Noodles123

I don't know what the hell they'd sue for.... It's an empty threat that they keep using, but they know that they would be destroyed by a countersuit. They would lose hands down. There is no argument that would convince a jury that they are meeting the bare minimum best practices for this kind of surgery. Further, I suspect the person who is actually doing the surgery is not even a doctor, and from the sound it of, perhaps not even a nurse.

I think it's a viable option if you are fully committed to wearing a partial piece for the rest of your life. And it does seem that it fits your lifestyle. In fact, you can find a section on Dr. Konior's website saying that for a patient that is very committed and motivated, the hair transplant in the front + partial hair system in the back can give a very good cosmetic outcome. In fact, I think for a very bald guy it's the best way to get the look of a "full head of hair."

Ughh..... You could not make this stuff up if you wanted to. This place has to be shut down before more people fall victim. How scary that this Dr. Searle now has set up a clinic in California.

Did you have to have an initial in-person consultation to get the prescription? I wonder if the Italian pharmacy that is compounding your solution is the same one used by Hasson and Wong for their formulation.

Were you a rahal patient? Or a shapiro patient. Both of these doctors used machines before abandoning them. I see the issues you mentioned. The placement at the hairline is sparse in contrast to your native hair, which highlights the difference in density. I think increasing the density would help.

Brad Pitt would be jealous. Good thing you caught it early and that the meds aren't causing any major sides.

How is this butcher shop not shut down yet? Again, another victim of this fraudulent operation. I'd pursue making a claim with your credit card company if you used one. Good luck. So sorry you have to endure this.

I know you seem dead set against FUT, but for the amount of grafts you want I would give FUT another look. I had FUE for my first procedure, and while the results were good, if I were to do it again I'd do FUT to get it all done in as few surgeries as possible. My very close friend had his FUT surgery with Rahal 1.5 years ago, and I'll tell you the linear scar is literally pencil thin. It's a complete non-issue. Yes there is always the possibly that your individual physiology could result in a widened scar, but I think in Rahal's hands that's a remote possibility. With FUE, for that amount of grafts, the donor can look thinned out. I only did 1500 grafts, and under certain lighting conditions it is somewhat noticeable. Regardless, if you have the money and time to commit to many surgeries to get to your goal, then FUE would also be a good choice.

Sweet!!! Very dramatic difference indeed. Without even looking at your facial features, you definitely still resemble a much younger guy with the hair. Great choice of haircut too. So many guys get great transplants and then get haircuts that age them.

Thanks for the info. The topical solution you are using has minoxidil in it as well right?

How much was the cost? Are you using just topical finasteride? I thought their formulations were prescription strengths of minoxidil plus topical finasteride.

Kmcd1.... Thanks for the the tip, although when I checked it out they said their products were not offered in the US. The one mentioned above seems legit, although when I inquired the prices are steep. But if it gives the option of not taking finasteride systemically, then it may well be worth it.

This may totally sound like broscience, but I went through this as well. I had always used generic finasteride in the past and I responded quite well. That said, as I switched between different makers of the generic finasteride, I did notice that I was losing ground. I switched to brand name proscar and it halted the loss. Yes on paper generics should be equivalent to their brand name counterparts, but as the poster above said, many of these generics are manufactured in India, and there have many quite a few expose's in the press about how substandard some of these generics are. They may have the active ingredient, but it may not be as efficacious. That said, the price difference is ridiculous because most insurance companies will not approve Proscar for young men, so you have to pay out of pocket.

I accompanied my friend when he got his transplant with Rahal last year. He really is world-class in every respect, and very ethical. Far cry from my own experience with another surgeon. I wished I would not have let distance be a factor in my initial decision making. Truth be told, I get a little jealous when I see my friends youthful hairline upclose. While in the office with my friend, Rahal had a cancellation and said that if I wanted, he could fit me in and refine my hairline. Still kicking myself that I didn't take him up on it.

Finasteride is a prescription, and my understanding is that H&W will only write a script for patients they see in person. It's not really practical for me to fly to Vancouver just to get a prescription for a topical product.

Seriously, I cannot believe how hard it is to find topical finasteride. I've searched high and low on the internet, and have yet to come across a source that seems trustworthy. I've even contacted Hasson and Wong but they do not sell or ship to the US. Does anyone have any leads at all? Private message me if anyone has a source thanks.

If true, this would be highly unethical, and is a very serious breach of patient trust. Each graft does indeed equal one incision. Some people here clearly are misinformed. There is NO way you can be quoted as having had 3000 grafts, if there are only 1500 punch incisions. You can have more than 3000 punch incisions, which would imply a high transection rate and the doctor had to make more incisions to reach the 3000 healthy grafts agreed to. But it cannot be less than 3000. Something is VERY fishy with this clinic. My opinion is that the practice of "doubling up" or splitting a graft into 2 or more grafts, and then counting that as extra grafts is deceptive. It is completely unethical. Cash only? What kind of operation is this? Because the discrepancy is so drastic between the incisions and the quoted grafts, I agree with your suspicion that something more nefarious has happened. Good on you for having a good eye. This clinic needs to be exposed if the allegations are true.

Well Catherine, looks like you kind of exposed yourself on here. First of all, a nurse cannot legally carry out surgery. At most they are allowed to do implantation into recipient sites and to prepare the donor strip. This is grounds for a lawsuit and possibly criminal charges. I'm willing to bet that you set up an arrangement with the doctor, who did not perform any part of the surgery, to put his name on the practice to get around regulations. All the while, this doctor does none of the actual surgery. This is a very common set up with many med spa type facilities that perform aesthetic procedures.

Who the hell is Catherine? Does she even have a medical background. How the heck would you know all the inner workings of this operation? It's pretty obvious this is sock puppet account created by someone at the clinic.

The hair near the scalp is dull, while the ends look shiny. This is tell tale sign of concealer use. For the average person on the street this person would go unnoticed as wearing concealer, but we are a little savvier here. Don't get me wrong, this is still a really good result. It makes a good case for how a good transplant and concealer can give a fantastic cosmetic appearance, but not really honest to present it as just a transplant and good response to meds.

I literally saw this exact scenario a couple of weeks ago. Saw a guy at the gym who had the most atrocious hair transplant I've ever seen in real life. He had a ring of hair framing his face, which was obviously at one point done to lower his hairline. However, everything behind that ring of hair at the hairline was bald. I mean basically slick, shiny bald. I guess he never really planned for the future / worst case scenario, and now he had lost all the hair on the top and vertex of his head.. It looked downright bizarre. Honestly, he would have looked better and normal as a really bald guy, rather than a really bald guy with a ridiculous band of hair circling his forehead. It's one thing to see bad transplants online, but it's kind of shocking to see one in real life. If you do get a hair transplant, I think the recession at the corners could be fixed and give you the ability to pull off that classic hairstyle that Disick wears. I don't see a case for aggressively lowering your entire hairline because the rest of it looks pretty good.

Check out Dr. Pong in Chiang Mai. He has many great cases posted on his website.

Personally, I'd go with Rahal for FUT. My friend had a 2500 graft procedure over a year ago, and I regularly see his hair up close. His scar is literally pencil thin, and a total non-issue cosmetically. It has radically transformed his appearance for the better. If I could go back in time, I'd definitely go with Rahal for my transplant. I can't say enough good things about the experience, since I accompanied him on his trip for moral support.

Why would it take 2 months to get a dermatologist to look at this? That is not the case at all. I have never had to wait more than a a week or two for an appointment. Don't delay getting medical attention. As for the poster who said this was more a case of negligence than fraud, I find that comment way off base. He was lied to, and was told the doctor was doing the surgery and yet a tech, possibly someone with zero medical training, was the real person who did this surgery. That is clear cut fraud. Please document this and get your credit card company to help you.

Very realistic and believable. I think what makes most SMP cases seem obvious is that the patients want too aggressive of a hairline, with a hard edge. This looks really good because the hairline is soft and not severe looking.