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Topcat611

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Everything posted by Topcat611

  1. Obviously not everyone will have reached the point where they have developed enough skill to perform this procedure. If this is the case it's probably best for the patient's sake not to offer it. It is also probably best to ask the clinic how long they have been performing the procedure, how many patients in total, what size punches they are using and can you see the work up close? It should be evident to all that more and more strip clinics are offering fue. In fact some are switching over from strip to only fue. This is not necessarily a bad thing, but you have to keep in mind it takes a long time to devolop this skill. Some have tried and given up completely. Whereas some keep trying at the patient's expense as we see in this case. Do your research, this should not be happening in 2010
  2. Dr. Mohmand, thank you for posting. You seem to be very civil which I would say makes for a great doctor. I have seen too many doctors in this business take the authority stance too far, which I believe is not good for the patient. I would still have to disagree with you. As far as the economics are concerned if you can do 4 strip patients in one day at an average of 3000 grafts, costing $4/graft you would have a total of $48,000 for the day. If we look at taking a fue patient with 3000, we are probably talking about working on just that patient all day if not a second day. At $6/fue you have a total of $18,000. This leaves a balance of about $30,000. It’s very hard for me to believe that this does not cover the cost of the extra staff and other necessities without leaving more profit for the day. So of course it’s best economically to do strip as opposed to fue, but what is best for the patient? You also have the learning curve. How long does it take someone to become highly skilled? This adds to the cost. One has to consider the reality of many doctors not being able to become highly skilled, so of course they will be forced to offer only strip. You made the statement that it will get better with time, referring to fue. It has gotten better, but there are less than a handful of doctors one can say this about. These are just my opinions from what I have seen over the years and I am always open to new ideas.
  3. A doctor who is ethical and concerned about the patient would not go beyond the true donor area to harvest fue grafts. To even make such a statement is a red flag and should be cause for concern. If time is money, common sense would tell you that strip is more profitable. FUE is time intensive and if it is an ethical clinic the doctor will be performing the extractions as opposed to the technicians. Having been around this industry for over 25 years and the experience of actually being in the chair and having multiple procedures including strip, lifts, reductions and fue. I would definitely say fue is the least invasive. Within a few days it was barely evident that I had a procedure performed, both visibly and physically. The numbness and loss of sensation to the back of my head from previous strips lasted well over 10 years if that is any indication. A highly skilled fue doctor knows exactly how deep they need to go when extracting a fue. They have that sensitive touch which the procedure requires. I agree not all doctors are gifted in this area no different than some of the unnatural hairline work we often see. It’s like the artist who has never picked up a brush before, but can paint a masterpiece. Just because a doctor has been trained does not mean he/she is gifted. I think when a patient or prospective patient is referring to scarless they are referring to visible scars. All my strip scars are clearly visible. My fue procedure left no visible scarring including the 200 I had extracted from my face. Once again the skill of the doctor comes into play here and it requires the use of tools that are much smaller than the .9 mm you have suggested. Progress moves very slowly when there are competing interests. We see plenty of strip clinics that are adopting fue. Let's just hope and pray that they become better in time. Some have even switched over to exclusively fue. I have yet to see the opposite happen where a fue clinic switched over to strictly strip.
  4. BaltoBill, you should really consider Dr. Bisanga he is a master at fue. You still look to have some very good scalp donor available and judging from you pictures you seem to have some robust body hair. It might be better to fue some of those plugs out in the hailine and then plant in front to soften it up. Take a look at my blog and the link to my pictures. My updates are also available on some of the other forums. At the very least I would suggest an online or phone consultation. I have been around for a very long time and BHR is at the top of the list.
  5. wb280, I'm not alone, there are hundreds and hundreds of patients who find themselves in similar or worse situations. The fact is it still goes on today, where patients are getting subpar or disfiguring results, and many times it's by the doctors that are promoted the most. I know because I make a point to speak to as many patients as possible on a continual basis. These same patients tend to become desperate and jump into that next procedure in hopes of make a bad situation better. It's just a natural reaction. My advice to MrNik is to take the time to find out who the best in the world is at ht surgery. Obviously everyone cant' be the best. In my opinion there are maybe 2-3 that have the skill, experience, natural talent and ethics. It's a very hard combination to come by. I think MrNik should do a very small fue session 500 or less and monitor the results. It's a safe and sensible approach with very little potential for any harm being done. And this is what a doctor with good ethics would do in a case like this. He would do not harm.
  6. Why would you even consider going back to the same doctor? I agree with you on not having another strip. People just don't understand how big a deal it is to have a chunk of scalp cut out of the back of your head. But then it's always the patients that have only had experience with strip that seem to promote it. I have had strip, 4mm punch grafts, scalp reductions, scalp lifts and fue with scalp, body and beard hair. Find an experienced fue doctor that has skill, natural talent and ethics. Then just do a small procedure to test the waters.
  7. Thisoldhead, very well said. You saw a red flag and stated it as such. Sometimes people don't like it when it's pointed out. The forums are good for research but they tend be a bit conflicted with the clinics being the revenue generators for the owners. The best information can be had by the vets that have been around this industry for 20-30 years and know exactly what is going on. If you are a forum reader do yourself a favor and try and contact these ht vets. Many of them have come and gone, but there are still a few around.
  8. Sparky, your hair looks awesome already, I can just imagine how good it will be 6 months from now.
  9. I believe in Karma and that is why I post and try to help others. There is just too much deception in this business, from the doctors, forums and the shills that post. It hard to really get at the truth. I receive no compensation from anyone, I just feel an obligation to help inform others, like those who have helped inform me. I was given a choice when I won the pro bono offer. I was entitled to receive 2 days of pro bono work, but I was also asked if I was willing to give up one of those days for the next 2 runner ups in the offer. I really wanted that 2nd day of work, only a repair patient would understand. But I also knew how those other two people felt and I couldn’t in my heart take away their hope, I just couldn’t do that. There are just too many people profiting and others expense, so hopefully what goes around comes around.
  10. Dan, my situation is not normal, so I didn’t ask about how many grafts I would need. Chances are I don’t have enough donor for a complete repair, but I might get very close. You can really learn more from BHR themselves, on the phone or from their website. Stephen posts on occasion and is a wealth of information. They tell it like it is without the fluff. I will give you my own opinion on density. I think most ht is basically see through in the right lighting. But if you can get to maybe 40-50 hairs per sq. cm, you can have the illusion of a good head of hair. If I were to address just the top of my head from the hairline to the crown I would need to cover approximately 90 sq cm. At 50/sq. cm. that would be 4500 hairs. Since I already have some hair there, let’s make that figure about 3000 more hairs. I am also using body hair which is not as robust, along with some head and beard. So if I can get 30% more donor from the beard and scalp hair that would leave about 2100 body hairs that I would need. Since body hair is not as robust you would probably need to double that figure so in total I’m probably still looking at a total of about 5000 grafts in all and this doesn’t even address the scars in the back of my head. This is ht reality. This is also why it’s so foolish for these young guys to have their hairlines front loaded by these unethical clinics that don’t explain ht reality. It’s very simple, how much area will you need to cover when you done losing hair. What is the density of your donor area? That will determine what is available. If it’s 90 hairs/sq cm and you can harvest an area of let’s say 90 sq. cm and use 50% that’s only 4000 grafts. Of course these numbers will change for each individual and are just general estimates. But the numbers are the numbers and they don’t lie. That is why it’s important to go to an ethical clinic with experience. You also have to consider the thickness of the hair along with color and wave. It all plays a part in the illusion of hair. The more wave the better, the less contrast between the hair and scalp the better. This is all providing that the clinic and doctor know what they are doing and don’t waste valuable hair. My personal opinion is to have fewer grafts per sq cm in the first couple of cm of hairline. Then go as dense as possible for about 3-4 cm and gradually lose some of the density and you go back towards the crown. That will give you the illusion of hair, with less of a see through look. Everyone physiology is different, but I have no visible scarring. Take a look at the link on my blog and view the pictures. Dr. Bisanga uses very small punches because he has mastered the procedure. Too many other doctors are using larger punches, close to 1.0 mm because that don’t’ have the experience, it’s easier, faster and in the end more money can be made. I have been out in the the Sun all summer long, and I do not have any white dotting. If you would like to speak on the phone, just send me a pm.
  11. I have attached my before picture along with a 7 month update. I had 800+ fue with Dr. Bisanga. 200 were chest hair and 200 were beard hairs. I am pleased to say I have zero visible scarring to the body or face. In my estimation the growth up until this point is close to 100%. I still need several more procedures on my road to repair but so far I am nothing less then amazed.
  12. Haircut, I did not make myself clear and you misunderstood me, my fault. When I am referring to bias I am referring to those who are in the business of running a forum and making a profit. Not to those whom the forum is directed towards which would be the readers and posters, they are just the audience. The customers are the sponsors. And when I say bias I am saying to some extent, some forums more so then others. There are plenty of top notch doctors that I know for a fact are not top notch. That is something you can't always get from the forums. Just trying to keep it real.
  13. Rugman I think H&W is a very good clinic. But I wouldn’t consider the forums unbiased and unfiltered. They are sponsored by HT clinics, this very fact makes them biased. Which is fine, but forum readers need to keep this in mind when reading the posts. I have seen unhappy patients come and go over the years and they rarely stick around, they just fade away. Really who wants to talk about how they had bad cosmetic surgery. I think the patients themselves even take on most of the blame. After all it is elective surgery, no one forced them to have it done. So of course there is probably some personal guilt involved. I have had the opportunity to speak to many patients and repair patients off the forums. It’s a much better form of communication when you need the truth. Just my opinion.
  14. Optimist, scarring to the body and face was a big concern for me. I have seen too much of it to lightly dismiss it. I have zero visible scarring to both the face and chest. I like to be out in the Sun during the summer for health reasons, maximizing vitamin D levels. I have absolutely no discoloration of the skin where the extractions were taken. It all comes down to the size of the punch and skill of the surgeon. If you would like to know more about my experience please feel free to e-mail me or phone me. I really think it's important to help others who are on the same road. It gives me satisfaction to help others avoid the same or a similar fate.
  15. I have followed the ht industry for over 25 years. Please read my blog when you have time. I traveled outside the USA for one reason only, because I believe Dr. Bisnaga to be the best in the world. Highly experienced in fue with the most incredibly natural looking hairlines. Anyone who knows anything about this business and who the best is would instantly recognize the name Dr. Bisanga and BHR. Every top strip clinic and fue clinic here in the USA knows the name very well. I have spoken to dozens of clinics here in the States and the response was always the same. When it comes to fue Dr. Bisanga is at the top of the list.
  16. ES, I look forward to hearing about your experience and hope you get a great result. It really sounds like you have realistic expectations and have done plenty of research. Hopefully the forums and those who have posted both good and bad have helped you make a better decision. I can understand moving on once you have achieved your objective. But it’s also important to give back and help others make an informative decision as those who have helped you reach your own and it sounds like you will be doing just that. Hopefully I can also move on and not post as much some time soon, 3-4 years. Just the small amount of work BHR and Dr. Bisanga has done for me has made a tremendous difference. But I still have a long way to go. I am grateful that my outlook has always been fairly optimistic and that I have not let what has happened to me make me become a recluse. I have seen that happen too often and it’s sad to see when it could have all been avoided. Maybe I have just spoken to too many people who lives were destroyed by this industry for me to turn my back and look the other way. K 2009 your hair looks very natural and that is the most important to remember.
  17. I would also like to add that I don’t necessarily think my view is slanted too much to the negative side despite the road I have traveled. I am just older and wiser and like to pass on what I have learned to others. The fact is there are hundreds and hundreds of doctors performing hair transplants. I think it safe to say probably 90% of them should seek another line of work as they are probably doing more damage than good in the world. Who are these doctors, where are these patients and why are they not posting. I don’t have the answer to this question, but I do see many of them just in daily life. I have watched this industry for well over 25 years and there are only 2-3 clinics that I would consider. Dr. Bisanga is at the top of my list, but I also consider H&W as one of the best. Of course this is just my opinion and it’s only there to help others make a better decision. Some people are under the false illusion because an organization recommends a certain doctor that their research is over. I think older potential patients have a better understanding that this is not true, while the younger ones need some convincing. All one has to do as look around us. People wonder why no one reported on some of the most corrupt firms in our recent past like WorldCom, Enron, LehmanBros, etc. Because they were the very advertisers that paid the salaries of those who were giving us the facts. Even some of the most conservative and trusted companies who had fiduciary responsibilities to the public like the accounting firm Arthur Anderson who were in business close to 100 years, were found to be easily corrupted where there was monetary gain to be had. Let’s look at what is currently happening with institutions like Moody’s entrusted to give an accurate assessment to the public on the safety of their investments. Well you get the picture. It’s hard to get at the truth when money is involved and pay to play does exist in the world. It doesn’t mean that you should not consider having a procedure, just be careful about what you believe.
  18. ES, I agree 90% of the success stories move on or don’t post. But it’s the same with those that are not happy with their results. They don’t post and the ones that do, post only for a very short time then move on. Personally I watch the forums mostly to see what’s new in the field. I also like to let those not familiar with the procedure know where the pitfalls lie and about keeping expectations realistic. By teaching others about my own experience, I in turn learn more and this helps me. Many prospective patients are under the false illusion that they can get their original density back which is simply not the case. I would say maybe 40% density is the norm on average, many just don’t understand this point.
  19. Raphael, I couldn’t disagree with you more. I have been around the forums for well over 10 years. I have followed this industry for about 25 years. And I have spoken to dozens and dozens of patients. A good majority of patients that are not happy with their results feel a sense of shame which works well for the subpar doctors. Of course I wish they would speak out more out of a sense of obligation, but it just doesn’t happen. There are only a few that have had any longevity to give a more honest and open view. I am a repair patient and I am not mad at the world. I just try and help others make a better decision out of a sense of obligation and my personal belief that what goes around comes around. Cosmetic surgery is still somewhat of a taboo subject to discuss, especially for men. All one needs to do is Google bad plastic surgery and you will find plenty of well known people that have suffered this fate. They just don’t like to speak about it, which is too bad for those who are seeking a more balanced view.
  20. D, I would add that of course clinics like to post their best results. But H & W happens to be one of the few clinics that posts many very realisic results that are not necessarily always the cream of the crop. I would like to also say that I have only seen one NW 5/6 in person that didn't look like he had any work done and that was Stephen who had his work done by Dr. Bisanga. It was impossible for me to tell even up very close. He does cut his hair very short. I guess that would be a #1 or 2 guard. The biggest give away in my opinion is a person with a very shiny scalp that has had work done. It stands out like a sore thumb and is very noticeable at least to me. You also have to take into consideration donor density, area being covered, hair thickness, hair color and the contrasting effect with the skin, hair waviness and placement of the hairline. Prospective patients should be aware of how everything will affect their end result, then they can make a decision with realistic expectations.
  21. I think your result looks very good. You probably lost close to 50,000 hairs in the area that was covered and now you are covering it with about 16,000 hairs, just estimates. So of course you are not going to have the density you had before. The majority of hair transplants with this extent of hair loss are see through. That is just the nature of the procedure. You would have to have probably 15,000 fu placed to get your orignal density back, and that is just not possible without using a donor source other then your head. Even with body and beard hair only so much can be achieved. If anything I would beef up the frontal portion if you have more donor left and leave the back the way it is now. I have never seen a NW 5 or 6 who had a ht that didn't have see through hair. It shows up less with creative hair styling and minimizing any shine to the scalp.
  22. The comment, " most likely you will not get a bad scar anyway" is poor advice in my opinion. The fact is you don't know how big and bad the scar will be until after the fact. I also agree with Sparky. There is no definitive answer to fue vs strip. If 90% of the doctors get very poor yield because they lack the skill for fue, yet the other 10% get very high yield, does fue have a poorer yield? Yes if you go to that 90% and no if you go to the 10%.
  23. Kity, here is what I think you need to do. Do not rely on forums to make a decision about a cosmetic surgery procedure that can easily make you look like a freak and destroy your life. You need to see at least 5-10 hair transplants in person, not pictures to understand fully what it will look like. Patients with varying degrees of baldness would be best. You need to see a strip procedure and an fue performed live to really understand what it is you are getting yourself into. This will give you enough information to make an informed decision.
  24. Kity, I am happy to hear you are not having the forehead reduction. Like I said I have been around this business for about 25 years and have first hand experience with most of these proceudures. Do yourself a favor and go with fue, it is a walk in the park compared to strip. Personally it took me about 10 years to get back all the feeling in the back of my head after strip. It always felt very numb and very tight. You have the right idea about going with 500 grafts. See how you like before you commit and have loads of regrets. I actually had one of the best doctors in the world do my recent fue work. I have very limited donor and I am an extreme repair case. It took me about 10 years of researching. I had to travel to Brussels in order to have the best. Dr. Bisanga actually extracted fue's from my face to use on my head. This requires someone that is highly skilled and uses very small punches. I have zero visible scarring. Here is a link to my pictures to give you an idea of what kind of healing you can expect. Just make sure you take your time and go to someone that is highly skillled. Too many doctors out there want to sell you something you don't need, nor are they skilled in providing it. Kity I am sure you have seen bad cosmetic surgery. Off the top of my head Michael Jackson, Mickey Rourke and Kenny Rogers comes to mind, but there are many more. The fact is you will never see cases such as these or similar promoted by the doctors that performed them because there not so good. It's the same with HT. If you have been around long enough you will see some of the same showcase results promoted year after year after year. You could easily take your present situation and make it 100 times worse by havig a hard looking hair transplanted hairline that draws the eye's attention very quickly. Something to think about. You need single thin hairs performed by fue using very small punches placed in the hairline, by someone that knows what they are doing. You can also read my blog. http://tinyurl.com/y8m256z I can be contacted at htrepair1@yahoo.com
  25. Kity I have to agree with Sparky 100%. People promote what they sell. If they don't have the skill and experience to offer fue then they tend to comment negatively. Usually they are correct and what they say is true, but they are referrring to their own results and abilities so technically they are telling the truth, just not the whole story. Do yourself a favor and listen to patients then have been around the block. They usually don't have an agenda and are really trying to help others.
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