Pat - Community Publisher

During the party a doctor named "Dr. Quackaplaticus" crashed the party with four "surgettes" who shamelessly passed out fliers for his non surgical workshop. Apparently he believes that its more important for the surgical techs to look good then his patients. While Dr. Q will certainly never be recommended on the Hair Transplant Network we did let him and his "surgettes" stay for obvious reasons.

Ailene, Dr. Ron Shapiro and Dr. Melike

Photos from the 10 Year Anniversary Party. Dr. Vogel and his wife Nancy

As Bill mentioned, this year's four day ISHRS physician meeting in Montreal was non stop 24/7. I'm just now recovering from the sleep deprivation. On Saturday and Sunday we recorded interviews with 17 different leading physicians that will be presented on our websites. Bill attended almost all the seminars during the four day conference and will soon be sharing the highlights on this forum. However, most of what the issues and controversies the physicians discussed have long since been debated on this forum for years. In addition, this years highest honors - the Golden and Platinum Follicle Awards - were given to two Coalition Physicians, with Dr. Jerry Cooley winning the Platinum Follicle Award and Dr. Paul Rose winning the Golden Follicle Award. Both Dr. Rose and Dr. Cooley have worked very hard over the years to not only provide optimal and ultra refined results for their patients but to elevate the standards within the hair transplant profession. Congratulations to both of these superb physicians and men. Thanks for Dr. Bessam Farjo as well for serving his profession this past year as the President of the International Society of Hair Restoration Surgery (ISHRS). Bill and I have also had great success in getting virtually ALL physicians recommended on the Hair Transplant Network to agree to post at least one photo album each month showing patient results. Members of this community deserve to see the results from all recommended clinics on a regular basis rather than only from the same small handful. We will soon see a big increase in patient results being posted by a much wider range of clinics on the forum Patient Results Posted by Leading Hair Restoration Clinics. Getting all clinics actively sharing their results, will be healthy for this community. You deserve it. Patients and doctors also had a great deal to celebrate during our ten year anniversary party Thursday night. The quality of work and information being provided to patients today is vastly better than it was ten years ago. I believe that the Internet has enabled patients to share their experiences and advice and really hold physicians accountable for the work they do or do not do. This transparent accountability has given clinics an even greater incentive to provide only the very best results if they want to continue to garner educated patients online. There certainly were many beautiful people at the party. But the real value of this party was to celebrate how a long standing collaboration between educated patients and ethical physicians and their staff has elevated the hair transplant profession/industry. It has been a long up hill climb in the face of resistance from many doctors over the years but together we have taken standards much much higher. But there is no stopping or resting on our laurels. The climb will continue, as will the resistance from many doctors (including some disgruntled doctors who handed out fliers protesting this community at the meeting). But I expect that during the next ten years those physicians who are unwilling to operate in a transparent and ethical manner and share their results on forums will become marginal also runs at best. Most patients today simply know better than trust advertisements rather than to search for the truth online. I want to thank the members of this community who have generously given their time on this forum to share their experiences and advice over the years. Without you there would be no patient movement and no Hair Transplant Network. You have held the entire hair transplant profession and this community accountable by demanding the very best and you're getting it. We have come a long long way together! I know that together we can make the next ten years even better for our fellow hair loss suffers. Long live this collaboration between active and educated patients and ethical and committed physicians and their staffs! Pat

Mark and Adrian, Great to hear you will be at the meeting and the party. I look forward to meeting both of you in person. Onwards and Upwards, Pat

Tim, Wow, the new Hair Force One would even have a get away car! That could be useful. I like the upgrade but we'd probably have to have MHR and Bosley as sponsors to be able to afford it. I guess I'll just have to make due in the little "Hair Force One" that could. For those who are wondering what "Hair Force One " is visit the topic " Follicular Road Tripping ". Pat P.S. Kman - Can't you slip away from your friends in Montreal and tell them you have a "dinner date"? It's going to be a party that you won't want to miss.

TheEmperor, I don't know what you think you're "the Emperor" of. But it's obviously not search engine optimization. The HTN did not gain "prominence in the 90s, by faking search engines to show up first in the query list" as you claim. It ranks well because its been around forever serving thousands of hair loss sufferers with in depth information. It is also linked to by numerous hair loss sites. No tricks needed. I expect Google remove the HTN listing for Dr. Lehr once it re indexes its database and realizes that that his page is no longer active on the HTN. Pat

Thanks to everyone who has shared their input regarding Dr. Carman. Based on all the information we have gathered over time, I believe that Dr. Carman deserves to be recommended on the Hair Transplant Network. He is now recommended and his profile can be viewed on the Hair Transplant Network. I expect we will all see many impressive results from Dr. Carman and his patients for years to come. Kudos to Dr. Carman for doing great work and actively participating on this forum.

rkreddy, Since Dr. Lehr is no longer presented on this community, I suggest you use the "Find" feature on this forum and search for posts referencing "Lehr". Unfortunately there is not much information about him or his patient results. I suggest you then do the same research on this forum regarding Dr. Feller and make your own determination on who to go to. Best wishes for your second procedure. Pat

Dear Forum Members, As many of you know, we gather as much information as possible about a physician, their staff, technique and track record before they are even considered for recommendation on the Hair Transplant Network. Part of our review process involves getting input from patients and the members of this forum community. To learn more about this review process, click here. At the request of this community on this thread, I agree that it is now time to formally present Dr. Timothy Carman of LaJolla, CA for recommendation on the Hair Transplant Network. Then in time I expect that he will ultimately be invited into the ranks of the Coalition of Independent Hair Restoration Physicians. We would appreciate your input regarding his potential recommendation. As some of you know, Dr. Carman has a strong background in plastic surgery and trained intensively with Coalition member Dr. Bill Reed, finishing his one year fellowship in hair transplantation in 2006. He now works with Dr. Reed and his excellent staff doing ultra refined follicular unit hair transplantation. I know that Dr. Reed is very pleased with Dr. Carman's ethics, work ethic and final results. Dr. Carman's passion is demonstrated by his active involvement in our forum community. In the last several months, he has answered almost one hundred hair loss and hair transplant related questions, and has presented evidence of his ultra refined technique with great reviews from our patient and physician members. I also recently visited with and observed Dr. Carman in live surgery and was very impressed by his passion and commitment to performing exclusive hair transplantation. See my Visit to Dr. Carman's Clinic in La Jolla, CA Dr. Carman shares the same experienced staff with Bill Reed averaging over 5 years of experience, and has the ability to perform over 3000 all follicular unit grafts in a single session when appropriate for the patient. Dr. Carman shares Dr. Reeds philosophy of putting the patient's best interest above technical dogma and as well as his intense compassion and commitment. Using cutting instruments as small as a 20 gauge needle, Dr. Carman believes creating a combination of sagital (parallel) and coronal (perpendicular) incisions depending on the area of baldness and position of the native hair, best mimics the natural angulation and direction of the natural hair. He believes that in using this approach, he can easily work around existing "native" (natural) hair without requiring shaving. Dr. Carman uses a #10 single blade scalpel to harvest the donor strip to minimize transection. All follicular units are dissected and trimmed under microscopes and carefully placed into the recipient sites by his experienced staff to maximize hair growth yield. Dr. Carman uses the trichophytic closure technique for all hair transplants he performs and utilizes a single running suture so that the tension is on the underlying fascia rather than the skin. He believes this minimizes and uniforms tension on the wound for maximum healing and minimal scarring. Given Dr. Carman's impressive credentials and commitment to ultra refined follicular unit hair transplantation, I believe that he should be considered for recommendation. See our standards for recommendation. Patient and surgical examples can be found below: 2015 Grafts with Dr. Carman 2176 Grafts with Dr. Carman 2207 Grafts Post-Op with Dr. Carman 2300 Grafts Post-Op with Dr. Carman 1929 Grafts Post-Op with Dr. Carman 1821 Grafts Post-Op with Dr. Carman 3515 Grafts Post-Op with Dr. Carman 2893 Grafts Post-Op with Dr. Carman 2820 Grafts Post-Op with Dr. Carman

Over ten years ago I shared my before and after photos online and began helping hair loss sufferers find their way to the best surgeons available. In time, I was joined by thousands of hair loss sufferers who generously shared their experiences and advice on this community. Together we revolutionized how patients find and research the very best hair restoration treatments and physicians. We have also held physicians accountable for their work and required them to meet the highest standards of care to win our support and business. The revolutionary idea of patients critiquing physicians and their work publicly was resisted by many physicians in the early days. Some still resist and even sue this community when they are criticized. But we have held our ground and continue to thrive. The true leaders in hair restoration surgery have come to realize that an open and honest patient based forum community is their best friend. It enables them to cultivate educated patients not based on expensive marketing hype but based on real patient feedback and online word of mouth. Over the years the cream has risen to the top and are recommended on the Hair Transplant Network. These physicians know that their recommendation requires them to stay at the top of their game because their patients may be posting their experience within hours of their surgery. This community over the past ten years has helped thousands of patients achieve optimal results and enabled the leading clinics to dramatically lower their marketing overhead and prices. It has also given the hair restoration profession a powerful and compelling incentive to do the best work possible. None of this would have been possible without the members of this forum community. You have been the driving force in the hair transplant patient advocacy movement. It is you, in collaboration with the true leading physicians, who have revolutionized the hair transplant profession. It's virtually impossible to truly thank you enough. But I know that the "true believers" of this community know that helping their fellow hair loss comrades is the greatest reward and thanks possible. We have come a long way together and we have much to celebrate. Bill and I want to invite the active members of this forum community to be our guests for dinner and drinks at our tenth anniversary party in Montreal, Canada on Thursday evening, September 4th. Montreal is the location for this year's annual five day meeting of the International Society of Hair Restoration Surgery (ISHRS). Since the majority of our recommended physicians will be attending this big meeting, we chose to have the party in Montreal during the time. This will be a great opportunity for members of this community to meet dozens of the world's leading hair transplant surgeons in person and over drinks. We would also appreciate your help in encouraging all our recommended physicians to post their results on this forum on a monthly basis. Please feel free to reply below to RSVP. Bill will then provide you with additional details about the party. We look forward to meeting some of you in person over dinner and cocktails. With your help the next ten years will be the best ever for patients and those clinics who provide the very best results. Onwards and Upwards, Pat

Thanks for everyones input. Like Bill and many members of this community, I'm impressed with Dr. Carmen all around. As some of you know, Dr. Carmen has a strong background in plastic surgery and trained intensively with Coalition member Dr. Bill Reed. He now works with Dr. Reed and his excellent staff doing ultra refined follicular unit hair transplantation. I know that Dr. Reed is very pleased with Dr. Carman's ethics, work ethic and final results. I agree that it is time to formally present Dr. Carman to this community for consideration for recommendation on the Hair Transplant Network. Then in time I expect that he will ultimately be invited into the ranks of the Coalition of Independent Hair Restoration Physicians. I look forward to everyone's input. Pat

Spex, The only photos I have are already posted on the album. But I think that from the surgical photos the patient's degree of baldness is pretty apparent. However, if Mick has pre op photos I invite him to send them to me so I can add them to the album. Onwards and Upwards, Pat

During the summer of 2007 I had the privilege of spending two days in surgery with the both Dr. Bessam and Nilofer Farjo and watched them perform two excellent and ultra refined surgeries. Mick at their office recently sent me the one year results from one of the patients I observed. I have added these impressive results to the photo album of my visit. I invite you to see this patient's one year results. Mick intends to take the photos of the other patient's one year results in the near future. In my opinion, the work the Farjos are now doing is on pare with the very best clinics in North America.

Arrie, It will certainly be no issue for leading clinics to meet these requirements. Those who want to earn the respect and business of the online patient community need to be actively involved with our community. Visibility can be bought online with banners and click ads but credibility must be earned. That is the culture of the Internet. Creating photo albums is as easy as creating an email with attached photos. There is no valid reason for a clinic to not post their patient results each and every month. Those who are not willing to do so will need to consider promoting themselves with sandwich boards, newspaper ads or perhaps message banners streaming behind airplanes.

Joe, I expect clinics to follow the lead of H & W and other leading clinics who have been actively presenting impressive work and post both albums with immediate post op results and also albums with completed results from A to Z. I also expect that photo albums will include plenty of useful detail such as donor strip measurements, graft and hair counts and estimated densities. I will be sending written guidelines and instructions to all recommended physicians in the coming week. I hope that the members of this forum will help us actively monitor the albums that just have immediate post ops and request follow up photos over time. Onwards and Upwards, Pat P.S. thanatopsis_awry, I agree that this is going to be huge and will take accountability and transparency to an even higher level. There will be no resting on laurels, plaques or diplomas on this results based community.

Patients deserve to see the ongoing patient results of any clinic they are considering. All clinics recommended on the Hair Transplant Network will soon be given a strong incentive to post impressive patient results on this forum on a monthly basis in order to maintain their recommended status. In the age of online accountability and transparency, no clinic can expect to earn the respect of the online patient community without sharing impressive patient results on a regular basis. This community is interested in promoting only those clinics that can and will publicly present impressive patient results on an ongoing basis. Note to recommended clinics ??“ all patient photos that you post on this forum will also be added to your recommendation page and the Hair Transplant Network photo gallery by our webmaster. You will then be able manage and deactivate any of your patient photos by logging into your online admin area. We look forward to seeing hundreds of impressive patient results posted on this forum by all recommended clinics in the coming months.

Guys, I hear what you are saying about seeing more large sessions. That is why Coalition membership is reserved only for those who have expanded their capability to provide 3,000 plus graft sessions to patients when appropriate. To see the Coalition membership requirements, click here. Dr. Rosenberg is not currently being considered for Coalition membership. But I believe she is doing refined and very solid follicular unit grafting. I expect that she will also expand her session sizes and in time be eligible for membership in the Coalition.

Thanks for everyone's input. While we all have a healthy skepticism about clinics that we have not seen on the forums, I believe that Dr. Rosenberg and her experienced staff have earned the right to be recommended on the Hair Transplant Network. With time I expect we will see many impressive results from their patients in the future. I'm glad that the very large Toronto metro area now has a solid and ethical choice right in their own backyard. I expect Dr. Rosenberg and her staff will do everything they can to confirm that their ongoing recommendation is merited. Please join me in welcoming Dr. Rosenberg and her staff as our new recommended clinic in Toronto. To view her recommendation profile, click here. Best wishes, Pat

PJ, Thanks for bringing up this topic. As you might imagine from my signature, I couldn't agree more. Thanks to everyone else for adding their illumination to this issue. In my opinion, simply presenting graft counts is outdated and makes no distinction between follicular unit grafting in which the native 1, 2, 3 and 4 hair grafts are kept intact and sub follicular unit grafting in which these native follicular units are sub divided. In addition, some clinics use a limited amount grafts that contain two follicular units that are so close together that they are referred to as "follicular families" or "double follicular units". These clinics believe that such follicular family grafts create a better illusion of density. I believe arguments can be made in favor of doing sub follicular unit grafting, follicular unit grafting, and for some patients the use of a limited amount of follicular unit families. The final choice is up to the clinic and patient. But the patient deserves to know exactly what they are getting. Consumers get to read the ingredients and nutrition info on food labels. Patients should also get detailed information so that they can make apples to apples comparisons. Better information is more empowerment. All clinics can provide graft counts and even donor strip measurements if the patient based community demands it. It's up to you to ask for it and ask why its not provided in clinic photo albums when it's missing.

I appreciate everyone's input. Thanks for taking the time to review Dr. Rosenberg's photo albums. For clarification, we did recommend a couple of clinics in Toronto in the past. However, after Dr. Seager's death, I discontinued our recommendation for the Seager clinic. Since then, I did visit the Seager clinic in Toronto last year as well as other clinics in Toronto. The Seager clinic is now being run by Dr. McKenzie. The clinic still subscribes to using "chubby" follicular grafts, which they believe assure higher rates of graft survival and growth. The medical techs also creates the vast majority of recipient site incisions and then immediately places the grafts. This technique is reffered to as "stick and place". Relative to ultra refined grafting, these chubby grafts are large and require relatively large and invasive incisions that preclude doing modern dense packing. Frankly, I think the Seager clinic and their patients would be well served to acknowledge that leading clinics have been performing ultra refined grafting with high rates of growth for several years now, without cutting "chubby" grafts that contain extra non vital epithelium tissue. I also dropped a clinic in Toronto last year after visiting their clinic and observing their surgery. In my opinion, their surgery had not evolved with the times. I do not intend to divulge the name of this clinic as I agreed to discreetly remove them. In my opinion, based on all the information I have gathered about clinics in Toronto, Dr. Marla Rosenberg is the front runner. It would be great to provide the many hair loss sufferers in the Toronto area with a solid recommendation in their own city, which is currently lacking on the Hair Transplant Network. I believe that Dr. Rosenberg will serve this community very well in Toronto. Onwards and Upwards, Pat

Dear Forum Members, As many of you know, we gather as much information as possible about a physician, their staff, technique and track record before they are even considered for recommendation on the Hair Transplant Network. Part of our review process involves getting input from patients and the members of this forum community. To learn more about this review process, click here. We are currently considering Dr. Marla Rosenberg of Toronto for recommendation on the Hair Transplant Network. At this time, she is not being reviewed for Coalition membership. We would appreciate your input regarding her possible recommendation. At present we do not recommend any clinic in Toronto. Currently Dr. Rosenberg is the only physician being given serious consideration for recommendation in Toronto. Dr. Rosenberg has been performing hair transplantation as the primary part of her practice for 7 years in Toronto, Canada. She has the staff and experience to perform over 2,500 follicular unit grafts in a single session when appropriate for the patient and operates on only one patient daily in order to give them her undivided focus and attention. In most cases, Dr. Rosenberg uses a single blade to harvest the donor strip to minimize the risk of transection during removal. On occasion and depending on the patient's donor, Dr. Rosenberg will use a double blade which she believes is just as effective as a single blade when used at an angle in minimizing the risk of transection. While she uses the trichophytic closure technique for some patients, she believes a standard closure is optimal for some, depending on each patient's needs and long term hair restoration goals. Dr. Rosenberg closes the donor area with sutures using a single layer running stitch which she feels is optimal for minimizing the appearance of the scar. Dr. Rosenberg's highly trained staff of 10 technicians averaging 12 years of experience dissects follicular unit grafts under microscopes and then places them delicately into recipient sites under her direct supervision. Dr. Rosenberg will use the occasional DFU (double follicular unit ??“ 2 follicular units grouped close together) to create a greater illusion of hair density in the forelock and crown area when appropriate for the patient. Dr. Rosenberg believes in customizing a hair transplant for each patient. Using instruments as small as a 20 gauge needle, she creates a mix of sagital and coronal incisions. Dr. Rosenberg believes this works best to mimic the angulation and orientation of natural hair and maximize naturalness and the illusion of coverage and density. To get a visual overview of Dr. Rosenberg's surgical process and technique, visit Surgical Walkthrough Photos. Given Dr. Rosenberg's extensive experience and commitment to high quality follicular unit hair transplantation, Bill and I believe that she should be considered for recommendation. See our standards for recommendation. Patient and surgical examples can be found below: 2104 Grafts with Dr. Rosenberg 2234 Grafts with Dr. Rosenberg 1937 Grafts with Dr. Rosenberg 5566 Grafts in 3 Sessions with Dr. Rosenberg 2000 Grafts with Dr. Rosenberg 2233 Grafts Post Op with Dr. Rosenberg 1329 Grafts Post Op with Dr. Rosenberg We welcome input and comments from forum members regarding her potential recommendation.

Congratulations on the new office with plenty of room to grow into. Of course, it's really what happens within the walls than on the walls that counts, except if we are talking about the flat screen TV as Dewayne pointed out.

Bill, I happen to agree with Dr. Feller that when people are making personal attacks on him for sticking his neck out to express his reservations, he should be allowed to respond. I do agree that some of the comments made by Something and Hooray, including quoting Dr. Feller out of context have been unfair and designed to provoke him. He had every right to defend himself. This topic has deteriorated into personal attacks and needs to be closed at least until cool heads prevail. Bottom line - Bill and I have asked Dr. Umar to provide this community with answers to the below questions: We suggest Dr. Umar start a new discussion thread and thoroughly explain: 1. How the "Umar procedure" works and how it differs from techniques used by other surgeons. 2. Body hair growth cycles and their longevity when transplanted to the scalp. 3. How he qualifies candidates for surgery. 4. BHT success rates in his experience, including typical growth yield and overall success in the 150+ cases he's performed. We look forward to an ongoing educational process that is free of personal attacks.

Baldie, Do you recall the scene in the Wizard of Oz when the curtain was pulled back to reveal a man pulling levers to produce a big smoke filled facade? In the hair loss world that man would be Spencer Kobren in my opinion. When you visit the IAHRS.org site or his American Hair Loss Association you get the impression that they are large non profit organizations run by the doctors themselves. But in reality it is Spencer Kobren behind the curtain collecting checks and pulling levers. It has been insulting to visit doctors' offices around North America to observe their surgeries ( click here, to see some of these visits) and find brochures for the IAHRS at the front desk that state "The International Alliance of Hair Restoration Surgeons is the first and only organization comprised of selectively screened, skilled and ethical hair transplant surgeons . . . " The irony is that while I'm visiting these hair transplant clinics to assure that the members of the Coalition of Independent Hair Restoration Physicians are actually screened for quality, Spencer Kobren has typically not visited these clinics, yet claims that his club, the IAHRS, is the ONLY group that screens physicians. In fact, Kobren's screening process seems to largely involve monitoring this forum and who is added to our list of recommended physicians and then calling them to solicit them to join the IAHRS. "Screened" indeed. I have yet to research and add a doctor on our community who was not solicited aggressively by Spencer Kobren. I guess it wouldn't be so bad if he only solicited doctors who were actually good enough to be recommended on the Hair Transplant Network. But unfortunately he accepts money to promote several clinics that were either rejected or removed from our community at one time or another. In my opinion, Spencer Kobren is clever and slick and talks a good game but lacks in any real substance or integrity. And since I expect you will be reading this Spencer, I suggest you make the following change to your slick IAHRS brochure to make it less deceptive - Change "The International Alliance of Hair Restoration Surgeons is the first and only organization comprised of selectively screened, skilled and ethical hair transplant surgeons . . . " TO - "The International Alliance of Hair Restoration Surgeons is a pseudo non profit organization comprised of physicians who Spencer Kobren solicited mostly after reading about them on the Hair Transplant Network. While Spencer Kobren has never visited the vast majority of these clinics he did stay at a Holiday Inn last night . . . " Spencer, feel free to respond to my suggestions by replying to this topic. P.S. Spencer Kobren discontinued his own discussion forum years ago and I haven't seen him post on any forum in years. Perhaps he decided he didn't want he or his physicians to be subjected to the reality checks that forums like this provide.