Cryingoutloud

His result was probably far worse than he wanted. Pretty simple, really

Outstanding presentation and, as Mickey85 says, this ought to be the benchmark for all results posts by coalition practices. The scar was thin for sure but I thought there was a definite ridge or step in the patient's hairstyle at the back which followed the shape of the scar. Still, it could just be that his stylist didn't blend lengths well enough.

Apologies, mate. I'm not the OP The answer I gave was intended to be slightly sarcastic because I couldn't understand for the life of me how the guy expected anyone to provide an informed opinion if he didn't provide PICTURES. I mean, it's a no-brainer, isn't it?

Well I dunno, FC. I think it was understandable that you'd be angry. As you said, you paid for a hair transplant by Dr. Rahal not by his assistants. Quite a few doctors who were consistently posting awe-inspiring results have begun producing some downright dross of late and, typically, it's because they start allowing techs to do the "heavy lifting" while they take a back seat, a cup of tea and a "supervisory" role. Well, I'm sorry but that's absolute bullshit. If I pay top dollar for a top surgeon, I want that surgeon on the case, not his techs. I've never seen such an appalling result from Dr. Rahal. Those saying it's not a disaster are being disingenuous. If the patient wanted a result that wasn't a total disaster, he could've saved 80% of what he paid and gone to a hack but that's NOT what he wanted, is it? He wanted a gold standard procedure so he went to a gold standard surgeon. Frankly, every patient should be seeking assurances that the DOCTOR will be conducting the lion's share of the procedure. They're paying for experience, not a brand

Yeah it's cobblestoning for sure. 100%

A picture showing the hair combed back to reveal the hairline would be better.

Those photos have been enhanced using some kind of editing software. No doubt whatsoever. Any denial insults the intelligence of everyone who views them.

I had a procedure with a well-known surgeon, the outcome of which, became the focus of a dispute. I maintained the result was crap; he maintained that it wasn't. As part of the dispute resolution process, he said he would send photos to other coalition surgeons for their opinions on the result. I said that I would do the same but I insisted on sending photos that I had taken in well lit environments. The photos he had taken in the clinic's environment made my hair look pretty good and the responses from surgeons he sent them to were very positive. The photos I took in normal daylight and office light environments got responses of "sub-optimal", "sub par" and "disappointing". Hair transplants are intended to give the illusion of fullness but most of them cannot approach the density of native hair. Fortunately, however, 50% of native density is said to be enough to prevent light reaching the scalp. So if your native density is 80 FU/sq cm then transplanting hair at 40 FU/sq cm should be enough to give the illusion of fullness. Surgeons can go as high as 60-65 FU/sq cm in dense-packing sessions but many prefer to do so in two separate procedures so as to ensure good yield.

Extracting African hair using FUE is notoriously difficult because the hairs curl under the skin. This increases the chances of transection and, consequently, a poor yield. Most surgeons can only extract and plant 1500 grafts a day using FUE from a patient with Caucasian/Asian type hair because the hairs grow straight under the skin too. Doing that with African type hair would raise the transection rate to an unacceptably high level. Of course, it depends on just how curly each individual's hair is under the skin. The curlier it is, the more difficult it is to extract and Dr. Diep does say as much but I just felt more comfortable with a surgeon who wouldn't be racing against the clock to extract 1500 grafts in a day.

Do NOT go to Thailand. I'm not saying that someone with African hair can't get a good result there - that would be stupid - but there are a couple of woeful results from surgeons in that country. The surgeons themselves are good but their techs leave a lot to be desired. There are even rumours that the techs and assistant surgeons do much more of the procedure than they should be doing. You don't want novices being trained on YOUR head Check out the results for Jason5 who had a procedure with a recommended doctor in Thailand. The poor guy waited 18 months and ended up with utterly dreadful results http://www.hairrestorationnetwork.com/eve/172758-2000-grafts-what-do-you-guys-think.html Can you imagine how Jason felt walking around with those results? Trust me - if you want a HT, stick to the surgeons with solid results on African hair types.

Many with African hair swear by Dr. John Diep of Los Gatos, CA but personally, I felt better going elsewhere. African-type hair can curl under the skin so it's difficult to harvest the 1500 grafts in one day that a doctor can with Caucasian and Asian hair types but Dr. Diep was confident he could extract that number from my scalp in a day. I wasn't. If I were you, I'd go with Dr. Patrick Mwamba. He limits himself to a maximum of 500 grafts a day with African hair types so if you needed 1500 grafts, he'd have to schedule 3 days of surgery.

Seriously??

Oh that's really helpful and sympathetic . . . NOT OP, I feel for you but, as you've already accepted, you have to wait 12 months to make the final call on a success or a failure. That 18 months thing, for most patients, is pure bullshit - if you've not had expected growth by 12 months then you ain't gonna get any more waiting another 6 so if you want to embark on a "plan B", schedule it for 12 months and save yourself a lot of heartache. All the best, mate

If you're gonna get FUE then you don't want to be settling for any old surgeon. Pathomvanich has a good rep but rumors indicate that he isn't as involved in the actual surgery as one would hope. Get yourself to Europe. Bisanga, Mwamba, Lorenzo, Feriduni. Those guys are the real deal.

Frankly, I expect this clinic to be bounced out of the network within a month. They've basically used 3,000 grafts to create a bloody comb over

Sorry but that result (if you can call it that) is a disgrace. 2,829 grafts??? Where did they go??

The doctor's silence in the face of this drubbing is astonishing

What do you mean "before it's closed"? Why would it be closed? It's as though any time a recommended surgeon produces 2nd rate results and the patient complains, some people behave as though the matter should somehow be suppressed so as to avoid controversy. The surgeons use this site to help cement the veneer of professionalism and reputation for excellence their practices project. If they produce results that are patently inconsistent with the reputation they dine out on, then that needs to be publicised so that future potential patients are fully aware that using a particular surgeon might carry a greater risk of a 2nd or 3rd rate result. I, too, understand that techs and another doctor carry out much of the procedure at Dr. Pat's surgery. That's not what patients are paying for, is it? They pay for the expertise of the doctor with his name above the door, not an understudy or a tech who just wants to go home early to see her boyfriend.

Seen quite a few poor results coming out of Dr. Pathomvanich's practice in the last year or so. wb280 and akuma were sub par and jason5's results were absolutely atrocious. Of course, Dr. Path has produced some stunning work in the past but it's all getting a little bit "hit & miss" of late. I feel for this guy - 4,000 grafts pretty much gone up in smoke and nothing but a big-ass scar to show for it. Forget all the BS about 18 months - that's a hail mary if ever there was one. Maybe check out one of the Turkish docs doing FUE; they might be able to do some kind of repair.

Oh for crying' out loud, you've been told the score with these surgeons - no amount of repeating the same points is gonna change the options available to you so maybe you should just choose one.

The poor guy has waited 18 months and, looking at the photos he posted, the texture of the new "growth" is completely different from the rest of his hair. It looks as though someone glued cat's hair onto his temples. From what I've seen, I think a FULL refund would be far more useful to Jasun5 than another round of "free" surgery from a doctor who got it wrong the first time around.

Jason5, I was stunned to learn that it was Dr. Pathomvanich who performed your original procedure. That is a completely unacceptable result from someone who is supposed to be a top surgeon. I was even more astonished to read that he more or less insulted your intelligence by claiming the poor growth from the new grafts was because of competing with surrounding hair for blood supply. There WAS no surrounding hair so that's bullshit. It's far more likely that he didn't make the recipient incisions deeply enough so the new grafts struggled to get nutrients from the blood. You waited 18 months for results you paid good money for and that work is a disgrace. You should demand a full, no-quibble refund immediately. Maybe you should ask your new surgeon to clarify whether he'll have to remove the grafts Dr. Pathomvanich botched before implanting new ones. Best of luck.