I just had my hair restoration surgery 2 days ago… and I LOVE IT. The whole experience was way more easy, gratifying and enjoyable than I expected. In total I had 2,464 grafts transplanted. They put about 2,100 in the front to rebuild a whole new hair line and then filled it in back to my original hairline. Then they put about 300+ hairs that were left over in the back of my head (on the crown).
Dr. Stephen Gabel in Hillsboro, OR did the surgery. He was fabulous… he is a consummate expert and very dedicated to every detail. From the moment I arrived at his office at 6:30am I never had a single doubt about whether or not I made the right decision. He and his whole Team were EXCELLENT. Dr. Gabel and his 4 medical assistants (Aileen, Tracy, Crissi and Karen) worked on me off and on all day… I was there for about 11 hours and they made the entire experience very enjoyable. It seemed as though Dr. Gabel barely left my side and when he did he left me in extremely capable hands. I’ve been in the business world for 30 years and I’ve never seen a more talented, organized, professional Team then the people that Dr. Gabel has put together. I’d give every one of them a raise if it were up to me J
Dr. Gabel only works with 1 patient per day… so his entire Team responded to my every need all day on the day of the surgery. They were great. Dr. Gabel not only did all the precision work (design, insertion placement arrangement of the grafts, etc.) but he also put in his fair share of the actual individual grafts. My understanding is that most doctors don’t normally place any grafts themselves. Dr. Gabel is not most doctors. He is the BEST.
Keep in mind, 30 days ago I had never heard of Dr. Gable. He wasn’t referred to me by anyone. And quite frankly I was planning on going to Bosley in San Francisco simply because of brand name recognition. But then I started my homework… and I came across Dr. Gabel who just happened to be about 5 miles from my home in Portland, OR. I am very fastidious in my decision making process… whether it is for buying a new lawn mower, picking a good restaurant or in this case choosing the best physician to make me look young again J
And that is what this procedure does. I told Dr. Gabel he is not in the business of hair restoration but in the business of dreams, youth, confidence, career advancement, relationship improvement, etc. I can see (even on day 3) how this new hairline makes me feel GREAT. And believe me, I had a lot of confidence, swagger and love of life before I did this but now – well, let’s just say I’ve been walking around with an even bigger smile on my face these last few days. I’m 56 years old and I swear I think this new hairline is going to make me look like I’m in my 40s again. How cool is that?
When I did my homework before choosing my doctor I looked at everything on the Internet. I was very thorough. I visited and got on the phone with several different providers, etc. I couldn’t find one negative comment on Dr. Gabel on the Internet. When I went in for my consultation with Dr. Gabel he was very straight with me on what I could expect and what I couldn’t realistically expect. In fact, he didn’t and wouldn’t tell me what I wanted to hear. I wanted him to basically make me a bunch of promises but he wouldn’t do it. He told me that he couldn’t make me look 18 again. He told me that at my age it is normal to have some hair recession and that it wouldn’t look normal if he gave me a Tom Cruise hairline. He even told me that he wouldn’t even take me on as a client if the end result was not going to be natural looking. He didn’t want to be any part of an unnatural looking result. Bottom line, Dr. Gabel has plenty of clients so he can afford to maintain his integrity. That is how I look at it.
I’m going to share a few comments for anyone who is contemplating changing their life for the better with a hair transplant. And Yes… I know… it has only been a couple of days… how could that change my life already? I’ll tell you how. I’m a well-educated, very experienced business professional who did his homework before choosing Dr. Gabel and his Team to do this work on me. My background includes: Currently I am a VP at a software company, I’ve owned several of my own companies, I’m a rehabilitated tax attorney who spent 4 years on the national speakers tour, etc., etc. – so I’d like to think someone reading this would respect what I have to say and take guidance in these comments.
I can’t imagine a single person (speaking for men – but this probably applies to women too) who wouldn’t feel better about themselves, their relationship (I’ve been married 29 years and my wife is as happy about my new appearance as I am…), their job… their lives if all of a sudden they woke up one day and looked 15 years younger. I mean… come on… WOW… this is really great stuff.
OK… a few more comments:
1. The pain – the only thing that hurt were the needle injections to numb the scalp area. They felt like mini bee stings. Not a big deal… A small price to pay. Other than the needle injections I didn’t feel any pain whatsoever on the day of the surgery… and the 2 days since the surgery – same story… no real pain as of yet. Very minor swelling of my forehead and nothing else.
2. My expectations – I have high standards on everything. I can’t believe and I don’t know how to explain my pleasure in looking into the mirror since my surgery. When you first get the hairs transplanted… you can actually see them – they are about 1/8th of an inch long. And there is hair completely covering areas in my temples and across my front hairline (about ? to ? of an inch more) where before the surgery it was empty… I guess bald is the right word. But not anymore… now, there is HAIR and I can’t believe it. I know the hair is supposed to fall out and then grow back and I have to wait 8 months to a year or more to see the final results but who cares. When I’m 57, 58, 59, 60 and more… I’m going to have hair. And that makes me feel great. J
3. The lunch – they provide you lunch on the day of the surgery – surprisingly delicious – I had Shrimp Pad Thai.
4. The follow up (after care instructions) – very thorough, very clear and easy to perform. Dr. Gabel’s Team has obviously done a lot of these procedures and they have it down to a science. They couldn’t have been any more organized. They think of everything.
Overall, I can’t imagine any doctor anywhere doing a better job on my hair transplant then Dr. Gabel and his Team. I’m not paid to say this. I don’t typically give testimonials unless someone goes way beyond my expectations. I’ll write more later and keep you posted on my progress.
Pictures to come… Hope this helps you in your decision making process.
