California

Much better! Thank you for posting the pictures. Highly appreciated. Regards, California

Sounds good, Mathur. Will look forward to meeting with you. Regards, California

Hi Miami Curls, Great write up! Thanks for sharing your HT journey and your personal joy and satisfaction. You do seem to be getting younger and younger:) We are very happy for you. Regards, California

Hi Rogers09, You seem to be on the right track as far as research and due diligence are concerned. When it comes to choosing your HT Surgeon, the margin of error is very low. I am sure that you will make an informed and educated decision. I wanted to chime in here just to point out that Dr. Bhatti's full name is Dr. Tejinder Bhatti. You have a typo in his name. We wish you all the best. Regards, California

Hi Mathur, Are you still based in the San Jose/Silicon Valley area or have you moved back to India? If you are still living in the SF Bay Area, then that would make us neighbors. If you want, I would be happy to share with you my personal HT story and more details about Darling Buds India/Dr. Bhatti. You can email me or PM me if you wish. Since you are planning to get married in 2020, you need to do your research and finalize an HT Surgeon as soon as logistically possible. We wish you all the best. Regards, California

Hi Barberman, Thanks for sharing your latest pic. Your hair looks awesome. Kind of as good as it gets as far as an HT is concerned. Killer hair line! Very happy for you. Best regards, California

Hi Itxrd, Thank you for sharing your latest HT update pic. Would be great if you could share a few more pics. The one that you have shared looks a bit blurry. Thank you again, California

Hi Rogers09, your wish is our command I am sure that Dr. Bhatti will give you an amazing hairline and a great head of hair. Patient satisfaction is what we strive for every single day. Best regards, California

"It's not slander if the patient is willing to provide information".....really? No sense in arguing this further. Please believe what you want to believe. Thank you.

I really do not have the time for this back and forth with you. I am glad that you did not mean to offend and insult the entire non-US HT Surgeon community. Regarding Dr. Bhatti's posting of that Patient's information, please note that the Patient posted on this Forum first......total slander. Does the Clinic not have the right to protect it's good name and reputation. Dr. Bhatti posted the Patient emails (not revealing any personal details) ONLY after Melvin authorized those on the forum. You cannot make accusations without providing the full context. Anyways, like I said before, you are welcome to believe what you want to believe. I, on the other hand will continue to believe that the good US based HT Surgeons are not better or worse than other good HT Surgeons around the world. Lower cost HT work does not automatically imply cheap outsourced labor. I am done here. Wishing you all the best. California

Please note that the "directly copied and pasted from your employers website" was only to prove the point that not all HT Clinics outside of the US employ "cheap labor" to do the extractions and hence, manage to keep the costs low. All I did with the "copy and paste" was to exhibit the steps in the process handled by a non-US HT Surgeon "himself" without outsourcing it to "cheap labor". Really, no need for any "advertising". Please read your post again. You have made a lot of assumptions about the non-US HT Surgeons, which honestly, come across as offensive. I have listed your comments below with my responses in parenthesis. 1. Doctors that do a majority of their own work (extractions and planting) are stuck around 2000 graft mark. (I beg to differ. Very often we do FUE procedures of 3000-3500 grafts in one sitting...... with the Surgeon doing all his work himself.....no outsourcing to cheap labor) 2. Markets outside the US can employ cheap labor to do their extractions, hence can go for higher graft counts in a single session. (please refer to my comment above) 3. Doctors outside the US can use any advertising that they want without legal consequences (That is so not true. Most reputed Clinics all over the world will never advertise Patient results without the written consent of the Patient. Also, most of the Clinics will respect the Patients privacy and not show the face, if the Patients wishes so) 4. There is a powerful market for the US docs to remain as elite "artists". (what does that make the top notch non-US doctors of the world? Non-elite?) 5. "I have never seen proper crown work emerge from cheaper countries" (does that not sound insulting and offensive to you?) My intention is not get into a never ending argument with you. I just wanted to bring to your attention that even though you probably had no intention to offend anyone but for me, your comments came across that way. You might feel that I was indulging into free advertising. That will be your opinion and once again, I respect your opinion. Doesn't mean that I have to agree with you. Take care, California

Hello. Really no intention for "a poor excuse to advertise my clinic". You have made a blanket statement implying that "US is the "only" country in the world where there are legal limitations thrust upon the medical community which would uniformly affect how that market approaches and advertises HT's". Do you happen to know the rules and regulations governing the medical communities in all other countries? If not, then your comment is not fair. That was the point that I was trying to make. The HT pricing outside the US is cheaper because the cost of living is cheaper. It should not be arbitrarily linked to "employing cheap labor to do the extractions". Again, not a fair statement. You can interpret it the way you want to ......I respect that. Thank you.

My 2 cents. Don't think that we can generalize the "HT markets outside the US" and assume that all the non-US based HT Surgeon will outsource the critical aspects of the procedure such as the extractions and planting to technicians. I believe that each HT Clinic has their own philosophy and protocol. This tends to vary from Clinic to Clinic. As as example, Dr. Bhatti performs all the important steps of the HT process himself. In the spirit of transparency, we post all these details on our website so that the Patients can know upfront what to expect. Copy/pasting the details from our website (https://darlingbuds.com) below: Dr.Bhatti will do 100% counseling before procedure 100% hairline design 100% local anesthesia 100% graft harvesting 100% slit making 100% supervision of plantation 100% post procedure advice and cleaning on the day of the procedure after surgery 100% follow up either online or in person Best regards, California

Hi HairGone29, First of all, we wish you all the best with your HT procedure. All the HT Clinics have their guidelines for the do's and dont's ........sharing with you an excerpt of what we advise our Patients at Darling Buds India (Dr. Bhatti's Clinic) DO NOT exercise heavily on the day of procedure. DO NOT have your hair cut before the procedure. DO NOT take ASPRIN or IBUPROFEN products 7 days before, and 24 hours after the procedure. DO NOT drink ALCOHOL for 24 hours before and after the procedure. DO NOT take DRUGS/MARIJUANA for 48 hours before and after the procedure. DO NOT take VITAMINS A,C and/or E (or any other MULTI-VITAMINS) or HERBS (specially garlic, ginko, Asian ginseng, ginger) for 10 days before the procedure). STOP using MINOXIDIL (Rogaine) 7 days before the procedure. DO arrange to have someone drive you to the office and pick you up or take a taxi, as pre-medication is often given prior to the procedure. You can also use our company car. Please ask for this service in advance. DO call the office to arrange hotel accommodation for the night of the procedure if you live out of the city. DO wash your hair well night before or the morning of the procedure. Your hair must be at least one inch (1”) long prior to your procedure. This is required to assess the play of light and shadow to make a better plan for where to plant in higher density. Also a photographic record is required for future reference. ON THE DAY OF THE PROCEDURE You will need someone to drive you back. You may ask for our shuttle service which may be free of charge. DO take light breakfast before coming to the clinic. DO wear a front open, button down shirt to avoid pulling anything getting in contact with the top of the head (a very loose collar is okay). DO NOT wear any cologne or perfume. PLEASE NOTIFY THE CLINIC REGARDING ANY MEDICATIONS YOU MAY BE CURRENTLY TAKING. FAILURE TO FOLLOW THE FOREGOING INSTRUCTIONS MAY RESULT IN INCREASED BLEEDING. AS A RESULT, THE PROCEDURE MAY TAKE MUCH LONGER TO PERFORM AND YOU MAY EXPERIENCE SWELLING OF THE FOREHEAD FOLLOWING THE PROCEDURE. AFTER THE PROCEDURE DO’S AND DON’T’S DOs: 1. Take your medication at specific time of the day as advised on the schedule. 2. Keep upright and sleep in semi setting position for minimum first three nights after the procedure so that head is higher than the heart. 3. Water the roots minimum every 20 minutes on the evening after the procedure till you sleep and every 2 hours the next morning on wards. 4. Spray antiseptic three times in a day (once in the morning after the shampoo after drying, second in the afternoon after lunch and 3rd time in the evening after shampoo and drying). This should be done from arm’s length away- 2 feet. 5. Restart your other medications at your routine time as you were taking them prior to the procedure. 6. Keep your eyes closed & covered with towel during antiseptic spray. 7. Take shower and tap water bath below shoulders only. 8. Do continue your routine work or even brisk walk. 9. You may have normal sex life after 3 nights. 10. Do keep the procedure area covered with cap for all outdoor activities up to 3 weeks to avoid direct exposure of dust, heat and sunlight. 11. Keep pressing the forehead skin from mid line outwards to prevent the swelling going into your eyes & shifting it to the side of the face. 12. While drying the planted area with swab after shampoo, dab dry backward to forward only and if your temple triangles have been worked upon, do this to top to bottom. 13. Do use a travel pillow if you have got a previous strip scar repaired lest it touches the pillow. In such cases you shall have to lie upright for 5 days. 14. Do not hesitate to call helpline in case of any query (8 AM- 6 PM) or in an emergency 24x7. For routine queries, e-mail is recommended for a comprehensive reply. 15. Use sterile medical water provided in the kit for 5-days & then use potable mineral water. However since usually the medical normal saline water is left over, you can continue to use this till it finishes, after which you can start using mineral/ bottled water. DONTs: 1. Do not sleep flat for the first 3 days. 2. Do not consume alcohol on the night after 3. Do not pour tap water over the procedure site. 4. Do not do heavy exercise, gym, aerobics, heavy weight lifting or yoga for one week. 5. Do not bend down or forward to tie your shoe lace or to pick up objects from the ground for the first 3 days. 6. Do not use hair dryer. 7. Do not scratch the procedure area with you finger-nail. 8. Do not allow teeth of your comb to touch the procedure area while combing. 9. Do not apply any ice or cold pack over the procedure area, forehead or any part of the face. 10. Do not stroke the planted area with gauze from forward to backward. 11. Do not use any shampoo, washing solution or antiseptic other than what is supplied/ recommended. 12. Do not take steam or sauna bath for 2 weeks. 13. You can use your own loose cap/ hat after 5 days of the procedure or you can wear a bandana. We request you to wear only our cap as it is designed specially for your care. Use it only for outdoor activity. Do not wear any woolen cap. No turban for 2 months after the procedure. No helmet for 6 weeks after the procedure. Cap should not touch any procedure area. Wear it loose and do not press it tight across your head. Remove it by lifting it from back to front. 14. Do not go to the barber for 6 weeks after the procedure. 15. Do not color your hair before 6 weeks of the procedure. 16. After the first 2 weeks do not unnecessarily keep the hair covered with a cap. Give them air for a healthy growth. 17. If you develop dandruff, you may use Ketoconazole shampoo 2 days a week. 18. If the beard is the donor site, do not shave it for 7 days after the procedure. Till 7 days you can shave your beard and use a trimmer for the shadow area from where grafts have been take. 19. Do not use shampoo more than 2-3 times a week. 20. Do not wear the cap when on a long haul flight out of India since it will be uncomfortable. Tie a loose bandanna over the scalp. 21. Do not swim in a pool or in the sea for 3 weeks after the procedure. HAPPY GROWING! Best regards, California

Hi John, As mentioned here already, an over sized baseball hat would work fine. Just make sure that you carry a sterilizing spray with you to spray the inside of the hat before putting it on (just in case the HT Clinic does not provide you with a sterilized hat and you end up wearing your own). The Clinic should be able to demonstrate for you how to put the hat on and take it off. You do want to make sure that the fabric of the hat is not rubbing harshly against your planted grafts. I suggest that you keep sterilizing the inside of the hat every time you put it on. I wish you all the best with your upcoming HT. Regards, California

Hi Lenney, Thank for for sharing your HT journey with all of us. Your hair looks amazing! I am sure that it will keep getting better during the next few months. I have enjoyed reading your detailed write ups. You have done an awesome job with documenting your HT journey with great pictures. Thank you. We wish you all the best. Regards, California

Extensive area of baldness Grade 5 covered in single sitting with strategic placement of grafts. Patient: 32 years old Hair loss type: Type 5 HT technique used: FUE Number of scalp grafts planted: 3212 The result at the one year mark are satisfactory and the patient has come for touch ups. Video link: Case details: You were advised 6000-10000 grafts? Do you know that your chosen hair transplant clinic has assessed your scalp donor and that the advised graft numbers that will meet your long-term goals? It is not infrequent that a patient hears that for his Grade 5 or 6 pattern of androgenetic baldness he will need up to 6000 scalp grafts. This is a fantastic number and it is obvious to the well informed that these many grafts are not possible in one go. However there are clinics that do a whole lot in one go throwing caution to the wind and playing with the health and aesthetics of the scalp door area. Needless to say, the donor gets over harvested, there is extensive permanent shock loss of the donor area and moth-eaten appearance which is not amenable to revision hair transplant. It is best to assess the scalp donor and see how much harvest will be just enough to preserve the original look of the scalp donor so it does not look over harvested. These are the cases in which strategic placement of grafts for extensive areas play a congenial role. This approach does not harm the patient’s donor zone and also keeps enough grafts available in future to fulfill the patient’s long term hair restoration goals. Best regards, California

Hi Logansays, We appreciate your kind words and your vote of confidence for Dr. Bhatti. We wish you all the best. Regards, California

Hello from Darling Buds India/ Dr. Bhatti's Clinic. Interesting topic. At Darling Buds, we do believe that the HT Surgeon should be doing most of the critical tasks himself/herself. Even though we have registered nurses (who have been with our Clinic for many years and who have tons of experience) assisting Dr. Bhatti but he chooses to perform the tasks that warrant the Surgeon's involvement, himself. Here is a link to a YouTube video giving a glimpse of the tasks that Dr. Bhatti take care of for this Patients. Below is a link to a related discussion and Dr. Bhatti's opinion on this matter: https://www.regrowhair.com/extraction-vs-insertion-what-is-the-most-important-stage-in-follicular-unit-extraction-fue-hair-transplantation/ At our Clinic, we follow the best practices in the field of FUE. In today's HT industry, there is more to a Clinic than meets the eye. The best way forward is to research Patient's comments posted on this and other HT forums to make up our minds rather than go by the tall claims on the Clinics on their websites and social media. One last observation: I had a chat with Dr. Bhatti a few years ago when he visited San Francisco. I asked him that since he was so well known in the HT world in India and abroad, if he would consider opening franchise offices in some metro cities of India such as Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai etc. His response was short and sweet...."I live in Chandigarh. My Clinic is in Chandigarh. If I open another Clinic, I won't be able to perform the procedures myself. I only take on the Patients that I can help myself. My Patient care and my reputation is way more important to me than money. So, no to franchise clinics". Best regards, California

Patient age: 28 years Patient ethnicity: Caucasian Hair loss pattern: Type 4 HT technique used: FUE Number of grafts planted: 2236 The "after" pictures are from 5 years post-op. This Patient is back in our Clinic now for filing up his mid scalp and vertex, where he has lost more native hair due to a progressive hair loss. Here is a link to the YouTube video for this Patient https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=elAsIH-xX84 Best regards, California

Hi Rosito78, What a nice summary! Thank you for taking the time to share the details. Going to another country for an HT procedure can be a bit scary but as you have beautifully summarized, it is totally doable. Most Patients end up having a fun trip.....coming back with pleasant memories and a head full of hair! Please do keep sharing your updates. We wish you all the best. Best regards, California

Hi Abixx, As pointed out already, you are doing really well for 7 months post-op. I also believe that the density of your hair will get better in the next few months. Enjoy the ride:) Please do keep sharing your HT progress. We wish you all the best. Best regards, California

Hi Lognsays, I say that you are already at the "not bald" status! Very happy for you. Thank you for sharing your HT journey so far. It can only get better from here. I love the "Now, I no longer wear my cap everywhere.. wind is not an issue anymore..I can style my hair..and use a hair styling gel!!! yes..thats true..and my hair looks quite nice wet as well...so I'm not scared of the rains anymore" part......:) Please do keep sharing. Best regards, California

This Patient had received 1764 FUE grafts for his Type-3 hair loss 5 years ago. He recently visited our Clinic 5 years after his HT procedure with Dr. Bhatti. We took some pictures. Sharing. Here is the link to the YouTube video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5t-xDyfU8ZA . Regards, California

The PRP Lab is a part of Dr. Bhatti's wife's (Dr. Amulya Bhatti) Amulya Labs and the PRP that our Clinic prepares is scientifically prepared in the same building. Not just simple, manual centrifugation, which is common. Hair loss patients like to see their blood being converted to PRP and this instills a higher level of confidence.