Td06

Some surgeons wait until they have your deposit to send you such paperwork and some may only let you view informed consents at their office and only on the day of surgery.

 

There are few surgeons that openly disclose everything prior to deposit. I think it is best to go to those that give you plenty of time and inform of everything involved up front prior to a deposit. Once they have your money, it is non-refundable in almost all cases.

 

I think for more and more people to avoid surgeons with such practices, entity recommended or not, for their own safety and comfort in the long run. You don't want to be in position where things screw up during the procedure or something happens to be stuck with a doc that says oh well you signed this and sorry i dont have to help you etc etc etc... After all, this is a major artistic form of highly visible cosmetic surgery. This is why some folks rarely report on the forums but talk about their mishaps behind the scenes. I know multiple folks that had to go for touchups or from some forum reported high skill docs, where they dont mention it online. I also know of folks with cases where the doctors did wrong and do not refund or help patient after everything was done, most of these cases have been reported to proper powerful authorities including closed/open forum posts, if any. It is always important to view entire surgical consent forms up front priot to deposit being paid and I can't stress this enough. If the doc does not disclose this, then move onto another doctor that does. But every part of this process needs to be done with transparency with no surprises later. I dont care if a doc is business or forum recommended or not, transparancy with paperwork prior to deposit should be a priority in this industry. It saves a lot if headache.

Very good points Sean.

Hello HTN members and Dear Patient TD06,

Wish I could participate, but I am bound by HIPPA . TD06 please call the office, we tried to message but you have not responded. Here is a link to FUT scar improvement through FUE:

With all due respect Dr, The only message i got was from Arochainfo(10/9/15) asking for my email address to send photos that I've requested months ago. Shouldn't your clinic already have that on file? Especially after I've sent multiple emails to your office that went ignored.

When i asked to see pictures of your scar revision, i specifically asked to see ones with large scars (like the one i have now) using your 2 layer closure and fue, not just one example that you've had floating around for awhile. Its not comparable in my situation. Please post those examples.

Again, post my results with my hair combed back/up like in the pre-op pictures dried/wet and a close up of the hairline from the front and sides.

Also post before and after pictures of my donor/scar.

What was my density cm2 for the procedure?

Thank you,

@Td06 - Thanks for the perspective. That really bites. Hard to imagine the doctor finishing up and saying you needed 1,000 more. I'd love to hear what his reasoning was. It's such a science regarding how many transplants are necessary that there's really not much excuse to not know how many transplants are needed prior to surgery and having a set game-plan with the patient. I've never heard of something like that so I'm really curious how it happened.

 

My doctor was within 1% of his estimate (and actually ended up needed a few dozen fewer than initially estimated).

 

I can totally understand your disappointment and agree that the pics are not comparable. I've been careful to document my progress (now at month 6) by making sure my hair is wet each month just like my initial picture, so it's an apples to apples charting.

 

That said, I do think the pictures from your left side show some pretty significant improvement (the right side is much harder to tell) so it's clearly not a total fail (not to downplay your disappointment). Of course, it would be a much fairer comparison if all the pictures were with wet hair and combed back.

 

Not sure why the doctor would post pictures from such an unhappy patient rather than trying to make things right with you. Hopefully, he steps up and makes it right with you.

ModernHair,

Thanks man, I appreciate the concern.

That's what i figured also, When looking at my hair line up close i can defiantly see why i would need more. some areas do look incomplete, esp the front.

My main concern now is the scar which he did offer to fix during our follow up. He offered two options, fue or scar revision using a 2 layer closure which would get it back to where i buzz it back to a #3 again like its an easy fix. I asked to see some before/afters examples but he didn't have any for me to view.

Unfortunately i don't feel comfortable having more work done with them. As a patient I felt mislead, communication with their clinic has been poor, multiple emails ignored, and my concerns were not properly addressed.

Again these are my view and experience with the clinic. They are welcome to post their side.

@Td06 - Are you not happy with your result?

ModernHair,

Unfortunately i am not. My hairline is very see through (i could still see my native one). A little background of my experience.

When i first had my consultation with Dr Arocha, he told me a lot stuff i wanted to hear, Checked me out and said i was a good candidate, I had good donor and scalp elasticity, He said my first scar was also good.

My goals/expectations for the procedure was to have a great hairline with good density, to be able to cut my hair short and spike it up (not a comb over that i could already do). We agreed that 2000 grafts would be all that i would need to reach my goals and never mentioning that i would need any more prior to the procedure.

He showed me examples of his patient results, i told him i would like to have great results like one of the Asian patient i viewed, He said not to worry and that no one can do what he does. He was pretty confident.

We talked about fut and fue, he explained both options but he informed me that fue has a higher transection rate compared to fut(fut had a 90% success rate from what i was told). He recommended fut since i already had a thin scar.

So i opted to have my procedure done with him instead of the two other Dr i consulted prior.

On the day of the procedure we stuck with my existing hairline from the first HT except adding a bit along the temples. Still no mentioning that i would need anymore grafts at this point.

The whole procedure was quite painful. i could feel him cutting into my scalp, i had to have them give me additional shots a couple more times.

After the procedure was done he came in to examine the work, he said i would need an additional 1000 grafts. Really? is it normal for a Dr to tell you that after the procedure and not anytime before? I wasn't happy.

There is more to it but I'll save that for my review. I do understand that some of you will say that my expectation are to high or seem unrealistic but those where my goals and if my expectation were so unrealistic then why didn't Dr Arocha not pass on my case?

So far my personal experience with this clinic hasn't been great. I'm sure other may have had better luck but i did not.

I do now, Its very difficult to hid the scar.

To be fair, please show them my results with my hair combed back like in the pre-op pictures dried and a close up of the hair line. The comb overs a bit misleading. Also provide the viewers my density cm2.

Show them my donor/scar before and after the procedure. Thanks!

Thanks for your reply. Did you have the procedure from Arocha? I have only talked to them but not in person. I was really impressed with Dr. Lam and his background in the transplant field but only saw one review on here and it was not good. Hope to find someone that has used Dr. Lam or Dr. Arocha as my first two choices.

thanks.

I had my second procedure with Dr Arocha (first with a different doctor) and my experience with the Dr and his clinic wasn't great. Consultation was misleading, procedure was painful, communication is poor (They still ignore my emails), and i am not happy with my results.

I do understand that most Dr will have some good and bad results but don't ignore the bad ones either. When i did my research he only had one bad review at the time before having my procedure but now there's more.

If i were you i would defiantly talk to as many HT physicians as you can before deciding on one. Find one that you feel comfortable with, one that will meet your expectations, and one that is willing to do whatever they can to see that you're happy.

This is my personal experience so i can't speak for others. Good luck!

Looks like the hairs are coming in. Happy growing!

Td06, I believe it is a Tricho Closure.

 

MrGio-WHTCClinic. after the first procedure my scalp felt very tight and the back of my head was numb for almost 6 month. Infact, even when the sutures were removed , I could see the scar was going to be wide and could identify a big problem area. I dont think it stretched much more after that.

 

This time around , after the revision, the back of my head didn't feel any tightness or numbness whatsoever. Since day 1 the scar looks much better.

 

I will be posting picture at around month 2 but I would say right now it is pencil thin all the way to the right side of my head, at which point, there might have been a bit of stretch or it might just be shock loss, but it's still looking much much better than it did than after the first procedure.

Scarredbaldy,

If you don't mind me asking did you notice any shock loss in the donor area around the scar from your first procedure post-op?

Thanks for the update.

Hello,

I have decided to go for a second surgery with Dr. Konior. Now, you see. According to Dr. Konior's office, my yield from the first surgery was not acceptable. It was very weak. Tom said he wanted to know what the t hinking procedure is behind a surgeon who would said that all my grafts grew. Now, according to Dr Konior, I would need an additioinal 2000-2500 to fill in these areas. This really pisses me off because the purpose of the first procedure was to reestabish my hairline. Unfortunately, I have to restablish my hairline again as it was done improperly. Now, why is it that dr Dorin led me to believe these results are completely natural and all i needed was another 1000? Dr. Konior said i needed 2000-2500. I was so emotionally upset to be led to believe that my results were very natural. Ugh. I mean, who is considered a top surgeon here?

 

god, i can't believe i was no naive to think my results were 100% natural and that this was the best i could get from a 2000 grafts and that all i needed was another 1000 more.

 

I have talked with 3 other patients and even they had similar results with Dr. Dorin.

kujii,

It's crazy to think Dr Dorin would say that your results were natural or acceptable. What is he thinking.

I to am going through something similar as you but that's another story i plan to do a review on.

Being mislead by a recommend Dr sucks.

Looking good David!

Very nice results.

Good Growth for 8 months.

Everyone from our esteemed participating Dr.s to Peanut Gallery members certainly welcome to chime in on this query.

 

When a patient does his due diligence, has good considered expectations, is generally of normal health, and chooses from a recommended or coalition surgeon, and the Dr. does the same due diligence with his analysis, exercising his professional skills to the best of his abilities and experiences no complications whatsoever - how come we sometimes see astounding results, and then also less-than desirable results?

 

Is it all on the patient once he leaves the clinic?

That's a really good question. From my personal experience so far, and depending on the Dr, i feel that your pretty much on your own once you leaves the clinic. Especially if you have the "less-than desirable results"

Happy growing!

I agree with the others, I wished i had that your hairline back then.

Looks good. can barley see your scar from the back.

You're welcome my friend. As you can see from Td06's experience, shockloss still occurred even after being on finasteride for a long time.

 

And I know of other guys who experienced the same. Although some docs are of the opinion that being on finasteride will help lower or prevent shockloss, my observation has been how the individual responds to the level of trauma induced from the surgery.

 

Finasteride is not efficient for the frontal zone but is good for the crown and sometimes the midscalp.

 

And it's really the hair that is not greatly diffused that tends to grow back, finasteride or not.

I definitely experienced a lot more more pain with this second procedure when compared to the first.

Great Fue case!

Nice hairline and very natural. Is this patient on any meds?

Very nice results for 7 months!

Agreed. very impressive growth for 5 months.

Looks good. Happy growing!

Post some pictures.

Gillenator, many thanks, very helpful! Would the fact that I have not seen much loss since I started propecia in 2003 make it more likely that hair would return if there is shock loss? In other words, if propecia has helped me hold onto hair until now, will it also help the hair through the surgery trauma?

Propecia may help with the shock loss but i don't think its a guarantee. I'm just a bit over 13 months post op from my second procedure and both my donor and recipient area experienced loss at around one month post-op.

I've been on fin for more than 8 years if that helps.