FUEsday

My experience with Dr. Beehner was great. I chose him because I had seen his work in person and it was undetectable that anything was done. I also never felt confused or persuaded by advertising. His consent form was also straight forward with no contradictions to previously discussed details like other clinics. I would recommend anyone considering hair restoration request a copy of the consent form prior to the procedure, and if the clinic disagrees that should be a red flag. Some will put a "gag order" on you where you cannot post your experience online without the clinics consent without legal consequences. Others will contradict guarantees that they promised you and not stand behind their results. I arrived at about 7:30 am on Tuesday and was able to discuss goals and planning with the Dr. for about 30 minutes. At no time did I feel rushed as I had with other clinics. I was the only patient that day so I had Dr. Beehner's full attention, which again is not the case in other clinics. This was the first time a Dr. actually looked at my hair under a microscope to determine whether my hair had miniaturized. Luckily , outside of the crown, he saw minor evidence of miniaturization and thought the hair would last a while with the aid of medications. He also was able to determine the density and caliber of my donor region (high, coarse), and assured me that I had plenty of donor for multiple procedures. This was contradictory to what I was told by Dr. Rahal, but consistent with what Dr. Distefano told me. Dr. Rahal told me my donor hair was below average to weak. Possibly it was just the way my hair fell that day, but anyhow, good news. Dr. Beehner was also surprised that my FUE procedure had not worked out based on my donor characteristics. We agreed to do an experiment where he extracted 10 FUE grafts, and was successful in removing and implanting 10/10 grafts. He said the follicles came out as expected, almost perfectly straight beneath the root. This was surprising, and made me happy and disappointed at the same time. Although he could have successfully performed FUE, I agreed that FUT was the right choice for my first procedure based on the amount of coverage I needed. The doctor was able to extract 2000 grafts, everyone dissected and implanted under a microscope, which turned out to be about 5000 hairs (should be a phenomenal improvement). However, he only charged me for 1800 grafts as this is what we discussed before the procedure! He sutured my scar up tightly and said I had good laxity so expected a thin scar! So far it is barely detectable to my family if it weren't for the sutures. I would like to thank the entire staff of amazing technicians and the Dr. for a great experience, and I would highly recommend the Saratoga hair restoration clinic to anyone considering hair restoration. The staff will make you feel comfortable and take great care of you. The Dr. is extremely thorough, ethical, and talented, and stands behind his results 100%.

Hey guys! Thanks for all the support. Just wanted to follow up with you all and let you know I am having a procedure tomorrow (1/15) with Dr. Beehner in Saratoga springs NY (FUSS). I will be posting some updated photos along the way!

Shampoo, looking at your procedure dates I see that you had a small procedure a while back and then a mega session recently. Did the first procedure have a big impact on the available donor left? The two procedures I am considering right now are FUE 1400 grafts and FUT 1500-2000 grafts. I am wondering, if either were to not work out, and I decided to go mega session in the future, which procedure would have depleted more donor hair, or would they be similar? Would one particular procedure have more consequences for having a subsequent procedure?

And new hair, yes, I would consider Dr. Rahal for a FUT. He is booked for a while though. My uncle went to Dr. Beehner for 2 procedure and was a Norwood 5, now looks like fabbio. That is why I am leaning towards him. I like that he uses smaller sessions as well. Would be good to see what type of results I can expect for the next session instead of getting a mega session and turning out to be someone that doesn't get good growth and have a scar from ear to ear.

Okay point taken, but it is not an uneducated opinion. I will give you a little background. I am a doctor of pharmacy, and have had a professional rotation in neurosurgery for 6 weeks. I also have a bachelors degree specializing in biology and minor in psychology. I am not just expressing opinions that are hot air.

Okay, so since I prefer sutures and have seen better results with them than staples in my own experience, you are happy that my FUE procedure did not work out, for Dr. Rahals sake, because that makes me a difficult customer. Got it.

New hair please you attacked me for expressing my opinion. I appreciated your advice at first but then you started being rude. I am here for advice not to argue or to play elementary games and say things like, wow your opinion is dumb!, without explaining your reasoning.

I get that new hair please says staples are just as good as sutures. Agree to disagree and move on, who cares. Through my journey so far I have had a lot of experiences that may be beneficial to others. I thought this is what the forums were, to share experiences. Not to attack someone that has an option. I get that he likes staples but went to Rahal and got sutures. Maybe he can request the staples next time he goes if he needs another procedure.

New hair please you are not fooling anyone on here. You are either paid or have way too much time on your hands. Let me post the experience I had for others in peace.

Good for you. The hard part is over. Hopefully you can update us with some pictures at some point. Happy growing!

Have a FUE, I noticed you had a procedure with Dr. Rahal as well. Can you tell us what type, and how many grafts, how your are coming along etc.

^LOL. I thought I was the only one. Seems like some doctors have not caught up with the times. No one responds if you need advice but everyone argues if you say something that isn't perfectly representing a doctor. Unfortunately not everyone can be number one.

Tricho - closure is quoted in several articles as being the gold standard, there is no argument there.

Shampoo, would you recommend FUT for me over FUE then.

Also I have seen a patient at the rahal guesthouse that had a strip with Dr. Feller and I could see every staple mark placed. Looked terrible. That is why he was going to rahal this time for his 3rd FUT, and also to revise the scar. Also had the opportunity of seeing a Hanson and Wong scar and was not impressed. Not sure what he uses. Dr. Rahals technique is unmatched from what I've seen using sutures.

By the way Dr. Beehner suggested I should do FUT.

It depends on the approach taken. I am only 26. If I wanted perfect hair right now then I'd need 3500-4500 grafts, but I know that is probably not the best approach as no one can say for sure how much worse my hair will get. Being more conservative I could get good coverage with 1500-2000 grafts which is why I like Dr. Beehners plan. There is also another FUE Dr. In Atlanta that wants to leave the crown for now and reinforce the front and temples with 1400 grafts. Any advice would be appreciated.

I'm sure Dr. Rahal wants to make sure all his patients concerns are met before performing any procedure as any ethical physician would and longs for positive results for all his patients. He said he would be happy to perform a strip on me if I decided to go that route. I know he uses stitches and is very skilled in doing so as I have seen and touched his scars in person. Very impressive. Like you guys say, SOME of the top surgeons are using staples, but most are using sutures. The resulting scar is one of the biggest concerns in a FUT surgery and proper closure technique is a factor that can contribute to scarring. My preference for sutures also stems from the fact that they cause less pain, which I don't think anyone would argue with.

Hey, I am here for help. If you believe staples are superior and can explain a logical reason to me as to why then I would follow your advice. That is why I am here. I prefer sutures which I am basing on my educational background and experience. And yes, you better be difficult and make sure the most appropriate techniques and planning are being used when it comes to surgery on your head.

New hair please, are you in the medical field or do you work for a forum? Is your research based on pictures that include both the best and worst results? Do you agree the pictures you see could be fabricated in some way? Are you considering physics and physiology in your comments? Maybe you can share some of your research with us so we can see where your preference for staples is stemming from.

Convenience. Using sutures is a very intricate and artistic process and it takes time and skill to use them appropriately. The people replying to these forums could probably staple your incision.

Patient discomfort, scaring, shock loss. In the hands of a skilled surgeon and correct materials, sutures are superior in every way. They allow the surgeon to obtain closure closer to the incision site which results in reduced scaring. The point of a needle has a much higher gauge (meaning thinner) than a staple, which is easier to avoid disruption of surrpunding follicles. Staples are fired into the incision site blindly and are a convenience.

Dr. Rahals advice actually was to seek out other surgeon and gave me a couple suggestions as he knows my heart was set on FUE.

It was also a mixture of factors that my FUE was unsuccessful. Not necessarily that I am not a good candidate. In the end it comes down to technique, experience, tools used, etc. my wavy hair definitely did not help the situation , but there are many examples of African American cases and patients that have far curvier/nappy/wacky hair types that have ha successful FUE procedures,

Thanks Chris! I do take his advice seriously. I agree after talking with the Armani clinic they are not a good choice for me or anyone for that matter. Very sketchy. Am currently in discussion with a couple other fue doctors and if it doesnt work out may consider strip (feller or beehener). Don't like that feller is using staples though!