Topcat611

Kity do yourself a big favor and don't even consider a forehead reduction. As you have found out with your eyelash procedure there are always consequences that are usually not revealed in order to sell the procedure. I have had 2 hairlifts in the past which are different then a forehead reduction, but some of the aspects are similiar. You end up creating bigger problems down the line. I have also spoken to several patients that have had the same procedure and they have experienced the same problems. My suggestion to you would be to only consider an fue procedure to lower the hairline. Start out very, very small and see how you feel about the procedure itself. It gives you the option of not pursuing further work, without the regrets. It might not be an instant result, but it's the smart decision. I have been around this business for well over 25 years and unfortunately I understand the consequences. If you do decide to go the fue route, make sure the clinic knows what they are doing and don't rely on forums for all your information. Here is a link to what the hairlift looks like. It kind of gives you an idea of what would be in store for you with the forehead reduction. Good luck to you. http://www.angelfire.com/indie/hairtransplant/scalp.html

Spex, that is some solid advice. It's nice to see that there are people out there doing the right thing.

Hi Sparky, eventually I would like to soften up the hairline a bit, but that is some where down the line. Right now I would like to concentrate on getting some density about 2-3 cm behind the hairline and back to the crown and then maybe work a little on that vertical scar in back. It all depends on how much hair I can get with the chest and beard area. Then I would save the little scalp donor that might be available to work on the hairline. At least these are my thoughts, but Dr. Bisanga is the expert so I will heed his advice. Which is how it should be. A patient should have enough confidence in the doctor for the doctor to make the right decisions.

My History To understand the value of what I have to write and the value of taking the time to read it, you have to be somewhat familiar with my history. You may also skip over the history and go right to the procedure. I have followed the hair transplant industry for over 25 years. During that time I have gained a unique insight into how the industry operates along with some of the pitfalls. Unfortunately for me the pitfalls were real life experiences. So it is my hope that you can learn from my experience as opposed to learning the hard way. I am currently 47 years old and live in Chicago, IL USA. I was about 23 years old at the time of my first procedure. Being young and naive I was easily misled by the Cleveland Hair Clinic here in Chicago. Unfortunately I did not fully understand the implications of cosmetic surgery nor were any of the doctors going to enlighten me. I had the belief that it was something that would enhance one’s appearance, not fully realizing the results could be very negative. The advertisement I saw was from the back of a TV guide and long before the Internet was around. Carlos Puig gave me horrific 4mm plugs in my slightly thinning hairline. The truth was I didn’t need a hair transplant, but my money was too easy for the doctor to pass up. That day completely changed my life and I was very ashamed of what I had done. Although I now realize I was deliberately misled it was hard not to accept blame. Like 99% of the population I was conditioned to believe doctors did no harm. I have learned the hard way that this is completely false. We are conditioned to have certain beliefs starting at a very young age. This specific belief about doctors doing no harm can be very costly if you are not enlightened in time. For me it meant disfigurement, but for others it will cost them their lives. Don't be fooled into believing this only applies to the hair transplant industry. It applies across the board to all medical specialties. I have done my best to cope these many years but sometimes it hasn’t been easy. There are many friends that I haven’t seen for well over 20 years because I was so ashamed. It’s really hard to explain the affect a bad hair transplant can have on someone’s life. Any person that has been disfigured by this procedure will tell you one of the most uncomfortable feelings is speaking to someone face to face and having their eyes drift towards your hairline because the work is so noticeable. Imagine the affect something like this can have on your social life. It is 100 times worse then being bald or having a thinning hairline. After several years I tried to have the damage that was done by Carlos Puig repaired. I ended up at the Elliott/Thomas clinic. I thought that the kind doctors there would be able to help me. I learned a little too late they were just helping themselves. They used the janitor to place my grafts, and used surgical glue to hold them in place. I had a total of about 5 strip procedures there. I had no idea what a transection was at that time, and what’s even worse neither did they. The growth I got was minimal at best. I learned about their unscrupulous business practices from a local undercover news investigation. Needless to say I was devastated. I then ended up at Bosley, which was advertised as the top hair transplant clinic in the country. I had one procedure there and never went back. Now that I look back on it, it’s amazing the effect marketing can have on those in search of hope. It’s seems I was just digging a deeper and deeper hole. The marketing still goes on today with only the medium having changed. The Internet can be a wealth of information, but it is also a double-edged sword that can lead you down a road of pain and anguish if you are not careful. It’s very easy to see a few pictures and showcase results and to start believing. My last chance was Dr. Brandy in Pittsburgh who assured me the hairlift would solve my problem. What he left out was that he would be creating new problems to replace the initial problem leaving me worse off in the end. As I look back on it, I could have easily died on the table on any one of the 3 procedures. The hairlift is no longer offered, hmmm I wonder why? This should be an eye opener to those who test the waters with doctors using unproven new fangled machines or drills to extract fue’s. That along with mega body hair sessions, so be forewarned. I have also learned it’s not so much what they tell you, but what they don’t tell you. You would think that some of the above clinics would be out of business by now. The sad fact is each and every one of them is still doing business today. It is very hard to believe anything you read or hear about hair transplantation. With paid posters, doctored pictures and deleted forum threads, one must proceed with extreme caution. The era of pay to play is still alive and well on the forums, unbeknownst to many. I have been a member on most all the hair loss forums for well over 10 years. After being what I have been through, choosing a doctor and clinic is probably one of the most difficult choices I have ever had to make. Even with my present condition, it’s been easier to do just nothing, then to take the chance and make the wrong decision one more time. My first choice would be not to have to travel. It’s difficult enough to have to deal with this situation in daily life. Having to go through airports and security while having had surgery on my head was going to be quite an ordeal. I wish that I could go to someone local or at least someone here in the USA. But I had to be extremely cautious in my choice. I needed a clinic that was highly experienced with years and years of fue work. They had to have extensive experience using body and beard hair. A bonus would be that the doctor has a natural artistic talent. Dr. Bisanga happens to be highly gifted in this area, one only need view his work to agree. But most important of all, the doctor and clinic needed to be caring, compassionate, honest and have my best interests at heart. Over the last 10 years I had finally narrowed down my choice to this one clinic, the BHR clinic in Belgium. The BHR clinic meets each and every one of these points and I say this with complete sincerity. I came to this conclusion about 1 1/2 year ago. Even though I knew it was the only clinic that I really felt comfortable with, I was still hesitant in taking the leap. View my pictures and I think you can understand why. It was only recently when a pro bono offer was made to forum members at hairlossexperiences.com that I thought I really needed to get this process started and maybe this offer was my one chance in a lifetime. When I first spoke to Phil over at BHR. I had already consulted with at least a dozen top clinics here in the USA and abroad. I have spoken to at least a dozen repair patients that have had work done by other doctors. But it was only after I spoke to Phil, along with seeing the artistry of Dr. Bisanga’s work that I knew I had found what I was looking for in a clinic. There are so many individuals out there that are in need of repair, another clue to those considering a hair transplant. I wasn’t sure that I would even have a chance of winning, but still I had to at least try. Well you can imagine my elation when I found out I had received the most votes from the members of the forum and that I was chosen to have the initial repair work done for free. The clinic phoned me that same night and congratulated me. I was so excited I could hardly believe it. The voting was so close that the BHR clinic made the same offer to the next two runners up. What does this tell you about this clinic? It’s the same conclusion I came to 1 1/2 years ago. On January 11, 2010 I was scheduled to start my journey towards an attempted repair using the fue method of hair transplantation. I also tested body and beard hair at the same time. Since I am very limited as far as available scalp donor hair I am hoping body and beard hair can help greatly in improving my present situation. My experience at the BHR clinic in Brussels was more then I could have ever hoped it would be. The clinic was both honest and open and lays the truth right on the table for all to see. Sometimes the truth might not be what we want to hear, but it is the truth. The fact is you need the truth in order to make an educated and informed decision. I found with most of the other clinics the truth is somewhat blurred by the desire for profit. Some will assume I am biased, after all this was a pro bono offer that I received from BHR. In all honesty if I were given this same offer by some of the other clinics I have consulted with, I would have had to decline. I have just seen too many red flags to ever feel comfortable. I simply could not afford to make a mistake and be wrong. I needed only the absolute best clinic and doctor in the world to perform this work. I could not let distance be a roadblock. In all sincerity I could not give false praise and cause another human to go through what I and other victims have gone through. I have personally spoken to many of the repair patients we have all seen on many of the forums. To this day they are still portrayed as success cases. Many of them in reality are very disappointed in both their results and the treatment they received. They hide in the shadows and are afraid to reveal the truth for too many reasons that others here would have a hard time understanding. Being repeatedly taken advantage of and being victimized is only something another victim can truly understand. It gives one a sense of shame that they carry around for a lifetime. It’s not something someone can be very proud of let alone write about. Over the years I have seen hideous body scarring, doctors with God like attitudes, clinics knowingly using deceptive advertising where their showcase results actually failed in the long run, clinics with little to no fue experience or using extremely large punches, hairlines meant for a 12 year old boy with little regard for future needs, forums that deleted threads that didn’t suit their bottom line, doctors that cancelled consultations at the drop of a hat with little regard for the prospective patient and clinics that actually used pictures of results that were not their own. These are not things I saw 25 years ago when I got butchered, but they are going on today as I write. To believe that people are not still being victimized is na?ve, but I can also understand how easy it is to be deceived. The clinics and forums have a moral and ethical obligation not to mislead. But unfortunately when there are substantial amounts of money involved, greed rears it’s ugly head. One only needs to look at the news headlines the last few years. It goes on in almost every industry, including the practice of medicine. It very easy to take advantage of someone who has hope, it’s the easy road. Couple that with the highest risk takers out there, males in the 18-29 age group. One can then see how lucrative the hair transplant business can be. BHR takes the road less traveled, the high road and in the end I think it’s just a matter of time before this becomes evident to others. Dr. Bisanga has the highest degree of ethics, because that is who he is as person. As I said before, he is an absolute master at what he does. This is a skill that can only be honed from years of hard work and repetition, along with being gifted with a natural ability. It’s no wonder that other doctors seek to be trained by him and learn the secret to his skill. But this skill is simply not something that can be acquired in a few weeks or months, but takes years. Repetition is the mother of skill and it’s only with time that it can be achieved. Dr. Bisanga will not sacrifice his ethics for a little more profit. He lives by the Hippocratic oath and he will do no harm, nor will he be involved with others that potentially might do harm. Of course I have seen other clinics that use drills, or new mechanical type extracting devices. But I have also seen too many unproven techniques and therapies over the years that didn’t quite pan out and are easily forgotten along with their victims. I couldn’t afford the luxury of being a test patient or a victim once again. I needed to have something and someone that had had proven results over the long term. Sure these new ways of extracting grafts might lower costs, but I will leave that for others to experience and wish you all the best in the experiment. I have experimented enough when I was younger and no longer have the will nor the intestinal fortitude to test the waters. I like to think that I have done my share and helped pave the way for the advancement of hair transplants. But it has come at a tremendous personal cost, both financially and emotionally. I never imagined in my wildest dreams that I would be traveling to Europe to have my repair work done. It just never occurred to me that the solution to my predicament would be anywhere except what I thought to be the greatest country in the world, the United States of America. I always felt in the area of medicine, the USA was the most advanced and compassionate. Well it took a clinic and a great doctor on the other side of the world to change my view. The Procedure When I got to the hotel in Brussels I will admit I was starting to feel a little doubtful. All these terrible feelings started to come back to me from my first ht 25 years ago. I stayed in a hotel all alone after that procedure and was anxiety ridden by what I had done. That one mistake 25 years ago was life altering for me. It’s only something another victim of a bad hair transplant can understand. I asked myself what was I doing here in Brussels, and thought maybe I was making just another mistake. It turns out this was one of the best decisions I could have ever made. I am truly ecstatic with what Dr. Bisanga has done for me. The clinic and the staff went well beyond my expectations and my stay in Brussels was very enjoyable. Dr. Bisanga was able to extract a total of 828 grafts. 490 scalp, 238 beard, and 100 chest fue's. I never even thought about doing that many body and beard extractions. I thought about doing only 10 each before I left the USA, I was just too uncertain about potential scarring. But after meeting and speaking with Dr. Bisanga I felt very comfortable leaving my fate in his hands. I was that impressed by both his character and ability. Well I am thrilled to say there were absolutely no signs that any surgery was even performed and this was after only a couple of weeks. Dr Bisanga doesn’t need machines to extract fue’s, he is literally a machine himself. I say this with no exaggeration. He extracts fue’s with the greatest of ease. The healing has been amazing and is still hard to believe. I actually went out to eat at a local restaurant the very next day. It was unnoticeable that quickly even with over 200 beard hair extractions. I have seen plenty of pictures of body hair extractions, and the results were never this good. The donor areas always seemed still quite red even a month later. At this point in time I have zero visible evidence of any extractions being made. Phil at BHR is an incredible source of knowledge and information on the ht business. I encourage each and every person who is considering surgery to do your self a favor and tap into this base of knowledge. He is happy to share and help others. Regardless of if you use the services of BHR or not, you will be armed with knowledge and be able to make a better decision. Phil is a very good-hearted and kind person. After speaking with him I got the impression that he is equally disgusted by what he sees transpiring in the ht business. I believe he is helping to try and change it. But the business will not change without a fight. It will go kicking and screaming. Stephen is one of the nicest and friendliest people you will ever have the chance to meet. I was able to view his 7000 fue work up close within inches. It is absolutely impossible to tell that any surgery was ever performed in both the donor or recipient areas. The rest of the staff at BHR was fantastic. Each and every one of them excels at their work. Dr. Hesam, Leith, Natasha, Genta, and Katarina make up part of an amazing team that simply gels together. I am already planning my next procedure in my mind. I have every intention of being back in Brussels Jan 2011. Of course my situation is different then most. I am limited in what can be achieved and will more then likely still need to use a concealer. I have just made too many poor choices in the past. But I would like to take my repair work as far as it can go. To all the repair patients, there is hope. To all those considering their first procedure, take your time, become informed, and don’t believe the hype. As I write this I am currently at the 4-month mark. I must say that I am very pleased with the growth and it has made quite a difference for me even at this early stage.

Hi Tsakalos, I have zero visible scarring and I have already been out in the Sun this year. So of course I was worried about white dots plainly be evident if my skin got darker. This simply was not the case. Maybe it's just the way I heal, but I would attribute it more to the skill and size of punches being used. I say this because I have plenty of scars on my body just from everyday life that are clearly evident. I would reccommend Dr. Bisanga and I would also reccommend just do a small test. I just corresponded with someone recently that had beard hair work done by a very well know repair doctor here in the USA. He has white dotting and in fact was told that would be the case. I have to assume a larger punch was used. Maybe this doctor simply does not have the skill to use a smaller punch. This statment is not meant to bash but to inform. Here is a link to my pictures, take a look for yourself. I will be posting some more at the 4 month mark in about 1 week. Check out my Follow My Repair Thread, I will be updating it with a condensed history of my past. http://tinyurl.com/y8m256z

Sierra, I think you have some decent growth. I do think that the scarring on your arm should be considered unacceptable. I am just guessing but it looks like the punch size might have been too big. I might catch some heat for this but I think a true master at fue develops a feel for it over years and this gives them the ability to use a smaller punch where required. Those not so skilled need to use a larger punch to extract a viable hair. Here is a link to my pictures. I was really worried about any scarring to both the face or body and this is why it took me 10 years to find the right doctor for me. http://tinyurl.com/y8m256z

I can only speak for myself and what I believe through my own experience. I would rather do my own research and talk to the doctors and patients myself. Maybe others feel comfortable with recommendations that are filtered by some type of organization. If it works for them, great. I'm sure it saves a lot of time. I have seen some doctors that are recommended on other sites by similar types of filtering systems. Yet these same doctors have many complaints. If fact I saw one patient that had 3 huge strip scars running across the back of his head. Yet someone the doctor thought this was fine. I'm also sure that you have had to boot out a doctor or two over time, which is commendable. But what about the patients that suffered along the way. This is just the way I see things. I know that you have the best interest of prospective patients at heart. But nothing is full proof.

I would like to add that whether a doctor is part of a coalition or not has no effect on my decision in choosing them. This is not a personal attack on the coalition. I'm sure there are some great doctors in the group. But it has been my experience that some of the very doctors that butchered me were also part of some type of group that supposedly gave them credibility. Some of them have written books or have published articles in peer reviewed journals. It means absolutely nothing to me. It's all part of the marketing of this business. Too many fail to understand this point. I would rather meet the doctor and the staff and judge by my own interaction. I would also speak to as many patients that have used that particular doctor as possible. Preferably off the forums where people tend to speak more openly and honestly and view as much as the doctors work as possible. It's also important to ask as many questions as possible and closely listen to the response. Any sign of a red flag, move on, in fact run for your life.

Bill, that's too bad. I have found the clinic to be highly ethical along with being highly skilled in fue. I have consulted with most of the top fue and bht clinics here in the USA. I always saw a red flag here and there and with some of the clinics my consultation was less then pleasant, no need to go into detail. I don't like to be too negative, but that was my experience and from my conversations with past patients of some of the same clinics my intuition was right. I will say that there are a couple of really good strip doctors here in the USA that I would go to, but unfortunately I don't have that luxury. This is just my opinion, and of course my experience in the world of HT is different then most.

Thanks for the well wishes 1966kph. So far I am very pleased with the growth of the intial 828 fue's. I can't say enough about the ethics and skill of the BHR clinic. I feel very comfortable moving forward with more chest and beard hair, now that I know it will grow and that I will not have any visible scarring. I think 2-3 more procedures, along with a final procedure using some more scalp donor will really make a difference. I would encourage anyone considering fue to consult with BHR. You will walk away with a wealth of information that will be very helpful in your final decision.

Link to picture showing progress at 4 months. Thank you for the support. I plan on going back to BHR sometime in Jan/2011 for a 2nd procedure using more chest and beard hair. Then eventually using any available scalp donor that's left somewhere down the line. The growth so far has really helped with my use of a concealer.

On the bright side the closure looks pretty good and you have not depleted your donor area. You need to forget about the money spent and any future costs to get the result you want at the moment. First and foremost you must treat your donor area as very precious. You do not get any second chances. Do some research and talk to and see patients in person. If you do not see patients in person you will never truly know what a hair transplant really looks like. Don't do anything until you have done the research, found the right doctor, and can afford the outcome you desire. The forums are fine for gathering information, but they are also used as a tool to sell the procedure.

See the attachment for a picture at 3 months. The beard and chest hair were placed towards the crown.

Hi Albion, I recently underwent a procedure with BHR in Brussels where 200 beard grafts were used along with some chest hair. This was basically just enough grafts to test the growth and assess any potential scarring. I am happy to say I have zero visable scarring and the beard hair for the most part did not even go into the resting phase and continues to grow. You can view some of my picuture on the following link. http://tinyurl.com/y8m256z Since I am forced to use a conealer because of my situation, the hairs that have grown have made a big difference. I am hoping to have a second procedure sometime in Jan/2011. I would definitely say that if you don't have the available scalp donor, that beard hair can make quite a difference. I persoanally don't find it to be any coarser then my own head hair, but I'm sure each person is different. Just make sure you go to somebody that knows what they are doing. Of course I highly reccommnend BHR.

I recently had my first repair procedure with BHR. The healing was absolutely unbelieveable. This includes having 200 fue extracted from the chin. Here is a link to the pictures. ttp://tinyurl.com/y8m256z

Runman, there are many patients that are extremely unhappy with the results they have received from some of the so called top docs. Most of them do not post for various reasons but they are out there and I have spoken to quite a few. This is one of the reasons it took me 10 years to start any type of repair and I decided to go to Dr. Bisanga in Brussels and I live here in the USA. In my opinion there wasn't anyone here in the USA that had the ethics or skill that I needed. I investigated most of the top repair and fue doctors and always saw a red flag here and there. I was also lucky enough to win an offer of pro bono work because I am a repair patient. The offer had actually nothing to do with my choice but it did make getting started earlier much easier. Talk to as many people in person and on the phone as possible and keep an eye open for any type of red flag when dealing with a clinic. Bauman wanted to charge me for just a consultation, red flag. He uses some type of new unproven device for fue and charges more then experienced doctors that have skill and use proven methods, red flag.

Very nice result. I'm sure it was worth the wait.

It's interesting to watch the debate on this particular machine. Personally I would never try it, but I'm not in a position to waste donor. What I find most interesting about the whole debate is the huge interest in developing new tools and machines to make the procedure easier for clinics and doctors that have such a hard time in performing the procedure. I think too much time and effort is being place on trying to make it easier, while not enough time is being placed on developing ability. I guess developing ability is the hard road. But it certainly does confirm my beliefs that the procedure itself is superior in the right hands.

Yes I think there are just not enough patients attempting that high a number to know if it's going to be the rule but my guess is that it will come in time. But you are right I really wasn't addressing that point. I was addressing just the point of scarring as asked by the original poster. I can see where scarring would not be a problem because Dr. Bisanga extracted the 200 fue from just the chin area of my face and like I said there is no visible scarring. Can all ht doctors achieve this probably not. That's why it's so important to do the research. Thanks for giving me the chance to clear this up.

I think maybe you misunderstood me. I didn't write that 7000 fue was the rule. What I was trying to say was that I had 200 fue extracted from my face in a very concentrated area. In that area I have no visible scarring. I attibute this to the skill of the surgeon. I can see where more sessions over time will have the same result. I was just trying to address the original poster's question on fue and scarring. Bascially they are relying on opinions of others. Since I have been around so long and seen so much I thought I would just offer my help. So I think if he wants a ht and needs to shave down on occasion, fue is the way to go, but just to be careful on who he picks to perform the surgery. I hope this helps clear things up.

I had 200 fue extracted from my face in a fairly small area and there is no visible scarring. I think you can take that same area, extrapolate it and easily see how 7000 fue can be extracted from the scalp and I would far from consider myself the exception to the rule. I plan on extracting anywhere from 300-500 fue from my face on my next procedure and I will be sure to post the results so that others my learn. I would be the last person in the world to post something that I thought would harm others or be considered dangerous. I have been through too much in this crooked industry and would never wish this on anyone. I have plenty of repair patients that have become my friends, and we all know this too well. But as I said I have also seen terrible scarring from fue by other doctors. So for me personally it comes down to the skill and ethics of the surgeon. But this is just my opinion and I have seen much over the last 25 years. But I really have to thank and respect you for allowing me to state it.

Okay, no visable scarring. For those interested here are some pictures of my healing process. Hopefully this will help address the original poster's concern of scarring. As you can see the little that can be seen of the strip scars, clearly stands out. http://tinyurl.com/y8m256z

Bill, I agree it all does comes down to having a skilled surgeon perform the work. I also agree with spreading the work out and just doing small sessions. I did see a patient that had over 7000 fue's. He cuts his hair very short, I guess that would be a 1 or 2 guard. It looks incredible and is absolutely impossible for the most seasoned ht veteran to tell any work has been done. I viewed this work in daylight at a distance of only a few inches. The work was done by Dr. Bisanga and was incredible. I don't think anyone if they had a chance to view this work would ever opt for a strip, but this is just my opinion. In the end everyone needs to do what is best for them.

I agree with what you wrote. I probably should not have stated that there are no down sides to fue. I believe all those downsides such as cost, donor availabilty, and not being a canidate all exist for too many clinics now offering the procedure. I think where we differ is that it is my opinion that it is not the procedure that is flawed, but it is that some of the doctors and clinics that performing the procedure are flawed. But I can only speak from my own experience over the last 25 years and I always try to have an open mind. Sometimes I am shocked by what I see still happening in this industry. I still stand by my statement that I have had 200 fue's extracted from my face by Dr. Bisanga and I have no scarring along with 100 fue's from my chest. In fact I went out to a local restaurant for dinner the day after the procedure and I felt very comfortable.

I would say that there are no downsides to fue. I had 200 fue taken from my face and I have no scarring. But it all depends on who is doing the extractions. I have seen some very bad scarring to the body from other doctors so of course it is very possible in the wrong hands. I have also seen scarring to scalp that was just as bad and this was from doctors that are promoted as the best in the business. As far as yield, I would also agree that in the wrong hands you probably will not have as good a yield as from a competent doctor. So the question becomes not so much about choosing fue, but how to choose a competent and caring doctor. It took me 10 years before I could seperate fact from fiction and make the right choice and I am a 25 year veteran of the ht industry. I have had the giant punch grafts, strips, scalp lifts and reductions so I speak from experience. I also care enough about other people that I don't want to see them make a mistake or ruin their life so somebody can make a few dollars, so take your time.