buttercup

Jesus, quit the MHR bashing. I'm 9 weeks post-op so I can't say anything about it one way or the other. I certainly am not a ringer for MHR. In fact, if I do another procedure I likely will go to one of the highly recommended surgeons listed in this forum. For as bad as MHR is alleged to be, there's never been any type of negative publcity, lawsuits, etc. For the thousands of patients that they handle, where are all the bad transplants? You'd think people would be lined up bashing them and showing their results. Instead, we get the same people criticzing them over and over. It'd be different if it was 10 people critizing them one time rather than one person critizing them 10 times. It's sure funny that there are certain people who like to bitch about HT's. Face it, if they didn't make a difference in people's lives, people wouldn't do it. That's the whole point. I am at rock bottom in terms of self-esteem, and I laugh at the person who says I am "full of myself" Yeah, do you have any idea how it feels to be a nice guy with a lot to offer, only to get the door slammed in your face because of the lack of hair on your head and a freakin' gigantic forehead glaring, knowing that you got screwed by genetics, mother nature, etc? It sucks. Actually, many people on this board probably do know how it feels. I am not alone. So yeah, my self esteem is in the toilet and I got tired of it. Should have had the procedure years ago, but didn't because like a wuss I believed it would hurt. Stupid me. I'm looking forward to coverage of my damn bald head. Girls aside, I trust I will look a lot better, unless that corrupt surgeon Dr. reese is a total quack and just butchered my head like some people would lead me to believe. Geesh.

I think getting a HT may be necessary for some people and not for others. If you're happily married, etc. and losing your hair, and your wife doesn' care, then there probably isn't a real big reason to get an HT, other than to improve your appearance in general. Some guys look good bald, some don't. I'm in the latter category, and I'm not even bald, just receding. But I think the guys that get killed by hair loss are younger, single guys who just can't compete in the social arena. Face it, you can be the nicest, most outgoing guy in the world, but hair loss is the kiss of death. That's been my experience. Some women claim that appearance doesn't matter, but truth be told anyone who says that is full of crap. Women, even the really nice, down to earth ones, are very superficial, as are men. True story: My hairline started receding as early as 19. By 22 it had receded a decent amount. Nothing attrocious, but it was noticable. So I went into a hair system, which was the most horrible experience. The hairs kept falling out, it was loose, etc. We've all had those horror stories. However, one thing I noticed with the hair system, at least when it was on right and looking decent -- I GOT WOMEN. Believe it or not, it's true. The difference between balding and hair (albeit fake) was like night and day in social circles. I'm a pretty good looking guy, with a great personality and good income. But the hair loss has been devestating. It's like preaching to the choir, but might as well be said since I'm among peers. It's like having one strike against you before you even go to bat. I had my transplant in December and am confident it will turn out super. And I am also looking at having a second procedure done in coming months, whenever a doctor determines that is is prudent. I want this done right and in the best manner possible. It's one thing I can't handle worrying about any more. Cheers.

Very valid points on your part, too. Though even private, independent clinics do advertise, though on a smaller scale. All businesses advertise. I'm still looking for an answer, though: What is the definition of "butchering"? Leaving a huge scar? Superplugs, reminiscent of 20 years ago?

Sure Wade Boggs does the endorsement for the money. But the point is professional athletes, celebrities, etc. get pitched endorsement opportunities all the time. Granted, Wade underwent the procedures to restore his appearance. However, he could have gone to any doctor, all of whom would have coveted a celebrity to work on. That's the dream of any business, whether you are an independent doctor or a "mill". It's great advertising. The doctor who did Barry Williams' (Greg Brady) transplant has Barry on the web site. And Barry's looks very good. So, from Wade's point of view: Why go to a doctor that sucks? Why align myself with a comany of ill repute? He could have gone to any surgeon and he chose MHR. Sure, he got a free procedure and probably money on top of that, but there isn't a surgeon in the world who wouldn't have offered the same deal. In fact, many doctors ask their celebrity clients to let their work be shown, but the celebrities decline because they want to keep it a secret. Any doctor will tell you that it is huge boom for the hair restoration profession when a celebrity "comes out" about his procedure. So if Wade is getting compensated regardless, why go to a crappy outfit? Would have been really dumb on his part if you ask me.

To correct my previous statement: I received 2200 grafts, which was a very large amount for the area which was being covered. That's the point Dr. Reese made. I was not that bad off yet and had decent hair on top, but the sides had receded and the frontal hairline had receded about 1/2 inc. The frontal area was hammered with 2200 grafts, that's the point. Oh crap. Sounds like I should book my flight to Vancouver right now for the repair work. I've seen MHR bashed a lot, but I've only seen 1 or 2 things said about Reese or the Minnesota operation, and those were good. And I've seen the patients first hand and the work looked great. I think there are a lot of people on these boards who are absolute perfectionists. If they can find one little thing wrong, they bitch about it. I've seen HT's that I thought looked very good, though other people said the recipient had been "butchered". I guess beautiy, or a HT, really is in the eye of the beholder. My question also is this: What constitutes being butchered? Is the hairline misaligned or something? The hairs don't grow? They are spaced too far apart? I don't understand what the definition of a bad HT is. Check out Gene's before & after at: http://www.medicalhairrestoration.com/education_beforeafter_02.html Is that a bad transplant? Because it was done by Dr. Reese and that's exactly how it looks. In fact, it probably looks better in person than in the photo when it is parted at the side. I'm sure there are HT patients who have more density, but the fact is it looks good, though I suppose some people won't think so. Another thing to remember: The majority of patients do not log on to this board and post their opinions. And it is great to see the recipients who do post photos, web sites, etc. It's very helpful. I just wonder if people aren't being too picky about ripping doctors who they may not like or who think have a bad reputation. Face it, you lost your hair. And the restoration may not make you look like John f. Kennedy Jr., but hopefully it will look good. That's the whole idea. To look good. When you are bald, people focus on your forehead. When you have hair, even if it isn't as thick or as perfect as you'd like, but looks good, they will focus on your eyes and face. That's the difference. There seems to be a lot of happy people on this board, but at the same time there seems to be a lot of very angry people. I just wonder if some people aren't taking their anger out on the doctors rather than on more uncontrollable circumstances.

I'm new to this board and have seen Medical Hair Restoration getting absolutely bashed. Needless to say, 10 weeks post-op at MHR in Minnesota, the bashing got me a bit concerned. So here's my MHR experience in Minnesota. Gene Gaspar is the consultant, Dr. Robert Reese is the surgeon. I first visited Gene for a consultation in December, 2002. He was very professional and did not pressure me at all. Even Dr. Reese stopped in to take a look at my head. At that point they told me that it would be a good idea to go on Propecia, so I started it. And after a year Propecia made a big difference reducing the baldness in my crown. The bald spot is now much smaller and the density has improved greatly. When grown out a bit and combed normally, it is barely visible, if at all. So that was the first good thing. In the fall of 2003 MHR did an open house at a local hotel. A few people showed up, including Gene, Bobby (both are featured in MHR's website photo gallry) and Dr. Jaffe. Also, a MHR client who was about 18 months post op was there for anyone who wanted to check out his procedure, which by the way looked very good considering the guy was very bald at a very young age. He's going to do a second transplant, which no doubt will make him look excellent. In November, 2003 I got sick of looking bad (I was a Norwood 3-4) and went in to see Gene again. I also had been notified that MHR was running a special of $4 per graft, though Gene said that that price was pretty much in effect all the time. I went in and met with Gene, who has had two procedures by Dr. Reese, the last about 3 years ago. His hairline and overall result is outstanding, though he said the temple area restoration now available was not when he had his done. If mine looks half as good as Gene's in the end, I will be ecstatic. I also was able to meet a patient who was in for a checkup, and his results were good, too, given he was quite bald to begin with. At no time was I pressured to do the procedure. Gene, and Dr. Reese, answered all my questions, multiple times. I might have even made a pain of myself being wishy washy about going through with it, but they never pressured me. Gene had intially told me that I might want to have some transplants to the crown area to completely cover that, but Dr. Reese advised me to wait another 6-12 months because Propecia can take up to 18-24 months to completely work and it was senseless to have work done which Propecia might naturally take care of. And I believe he is dead on. My crown looks fine and did not need the transplants. I had the procedure done in December. The only pain was for a couple minutes while the injections were given to numb my head. The only discomfort I had was sitting in that darn chair for five hours getting the procedure done. The chair is very uncomfortable after a long duration, but the procedure is painless. My pain was nonexistent and the discomfort was minimal in the days after the procedure. After a few days the stitches came out and I was good to go. I experienced rally no swelling and only lingering tightness in the back of the head, which has since subsided. The scar on the donor area is undectable except when my hair got cut really short recently. There is no bump and I'm sure with a bit more time the scar will be completely undetectable. Dr. Reese showed very legitimate enthusiasm with my procdure. Nobody is that good of an actor, and when they do I can tell they are acting. They actually were able to cultivate 2,200 grafts from my donor area, which he said was almost unheard of. He said I was very lucky to have a great donor strip which yielded so many hairs. I was only charged for 2000 ($8000) grafts because that's all I had been quoted. I also spoke with Gene the next day and inquired about having a second procedure done in a year. Not only did he not pressure me to do so, but he advised me that it probably would not be necessary because my result would be great. He said that most patients are happy with the first procedure and do not opt for a second even when money is no issue. Of course the option to have a second always lies with me. Right now I am 10 weeks post-up. A few stray hairs started growing immediately, but most, as usual, fell out and went dormant. I can now see tiny peach fuzz and can feel the hairs even if I can not see them with the naked eye. It's easy to be paranoid and think "these things will never grow", but I know better and I have to have faith. In another 6-8 weeks I should start seeing all grow. I hope so anyway. The bottom line is this: I was treated with nothing but courtesy, respect and professionalism by Dr. Reese, Gene and everyone else at MHR in Minnesota. Maybe some other hair restoration practices are corrupt, but this one is not. And I am a very streetwise person who does not get easily fooled by con artists, etc. For anyone who says MHR is only in it for the money, I ask this: (1) Why not charge me an extra $800 or whatever for the extra grafts?; (2) Why tell me that a second procedure would likely not even be necessary? If they were in it to make money, you'd think they'd be pushing a second procedure, or more; (3) Why do they only see 1-2 patients a day instead of the 4-6 that people claim the "mills" see every day? I'm not a hair transplant expert, but my grafts looked just like those in any photos I've ever seen immediately after post-up. I doubt my head has been butchered and I'm hoping, and assuming that the results are going to be very good. I've seen Dr. Reese's work and it is excellent. Also, if MHR is corrupt, why would a public figure like Wade Boggs agree to be a spokesperson for them? I met Wade during the summer at a game and he was happy to show me his results. Seems funny to me that a guy with his money, being a class act anyway, would choose to endorse a bad product. Not like he needs the money or the attention. I've found these boards to be informative, but sometimes the facts get skewed by senseless rambling and bashing. I wish people would stick to the facts and the specifics instead of just saying someone "butchered" them and scaring the heck out of people who have no way to verify such information.

I'm new to this board and have seen Medical Hair Restoration getting absolutely bashed. Needless to say, 10 weeks post-op at MHR in Minnesota, the bashing got me a bit concerned. So here's my MHR experience in Minnesota. Gene Gaspar is the consultant, Dr. Robert Reese is the surgeon. I first visited Gene for a consultation in December, 2002. He was very professional and did not pressure me at all. Even Dr. Reese stopped in to take a look at my head. At that point they told me that it would be a good idea to go on Propecia, so I started it. And after a year Propecia made a big difference reducing the baldness in my crown. The bald spot is now much smaller and the density has improved greatly. When grown out a bit and combed normally, it is barely visible, if at all. So that was the first good thing. In the fall of 2003 MHR did an open house at a local hotel. A few people showed up, including Gene, Bobby (both are featured in MHR's website photo gallry) and Dr. Jaffe. Also, a MHR client who was about 18 months post op was there for anyone who wanted to check out his procedure, which by the way looked very good considering the guy was very bald at a very young age. He's going to do a second transplant, which no doubt will make him look excellent. In November, 2003 I got sick of looking bad (I was a Norwood 3-4) and went in to see Gene again. I also had been notified that MHR was running a special of $4 per graft, though Gene said that that price was pretty much in effect all the time. I went in and met with Gene, who has had two procedures by Dr. Reese, the last about 3 years ago. His hairline and overall result is outstanding, though he said the temple area restoration now available was not when he had his done. If mine looks half as good as Gene's in the end, I will be ecstatic. I also was able to meet a patient who was in for a checkup, and his results were good, too, given he was quite bald to begin with. At no time was I pressured to do the procedure. Gene, and Dr. Reese, answered all my questions, multiple times. I might have even made a pain of myself being wishy washy about going through with it, but they never pressured me. Gene had intially told me that I might want to have some transplants to the crown area to completely cover that, but Dr. Reese advised me to wait another 6-12 months because Propecia can take up to 18-24 months to completely work and it was senseless to have work done which Propecia might naturally take care of. And I believe he is dead on. My crown looks fine and did not need the transplants. I had the procedure done in December. The only pain was for a couple minutes while the injections were given to numb my head. The only discomfort I had was sitting in that darn chair for five hours getting the procedure done. The chair is very uncomfortable after a long duration, but the procedure is painless. My pain was nonexistent and the discomfort was minimal in the days after the procedure. After a few days the stitches came out and I was good to go. I experienced rally no swelling and only lingering tightness in the back of the head, which has since subsided. The scar on the donor area is undectable except when my hair got cut really short recently. There is no bump and I'm sure with a bit more time the scar will be completely undetectable. Dr. Reese showed very legitimate enthusiasm with my procdure. Nobody is that good of an actor, and when they do I can tell they are acting. They actually were able to cultivate 2,200 grafts from my donor area, which he said was almost unheard of. He said I was very lucky to have a great donor strip which yielded so many hairs. I was only charged for 2000 ($8000) grafts because that's all I had been quoted. I also spoke with Gene the next day and inquired about having a second procedure done in a year. Not only did he not pressure me to do so, but he advised me that it probably would not be necessary because my result would be great. He said that most patients are happy with the first procedure and do not opt for a second even when money is no issue. Of course the option to have a second always lies with me. Right now I am 10 weeks post-up. A few stray hairs started growing immediately, but most, as usual, fell out and went dormant. I can now see tiny peach fuzz and can feel the hairs even if I can not see them with the naked eye. It's easy to be paranoid and think "these things will never grow", but I know better and I have to have faith. In another 6-8 weeks I should start seeing all grow. I hope so anyway. The bottom line is this: I was treated with nothing but courtesy, respect and professionalism by Dr. Reese, Gene and everyone else at MHR in Minnesota. Maybe some other hair restoration practices are corrupt, but this one is not. And I am a very streetwise person who does not get easily fooled by con artists, etc. For anyone who says MHR is only in it for the money, I ask this: (1) Why not charge me an extra $800 or whatever for the extra grafts?; (2) Why tell me that a second procedure would likely not even be necessary? If they were in it to make money, you'd think they'd be pushing a second procedure, or more; (3) Why do they only see 1-2 patients a day instead of the 4-6 that people claim the "mills" see every day? I'm not a hair transplant expert, but my grafts looked just like those in any photos I've ever seen immediately after post-up. I doubt my head has been butchered and I'm hoping, and assuming that the results are going to be very good. I've seen Dr. Reese's work and it is excellent. Also, if MHR is corrupt, why would a public figure like Wade Boggs agree to be a spokesperson for them? I met Wade during the summer at a game and he was happy to show me his results. Seems funny to me that a guy with his money, being a class act anyway, would choose to endorse a bad product. Not like he needs the money or the attention. I've found these boards to be informative, but sometimes the facts get skewed by senseless rambling and bashing. I wish people would stick to the facts and the specifics instead of just saying someone "butchered" them and scaring the heck out of people who have no way to verify such information.