Michael5577

At 3.5 months post op, you are certainly OK. You wouldn't have damaged anything by towel drying your scalp at this point.

 

Actually, this is probably an exciting time for you....have the hairs started to sprout??

It's my second HT, so I know what to expect but I'm still a bit nervous.

Dr. Rahal or H&W. Go with the best even if you have to travel great distances. It's curious that Canada has the best surgeons.

I'm three and half months after my HT and I was wondering if I risked pulling out my grafts if I used a towel over my HT area in a vigorous fashion?

If I had 1000 grafts more I'd gotten full coverage. But the crow area can always be covered up with some creative hair arrangement. What's really crucial is to frame your face and kill the bald look.

I'm a NW6 and got over 5000 grafts over two procedures. The difference in my appearance and overall feeling of well-being was worth it. No car could provide that.

I'd only get FUE for a thousand grafts or less. If you go with FUE, make sure you go to see the best surgeons. Dr. Feller probably qualifies as the best in the field.

Go for the front first. If you spread it out, you might suffer shock loss after a subsequent procedure. Although the transplanted hair is supposed to come back, I wouldn't want to see my already transplanted hair disappear even for a few months. It's a bit too traumatic.

Run a search on this Web site using Armani and you'll have an excellent idea of the man. There's no point in again rehashing all this information here.

I'd pick hair over a new car.

We've all went through it. It's part of the getting an HT. It's like being on a diet and gaining 20lbs before actually losing 40lbs. There's no point in obsessing about it.

PAI refunded me 100 % two weeks before my procedure. I finally decided to go with Dr. Rahal and I'm thanking God every day that I made that decision.

Is this diffuse thinning? If so, does cases are very tricky and you may end up with shock loss and less hair at the end of your HT experience. You don't really look like a good candidate.

Does Dr. Rahal perform surgeries in Toronto or only in Ottawa?

 

Can someone also have a look at my pic and advise if 3000 grafts to the top excluding vertex would give me significant results?

 

Am I a norwood 5/6?

 

Will i lose any existing hair at top of my head from a HT (I think i read something like that from a post someone had, not sure if true)?

 

Between Dr Rahal and Dr Simmons who would you choose and why?

You should visit his Web site.

Dr. Rahal does surgery in Ottawa, distance and cost should never be an issue when choosing a doctor, since if they mess up your head, you'll travel to Antarctica and sell your house if you have to so you can repair your head.

I'd choose Dr. Rahal because he has more experience and produces nice results CONSISTENTLY. That being said, I'm comfortable with Dr. Simmons, too. But I don't know him well enough to recommend him. In any case, Dr. Rahal has a long, proven track record. He's one of the best in this industry.

If you live in Toronto you should go with Dr. Rahal. Go with the best and you increase the odds that everything will go well.

IMO the biggest travesty of this entire thread is that some virgin head newbies will read it and scratch Dr. Feller off their list in favor of some other inferior HTN coalition surgeons who have better bedside manners.

 

And this would be more of a negative for them than for Feller as I am sure he will remain steadily booked as he should, yet they will be taking the very real risk of an inferior HT.

 

Concerning results, he is clearly in the top 7 worldwide which is a very elite club indeed!

 

Nuff said :eek:

I don't know what criteria you're using. Feller is very, very good FUE but, in my opinion, his strip work is normal for a coalition surgeon.

At any rate, if you do go with Feller, I hope everything goes according to plan because if it doesn't, you might end up like the intial poster.

There at least 10 surgeons in North Ametica who are as good or better, why not choose one of them and not worry about Feller's negatives? Can you imagine being at the receiving end this crap? Why not avoid it?

3. NONE of the critics on this thread even know all the facts. While JAG can say what he wishes online, I can't as I'm bound by confidentiality laws and professional conduct restrictions. So without all the facts, how can you all be so quick to judge?

We're talking about your customer care and overall attitude, you're not bound by confidentiality insofar as those matters are concerned.

The essence of your posts is "how can anyone dare to criticize my practice, don't they know who I am?" That type of conceit, arrogance, and condescension won't get you very far.

I've also noted that nobody out of the coalition surgeons gets as many complaints as you. Does that give you any pause for introspection?

I gather that only proper technique matters and the character of the surgeon is of no importance.

Notice that most professional associations require of members to be of "good character" to be in good standing.

Corvettester,

 

Our site is dedicated to transparency and honesty with respect to both physicians and patients, so I am glad that this discussion involves both critical and non-critical insight from both patients and physicians. Because of this, I've felt as if my presence as a 'moderator' hasn't been necessary thus far. However, I did want to add a small point of clarification to your post and with regards to the Coalition:

 

As far as Coalition physicians are concerned, here are the requirements for consideration:

 

-A demonstrated capability to successfully perform large sessions of ultra refined follicular unit grafting using tiny incisions and grafts that are microscopically prepared.

 

-The ability to dense pack tiny follicular unit grafts in a given area when appropriate.

Mastery and control of the orientation and direction of the transplanted grafts to achieve a completely natural appearance.

 

-Dedication to doing state of the art hair transplantation exclusively or as the main specialty of the clinic.

 

-Excellent patient results demonstrating a high level of artistry and naturalness throughout.

 

-An outstanding reputation amongst colleagues and former patients.

 

-Exceptional Value - as determined by quality and pricing taken together

 

From how I understand it, the main controversies surrounding this situation stem from communication issues and a forum reply, not as much from any of the qualifiers listed above. Because of this, I simply wanted to share the above requirements and state that Dr. Feller, via proven results and a dedication to state-of-the-art techniques, has solidly earned a spot in the Coalition and I don't believe his recommendation status is what's being discussed here.

 

Just a quick point of clarification. If you have any additional questions or disagree, feel free to post or send me a private message. My goal here was simply to clear up any misconceptions regarding the Coalition.

A saw this on another board.

A QUESTION FOR THE DARWINIANS

How do the Darwinians explain the prevalence of male baldness in much of the white race (the Irish being the big exception)? That a man 50,000 years ago had an accidental genetic mutation which caused him to lose his hair, and the women in his tribe were more attracted to him with his bald head than to all the other hairy men, and so he had more offspring than the hairy ones, and so the genetic mutation for baldness spread through the population?

- end of initial entry -

Paul K. writes:

I'm not a Darwinian, but I guess their answer would be that most men have already fathered their children by the time they begin to go bald. That was certainly true in my case. I frequently tell my children that it's thanks to them that my hair fell out.

LA replies:

Right. But if baldness mostly occurs after the man has fathered his offspring, then how can there be any causal connection between the theoretical supposed advantage of baldness, and the natural--or, rather, sexual--selection of baldness which maintains the mutation and makes it prevalent in the population?

My point is that we don't have the slightest idea why male baldness exists and why it is so common, and there is no remotely plausible Darwinian "scenario" by which it came into existence via an accidental mutation that was then selected.

Leonard D. writes:

There is no generally agreed-on explanation among evolutionists for baldness. We don't know enough. However, if you care to peruse the wiki page on it, you'll discover several theories.

Also, you'll discover that male pattern baldness occurs in closely related ape species. So it probably predates humanity. Male pattern baldness is not limited to Europeans. I might guess that its incidence in Africans is lower than in whites, because no hair to shade your head in a hot climate is a significant disadvantage where it is not in colder climates.

LA replies:

I wasn't suggesting that baldness only exists among Europeans or Caucasians; but because it seems more prevalent among them, I wanted to limit my question to that group.

I'll check out the Wikipedia article later.

Ron Littlewood writes:

Leonard D. wrote:

"There is no generally agreed-on explanation among evolutionists for baldness."

There is no generally agreed-on explanation among evolutionists for ANY specific thing. The only thing they agree upon between themselves is evolution itself.

LA replies:

Let's be more precise. The only thing they agree on is that God or any non-material intelligence CANNOT exist and therefore that there MUST be a naturalistic explanation for all the phenomena of life and therefore the Darwinian (or whatever adjective they prefer) theory that life evolved via accidental genetic mutations that were naturally selected MUST be true.

Of course, even if Darwinism were proven, the evolutionary scientists don't even pretend to have a naturalistic explanation for how life got started in the first place.

Paul K. writes:

I have a niece who is a fervent Darwinian. What she would say is that if a trait isn't actively harmful to survival, there is no reason that it must be selected out. Thus, while there is no purpose for baldness, there is no pressing need for the trait to disappear either. Similarly, while the appendix serves no particularly useful function, it remains vestigially because it does not cause a great deal of harm.

The logic of this makes no great sense to me but I'm trying to present it from the evolutionists' perspective. Personally, I don't understand why man didn't evolve night vision, such as cats have, as it surely would have been a tremendous asset. Perhaps we had an ancient ancestor who evolved night vision, but a tree fell on him before he could procreate, tragically nipping in the bud a hundred generations of steadily progressing random mutations.

Karl D. writes:

What I would like to know is why most rock stars seem impervious to male pattern baldness? After years of abusing their bodies they still manage to hold on to a full head of hair! Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Bob Dylan, David Bowie, Jimmy Page, Robert Plant, Roger Daltrey, Iggy Pop, Eric Clapton. The list goes on and on. It is quite infuriating! ; )

LA replies:

The great ones always have full heads of hair. It's a basic unfairness built into life.

James M. writes:

I think a Darwinist would say that there needn't be any advantage associated with baldness to explain its presence in a population. Baldness, because it manifests itself after the prime reproductive years, sticks around regardless of its lack of benefit to us, because it is infrequently selected against. Same deal with things like glaucoma or heart disease. Certainly there is no advantage to being predisposed to develop these conditions, but people typically reproduce before those things come about, so those predispositions are infrequently selected against.

LA replies:

So in other words, baldness just appeared (by a random genetic mutation), but didn't have to be selected to survive, it just wasn't selected against? Hmm.

Jim C. writes:

It would be interesting to research when the concept "baldness" came into effect, and why modern man views it as a defect.

Ron L. writes:

There are many types of hair loss. The evolutionary answer for the prevalence of androgenic alopecia / androgenetic alopecia amongst Europeans is rather simple. This condition is not limited to humans, occurring in a number of Great Apes, including our closest relatives, chimps and bonobos. Hair loss occurs later in life, so its negative effects on sexual selection are limited. This condition is caused by a change in the way the body responds to the hormone DHT, as well as a reduction in the conversion of epithelial stem cells into the "daughter cells," which form the matrix of the hair follicle. Sensitivity to DHT is beneficial to young men, i.e. those most likely to attract mates, as it increases muscle mass, aggression, and sex drive. It is only in the long run, that the negative effects of balding and enlarged prostates become a problem. The reduced ability of stem cells to repair hair follicles in between growth cycles is caused by a number of factors. The first is aging, which is universal. However, epigenetics (gene expression) is a major factor here. High-fat diets as well as decreased insulin-sensitivity both negatively affect Insulin Growth Factor 1, which affects hair growth. The increase in hair loss in Japanese and Chinese has coincided with their change in diet. Another factor is the sun. Europeans are white in order to get necessary vitamin D2 from the sun. Vitamin D2 is a hormone necessary for many functions and promotes hair growth, as hair on the head exists to protect us from the sun. However, in the long run, UV radiation damages the scalp, leading to aging of the skin, eventually causing hair loss. There may well be other factors. Still, to answer your question, hair loss in Europeans is a relationship of genetics, and gene expression. I am unaware of any reduced rate of hair loss among Irish as opposed to other Europeans. Irish and Scotch-Irish in American certainly go bald.

LA replies:

You are explaining some of the possible biological factors in male hair loss. You are not explaining why these factors should have come into existence in the first place, affecting some members of the population to the point of total male pattern baldness, affecting others less, affecting others not at all.

I travelled through Ireland for three weeks some years ago. All or virtually all the Irishmen I saw had a full head of hair. Another striking feature is that their hair commonly starts to go grey or white when they are in their forties. So there's a sort of trade-off. They have the advantage of a full head of hair, and the disadvantage of early greying.

OneSTDV writes:

I know nothing about baldness, but I find it plausible that it derives from the modern agricultural diet. Prior to the 20th century which saw the advent of processed foods, the false stigmatization of the high meat, high saturated fat, paleolithic diet, and the championing of vegetarianism and veganism as the ultimate healthy diet, heart disease, cancer, diabetes, and obesity were largely unheard of. These diseases, especially obesity and diabetes, have seen dramatic rises since the '60s.

So perhaps baldness is only a recent occurrence, much like acne which does not exist amongst any indigenous groups until they adopt the neolithic/Western diet, and primarily a result of our nutritional choices.

Related: I'm surprised you don't cover nutrition as it seems to be increasingly popular amongst the reactionary sect. Here's a few posts where I elucidate on the connection between liberalism and diet (sorry for the spam but I don't want to rehash all the content in an e-mail): this, this, this, and this.

LA replies:

You are saying that baldness dates from the beginning of agriculture, 12,000 years ago, and that baldness dates from the twentieth century, 100 years ago.

Meanwhile, other commenters have informed us that baldness dates from the Great Apes, ten million years ago.

Such is the edifice of evolutionary science--a heap of speculative "stories," each contradicting all the others.

From what i understand from Dr. Feller there are also some legal complications with speaking on the phone i didnt know that.

And I have a beautiful bridge to sell you. The BS and arrogance are breathtaking. But again, nobody forces anyone to get an HT with Feller. Thanks to experiences like the poster's, Dr. Feller might become less busy and have more time to speak to patients. Everybody wins.

I asked this patient very nicely to post some pictures of his results. He in return lashed out at me and accused me of putting him on trial. Does anyone think that is the response of a rational person? Is it possible that this patient was rude and aggressive with Dr. Feller and his staff?

 

The writing is kind of on the wall with what happened here. The patient admittedly had a successful HT with Dr. Feller. His thinning progressed (which is much more plausible than him losing HT grafts) and he became unhappy with the results. Now, Dr. Feller offered to look at the results in person to determine what happened--he told him that he could not determine anything from the pics. But it sounds like the patient persisted and, according to Dr. Feller, became aggressive. I'm more inclined to believe the doctor, who I'ver had 3 surgeries with, and who has a stellar reputation, over some anonymous poster.

 

It's amazing to me that many of you will blindly side with someone who has no reputation to lose over someone who has worked very hard to build a solid one on this site. But, as Dr. Feller, said, that's the internet for you....

You're speculating. I don't see a reason to disbelieve somebody who says that his HT didn't work out. He doesn't have to provide photographs, if he doesn't want to. The gist of his complaint is the total lack of communication and poor treatment, and only secondarily his HT failure.

Wow, so many posts based on a typo.

 

I left out the words "irrate and aggressive" from my comment. Of course I speak to patients 15 months out from surgery, even 15 years. Who thinks a doctor can stay in business 17 years and not talk to post op patients? Absurd.

 

Just shows how far people will run with ANYTHING to find fault, point fingers, and cast blame. Typical internet nonsense.

 

Enjoy yourselves.

Sounds like backtracking.

A patient who has lost transplanted hair probably has a right to feel a little "irate and aggressive" especially when his surgeon hides from him and can't spare some time on the phone. And even if the patient is "irate and aggressive" (maybe because of shabby treatment?), he should be shown some compassion.

Zero people skills.

Good Lord. This response is so manifestly ridiculous and disingenuous that it ought to send off alarm bells in the head of anyone considering Feller.

 

He can't find 15 minutes a month to take a phone call from a patient who's put thousands of dollars in his pocket, but he somehow can find the time to meet with that patient for an extended period if the patient were only to . . . fly across the country to meet him at his office.

 

The needle on the gauge just did a 720.

 

 

Keep in mind that Feller is a prolific poster as well, so his lame excuse that he just "doesn't have the time" doesn't pass the smell test. I hope all who consider Feller read this thread. Internet has really done wonders to expose people for what they are.

What I'm getting out of Dr. Feller's problems is that some patients complain about a lack of communication and aloofness. Perhaps it's something that Dr. Feller could improve?

Dr. Feller, do you really expect all your patients to fly across the country or from a different continent just for a quick visit? Is this a reasonable request? I think proper pictures and phone calls are more appropriate.

In any case, there were many red flags in this matter before the surgery and the complainant should've picked somebody else if he was uncomfortable with Dr. Feller's behaviour. There are at least ten surgeons in North America who do first-rate work.

How many grafts and who was your doctor? 3 months is too early to judge your procedure.

I almost went with PAI, too. I thank God everyday that I chose Dr. Rahal instead. PAI uses an outdated technique that produces a pluggy look in my opinion. Your mom means well, but she knows nothing about the industry, I bet. Distance and cost should not be an issue when it comes to HT. Do your research and go with one of the coalition doctors. Your odds of success will increase. Please stay away from hair mills. Best surgeons work solo or with a partner like Hasson and Wong.