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Pat - Community Publisher

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  1. 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

  2. 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

  3. 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 .

  4. 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

     

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  5. 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

  6. 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.

  7. 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.

  8. 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

  9. While visiting Dr. Steve Gabel's clinic in Portland (to view the highlights of this surgery visit http://www.hairrestorationnetwork.com/eve/showthread.php?t=147759) to observe his outstanding ultra refined hair transplant surgery I got to meet and view four of his patients. They were all very pleased with both their results and their surgical experience.

     

    Rick had surgery on October 30th of 2006 and got 3,630 grafts for a total of 7,409 hairs (928 singles, 1,635 doubles, 1,057 triples and 10 four hair grafts). He was very pleased with his results, which had reestablished the look of fullness for him in only one session. His transplanted hair looked very natural upon close examination and his donor scar was very minimal (see his photos below).

     

    Bob had received numerous old style previous hair transplant procedures from other surgeons years ago. Despite his donor area being largely depleted, Dr. Gabel and his staff were able to harvest 2,018 grafts for a total of 3,617 hairs (598 singles, 1,243 doubles, 175 triples and 2 four hair grafts). He had come to the office to have his stitches removed ten days post op.

     

    He still had some residual redness/pinkness in both the recipient and donor areas. However, the new grafts placed around his prior grafts did appear that they would significantly soften his previously grafty work. Note -This patient did not want his photos shown online.

     

    Rob had a large thinning area on the top of his midscalp area behind his hairline prior to surgery. On June 13, 2006 he got 2,012 grafts for a total of 4,380 hairs (257 singles, 1161 doubles, 575 triples and 19 four hair grafts). I was impressed with how well his midscalp filled in with only 2,012 grafts. He was very please with his density and the naturalness. His donor area also had a pencil thin scar. See his photos below.

     

    I met Robert ("Hair to Style" on our forum), recently posted his 4 ?? month results on our forum. He received 3,825 follicular unit graft for a total of 7,241 hairs (905 singles, 2,437 doubles, 470 triples and 13 four hair grafts). He had excellent growth at only 4.5 months and his donor area had healed up well with a very minimal donor scar that was easily hidden by his short hair. His hair looked very natural, with no visible pitting or cobblestoning on his scalp. To view his photo album visit http://hair-restoration-info.com/eve/forums/a/albumcomm...991076253#7991076253

     

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  10. Over the past few years that Dr. Steve Gabel has been recommended on the Hair Transplant Network, I have gotten to know him and his ultra refined work. I have come to regard him as being highly ethical and a likable straight shooter who works hard to provide his patients with excellent results at modest cost.

     

    So I was not surprised to find while visiting his clinic that he and his staffs' truly ultra refined hair transplant procedure was outstanding from start to finish.

     

    I also had the opportunity to see a few of his patient in person and their results were very natural. These patients were very pleased with their results and their entire experience. To view their before and after photos visit http://hair-restoration-info.com/eve/forums?a=albumtopi...1037353&f=2091043751

     

    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.

     

    Dr. Gabel took ample time to carefully remove the donor strip in sections in order to avoid follicle transection (severing follicles) and any damage to the underlying tissue, blood vessels and nerves. He adopted this careful donor strip removal from the expert surgeon Dr. Ray Konior of Chicago.

     

    Dr. Gabel then performed a trichophytic closure that included using subcutaneous sutures (internal sutures in the tissue under the skin). These internal sutures pull the underlying tissues beneath the skin together so that the second external running suture simply closes the skin with minimal tension. Since tension is a leading factor in scarring, the low tension on the scalp's skin consistently produces pencil thin donor scars.

     

    His donor removal and closure on average takes almost a full hour. Dr. Gabel's strong prior surgical background is evident in his skilled donor removal and closure. In my opinion, the combination of internal and external sutures is optimal for both minimizing scarring and potential patient discomfort.

     

    On the day of my visit the patient had very good donor laxity and Dr. Gabel was able to remove a strip from ear to ear that was as wide as 1.75 centimeter at the back of the head and tapering to 1.3cm on the sides.

     

    This donor tissue was carefully trimmed by Dr. Gabel's experienced staff under microscopes. The quality and refinement of the grafts appeared to be excellent. His staff is capable of trimming and placing over 4,000 follicular unit grafts during a single session.

     

    Patient did not want to shave his recipient area so the hairs in this area where left long. Dr. Gabel chose to make the graft incisions in and around this existing hair sagitally (parallel to the underlying hair follicles) so as to minimize trauma and transection of these existing follicles.

     

    Dr. Gable credits much of minimally invasive incision technique and careful graft orientation to Dr. Alan Feller, who mentored and encouraged him to perform a truly cutting edge procedure from day one of his career.

     

    However in the areas without pre-existing hair he made lateral incisions (incisions perpendicular to the angle of the hairs normal growth) using tiny custom cut blades. In general Dr. Gabel prefers to make lateral (perpendicular) incisions. He is very meticulous about controlling the angle and direction of the incisions so that they replicate the natural direction and pattern of the hairs.

     

    He used blades as small as 0.70 to create incisions for the single hair grafts and 0.90 for the three and four hair grafts.

     

    Dr. Gabel is very hands on and typically places many of the grafts along with his staff.

     

    In the surgery I observed the patient received 3,203 grafts in both his frontal hairline area, temporal points and crown for a total of 6,519 FUs (594 singles, 2274 doubles, 323 triples and 12 four hair grafts).

     

    The surgery began at 7:30 am and was completed at 7:00 Pm. In my opinion, this surgery exemplified high quality ultra refined follicular unit hair transplantation.

     

    To learn more about Dr. Gabel view his recommendation page at http://www.hairtransplantnetwork.com/Consult-a-Physician/Doctors.asp?DrID=633

     

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    • Like 1
  11. 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

  12. In my opinion, Hasson and Wong do not split follicular unit grafts other than what is typical of all hair restoration clinics that need to create additional single hairs for the hairline when appropriate.

     

    NicNitro's results are superb and he should be ecstatic.

     

    Bill

     

    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

  13. 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

  14. 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.

     

     

    Dear Sirs,

     

    I haven't written to a hair loss/hair transplant website for many years (if ever?) However, for better or worse I was shown your October 1/07 "Ontario Hair Transplant Visit" yesterday and was surprised as well as disappointed that you had represented me as still being opposed to follicular unit transplanting (FUT) and promoting the "old traditional techniques of large grafts". Nothing could be farther from the truth. For the last few years between 95% and 99% of my patients have been treated with FUT because I believe all of my earlier concerns with FUT were mastered over time. Initially, in the 1990s and the early millennium, FUT produced natural-looking results but hair death rates were in my opinion unacceptably high, because the smaller the graft is the easier it is to kill it. One need only look at sequential hair survival studies done by some FUT experts and proponents of the technique to confirm this view. For example, Table 1 summarizes the hair survival rates of FU at different densities/cm?‚?? in different years by the same acknowledged and respected FUT proponents. From 2000 to 2004 or 5, for example, hair survival at the commonly used 30 FU/cm?‚?? increased from an unacceptable 72.5% to 98% because of a variety of technique changes. Moreover, because of the higher rates of hair death in the early 2000s a trend began in which more grafts were transplanted per session and higher densities were used so as to compensate for the higher rates of hair death. If you plant enough grafts, densely enough, the results still look good even if you kill a sizeable percentage of them (see Table 2). There's no doubt in my mind now however that the procedure was steadily being improved and by approximately 2004-2005 one could expect acceptable hair survival rates, especially when FUT was performed in sessions of up to 2500 FU per session at 30 to 35 FU/cm?‚?? (see Tables 1 and 2). There may now be a very few clinics that may be able to do larger sessions and at a higher FU density and still get acceptable hair survival rates, but I believe they are very few and I have other concerns about "megasessions" of more than 2500 to 3500 FU per session and "dense packing" of more than 35 to 40 FU/cm?‚?? which I won't go into here... But I digress:

     

    The main purpose I am writing to you is to clarify the fact that 95% to 99% of my patients are currently being treated with FUT because improved FUT technique has now made it the best option for nearly all patients. In the last few years, I've still written and lectured on the utility of multi-FU "old" types of grafts (for a minority of patients) because I am one of the few physicians still able to present that option rationally and I am asked to do that, but I have in each presentation stressed my preference for FUT for most patients.

     

    I would appreciate you "putting the record straight" by including this note on your blog. No doubt, if you do that, it will stir up some controversy over my statements that I unfortunately don't have the time to address. I apologize for that in advance.

     

    Yours sincerely,

     

    Walter P. Unger, MD

     

    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

  15. 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

  16. 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.

  17. 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

  18. 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

  19. 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

  20. As stated clearly in our forum "terms of Service" all poster agree to in joining all those associated with a clinic must divulge this.

     

     

    All posters promoting or advocating a particular physician, procedure or treatment on this forum are required to divulge any compensation, monetary or otherwise, that they may be receiving in their posting signature. No links or references to websites or resources of a promotional nature are permitted on this educational forum.

     

    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

  21. 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

  22. Thanks for everyones feedback and input. I'm convinced that the Farjos have met the challenges of evolving their techniques to provide truly world class and ultra refined hair transplantation.

     

    I also want to thank Mick, the clinic's patient educator, for providing impressive evidence of the Farjos state of the art work.

     

    I'm pleased to announce that both Drs. Bessam and Nilofer Farjo have been granted membership in the Coalition of Independent Hair Restoration Physicians.

     

    I agree that it's great news that people in the UK have a world class choice right in their back yard.

     

    Best regards, Pat

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