TC17

It's a good result. I would like to see photos from the back and a top down shot, but for such a large area and at only 8 months, I'd say it's a success. But, $35,000 is still WAY too much for a hair transplant.

Perhaps I misheard, but did Dr. Ziering really say that the cost for the 3,500 grafts was $35,000?

I'm not impressed with what I saw in that video.

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Somewhat related to what nemo.shark brought up is something that has troubled me for the past six months or so. Very few of the recommended physicians consistently upload photographs of their work. For example, I can't tell you the last time I've seen a result from Dr. Ross or Dr. Tykocinski posted here, and I don't recall ever seeing results posted from Dr. Madhu, (other than when he was up for recommendation) Dr. Gillespie, Dr. Tessler or Dr. Griffin. And while I believe Dr. Bernstein is one of the best HT doctors in the world, the only results I've ever seen of his have been ones that he already has on his website, and with very few top down shots. It's inexcusable that every physician is not posting at least one result per month on this forum.

Corvettester, I absolutely agree with you that the vitriol spewed at at the doctors you mentioned would cause huge problems if it was directed at a doctor recommended on this site. But, I'm not sure I see the relevance to this topic. The doctors that you mentioned have done some really dishonest things. The fact that this topic is still open, the fact that people have had the opportunity to state their (largely negative) opinions about how Dr. Feller handled this situation all tell me that no doctor is above criticism on this forum. My point was simply that after having spent over two years on this board, I can truly say that Dr. Feller excites more hostile reactions than any other doctor recommended here. I believe those reactions are why Dr. Feller and Spex believe there is an "agenda" against Dr. Feller. And I understand that your belief is that Dr. Feller himself creates those hostile reactions by his own doing. Perhaps you're right, or perhaps Dr. Feller is right in that he feels necessary to defend his reputation against (what he believes to be) unfounded accusations. My opinion, for what it's worth, is that Dr. Feller dropped the ball here. Even if everything that has been said about the topic starter's surgery was in fact false, I still would have liked to have seen Dr. Feller take the high road. And one final point, as excitable as you seem to be Corvettester, I appreciate you being on these forums. You are like the judicial branch check on the legislative branch, and posters like you are needed for that balance.

Dr. Feller sure seems to be the most polarizing doctor on this site. I'm not going to take sides in this discussion because I don't have a dog in the fight, but I think Dr. Feller's response should have been more well thought out. As for the agenda against Dr. Feller, I agree with Spex that one exists. I base that belief on the fact that people love to jump in and attack him at any opportunity. However, I think the general anti Feller sentiment is a large result of the fact that Dr. Feller has a tendency to come across as arrogant, and he has been known to belittle posters and other doctors on this site.

I agree with MusoInOz. While the result is certainly not bad by any stretch of the imagination, for the amount of grafts moved I would have expected a thicker result. However, if the most important aspect of hair transplantation is naturalness, then this certainly is a winner, because nobody would suspect this as a transplant.

I hope the cause of your grafts falling out can be found and fixed. I wish you all the best. As for the other issues you described, I feel it is only appropriate to give Dr. Feller the opportunity to be heard before reaching a conclusion.

Your work never ceases to amaze me, Dr. Konior. It is always beautiful. Out of curiosity, why did you transplant into the crown? At this patient's age and his current degree of hair loss, it would seem as though he is destined to advance to at least a Norwood 6 level, and possibly a Norwood 7 level. Thoughts?

Dr. Bernstein is not conservative, he's simply cautious when the situation requires caution. I've seen interviews where he has said that one of the reasons why he hasn't had a hair transplant is because he's not a good candidate. I'm sure that there was no way for him to know that he would evolve into a bad candidate when he was 25 or 30 years old. Understanding that, it's easy to see why he turns away younger patients, won't lower a hairline, won't bring temples forward, and won't touch a crown on younger men. I for one applaud his ethics, and I wish all doctors were like him. Unless there is an unlimited supply of donor hair coming soon, I firmly believe that a lot of the people who have had work down, especially those younger patients, will one day live to regret it.

Dr. Bernstein is not conservative, he's simply cautious when the situation requires caution. I've seen interviews where he has said that one of the reasons why he hasn't had a hair transplant is because he's not a good candidate. I'm sure that there was no way for him to know that he would evolve into a bad candidate when he was 25 or 30 years old. Understanding that, it's easy to see why he turns away younger patients, won't lower a hairline, won't bring temples forward, and won't touch a crown on younger men. I for one applaud his ethics, and I wish all doctors were like him. Unless there is an unlimited supply of donor hair coming soon, I firmly believe that a lot of the people who have had work down, especially those younger patients, will one day live to regret it.

I think RCWest hit the nail on the head. Dr. Bernstein is one of the best doctors around, but he is significantly more expensive than other great doctors.

The result posted on the blog looks bad. It does not appear to be a natural hairline. Then, there are the questions that I hope Dr. Rassman will answer. Questions like - What happens when this man ages and his hair turns white or gray? How does this look upon close inspection? How much does it cost? Who is performing it? Why go to a hair transplant doctor to get a tattoo, when you can probably get it done cheaper from a tattoo artist? It seems that it would have made more sense to establish a natural hairline via FUE, and then intersperse tattoo's with hairs extracted using FUE throughout the balding area.

Unless I'm mistaken, I don't believe the "vacant follicles" get thrown away. I'm of the belief that the techs cut from looking at the follicle, and not the hair. I suppose what I'm saying is that even if you shaved your head down with a razor and then waxed your head to remove the hair, a clinic could still see the individual follicles from a strip and cut around those. Is that not correct?

You had really good hair before, but right now it's perfect. Dr. Keser did a great job on your head.

I think the scar is the nicest thing about this result. It's amazing how good it looks.

These posts are really getting old. It's not a question of whether strip is superior to FUE or vice versa. Many doctors believe that when done properly, FUE is right there with strip in terms of yield. Other doctors believe that FUE is not now, nor ever will be comparable to strip in terms of consistency and yield. It's irrelevant whether some doctor is correct in his assertions that FUE is "superior" to strip, or whether Dr. Feller is correct in his assertions that strip is "superior" to FUE. The relevant inquiry is simply whether the plan of the patient can best be achieved by strip or FUE. Although right now I'm only showing a minor NW 2.5-3V hair loss pattern, upon microscopic analysis I'm balding in a NW5 pattern. Because I'm only 28 and have a family history of hair loss, I fully anticipate balding to a NW6+ level someday. If that occurs, I'm not sure that I would be satisfied with a bald or thin crown. If I go with strip now, I'm sure I'll be extremely satisfied for the next decade, at least. But as the hair continues to fall out, I might eventually want to buzz down. If I undergo strip, that is never an option. Knowing that, and knowing the fact that I cannot predict the future of my hair loss, I made the decision that I would rather have 4,000 grafts from FUE placed over the frontal 2/3rds of my scalp and buzz down, as opposed to say 6,000-7,000 over my entire scalp from strip. No poster or doctor can tell me that my plan is wrong for me. And for the record, 4,000 from FUE will be very close in terms of cost to 6,000 grafts from strip.

This is a great result.

I don't know enough about her practice to give an opinion either way, but if the physicians of this community believe she is deserving of the honor, then that is good enough for me.

If my pattern was established already, or if I knew with certainty that my donor wouldn't thin, or if I knew for sure that I would be satisfied with a bald crown if I bald extensively, then I would go for strip in a heartbeat and not worry at all about the scar. If you go to a good physician, and your physiology is good, you should be able to get away with a 3 or 4 guard on the sides without the scar being visible.

I stand firm that until Dr. Keser personally responds to the valid concerns about his philosophy to hair transplantation, that he should NOT be recommended. The fact that he appears to be an excellent surgeon is irrelevant. Nobody has questioned the quality of the (limited) work that he has posted. In fact, I believe that his results look better than most of the physicians that are currently recommended on this forum. However good of a surgeon Dr. Keser may be does not change the fact that hair is finite and that baldness is unpredictable. Just two days ago a city water pipe broke from the cold. There was still some water left in the pipes that I quickly collected in cups, bowls, pots, pans, buckets, etc. I did that so that I could warm on the stove to bathe myself, to brush my teeth, shave for work, and to do all of the other things that we use water for. I had no idea when the water would be turned back on, but I was confident it would be within 48 hours. However, because I didn't know when it would be back on, I certainly didn't use nearly as much water as I normally did. I used less to bathe myself, less to shave, less to brush my teeth, etc. I did that because I didn't want to run out with shampoo in my hair with no way of getting it out, or run out of water and have to shave dry the next morning. Just like I would have loved to have heated up all of the water and had a nice shower, would love to have my 22 year old hairline back. But, much like I didn't want to run out of water at the wrong time, I don't want to run out of donor hair.

There's a scene in "The Expendables" where you can see that Statham has thinning in a NW 7 pattern.

"Those who, by reason of the notoriety of their achievements or the vigor and success with which they seek the public's attention, are properly classed as public figures and those who hold governmental office may recover for injury to reputation only on clear and convincing proof that the defamatory falsehood was made with knowledge of its falsity or with reckless disregard for the truth." Gertz v. Robert Welch, 418 U.S. 323, 342, (1974) Big thanks to the founding fathers for having the foresight to give us the First Amendment!

I agree with Sparky, I wouldn't worry at this point. However, Armani seemed to have taken too many grafts from your donor area, because your strip scar is visible.