Bill - Seemiller

Jean, I continued to get reports from various members claiming you are being a bully. I haven’t had time to read through this entire topic however, the fact that multiple members have reported this tells me that you must be saying something offensive or disingenuous. Therefore, I’m going to request once that you remain respectful especially since Melvin already had to comment about this. You’ve been a member for a while And I certainly appreciate your contributions. However, we do expect the members to respect one another and not unfairly malign one another or their doctors. Your Cooperation his anticipated and appreciated. Best, Bill

Squidward, By default , notifications should be turned on however, at the very top or bottom of the topic there should be a “follow“ button or it might say “follow this topic“ or something like that. But like I said, as long is you responded to a topic, you should get email notifications automatically. If you are not, you should go and edit your profile and change your notification settings. Best wishes, Bill

Melvin, I may be wrong but are you asking why he strip of tissue is never harvested vertically on the scalp instead of laterally at the occipital ridge? If so, then I can give you an answer to that although there are certainly many reasons. For starters, you can take much longer of a strip laterally then you can vertically since you can essentially goat ear to ear. A longer strip means more follicular units for trans-planting. Secondly, scalp elasticity is greater laterally than it is vertically. As an exercise, try taking your hands and putting them on the sides and back of your scalp as if you were going to do scalp exercises (do a search on this forum for scalp exercises if you need more information on this) and then move your scalp up and down versus side to side. You will see that there is more elasticity when you move your scalp up and down. That means you can not only obtain a longer strip laterally, but a wider strip which again equates to more follicular units One might argue that you can take several vertical strips as opposed to one horizontal/lateral strip which may equal to the same number of follicular units. However, consider scalp elasticity and how healing will be affected if you take multiple vertical strips. Simply put, it won’t heal correctly and the patient will be left with several wide vertical scar is running up and down their scalp. In the old days, surgeons actually used to take several horizontal strips instead of harvesting the old scar with a new strip of tissue containing follicular units during subsequent procedures. But this always lead to less than optimal scarring which is why surgeons always harvest the same area. It was also found that the optimal area for harvesting a strip is along the occipital ridge of the scalp running horizontally/laterally. It’s optimal for the simple reason that scarring is nominal compared to other places. I’m sure there are other reasons but these are just a few, assuming I understand your question correctly. Best wishes, Bill

Generic Proscar/5 mg finasteride tablets can be purchased pretty inexpensively although, you still will likely need a prescription. Many of our recommended hair transplant surgeons offer prescriptions to Propecia and sometimes will even help people get generic Proscar so they save money. Generic Rogaine is also very inexpensive and both of these are still the most effective non-surgical solutions on the market. Best wishes, Bill

@Legend007 i know a lot of people are saying that they wouldn’t get a hair transplant in your shoes with that amount of hair. But I do see enough thinning that would bother me as well...enough to consider surgery. Not only that but I believe you said you were 40 years old. So you seem like a good candidate for either FUSS or FUE (both are considered FUT procedures by the way). Considering the way you like to style your hair, I wouldn’t worry too much about the possibility of strip scarring especially since storing is typically minimal even when your hair is cropped short. However, if you are really that concerned about it, then perhaps you should go the FUE route. Dr. Diep is an outstanding surgeon and I feel confident that he will give you the results you’re looking for. Best wishes, Bill

MsLia, I find it funny that you’re so convinced that all other reviews (other than yours) is FALSE. Or at least you seem to think anything less than a glowing review is false. Honestly, your posts are the classic signs of a clinic attempting to defend itself using a pretend patient as a guise. I have already asked you to start a new topic to share your own personal experience with Photos but since you obviously have no interest in doing that, I can only assume that my assumption is correct and that you are not even real patient. You are also very antagonistic towards other members and thus there’s no place for you here on our forum. Best of luck, Bill

@MsLia Frankly, you sound like a paid representative coming here to defend your doctor rather than a genuine patient. If you are a genuine patient however, I do apologize. But, instead of huffing and puffing and hurling insults at people who are sharing their genuine opinions, why don’t you create a new topic to share your genuine experience with actual photos before, during and after surgery? Then perhaps we can reevaluate his technique and results and see for ourselves that he is doing state of the art work. That’s your claim right? So why don’t you create a new topic and show us your procedure and results and that will speak many more volumes then your words which are not going to be taking this seriously without photos. As Melvin said, that’s the only kind of post we are going to accept from you next. Your first post was very abrasive and attacking so frankly, anybody who responded to you in a less than friendly way is not doing anything wrong considering how you approached this community. You can’t come here guns a blazing and then expect the moderators to defend you when someone is nasty back to you. So now it’s time for you to put up or shut up. Let’s see those before and after photos of your own scalp. And let’s see photos of your scalp immediately after surgery as well. For the record, it is possible that this doctor is doing follicular unit hair transplantation. Perhaps, he’s just trying to be slick with marketing by renaming FUE to HUE which contains his last name. But it makes me wonder what that even stands for any means… Hueber unit extraction? God, I hope I don’t have any Hueber units in my head to be extracted ?. But like I said, perhaps he just put a fancy name on it because of a tool or device he uses and even though that’s technically inaccurate and deceptive at best, it doesn’t necessarily mean his technique isn’t viable. So, I will give you some benefit of the doubt since you claim you are so happy but it is now up to you to prove to this community that your results are genuine and top-notch. Let’s see those before and after pictures. Best Regards, Bill

Kevin, in my opinion it doesn’t make any sense to go to two different doctors for a sensually the same hair transplant procedure. Getting the hairline done at one clinic and then going to a completely different clinic to get the rest done seems self-defeating for number of reasons. If you don’t mind my asking, why are you considering going to two distinct surgeons for the same procedure? Dr. Erdogan Is highly recommended by this community and has a proven track record of producung outstanding results. It is always my opinion and advice that prospective patients go to surgeons with a proven track record that can be found online. But if you seriously are looking into two distinct surgeons, you’re going to have to talk to both of them about your goals and reasons for why you’re choosing 2 surgeons. Keep in mind, that if the surgeons are even OK with this, that one surgeon will have to piggyback off of the other surgeons design and since each doctor has their own unique Way of doing things, it may make things more difficult for the second surgeon. Also, first surgeon will likely feel like his work is very incomplete since he’s only doing a small part of the procedure. My opinion, it’s just much more trouble than it’s worth to go to two different surgeons for the same procedure. In my opinion, I would give you examples of each surgeons results and see what their patients are saying on line. Then, ultimately pick one to perform your procedure. Best wishes, Bill

Bossman, thanks for sharing your experience in photos and congratulations on selecting outstanding hair transplant surgeon for your procedure. You are also encouraged to create a patient website by going to www.hairlossweblogs.com. This will enable you to document your progress on a single website by creating journals, photo albums, sharing videos, rating and reviewing your surgeon, etc. Fact, the patient websites are in the process of being re-done so they will be much more mobile friendly and easy to use in the coming months. But there still a great tool to share your progress and then you can link your patient website to your form signature so everybody seeing your posts will find your website. Need assistance with this, let me know and I will post a link with instructions. Best wishes, Bill

Jb0078, What a significant improvement from 7 to 8 weeks to 15 weeks. As another member said, this certainly is the dream. Sometimes, seven weeks can make all the difference in the world even early on such as this. However, most people don’t see that kind of substantial growth at just under four months. In fact, sometimes it takes five or six months for growth to even begin but your case certainly is ideal. I’m sure you’re very thrilled especially since it’s so early on and you have a lot more growth and thickening to come. By the way, have you considered creating a patient website? If you go to www.hairlossweblogs.com, you can create your own website, create journals with photo albums, you can rate and review your surgeon, etc. We’re actually in the process of re-doing it completely and the process will be even easier and more advanced in the next couple of months. But you are encouraged to create one and even link it to your forum signature. Best wishes, Bill

John, That’s got to be one of the most incredible results I’ve ever seen for only 2100 grafts given your level of baldness. You must have incredible hair characteristics to give off that illusion density such a small number over a large area of thinning hair. Dr. Reddy certainly did an excellent job for sure. I’m sure you are ecstatic with the result. I know I would be ? best wishes, Bill

Yes, I do see that mania is attempting to promote his clinic but we have already removed his signature which clearly was the problem. However, since this member is not offering anything constructive and is only here to promote his clinic, I have marked him as a spammer. Best wishes, Bill

WanderingBaldy, I’m sorry to hear that you were disappointed with your hair transplant and that the surgeon was recommended by this community. I would certainly like to do whatever I can to help you but in order to do so, I suggest that you post pictures first of your scalp before surgery and then pictures of your scalp now. Please include multiple angles of the scalp so we can see what your hair looks like from every angle before surgery and now, which as you say is three years later. Also, if you have any photos showing your hair one year after surgery, please post those as well. I guess my question and concern is, if your hair transplant was a failure, why are you posting about three years later instead of immediately after the first year? Also, have you contacted your surgeon to express concern and find out what he or she can do for you to satisfy your concerns? The fact that you claim to have retrograde alopecia and donor thinning everywhere, tells me that no matter who did your hair transplant, you will experience a loss of hair because if the donor area isn’t safe, then the recipient area isn’t safe. Another question I have is, where are you experiencing any signs of donor thinning at the time of your hair transplant or was this a more recent development afterwards? Please answer the above questions as thoroughly as possible so we have a better understanding of what’s going on in your case. Please also post the photos we’ve asked. Best wishes, Bill

I know of several patients who have seen improvement between 12 and 18 months however, keep in mind I’m not talking about between 12 and 18 months, I’m talking about between 6 and 18 months even 6 and 12 months. There are clear differences in a plethora of patients between 6 and 12 months. Best, Bill

Bottom line, there are people who undergone hair transplant surgery of just about every age. People who typically care about their appearance and hair loss in their 20s will still care about it in their 70s and 80s. Perhaps perspective changes somewhat, but I know I would still care if I was completely bald now, which was my feet had I not undergone for hair restoration procedure is. Now, for procedures and over 10 years later, I am still feeling quite confident about my hair and the way I look. I’ve even started experimenting with growing my hair long even though I probably look more professional and better with my hair short. But are used to wear my hair long when I was in my early 20s and late teens so I thought I would try again just for fun. So in my opinion, if hair loss is bothering you in your 70s, go get a hair transplant with one of our outstanding recommended hair transplant surgeons. You will very likely be glad you did as long as you work with a top doctor who listens to you and works with you to meet your goals. Best wishes, Bill

Congratulations on your recent hair transplant and outstanding results with Dr. Panine. This is also an exceptional example of why members need to reserve judgment on a patient’s 6 months progress as this clearly shows significant additional growth between 6 months and 15 months. I also encourage you to create a patient website by going to www.hairlossweblogs.com. There, you can share your experience, create journals with pictures month by month, rate and review your hair transplant surgeon, etc. we are also in the process of creating a new, much more mobile friendly Version of the patient website so stay tune. But all of the existing patient websites will be transferred over to the new system so we certainly hope you share your results in progress pictures there as well. Best wishes, Bill

Literalno, I understand what you are saying and are concerned about however, at five or six weeks, you are not going to damage the grass underneath the scale. Yes, the tissue deep underneath the scalp is still healing however, you would literally have to dig through the surface of the scalp to get to the follicle in order to cause any damage to it at that point. I understand that you are concerned because technician/representative was rough with yourself putting concealer on and taking it off, but this would not be enough to cause damage to the gracts. Best wishes, Bill

I’ve seen several dozen times before. Literally, almost every time a patient posts progress pictures showing any kind of concerns or what appears to be less than optimal results, forum members jump to conclusions Making statements that a particular “results” is sub par and that’s a particular surgeon should be removed from recommendation, etc. Meanwhile, a particular patient is only 4, 5, 6 or 7 months out from surgery. It is pretty common knowledge that it takes up to 12 to 18 months for a hair transplant to grow and mature. Moreover, everybody grows at different rates. But because many patients are fast growers and see a lot of growth in the early months, forum members often jump to conclusions that everybody must follow the same path. God for bid some patients only start experiencing signs of nominal to moderate growth six months after surgery because, those patients must be doomed and the doctor must be dismissed. But this kind of misinformation only serve to create chaos and unnecessary panic in the patient since in many cases, these patients end up being late bloomers and obtaining optimal results within 12 to 18 months - just like they are supposed to. But for whatever reason, this kind of miss information and panic has been going on for over 10 years and even veteran forum members fall into this false dogma that hurts both the patient and the physician who performed the procedure. So as reminder I would like to explain that the final hair transplant result is not seen for 12 to 18 months and everybody grows at different rates. Sure, some patients may see a lot of growth at four months while other patients may barely see new signs of growth at six months. This is very common and can and does happen all the time. I do understand however, we are for all members are coming from. We have to ask ourselves questions like: At what point do we begin to worry that a particular result is subpar? If the patient doesn’t experience Any signs of real growth at 6 months, is it a failure? What about 8 months? What about 10 months? The above are valid questions and while there is no concrete answer, it’s normal for members to panic when these types of situations occur. But speculating that a slow grower is a no bro are only serves to cause damage to both the patient and surgeons. Thus, regardless of our intuition, it’s always best to wait it out and give a hair transplant procedure a chance to fully mature before evaluating the success or failure of the procedure. I know it’s hard, but it’s necessary. So in my opinion, let’s try not to jump to conclusions and remain positive that if a four member has gone to a top-notch surgeon recommended by this community, that they will likely have an excellent results when the hair transplant matures. In the event it’s a failure, we should trust that the surgeon will do everything he or she can to make things right. And the publishers and moderators of this community, with your help will be sure to hold physicians accountable to provide patients with the best after care to resolve their concerns. Thoughts? Bill

OK let’s start with the obvious that unfortunately doesn’t seem to be too obvious to everybody. Six months is far from the result and while some patients experience a lot of growth that six months, some patients are only just beginning to see signs of new growth around 5 to 6 months. This is hardly cost for future at this stage and I think people really need to reserve judgment until at least 12 months. Moreover, the first set of photos definitely make the hairline looks worse than it really is as the second set of photos, styled seem to show a much better look. That said, clearly more is expected and the truth is it six months, we should certainly seem more growth So I encourage people not to panic and jump to conclusions which is way too typical on this discussion forum happens almost every time somebody post their concerns. Honestly, people really need to start learning and understanding that everybody grows at different rates and sometimes, it takes at least 8 to 10 months to really even start seeing anything close to the final outcome. So let’s wait and see what things look like in another six months before anybody jumps to conclusions. Best wishes, Bill

Kraistoff, Looks like you’re going to experience a homerun result. The postoperative photos show densely packed drafts and so I trust wants everything grows in, you’ll be exceptionally happy with the outcome. The first couple months are the hardest as you will experience hair shedding but after 3 to 5 months, you’ll start to experience new signs of growth until things grow and fully mature up to a year to 18 months. I look forward to following your progress. Best wishes, Bill

Dr. Yaman, Very nice result as always. I assume when you are referring to a new technique, you’re referring to the use of your new implanter device that we’ve recently written about at https://www.hairtransplantnetwork.com/news/article.asp?CopyID=2235? Because not all of our members are aware of your new device, I do suggest being more specific with the community when you say “new technique“. Or in the future, you can even just link to this news article when you share a post so that anyone who wants to know more about your new tool, they can click on the link for more information. By the way, do you have any photo showing this patient donor area or crown? Keep up the great work Best wishes, Bill

Melvin, thank you for taking the time to write this article and share it on our discussion for him to get members participating and sharing their opinions. In my opinion, this particular form of alopecia is more rare than androgenetic alopecia however, it’s definitely something that many individuals (both men and women) have to live with. Sometimes, alopecia areata reverses itself with minimal treatment but sometimes it’s permanent. Thankfully, hair transplant surgery candy and option for this condition as well. Best wishes, Bill

Legend, you’re absolutely right. Real self has some value but it can be deceiving. Frankly, unless you read very carefully on what each item next to each surgeon means, you may be led to believe that a particular surgeon Is top notch when in reality, they are just participating more. And you are right, usually the physician doesn’t do any of the writing. It’s just an administrator. Now don’t get me wrong, I understand that hair transplant surgery is a team effort. But, writing articles or having an assistant write articles on your behalf doesn’t mean that you were an excellent hair transplant surgeon. In fact, it has nothing to do with it. I’ve never perform surgery in my life however, I bet that I’ve written more educational and informational articles and content than many surgeons and clinics combined. With almost 20,000 posts on this discussion forum and hundreds of articles written by me, I guess I would be an outstanding real self hair transplant surgeon ? Bill

I want to chime in here briefly about real self. While the website appears to be quite popular, surgeons listed on their website are not recommended based on any set of standards. Yes, there are so called preferred surgeons and they use certain terminology that would lead you to believe that they’ve met some kind of standard. But the reality is, the only real standard is that they participate by answering questions. If they answer a certain number of questions, they are status is moved up and they appear to be considered preferred or whatever language they use. Additionally, surgeons who advertise with real self and pay our prominently featured and advertised in the side bar area but it still doesn’t mean they’ve met any set of standards. Nobody there, despite Real Self’s large staff actually takes the time to prescreen doctors and list them based on any kind of qualification. That type of service is really only performed by our community and possibly one other that has their own set of standards (not publicly listed like ours). Dr. Diep has a long history of producing outstanding results. Yes, every physician, no matter how good they are will have cases of poor growth, complications and less than ideal results. That’s not because they had an off day or did anything wrong necessarily, although that’s not impossible, but simply because hair transplant surgery is not 100% guarantee. It is still a surgical procedure where a multitude of variables will impact the final result. That said, there are times where something a particular hair restoration surgeon does is questionable and we need to investigate. That is certainly something we do and if we find that a particular recommended surgeon is no longer producing results on par with our demanding standards, their recommendation is discontinued. That’s not true with real self. Real self will likely go on listing a doctor as long as they are paying and participating. In fact, many doctors don’t even participate but are still listed simply because they created themselves a basic profile. But more specifically, while a few patients have reported concerns about their procedure and results with Dr. Diep, do understand that overall his results have been top notch and several of those patients have not verified them selves and disappeared. When a patient does that, there’s a very good chance that they are not genuine and in fact are simply trying to discredit a good surgeons name. They are often competitors or even patients who were denied surgery because they weren’t a good candidate for it. But we still have faith that Dr. Diep is doing top-notch work and producing excellent results. Best wishes, Bill

Doc, I appreciate you posting and sharing what you can given that you haven’t received the necessary permissions to be specific. However, you can clearly see that 2 haired follicular units appear to have been placed in the front row of the hairline in this case. Now, the only possibility here is that he had some natural hair in front of these two haired follicular units but somehow, they were lost after surgery. I’m guessing however, that even if there were some natural hair is in front of the two haired graft, that it would have been appropriate to place some transplanted single hairs in the front since any natural hair remaining could have been lost. @newpatient99, Please contact your surgeon and give him the necessary permission he needs to provide the details of your case here on this forum. Since the community has concerns, as to why, we would all like to read an exclamation about your case. Best wishes, Bill