with him. The only thing I found were some comments regarding his past association with MHR. Maybe I'm looking in the wrong place? He seems to be all over the place in terms of publicity...Extreme Makover, WebMD, White Papers, Boards, etc. So...my concern is...has anyone had a bad experience with him (or a good one) and is he not a good surgeon but instead a master at marketing?

You are doing the right thing in trying to find out. It could be that he is good, but good marketing and a fancy presentation are not a guarantee. Maybe Pat can put him on his list of surgeons to visit. Pat does an excellent job of checking these guys out.
Check out the list of recommended surgeons on this site listed here. I would not take a chance on any outside of that list.

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2700 Total Grafts w/ Keene 9/28/05
663 one's = 663
1116 two's = 2232
721 three's = 2163
200 four's = 800
Hair Count = 5858

1000 Total Grafts w/Keene 2/08/07
Mostly combined FU's for 2600+ hairs

My Photo Album

See me at Dr. Keene's Gallery

I was scheduled with ziering's office but canceled after doing some research..I ended up with Dr. Keene. She charged me less, I didn't get a big sales pitch, and she did an excellent job.
You can't go wrong with her.

Ziering seems to be very controversial. With that being said, I did see him do a good job on one of the Extreme Makeover shows. On any account, as a rule of thumb you should always get at least three opinions.

Thanks for the replies thus far.

Based upon the information I have found here and that you all have shared I'm definitely going to get some additional opinions from other surgeons. This board is a big help.

For those of you who had your procedure performed out of state, how did you accomodate that?

I would like to consider Dr. Keene since she is in Tuscon which is a short flight away from Southern California. Did you fly out for the consultation, then out again for the procedure? How soon did you fly home after the procedure? Did you have to fly back for the suture removal?

Trying to keep an open mind here based upon the information I'm finding on this board.

Thanks again.

SoCalCCC,

Dr. Sharon Keene and all other Hair Transplant Network recommended physicians offer a virtual consultation form that you can send quickly and confidentially to the clinic(s) of your choice. Just fill in the details of your hair loss. You can even upload photos (which makes for an infinitely more accurate appraisal of the situation). The forms go straight to the clinic and you will recieve an initial diagnosis via email. Many hair restoration patients have found this to be a very large help in consulting physicians that are located out of their area.

Because you mentioned Dr. Keene, I am including a link to her profile and virtual consultation form below:

Dr. Sharon Keene's recommendation profile

Dr. Keene's virtual consultation form

Best of luck to you in your research and decision.

-Robert

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Check out the results of my surgical hair restoration performed by Dr. Jerry Cooley by visiting my Hair Loss Weblog

I was close enough (Phoenix) that I could just drive down. You would want to spend the night after the surgery and get a wash by the clinic the next morning. Not only does if feel great, but they inspect the grafts to make sure everything is ok.

Many people remove the sutures themselves or get a local doctor to do it. It's up to you. The advantage of going to the clinic for it is that the doctor inspects your progress and gives you advice on scab management etc.

The doctor does not actually remove the sutures, an assistant does. It doesn't look like a difficult thing to do.

__________________
____________
2700 Total Grafts w/ Keene 9/28/05
663 one's = 663
1116 two's = 2232
721 three's = 2163
200 four's = 800
Hair Count = 5858

1000 Total Grafts w/Keene 2/08/07
Mostly combined FU's for 2600+ hairs

My Photo Album

See me at Dr. Keene's Gallery