arfy

I don't recommend HT for everybody but if you do decide to get one, it's important to get only Follicular Unit grafts, because they look the most natural. Other grafts like Minigrafts need to be concealed with remaining hair, or "FU" grafts, so they are counter-productive IMO, you should avoid them. FU grafts look natural no matter which way the wind blows, unlike Minigrafts, so if you want a little flexibilty with your styling options (and a more natural result) stick with "only" Follicular Unit grafts. Read the article "The Best Procedure" on this site, to learn why FU grafts are superior. Recently MHR (Medical Hair Restoration) has begun to claim that their grafts are "the same" as Follicular Unit grafts. (They are not the same, BTW). Because FU grafts are considered the best, there are probably other doctors and clinics who are trying to "jump on the bandwagon" so do some research, and be careful. If you look at Pat's "Find a Great Surgeon" list, you will see that the list of doctors that are worth seeing is pitifully short. Be careful. Also, keep in mind that HT just move hair from the back to the front, no new hair is created, and the amount of coverage and density you can expect is going to be limited. You're not going to get a full or bushy head of hair from a HT. If you get a good one, it will look natural, and give an illusion of coverage. Some of the good ones I've seen create a look as if the fellow had some hair loss and recession, but yet he has still managed to hold on to a decent amount of hair. (that's what I mean when I say a good HT creates an illusion). As far as growing HT hair long and combing it back, I think it is very possible. I think that is a good look for many guys, but make sure that if you do decide to get a HT, that you use a surgeon who does an excellent job with hairlines. (The quality of surgeons varies dramatically.) Many doctors like to concentrate on the "frontal forelock" with the idea that the patient will comb his hair straight back, covering up (sort of) the sparse or bald areas, somewhat. (The Jack Nicholson look). If you want to "do some homework" you should read through the previous forums, as well as go to the "Find a Great Doctor" section, and read all of those doctors' web sites. (Don't just read the summary that you get here, actually visit the doctors' websites and read them through).Most of the good doctors have very informative sites, because they really want to work with informed patients. I've noticed that many times the worse the doctor is, the more emphasis their website has on sales and marketing, whereas the better doctors really do want to inform the public,and really want to discuss the techniques that set them apart. Even if a doctor is not near you, look over his site, because you will start to form opinions on techniques and approaches. You will also see what might be the best results you can hope for, from an excellent doctor. Maybe you should read the Doctors' websites first, so you will have some background knowledge to help understand what is being discussed in the forums. If you are not a total newbie to HT, I would still read those websites, there is some interesting stuff there. Also, one other website I can recommend. Not to be negative, but you should look at www.BosleyMedicalViolations.com to see what some of the pitfalls and traps can be used against you. In my opinion, many of the other big franchises like MHR and NuHart use similar tactics against patients, and should be avoided at all costs. There are also some excellent scientific articles in the "Research Library" section of this site. They are a little technical sometimes, but I think most guys should be able to understand them. But first read up on the basics, in my opinion. There are a few basic concepts guys need to understand, in order to get the most out of the Research Library. If you have any specific questions, ask away. If you do decide to get a HT, make sure you have seen LOTS of examples of that doctor's work, "in person". That's the best way to judge their skills. Good Luck. [This message was edited by arfy on March 24, 2002 at 12:45 AM.]

Hi Bald guy I'm not sure about your case, but I think Finasteride would be worth trying. If you have any hair worth saving, Finasteride should be helpful, to maintain the hair you still have left. And saving that hair is absolutely worth the effort. You should try to maintain that hair whether you get a hair transplant or not. A hair transplant will not be able to provide 100% coverage of a completely bald head, so if you don't allow yourself to become completely bald, you will be better off. Think about trying Finasteride for six months or a year, and see if it slows (or stops) your hairloss. If so, it is worth continuing. And if you do respond to Finasteride, you should keep using it after a hair transplant too, if you decide to go that route. If I were you, I would look at the "Find a Great Surgeon" section of the website, and read every single website that each doctor has. The website for NHI (Dr. Bernstein, Rassman, Jones, McLellan etc) is especially informative. For example you can see the scarring that open donor surgery causes: http://www.newhair.com/ I would suggest that you spend some time reading about the philosophies of the recommended doctors, and you will learn quite a bit, and you will begin to form some ideas of your own. (I hope you read "The Best Procedure" that I mentioned). The best thing is to learn as much about hair transplants and hair loss as you can. Then you will be able to come up with your own plan of action. Don't get an old-fashoned hair transplant. It is better to be a natural-looking bald person, than to have anything less than a top-quality hair transplant. Otherwise you will not look natural, and you will not be happy with your results. And your experience with Dr. Goyle should show you that there are predatory doctors out there, who do not do high quality surgery. Most of the doctors in the field fall into this category, so avoid them. Look at the "Find a Great Surgeon" list, and be careful.

It is at www.goylecosmeticsurgery.com/ First, it doesn't appear to me that Dr. Goyle is using modern methods. It says you can have a choice of a regular hair transplant, or a "Micro" hair transplant. If the regular hair transplant uses an "open donor" method, you should absolutely NOT get that. It is a barbaric practice that has thankfully become outdated in the west. In a modern procedure, the doctor removes a strip of hair-bearing flesh from the back, and sews the gap closed. Then the strip is dissected into grafts. This is called a "strip excision" method. In the old "open donor" technique, the way of harvesting grafts was to remove them individually with a punch, and let the individual gaps heal up without sutures. In the open-donor method, the doctor does not remove a strip. Do not get the open-donor method, you will regret it. Open donor harvesting creates massive scarring on the back of the patient's head. Because Dr. Goyle's website makes no mention of removing sutures, I suspect that he DOES practice open donor harvesting. If this is true, you should not use Dr. Goyle! His results will not be natural looking. It is better to look natural, with a bald head, than to have an unnatural looking hair transplant! Also, it says that Dr. Goyle can do scalp reductions. Bald Guy, please do yourself a favor and do NOT under any circumstances get a scalp reduction. They are horrific operations, and they only create big scars. They have no cosmetic benefit, and most U.S. doctors refuse to perform them anymore. It looks like India might not be up to the level of the US when it comes to modern hair transplantation. If that is the case, you should either live with your baldness, or travel to see one of the modern practitioners. If I were you, I would look at the "Find a Great Surgeon" section of this site, and see if there are any doctors you could possibly travel to see. [This message was edited by arfy on March 15, 2002 at 02:55 AM.]

Hi Bald Guy You should find a doctor who uses Follicular Unit grafts, first and foremost. I don't know anything about the doctors in India, it is possible that you will have to travel for this, but it is absolutely worth the extra effort. Many doctors do not know or use this technique (FU grafts) but if you read the article "The Best Procedure" on this website, it will explain why the FU transplant is considered "state of the art". There are also several good scientific articles in the Research Library section. Unfortunately the majority of the hair transplants being done are NOT state-of the art, so be careful. Regarding your questions... when the grafts are first placed in the scalp, they are quite short, mabe a few millimeters. What usually happens is that the grafts are stable for a few weeks, then they go into a "dormant phase" where the new hairs fall out, and nothing happens for several weeks. Then they will begin to grow. This waiting period is different for every person, but I believe 10 weeks is considered typical, before you start to see the hairs emerge again. Also, you may know that human hair grows about a half-inch per month or so. So it is not a quick process. The doctor who said that your scar will "vanish". That is impossible, a scar does not vanish. I believe after ten days, the sutures in the donor area are removed. If the doctor uses dissolving sutures, I believe it can take up to a month in some cases for them to dissolve. However your scar will not "vanish". Many guys say they let their hair grow, and it covers the scar with no problems. This is one big reason to be careful when choosing your doctor- some doctors are not as good as others when it comes to "donor closure". You will always have a scar in the donor area though, it does not "vanish". My suggestion to you is to ask your doctor to meet some of his recent patients in person, as many as possible. Not just one or two guys who work in his office, but "real patients". You need to see his work up close, from all different angles, in order to really judge his skills. If the doctor is good, he should have lots of ecstatic patients who would be happy to meet with you. Look them over thoroughly. Don't just use photos to make your decision, see the actual patients, hopefully ones who had your same pattern and amount of hair loss if possible. This "personal viewing" and Follicular Unit grafts (only FUs, not a mix of different types) are both critical to making a decision. It is possible that you will not find a single surgeon in New Delhi who will satisfy these two requirements. You might have to travel, if you don't want to settle for something mediocre. And you should not settle for anything less than excellence, as you will have to live with your results for the rest of your life. As we all know too well, a person's hair is one of the first things someone will notice about you. I hope you find an excellent surgeon. Just out of curiousity, where do you fit on the Norwood scale? And are you using Finasteride? Age? Good Luck.

You might want to start your own Roy Jones thread. That will have the best odds of attracting the attention of Roy Jones patients. It is very possible that nobody currently reading this forum has used Roy Jones. That should not deter you from using him, if you think you've decided he's "top-notch". But adding your inquiry to various other threads is probably not going to help. I bet almost everyone who reads the forum will read "the whole forum". You're not being ignored or overlooked, it's just that we don't have any feedback for you. One or two comments I can make about Roy Jones. I believe he uses an "all-FU grafts" procedure, which is a very good sign. He is also recommended by this website, and he is also a member of the IAHRS, which are votes of confidence as well. Try doing a search on Google to see what else you can find. The best thing would be to meet as many former patients as possible, though. You have to see the results in person, from all angles. And not just the guys who happen to work in the office, I mean outside patients. Ask Dr. Jones' office to assist you with some contacts, as many as possible.

Graftcyte has copper peptides, which supposedly help you heal faster. Your doctor will typically give you some after your surgery, enough to last a few weeks. I think you can order some over the web, do a search on "Procyte" and "Graftcyte". I believe it's fairly expensive, but remember you are only needing a small amount. A four-ounce bottle will last a month or so. Also, ask your doctor if they might have any samples. I heard Nioxin makes your hair feel nice, but if I am not mistaken it is marketed as a way to help "keep" your natural hair, and for that it probably does nothing. I don't think it will aid in healing like Graftcyte does.

I looked at the photos you pointed out...if I were you, I would hold off for now. I don't think you are bald enough to get a hair transplant. If I were you, I'd use Propecia and maybe Minoxidil, and halt the recession if possible. Your situation seems similar to a poster named CarlosM, look for his posts. In my opinion, hair transplants are a last resort, they should not be used for touch-ups and fill-ins. A good HT hairline will not look all that different than the hairline you pointed out- deeply recessed temples, recessed hairlines. Because the HT hairline will still need to look "age-appropriate" at age 50, a "mature" recessed hairline is the correct one for a HT. What little additional coverage you would get from filling in the temples, is not worth "committing yourself" to HT, in my opinion. I already went over some of the reasons I say this, in my answer to Carlos, so I will post a link to some of those threads. You will see that there are some HT doctors who agree that HT are not always the right choice for a guy who wants to just reinforce the hairline. I've heard "don't even consider getting a HT until you are at least a NW3 or above" and I'm not sure you're there yet. Okay, I thought I could link to the threads, but instead you should look at the post from CarlosM in the "Post Your Own Hair Transplant Photos" forum. (Also, you could try looking for his other threads, by clicking on the little "filecard & man" icon on one of his posts, if you want to read even more about his situation, which seemes similar to yours). Look at Pat (site administrator's) photos in the "My Recovery Story". Pat was a good candidate, he was not trying to just bolster his temples. He was a NW 3 or 4. Personally, Foxworth, I don't think you are bald enough for a HT yet. You should try to work with what you've got, and hold off for now. You can always go for it later on. HT is one time in life where you lose nothing by waiting, and thinking it over. Good luck. [This message was edited by arfy on March 05, 2002 at 03:55 PM.]

From what I understand, both Minoxidil and propecia "can" both work on the frontal hairline, but for legal reasons they cannot make any claims about frontal regrowth. (They were not clinically tested on this area). However both drugs do work on the frontal hairlines in certain cases, although I believe more guys will actually respond in the crown area. Maybe you are one of the lucky ones though. If you have been receding or thinning more recently, your chances are better for responding than a guy who has been bald for years. If I were you (a young guy, based on your name) I would use both Propecia and Minoxidil. Even if I was considering a Hair transplant. Remember, it is crucial that if you do decide to get a HT, that you maintain as much of your original hair as possible, both before AND after the surgery.

I'm not a doctor, but you adressed your question to "Veterans, Doctors, Anyone..." so I'll put in my 3 cents. Our situations are similar. I don't see a huge difference between the three opinions you've reported getting in your post, except one doc would not excise any frontal grafts, and the other two would. The "line excision" is more aggressive, and leaves a more recognizable scar. (Which obviously gets camoflaged with grafts). It's really a judgement call whether that type of approach is called for, and it's hard to offer an opinion on that, based on the photos I see on the site here. A lot of this is a matter of opinion, and different doctors have different approaches. What is "right" for you may not be so easy to decide. I'm not sure, but it seems like you might have "too much" density in front, (in relation to the "all-over" results you'll eventually get) so my guess (and it is only a guess) is that some graft "redistribution" would be a good thing. However I have a bias towards a thin coverage with more distribution, rather than a thick hairline with a large bald area behind it. (The Joe Biden look... I don't care for it personally). I would say find a doctor who you trust, first and foremost, whose goals seems to jibe with what would be acceptable goals for you. Pick a top doctor, obviously. Keep in mind that the repair process is done in stages, if you use the "selective excision" approach (not the line excision) so you are not "jumping off a cliff" by going forward with that. If you do the line excision, it's more dramatic and more aggressive. I can't tell if that's what you should do, though, it may very well be. It's a tough call. It doesn't hurt anything to wait, and think things over. Just pick a top-notch doctor, if you decide to go through with repairs. Ideally every step you take would be an immediate improvement, so if you stop at some point you won't be "in-between" steps. If you can't decide what to do, keep talking to doctors, keep researching, keep thinking things over. Give yourself plenty of time to make up your mind. On the plus side, it seems like your hair is coarse, which is positive. Are you trying to do this in Northern California, or could you travel? I don't know if you are up for travelling for this, but I would throw a couple of names out for you, as a possible docs to consult with: Dr. McLellan at NHI in Los Angeles. And if you haven't considered him already, you might think about Dr. Woods in Australia. He is controversial, but I've seen photos of an amazing repair job he did. [This message was edited by arfy on March 05, 2002 at 12:03 AM.]

Doctors and consultants often purposely underestimate how many grafts you will ultimately need. Their main goal is to get you started down the surgical route. If they were to be honest and tell a guy he'll need four surgeries of 1000 grafts, and it will cost him at least 24 grand, that could possibly scare him off. So instead they say you need one session, of a few hundred grafts. Then later, they tell you you need "fill-in" work. Maybe they'll say that you look fine, but "you may want to choose" to go for more density. Meanwhile, they know full well from experience, that one session would not be enough to satisfy you. The whole point is to get you to sign up for the first session, because there is no turning back once you do.

before you go for surgery, you should be already using Propecia and Minoxidil. Try that for at least a year, even two years, before you start to think about surgery. Are you already on Propecia? Even if you decide to get a HT, you should keep using it. You want to hang on to all of your remaining hair. Surgery is a last resort for guys who are significantly bald, and who didn't get results from drug treatments.

Thanks for the reply, Pat. This fellow posted my age (wrong) and location in a forum, which is troubling. (like "I know who you are!") It's an implied threat that he can find out more about me, and reveal it. This guy plays dirty and I wouldn't put it past him. About Dr. McAndrews, his post was a bolt out of the blue, and I was pretty surprised. I've been thinking his offer over. Since I've never even heard of him until recently, I've been looking at his site and asking around, to see if anyone I know, knows about him. His site does look impressive, that is to say he seems like an excellent doctor based on his philosophy and approach. There's a few things I need to discuss with Dr. McAndrews, and I've been waiting for some feedback to come in on him, before I call. But here's some of the issues, since you seem interested. First, I've already seen a doctor who does corrective work. He's taken "some" of my big grafts and broken them up into FUs. This may already disqualify me from Dr. McAndrews' offer. Because he said "if I haven't already had corrective work done". This graft removal-redistribution is a relatively slow process (20-30 big grafts only, can be done each session) and I've already had 2 of these "minisessions". Just being honest here. This next part is important...I am happy with my current doctor. So far I am extremely impressed with the quality of the repair work, and I seem to like my doc "on a personal level" as well. I'm not really interested in "jumping ship". Even though I am financially strapped right now. Also, Dr. McAndrews stipulated that I would tell my story on the internet when I was done. I think I will do that, but I want to "be in control of my own story." I wouldn't be happy to be portrayed as an example of "what is good about hair transplants", for example. My current doctor has no stipulations, (although he is not working on me for free). However my view on "what the problems are with transplants", has never been just that "no one will give me a free one". I don't know if I'm expressing that correctly. Even a free one can be a bad decision, (though in my case corrective work will almost certainly help.) Which brings up my other issue. My current doctor told me my donor area is ravaged, and I still have a huge amount of area to cover. The yield I got from my current grafts, in relation to the overall scarring in the donor area (open donor) is poor. (there's not a lot of yield, and severe scarring in the donor area). My doctor thinks that with all that area to cover, I should still only be able to get something like 2000 FU grafts in total. As you know, that's not a lot of grafts, that is what is typically considered (just slightly more than) "one normal FU session", and most guys will want 2 or 3 sessions probably, when they are as bald as I am. So I will never have a "great" result, no matter what. In other words I was "ruined" by my first doctor. I currently wear a hat every day of my life. I am sure that I will still want or need a hat after a corrective surgery. So I haven't felt the need to rush into the surgical chair (or spend the money) because I know I won't be satisfied afterwards, anyway. Will I look "better"... certainly. Will that be good enough to forget about my hair finally... definitely not. I am in a "no-win" situation. Maybe this will explain my interest in Dr. Woods' method, as he seems to do especially well with desperate cases like me. Not to open that debate up again, but this should explain why I think his approach is interesting, if not crucial, to someone like me. This may be "more information than people want to know" about me, but I figured at some point I would be asked if I took up Dr. McAndrews' offer, and why or why not. At this point I will never rush into a HT surgery again, based on the encouragement of a doctor, or anyone else. (And I recommend a "no-hurry" approach to ANYONE considering this surgery). I want to do things at my pace. I may call Dr. McAndrews to find out about speaking to his students. That was, honestly, one of the things that appealed to me about his offer. I doubt I would go in front of the general public and tell my story. But I think future HT surgeons need to know that they have the power to ruin lives, by doing substandard work on people. I'll keep you posted, I am on vacation for two weeks though, as of now.

Hi Pat I post on a few different websites. On a couple of them I use a different name than Arfy. What can I say, I have some free time right now. LOL. I often post anonymously, in forums where no log in is required. I'm not trying to be "Arfy the expert", I'm just trying to learn new things, and exchange information, not promote some "alter-ego". I've been posting on a different website, and been having a "war of words" with a guy who is a website administrator for a third-party site I don't like very much. (Basically I think his site is poor, but more than that this guy is a sneaky low down dirty-tricks-playing rat). In fact, Pat, you have clashed with him yourself, in the past, and I made a point of standing up for you. He used to write "slams" of you in his forum, then say "I invite Pat to respond to these serious charges". Then when you DID respond, he would delete your post which made it look like you couldn't stand up for yourself! I thought that was pretty outrageous, and I haven't forgotten that is how this jerk runs his website. But now, apparently, this guy has been digging around and has posted personal information about me, on the internet, as a way to attack me. Somehow he knows my IP address, and knows that I post on your site as "Arfy". I've looked at my posts, and I don't see an IP address. I've always assumed that my posts here were private, that I could make posts in confidence that my privacy would not be revealed. I find it hard to believe you would give this fellow "ammunition" that he would try to use, to hurt me, since I know you have seen he doesn't play fair. I think it is crucial that if people post in online forums like this, that their privacy will not be abused by the site administrators. I don't know what to make of this, since I do post as Arfy on other sites. But he did say that I am "Arfy from Hair Transplant Network", and then he gave out my age (wrong) and location (also wrong but close!) on the internet. I find this disturbing. Pat, what should I make of this?

Hi Pat I post on a few different websites. On a couple of them I use a different name than Arfy. What can I say, I have some free time right now. LOL. I often post anonymously, in forums where no log in is required. I'm not trying to be "Arfy the expert", I'm just trying to learn new things, and exchange information, not promote some "alter-ego". I've been posting on a different website, and been having a "war of words" with a guy who is a website administrator for a third-party site I don't like very much. (Basically I think his site is poor, but more than that this guy is a sneaky low down dirty-tricks-playing rat). In fact, Pat, you have clashed with him yourself, in the past, and I made a point of standing up for you. He used to write "slams" of you in his forum, then say "I invite Pat to respond to these serious charges". Then when you DID respond, he would delete your post which made it look like you couldn't stand up for yourself! I thought that was pretty outrageous, and I haven't forgotten that is how this jerk runs his website. But now, apparently, this guy has been digging around and has posted personal information about me, on the internet, as a way to attack me. Somehow he knows my IP address, and knows that I post on your site as "Arfy". I've looked at my posts, and I don't see an IP address. I've always assumed that my posts here were private, that I could make posts in confidence that my privacy would not be revealed. I find it hard to believe you would give this fellow "ammunition" that he would try to use, to hurt me, since I know you have seen he doesn't play fair. I think it is crucial that if people post in online forums like this, that their privacy will not be abused by the site administrators. I don't know what to make of this, since I do post as Arfy on other sites. But he did say that I am "Arfy from Hair Transplant Network", and then he gave out my age (wrong) and location (also wrong but close!) on the internet. I find this disturbing. Pat, what should I make of this?

But forums like this get 'spammed" all the time, by people trying to promote "their" clinic. Usually the spammers make vague compliments, because they want to encourage people to think a hair transplant is a mindless "stroll in the park". Your first post was mostly about how friendly the folks at the clinic were. That's nice to hear but not really anything worth reporting on, because "all" of the clinics act nice to their patients. Every clinic is "friendly". That's not enough information to go on, to say "I recommend them". This last post of yours is much more informative- how many grafts and that type of thing. It's nice of you to share your experiences, but the more "specific" posts are the type which can actually help people inform themselves. I hope everything works out for you, and you are happy with your results. But before you give Dr. Frayser the thumbs-up to everyone, give yourself some time to see what your results actually are. Usually everything seems fine "at first". It can take months to really interpret how good your doctor was. Thank you, and good luck to you.

Thanks, but knowing a lot about "bad hair transplants" isn't anything to be proud of. Anyway, I hope you can watch the show, and post your comments.

This Sunday February 10th, at 7:00 on Discovery, there is a re-broadcast of the show "Cosmetic Surgery Gone Wrong - The Risks of Plastic Surgery", which features a segment about HT. They talk with Dr. Bernstein, who repairs a guy who had poor results with non-FU grafts. There is also a woman on the show who was horribly disfigured by a liposuction doctor, as well as another woman who was seriously scarred by an inexperienced doctor using a CO2 laser. This show portrays poor hair transplant work in the proper context. The typical HT industry excuse for bad hair transplants is that "patients have unrealistic expectations" or they "didn't do their homework". This is a load of rubbish, as this program realistically portrays bad Hair Transplants in the context of innocent people being seriously damaged by incompetent and unethical doctors. The doctor who is trying to fix the woman burned by CO2 laser says something to the effect of "I used to see patients like this come in maybe once every few months. Now I see patients like her coming in every week. It's because you can get certified to use the CO2 laser by taking a weekend seminar, and these doctors don't know what they're doing." Well, guess what OTHER medical procedure you can legally do, by taking a weekend seminar, in order to get certified? That's right, hair transplantation! I've seen the show and it is an eye opener. It's on at 7:00 pm this Sunday night. Here's a link to Discovery, it looks like a "mini-marathon" of shows about cosmetic surgery, that evening. The show with Dr. Bernstein doing a repair is called "Cosmetic Surgery Gone Wrong": http://dsc.discovery.com/schedule/schedule.jsp?dd=10&mm=02&yyyy=2002&channel=DSC [This message was edited by arfy on February 07, 2002 at 03:56 PM.]

This Sunday February 10th, at 7:00 on Discovery, there is a re-broadcast of the show "Cosmetic Surgery Gone Wrong - The Risks of Plastic Surgery", which features a segment about HT. They talk with Dr. Bernstein, who repairs a guy who had poor results with non-FU grafts. There is also a woman on the show who was horribly disfigured by a liposuction doctor, as well as another woman who was seriously scarred by an inexperienced doctor using a CO2 laser. This show portrays poor hair transplant work in the proper context. The typical HT industry excuse for bad hair transplants is that "patients have unrealistic expectations" or they "didn't do their homework". This is a load of rubbish, as this program realistically portrays bad Hair Transplants in the context of innocent people being seriously damaged by incompetent and unethical doctors. The doctor who is trying to fix the woman burned by CO2 laser says something to the effect of "I used to see patients like this come in maybe once every few months. Now I see patients like her coming in every week. It's because you can get certified to use the CO2 laser by taking a weekend seminar, and these doctors don't know what they're doing." Well, guess what OTHER medical procedure you can legally do, by taking a weekend seminar, in order to get certified? That's right, hair transplantation! I've seen the show and it is an eye opener. It's on at 7:00 pm this Sunday night. Here's a link to Discovery, it looks like a "mini-marathon" of shows about cosmetic surgery, that evening. The show with Dr. Bernstein doing a repair is called "Cosmetic Surgery Gone Wrong": http://dsc.discovery.com/schedule/schedule.jsp?dd=10&mm=02&yyyy=2002&channel=DSC [This message was edited by arfy on February 07, 2002 at 03:56 PM.]

I've never heard anyone say that Dr. Loria does a good job, however I have heard a couple of other guys besides you say they were unhappy with their results from him. This hepatitis sounds like a convenient excuse to me. Especially because at first they told you it won't matter if you had hepatitis. Now that there is a definite problem, the hepatitis is a way for them to explain away your problem. But if I were you I would consider seeing Dr. Bernstein in New York. As far as I can tell, he is the best HT doctor on the east coast. A consultation is free, maybe he can look at you and see what he thinks. You should get your money back from Dr, Loria, for the grafts that do not grow. Most doctors guarantee growth.

Here's a few questions to ask, there are probably others... 1. What kind of grafts do you use? All Follicular Units? 2. Am I at risk for shock fallout? Are you sure of that answer? Will you guarantee it? 3. Will I be able to look good even if I decide to only get this one procedure? Or do I have to get more than one procedure to actually look presentable? 4. What kind of donor density do I have? How many grafts will you do the first procedure? How many on following procedures, if I decide to keep using you as my surgeon? 5. Tell me about your philosophy on donor site closure. What kind of material do you use? What kind of donor scar will I have? If you say it will be tiny, can you guarantee that? 6. What do you propose for my hairline? (show me). Will that look right in 30 years? 7. Can I meet some of your patients? Not the guys who work in the office that you did, but outside-world "real-life" patients? 8. What would you estimate your rate of patient satisfaction is? What if I'm not satisfied afterwards? 9. Exactly what will I look like when I am finally all done with surgery? Will I have a bald crown someday? What will my ultimate results be, and how many surgeries will that require? 10. What are my non-surgical options? What will I get out of using drugs like Propecia instead of surgery? Should I use Propecia and Minoxidil anyway? If not, why not? 11. How often do you turn guys away? Am I a good candidate? What are things that can make a guy a bad candidate? Darnold, in the meantime I suggest you keep learning as much as possible, to try to find out what you would consider the "correct" answers to be to these questions. That way you will be able to interpret the response you get. (Rather than just accepting everything that a doctor tells you as "the truth".) In other words, find out the answers ahead of time, and see if you and the doctor have the same opinions, when you go to the consult.

This is a tough question! Because the FU supporters (which I consider myself to be, by the way) tend to use the "no transection" argument as one of the more important benefits of FU use. FUs are by definition trimmed under microscopes. The trimming of the FU means that they look the most natural emerging from the recipient sites. This trimming is not done to a Minigraft, so they do not look as natural. The excess tissue around the follicles can be noticeable. A "plump" graft is not trimmed as closely. However, if "plump" grafts do result in more hair yield, that makes the "trimming issue" a little more complicated. It's no longer so obvious that closely trimming FUs is always the best approach. Nobody asked my opinion, but I'd rather sacrifice a small percentage of yield, in order to have a more natural look. I will be interested in reading the doctors' take on this question.

You need as much of your "original" hair as possible, even if you do decide to get a transplant. There is a limited amount of "donor" hair, and not enough to do a whole head. Even after a transplant, you will be smart to use Propecia/Proscar and Minoxidil. If Minoxidil has worked for you, I would consider using it again, and using it consistently. If it messes up your hair, maybe you can just use it once a day, before bed... It's better than nothing, although twice a day would be better. At least you still have some hair to "mess up"... Propecia and Minoxidil work better in combination, supposedly, so I would use both if i were you. Also consider adding Lysine to your regimen, it may add a little to the drugs' effectiveness. Check out this study: http://www.thebaldtruth.com/products/lysine.htm You've seen that you can slow or stop your hairloss with the available drugs. That's great news- you're a "responder". The drugs work for a lot of guys, but not everybody, so consider yourself lucky, and commit yourself to a long term treatment. Hopefully something better will come along shortly, but until then, make the best of what you've got. It may be inconvenient and costly to use Propecia and Minoxidil, but it's a lot better than the alternative. As far as transplants go, they are a last resort. I believe Dr. Parsley made an excellent post about their use, where he said something like... If you had tooth decay, you wouldn't just let your teeth rot, and then later go to your dentist and have him replace everything. You'd use toothpaste to preven tooth decay. So think of Propecia and Minoxidil as "toothpaste" that prevents "hair decay". Don't just let your hair "rot".

Yes, I really believe you are really a physician, who is thrilled with your results from this Tulsa clinic. Sure I do... I think it's pretty funny, that you try to characterize any information beyond "how nice they are at the clinic", as "doctor-speak". Really, maybe you can let us know if the lobby is tastefully decorated? That's the level of the dialogue we're hearing, about this clinic. It's obvious why you don't want to get into details, beyond "price" and "courtesy". Because as you revealed, this clinic uses Minigrafts, and the word is out now, that Minigrafts "suck". A hair transplant with Minigrafts isn't worth paying a penny for, let alone paying 3 dollars a graft!

This person Heatherwood won't know for at least a year, probably, if this clinic did a good job. Sometimes it can take "years" to realize the true results you've gotten from a surgeon or clinic. Heatherwood might as well have said "The waiting room was decorated very tastefully" because evrything else that was mentioned was just as meaningless. Heatherwood, maybe you can say what kind of grafts this clinic uses. Did you get Follicular Unit grafts, Minigrafts, Micrografts, or a combination? Where were the grafts placed, and where are you on the Norwood scale? How old are you, and how many more grafts will you need? Are you using Propecia? Does the clinic recommend it? If you would discuss these types of questions, that will tell us more than just saying "everyone was nice to me".

I had a similar experience, but I'm sure we have completely different situations. Because if you had an FU transplant, you had "good work" unlike me. Change in texture may be a temporary thing. Hopefully some other people will weigh in. I know that with the older grafts like I have, there was a problem with coarse and curly hair. I had this problem, and after a while (several years) it went away. (My hair was like a corkscrew). I read that when grafts were not seated correctly, they could get distorted, and affect the way the hair grew. If you had a true FU job, it is probably not what is happening with you. My doctor (Carlos Puig) is a total hack, and he doesn't use FUs either. If your doc uses FUs, that is a sure sign that he has more skill than Dr. Puig. Consult with your doctor and let them know your concern. Hopefully it is a temporary situation.