Does anyone have any information on this surgeon? His prices and website look great but I'm worried it could be to good to be true. I'm in South Korea so I am enticed by the distance and cost. Thanks for your input.

Yes,it is.Most of us including myself want to find a cheaper alternative to save somer cash but problem is 99% of the time we get hacked by unknown surgeons and it ends up costing more to repair the damge caused.
if your wanting to do it in Thailand then i dont know why you just dont go to Dr.PATH,hes one of the best surgeons worldwide and his prices are reasonable for a coalition surgeon and golden follicle award 2010 winner.
most other thai surgeons have worked under him or watched him but Dr.Path has 20 years more experience than them and NOT A BAD WORD said about him only praise,what does that tell you.
i dont work for him and my views are my own ok,but i did have 1 successfull ops with him past 2 years,GOOD LUCK

i went to a local doctor for my HT, not exactly cheaper but more convenient as i don't have to travel. 6mths later, i regretted my decision.

we should not be restricted to cost and travel when doing HT. its gonna be a impact on our daily life.

Hi

I had my HT with Dr Pong on the 1st December 2010 for 2800 grafts. The reason why I am posting this is because I had a positive experience with him so I feel I am obligated to spread some sort of good word for him. I know this is my first post so i've put on my flame suit in case some of you reckon I work for him etc etc. I'm sure the moderators of the forum can trace my IP and see that I actually live in Sydney, Australia.

I am in the process of putting up my blog/photos but i've been flat out busy with work after my HT and haven't had time to get some decent photos up.

Nov 30th - Arrived at Chiang Mai. Checked into a nearby hotel (Furama) which cost me about $90AUD for 4 nights through expedia (there are cheaper alternatives but $90AUD for a 4 star is not bad. I walked to the clinic which took about 10 minutes to have a in-person consult with him. I had previously sent him a few photos and got a rough estimate on the no. of grafts needed but this was more of a 'sus out the place visit'. During the consult, we discussed my goals for the next HT (such as desired hairline), my proposed hairstyle and medical history etc. He showed me a photo of his previous patients which were not on his website which had similar receeded hairlines to me and what they achieved with a similar graft count to what I was getting. Whilst I was waiting, there were two ex-patients there getting their hair washed. Based on what I saw, they seemed very happy but they spoke in thai so I had no idea what they were saying. BTW, Dr Pong is pretty good at English but the techs are not as good. One of them is not bad and we talked alot during my hairwashes.

Dec 1st - I arrived at 8:30AM to get started. Got a HIV prick test (apparently you can get the result in 10 minutes or something), got changed and met with Dr Pong again. Went upstairs to the op room to get started. First was the anesthetic which actually didn't hurt as much as my first HT. He used a piece of ice (i think) to numb the area before injecting the needle which took some of the sting out. Next was the stitches. He used some technique (forgot the name) but apparently it was suppose to minimize the scar. The strip was extracted in the same location as my previous scar and was closed via absorble stitches and staples. I then got up to have lunch (rice + chicken + soup). The time was about noon by that time.

I then returned to the chair again to begin work on the receipient area. Actually I forgot whether there were more injections this time as I was a little out of it. I do remember though that there were 4 techs sitting at a table working on the grafts with microsopes, two techs working on me and the Dr himself was present for about 90% of the time. He did give me a guided tour of my grafts before work was started. By the time I was finished which was around 5PM, I was sprayed with some fluid which sounded like someone deep fried something on my head. I was given a headband and a free hat. I also had a choice of a bandana but it was not my thing. Also got a bunch of instructions and some meds (valium, tynenol (panadol if your an Aussie), madol? and some antibiotics).

Dec 2nd - I arrived at the clinic at 8:30 again for a checkup with Dr Pong and had a hairwash with a tech.

Dec 3rd - Same as above.

Dec 4th - Same as above but got the staples out. Flew out later that arvo to Bangkok and then to Sydney. Before I left, I also purchased a few boxes of fin off him.

I am now 17-18 days post op and here are my observations. Compared to my first HT, about 60% of the grafts have stayed and are growing but I think they will shed eventually. Also, the absorbable stitches have dissolved at the knot areas and for the most part, it feels fairly smooth and based on my gf who is a RN, is healing well.

I will get some photos up by Monday to give you and idea of what it currently looks like. I know, this thread is useless without photos.

Edit: He actually quoted me with 2500 but ended with 2800 for the same price.

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<a href="http://www.hairtransplantnetwork.com/blog/home-page.asp?WebID=1895" target="_blank">My Hair Loss Web Site/a>

Jimmy,

If you're looking to stay in Thailand for your procedure, I highly recommend Dr. Pathomvanich. He's extremely respected within our community, and was recently inducted into the elite Independent Coalition of Independent Hair Restoration Physicians. Please, feel free to ask any additional questions. Good luck!

__________________
Blake (Future_HT_Doc)

Forum Co-Moderator and Editorial Assistant for the Hair Transplant Network, the Hair Loss Learning Center, the Hair Loss Q&A Blog, and the Hair Restoration Forum

All opinions are my own and my advice should not constitute as medical advice.

Hi synz4,

Thank you for providing your story to our forum. I too considered having my HT done by Doctor Pong but there was not information for me to take the chance and go thru with a procedure. I eventually went to DHT clinic which by the way costs a bit more than Doctor Pong.

It would be really useful to have this information posted on a weblog to encourage other members to consider Doctor Pong. It is an anxious wait to see the end results and I'm sure if you post the results that you have it will be a useful resource.

I am post operation 4 months after my procedure. I know that I need another one in the future to finish the job.

Thanks

Rod

synz4- Thanks for that reply.

I know all about Dr. Path but his prices are more than double that of Dr. Pong. I am also considering Dr. Madhu because of his competitive prices. Right now I am going to choose between Madhu and Pong. I know that Dr. Madhu is a recommended doctor here so I will probably choose him, but I really wanted to see Thailand for vacation and a surgery at the same time. I'm having surgery in Jan or Feb so I will be sure to start a blog and document the entire experience.

hi jimmy

if u decide to choose Dr Pong, maybe u can help to document ur progress. there are not much recommended doctors in asia.

No flaming from me! Your story sounds completely credible and thanks for posting, please stay on these boards and keep us updated.

(Seeing as you are an Aussie, yesterday us Poms were just making the next 2 tests a bit more exciting...
- Rest of the World this is about cricket please don't worry about it - )

U sound like a genuine patient and congratulations to u as u seem to have an uneventful surgery! Do post more pictures! Like Rod has mentioned, there are just too few cases of Dr Pong in this forum or others for that matter so it would do potential patients good if u can show case your result. Happy growing!

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View my hair loss website. Surgery done by Doc Pathomvanich from Bangkok http://www.hairtransplantnetwork.com...asp?WebID=1730