Gettinold

Where are people getting that $5500 won't cover 1400 grafts? I had a planned 1600 grafts, which, even including travel expenses (Dr. Charles offers a travel allowance for out of state customers), I didn't hit $5k. If you are willing to do some leg work and research on the travel side (hit up ALL the travel sites for package deals and discounts), then I can see that being totally doable. Now I, of course, can't speak of results since I only had my surgery a few days ago, but I'm not worried as he has a great reputation.

There were even cheaper options out there, which I had decided against, but the norm seems to be $3-5/graft, I think that he should be able to be in good shape.

First thing’s first…..I survived the procedure J Actually, I don’t think it could have gone much better. I was very impressed with the office. It was very clean and welcoming. I was there about 20 minutes early, as the staff was filtering in. The staff consisted of women (good lookin’ ones I might add, which definitely added to the ambience), who were all very friendly and personable. Before Dr. Charles arrived, Jenny took me in a room to snap some pictures of the areas I wanted done, and talked me through some things, and really made me feel at ease. Dr. Charles came in soon after that.. high-energy, personable, and had a great sense of humor, as did the rest of the staff. We discussed the game plan for the surgery and he gave me some antibiotics and some pills to help me relax, when he asked me if I was nervous, I simply said “Yes”. We talked for a little bit and then sat me in front of a mirror. I told him I was only interested in filling in the crown today, which he was fine with because my hairline isn’t too bad. He did make some suggestions for future work on the hairline, but didn’t try to pressure me.

We decided on 1600 grafts, I paid the balance (I had put a deposit down earlier to save the appointment date), and the travel allowance absorbed almost all of my travel expenses..when I say all, I mean flight, hotel , car rental, and most meals (of course I went out every day)..thank God for Priceline and Expedia.

They took me into the surgery room and I changed into a gown, and they let me pick a movie to watch..Talladega Nights. The surgery began, and I have to say the worst part was getting the anesthesia, but they gave me foam balls to squeeze for pain. It was over quick though. The rest of the surgery took about 5 or so hours and I felt very little discomfort through the whole thing…in fact I fell asleep for a little bit. Dr. Charles and his staff would talk and joke with me through the process and they would often put their hand on my shoulder, which that small gesture really helped me to truly trust everyone. They all knew that this was my first surgery EVER (aside from something small when I was a newborn), and they really did their best to make me feel comfortable. They even bought me lunch when we took a break, and I was able to get up and walk around for a little bit. We ended up doing 1693 grafts total.

After the surgery, Dr. Charles went over the post-op instructions and gave me some sprays, an antibiotic and some Propecia samples, along with a prescription for Vicodin. I drove to the drug store and back to the hotel with no problem, even went out to eat afterwards. Dr. Charles called me that night also, just to see how I was doing. I thought that was really cool. My patient advisor, Maureen, also called to check on me today.

Sleeping wasn’t too bad that first night, I just put a towel down, bunched up a few pillows and slept on my side with the top of my head hanging over the pillow. I woke up a few times through the night, but never felt enough pain or discomfort to make me want to take a Vicodin. There were only some very faint blood droplets on the towel when I got up this morning. I was even able to take one last walk on the beach before having to check out of the hotel and turn in the rental car.

So, so far so good….now comes the waiting game. I’ll be sure to keep everyone updated on my progress, hopefully I’ll see something here in a few months. As for now, I would have to say that my experience with Dr. Charles was great and I would definitely recommend him.

Here are a few photos..the firs one is pre-op, the secdon is immediately post-op, and the next 2 are the day after.

Thanks all!! About to board the plane in a few hours...no turning back now!! I'll update tomorrow after the procedure!

Not trying to make you uneasy about your decision but I am considering having Dr. Charles perform a procedure on me. I have posted the below thread to gain some insight but no one has responded. I suppose that I will have to call the clinic to find out.

 

I am considering using Dr. Glen Charles to perform my HT. I have heard nothing but good things about this physician on this site. I have a question that maybe some of you here can answer. I have been to Glenn Charles website Florida Hair Transplant & Hair Restoration*-*Charles Medical Group and I have also been to a website that states he practices in Tulsa, OK. http://www.affordablehairtransplants.com/about.htm

I have also seen another site in Tulsa, OK http://www.hairtransplantcenter.com which has the same phone number as the site above but the physician is different (Dr. Scott Frayser).

I have Googled the reviews on each location and found several negative reviews on the clinics in Tulsa, OK.

Does anyone know if Dr. Charles is actually affifiated with the clinics in Tulsa, OK. Am I making the right decision to have Dr. Charles perform my procedure?

OK, the patient advisor that I have been talking to, works with both clinics, and apprently Dr. Charles is in the Tulsa clinic a few weeks out of the year. If I was to have it done in Tulsa, my doctor would have been Dr. Siporin, but Dr. Charles works mostly in the Boca Raton office...I also sent you a PM with some contact info..

Not sure what to expect....hopefully wont have to deal with shockloss since I'm only getting the crown done, which is already completely bald, hopefully won't be too painful and wont have problem flying out the next morning...hopefully don't run into monsters....hopefully won't worry about stupid crap that doesn't matter....ahhhh,not sure what to think...nervous yet excited....calm my nerves please...

Glad to hear this....getting more excited as the days draws nearer...thanks everyone..

Thank you, looking forward to it for sure!

Wow, for 4 months that seems really good, gives me alot of hope...and you got it at a bargain also

I sure hope you're right, the crown seemed to go quick, but the hairline crawled, honestly, I'm 31 now and I can tell a difference from pics from when I was 24 or so, but it's minimal...I've never been on meds, other than some natural supplements a few times, and figured the HT with a good doctor was the best option for "surefire" results...I'm sure Dr. Charles will be able to expand on more of this for me, but I do hope you're right

Thanks for the well-wishes everyone, I will definitely keep all of you updated...Dutch, I do plan on getting the front done, but as of right now, it's really not too bad and doesn't bother me like my crown, which is completely bald, does, especially with the hairstyle that I keep. I'd rather it get a little worse before I go that route...but of course, I will talk to Dr. Charles about that and consider his recommendations before making any final decisions..

No turning back at that point

Doing probably 15-1600 grafts in the crown, if that all goes well, then I'll be back sometime soon to fill out the front a bit....nervous and excited at the same time...I'll be sure to update everyone on the process..

Also, I am planning on flying out the day after, and then returning to work the next day after that...is that a good idea?

Thanks for your replies everyone....I guess I just tend to be a pansy when it comes to doing anything like this...I'm going to call today to firm everything up, I have a good feeling I will be extremely glad I did this, and if I keep thinking about it I'll keep putting it off and just keep getting worse. I am still a bit concerned about shock loss though..how bad is it? Is it a noticible loss? Does it all grow back?

Thank you so much. I believe I may have the wrong Dr. Shapiro then, not the one discussed on here....it's not that I'm not confident in Dr. Charles, as most of the reviews, especially on this site are fantastic, but there are some bad ones out there, and honeslty, I think I'd get cold feet with any doctor...think I'm more scared of the whole thing in general

Well, I'm about to bite the bullet after months of research, buy a plane ticket to FL (I'm in Ohio) and put a $1k deposit down to firm up a March 21st date, and of course having alittle case of cold feet. I've read good reviews of Dr. Charles, along with some, let's say, not good reviews..my main contact has been a patient advisor who I've been in contact with who leaves it up to me how many grafts I want (Dr. Charles looked at my pic and suggested ~1600 in the crown area, which is all I want done at the moment). Is this common? I was also looking into Dr. Shapiro in Hollywood FL, who seems to have a pretty good reputation, and is actually alittle cheaper than Dr. Charles (Dr. Charles is $3/graft while Dr. Shapiro is $2.75/graft)...basically looking for some advice and peace of mind here..dont want to get butchered or experience shockloss or any other horror stories I've read about, and definintely dont want to waste my monmey as I took out a small loan to pay for part of the procedure....

Alittle history, I'm 31, hairline is receding, but not too bad and rather slowly...want to get that done sometime in the future, but am more concerned about my completely bald crown area that I've had since my early 20's.

nobody had experience with this guy or tessler, his partner?

Appreciate all the great replies....still keeping an eye out. Anyone ever have any experience with Dr. Leonard Aronovitz in Michigan?

If you dont mind me asking, what did some of yours run you? It seems that I have gotten estimates anywhere from below $5k to $8k...these guys seemed middle of the road, but it also seems that the estimate of grafts vary greatly from one place to the next...anywhere from 1500 to over 3000. Sooooo much varied info out there that its mind-numbing. I'd like to get this done within the next few months, but not going into it blindly either..

Anyone have any experience with Dr. Haber? He's reasonably close to me here in Ohio, although I sent ome pictures afew weeks ago and never recieved a response. I've also been in contact with the Nuhart clinic in Chicago, but alittle leary of them because of a few things I've read. They will do it all for $6500 though, which is less than alot of places I've talked to. That's definitely more within my budget...

Thank you, everyone on this site has been very helpful..

Also, any opinions on any of these guys?

October Special Scottsdale Institute for Cosmetic Dermatology

Atlantis Hair Transplant (Link removed by moderator)

So I have a 3" x 3" spot on my crown I was thinking of getting filled in (Also receding hairline I'd like to get reconstructed at some point), but there seems to be alot of differentials between doctors and how many "grafts" will be necessary. Upon looking at charts, etc. on the internet, I figured I'd probably need around 700 grafts to fix my crown. I had sent pics into a place (Link removed by moderator), and the doctor himself emailed me back, saying that I would need about 16-1800 grafts for the back...youch, I guess I was thinking, "hey I can spare $2-$2.5k to get this done now and worry about my hairline later"...Am I off base here? Any suggestions on where to get this done?