wylie

A very interesting case indeed. Nice job by both the doctor and the patient for providing the detailed information and photos, I'm looking forward to seeing updates on this case, so please keep this thread updated, thanks!

I'd like to now refer back to my "persecution complex" statements for further evidence to buttress my previous claims. And may this thread serve as Exhibit A of the issues HT doctors deal with when some patients say they receive a "horrible" result. It's telling that the statement "It's a jungle out there" can cut both ways (no pun intended) I now rest my case. Good day gentlemen.

I think a lot of people who visited this clinic would focus on the positive, assuming there was something positive to focus on. From the sound of things, the only positive thing to come out of that chop shop is to read this thread and avoid going there entirely.

The persecution complex you have displayed towards admin. and other posters on this thread dovetails nicely with the accusations you are leveling against H&W. On a public forum, where an airing of grievances elicits responses of both support and skepticism, you have proven to be your own worst enemy.

This thread, IMO, serves a very constructive purpose, and that is to remind everyone that patients often have a flawed perception of reality. I was on another forum about a year ago, and someone was complaining about a single strip scar had ruined their life. This person did not have his head shaved, the scar was not visible with the hair grown out, at all, and this poster went on to say that this scar was causing him so much grief and heartache that he had contemplated suicide. I was the first one on the thread to suggest he needed mental help, with or without thoughts of suicide, because there was nothing about his strip scar that should have caused him any anguish. Many posters then attacked me for this, as they were commiserating about their own strip scars with this poster, who clearly had far greater issues to deal with than just his strip scar. On this forum about the same time there was a poster in England who posted pictures of his hair and how his hair was ruining his life, and how he had fallen into a deep depression over it. His pictures showed someone who didn't even need a HT! He used his hair as an excuse for other problems, this was clear with both cases (This poster ultimately flew to the U.S. within a month and indeed got a HT by a recommended doctor here) While I know firsthand how this industry works, and know firsthand what it is like to be disfigured by it, it has improved greatly, and whenever someone get result they don't like and start throwing around words like "horrible, horrific" and other inappropriate descriptions, it is wise to remember that there are often other issues at work that do not show up in photos posted on the internet. Believe me, I know what someone needing repair looks like, and I know what tricks a deceptive medical practice employ, and I see neither from H&W. That's just my .02, take it or leave it.

Dr. Konior is an exception, because he takes a 100% involvement approach that all doctors should emulate. But that type of investment in the patient can cost you money in lost volume, so it's obvious why Dr. Konior is the exception rather then the rule. Dr. Konior's exceptional results, partly due to his approach to hair restoration, speak for themselves, To the OP: Your hair does not look that bad at all, while you may be upset with hairline placement, your results are by no means horrible, or even bad. (The results of your previous work are not the fault of H&W) You do yourself no favors by making such a dire assessment of your situation. If I were a doctor and read your post I wouldn't touch your case, as your psychological profile is full of red flags.(Just my unbiased opinion) I hope you get a resolution that you are happy with, but take some comfort in the fact that you are overreacting (to put it mildly) and that your situation is not even close to as bad as the one you describe. (Their customer service I cannot comment on.)

BHT is an option for any hair loss sufferer, it does not matter what your age is. What does matter is that someone who has experience in harvesting these grafts and blending them with scalp hair is performing the work. It was only a few years ago that many doctors derided the use of beard hair (some still do) but that attitude is quickly changing. Why you ask? Because they have figured out how to harvest beard hair and are making money doing it. Amazing how that can change ones outlook.

Well, I just get back from a touch-up visit with Nic0le, and Dr. Ron was scheduled to see me as well. As far as I could tell, the only reason Dr. Ron was there on Friday was to meet with me, as he came in wearing shorts and was preparing to leave for Asia for the annual gathering of doctors from all around the world at their yearly summit. We discussed my options, he looked closely at my hair and took photos, and we discussed a range of possibilities. He then refunded my money paid and Nic0le worked for a few hours touching up my scar tissue. The area that I'm not happy with is a fairly small region of my frontal scalp, it has seen a number of extractions by Dr. Umar to remove some of the more offensive "mini-grafts" from the 90's, and this region is probably impossible to achieve a uniform color on. The majority of the scalp looks pretty good to me and I'm happy with the color, but one region of my scalp makes any further attempts of SMP on anything other than my strip scars not a viable option. A couple updated take aways from my experience: 1) SMG is an ethical, professional, and first rate medical clinic that has a well deserved reputation for stellar results. How many SMP clinics would not only refund my money but take the time to discuss all my options available to me before they did? None? 2) The SMP is temporary, which should be someones first choice IMO when considering SMP, and there will never be a uniform result on any spectrum of patients. There are myriad factors one must consider that makes each result unique, and my problem was previous sub-par surgery, some of which had to be removed. This was an external issue, but many internal issues unique to each patient can affect any outcome. 3) There are simply too many unknowns in this type of surgery to opt for a permanent solution, because permanent is just that, and if unhappy with the result, you are stuck with it. Had I have opted for HIS or GoodLookInk and achieved this uneven type of color on one portion of my scalp, I would have to live with it. And neither of those companies would have issued me a refund for my dissatisfaction. I also agree with BaldKen's explanation of customers who have unrealistic expectations and a flawed perception of reality. At least with SMP it is somewhat easier to quantify the result then the number of grafts that have grown or the subjective result of a HT. In the end I am very glad that I opted for temporary SMP over permanent, and plan on continuing treatment of my strip scars. That removes one of the two remaining issues I have with my hair. I think that this industry will continue to evolve and results will continue to improve, and maybe someday permanent SMP will achieve more reliable results. But in the meantime, opt for temporary SMP and see if this is right for you.

I wouldn't be laughing too hard if I were you, karma has a way of catching up with people, and my experiences, based on your pictures and your attitude, tells me that it will most likely be catching up with you. Either way, best of luck with your procedure.

The dots will become smaller? Really? Can you explain what you mean? All I can figure out from this statement is you think the addition of SMP will give an illusion of density, thereby making the dots look smaller. However, what makes you think future sessions will result in the addition of ink being anything other than the size dots that are already there? Relying on magic for the desired result is not a good game plan. I don't promote anyone, only document my experiences as honestly and unbiased as I can. And I have documented my own experience with SMP as well.

I agree with Spanker, those dots look too large. If I were you I would postpone future sessions and get some more opinions from people, in person. Based on what I can see from your pictures, I would not be doubling down for more sessions if I were you. At the very least, reschedule your upcoming appt. for at least a month while you research this more fully.

By Christmas you'll likely know if you need another pass. I'm guessing at this stage you will, you might want to plan accordingly on this, regardless if you do or you don't. It's an easy fix, no doubt, but that hairline looks weak now, and if it does not thicken up, it's not a big deal, you have no thinning anywhere and are a candidate to dense pack the hairline. Most people on this forum only wish they had your problems, believe me.

Dr. Umar has not only done eyebrows, he has also done eyelashes. http://www.hairrestorationnetwork.com/eve/176594-dr-umar%92s-fue-eyelash-hair-transplant-nape-hair-grafts-%96-before-after.html

Very nice result for only 1800 grafts, nicely done. It would be nice to see some immediate post-op pictures though, just showing pre-op and fully grown post-op pictures does not offer any information on what went on immediately before and after the surgery.

This man needs to be sued and I hope you have a good attorney. Knowing that he is a criminal shows that he is a deceitful person and took advantage of you like his theft ring took advantage of investors. I wonder if this man had his medical license suspended. You should find out. Suing these doctors for botched work is a real uphill battle, they are pretty well locked up from being sued, everything is Caveat Emptor in this business and it is extremely difficult to win a judgement against the many butchers still in this business. That's just the law of the jungle. While researching your legal options, I would advise you to consult with qualified surgeons your options for a scar revision. You might also consider adding beard grafts to the region, I had numerous strip scars and adding beard hair to them worked wonders. In fact, I had so many strip scars that my head looked somewhat like yours when I cut my hair short in back, but after adding around 1200 beard grafts I can shave my hair in back to a #1 guard. It aint perfect now but I really don't worry about it and it looks 100% better than before I added beard grafts. Do you have any pictures of the top of your scalp where he placed the grafts? Are they "mini-grafts", multi haired grafts? You are on the road to repair, I been on it for years, from now on, only vetted doctors, research the doctors on this site, they are the best in the business. Good luck and keep us posted.

It takes onions to do what you did, but like most things in life, once you realize many of your fears about something were exaggerated, you grow stronger every day about it. Good to hear you did what you did. You have options available for concealment, the best of these being scalp or beard hair FUE into the scars. You may also wish to look into SMP. Congratulations!

You definitely don't want beard hair being used for your hairline, this is a very poor choice and no reputable surgeon performing BH transplants would do this. As rev mentioned, nape hair is an excellent choice for your hairline, and it is what was used with mine, in conjunction with scalp hair. Beard hair was then used to thicken up my hairline. I have visited Dr. Konior and consider him one of the best strip doctors on the planet, however, he does not even perform body hair transplants, and while he can soften your hairline, it won't be through FUE. I think you need to do a lot more research and get a lot more opinions from various doctors, utilizing both FUE and FUT, before you decide on what approach to take. It's very possible you don't even need to resort to body hair.

Well, it's been two years, how are things looking? Any updates you care to share with us? Hope things are looking good for you.

This is going to be a very nice result. I'm always glad to see endings like this one. This patient does not look to have scarring in the back from the flap removal so he is lucky in this regard. I know the case of the other patient you are speaking about, and have seen his pictures as well. He has bad scarring in the back from two flaps, as well as necrosis in the front. His case is far more complicated, and I know he does not want any additional grafts placed in front. After seeing this result I believe removal of the flaps to be replaced by a thin scar like this gentleman has is his best route. If all those flap hairs could then be placed in the scars he too could go without a hat someday.

Yes, hopefully this is resolved soon.

Did this patient ever return for part three?

I chose Dr. Umar second, the reason being is he was serious about fixing my hair when another doctor (scam artist whose name cannot be mentioned here) offered to do a 500 graft "test" session, that he promptly talked me into changing into a 1000 graft session. While I wasn't butchered from the experience, I wasted a lot of money and, more importantly, 500 precious scalp grafts (oddly enough, the beard and chest test session went pretty well, while the scalp grafts got wasted across my scalp) That was my last mistake. After that I went to Dr. Umar and only wished I had of listened to my gut instinct and went there first, but instead I wanted to be cheap and try out 500 grafts. Since that day I've gotten amazing results from Dr. Umar and truly believe no one else could achieve what he achieved with my hair. Perhaps Dr. Bisanga could have come close, but I don't know, and Belgium is across the pond anyway.

Results like this continue to show Dr. Umar at the very leading edge of innovation in this industry, the "tip of the spear", so to speak. Without this type of innovation I would remain disfigured from botched surgeries of the past. We can all be grateful that some doctors continue to push the envelope on what is possible.

Nicole, thanks for your reply. There seems to be a dearth of personal experiences regarding SMP, besides a few pictures and parting comments, so I did a write up detailing my experience so that someone considering this and that has had prior HT's knows the risks. If this had of been permanent SMP I would be much more concerned than I am right now. I don't know why the color has a blue tint, I don't think that would be the case if the color were consistent across the scalp, but in the darker regions, it has a bluish tint for sure. In the regions that have consistent color it looks less blue and more natural. I don't think anything can be done other than letting nature run it's course and the ink eventually being expelled over time. This was a good test session and it basically told me that permanent SMP on the scalp is not a future option for me. So I view this result as a positive, as it keeps me from doing something permanent that I might likely consider an unacceptable result. I think SMP on regions of scar tissue like my scalp is very unpredictable, and just by posting this experience I warn others of the risks. If someone does not have scar tissue on their scalp, they very likely won't experience what I did. And I'm still happy with the strip scar result, which I fully intend to continue my treatments with. Otherwise, no worries really, as the old saying goes, "This too shall pass." Cheers.

I feel the same way, makes the clinic look dodgy (which it is, as it doesn't want to pay taxes) and it makes the traveller have to carry a large sum of cash with them to Turkey, meaning the cash can be lost or stolen, and increases ones anxiety, no doubt.