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Showing results for 'Dr. Robert M. Bernstein'.
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Uk hair transplant clinics = big time fraud I have been to see the so-called consultant from UK hair transplant clinics; I did see a chap named Paul Hill. I got a bed feeling from the start, as it was obvious he was no more than a pushy salesman with no interested in me or what was best for me, all the alarm bells rang straight away. The consultation was a hard sell from start to finish with the so called consultant having minimal knowledge of hair transplants and no interest in discussing anything except for how urgent it was for me to get this done a.s.a.p. to take advantage of the great limited time offers they have, I should preferably pay the deposit there and then or I might loos out on the deal, it reminded me of a door to door salesman offering double glazing! This guy has not had a hair transplant, his hair looks pretty poor and his only semi-medical training seems to be from his teeth whitening business. I walked away from the consultation thinking how desperate people that book with them must be, its obviously nothing else than someone trying to make a quick buck selling something rather then someone that has experience or knows what he is talking about. After the consultation I received an email with pretty great looking before and after shots, I almost starting thinking, hold on now, maybe I wasn’t fair to them, maybe I just had the consultant on a bad day and the clinic is actually pretty good, these results where after all pretty fantastic. After looking at the photos for s little while I realised that I had seen some of these photos before somewhere else. All the fantastic before and after shots they have are stolen from the following coalition hair transplant doctors (none of them works I the UK or has heard of the UK hair clinic): Dr William Parsley - Hair Restoration Surgeons, Hair Transplant, Surgical Hair Restoration, Hair Transplant Cost, Hair Loss Treatments, Hair Loss Doctors | Parsley-Waldman Hair Center, Louisville, Lexington, Nashville, Knoxville, Cincinnati, Indianapolis, Chicago, St. Lo Dr. Michael Meshkin - Dr. Michael Meshkin*Hair Transplant Surgeon in*Newport Beach,*California Dr Robert H True - Hair Clinic New York, New Jersey, Boston Dr Bradley Limmer - Bradley Limmer, MD*Hair Transplant Surgeon in*San Antonio,*Texas Dr Sharon Keene - Sharon Keene, MD*Hair Transplant Surgeon in*Tucson,*Arizona I have added a screenshot here with the photo from ukhairtransplantclinics.co.uk on the left and on the right you will have the original photos from Dr Robert H. True (Hair Clinic New York, New Jersey, Boston) I am sure that him the rest of the doctors will see this and take action against this scam clinic. Here is a bit more about the consultation: It was all about me loosing the change of a good price if I didn’t act quickly, here are a few phrases from the email: “Because there are now only a few surgery dates available for the promotion Please call me on 0800 043 0993 if you have any further questions or would like to arrange your treatment.” “In order to qualify for the above promotional savings the following would usually be necessary: 1) Make a surgery booking within 7 days of this letter “ At the consultation you indicated that it would not be possible for you to be treated in the promotional period, I have now spoken to our manager, who has agreed to hold the price until the above date, as long as you pay a deposit, in the next 7 days. Believe me in person its worse than this! I wanted to share this with the rest of you to make sure you don’t waste your time going to these consultations and even more importantly don’t get ripped off by paying anything to this company. -
Dr. Dorin performed an utra-refined FUT consisting of 2008 grafts - 644 singles, 1245 doubles, 119 threes.Propecia initiated at the same time as his procedure. This is an auspicious start and atypical but we do see this from time to time. Usually this stage of development can be expected at around the 8 - 10 month mark. -
Anyone have a HT planned soon?
Melvin-Moderator replied to MachoVato's topic in Hair Restoration Questions and Answers
Dr. Arocha, Bernstein and Dr. Glenn Charles opened up today on a limited basis. I believe more and more clinics will begin opening. In California, the governor is saying the state will begin opening in the next few days. -
@JEDS Theres a lot of great surgeons to choose form in NYC. True and Dorin, Dr. Wesley, Dr. Bernstein, and Dr. Bloxham. Below is a link where you can submit your photos for free virtual consultations. I also suggest taking a look at each one of their profiles, you can see their work and their reviews on their profile. https://www.hairtransplantnetwork.com/Consult-a-Physician/surgeon-list/NY/New-York
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Dr. Carlos K. Wesley - seems to me to be best in NYC based on everything I've seen on forums etc. Dorin, Bloxham, Bernstein have good reputations also but from what I can see Wesley seems to produce the best - he also seems to do a great job in non-shave situations and from the research he seems to be doing in the field of "scarless"* surgery seems to be a guy trying to push things forward in the industry. Regardless of whether this ever bares fruit it certainly shows someone of dedication to his profession eager to make a contribution * his scarless approach is effectively making a small puncture hole in the scalp and using a robotic tool to remove the follicular unit from underneath as opposed to the traditional FUE where you remove the FU from above (hence leaving the tiny circular scar).
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You have Dr. Bernstein, True and Dorin, Dr. Wesley, and Dr. Bloxham. Most surgeons in NYC charge for their consultations, but I believe due to this epidemic, they are waiving these fees for virtual consultations. Take some time and look at their physician profile, where you can see real patient reviews as well. I suggest consulting with all of them- this way you can get a ballpark figure for cost and the grafts you will require. https://www.hairtransplantnetwork.com/Consult-a-Physician/surgeon-list/NY/New-York
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Wanted to do a short post of a short research I did while looking for a doctor to do my FUE procedure. I have been only considering FUE because I only need about 1,700 graph and I do not want the linear scar. For me price/location is not an issue. As all of you I just want the best. Therefore I reached out to: H&W, Lupanzula, Konior, Bernstein, Lorenzo All of them were very easy to communicate with, normally within 24 hours. I understand technicians will be assisting doctors during the procedure, so I wanted to learn the actual involvement of the doctor vs. the technician. The price of some of these doctors is very high, so I wanted to understand if I am paying a premium for the doctors procedure how much time will the doctor be involved in the procedure itself. Out of the three steps - Extract Graft (EG), Make Graft Openings (MGO), Place Graft (PG) this is what I found: H&W - Doctor (MGO) - Technicians (EG) (PG) Lorenzo - vague answer "technicians will assist through out entire process, he will do what he thinks is fundamental on each patient" Bernstein - Doctor (EG, MGO) - Technicians (PG) Lupanzula - Doctor (EG,MGO) - Technicians (PG) Konior - Doctor (EG, MGO, PG) With the exception of H&W (only one out of hundreds of great reviews) I haven't been able to find a bad review/feedback from any of these doctors, so I understand their process yield great results. However, if you ask me If I would prefer, Dr. Konior or Dr. Lupanzula to extract the grafts vs. a technician in another great clinic, I will prefer the actual doctors. For that simple reason I decided to not move forward with H&W and Lorenzo. For Bernstein, I haven' t found a bad review but in comparison to the other doctors there are very few reviews available. They only due the FUE with ARTAS. There are some bad reviews about ARTAS damaging donor area, or having issues. None of those reviews were patients of Bernstein, but it make me less comfortable. For that reason I am currently only considering Lupanzula and Konior. Following my same logic if you ask me who do I prefer to place the graft Konior or Lupanzula technician, I will say Konior. However, I am still indecisive because most of the reviews and results I found for Konior are for FUT while for Lupanzula are for FUE. Overall I know I can't go wrong with any of them. I wanted to share this post I think the involvement of the Doctors during the procedure is important factor to understand, at least it was for me. It also gives you a better perspective when it comes to pricing. For example Konior can be twice as expensive as other top doctors, however, it seems he can dedicate more than twice the time so the price becomes relative. He does one procedure a day while other's do multiple, so it makes sense he charges more. If you have this information of the involvement of procedure by top doctors, it will be great if you can share here.
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Importance of Harvest - Incisions - Implants
Zizou88 replied to Zizou88's topic in Hair Restoration Questions and Answers
Thanks for the responses and help. I understand the good results the clinic has followed the same process. I think I might be more comfortable with another top clinic where the doc is more hands on. Recently reached out to Bernstein Medical - they mentioned "All surgical aspects of the procedure are done by Dr. Bernstein or Dr. Shaver. Technicians check grafts, sort them, and place them into the scalp". Personally will be more comfortable with this type of involvement. -
Replicel RCH-01 Clinical Trials Are A BUST!
Dr. Suhail Khokhar replied to Melvin-Moderator's topic in Open Hair Loss Topics
haha. Yeah, Angela Christiano, PhD, is the real deal. I've talked to numerous surgeons and they think that we're about 20 years away from a stem cell based therapy or hair replication based therapy. Dr. Bernstein is more optimistic and thinks we're 10 years away. I'm not sure why he is more optimistic...he's obviously privy to more information than us -
I've noticed the question coming up a lot about how long it takes after surgery for a graft to be completely secure, and based on the wide range of responses given, it seems that there is no definitive answer for this that is agreed upon. I've seen people giving answers ranging from 5 days, to 10, to 14, all the way up to even 9 months. I'm curious as to why so many doctors seem to have differing opinions on this, as it often seem like everyone is just pulling numbers out of thin air. I was told when having my procedure that the first 72 hours were the most crucial, and that after the 5th day, the grafts would be firmly in place (given that there was no excessive scabbing). The scabs were often what caused a graft to be dislodged, but that even then, it was only a risk up until day 9 after surgery. Thus, by day 10 post-op, I could relax and breathe easily and stress free, knowing that I was out of the woods. However, many guys come on the forum and are stressed out 2, 3, even 4 weeks out of surgery that they may have damaged their grafts. Given what seems to be lots of misinformation online and in the medical community, I understand why they seem to be so worried. Once I started seeing the large discrepancy on here about how long it took for the grafts to be anchored, I reached out to Dr. Mohebi about this. Dr. Mohebi then informed me that this is all based on a study done by Dr. Bernstein and Dr. Rassman where they set out to determine the definitive answer for this. According to the study, this is what they found: "The study showed that for the first two days, pulling on a hair always resulted in a lost graft, but the chance of the graft being removed started to decrease by the third day. By the sixth day pulling on a hair would no longer dislodge the graft. Pulling on an adherent scab always resulted in a lost graft through day five, with the incidence decreasing through day eight. However, by nine days post-op, grafts were no longer at risk of being dislodged." So that leaves me with this: Since the above time frame that I gave seems to be based on facts and research, where are the other numbers coming from? Are there other studies out there that show different results? Was there a study done that supports doctors telling patients they have to wait 9 months after surgery for their grafts to be secure? Why does there seem to be such a wide range of answers on what should be a seemingly scientific question? Do you think there's a way to come to a unified decision on this, or will there always be this large discrepancy? Interested in hearing other thoughts and facts on this matter. It seems to be a topic that causes way more confusion than I think it should. -
Patient presented with a Norwood Class 4 pattern with the intent of restoring density to the frontal recession and crown region. He had undergone an initial FUE elsewhere that was not successful. Total of 773 grafts allocated to the vertex and 2573 grafts to the frontal third. *Manual motorized FUE * Prp/Acell *Propecia
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Hi, I've had 2 HT's with Dr. Bernstein, with my second being around 2 years ago. I'm looking for a 3rd HT from a doctor (preferably New York / East Coast) that does not require you to shave your head. Ideally I'd like to get back to work in 4 days post surgery without it being too obvious. My first two were were FUT's and I'm dreading the post op recovery period and discomfort from my 3rd HT. I'm mostly looking to get coverage in my crown area (70% crown and 30% front) with the 3rd HT because the first 2 did very little to help the crown area. I've read a few people post here that they did FUT for their first HT and FUE for the crown area in the 2nd HT. Is there any logic to this? Just trying to get through my 3rd HT with the least post op hassle. Yeah, in hindsight I'm regretting not doing a mega / larger HT but no one can really predict how that could have gone too. Thanks! -
2342 ultra-refined FUs transplanted to recontour frontal frame and add internal density. 728 singles, 1569 doubles, 45 threes. PRP administered intraoperatively.
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Hair transplant reversal - have you done it?
Curious replied to Toubey's topic in Hair Restoration Questions and Answers
If you are going to remove them, I would start small, beginning in the back with 5-10 plugs and see how it turns out. I say start in the back, because it will be easier to conceal. The plugs will be dissected to recycle the grafts contained within the plugs. Maybe look into silicone scar cream to try and limit the scarring. I have seen examples of plug removal by Dr. Bernstein in New York and Dr. Gabel in Portland that I thought were quite good. A number of years ago I had micro and mini-grafts removed because they were becoming more obvious as my native hair receded. I regret that I wasn't more agressive in removing the old style grafts. -
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Hi, all. I haven’t posted here much since my last procedure in 2015, but happy to share an update with everyone about my latest surgery. As background, I had my first transplant with Dr. Robert Niedbalski in June 2012. I was a NW 2-3, and he transplanted 1,450 grafts via strip to form a lower, but still recessed, hairline. I wanted a flat hairline, so I had a subsequent procedure with Dr. Rahal in October 2015, when he transplanted 2,200 grafts, again via strip. The hairline design was great, but the right side grew in a little sparse. Nothing awful, and I could’ve gone without addressing it, but I wanted to go back to the well for a fuller hairline. I just turned 36, BTW. I've been on Avodart and Propecia for six years and essentially no longer lose hair--my loss is fully halted. I use Rogaine but discontinued before surgery per instructions. Links to thread about my earlier procedures are here: https://www.hairtransplantnetwork.com/blog/home-page.asp?WebID=2858 So, last week I drove from Seattle down to Portland for a third procedure--this time with Steve Gable. I’ve known Dr. Gabel for about five years and have really looked forward to working with him. He’s a precise, thoughtful guy, and I knew he’d be a great choice to refine my results. I left Seattle at 3am to check in at Dr. G’s clinic at 6:30. His clinic just moved to a brand-new facility, and it’s gorgeous--two ORs, a lovely lobby, and overall just a great, clean, attractive space. We sat down and discussed hairline approach, and agreed that we weren’t going to lower the hairline. I didn’t need it, and lowering it even a few millimeters would mean that I’d need to get in again to spruce up the density, and I wanted to be done. (My hair is still very dense and I want the hairline to match, so I don’t want to get stuck in a loop of chasing density in an ever-lower hairline.) We agreed 1,000 more grafts across the hairline--and concentrated in the right side--would do the trick. The procedure was very smooth. Strip excision took about 30-45 minutes and I didn’t feel any pain. Dr. G excised part of my prior scar, which ran from just inside left ear to above my right ear. He didn’t need to run all the way from end-to-end on the scar. He closed the strip with staples, which I hadn’t had before; he thought they’d do a better job at holding the tension and has had good luck with them recently. Once the wound was closed, he did the incisions--nothing eventful, and nothing painful. I didn’t bother to watch TV, but just spent the time chatting with Dr. G and his techs. If you haven’t met him, he’s a really personable, chatty guy, which was engaging during surgery. I had a Valium before surgery but didn’t feel it much, which was fine; I’m not the anxious type and was perfectly relaxed during surgery. I seemed more comfortable than my previous surgeries, but that’s probably due in part to the fact that it was fewer grafts so the sit was shorter. When we got to placing grafts, I’d estimate that Dr. G placed about 50%. He places grafts in all his procedures, and I was his only patient that day, so there wasn’t any need for him to pop out and attend to someone else. If you haven’t gone through a transplant before, it’s really disconcerting when you feel like a surgeon disengages from the procedure once the incisions are made and just turns everything over to the techs. Dr. G was omnipresent and was in the room for virtually the whole procedure. That’s not the norm. Of my three procedures, this was the smoothest and easiest. That’s no knock on Niedbalski or Rahal, but a huge compliment to Dr. G and his staff. The post-op materials were first-rate and included a calendar specialized for my surgery date so I didn’t have to count post-surgery days. That’s a nice touch that I hadn’t seen before. The recipient area was also very clean--virtually no blood or scabbing. They carefully washed it the next day and showed me how to shampoo. Great post-op hand-holding all the way, and Dr. G responded to an email same-day later in the week. Pictures are below, and obviously there’s not much to report in terms of growth. My scabs are falling off, but the recipient area is hardly noticeable because although it was shaved, I’m combing my hair forward. Hard to cover up the staples, but they’ll be out in another week. I’m definitely experiencing a lot of tightness in my donor area given that it’s been excised three times, so I’m trying especially hard to keep my head tipped back to keep tension off the scar. I’m a little concerned about a widened scar given that it’s my third strip, but I’ll keep everyone posted as that progresses. Please fire away with questions/comments; I’ll be checking in every day. Thanks! When reviewing pics, please keep in mind that the after pictures are both immediately post-op and then the next day; my hair is wet in both. Remember that the transplanted area contained both native hair AND previously transplanted hair, so the density will be much, much higher than the number of grafts you can see. -
Hell man, I thought you were from like Uzbekistan or somewhere you needed a travel visa or something lol. You're in NY, why not go get a consultation with Dr. Bernstein. From what I've heard the guy doesn't have an ounce of bullshit in him. Perhaps more importantly, I checked out the link. The 13th photo looked really familiar to me, and I remembered seeing it on Realself's website. Check it out. https://www.realself.com/photos/fue-hair-transplant?tags=9953#media-photo-1622205-1494008-1 Apparently it was done by someone by the name of Dr. Karadeniz... Tell me that's not the same photo just more zoomed in...
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In 1989 I was a college freshman with thin hair that was starting to fall out. Graduated in 1993 and had considerable hair loss. By 1994 I was almost done hair-wise, very traumatic for a young man who is just starting his life, I freaked. That winter, watching a late night informercial on HT's, I though I had the answer. After two consultations with the 'Dr.', I fell for the micro/mini graft, very small scar, full head of hair, etc from this Long Island Medical practice. No internet at the time and I didn’t even know plugs were a thing and as been repeated as I have recently read up on numerous message boards, “You trust a doctor and never would you think they could be so unethical.” This is much different thn a snake oil salesman selling a hairpiece. This is a doctor doing surgery that lasts a lifetime. As a young man I should have understood the supply and demand model and I still kick myself in the ass falling for the full head of hair BS. 3 Procedures winter and spring of 94. By fall I was obviously very unsatisfied. Unnatural small plug look with a few large ones, bad distribution, horrible donor strip scarring, etc, etc. My hair is kind of fine/thin so I feel it was not as bad as some I saw as I noticed more people with plugs (never really noticed them until after my ordeal started) but now I was stuck and stupidly went for one more ‘free’ procedure as I was told they just need to make it more dense.The next 4 years I got by and since my hair is fine/thin texture, under certain lighting, dark, sun, etc it just looked like a young man getting pretty bald. Under many other situations, angles, etc you could see the plugs, cobble-stoning, unnatural hairline, etc. I got by, met a nice girl (now my wife) who never really noticed until I opened up to her, etc, etc. Some days, and even to this day, people don’t notice. Other times in a conversation I could see eyes look at my hairline. Sometime when I am out I see, or just maybe imagine, people checking out my hair/hairline. Myself, as I wrote, I got by but was, and still, always self conscience.In 1998 I visited Dr. Bernstein (at the time he was with NHI in Ft Lee NJ) and felt he was very honest though understandably I lost all faith in the medical community, especially cosmetic medicine. He explained what he and Dr Rassman were doing (which now made more sense to me) and how he could try to camouflage. I can say that I think Dr. Bernstein used some of the best technique that 1998 technology provided and he tried to camouflage my pluggy look. I forgot how many grafts I received and the ones he added were the size he stated but my coverage, and at that point I was very realistic, was still less thn desirable. This is in no way a bash of Dr Bernstein as he never up-sold me, never promised a full head of hair, etc. He was ethical and honest with his graft size/hair per graft, no bumps from his grafts, and it was definitely an improvement though not what I thought it would be. I understood a full head of hair would never be in the cards for me but thought I would get more camouflage in my hairline and coverage. I’ve lived the most normal life I can since thn though I am always self conscious. So here I am today, 25+ years in this journey and things are changing. I have lost even more hair recently (crown area getting even larger) and I am graying. The contrast between my skin, gray hair and dark have given me a more pluggy look. Also, I don’t mind being bald but so is the case of a 48 year old compared to 23 year old staring out life. I actually think I pull off the very thin/very balding look ok and I do not even mind my gray hair. That said, I’d like to look more natural (or at least less pluggy) and maybe even fill in more spots to even out the thinness. My donor area seems kinda depleted so I am not sure how possible any of this is. I am looking at a few possibilities to just move forward being less self conscious as my life moves on. I have no problem with my scalp showing and just want a more natural appearance. I could care less if the plugs in my crown are removed/re-distributed to other areas as my crown will never be covered anyhow. Some things I’d like to accomplish if even possible or recommended. 1) Remove larger plugs in my crown area slice them into smaller grafts and redistribute them to areas of need to try to maybe balance out my thin appearance 2)Remove larger plugs in my hairline and a lil behind hairline dissect and re-distribute them to that same area or others depending what doc says. (Does plug excursion and re-distribution grow at a decent rate or is the return rate poor? What about scarring? Blood supply/flow to the head if plugs are removed and redistributed.)3) See how that goes and if I have any hair left to use in my donor area, just use that to even out some coverage for a thin or more natural appearance in areas of need. With FUE has the donor hair expanded to your sides?4) Fixing my donor scars if even possibleI do not know what is possible but I do know technology and techniques have changed since 1998. I also know, though many docs are very reputable I am very nervous having someone touch my scalp again. I have started reading message boards on HT repairs, articles, researching Dr’s etc. For you young bucks and older gents out there thinking of getting HT’s, you have great resources and you truly need to do your HW. I am shocked that there are still ‘doctors’ who will do bad work and destroy peoples lives. It is all really sad and sickening on so many levels. I live outside of Princeton NJ. Some of the Dr’s in my area that have popped on my radar in my short research are Dr. Bernstein, True and Dorin, Dr Carlos Wesley, Feller/Bloxham, . Anyone have any experience with their plug excursion and re-distribution? What other Dr’s should I put on my radar as I start my research? I am not against travel and have just started reading up on Dr. Cooley in NC, Dr. Lindsey in Va (against excursion), etc. Thn again, I have no clue and do not want to fall for some sales pitch again. Cost is also a factor though I will cross that bridge when it comes and make my decision. That said, who else should I look into? I’m sure I will have more questions but here we go with my first post. Thank you for reading and I look forward to answers and more discussion on this in this thread. Thank you in advance to any and all who read my journey and help answer any questions I've asked and will ask. -
Saw Dr Bernstein in his office and he says I'm not a good candidate for the transplant citing tight scalp and very fine hair. Max 2500K can be harvested. This is not what was told to me by Dr. Bloxham. In fact, Dr Bloxham told me the opposite. Not sure what is going on now as I went from being a candidate to not at all now. Have any of you been through this? I'm surprised by what I was told. -
Dr Bloxham has some great recent results - however I would caution that Dr.Bloxham is relatively new as compared to other options with super long track records in NYC - I've seen some pretty amazing results coming from Dr Carlos Wesley in NYC - if you stack up recent patient and clinic results from True/Dorin, Bloxham, Bernstein, Wesley........I dont think anyone is coming close to Wesley for number of homeruns...........next I would say True/Dorin for the extensive track record......Bloxham is coming up however but if you asked each doctor for their total transplants performed in their career I think he would be well behind these guys and I'd like a doctor who's seen every possible situation in their career or in the OR -
Here's a 3 month update on our younger landscape guy Robert. Look back a few of my posts and you'll see his case in great detail. Before, during, first week... Well he was supposed to show up for a month scar check, but eventually showed up and did this nice short video. He wears a SHORT haircut and we discuss his scar. He's already been calling in saying its growing but really he's now at only 4 months so it'll be a while but I bet we'll have a 13 month video showing results, if not sooner. The video is: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nZOFEJBJHEk&feature=youtu.be and the original video is: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N2iy2AUIlfA Dr. Lindsey McLean VA -
Dr. Robert Dorin would accommodate you. -
^this I’d also add Dr. Bernstein to that list as well.
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Do all of you use minoxidil twice a day daily?I have been using minoxidil 5% once day, I double the single use dosage. I have been doing so for years and believe it to be effective. However, I am also on finasteride. So not sure whether my hair would have been better if i used it twice a day. Any thoughts on whether using it once a day is less effective? I also remember reading on Dr. Bernstein's website, that minoxidil has a half-life of 22 hours, so its almost as effective, im assuming. Also, has anyone used minoxidil from minoxidilmax.com, I have been using their 5% with minoxdil and azelaic acid 5%. I came across this product that they recently launched, https://www.minoxidilmax.com/maxogen-x and seriously considering switching to this. Any expereiences, thoughts would be great! Thanks
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Considering leaving staples in for a little longer than the 14 days recommended by my surgeon. I'll also ask him but wanted the communitys view. Reason for doing this is this is my second FUT and laxity was a definitely reduced vs FUT no.1 and things were a bit tighter for sure post-op........so I'm somewhat concerned around stretching (1st surgery was OK scar wise about average I'd say) and given that the wound significantly increases strength in the early part of the healing it seems all things being equal leaving the staples in for longer will reduce the probability of stretching. Dont trust me Dr.Bernstein seems to think so leaving them in during certain cases for 21 days - https://www.bernsteinmedical.com/answers/when-are-surgical-staples-removed-after-hair-transplant/. They don't bother me so think that 18 or 19 days will be fine for me. Any downside anyone can think of? Again I WILL talk to my surgeon also
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While I didn't create an account on this forum over the last couple of years it was invaluable in my research process and I want to pay it forward, especially since I seem to be seeing fewer patient posts with recent dates, at least for Dr. Cooley. Thus I will try to be thorough here in describing my process. Apologies in advance for the length of the post and the variability of the quality of the photos. I know they aren't the best. I am still only a few days/weeks out and will update this with before photos and after photos from the clinic and exact graft count(s) when I get them and try not to disappear throughout the process. My Past Situation I had an ill-advised FUT procedure when I was 21 to address temple recession. I wasn't on meds, it was premature, and I went to a cheap chop shop. CLASSIC, young guy being really stupid. :sigh The procedure (unknown # of grafts) involved putting grafts on the temples and unfortunately also some around the front of my hairline. It did very little cosmetically unless you count triggering massive loss of existing hair (most of which did grow back in fairness). The only saving grace here is that we were talking about a fairly minor temple area and because of my light hair/skin contrast I've been able to get away with a forward brush hairstyle that hid really poor work. Oh and it wasn't big plugs and the scar wasn't horrendous and avoided being in any disastrous region(s) thankfully. No matter what you do STAY AWAY from Samson Hair Restoration in Los Angeles regardless of what doctor they currently have cycled in. Why now Now, 11 years later at 32 with some additional thinning and some recession the previous work was becoming harder to cover, especially when swimming or my hair was wet. Plus, I just wanted it fixed to open up different hairstyles and to get ahead of managing what I believe will be future loss. Almost a gradual "replace" strategy I guess. In terms of meds, I had been on finasteride w/ no side effects for 4 years but then went off for 5+ years (don't really know why). I went back on 6+ months ahead in prep for a procedure and plan to stick with it this time. Not on finasteride or any other shampoos etc at the moment. Picking the surgeon In terms of research this time around I did a lot more homework using this forum as the basis for creating a smaller list of doctors. Ultimately I narrowed my list and research to consults with Lindsay, Bernstein, Cooley, Bloxham, and Nadimi. I felt these were really great doctors that didn't necessarily require a flight based on my East Coast USA location (I was intrigued by Rahal, Hasson/Wong/Kronior and some of the other staple of well regarded doctors as well but with only so much time felt good with my short list). I did not consider India/Turkey etc., not because I don't believe quality results can't be achieved there, but because I didn't want to take the risk and conduct an extra level of due diligence with respect to many of the practices and I was willing to pay $ for that peace of mind. Notes on my Consults During my consult with Dr. Lindsay I felt like he just didn't think I needed a procedure yet. He cited 1200 grafts and it was all relatively cursory. So not a fit for me Dr. Bernstein was a good consult (worth the cost) where I learned a bit and I felt comfortable with him and his work, but ultimately I wasn't blown away by the results I've seen from him either on his website or on this and other forums My consult with Bloxham was really terrific and I got a great feeling from him. He was ultimately my #2 but I did not choose him mostly because he is just relatively newer with fewer posted results. And right or wrong, some of the (rare/older) negative comments about customer service/interactions from Feller put me off. I did NOT have any of this sense from Dr. Bloxham and have never met Feller but the posts are there nonetheless. I will also say, they need to upgrade their facility. Not the medical side hopefully, but the rest of the place was old and run down feeling. Dr. Nadimi was also great (via Skype) and matter of fact but I got the sense she did more FUE than FUT. Similar to Bloxham there are just fewer patient accounts out there that I could find, but based on what I've seen and this consult I was very comfortable and impressed with her Why Cooley Ultimately, I went with the only doctor I didn't meet/ have a convo with directly in Dr. Cooley. I appreciated the consult with Lollie and a deeper understanding of their procedures and liked what I heard about use of Acell, how he preserved grafts out of body, his hands on approach, the tenure of his techs, and so on. But most importantly Cooley's track record of consistent results and patient experiences tipped me over (including one detailed repair write-up by a Blonde haired individual, of which there are relatively few results). I also literally did not find a single negative review (of outcomes) for Cooley in all my research and I valued that apparent consistency. Procedure - Why FUT I knew I wanted FUT as I (a) already had a scar I felt could be improved, (b) wanted to maximize future grafts and survivability, and (c) wanted to minimize recovery time. I am lucky enough to have a lot of Donor and existing hair that can be used to hide a procedure. Pre-Procedure and Day of All things posted about Cooley experiences were true for me. I followed pre-op instructions for scalp laxity. I think this helped as I could feel the sides definitely loosen up, and while the back still felt tight Cooley said it was great and helped with suturing (+ sutures out at 2 weeks vs. 3 weeks). The hotel they set you up in is excellent, easy, convenient and they already know why you are there and what you need. Shuttle drivers, check-in staff, and others there were helpful and discrete and the breakfast and gym is open early enough for day of eating and a last workout. On the day of the operation we met at 7am, had a calm and not rushed discussion where any other questions I had were answered, and re-affirmed my choice of 2500 FUT + PRP/Acell. In terms of hairline we were on the same page to opt for a conservative/mature hairline though Cooley jumped straight to the need for work on the temples which he said he does not always do. This process of agreeing on this was FAST as a lot of it was bridging existing hair and the past work plus a little bit of pulling temples out/down. In terms of PRP, Cooley was candid that for me he didn't know if PRP would make much of a difference as he didn't see a ton of minituraization but (a) I'm paranoid and think there is more than there is/I have very fine hair already, and (b) I am hopeful that it will help somewhat with avoiding shock loss or speeding up recovery. I know there's no real scientific evidence to back that up, but I was willing to spend the $ on the chance it helps. I will say that to make sure you get what you need before surgery begins you should 100% come prepared with your questions. For example in my consult with Bloxham he indicated that my past FUT scar had a small area branching into the danger zone for donor and advised forking the scar near my ear. I really did NOT want to do this, so asked Cooley about it. He decided to implant 10-15 hairs in the end of the old scar as part of the procedure and end the new scar in a safer location. I do not think we would have ultimately done this if I had not asked. H/T to Bloxham for noticing it in a really thorough, caring consult. I also asked about a few grafts poorly placed in the front of my forehead below the 7CM mark we agreed to for the new hairline. He said if I was OK With it that he would remove those with electrolysis which I agreed to and am relieved about as they were definitely not natural looking. Overall, it was a good conversation. I, like most others, felt comfortable and cared for by Dr. Cooley and all of his other wonderful team members. I do think the clinic could get better about having all their pre and post op documentation organized and sent in a big PDF but that's super minor overall and has nothing to do with the in-person interactions I had. One other area that I felt could be improved is in discussing recovery times. The clinic (not Cooley himself) were fairly aggressive in terms of discussing post HT recovery periods and timeline (no redness 5 days, not visible procedure at 8 days etc). It's not that they are totally off, it's just that they are definitely giving the aggressive, "best-case" scenario in my opinion and shaded this as an absolute vs. discussing the potential ranges of recovery times based on patient characteristics. Still thus far in my case it has proven to not be too far off the mark so far (devil's always in the details though isn't it). Procedure itself From the Cooley consult we moved into the procedure. Numbing/valium etc was painless. Unlike others I don't think I really went fully under for the ENTIRE duration of the procedure, I even heard a nice little "ripping" type sound on removal, but no pain whatsoever. By 11:30 the donor was removed, there were 5-6 technicians on the microscopes, I had had PRP and he had done the few electrolysis removals needed. I stopped for lunch and then we carried on. Cooley performed all of the donor incisions, with Brandi hovering nearby, and was present for probably 90% of the graft placement. I know for sure he was doing all the immediate hairline grafts. I believe he left for a little over an hour in the middle of the procedure (basically the length of a movie), but I'm not 100% on whether he popped his head in a few times during that time or not. While he was not actively working on my head Brandi was performing graft placement and I believe Amy also worked on placing grafts. Cooley returned and was essentially there the rest of the day long after many of the other techs had left post dissecting the grafts (easily 4-5+ more hours). It was clear he reviewed and had ample time to change, correct, or ensure any grafts not placed with him in the room were to his liking. Like others have mentioned it was clear throughout the day that this was a well-oiled machine, with team members that had worked together for years (decades even). Everyone was friendly and taking a dedicated and personalized approach to the operation, and I couldn't imagine going somewhere with a doctor doing multiple ops in a day. Throughout the process Brandi was constantly checking Cooley and making sure anything "controversial" about his approach was discussed (a few graft placements here and there, reminders about how many grafts were left etc). All of this was reassuring. I am sure the reverse also happened. Ultimately for the 2,500 graft procedure Cooley was able to get over 3,000 grafts (I will get exact counts later) and we did not finish the day until a bit after 7pm, meaning I was there for nearly 12 hours. This extra time and attention, plus the grafts that were not something I had to pay extra for, all speak to his long-running record of caring about his patients and working tirelessly to get results. I am obviously grateful for this. Post Op - Healing, Pain, and Experience (Week 1) Donor got painful at the end of the day during the operation so I was numbed up again before I went home. I was obviously a bit red and beat up but it wasn't as bad as I was expecting and they had already done a pretty good job cleaning a lot of the blood off. Plus I was wearing Saran wrap + a hat so able to avoid any weird looks. On night 1 I took some Tylenol but nothing stronger--which is good because I didn't get the prescriptions until day-of for stronger meds. Cooley's post-op care uses an ATP spray + saran wrap to increase moisture and prevent any graft damage and antibiotic ointment on the donor scar. You basically spray every hour you are awake and wake up and spray every 2 hours for the first 2 nights along with taking some preventative Prednisone for swelling. I followed the instructions religiously here and I think it really helped calm redness and speed healing. On night 2 I was falling back asleep pretty quickly so it didn't feel too onerous to keep getting up. For sure it kept the itchiness to a real minimum in the first 6 days. I went back the next morning for a post-op clean and got the all good from Dr. Cooley. During this cleaning Amy took time to answer any questions I had about the next week of care and was patient with what I am sure are the same questions everyone asks. In terms of the documentation they gave me to follow, I actually think it could have been a bit more detailed. It wasn't that it was bad, but I felt like an "FAQ" or just more exhaustive detail would have helped. For example, I asked about caffeine / alcohol / ibuprofen which were not listed (Cooley says moderate amounts of both are fine), and it doesn't give you much about how to sleep (when can you sleep sidweays on the grafts) and so on. To give you a sense of how smooth this was, I drove almost 7 hours home the very next day, which was completely fine and painless. Overall I found the post-op regimen easy to follow, the spray and saran wrap seemingly very effective even if I did probably use it too quickly/aggressively to try to get it through the native hair as I ran out a day or two earlier than I think the clinic expects. One curious thing with post-op care from the clinic is that it seems that Cooley's overall instructions,are more aggressive than many other docs (like the timeline to shampoo (next day) and return to regular shampooing (7 days) . I'm sure this is because Cooley is confident in the healing/quality of the grafts and incisions etc and has refined his approach over time but it does make me just a little nervous when looking at the instructions online from so many other places that are much more conservative. But he's my doc and I'm in his hands and so far so good. On night 3 I slept poorly but not really due to pain, I think I just missed exercise. On night 4 and 5 I had more pain when putting the back of my head on pillows (I slept elevated with an inflatable travel pillow partially inflated these nights to help with any potential swelling) and I did take a valium one night and the other pain killer + tylenol combo prescribed drug the fifth night. It almost felt like the donor was a little more stretched these two nights with whatever position I could find that didnt have too much pressure. If this continues I'll call the office to make sure it's normal. Some posters here have mentioned this as the return of nerve sensation but I'm not sure. Otherwise I have had some very very minor swelling which made me break out some ice on my forehead and eye area a couple of times and take ibuprofen periodically as well. It was never uncomfortable or especially noticeable to anyone else however. Last point, I am using the Hair Shake protein. I don't really think it'll do much but I've used protein powder a lot anyway so I don't mind and if it helps at all with speed of growth or minimization of shock-loss, then it's worth a couple months of it for me. I am not planning on using it long term and no one at the Cooley office actually mentioned it directly despite having it stocked there and having it listed as an optional part of the post-op procedure. Post Op Appearance - First Week The scar in the back is perhaps slightly visible with wet hair (first 3-4 days) but completely hidden with normal dry hair. As mentioned it wasn't giving me much trouble the first 3-4 days, although of course everything felt really "tight" there. At night or with pressure on it day 5-6 it actually has felt a bit worse and I've taken some of the prescribed meds just to make sure I get decent enough sleep. We will see of course on final healing and appearance, it is early days. Redness in the recipient has subsided each day, and now at day 6 is not bad at all. It's probably worse in the pictures than in real life. I am fairly pale skinned but had a deep tan going which some say can help. There is definitely scabbing, it is super mild/light and looks like when I return to regular shampooing and rub the grafts a bit it will easily flake off and be gone within the 7-10 day timeframe that they gave. In any case, it's really mild and not that noticeable. I have used their given shampoo and started leaving the conditioner in a bit longer which I think has helped. I have a couple spots of dried blood left but overall it's pretty clean and I haven't noticed anything remotely like grafts falling out. Really, not even many/any hairs yet. The kicker here for me is that I 100% had to hide from the world during this time because I was (a) spraying every hour and (b) couldn't style my existing hair for fear of touching/disloding existing grafts. So you could see the grafts taking hold and small stubbly hair, plus weird caked native hair that was a bit long already awkwardly plastered to my scalp. So all in all, a real lovely mess. Now had I managed this aggressively with a blow dryer on cool or if I was more comfortable touching and styling my scalp in this period I am sure I could have made it look better but I didn't want to take any risks. On Day 6 I did a bit of finger styling and with my existing hair I can make it look decent (see 1 of the pictures). Decent is not invisible however. The temples are harder to disguise and any close inspection things are definitely still visible so I feel I am very much still in hat land. To be fair, my wife says it's pretty hard to tell unless you get up close and personal already. We will see if my extended family at Day 11 notices anything. Summary of first week So far the difference from my first procedure has been remarkable. Basically instead of an immediate "oh shit what have I done" I felt more like a "I'm already looking better than I expected 12 hours later. and everything is going exactly like they said" It's nice to already feel like I made the right choice. The recovery seems to be text book according to their expectations, but I most certainly don't want to be out and about without a hat yet as it would be noticeable. The things I am worried about are (a) appearance at 10 days and masking it, (b) avoiding shock-loss as no work was done in the middle of the frontal third, and (c) continued management of the donor scar pain. All the rest is of course the standard, hurry up and wait, concerns about linear scar etc that we all have but if I can avoid shock loss I feel comfortable looking like I did for 6+ more months. I hope this is helpful and of course any feedback on the pics and actual quality of the work is welcome as well. Again, apologies on the photo quality I will get better ones from clinic later. I will try to post periodically as I hate the posts where people disappear but I also intend to try to live my life and not obsess over the progress over the next few months.
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