KiwiGuy500

This procedure was flawless. Simply a stellar result. Congratulations.

Hi rmf, despite my sentiments I would welcome the opportunity to be completely wrong. Good fortune to you friend.

Hi UK Responder and thanks for that post. I always liked nonagen but not the dispenser it came with. Hence for laziness I stick with toppik which was fine. But both of these products made my hair a bit dry and disty looking. Would you say caboki reduces the dry and dusty factor a bit or are they about the same in this regard? I'm not a big user but as I'm midway through repair i wondered if this product would help a bit. cheers mate

rmf55........I had my plug work done from '97 (late I know!), and my Knudsen work I believe in '99 and '01. With regard to the skin institute I know someone that went for a consult but I have not done so myself. The person who consulted them was told it was $7000-$8000NZ plus taxi for a small surgery, (800 grafts). The nurse who does it is becoming renown for being sales orientated and my contact told me the same thing. Apparently she really thinks she's crash hot at this stuff. A doctor is nearby but doesn't play an active role in surgery. My friend asked me my opinion even though he said there was zero chance he would ever let her 'operate'.

With regard to Rodg's comments that 1-2 negative postings would put him off, in a sense |i definitely agree. But I don't think non-coalition Drs doing bad work get enough bad press on this site, I think the community tends to 'Focus on the Positive' and i believe this sits best with the guidelines the moderators encourage. I say the following as second hand information. Last week I contacted a long retired surgeon who has had dealings with Australian doctors. He told that surgeons from Australia always had complaints being made and they are insured to the hilt. He explained this is part of the reason for the current high price of hair restoration in Australia at this time. You can see that last part is true, the cost is rediculous for the quality. Where do you see an Australian Dr doing lateral slit with awesome results everyone is raving about? And if they are, is this being done at a fair price. I think not. This Dr contact advised me in no uncertain terms that Australia is a VERY hard country to go head to head through complaints, and they are very good at making them go away over there. Of course there's been problems with that all over the world with hair transplantation. Although there are dr's who love to say how many surgeries they have performed but I would advise you did not go outside the coalition for your surgery. And I make this suggestion as my personal opinion, and not as anyone profiting from this financially just with your interests at heart. I will advise you I am yet to meet someone in person, or see pictures of a person who was operated on by an Australian dr, and whoes results impressed me very much at all. But what any of you do, you have made informed decisions and I wish you well.

Hi pjwb85, I was referring to donor. Speaking about my own donor results, it was the days before trico closure, and sutures were used. The first surgeon left those 'plug' scars that look white and spotted, I'm currently having those cut away with procedures and the area harvested. This reduces scars alot. Russell Knudsen did sutures and these looked like train tracks. They are not the thin pencil line that's desirable. When I talk about massive scars I am talking about the unlucky few that get these scars and which Knudsen managed to do to someone I know reasonably well. I am extremely glad I got lucky on this one. With regard to recipient there is also some story there too. As Dr Knudsen seems a fan of mini /micro grafting, the holes are not tight. Some patients have the grafts raise up. I had this effect. (Plugs are even worse). Grafts that raise up can become white, fail and may become 'cobblestoned'. Pitting occurred from work from Dr Knudsen, nothing disfiguring but I'd rather it didn't happen. Yes, all the recipient work I have ever seen from Knudsen looked obvious to me. OK!!!

Hi, my apology for not addressing the specific questions in my previous posting. I believe I had about 1500 grafts in my 2 procedures. I was desperate at the time and Dr Knudsen was at the time seemingly my only option. (note just after my final procedure with Knudsen was around the time new techniques 'raised the bar'). In all fairness to Knudsen he was not responsible for most of my hairline, but he added some grafts round it and they didn't make it better it looked worse. In my case I am not saying Knudsen did 'wrong'. I don't doubt he performed to the best of his ability and the results were kind of OKAY for their era, but not great work. I had low growth from one of my Knudsen procedures too. I have expressed my opinion that Knudsen does not have the artistic ability of certain doctors, and I stand by that. But I don't believe there is one single Australian who is doing excellent work, its all below the standard of what the rest of the world does, so I will only suggest coalition doctors. And even then you must do your research on each one if you are considering a procedure. Over the years I have spoken with many surgeons around Australia and New Zealand. I know the name of the guy who did NZ's first hair transplant and other such trivia stuff. I know what went on with Neville Barrington who organised plastic hair implantation. In other words I am somewhat of a historian of NZ hair transplantation. I have known people who have been worked on in NZ and I have met 4 people worked by on Knudsen - plus me. This has been over years, and by chance. None of the guys I met had undetectable results, nor myself. None, Period. And in two cases, we are talking massive scars. Only one of those guys do I know well. I don't wish to divulge full details of his case, that's for him to do. Like Rod I wonder why negative postings are no real concern you. But I accept that at the end of the day those who post the most/have been members the longest, should have the most weight. So my opinion, is less valuable being quite a new member. But I've been round. I can't give other peoples details out just like that. If you want the details of people I will have to talk with him, so its possible. But it would have to be exceptional circumstances upon which I would pass details on to you because in my opinion you have made your choice.

Russel Knudsen did not 'butcher' me. But he has created massive scars in the donor area of two guys I know. I've seen scars made by him with my own two eyes. And the recipient work was NOT THAT hard to spot. If you have super fine hair that is straight, its looks a little better I know, but still can be spotted. Granted that I have a well-trained eye, but seriously - the work was NOT gold standard. The work I received from Knudsen was semi-acceptable at the time, but its also a bit jammed in and a bit ugly - it would never stack up now. In my second procedure, I believe I had poor yield too. Since my procedures with Knudsen, techniques have come a very long way - but Dr Knudsen has not moved with the times. And basically, he just does not have that X-factor/artistic ability when it comes down to it. That is a view echoed by others. If you want your hairline done by him, even a small operation, that's the bit that you are going to see. Size does not matter, quality matters. If it does not work out and you find the Knudsen work does not meet your standards, are you prepared to have what I had - which was a frontal extraction!!!! They are not fun and will kill your state of mind far worse than what you are feeling at the moment with a bit of hair loss. And you then have to wait a long time for the next repair which is tough. Listen, there are a lot of vets on here, we, as a group have many among us who have been there, done that. We don't give new guys like you advice for the fun of it, we are trying to help you. And you aren't listening really. Why should I put time into this message if the information is out there already?? I have nothing to gain personally, so i do it because I would genuinely like to see you a fellow Kiwi get the best result that you are happy with. But it's your choice I won't lose sleep either. The scarey thing is that Russell Knudsen is far from the worst in Australia - there's worse than him!! I believe Australian HT surgeons are very expensive for what they produce. Why when you have coalition Dr's available to you, would you go to someone who does not figure highly in the estimations of people on this forum, or many other forums? Perhaps you should try and relax, take finasteride, and do another 6 months research. What does extra time and matter in the grand scheme of your life?

Hey Dr, this is amazing work by you. But I think more skill could be observed by the community by you doing this with another hair type. Hair this curly is obviously going to flatter more than less curly hair. No disrespect and excellent journal.

Hi, I am going to make a genuine plea to you: Please do not let Knudsen touch you. Apart from not using gold standard practices, research should have told you Russell does not have much ability to do hairlines. Consider Rahal, Fella, Wong, , either Shapiro, Hasson or any one of 4 or 5 top guys. Please don't use anyone in Australasia. If you want the number of an Australian friend who is an ABSOLUTE mess because of Knudsen, I will give it to you and he will talk with you. Even if you don't get butchered, you will be paying for below average results. Please don't do that to yourself. It sucks that no one from our part of the world is doing gold standard. I know Knudsen, been operated by him twice. Nice guy too, good at appearing that he is fantastic, but he isn't. If you are going to persist with this - then my conscience is clear - I've told you straight and what you do from here is over to you. You must travel to one of the best.

Hi, I am going to make a genuine plea to you: Please do not let Knudsen touch you. Apart from not using gold standard practices, research should have told you Russell does not have much ability to do hairlines. Consider Rahal, Fella, Wong, , either Shapiro, Hasson or any one of 4 or 5 top guys. Please don't use anyone in Australasia. If you want the number of an Australian friend who is an ABSOLUTE mess because of Knudsen, I will give it to you and he will talk with you. Even if you don't get butchered, you will be paying for below average results. Please don't do that to yourself. It sucks that no one from our part of the world is doing gold standard. I know Knudsen, been operated by him twice. Nice guy too, good at appearing that he is fantastic, but he isn't. If you are going to persist with this - then my conscience is clear - I've told you straight and what you do from here is over to you. You must travel to one of the best.

Rod G, of course you are 100% right...We obsess in the mirror even if we aren't normally inclined to do so. And I think many of us try not to look in the mirror and be constantly reminded of hair loss. After my most recent HT's I did lots of post op looking. I healed and then got busy with work. But as soon as I broke from work for 2 weeks I started obsessing....

For a smaller operation you are going to get amazing results and have massive amounts of donor for any future work. Well done for selecting Dr F and congrats to the doctor for that stunning work.

Hi Welli Boi. Yeah mate I'm still over in Vancouver having a holiday after the op. Being repair it was a long one and very technical for the staff. I am trying not to be like the other guys on here telling you exactly which surgeon you should go to. I wont post that and I don't think guys should specifically tell you what to do. But I will back everyone up on saying 'watch out in australia / NZ'. As far as medical tourism goes in Thailand I have respect the dentists, transplants - more variable. There are only a few doctors who are the top and they are not going to be the cheapest. However there are guys charging $6-8 a graft who are terrible so high price does not guarantee a thing. Don't let one guy who had an operation at this place or that place tell you to go to his surgeon. Do LOTS of research, take your time, call different patient liasion people, and form your own opinion - you are going to have to live with the results. Price is going to be a factor somewhere, but there are a few tricks when looking at price that sting the uninformed. Geography should not come into it, you're from NZ, you're going to have to travel.

Hi Welliboi, if you get a chance please take time to read my profile its intended for guys like you, from our part of the world...