Pat - Community Publisher

I did visit Dr. Wasserbauer's site and I found the before and after photos to be disappointing and very underwhelming. Keep in mind that these are her showcase/best photos. I agree with Hairthere - take a tour online of the leading clinics' websites and view their photos to see just what can and should be accomplished. I also suggest you view photos posted by patients themselves on this forum's patient photo albums forum and the patient weblogs . You're making a life time decision - for good or bad. Look hard and long before you leap!

In response to requests from this community for more photos demonstrating he and his staffs capability to perform larger ultra refined sessions Dr. Arocha has posted another impressive patient photo album, click here to view. This 36 year old patient used Propecia to stabilize his hair loss and minimize any potential shock hair loss from surgery and received one mega session of 4900 FU: one hair FU 588 two hair FU 1960 three hair FU 1813 four hair FU 343 five hair FU 196

Thanks to everyone for their input and overwhelming support for Dr. Steve Gabel being granted membership in the Coalition of Independent Hair Restoration Physicians. Clearly Dr. Gabel and his staff have done the hard work of providing their patients with first rate ultra refined results. They have earned their place amongst the other elite members of the Coalition and met the demanding standards for Coalition membership. I'm pleased to announce that Dr. Gabel has been granted membership in the Coalition. To view his profile and video interviews, click here. Onwards and Upwards, Pat

Just for clarification, Dr. Sara Wasserbauer was never recommended on the Hair Transplant Network. com. She did work for Dr. Rassman at the New Hair Institute (NHI) a few years ago. Dr. Rassman of the NHI was and still is recommended but Dr. Wasserbauer was not - since this site makes recommendations on an individual physician by physician basis. I have no opinion regarding the whether or not Dr. Wasserbauer does or does not perform quality follicular unit hair transplantation. I suggest you contact Dr. Rassman for his opinion given that she received her training and experience from him. Best wishes, Pat

Thanks to Byehair, flyby and Bill for recognizing a truly worthy cause. It would be great if we could keep this cause in mind beyond the holidays by encouraging all patients to restore a smile when they restore their hair. Such patients will then not only be in the "real hair club" but in the "smile club". Perhaps those who contribute could add "Smile Club Member" to their signatures with a link to this topic. Best wishes for restoring hair and smiles in the New Year - Pat

Chucky, Dr. May was recommended years ago for about two months. But I removed him promptly when I became aware of issues with his work and procedure. This was also true for Dr. Barry White, Dr. Marla Ross and many more who I found did not provide consistent high quality results during the past ten years. I've learned a lot over the past ten years and I have tightened the standards for recommendation considerably. I have also removed physicians/clinics that have not substantiated the quality of their work over time. Most of the time there is no public statement or notice of their removal. They simply disappear from the recommended list. Having the resources in recent to visit clinics has enabled me to better verify the quality of the actual procedures and clinic. In addition, patient feedback continues to be big factor in who continues to be recommended. Over time the cream has risen to the top. It is those physicians who are now presented on this community. To view a full list, click here .

As tough as it is to loose our hair, imagine being a child with a deformed cleft lip and mouth (see photo below). Fortunately there is a not for profit volunteer medical services organization called " Operation Smile " that surgically restores these children for life. Operation Smile's volunteer medical professionals travel around the world to treat indigent children and young adults suffering from facial deformities. Their efforts mean new smiles for thousands of children. A $240 donation will pay for a lifetime restoration for one child. I encourage everyone who gets a hair transplant to share the miracle of life changing surgery by helping put a life time smile on a child some where in this war torn world. I think that Operation Smile not only restores smiles but good will. And doesn't this world need all the good will it can get? Please join me in contributing enough to pay for one life changing surgery for one child. They'll smile and so will you. To learn more and contribute online visit http://www.operationsmile.org/ Happy holidays and best wishes for a beautiful New Year! Pat

Dr. Bernardino Arocha, M.D. and his experienced staff have performed ultra refined follicular unit hair transplantation exclusively for the past few years. They regularly perform surgeries exceeding 3,000 FU grafts per session, with their largest session to date being 6,000 grafts. Dr. Arocha is a Diplomat of the American Board of Hair Restoration Surgery and has performed over 2,000 hair transplant surgeries. I welcome all input and comments from forum members regarding his potential recommendation on the Hair Transplant Network. Given Dr. Arocha's extensive experience and his ultra refined techniques, I believe that once he garners sufficient positive feedback on this forum from actual patients he should be considered for membership in the Coalition of Independent Hair Restoration Physicians. To view the membership standards for the Coalition, click here . I asked Dr. Arocha to share photos of both his patient results and his surgery. He and his lead medical tech, Craig, have provided this community with numerous photos to demonstrate their ultra refined follicular unit procedure and its impressive results. View some of their patient photos below: 4032 Follicular Unit Graft ultra refined session 4,000 plus follicular units in two sessions 7 months after 3,000 plus grafts in one session Hair restoration into area scarred by burns Before and after photos for several different patients Surgery Photos: Graft preparation http://www.hairrestorationnetwork.com/eve/showthread.php?t=146226 Incision and graft placement Donor closure and pencil thin scar photos View additional patient photos on Dr. Arocha's website. Thanks for everyones input. Best regards, Pat ??“ the publisher of the Hair Transplant Network and the Coalition Hair Loss Learning Center

In my opinion Dr. Cohen and his staff do excellent work. I visited his clinic to observe his surgery this past Summer and I was impressed. To view photos and highlights from this clinic visit, click here. He has also been recommended on the Hair Transplant Network for a number of years. To view his recommendation, click here.

Joe, Glad to see you took our "Man on the Street" TV commercial idea and ran with it. When we interviewed people on South Beach by first asking them on camera what they thought of hair transplants, most of them had a negative reaction. But, as I told you, when I pulled out my before photo and asked "What do you think of my hair transplant results?" their jaws would drop in amazement. Good to see someone taking this idea and running with it.

Attention Forum Members, Dr. Steve Gabel has been recommended on the Hair Transplant Network for the past few years and has proven himself to be a highly ethical physician who works hard to provide his patients with excellent results at modest cost. To view his recommendation and credentials, click here . I recently visited his clinic to meet with some of his patients and observe his outstanding surgery. I was very impressed with the great attention to detail and care that Dr. Gabel and his staff showed at every step of the procedure. I found his procedure to be truly outstanding and ultra refined. To see photos and highlights from my visit with Dr. Gabel's clinic, click here . Dr. Gabel has also shared examples of his ultra refined work on this forum over the past few weeks. To see these photo albums visit ??“ Patient with results 6 months post op after restoring his frontal area. Patient with crown restored one year after surgery (1 year post-op crown, 2378 grafts). Dr. Gabel's surgical credentials and background are also excellent ( click here to view his information ). In my opinion he and his staff have worked hard to build a first class hair transplant clinic that provides patients with outstanding ultra refined results at modest prices. I believe he has earned the right to be admitted into the elite ranks of the Coalition of Independent Hair Restoration Physicians . I welcome input and comments from forum members regarding his potential Coalition membership. Best regards, Pat ??“ Publisher of the Hair Transplant Network and the Coalition Hair Loss Learning Center

KULMD, Thank you for providing this community with clarification regarding MD and DO credentials. Many of the very best hair transplant surgeons in the world, such as Dr. Feller, are DOs. In my opinion, MD or DO makes no difference. What really counts is that the surgeon has done the hard work of mastering state of the art hair transplant techniques and that they and their staff work hard to perform it on every patient. Having worked with Dr. Feller online for years and visited and observed his surgery I can assure you that his technique and track record for excellence transcend his initial medical training. Best wishes, Pat

Bill, I have to disagree with you. As I've written many times on this forum and our blog, cutting grafts if very subjective. One clinic may interpret two hairs that are extremely close together as one graft, while another may cut them into two grafts. Based on what I've learned over the years, including my visit to observe Dr. Hasson's surgery, I believe they tend toward cutting smaller grafts that contain less hairs than some of the other leading clinics. I do not see this as being deceptive. In fact, some might argue that more smaller grafts may produce a more natural appearance than using 1, 2, 3 and 4 hair follicular unit grafts. In any case, H & W does offer deep discounts on all grafts over 2,000, which tends to make their fees per graft on pare with that of other clinics that cut bigger grafts. What I advocate is that patients know the difference when comparing clinics so they can compare apples to apples rather than apples to oranges. That is why my signature reminds people to count hairs and not grafts. After all more slices doesn't make the pizza bigger. All the best, Pat

Hair to Style, Congratulations on your great results at only 4.5 months and kudos to Dr. Gabel. Your post reminds me of how exciting it is to go from being a thinning man to a thickening man. It really does feel like a miracle, especially when you are very bald at the start. The good news is you will grow more hair and it will get much thicker in the coming weeks. Having followed Dr. Gabel's progression over the past few years I believe that he may be ready for inclusion in the Coalition. I will be visiting his clinic in Portland this week to observe a 3,000 plus graft session. Of course, I will be sharing the highlights on this forum. Best wishes to all in restoring your hair. Pat

Hairbank, You've always been a star on this community with rock solid advice and compassion. It's only right that you be "Celestial" since you are truly a God send to this community. Congratulations to you too JOBI for your many contributions. It's stand outs like you Hairbank and our other active and thoughtful members that make this community. Pat

Dr. Walter Unger emailed and asked that I post his below reply and an accompanying table on hair survival. He also sent me a couple of sets of impressive patient photos that I will be adding soon. I have also edited my report from my visit to leading clinics in Toronto so that Dr. Walter Unger is not unfairly associated with large grafts. I understand that Dr. Unger will also soon be completing the many updates to his website, which he intends to have online within a month or two. TABLE 1 Hair Survival Studies by Mayer with and without Keene and Perez Year 10 FU/cm?‚?? 20 FU/cm?‚?? 30 FU/cm?‚?? 40 FU/cm?‚?? 50 FU/cm?‚?? 2000* 97.5% 92.5% 72.5% 78.10% --- 2003** --- 95.0% 76.7% 70.0% 82.0% 2005*** --- 95.0% 98.0% 90.0% 84.0% *Leavitt, M., Perez-Meza, D., Barusco, and M. Research Symposium 1999-2000: Clinical Update on Research Studies (Mayer, M) reported at the World Hair Restoration Society/International Society of Hair restoration Surgery Live Surgery Workshop, Intl. Jl. Cosm. Surg., and Aesth. Derm. 2001; 3(21):135-138. **Mayer and Keene's Study Comparing FU Growth with Different Planting Densities, presented at the 2003 annual meeting of the International Society of Hair Restoration Surgeons. ***Mayer, Keene, Perez 2004 Study Hair Transplant Orlando Workshop, presented at the 13th annual meeting of the International Society of Hair restoration Surgery, Sydney Australia, August 2005. Table_1.txt

Dirge, Thanks for sharing your positive experience with Dr. Walter Unger. Dr. Unger is an early pioneer in hair transplantation. As mentioned above, his website still makes a case for the use of larger grafts in certain situations. His website also expresses his skepticism toward physicians and websites which advocate the exclusive use of follicular unit grafting. However, I suspect that his website is out of date and does not currently reflect his views. I received a phone message from Dr. Unger this morning regarding this forum topic. He expressed that he now does follicular unit grafting almost exclusively. Dr. Ron Shapiro has also conveyed to me in the past that he thinks Dr. Walter Unger's follicular unit procedure is very high quality. Dr. Ron Shapiro has visited Dr. Unger's clinic on multiple occasions and recently co-edited the authoritative book "Hair Transplantation" with Dr. Walter Unger. Dr. Unger has often had intense debates with physicians such as Dr. Bob Bernstein, Dr. Victor Hasson, Dr. Bill Rassman and other strong advocates of follicular unit grafting. Thus many physicians are not clear on what his current philosophy and actual procedure are. I will be calling Dr. Unger to encourage him to update his website and to share examples of his surgical results on this forum. I know that this community is committed to enabling all physicians to be fairly represented. Perhaps Dr. Unger has revised his approach and his public perception, on and offline, needs to be revised as well. Best regards, Pat

I want to clarify that Dr. Ziering and his associated are NOT recommended on this site because in my opinion money and patient volume are more important to their organization than optimal patient care. I base my opinion on input from both patients, former employees and hair transplant physicians. I don't care how many TV appearances their PR people line up for them - in my opinion they are not to be recommended.

Thanks to all the members of this community for their input and patience. Before making a decision on whether or not to discontinue Dr. Martinick's recommendation on the Hair Transplant Network, I sought Dr. Martinick's explanation as well as input from leading physicians who I respect. While the patient, Charlieb, may be comfortable with his immediate post op results and surgical plan, I have reservations about the crown restoration technique used on this patient. While I do agree with the use of coronal incisions (also known as "lateral" or perpendicular) to maximize the optical coverage of the scalp with the shingling/splaying of larger grafts on the surface of the scalp, I'm highly skeptical of the placement and low number of grafts (1126) used on such an extensive balding area. I have included Dr. Martinick's justification of her approach to this patient and other crown restoration cases below. While I believe Dr. Martinick genuinely believes her technique is optimal, I must respectfully disagree with her approach to crown restoration with this patient in particular. Dr. Martinick's credentials and enthusiasm for hair restoration are very impressive. But this community's #1, 2 and 3 most important criteria are ??“ results, results and results. I hope that in time Charlieb's results do grow in with impressive coverage and naturalness and that my concerns prove to be unfounded. But until compelling photographic evidence of Dr. Martinick's procedure and its success in the crown in particular can be presented to me and this forum community I can't justify her continued recommendation on the Hair Transplant Network. I regret that at this point in time I do not have the confidence to recommend any physicians in Australia at this time. I hope that this will change in time so that our hair loss comrades in Australia will have a compelling option in their own nation. Best regards to all, Pat Dr. Martinick's reply to me regarding Charlieb's 1,126 graft crown restoration: Dear Pat Thank you for your interest in vertex reconstruction. As you know hair direction in the vertex is extremely individual, spiraling through 360 degrees. Certain factors you may not be aware of are that in a study that I presented in Las Vegas last month 12 young men with a full head of hair had up to 66% 3 hairs or greater groupings in the vertex, whereas the occipital/donor area has significantly less. Hence to create the natural density in the vertex it is essential to combine follicles to create a cosmetically acceptable result. For example I frequently have to use 1500 to 2000 follicles from the donor area to create 1000 grafts when treating the vertex. These are placed in coronal slits, that is, in groups of 3 or 4 at right angles to the direction of growth. This by the way is exactly what nature does. Imagine 3 or 4 of your fingers lying flat on the scalp compared with the covering ability of 3 or 4 fingers piled on top of each other, the latter giving a stripy/tufty appearance. If you look very closely at a scalp which is shaved, you will notice a triangular distribution of the follicles. (I explain it to patients as the pattern your feet would make when walking along a curved footpath.) This triangular distribution is something I have lectured on for the last 3 years and it makes sense because if you put a whole lot of oranges in a box, they too take up a triangular distribution so as to create the least pressure on each other. In the skin, the follicles do the same thing so as to create the least pressure on each other thereby allowing blood and lymphatic drainage to and from the area to occur most easily. Hence in the picture that you referred me to on the internet, you will find that the recipient sites are not in straight lines but curved and have been placed with extreme care with the same angle, orientation and direction as the existing hairs so as to complement them. I think you will be astounded with the outcome with regards to density and total naturalness when it grows through in 6 to 12 months. If this is the patient I think it is, he already has 1200 sagitally placed follicles or hairs done by another Doctor and quite frankly, do not make a visual difference. However on close inspection I was able to see them as scattered and vertically angled. Again if it is the same patient, I combined a 2 hair follicle with a 1 hair follicle to create all 3 hair grafts, so as to mimic the natural groupings in his vertex. (These hair groupings are quite obvious on close inspection but they are heavily miniaturized and as I am sure you know a hair that has lost 50% of its diameter has lost 75% of its volume due to ???‚¬ R 2.) So, in closing, hair transplantation has to be individualized for each patient, as they are individuals. Given the fact that if you shaved the head of the hairiest person you know you would find that their scalp surface is made up of over 90% skin. That is, much less than 10% surface area is actually hair. I have lectured for some years now on how essential it is for doctors to slavishly follow nature's angles, orientation, direction, groupings, hair curl and triangular patterns to maximize the cosmetic outcome and I am pleased to say at last a few senior international colleagues are starting to understand the merit of these factors. Jennifer Martinick, MBBS, FACCS Perth, Sydney, Melbourne

Tom R, Thanks for sharing your experience. This forum is committed to being open to all experiences, good and or bad, with all physicians - no matter how revered. Those who are regulars know that the Shapiro Medical Group has an outstanding reputation. A search for "Shapiro" on this or any credible hair loss forum will yield hundreds of glowing patient reviews. In fact, in over ten years Ron Shapiro's reputation and patient satisfaction is virtually 100%. I expect that the SMG will do everything possible to make things right for Tom. I have gained a strong respect for Dr. Paul Shapiro over the past few years. He really strives for perfection and has learned from the very best. Two months ago I was in Minneapolis and watched both Paul and Ron doing surgery. Both of their cases were exceptionally refined and artistic in my opinion. Their attention to the finer points is unmatched in my opinion. But no human can bat 1000 all the time. Sooner or later a patient is going to experience a complication in even the very best hands. I hope that Tom's experience reminds all of us that even in the best hands a hair transplant is a calculated gamble. What really matters is that the physician and their staff perform the best surgery possible and stand behind their patient from A to Z. I know the SMG will do exactly that. Pat

Bill, Thanks for bringing this topic to my attention. I agree that 1126 grafts will provide limited cosmetic value in such a large balding area. In addition, I also have reservations and concerns about the spacing and pattern of the graft placement. I will be contacting Dr. Martinick immediately to get a full explanation. I will be encouraging her to respond to this topic. Perhaps she feels that while this pattern does not look natural immediately post op it will when it grows out. I also will be insisting on seeing a broad range of her immediate post op results if she is to maintain her recommendation on this community. Thanks for everyones input. Pat

Fallenstar (shouldn't that be shootingstar?) Thanks for the words of encouragement and the update. It's great to see that things have worked out well for you. It's always great to be reminded of how this community can make a positive difference in peoples lives. Best wishes, Pat

Pinda, Dr. Mohmand is recommended on the Hair Transplant Network based on the high quality of his work. I suggest you give him serious consideration. Best wishes, Pat

As stated clearly in our forum "terms of Service" all poster agree to in joining all those associated with a clinic must divulge this. Gary, If you just had FUE surgery this October it's far too early to know if your growth will match what you've been promised. I've seen all too many promised the moon with FUE/FIT and posting only their initial results with no follow up. I know one patient who spent $50,000 on such procedures only to be very disappointed with both his results and eventually how his physician treated him when he was prepared to go online and complain. Feel free to share your results if you are prepared to also document your final results. Best wishes, Pat

GaryinGA, I agree with your assessment that Dr. Griffin is the best choice in Atlanta in terms of both consistent results, value and ethics. In my opinion, based on patient feedback, information from people who have worked within clinics and input from physicians - I could not in good faith recommend another physician in the Atlanta area. I have visited Dr. Griffin's office to observe his surgery on two occasions and was highly impressed. During my first visit to Dr. Griffin's office over four years ago his work even then was ultra refined and way ahead of 95% of his profession. To see the highlights from my last visit, click here . Dr. Griffin does not blow his horn or beat his chest online or have his staff or patients do so for him on the forums. He focuses on quietly doing outstanding work without hype and stays very busy. He and his staff are truly gems in the rough. I do not know Dr. Griffin's current prices. But I know that in the past they were very modest - like him. Pat