Sofarsogood

Yes I am, in some ways. I am not saying yield is "better" than strip however, getting close to equal, yes. Sometimes equal, yes. So far as, recovery time, body trauma, psychological stress and scarring-wise, FUE is better, IMO. I'll even go a step further and state that for smaller procedures (1000-2000 grafts) a strip should NOT be performed. Ever. FUE is the solution to "keeping up with one's hairloss" over time. Scalp hair is still king. Obviously. Strip or FUE. Body hair comes mostly in singles and is usually thinner than scalp hair. Body hair can re-construct temples without tapping head-hair donor, feather HT hairlines, used as "filler", repair, etc. Beard hair shows GREAT promise in strip scars. But I do stand by the notion that given the choice between strip and FUE (with the right doc, for the right price), I'd take FUE all day. I'd even sacrifice some yield and a little dough not to have a "pencil thin" (at best), smily-face ear-to-ear scar for life. If necessary, I'd also rather live (maybe) with some white dot scarring. If I had listened to all the naysayers pn the HT forums when I had my BHT test in 2005, I would still be walking around looking a bit... unnatural, IMO. Being a longtime strip patient (16 strips from 1992-2004) and having had a somewhat early BHT procedure (2005), I do have great interest in the the subject. Ciao.

You are falling into the trap of "either/or" when in reality the answer is BOTH. Both strip and FUE/BHT can be used effectively. Both surgeries can be performed with competent precision in the hands of the right doctor. Its been established for the doubting class (almost ALL who are strip patients or strip practioners and their surrogates) that FUE and BHT can show positive, achievable results. The argument of "this one is better than that one" only serves as a distraction, as both are possible to attain remarkable results. All the normal concerns, and necessary caution in choosing someone to perform it apply. Videos, testimonials, and pictures have been presented on this forum to the doubting class by Dr. Umar. Other doctors, like Dr. Woods of Australia, have been doing it for many years already. And for some patients its their only option. Trying to avoid recommending this to them when this is the case because "results are not consistent enough" really is not applicable to repair patients. For first time patients with virgin scalps then indeed it should be evaluated thoroughly and debated and researched before choosing one over the other. I would suggest to others to do your own research and, most importantly, reach your own conclusions independently, while taking all sides under consideration. One being "superior" to the other is an argument that may never be settled and is best avoided, as its a fluid argument that differs greatly based on someone personal situation. For those not wanting a strip scar, they have other options. Everyones situation, including finances, desired results, and determination in who is the best surgeon must be considered, only more so now then ever before. Hi Wylie, A very reasonable point of view, IMO. You are indeed an aptly named "hair guru". Peace.

thanatopsis_awry, "The strip clinics want to keep the status quo going" Yes indeed, IMO. "So Feller, Hasson, Wong, Shapiro, Alexander, et. al. are statists that are resistant to evolutionary improvement and innovation? And, I suppose, in turn, Armani is some fantastic progressive embracing change?" Since Armani is a sore subject here, I have no comment on their practices. Also, I have no first-hand experience with their clinic. H&W are the best at what they offer, IMO. I will not bash them. At the same time, out of their thousands of cases, what percentage have been posted on the internet? "Which? And if you could show grown out examples of their respective work in cases comparable to strip -- preferable with some 2k's, 3k's, 4k's." A simple search on other forums will provide these answers. "Moreover, if we were to talk about doctors milking people for $, would it not stand to reason that they would be in the FUE-realm, with robust pricing, and offering a "revolutionary", "modern", "state of the art" procedure?" Some clinics offer FUE at strip prices (or very close) these days. "Fear mongering"??? How about TRANSPARENCY? New patients have NO IDEA what strip entails. They see Bosley commercials where everything is presented as rosy and believe that tripe. "For what its worth, FUE (which causes far more trauma, fyi)" Far more trauma? I completely disagree. I've had both. Let's see videos of both procedures. No knife (needles or very small punch tools) or a strip of skin cut out of the head with a knife and sewn or stapled back together? P l e a s e. "I am truly sorry you got butchered" I did not get butchered but have wide strip scars and grow my hair very long. But Dr. Umar will fix them in time using beard hair. My full-face pics are available for all to see and my case is well documented in pictures, writings and video. Not many folks can say that on these forums. Ciao.

Hi Bill, If I could make a decent living posting on the internet, I'd consider it. I'd have more time with my 2 year old son. Until then, it's just a time consuming hobby. Single blade? Milti-blade? IMO, makes no difference when illustrating what the strip procedure entails. IMO, FUE consistency has been documented by a handful of clinics in the last few years and more and more BHT cases are being documented every day. To engage in strip in 2008 is unnecessary, IMO. You may have a thin scar now but what about the future? I can't tell you how may posts I've seen in the last few years by unhappy strip patients. Scars many times stretch. That's a fact. Some are wide even soon after surgery. I'm very happy you are happy, but many of us cannot buzz our hair now after strip surgery. "Educated patients are completely aware of the strip harvesting process." Yes, but the newbies are not. Is this forum for "educated patients" only to go in circles? Or to educate the newbies considering an HT looking for the best, state-of-the art solution to their hairloss? There is so much strip promotion here, I am providing another perspective as a veteran patient. I'm searching for a video that honestly shows a strip procedure in progress. For a doc to hide this reality is unethical, IMO. I find it interesting how pro-strip this forum is. Why is that? All the usual strip promoters have jumped on this thread. Very telling. Here's an analogy... My father had his prostrate removed this year. He was told that he could go the traditional scalpel route (loose about 2 pints of blood and have a scar) or the robotic surgery route (lose 2 teaspoons of blood, with dot scarring). He chose robotics. Just like FUE, the healing was MUCH faster and he was back to work in a fraction of the time. IMO, videos of FUE and strip should be posted at the top of the HT forums so perspective patients can see exactly what they are getting into. That is the honest way to go. NO secrets. NO hiding. Full transparency. You and I both know that if perspective HT patients saw what strip surgery really entailed, most would run for the hills, go for FUE or accept their baldness. A doc who can show good FUE results but refuses to leave strip behind is ethically worse-off than a doc who can't perform FUE and offers the best procedure he can. That is my opinion as a longtime strip patient who has also undergone BHT and I'm sticking to it. Thanks for taking the time to respond. Respectfully, josh (sofarsogood)

"But bodyhair in general has proved to offer, at best, mild improvements." Respectfully, I can't let this comment stand in 2008. This is just plain wrong and misleading in Dr. Umar's case. Please tell that to these extreme repair patients of Dr. Umar that no honest strip doc would touch... [url= ] [url= ] Mild improvement? P l e a s e. Watch the videos folks. Without BHT/FUE by Dr. Umar, these patients would be walking around as living proof that "traditional" HT surgery can go horribly wrong. There seems to be no end to repair patients. Anyway, Reasons why strip docs don't want to abandon strip for a less evasive procedure with comparable results: 1. Multiple strip procedures can be performed in a day. At my old clinic, one strip doc went from room to room juggling 3 or 4 patients at the same time. 20,000 $trip grafts in a day? 2. FUE requires much more time, greater skill and tons of practice. 3. Retraining of the staff is costly and time consuming. Regarding nape hair, Dr. Umar has clearly documented at least 3 cases this year where nape hair is growing well and creating a soft hairline. Patients destined to be a NW7 (who MIGHT loose their nape hair over time) should not get a HT in the first place. It will not look natural over time, maybe freakish even. Strip patients with their hair grown out and styled perfectly (me included) may look great now, but if they recede to a NW7+ will look unnatural (at best) without expanding the donor source. In 2005, arguments about the inconsistency of FUE/BHT were understandable. However in 2008, clearly some docs are getting excellent results with FUE/BHT. Spex is a good example of this (FUE). As is Hooray For Hair (FUE/nape). Atticus (FUE/nape). Schome (FUE/nape). Sofar (BHT) and Especially all the repair cases Dr. Umar has presented in video (FUE/BHT/beard hair grafts). Here is what strip clinics don't show their patients... Reality check (and this is a clean example of strip surgery). Shall I find a "messy" one? If FUE can deliver similar (or equal) results at a competitive price, why do this to yourself folks? Shall we watch this in video form? Hold on to your lunches. A video will be posted if necessary to further make the point. I WAS NEVER shown this type of honest documentation of a strip procedure when I jumped in to the chair. I wonder how many strip clinics show their prospective patients this before getting them to sign on the dotted line? Now that would be the responsible thing to do. Hippocratic Oath anyone? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hippocratic_Oath Please read this and tell me again why HT docs don't abandon strip in 2008? Thanks.

Hi Joe, I seem to have hit a nerve in the strip community. Sorry to be the bull in the China Shop. Respectfully, I'd like to make a few more points. You are a very well known, knowledgeable and respected professional in the HT industry. With all due respect, I understand why you would jump to defend H&W. You work with them and have benefited from their well executed strip procedures. You look great. Love the highlights. ; ) But, IMO, you are (were) NOT an extreme NW6/7+. Your before "fringe" was very "tall" and "wide" and thick looking. Can we see a before pic of the back of your head? Thanks. IMO, only the very extreme hairloss cases are at risk of loosing nape hair over time. Even then, there are some extremely bald people in my family that still have their nape hair. This is what I'm talking about: Would H&W touch this NW pattern? Any NW7+ who engages solely in strip procedures is making a mistake. NW7 strip cases just don't look natural, IMO. What could a strip clinic do for Patrick Steward, Bruce Willis or Peter Boyle? Maybe ruin their careers and possibly make them a laughingstock. Nick Cage anyone? You and I have both benefited from strip. However, if I were starting out today, I'd go FUE all the way (with the right doc). In 2008, the FUE results from certain clinics look to have about the same yield as the top strip clinics, IMO. It is not 2005. FUE/BHT has arrived. Why risk a stretched scar(s) from ear-to-ear you must accept forever? Oh yeah, Dr. Umar could fix it later if it stretches. Lol. But I don't expect we'll agree on this and that's ok. I'm sure you will acknowledge that many strip procedures have failed over the past 20 years. No medical procedure is free from failure. As you know, there are many factors that can negatively effect graft yield. This patient had plugs and a strip taken from the "safe-zone" with poor growth: Looks to me as though the gentleman in the photo you posted has plenty of nape hair trimmed down. I don't see the scar in his nape area from the strip. And you don't show the hairline with the "3 nape hairs growing". Strange example. If a patient's nape hair isn't growing in his hairline after some unknown clinic took a STRIP FROM HIS NAPE (geeesh)... well... I have no faith in their methods (or ethics). There are many reasons why such a transplant wouldn't grow. Thanks for taking the time to post your professional opinion. We'll just have to agree to disagree on some points. Bottom line for me: H&W do great strip procedures. But with the advancements in FUE and BHT, the sky is the limit. 1. Extreme repairs are doable. 2. One truly can "keep up with his hairloss" using FUE/BHT. 3. One can sport a true buzz cut with FUE/BHT. 4. Temples can be rebuilt without tapping head hair. 5. Hairlines can look more natural with BHT. 6. No smiley face scar from ear-to-ear for life. 7. Even NW6/7s have a fighting chance. Balding brothers 10 years younger than us (or more) want to be able to buzz their hair. Some just want the stubble look all over. Others want the crew cut option. Or a mohawk haircut (try that with strip). Strip would be a hindrance for this generation, IMO. The future is now! Research FUE/BHT. Peace, josh

Greetings uncjim, "Docs that don't possess a technique for harvesting it, would develop one." The strip clinics want to keep the status quo going. Some docs will never learn FUE. Many will retire never having tried it. "The safe zone is hallowed ground for a reason and that's why most docs respect it." IMO, most strip docs "respect" their "safe zone" because they can't do FUE/BHT. It's a good scare tactic to justify continuing cutting up the scalp like a pizza to treat MPB. This is no longer necessary in 2008. A few more points to consider: 1. The "safe zone" was derived before FUE/BHT was discovered. With new techniques, the old "safe zone" does not really apply (except inside the horseshoe pattern). Of course strip docs will want to scare people into sticking to that 50 year old, hand drawn, chart. Lol. 2. By staying inside the so-called "safe zone", a higher NW patient should never get a strip HT. There won't be enough head-hair donor to cover the real estate down the road. The patient will always look odd with severe hairloss no matter how many head-hair grafts are placed. 3. It takes more skill to harvest nape hair. It tends to grow in different directions. The hair is finer than head-hair. There is no way to harvest it using strip. Hence, the strip clinics will want to scare folks away from it (just like BHT and beard hair). 4. In my family at least, the older men have TONS of nape hair and very little head hair. They also tend to have lots of body hair in places they don't want it, lol. My 92 year old grandfather (NW6+) had his nape hair trimmed right up until the end. I think it's safe to say that if one has a hairy back, the nape hair will stay in place, lol. Just my opinion. 5. A good doctor can shave the nape area and measure the hair density compared to other areas of the head and decide what is best for the patient. Some nape hair shots from the web: Shaved: Nape hair city (looks like he could be in my family, lol): Most guys shave their nape hair: All time funniest nape hair (well, maybe Robin Williams is #1): I'd like to see a picture of receded nape hair. I'm sure it exists but it seems to me most guys nape hair gets thicker as their head hair goes bye-bye. Just like their ear hair. Lol. Peace out.

Hi Wylie, Thanks for the kind words. I do feel very lucky. My first of 16 strips (minis, micros and FUs over the years) was in 1992. The last one being in 2004. I stupidly bought in to the notion of using strip to "keep up with my hairloss". Some of those strips we only made up of 200 grafts. Although it mostly worked out for me, I wouldn't recommend this path today. Happily, Dr. Umar could fill in my strip scars with beard hair if I decide to cut my hair short. Buzz cuts are not an option for me at this time. FYI, along with all the procedures I've had over the years, I've been on procecia and minox since 1992. Back then, my father's doctor turned him on to Proscar (cut in quarters) for hairloss. My father, being a NW6, passed the Proscar on to me. Not so sure my hairloss has been "minor" since then but it's hard to say between the meds and HT procedures. Ciao.

Hi folks, This post is especially for those of us in the "HT brotherhood" walking around with a "pluggy" or "stalky" hairline. I am very happy to report that after 2 years, my BHT enhanced hairline is growing strong and looking very natural (IMO). In short, my 1990s HT hairline wasn't looking natural to me anymore. Having had multiple strip procedures, I asked Dr. Umar to "feather" and reshape my hairline using body hair only. I was (and am) looking to save any head-hair donor I have left for possible future needs. For a very reasonable price, my hairline was "fixed" in one day, using 1000 leg hair grafts. Here are some BEFORE pictures: Here is a video of my 2 year BHT result: http://youtube.com/watch?v=n_8uYbMTa4I Needless to say, I'm a very happy camper. If anyone would like to see my result first hand, I live in LA. Feel free to ask any questions. Ciao.

Hi folks, This post is especially for those of us in the "HT brotherhood" walking around with a "pluggy" or "stalky" hairline. I am very happy to report that after 2 years, my BHT enhanced hairline is growing strong and looking very natural (IMO). In short, my 1990s HT hairline wasn't looking natural to me anymore. Having had multiple strip procedures, I asked Dr. Umar to "feather" and reshape my hairline using body hair only. I was (and am) looking to save any head-hair donor I have left for possible future needs. For a very reasonable price, my hairline was "fixed" in one day, using 1000 leg hair grafts. Here are some BEFORE pictures: Here is a video of my 2 year BHT result: http://youtube.com/watch?v=n_8uYbMTa4I Needless to say, I'm a very happy camper. If anyone would like to see my result first hand, I live in LA. Feel free to ask any questions. Ciao.

Unbelievable. I still can't believe this is an actual respected physician posting. "Demeanor, ethically-driven behavior, and being a class act are not the criteria for recommended status on HTN." - Dr. Feller CLEARLY this is true with one doc in this group. "the results he demonstrates on this thread are simply not up to the level of other doctors because he chooses to utilize an inferior procedure." - Dr. Feller Sell that to the repair patients documented here. Their reactions would be priceless. Please tell us how you would go about repairing a patient with no head hair donor to work with because of "traditional HT methods"? Nevermind, perhaps you've said enough on this. I'll start another thread for your musings, pretty funny stuff in a tragic sort of way. Thanks anyway.

I wonder what folks reactions would be if they watched a video of a strip procedure and then a FUE (or BHT) back-to-back? Shall we post some pictures of strip extraction and FUE or BHT extraction? Extracting individual follicular units with little or no scarring without using a scalpel? Sounds more than promising to me. I've had both procedures performed on me. If I were starting out today, I'd go FUE/BHT all the way even if I had to sacrifice a small percentage of yield (and I don't believe this to be the case with Dr. Umar). The FUE procedure itself is much less stressful on the body and mind. I'd use BHT in the hairline for shaping and "softening" and for temple reconstruction, saving head-hair donor for areas where I would want to grow the hair longer (top, back, etc.). But that's just one veteran patient's opinion. Doctors like Dr. Umar will continue to fix patients if their strip scars stretch or they are too bald to use any more head-hair donor to look "normal" again after further hairloss from "traditional HT procedures". IT'S 2008 people! Having lost of body hair is no longer a curse! Wookies unite! You can't put the FUE/BHT genie back in the bottle.

Greetings, I am a patient of Dr. Peterson 1992-2002, Dr. Ziering 2004 and Dr. Umar 2005-2008 who posts under the handle "sofarsogood" on some of the HT forums. In short, I found HT forums back in 2005 looking to fix my HT hairline that was starting to look "pluggy" or "stalky" and to possibly repair my strip scars. FYI, I've had 16 (that not a typo) strips between 1992 and 2004. I was referred to Dr. Umar by a longtime poster on other forums. After a successful BHT test of 300 leg grafts, I went ahead with another 1000 to attempt to refine and reshape my 1990s strip-graft hairline made up of minis, micros and FUs with Dr. Umar using leg hair. Very fair price, great yield, fixed in one day with only 1000 leg hair grafts (plus the BHT test of 300). Priceless. This July will be two years since the BHT procedure. Here are a few pics from my case... Before: After: Needless to say, I am a very happy patient. But enough about my case. I came across this thread am felt compelled to add my 2 cents. I don't want to believe that this is really Dr. Feller himself posting on his thread. I can't imagine the misleading, juvenile and insincere posts I've read here (and on other HT forums) credited to "Dr. Feller" were actually written by the good doctor himself. Certainly, a "famous" doctor such as he would be above such nonsense. The sheer number and length of those posts should immediately point to the insecurity and desperation from a (mostly) strip doc in a troubled economy. There is a thread on another site where Dr. Feller and another "famous" HT doc go round-and-round like 6th graders over who invented what, who should file patents on who's tools and who has the bigger... never mind. I don't think that thread helped their practices. We forum geeks loved it. Better than bad reality TV! Lol. I really wish I could post a link to that thread but I wouldn't want to offend our good host here. Entertaining reading but truly sad and pathetic, IMHO. Very telling about the "gods" of HT surgery. Would I put my head in the hands of a doctor who engages in disingenuous, insulting and juvenile behavior on internet forums? Shouldn't he be playing golf or spending some quality time with his friends and family in his down time? Or does he really think he'll attract patients this way? If I were researching HT docs and came across a thread where docs were behaving like they should be on The Jerry Springer show, I would laugh and do some more research on other docs. Is the person posting under the name "Dr. Feller" blind or intentionally misleading perspective patients to garner business? Perhaps he/she was counting on folks not actually watching the videos and blindly accepting his spin as fact? Lol. I challenge ANY HT doc to demonstrate a repair case of this magnitude. PLEASE WATCH THE VIDEOS folks. Here are some pics: This is a MINIMAL improvement? Using NO HEAD HAIR: Using mostly body hair and some head hair: Before: After: Stills from the video: Before: After: Before: After: I suppose according "Dr. Feller", Dr. Umar should run out and perform thousands of strip procedures in order to prove himself worthy of so many FUE and BHT successes? Master strip first and then one has earned the right to practice FUE/BHT? LMFAO! In the future, HT docs will only have read about strip surgery or seen videos, never having performed it themselves. I'm sure Dr. Umar is very happy to be able to claim that he has never inflicted the type of damage on patients that he finds himself fixing all too often today. He is also an HT patient himself and knows first-hand the reality of the HT experience. I've had 16 strips and the scars to prove it. My hair looks good at a longer length and I have benefited from my strips but even with good yield, if my hair was buzzed down to a #4 or lower, it wouldn't be pretty folks (except my hairline). I think I bought a used car from this "Dr. Feller" poster when I was in college. Kidding doc (if it really is you). But I don't think this is him posting. Frankly, it's beneath him and any other honorable professional. The real Dr. Feller should stick to showing results in pictures or better yet, video. As Jon Stewart has said, "His mouth is ruining it for his face". Good grief and good luck with this lame tactic. Truly sad.