GTDL

It's a pleasure Fireside, If my posts stopped even one person (ie: yourself) from making a BIG mistake, then I'm happy and the forum has well and truly served it's purpose for me with you taking on board the posts. God knows he's damaged enough people in the past (physically and emotionally). I think you've made a wise decision to look further afield to the States. With a top doc like Feller or Shapiro looking after you, you will have no regrets. Also, they wont charge you nearly as much as Collins would. With what Collins would charge, you could pay for your operation AND flights/accomodation etc in the States for the duration (and that's no exageration). You should also consider checking out what's on offer in Canada too. The likes of Dr. Rahal and Hasson & Wong are also amongst the best in the business. If I can be of any further help e-mail me anytime (you can find my e-mail on my profile). All the best Fireside and the best of luck with whichever route to choose to go down. Stick with a Coalition doctor and you wont go far wrong, just my opinion.

My apologies, it was actually ?‚¬6500 he quoted me for 1000 grafts, I was just rooting through the old papers he gave me with his written 'estimate', outrageous!

Hi Tundra and Fireside, Tundra: You're 100% right. Pat did indeed visit Dr. Collins during a visit to Ireland not too long ago (that being maybe a year or two ago if memory serves me). And rightly enough, the very reason that he could not recommend him was becasue of his extremely high prices. It's an awful pity that he charges so much, because he does appear to be a competent hair transplant surgeon. And God knows Ireland has a bad enough reputation in hair transplantation as it is with the likes of Kiely and DHI butchering unsuspecting patients desperate for a solution to their hair loss. I would genuinely like to see a good Irish surgeon come on the scene (who doesn't overcharge), or else to see Collins drop his prices (but both scenarios are unlikely in the forseeable future). For now I think our only option is to hop on a plane across the pond to Canada or the U.S. to get quality work at a reasonable price. Fireside: It's good to hear you no doubt made the right decision with Kiely. The man is a disgrace to the industry and should be struck off with the damage he has done to people. I too was in a very similar situation to you and went to Kiely for a consultation. Like your own consultation, he paid very little attention to me or my concerns and was really only interested in how I intended to pay him. Again, like you, he spent very little time actually examining my scalp and pulled a figure of ?‚¬6000 out of the air and said that is how much 1000 grafts would cost (I later found out that this was actually false, according to the prices on his OWN website). However, desperate to get my problem fixed I trusted the 'expert' and booked surgery. Thankfully, two days before my op, I found this website and read Trebor and Corkbhoy's horror stories and promptly cancelled my surgery. I think if you are looking for a proper hair transplant you need to look further afield to the States or Canada Fireside. The reality is, Ireland simply doesn't have any good surgeons. There is Dr. Collins as mentioned earlier who does seem to be good, but his prices are way off the scale (?‚¬8 per graft I think he's charging at the moment) and you would be mad to pay it. In regards to Evolve, I would speak to a solicitor if I were you mate. It sounds like they're not adhering to their own terms and conditions (or just making them up as they go along). But I certainly wouldn't pay them a penny before you know exactly where you stand from a legal standpoint.

DCORK and Tundra, it's good to hear that you undoubtedly made the right decision, as you seldom hear of a happy ending where Kiely is involved (in fact, I've yet to hear of a single one). I visited Dr. Kiely's website recently and the photoshopped images have all disappeared. Also, the links that I posted as a shortcut to the suspect images many months ago now redirect you to the main home page of his website. I'm guessing that he read this thread and realised that the game was up with his (pardon the pun) doctored photos and took them down as a result. A small victory I know, but a victory nonetheless. Hellomotto, as far as I know Dr. Maurice Collins in Blackrock is relatively new to the business. However, he does seem to be building up a solid reputation in the field going on reports that I have read about him. But as always, the golden rule, do your research and see for yourself. The only negative thing I have read about him is that his prices are colossal. Even the top guys in the States and Canada don't even come close to charging as much. I'm guessing he charges so much because he has no real competition in this country, bar Kiely of course, but I would hardly think he's losing sleep or business over him. So in short, I would take a calculated guess that he charges what he does because he can, simple as.

Greetings my fellow follically challenged brethren, I wasn't going to post this on the forum as it was just something I did for the fun of it. But then I figured, why not? I'm sure some of the guys will enjoy reading it (and it may even enlighten some new and unwary members). Recently I decided to undertake a little 'experiment', partly to use the knowledge I have gained from this website to catch out a cowboy of this industry, and partly for my own amusement (but more so for my amusement I have to admit) Some of you who know me on this forum will know that I am an outspoken critic of Dr. Conor Kiely and his track record for shoddy work with a long line of unsatisfied patients (not to mention his dishonest advertising). So, under an alias I decided to e-mail his clinic as a supposed 'uneducated' patient who was interested in having hair transplantation but who had little to no knowledge of hair transplantation, it's practitioners, risks, benefits etc (which is exactly what I was when I first encountered Dr. Kiely). Almost immediately, his secretary e-mailed me back explaining how the clinic works only with the strip method (or as they called it the 'Gold Standard' in hair restoration), what the strip method is, how great their clinic and Dr. Kiely is etc. But here was the point of my 'experiment', to see what they would say when I pretty much revealed that I was not as naive as I had made myself out to be (as preying on the naive and desperate seems to be his one and only skill, certainly not hair restoration surgery). Here is the final e-mail that I sent to them (to which I got no reply): Thank you for your reply, After doing some research and corresponding with other hair loss patients on various forums, I have decided to hold off on hair transplantation for now. Having contacted doctors from The Coalition of Independent Hair Restoration Physicians and also other patients, they have all advised me to do thorough research for at least a year before making a final decision on hair transplantation and the doctor I wish to go with. They also advised that I speak to former patients in person of any doctor that I am considering for surgery, provided the patient themselves agree. Can Dr. Kiely put me in touch with any of his patients (with their consent of course)? Once again, many thanks for your reply. I hope to hear from you soon. Now here's the thing, they were more than quick to reply when I expressed interest in going to THEIR clinic. Yet when I asked if it would be possible to speak to some of their patients they suddenly went silent. As we all know, any good doctor will advise you to do exactly what I mentioned in the above e-mail and actively encourage you to see their patients in the flesh. Seems to me that they have a lot to hide, more than I initially thought.

Greetings my fellow follically challenged brethren, I wasn't going to post this on the forum as it was just something I did for the fun of it. But then I figured, why not? I'm sure some of the guys will enjoy reading it (and it may even enlighten some new and unwary members). Recently I decided to undertake a little 'experiment', partly to use the knowledge I have gained from this website to catch out a cowboy of this industry, and partly for my own amusement (but more so for my amusement I have to admit) Some of you who know me on this forum will know that I am an outspoken critic of Dr. Conor Kiely and his track record for shoddy work with a long line of unsatisfied patients (not to mention his dishonest advertising). So, under an alias I decided to e-mail his clinic as a supposed 'uneducated' patient who was interested in having hair transplantation but who had little to no knowledge of hair transplantation, it's practitioners, risks, benefits etc (which is exactly what I was when I first encountered Dr. Kiely). Almost immediately, his secretary e-mailed me back explaining how the clinic works only with the strip method (or as they called it the 'Gold Standard' in hair restoration), what the strip method is, how great their clinic and Dr. Kiely is etc. But here was the point of my 'experiment', to see what they would say when I pretty much revealed that I was not as naive as I had made myself out to be (as preying on the naive and desperate seems to be his one and only skill, certainly not hair restoration surgery). Here is the final e-mail that I sent to them (to which I got no reply): Thank you for your reply, After doing some research and corresponding with other hair loss patients on various forums, I have decided to hold off on hair transplantation for now. Having contacted doctors from The Coalition of Independent Hair Restoration Physicians and also other patients, they have all advised me to do thorough research for at least a year before making a final decision on hair transplantation and the doctor I wish to go with. They also advised that I speak to former patients in person of any doctor that I am considering for surgery, provided the patient themselves agree. Can Dr. Kiely put me in touch with any of his patients (with their consent of course)? Once again, many thanks for your reply. I hope to hear from you soon. Now here's the thing, they were more than quick to reply when I expressed interest in going to THEIR clinic. Yet when I asked if it would be possible to speak to some of their patients they suddenly went silent. As we all know, any good doctor will advise you to do exactly what I mentioned in the above e-mail and actively encourage you to see their patients in the flesh. Seems to me that they have a lot to hide, more than I initially thought.

Foreveryung, Is your grandfather from the pics your maternal or paternal grandfather? As I have read (and other posters and/or doctors please correct me if I am wrong here) that males will most likely follow their maternal grandfather's hair loss, rather than their father's or their paternal grandfather's.

Good job mate, glad to see it went well. Your blog had me laughing though, you went from yourself, to Mr. T, to Stone Cold Steve Austin It was interesting to see what a healed scar from a HT looks like with a completely buzzed down cut. I hadn't seen a completely healed one like that before with no hair to cover it. I now see what people mean when they say how venturing down the HT road is a one way trip.

LMAO! Brilliant! In that case I'm going to deliberately guess an outlandish, impossible number: 20'354'753 grafts But all jokes aside, good luck and here is my guess: 2555 grafts.

Yeah, absolutely Jay. The strip is definitely more efficient and cost effective and seems to produce better and more consistent results than FUE (IMO). The scar with strip is certainly an issue for some, but in the hands of a good doctor the scar shouldn't be that noticeable. But then again, strip might not be suitable for those who want to wear their hair buzzed down to a no. 1 blade. I guess it's down to what you want to achieve personally, different strokes for different folks.

Funny how this laser comb is supposed to work wonders, yet the people unfortunate enough to buy into their lies end up buying wigs, sorry, 'hair systems' from them anyway. If the comb worked in the first place why would they need to go back and get a wig? I amazes me how so many people get sucked in and fleeced so easily by them.

Thanks Brian, I will certainly let you know, it sounds good. I look forward to reading it.

I couldn't agree more!

I couldn't agree more with you Flavio. As the naysayers seldom suffer from it themselves so it's easy for them to dismiss it as vain to want to restore it. They only see it from the aesthetic point of view, and not the emotional affect it can have on a persons self esteem and ultimately their life in general.

Hey Boodi, Welcome to the forum. I can guarantee you that I wont be the only one to say this in response to your post but whatever you do, AVOID Armani! And don't just take my word for it, type 'Armani' into the 'Find' feature on this forum and you will see the extent of how much he and his company are frowned upon. The bad posts far outweigh the good (if there even are any good). I take it you are new to researching on this subject. So I will give you the four golden rules that were given to me when I started my research: 1. Research Research Research (and research some more). 2. Don't rush into anything (as having a HT is a`decision that will stay with you for life, so make the right decision that's best for you). 3. Never let distance be a deciding factor on your choice of surgeon. 4. If you can't afford the surgeon that you want to go with, WAIT until you can. I hope that is of some help. If you want my honest opinion, the best hair restoration surgeons can be found in the USA and Canada (preferably members of the coalition of independent hair restoration physicians). But don't get me wrong, a doctor doesn't necessarily have to be a coalition member to be a good one. But you can't really go wrong with those who are.