CuriousJungleGeorge

Originally posted by Bill - Associate Publisher:

If M.H.R. doctors are "pocket-lining salesman," there's no reason a coalition-physician is not one.

CuriousJungle,

I'm not sure I understand what you're getting at. Can you explain this statement please?

Or perhaps Swagger can since he seems to be enthusastically agreeing with it.

Bill

Bill, I think Lost My Swagger constured my point correctly (even if I don't quite agree with his agreement... ). I mean to say that it's unfair to imply a doctor employed by M.H.R. or Bosley or any other chain is a megalomaniac intent to do shoddy work and rip people off: Nothing suggests any given coalition doctor is bound to be more "ethical" than a non-coalition physician. This Web site's recommendations, as I take it, are based on skill, not so much on morality.

As consumers, we are likely to encounter all sorts of clinics, some ethical, others not -- I feel it's unfounded to think a doctor is right-minded simply because he or she is named on this site, and, moreover, morally-bankrupt just because he or she is employed by a chain. This idea that "Bosley" is in it for the money always makes the implication that Dr. Coalition-Member is not. I believe, typically, they're all in it for the money -- as for whether or not a physician goes about trying to make it morally, it depends on him or her rather more than on by whom he or she is employed.

Originally posted by lost my swagger:

Originally posted by mpkoons:

Nobody can tell me where they are hearing these horror stories about MHR?? I went to Bosley, hairclub, and neither of them could come close as to the professionalism that MHR gave me!! What are your sources of this information about MHR????

dont do it man.. your likely not ready for this yet.....MHR=bosley..... i dont care that they were nice with you and made you feel warm and fuzzy...they are salesmen trying to line their pockets. they do not give a shit about you. you will find that to be that case with MANY in this very dangerous indusrty. are you even sure surgery is right for you?? is it in your best interest to do this?? what exactly do you think can be achieved by hair transplants?? have you taken into account the scarring that never goes away and limits your ability to buzz your head?? have you taken into account future hairloss and how your transplant will look?? how about the fact that if you are, or go bald you will NOT be able to achieve true density througout your entire balding area. but rather the illusion of desity AT THE VERY BEST and ONLY after multiple HTs???

this is a procedure that has both helped and hurt many lives.. chosing a chain like MHR inproves your chances of being HURT by this decision.. the proof you want can be found through research.

just spit ballin here.

All right, that's a little lop-sided. If M.H.R. doctors are "pocket-lining salesman," there's no reason a coalition-physician is not one. The problem with chain clinics isn't that their surgeons are somehow predisposed to being greedy little pricks intent to screw you and drive off to Miami with you 9000-graft money; it's that people choose "brand name" rather than "physician reputation," and the brand happens to have no bearing of results while the doctor's skills are indispensably important.

There's a problem innate in the inquiry: 30 units/sq. cm. on one patient cannot be meaningfully contrasted with 50 units/sq. cm. on another. You're unlikely to fine one "guinea pig" patient who has varying-density work spread across his hairline.

Bill, I think some of the coalition doctors simply do not perform on-line consultations; Dr. Bernstein, for instance, even in his video interview, says his clinic opts not to, as he believes on-line consults. are predetermined to be inaccurate.

This concern for "technician competence" persuaded me to start a thread on the topic. Check it out, if you'd like to.

I think Dr. Alexander's advice is followed by most doctors, though I've heard of stitches' typically being left in a bit longer than five days (maybe about two weeks). It's give-and-take: you don't want to leave sutures in for too long, because problems may occur, but taking them out too soon, as well, can cause complications (not least of which is an opened donor region).

Give the doctors about a week to reply (note, some will not; they just don't do on-line consultations). Understand that these responses are not tantamount to an in-person consultation, and that, if you are seriously considering this, there's no alternative to meeting with a doctor face-to-face.

But they also work differently. One tech. might spray a hell of a lot of water (or "stuff") on the recipient sites throughout the process, whereas another might have preference for working mostly dry. The latter style probably will feel different, for the patient, from the former.

I imagine using body-hair for the hairline would be bad because of its own length and texture. As for neck-nape??“hair, I believe it's in a region not immune to balding.

What were the side-effects? When did they appear? Thanks.

I think your questions are practical. I suppose a doctor could lie, but do you think it's likely one will? By the logic of potential for deception, for all you know, everything in that clinic is a fraud: the degree, the results, the demeanor.

Originally posted by savemylife1:

Those of you who completely shave their heads BEFORE HT, with a razor, any advice for me?

 

When do you start shaving again AFTER HT?

 

When does the contrast between your "bald" area and your hair area disappear or lessen? This is what I am most interested in. I hope you understand my question. When we shave our heads, it is clear (to us) where are hair starts and stops, because of the contrast with the bald-bald area (the top) and the hair-shaved bald area (the sides)

 

Anything?

It takes at least three months for most people to see their grafts begin to grow (they might do so sooner, but they mostly will fall out within a couple of weeks). If your look tends to be "razor-shaven," why, exactly, are you considering spending so much on a hair-transplantation procedure?

I should hope, at least, no coalition physician works with "traveling techs.," then.

You contacted nine locations; that really is inadequate to draw a sound statistical conclusion. We can make all sorts of extrapolations, of course, but my neutral comment is, "It's very hard to provide an accurate estimate of necessary grafts based only on photographs."

Good point. Of all the coalition doctors, only a handful are really "prominent" names on this forum (e.g., Dr. Feller, Dr, Rahal). It's dubious the rest are worse than these stars, but if a review on any of them is years old, how can we be comfortable with him or her?

Thank you.

Remember guys dont stress about your hair to much cuz it will make it fall out faster. Peace!

That should be the motto of this forum -- lol.

Anyway, I did find it strange to read Dr. Epstein's presentation of your situation. Concerning it and the image he posted, I think we find ourselves at a difficult line (no pun intended): Doctors might freely be attacked or challenged by former patients. We expect them, in turn, to respond. What, however, is an appropriate reply. Indeed, posting any personal information about a patient (including photographs) without his or her consent, feels wrong; but, what will be the defense, then?

I'm not claiming to have an answer; I just think there's a legitimate question present.

Originally posted by M&M:

Unfortunately, I am a repeat offender... I went to Bosley for a few small procedures, but I agree that every time I went, I felt that I made backwards progress as they destroyed and transected existing hair in my hairline. They refused to plant any grafts where I might see them, so in this sense, their strategy worked: They kept planting where my existing hair was, destroying those hairs, and requiring me to come back for further procedures without the knowledge of how awful it truly looked, until my native hair was truly gone.

 

I've had one procedure to correct it, but will likely need one more. I truly regret my Bosley experience and encourage others to definitely NOT make this mistake. They do NOT have your best interests in heart. They operated on me when I was very young taking advantage of a vulnerable teen with a high forehead and zero thinning. They should have proudly turned me away.

You were worked on as a teen-ager? That, itself, is very unusual. Plenty of guys, by eighteen or nineteen, might notice their hair-line is a little higher than it was when they began high school. It's absolutely absurd for a surgeon to agree to lower that for them. Hell, some men that age might want to just lower an unreceded hair-line; I can't imagine a doctor's agreeing to perform that operation. Talk about unethical.

Originally posted by dr. lindsey:

Depends on the doctor's skill. As the key is often the deep layer of subcutaneous sutures, the skin closure is just to even the edges for a week.

 

I prefer sutures, Dr. Feller gets nice results with staples.

 

Dr. Davis, the facial plastic surgeon who taught me facial surgery appeared to get the same results with either staples or sutures for skin closure on foreheads and faces of both men and women. Conversely, there are folks who can't sew their way out of a room with the lights on, and staples probably wouldn't help them any either.

 

All depends on the doctor's preference.

 

Dr. Lindsey McLean VA

Thank you.

Originally posted by Dr. Alan Feller:

Thana,

It takes effort, patience, and money to put together a top notch HT tech team. Travelling techs are the "corner cutting" solution to that problem in the eyes of MOST "HT clinics". Don't forget that.

 

Travelling techs should be outlawed. There is not enough outrage from the public on this very important but throughly overlooked point. I'm convinced this practice is illegal, or at the very least unethical.

 

As for a properly trained and hired staff, I've paid salaries for months before realizing that a particular tech wasn't up to par and let her go.

 

And it may not always be about technical skill.

 

I let a tech go a few years back who was a GREAT tech. A natural. But her attitude was so bad toward her teammates that even after several private discussions I had to let her go.

 

If the team becomes disrupted it's time to cut out the troublemaker, even if it costs some money and an effort to find a new tech. That's why I believe in OVERSTAFFING.

 

The surgery part is about half of what it takes to run a proper HT clinic. It also takes business skills and employee management skills to make it work and come together.

 

Show me a top notch clinic, and I'll show you a doctor who has mastered those non-surgical skills.

Dr. Feller, but, does "technician style" matter? That is, two very good transplant surgeons might do excellent work but have different styles that lead to good-but-different results in a patient. Is this correct? Likewise, is it likely that two good technicians -- say, one working on the left side of a patient's head, the other, simultaneously, on the right -- produce two different-looking sides of the scalp from the same session?

Thank you.

As I understand it, transplanted hair, for the most part, retains its native characteristics (if it didn't, it would fall out, and transplantation would be a moot point, altogether). So, body hair will look and feel like body hair no matter to where it is re-located. Look at your chest (legs, arms, ass...); look at the length and texture of that hair: are you really eager to have that sprouting from your scalp? It might be OK for filling in some empty spaces, but it'll be short and coarse and, when looked at directly, it's going to look pretty damned strange. Grow your hair out too long, the scalp hair will totally dominate the B.H.; cut it too short, you'll clearly see the difference.

Be careful about avoiding any surgeon who tells you how wonderful it will be to pluck out the follicles from your forearms and shove them into the skin on your head.

I've seen many negative comments regarding Bosley on this forum, and I've heard a few from other surgeons in the field. I think ??” to frame the points better ??” it's not so much that Bosley clinics are of poor standards or that their doctors all are unskilled. Rather, Bosley is simply a chain clinic: there are many locations spread throughout the country, and when you visit one, you expect a uniform standard of service. Of course, this is medicine, not McDonald's, and people really mustn't try to think of how good "Bosley" is, but must consider how competent any given physician who works at a Bosley location is: I'll bet almost anything at least a few of them are talented.

If, for whatever reason, someone is intent upon this franchise, rather than jump in for the "name" (or run from it), I think he or she ought to learn about the specific physician who will be in charge of him or her. If that information is unavailable, probably, the doctor ought not to be considered (why gamble so largely with your head)?

The advantages/drawbacks of either. When either is more appropriate. Etc.

Thank you.

The advantages/drawbacks of either. When either is more appropriate. Etc.

Thank you.

Thanks, guys.

But I'm asking, a little more specifically, once the grafts have been created and the incisions made, is there any way a technician (reasonably trained) can "screw up" placing them in? I imagine it's simply a matter of inserting grafts into incisions (not to imply it's easy or fun), and that there's not much way to get it "wrong." Is that correct?

If the appearance of growth depended on the hands of technicians (placing grafts) rather than the surgeon's creating incisions on the scalp, and patients had different technicians working on different parts of the head simultaneously, a single result might vary widely from one place of the scalp to another.