Hoping

Actually, Mitch went to a local New Orleans dermatologist who supposedly had a reputation for being one of the best in the Nation. People would travel hundreds of miles to see him. I know because I went to the same doctor and chickened out at the very last moment while in the surgical chair. Mitch comes from a political family by the way. His father was Mayor of New Orleans for a long time. His sister is now the U.S. senator from Louisiana. Unfortunately, Mitch just lost the mayorial election for New Orleans.

I am watching right now msnbc, the New Orleans Mayorial debate. Mich Landrieu (whose sister is a US Senator from Louisiana), is running for Mayor. Take a look at his hair. I went to school with mitch back in the early 80's and he had an HT back in about 1985 or so. You can sure tell can't you.

I am watching right now msnbc, the New Orleans Mayorial debate. Mich Landrieu (whose sister is a US Senator from Louisiana), is running for Mayor. Take a look at his hair. I went to school with mitch back in the early 80's and he had an HT back in about 1985 or so. You can sure tell can't you.

Troy, seems to me you have a full head of hair. My advice, for what it is worth, is take your time before you have another HT. You risk shock loss for one and for two why not save your donor hairs until you really need them?

I'm a trial attorney myself. I had 2800 at one time. I think you are making a big mistake not to have everything done at once. An HT from a top doc is hardly noticeable just a week or so after the Surgery and why go through two surgeries if you don't have to. As for Propecia, I am now taking it myself but I am 50 and I have already had children. I would think you are taking an unreasonable chance taking Propecia if you are planning on having kids. There is undoubtedly a small amount that will be transmitted to you wife and why take the risk. If your baby has any problems you will always wonder if Propecia was the cause. We all know that the FDA is woefully inadequate in doing its jobs and you can not depend on the pharmaceutical industry to give it to you entirely straight. Bottom line, get as many grafts as you can at one time and stay away from Propecia until your wife is pregnant. My opinion only of course.

For what it is worth I did in fact go back to work the next day. I had a little swelling but after that went down nobody would have known I had a hair transplant. Maybe because of my age (50), I am not as worried about my appearance as some of you, but to me the transplant was really not that big a deal getting or recovering from. 6.5 months now and somebody just remarked how good my hair looked and wanted to know if I was coloring it. My advice. Go to a top doctor, get the transplant and go on with your life.

From another Forum and doctor: How long will it take for the grafts to all grow in? A. I find that 10% will remain from the day of the transplant; about 30% will begin growing by 3 months, 40% by 4 months, 50% by 5 months, 60% by 6 months, 70% by 7 months, and 80% to 90% by 8 months. Most of the transplanted hair will resume active growth by 8 months. You should experience full growth by 12 months.

I have got to say that if six months means only sixty percent of your hairs have grown in, then I am ecstatic with my results. 2700 grafts first 1/3 of my head. No residual symptoms in donor or receipient areas, no numbness-tingling or tightness. The scar is barely noticeable. My Barber says compared to other hair transplants he has seen it is like Night and Day, that I got the Cadillac of transplants he has seen. I am no longer completely bald in the front (I was about a Norwood 4), my wife says it looks like I have a full head of hair, maybe receding just a little bit. What is amazing to me is the difference between four months and six months. You can really see the difference. If I have any complaint it is that the HT is not as thick as I would have liked, my scalp is still somewhat visible under light but at best people would only say I am thinning, not bald. I suppose I could go back for more but don't think I will. Too much concern about shock loss etc. Maybe I'll post some photos when I get a chance.

I have got to say that if six months means only sixty percent of your hairs have grown in, then I am ecstatic with my results. 2700 grafts first 1/3 of my head. No residual symptoms in donor or receipient areas, no numbness-tingling or tightness. The scar is barely noticeable. My Barber says compared to other hair transplants he has seen it is like Night and Day, that I got the Cadillac of transplants he has seen. I am no longer completely bald in the front (I was about a Norwood 4), my wife says it looks like I have a full head of hair, maybe receding just a little bit. What is amazing to me is the difference between four months and six months. You can really see the difference. If I have any complaint it is that the HT is not as thick as I would have liked, my scalp is still somewhat visible under light but at best people would only say I am thinning, not bald. I suppose I could go back for more but don't think I will. Too much concern about shock loss etc. Maybe I'll post some photos when I get a chance.

The same thing happened to me in about 1985. I was still in my twenties at the time and was sitting in the chair of a dermatologist who had a good reputation for doing hair transplants. This doctor to his credit recognized my reservations and suggested I think about it. I did and only went back in October 2005, this time to Doctor Jeff Epstein. I lost a lot of hair between now and then, but wonder what I would have looked like with all of those old style plugs. I do know that I never once regretted not having gone through with it, and now realizing what the likely results would have been, I am awfully glad I waited.

Undoubtedly there is significant turnover among techs with all of the HT doctors. Personally, I could not imagine doing that type of job, day after day, year after year, even if very well compensated. Or lets put it his way, every tech is going to have bad days and when they do any of us are at risk at any surgeon's office of getting a bad HT, just like any of us are at risk of buying a car that turns out to be a lemon. The issue in my book is whether the doctor steps up to the plate admits his mistake and compensates for the injury. He should not be drummed out of the business unless he, himself, is incompetent.

Pat, I personally think your actions a little harsh. Unless you had more to go on, I think you were wrong in ousting this doctor from the Coalition. As you know from my prior posts, being a trial lawyer I am no friend of the medical community and believe that a not small percentage of their profession have questionable ethics. On the other hand, any doctor or any other professional for that matter can and will at time make mistakes. The very best will make mistakes. Once somebody has proven their worth and been allowed into your "coalition", your dismissing them from the coalition on the complaint of one person is wrong, in my opinion of course. The internet is a powerful tool and I seriously doubt any of us would want to be put under its microscope or would survive its scrutiny without being scarred to some degree. Now you may have other information, as you implied there were some emails, but I'm just letting you know how I feel about it.

Robert, I much appreicate all of the advice you have given on this board. Speak for myself, I am using Propecia but only reluctantly at this time because although it has a long history and is deemed safe by the medical community, you never really knnow (i.e., celebrex, vioxx, etc.) I would never-ever use any drug long term that did not have a good track record for safety. If it works for you great, but at what risk?

For what its worth, I had an HT with Dr. Jeffrey Epstein on October 7, about 4.6 months ago. I did have some initial numbness in the donor area. I have no sensation of numbness back there now and only feel anything at all if I physically put pressure on the scar with my fingers, and then it is a very little bit sore. As for the receipient area, I feel nothing whatsoever.

>>>As far as lawyers go I had the unfortunate experience of dealing with a number of them too. The bottom line. If it wasn't a home run no risk proposition. Forget it.<<< I assume you are talking about a medical malpractice suit against the doctors who butchered you. I am assuming you never found a lawyer to bring a case on your behalf. The facts are that despite what you hear in the media, most lawyers do not sue doctors and those that do are very selective about the cases they take. They are very expensive cases to bring and they are difficult cases to win before a jury. They are very expensive cases to bring because you need experts - other doctors - who must testify that the defendant doctor failed to meed a minimum standard of care. That costs lots and lots of money. A lawyer before taking a medical malpractice case needs to evaluate the chances of winning - liability- and the damages likely to be awarded if you do win. If the damages do not go into six figures at a minimum, it is hard to justify taking such a case because it is the lawyers money and time on the line and there needs to be a good possibility of a sufficient payback before the lawyer is going to undergo the risk. You have mentioned all kinds of problems from scarring to inability to sweat. If these are real problems from the hair transplant, i.e., if somehow the HT doctor damaged nerves in your head that caused all of these problems, I would think you would not have much trouble finding a lawyer to take your case, assuming the injury could be objectively proven. If you couldn't, it may well be because the damages caused were only cosmetic and there was not sufficient evidence of nerve damage. But yea, lawyers are businessmen. They take cases on contingency if they think there is a reasonable possibility of making a sufficient return on their investment of time and money. If not, they don't take the case. One other thing you should know is that lawyers also need to evaluate their clients for likeability and credibility because juries are much more likely to find in favor of people they believe and find trustworthy. If you didn't come across well to a lawyer in this respect they may well have decided the case wasn't worth it.

B-spot, this thread already got ugly. Here is a guy who has no qualms about calling HT surgeons the bottom of the barrel, accusing lawyers of automatically being liars and telling other posters that their hair looks horrible. We are not talking about civil discourse here and the honest giving of opinions and debate, we are talking about a bitter guy who speaks with an agenda, to belittle an entire industry because he was one of its unfortunate victims. Anybody with half a brain knows that any surgery will be risky and that Hair Transplants, historically, are of dubious value. What many people may not realize without forums such as this is how far the practice has come. BTW, good luck in your legal career. If you have any questions I will be happy to give you my persepective. Hairworthy, Epstein is a Board Certified Facial Plastic Surgeon with lots of experience. He is far from the bottom of the barrel. I stumbled upon him before coming to this forum. I can only say that other than seeing hair growing where there was none before, I have no lingering effects from the surgery and again, have to really search to see the scar. As for results, maybe I should post a photo because I 'm not sure how far along I should be about now. Many of my new hairs are well over an inch long and in ambient, indoor light I clearly have much more hair in the front where there was none before. In bright light however I still look very thin but I am "hoping" I will thicken out over the next several months. Good luck in your scar revision. Seems to me if you want a scar repair, an experience Board Ceritified Facial Surgeon is the way to go. Hoping

You could try filing in your home county. You would probably need to tell the judge that the contract for the HT was entered into from your home community so you would have a legal argument that the court had jurisdiction over MHR. If MHR does business in your state that would be another argument. Keep in mind that once you sue them they have to respond, even if you sued them in the wrong jurisdiction or venue. Otherwise, they risk a default which might stick against them if they are wrong on the jurisdictional issue. Small claims court is also as close to the peoples court as you can get. Many of the judges who handle those types of claims will not worry about legal or jurisdictional issues. If they feel you were wronged, they just might rule in your favor. Contact your local clerk of court, but before doing so, see if you can download the papers you need to fill out. Fill them out, state what the guarantee was and that MHR has breached the contract with you. Once being served with your papers, perhaps MHR will contact you and try to resolve the issue because the cost of a lawyer may exceed the cost of your surgery. One other thing, if you have signed any papers make sure that they don't mention anything about attorney fees to the prevailing party of a lawsuit. If they do, its to your advantage if you win (and have an attorney) but disadvantage if you lose. Good luck.

Mahair, I am a plaintiff's trial lawyer so I can tell you that I have cross-examined a number of physicians who have not an ounce of integrity (generally those hired over and over again by insurance companies). That being said, to make a blanket statement that most hair transplant doctors are bold faced liars is ridiculous and immature. Just because you were butchered by a doctor without integrity doesn't mean that all such doctors don't have integrity. I myself was in a surgeons chair ready for an HT twenty years ago, but before he began I expressed some reservations. He told me that he wasn't going to proceed and that he wanted me to think about it. I did and didn't have my first HT until four months ago (by now a good NW 4) I would guess that most HT doctors are ethical and have integrity although certainly some will have skills exceeding those of others. As far as not being able to make it, I would think that most competent HT surgeons require nerves and steady hands of steel that most doctors probably do not possess. But the bottom line is this, competent HT doctors have carved out a niche for themselves by providing a service that an obvious number of men are willing to pay for. You are the one to blame for not fully researching the issue before you sat in a chair and chose the doctor you chose. I consulted with MHR a few years back and could see through them in an instant and ignored their repeated attempts to have me come to some demonstrations. Further, surgeons are after all surgeons and will often recommend surgery that may not be necessary. There are plenty of back operations done today that make people worse off than they were before. There are plenty of reasons to be angry at the medical profession. But being angry at all HT doctors who perform a competent job, filling a niche which is sorely needed, is evidence of a closed, angry and immature mind. You are entitled to your opinions, but you are about as wrong as could be. By the way, Dr. Epstein did my surgery 4.5 months ago. I can barely detect my scar, never had any trauma to my recipient area, have no pain or loss of sensation. If the HT was a total failure I have lost only money at this time. But I feel the 11K I spent, which is not that much for a little vanity, to be well worth it and far less than the vanity that comes by purchasing an expensive sports car.. I went to work the day after surgery and was having lunch with an Internest a few days later when I remarked I just had an HT. He looked at me and remarked, "wow what a great job", primarily because there was no trauma to my recipient area. What is the final result going to be? Unknown yet. I already have hair although it needs to be thicker in bright light. Since I am at 4.5 months I know I need to give it some time. Whatever happens, I have no regrets about the surgery and whatever the results, at least I took a proactive approach to do something about the situation. I think what bothered me the most before the HT was the fact I was beginning to totally accept I was bald (at least in the front half of my scalp). I just didn't want that self image for the rest of my life. You can't blame any of us who have the discretionary funds to want a change and obviously many of us are ecstatic about our results. If not for the HT physician communtiy, this would not have been a possibility. Additionally, some of these doctors give of their time to burn victims (I know Epstein does) and women who would be suicidal without their help. If you had integrity, you would simply admit you were butchered but that not everybody would or will meet your fate. In short, you are one angry, bitter individual and you really should seek some professional help. But then again, there are many who would opine that psychologists and psychiatrists are also quacks.

that's the beauty of Small Claims Court. You don't need a lawyer, the clerk of court will help you with the paperwork. Some Small Claims Courts don't even allow lawyers, but the amount you can sue for is limited.

If they guaranteed you 100% satisfaction, the least you can do is sue them in your local small claims court and assert breach of contract.

That is hardly a recognized medical journal, for what it is worth.

Hairworthy, Epstein did my HT four months ago. I think he is a great choice but I'm curious why, with all of the great press Hasson gets on this board that you have changed doctors for your next transplant?

Jodie, we have all been young and we all know more or less what you are going through. My suggestion is based on my own experiences looking back in hindsight. The very best thing you can do for yourself right now is to get as involved as you possibly can in your school and your community. Whatever your interests, do the best you can. If you are an athlete, practice more and become a better athlete. If you have the time, better yet make the time, join local clubs or activities at your school. Think of how you can help others. The worst thing you can do is to dwell on your own problems and your perception of how you think you look to others. Problems have a way of working themselves out if you give them a chance. Your appearance will likely be very different in a few years, and whatever you think you look like now you will likely look much better to yourself when you are twenty, and keep in the back of your mind that there is always medical help if you need it when you are older. And I don't mean this in an unkind way, but if you are truly having suicidal thoughts, you need to find somebody you can talk to-maybe a school counselor or social worker, maybe even a psychologist. Work on the things you can change and accept the things, for now that you can't. Nobody is perfect. Everybody has their own problems. Get out of your house and live and your perceptions will change.

I'm not trying to come down hard on anyone, but I am sure Dr. Keene has a lot better things to do with her time than talk to a teenage girl about her appearance. How many teenage girls have self perception problems? Or better, how many don't? Its not Dr. Keen's job to make these millions of girls feel good about themselves. It is the job of the parents to build self confidence and friends to make one feel that they fit in. Its bad enough how young girls obsess over their appearance. Any parent who lets their child "consult" with a plastic surgeon or HT doctor is probably accetuating the child's obssession, imho of course.

At 15 she doesn't have any options nor should she. No doctor will operate on a 15 year old without a parent's consent, and hard to believe that any parents out there would consent. A fifteen year old girl is no doubt blowing way out of proportion her "high forehead" and for any adult to encourage her to consider her "options" is foolhardy in my opinion. What bothers her today she may not give a second thought to five years from now, and vice-versa. A hair transplant is of zero consideration or possibilities for this young child at this time.