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Hi Folks, It took me long to post this similar to what it took me to decide for going for my HT 😊 Well in order for me to take you through my journey allow me to explicate it in phases……. About me: Indian by Nationality, currently 34 years of age, an individual highly cautious for his health and overall wellbeing. Hard working and quite disciplined in maintaining a decent lifestyle. Somewhat introvert in nature though can’t say completely. My Hair-loss story: I had thick dense curly hairs since my childhood. The bad phase of my hairs started when the good phase of my career started. I came to Dubai at the age of 24 post completion of my education MBA (Marketing). I got recruited in a MNC and was eager to achieve a lot. And like they say that all things come with a price tag, may be my precious hairs were the price of my professional achievements. It was around 3-4 years down the line since I started to realize that something is not going well with my hairs as I started noticing a lot of hairfall. As I told you I am very health cautious, I immediately tried to research/apply all possible ways and means to combat this hairfall, from hair oils to herbs, to supplements, to yoga, to fruits/ healthy diet, from homeopathy to allopathy to Ayurveda, what and what not…… You name it and I might have done it all to preserve my hairs. BUT……All in despair. Nothing seemed to have been affecting much. It was getting worse day by day and I had started to use hair fibers in order to conceal my agony. It had been 10 years since I was continuously battling and that was when I regained all my strength and decided that it’s time for me to get a HT done. My Hair Transplant story: Post making up my mind for HT, the most difficult step was to finalize a doctor/surgeon. Pause here…..when I say a doctor, I don’t just mean a doctor……I needed someone as good as the creator himself. My expectations were really sky high when it came to choosing someone for rectification of my devastated felicity, MY PRECIOUS HAIRS……. It seemed almost impossible to satisfy my expectation but I was determined….I visited numerous clinics, met multiple doctors/surgeons, continued with my routine online investigations and also got inclined towards couple of doctors though not fully satisfied. Then I remembered and approached one of my cousins whom I consider an encyclopedia. I reached out to him for assistance in my search. It took him few weeks before he could get back to me with certain recommendations. The final decision was obviously mine and I started conversing with the finalized ones. It was no later than my first conversation with Dr. Tejinder Bhatti, I was convinced that HE IS THE ONE……..He saw my pics and gave me an estimation of 3000 grafts (approx.). It was not the number of grafts which would have mattered to me nor the financial aspect. I could sense his expertise in his approach. We hardly had a couple of calls and exchange of may be couple of mails and I decided to get my HT done from him. Journey to Darling Buds Hair Transplant Clinic: 12th Jan 2018 was when I got my HT done from Dr. Tejinder Bhatti. It was around 2-3am when I reached Chandigarh on the same day and around 8am I was with Dr. Bhatti for my procedure. We just had a small chat discussing my hairline, temples and we were through. It took around 7 hours for the overall procedure. Dr. Bhatti did the most of the procedure himself. Upon completion of the procedure I was given Post Op care instructions and next day I went for my dressing which again was done by Dr. Bhatti himself. That was it and I was free. There was not a single moment of pain and discomfort. Dr. Bhatti and his team took extreme care overall. It was merely a span of 2 days and I would have never imagined that these 2 days are going to be the life changing ones for me. As a standard HT procedure, it took around 5-6 months since the transplanted hairs flourished exceeding my expectations. I no more had to use any fibers, no more had to be worried about hiding my pathetic hair condition. It was all natural. Dr. Bhatti had infused new life to my hairs and scalp. Till date all the people who know about my HT keep complimenting me every now and then. They all admire my current hair looks. W.r.t. the people who don’t know about my HT, they can’t even make out that I have done any treatment. It’s so natural that nobody can even guess it in their wildest dreams. You may refer pics and evaluate on your own. SUMMARY – Words such as skilled, adept, experienced, apt, professional can be considered a synonym for Dr. TEJINDER BHATTI. He is a master of his game. A profound HT surgeon who has the ability to furnish outstanding results. The entire team at Darling Buds clinic is extremely friendly, co-operative and caring. Though I don’t remember all the names but Shalini and Puneet are 2 individuals out of the team with whom I have already developed a bonding. Dr. Bhatti and team manage even the minutest thing from the inception till cessation with extreme care. The overall atmosphere of the clinic is completely apt. The results produced by Dr. Bhatti are prolific and he can truly be regarded as a man with magical hands. I would highly recommend Dr. Tejinder Bhatti and DARLING BUDS as “One Stop Destination” for all individuals who are highly caring about the health of their hairs. P.S. – The above is not at all an endorsement but the true narration of my self-experience with Dr. Tejinder Bhatti. -
I had a "Celebrity FUE" procedure at Dr. Parsa Mohebi's office yesterday in Encino, CA. This is my initial post and will detail my journey with this procedure. I will continue to post occasionally until the final result is achieved. About Celebrity FUE / Unshaven FUE Procedures For those who don't know, "Celebrity FUE" is the term Dr. Mohebi has used to describe what is also known as a "non-shaved FUE procedure." On his website, he details both that this is a non-shaved procedure, that "the Celebrity FUE technique allows patients to keep their hair long during their procedure." I have attached screenshots of these statements to this post. At this time of writing, there is also a video on his Celebrity FUE page which says, "we don't cut, trim, or shave any hair." Why I Chose Dr. Parsa Mohebi As a public health professional, my top priority is to conceal my hair transplant from my patients while also getting good results. I had initially booked an FUE procedure with Dr. John Diep, but Dr. Diep told me he would need to shave the baby hairs on my hairline to implant the grafts. Although I admired his results more than anyone else I had seen within the US, ultimately, his statement led to me canceling the procedure with him. After reviewing many, many other surgeons, I scheduled a consultation with Dr. Mohebi., who I had bookmarked from my prior search - specifically because he offers a "Celebrity FUE" procedure. It was the most expensive of options I could have chosen, but concealing the transplant was critical to me, even if the results might not be as ideal to me - as long as it was good enough. Another selling point to me was that he said, as he does on his website, that "80% of transplanted grafts will already have your longer hair." During the consultation, I was assured like the videos that there would be no cutting of my current hair so that I could completely conceal the transplant. Additionally, when I asked Dr. Mohebi if he performs the surgery himself, he said straightforwardly said "yes." He reinforced that the grafts would be of my longer hair and said I would see a good preview of what my hair would look like after the full results were achieved. Not only was this attractive to me because I could conceal the transplant, but also potentially pull off a more enhanced hair look for the first month after the surgery. Surgery Day / The Experience The meeting I had with him in-person the day before the procedure went well. We examined my loss pattern with a microscope and determined the density of various areas, particularly the donor area. I showed him pictures of my hair loss progression over two decades (starting at 16 years old, I'm now about to turn 36). We created a long-term plan for my hair restoration that included potentially rebuilding the temples at some point (though not necessary) and thickening the crown and vertex at a later date when it is needed. When I arrived the next morning to begin the surgery, he asked me if we could trim my baby hairs around my hairline. Whenever anyone says trim, it means literally to trim - not shave or buzz off. Even though I did not give consent to this on the written forms, I said yes verbally because I knew he was indicating that doing so would provide optimal results for incision and inserting the grafts. He then told me there would be a few ladies assisting him during the procedure. I imagined these assistants would help with graft harvesting and counting. Once I was in the chair, I was sedated with laughing gas and one Valium. Once sedated, he requested "the clippers" from one of the technicians and buzzed off about a half-inch all around the hairline on my crown - my hairline now resembling an old Nicholas Cage. I was not happy, but it was too late, I was sedated, and there was no point in pulling out at this point. Once I was fully sedated, Dr. Mohebi used his syringe to provide me with good local anesthesia as needed. The pain was more minimal than a regular injection you would receive from a lab technician doing bloodwork. Dr. Mohebi then began extracting a number of grafts from my donor area using a tool that made drilling-like noises - the puncher, I assume. I do not believe this tool was used on extracting all of my grafts, and Dr. Mohebi himself did not extract all of my grafts. After a short period of time, probably around a half hour, and while my head was now positioned down facing the floor, I stopped hearing his voice but felt the work continuing. When I asked what was happening and where Dr. Mohebi went, the four female technicians said "he has left to do other things while we catch up for him with the graft removal and placement process." This process continued, largely without Dr. Mohebi for the remaining 9 hours of the 10 hour surgery. The female technicians continued to chat with each other thoroughout the surgery. Dr. Mohebi would check in about once every two hours for about five or ten minutes to see how things were going, usually to administer more local anesthesia (I assume the technicians are not able to do this). Once he came in and rotated a couple of grafts that one of his technicians had inserted for him, I heard him say "these here need to be turned around." I was not happy with this process since I was told he would be conducting the surgery and there was no mention of technicians who would essentially be doing the whole procedure for him - technicians whose credentials I have no knowledge of and that I was not able to evaluate prior to my surgery. It is my understanding that all graft removal and placements are critical to the outcome results of the surgery. I would say Dr. Mohebi was in the room for a total of less than one hour for the ten hour procedure, and often for only 5-10 minutes at a time, usually to administer more local anesthesia. I did not vocalize my unhappiness during the procedure. The last thing I wanted to do was cause a stink while a group of people are operating on my head whose mood/focus I might affect. But I was not happy. A significant amount of the hair that I use for coverage of my temples had been buzzed off, and the process of the surgery was not what I was told it would be. I could have seen Dr. Diep for the same offered procedure (a buzzing of my baby hairs with FUE grafts) for thousands of dollars less and more density/grafts! The extra precautions I had requested be taken with Dr. Mohebi to conceal my operation and keep my hair have not only been been compromised, but disregarded when the doctor knew this was my top priority. Additionally, though he told me in an email prior that 80% of the grafts would contain my longer hair so I could see a preview of the results, he said at the end of the surgery that only half of the implanted grafts had hair. The hairs that were there were not my full length either, so it seemed pointless to me that we did this method of a procedure at all. The procedure itself was not painful. The four female technicians were very polite, though it did bother me that I had no idea they would be performing the surgery and what their experience/credentials were, if they were rented assistants, etc.... There were a couple of bad (i.e. mildly painful) punches that happened on occasion, but it was so minor that it barely registered. The most uncomfortable part was the pressure on my forehead from laying forward for a long time, and my hands/arms would go numb from laying them underneath my chest. I took three breaks in total throughout the 10 hour surgery - one of them for lunch, and the other two to use the bathroom. In total, I received 1567 grafts. Of those grafts, roughly 338 were triples, another 950 were doubles, and 279 were singles. I was given Valium, some extra strength Tylenol, and Prednisone to help me through the first days of recovery. Next Day Follow-up Meeting In my follow-up meeting the next day, one of the technicians from the surgery showed me how to wash my hair for the next four days. I felt the post-operation procedures were explained to me thoroughly. Finally, I met once more with Dr. Mohebi for about 10 minutes. I told him that I had a comfortable surgery experience with minimal pain, and that I was looking forward to seeing how the results turned out, but that I was very disappointed with how much of my hair was buzzed (not trimmed), which would compromise the concealing of my hair transplant, and also that I didn't appreciate how he told me he would do the surgery but in the end his technicians did. Although I could tell he was trying to remain professional in his response, he was quite defensive. At one point, he told me "I was there for most of the procedure, you just didn't see me because your head was down." I told him I knew this wasn't true because I heard every time he entered and left the room, and that I confirmed his absence with the technicians. He looked surprised. He then told me at least he did all of my graft extractions and incisions. I told him this was also not 100% true, because the technicians told me they were continuing to do extractions for him while he was gone. He then told me it was in my best interest to not have him insert my grafts anyway, because "I am not good at graft insertion. When I try to do it, my technicians laugh at me." I believe he continued to minimize his role in selling me on a procedure that did not meet our shared understanding and agreement. Finally, he was able to say: "I'm sorry. Thank you for your feedback. I will certainly consider it in how I advertise this procedure going forward." I was calm and rational with him throughout this conversation, but I was pretty upset with the accruing dishonesty made by this man, further reinforced by his responses to me during the conversation. I made my point clear though: I was lied to about the details of the procedure. My remaining hair looks drastically different and will not provide the coverage or natural lift as an unshaven head would have provided to conceal the operation, which is what we were going for. Far fewer implanted hairs are in place, and the ones that are look out of place. He told me he would be performing the surgery. He did not mention it would be completed by technicians nor that he his involvement would be minimal, let alone that he is "not good at graft insertion." I paid $21,000 for this procedure. I could have achieved 2000-2500 grafts with Diep for the same process of a procedure (and he was honest with me about it). I believe I was sold with a bait and switch approach here, and that hurts, given how much trust, vulnerability, and investment goes into this process. Had me told me from the first consultation when I asked him my questions and said, "we may need to shave part of your hair for optimal results, and my technicians do most of the work," then I could have made a more educated choice. I'm more than sure he was aware of this. These doctors are salesmen and marketers too, not just surgeons. Having said all of this, I do look forward to seeing how the results come out. I really do. I like the hairline that Dr. Mohebi drew for me. In 12 months I am hopeful that I will feel happier with my appearance than I do today. If the results are good, which I am hopeful they may be, it will be a significant improvement to my self-esteem and long-term concerns about my hair. But it doesn't change the facts of what happened, the bait-and-switch tactics, and the enormous additional cost to have a procedure done that did not do what it said it would do or performed by who said he would perform it. The procedure itself was not painful. What is painful is that the top reason I chose this particular procedure and to pay the incredibly high cost for its specialty approach was pointless. Not to mention the emotional pain of putting my trust, vulnerability, and a high premium financial investment into a procedure that could have been replicated cheaper and with an outcome that I believe would have been more desirable. And so regardless of my final results here, which I hope are good, it won't erase the reality of what has transpired here. I believe that I had the right to have the realistic process explained to me given my questions, concerns, and priorities for having the procedure with Dr. Parsa Mohebi. I will continue to post and update on my progress over the months ahead. I have attached pictures for exhibit of what is currently advertised as a Celebrity FUE procedure on his website, along with an email exchange, and pre-op pics of my hair and now post-op pics of my hair. While it is too late to go back in time, and although l am upset and have lost more money (and potentially though hopefully not compromised my results), my hope is that for those of you reading this you will realize how important it is to ask every little detail about the procedure. Even when I asked "will you be performing the procedure?" and received an immediate and straightforward "yes," it was later minimized and defended post-op by him saying "but I was there." We need more transparency and honesty in marketing. When it's not there, one cannot help but wonder why. -
2342 ultra-refined FUs transplanted to recontour frontal frame and add internal density. 728 singles, 1569 doubles, 45 threes. PRP administered intraoperatively. -
I'd like to add to the wealth of knowledge about Dr. Diep since it seems he has many reviews here that are mostly positive. The jury is still out on this one, but I have high hopes so far. I am 33 years old and paid ~16k total for this FUE procedure and it was booked about 9 months in advance. I *almost* backed out a few days before after reading some scary reviews on realself and after hearing Dr. Diep's reputation for using a large punch size, but I went ahead anyway since he had a solid reputation on this forum. I've always had a high hairline since I can remember (I recall a girl calling me out for a receding hairline when I was 16), but I don't think I actually had noticeable miniaturization occurring until about 27. My father is nearly completely bald, and my brother's hair (who is about 7 years old) has progressive hairloss that is a bit worse than mine. I would say that for most men my age that are suffering from pattern baldness, mine is relatively milder (likely due to my early attempts at treatment). Some might say I am crazy for getting FUE at this stage of hairloss, but it is bothering me enough and it is difficult to style the hair the way I want (I have a huge forehead so I generally wear it down and to the side). My hair is currently receding in the temple areas a few inches and I believe it is starting to thin in the crown area as well. Here is where my hair currently is: You can kind of see on the right side of the picture of my temple area where I think the hairline used to be - one sole surviving hair seems to be nice and thick still. As far as treatments go, I probably have propecia and keto use for the last 4 years or so to thank for the relatively minor hairloss I have (compared to my brother at least). I hadsides when I started propecia, so I experimented with dosage and and also used grape seed extract as a way to counteract the effects (I forgot the mechanism involved but I read about it a long time ago and it seemed to work). I landed on taking approximately .5 mg every 3 days. Any more often and I start to get foggy brain. I sometimes try to increase it to EoD but I just can't do it because the brain fog messes with my job performance. Anyway, on to the stuff you guys probably care about. I initially paid for 1750, but Dr. Diep convinced me it would be a good idea to at least give him an allowance of an extra 100 based on the line he drew to restore my hairline. I also went with the A-cell - cost wasn't that huge of an issue for me and there didn't seem to be any drawbacks other than extra cost: This was exactly what I was looking for - even though I was tempted to lower my hairline a bit since my forehead is so large, I decided ahead of time that I should keep it conservative and simply restore what I had previously. I didn't want to deplete all my donor hair in case I needed more in the future. I also wanted to avoid possibly having an artificial looking hairline by at least having native hair closer to blend in with the implanted hair. I've seen Diep do magic with hairline lowering, but I've also seen some less than stellar results so I didn't want to take any chances. The half a CM or so that it appears to be lowering is simply because you can't really see the few straggler hairs that had not yet receded. As far as how the procedure went, it was fairly typical as others on this forum have described. The Dr. was already working with a patient when I arrived at 7:30, and he told me that he would be done with that patient in the early AM and would be with me for the rest of the day (that turned out to be not really true - once he finished making the recipient incisions, he only came and checked on the technicians performing the implants every now and then). I was given a concoction of pills and then waited about an hour and a half before the doctor came to begin the extractions (around 9:30-10). I did not fall asleep like most others describe but I was fairly relaxed. I experienced some pain from the anesthetic injections, and also had some pain during some of the FUE extractions in a particular area, and I recall him giving additional anesthetic injections for that. I don't know what size punch he used, but he indicated during pre-op that he used between .9 and 1mm - he explained his reasons for the larger punch and while I am aware I could have insisted on a smaller punch, his results speak for themselves and I think its best to let the doctor do things his way. Many of the criticisms I've read thus far regarding the punch size have been focused on how the donor area looked just after the procedure, but I haven't seen any real criticisms of his donor areas in the long term - and I also had not read of donor reserves being unusable as a result. The FUE extractions came from the back and my right side, as seems to be common with Dr. Diep (and debated about in other threads). I think the jury is still out as to whether this should really be done, but I can say that the left side of my donor area is well preserved for any future need, though I am not sure I like how far near the right ear he went with the extractions. That said, I will generally not be buzzing my hair very short anyway (5 guard minimum) so I don't think this will be an issue for me - you can see from the photos how I generally wear my hear. He made sure to minimize any shaving of hair at my hairline since I plan to return to work after 3 weeks and I am hoping (though I am skeptical) to disguise the work with a mixture of clever styling, makeup, topik, etc. One criticism I had about this procedure is once the extractions/incisions were done and lunch was provided, I asked for another round of sedatives (xanex/valium) since what I had so far wasn't really doing the trick and I had much more time to remain in the chair. I wasn't provided that - I am not sure why. The second half of the procedure was fairly uncomfortable - I was generally conscious and could feel each insertion of graft (though no pain from it initially). The inability to move at all due to the inserting of grafts, combined with the very chatty techs who were talking/laughing very loudly inches from my ear talking about all sorts of things (strip clubs, dating, etc), and the lack of any sedative effect, made for a very uncomfortable 6 hour process. I believe they started inserting the grafts around 2pm, and when 5 rolled around or so and I was basically wide awake, I asked how much longer it would be, and I was told 2 hours. Well, 2 hours rolled by and I asked again how much longer, and I was told 30 minutes. The anesthetic had mostly worn off and I was starting to feel pain/pressure and decided to just power through it (they asked if I wanted the Dr. to come apply more anesthetic but I declined since they were almost done, I thought). But it took another hour and a half and everyone from the office was pretty much gone except the technicians and the doctor. The post-op instruction lady came in and decided to give me my post op instructions and sign it while I was still laying on the chair and getting grafts placed, which I thought was kind of odd (do you think I am going to remember this well while I am getting stuck with grafts?) I understand that things happen and just sometimes take longer, but I couldn't help but feel like there was a sense of being rushed at the end (techs complaining about being hungry and what not). By the time things were wrapping up, I was asking for the painkillers prescribed to try and get ahead of the pain that I could feel coming on. The painkillers they gave me did not seem to have any effect on me (Tramadol) so my girlfriend and I drove straight to the pharmacy, and wouldn't you know everything was closed by 10pm, and the one 24 hour pharmacy was out of percocet. Most people describe the post-op pain as being relatively minor but I was experiencing the worst head pressure/pain I had ever felt. I ended up quickly glancing through the post-op instructions and seeing something about how ibuprofen can be taken 4 days post-op and in my pain and dizzyness from the valium, believed that meant I could take ibuprofen and took 3 (turns out I wasn't supposed to do that because of the blood thinning effect). While his written instructions, if you actually parse out the language, say that you can take ibuprofen after the 4th day, it is very easy to misread the instructions if you are in a daze from the sedatives and in a lot of pain. I was mildly annoyed because my girlfriend had been in the waiting room since 4 pm and could have picked up the prescriptions for me as I had asked (but they declined to let her because they said they already had painkillers for me). A word about the post-op instruction packets - I also don't understand why there are two different sets of post-op instruction packets which address the same issues and in some cases are contradictory (one set of instructions are telling you how to clean the recipient area each day after surgery but the second set clearly says you should *not* touch the recipient area until day 4). Dr. Diep was very pleasant during the pre-op but I didn't talk with him much after the procedure. I believe he came in to check on the technicians about once every 30-45 minutes during the insertion of the grafts and to take final photos. I went to my first post-op wash and was hoping to get a rundown of how he felt about the procedure, but he was too busy when I was there, so I am hoping to catch him in one of the other cleanings if possible. Anyway, here is the stuff you guys probably care about: Other than taking ibuprofen after the surgery, everything seems to be normal. Once I woke up, i was no longer in pain and haven't really felt anything yet. The doctor told me the ibuprofen won't have any effect on the graft survival, it can just cause excessive bleeding from the donor area (doesn't seem to be a huge issue at the moment). I also apparently misinterpreted the pre-op instructions regarding smoking - the warning made specific reference to the dangers of nicotine - so I assumed that smoking marijuana was still OK (I used marijuana semi-regularly 1-2 times/week), and had smoked it 4 days prior to the surgery. Dr. Diep didn't like that but said it should be fine, but advised me to refrain from any marijuana use for an "entire year" ?!?!. From what I've been reading, it seems that the general MO is to refrain from smoking anything for a month or so, but after that I can resume. Cannabis has been show to inhibit growth of hair generally from what secondary sources I've read, but it doesn't appear from anything I could find that would cause the failing of hair grafts once the grafts are fully healed. If anyone has better information they could chime in? Anyway, thanks for listening. Any tips to disguise the hair implant would be greatly appreciated - I can't wear a hat as I work in a courtroom so its very important to look professional. I might also just need to fess up and tell everyone why I took a 3 week vacay - but we''ll see. Thanks for listening. -
Hi. I am losing my hair and I want to get a FUE hair transplant. I have been researching this topic for 1 year. I read some negative reviews and a lot of positive reviews on dr Diep. I have seen dr Diep YouTube videos. I don’t know what is real and what is not real in terms of the comments. Is there something I should be aware of when analyzing his YouTube videos? Am I missing something? Is it too good to be true? I ask these questions because I am a true born sucker....lol. I watch magic shows and I can’t figure any of it out. I can’t tell whether pictures are photoshopped on magazines. I do not know anything about optical illusion either. So, please tell me bluntly whether I am being fooled. I am “considering” dr. Diep for my procedure. If I sound stupid please forgive me for my ignorance.
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Hi I wanted to post a follow up to my original thread, two years and three months after my initial visit to Dr. Bahtti's clinic. With plenty of time to gather my thoughts and appreciate the full results I have put into words all that I've been able to gather in this journey. I hope it serves you well in your own: Good hair restoration is an artform. All great works of art have one thing in common, they were not created in one day, they evolve through time. From Michelangelo's David to da Vinci's Monalisa they were all the product of progressive work. The same applies to a great hair restoration, this is one of the most important lessons I have learned during this journey. Two years ago I underwent a successful 2100 grafts FUE procedure with Dr Bhatti, the results were impressive, as evidenced on my previous post. During my consultation with Dr Bhatti I asked him to take a "less is more" approach in order to safeguard as much of the donor area resources as possible for when I had a chance to experience the transplanted hair growth and understand the best ways to style it (remember you can always add more but once it has been transplanted you can't turn back and the donor area resources are a limiting factor). So, after a year of enjoying his work and becoming acquainted with the looks of different lengths and stylings I had a clear idea of what could make it look even better than it already did. It basically came down to accentuating the windows peak area, since it was a defining feature of my hairline in my early 20's and to maximize the density so that I could also wear my hair very short and the areas with original and transplanted hair would look as equally dense as possible. I have a protruded forehead and the peak makes it look much smaller and balances my facial proportions. Last May I contacted his office to make arrangements for another procedure, and to my surprise Dr Bhatti gladly agreed to perform it free of cost as a retouch because the hairline he drew on the first consultation took that area into account. Even then I was a bit in doubt if it was really necessary, to me that is testament to how good his initial work was. I've always been told that I have a baby face appearance therefore a more aggressive hairline doesn't look awkward, especially since he had brought my temples forward on the first procedure. I was looking forward to share the result with the doctor and his team as I was so grateful what they had done for me. The protocol was the same as in my first visit, this time they even assisted me with the arrangements for accommodation. His driver picked me up at the hotel the morning after my arrival and took me to their new facilities, a state of the art dedicated medical services building. Upon seeing their faces I couldn't help but smile, at that point no word could express my gratitude. We had a brief consultation where Dr Bhatti listened carefully to my feedback, he explained his plan, documented the results and proceeded to prep my head by trimming my hair very short. The plan was to add 500 grafts to the frontal hairline and the widow's peak. The procedure went as uneventful as the first, his team showing again a high level of skill and professionalism. As in the first procedure, Dr Bhatti did the anesthesia and harvesting of grafts. After a short breakfast break Dr Bhatti made the slits and this took around 20 mins. The old team of my previous procedure did the plantation. Well co-ordinated with Dr Bhatti supervising the plantation every now and then and enquiring about my comfort. The plantation Once done they covered my head and got me to eat some lunch. After that it was time to reveal the grafted area, clean the donor area and bandage my head, once again I was blown out of the water as the amount of work he puts in is so evident, opposed to the doctor who did my botched procedure in the USA. Once completed the driver took me back to my hotel. Next morning I was picked up and taken to the clinic for the removal of the bandages, a final documentation of his work and to go over the care instructions and receive the care kit. I had decided that this time I wanted to stay at the villa the clinic offers for post-op recovery in Kasauli, one of the hill stations adjacent to Chandigarh, an elegant and peaceful retreat that includes a lovely lady that cooks deliciously and cleans for you. At USD 25 a day it is worth every penny. After spending a few days there resting and exploring the hill station I was ready to hit the road, but before returning to the US it was time to make the most of my trip by enjoying some sightseeing, this year it was time to explore Amritsar, home to the Golden Temple. India is such a big country with such rich and complex history that you barely can scratch the surface in just one visit. I know I will be back. Dr Bhatti and his team are like distant relatives to me now, anytime I look at myself in the mirror I can't help but think about them and how much they've done for me. A few last thoughts two years into this journey. Number one, trust Dr Bhatti and his work and don't cheap out on the PRP therapy that he is advocating as it is an essential element in the transplant result's success. Second, as one would be tempted to get every single possible hair grafted in one shot, the true artform lies in the work not being detected, specially by those who know you. I have noticed in the last two years friend commenting in social media about people they know who have gotten work done and they poke fun at the fact that they can tell they've had work done due to a combination of unesthetic looking and excessive restoration, in my case the only comment I've received in numerous times has been that I don't seem to age, a testament to his work, a boost of confidence to me and a win for all. -
This a a total home run. Dr. Lorenzo is a true master of donor and recipient management. Congratulations. -
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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Hi Folks, Long time lurker; My very first post here with the intent to share and contribute based on my upcoming surgery in India with Darling buds and most importantly “ My results “ in the next few months. I feel morally obligated to contribute at least something back to this community that offers : A worldwide network of HT experts, reputed Senior members sharing invaluable info, Top rated HT surgeons positioning their point of views and most importantly "real patients sharing real stories". Background Male in mid-thirties from Canada; NW 3 - Less/More. Past 6 years were dark and depressing. Living in a fool’s paradise; using Toppik daily assuming everything’s fine but somewhere at a deeper level; it continuously bothered me. Finally in 2019; I made the big decision to get a HT. This website is the main reason as to why I was able to solidify on my research, move ahead with a concrete decision and was able to find one of the best doctor (just being positive here) as per my checklist/strict criteria. Special thanks to the Creator of this website – Kudos to the brain that kicked off this humanitarian initiative as it continues to educate millions of potential patients like myself. Why Darling Buds India (I guess they changed the name to 5 Rivers Hospital ) This piece takes forever to decide especially for someone like me who spends gazillions of hours on the Internet/YouTube/Forums. I was always skeptical about giving my Head to someone to be operated; so consulted with many Canadian, American, European, Indian and Turkish clinics. Many reputed names like Dr. Rahal ( Known as the hairline king from Canada), Dr Acar ( Cosmedica Turkey), Dr. Erdogan ( Turkey), Aestimed ( Turkey), LA Hair ( USA), Qunomedical ( Belgium & German clinics), Dr. Cinik ( Turkey) and the list goes on……………………………………………. but None fitted my checklist in it's entirety reflecting 8 Key deciding factors that was prepared after extensive research for years 🙄 : 1. Max cost under 10,000 CAD ( 7500 USD ) for 3500-4000 Grafts to be able to achieve maximum density in my case. YES, I decided to find the best treatment within this range. IMHO, paying this much should suffice in getting you a world class, still affordable HT in today’s age with advanced Technologies, Globalization, the power of internet and competitive market. It's costing me around 9000 CAD ( including some expensive flight tickets) with Dr. Bhatti which seems adequate for the reputation he has or rather a steal ( not sure - will tell later) If budget wasn’t a constraint, I would’ve booked Dr. Rahal ( Canada ) who is local to me OR Dr. Baubac ( Alvi Armani USA) more importantly to save myself from the hassle of flying 20 hours one way, then drive to a different city, book a hotel for a week, apply for a visa, Take few weeks of vacation from work etc. Dr Rahal charges 8 CAD per FUE, most other clinics would cost the same in N. America for FUE Treatment. It’s costing me around 2.40 CAD with Dr. Bhatti ( includes all international/ Local flights, Visa, Hotel, Food, Cab etc.). If you compare Dr Bhatti's fee with his peers who fall in the same reputed arena of global doctors, I think most would sign this off as a great offering for hair loss patients globally. Eugenix quoted around 4 CAD per graft but it was for DHI method. They produced some great results lately and they are the inventors of DHI which is now adapted globally; goes to show that they are researchers also - very impressive. As of 2019, I think Dr. Bhatti and Eugenix should be compared as top players if India is the selected destination for your HT Journey ( My comparison below) I almost finalized Eugenix over Dr. Bhatti but then based on my research, took a U Turn : Eugenix positive aspects: 1. Biggest is DHI - OUT/IN grafts within minutes. Definitely better method as compared to Traditional FUE . I could only find positives so far, no negatives on DHI. It's hard to logically beat DHI method with traditional FUE; so no doctor should even try it IMO. I wish Dr Bhatti would offer DHI to his patients by now ☹ 2. Clinics are located in major cities like Delhi and Mumbai. No need to drive / fly again from major airport all the way to Chandigarh. Eugenix Negative aspects: 1. Some patients mentioned that they were taken for a ride. Eugenix Docs prey on foreign nationals; after or during mid surgery – Dr. Bansal asked for 500 more grafts payment as required and payment must be done during the middle of the operation ( insane); also no breakdown/reasoning was provided in the end. On the contrary, Darling buds has returned some fee to few patients to their surprise which is a classy act of ethical business in my opinion (hard to find) 2. Eugenix costs are almost double than Darling buds( quite expensive for many) but anyways DHI is more costlier than traditional FUE globally and if results are better with more graft survival rate, most patients wouldn't mind paying more. 3. Eugenix is run in a satellite office format, more than one location and hard to get a hold of prime doctors - Dr. Sethi and Dr. Bansal where as Dr. Bhatti provides a peace of mind with one location, one clinic, one doctor who is also the owner of that entire facility with 15 good staff members well trained under him in a peaceful non polluted city near a hill station. #3 was a critical factor in my decision to go with Dr. Bhatti In short, I would’ve loved DHI for best results but I settled with FUE for now Note: Out of thousands, This site recommends ONLY 2 surgeons from Turkey, 7 surgeons from India and 1 from Canada ( I was surprised to see only Dr. Rahal in the list, yes Hasson is there but they're again advocates of FUT ), so HRN really helped me short list 10 surgeons before making the final call 2. ONLY FUE for ME – My heart said a Big “No“ to a linear scar; doesn’t matter if some Doctors persuade you with somewhat genuine reasoning's to avoid FUE such as : FUE provides Less density, FUT offers more grafts and saves Donor area as untouched for future sessions, FUE is a blind process etc. Dr. Feller and Dr. Soni ( Medispa India) seems like the two biggest advocates of FUT over FUE and I agree with some of their explanations as it sounds logical. Dr. Soni really pushed me to sign up with FUT and said his scar technique is different. Promised that he will close it in a way where almost no scarring is visible . It was tough buying into that argument, additionally recent negative reviews about him and I finally decided to brush him aside at that point. 3. Doctor MUST perform the operation (No technicians) – I could only find someone as reputed as Dr. Bhatti who performs 80% of the procedures that includes Hair trimming (to feel your hair ), Anesthesia, FUE Extractions with motorized punch and Incisions. In Turkey where I was almost sold at one point, all operations are run by Technicians. Not a Plastic surgeon, no educational background/ competency level ( it's scary as they're known as the butchers of HT industry) I wish Dr. Bhatti would implant the grafts too ( not his nurses) for extra cost but I guess it will be a tedious job for a busy surgeon to sit for another 4 hours or so ....... Am I asking for too much 4. World class facility matching North American standards : with Heart rate monitoring, proper blood tests, blood pressure check up, spotless , Face coverings during entire operation and sterile environment. 5. Super microscopes and Magnifiers is a must ( Most Turkish clinics operate with naked eyes, when I asked they tried to sell me bull *&**** ) This is extremely important during all 4 phases of operation : Extraction – To make sure proper gaps are left in between grafts in the donor area and get the right angle before using the punch. Sorting – To count how many pure singles, doubles, triples and quads ( if any ) are collected. Incisions – To ensure least collateral damage, magnifier will show 6 x scalp surface so during incisions, holes are made at the right angle, depth and only on bald scalp areas ( not where you've some fine hairs). This should also minimize some shock loss in the post op phase. Implantation - Imperative to only use pure singles / baby soft hairs in the very first few rows of hairline and Temples. If by mistake, they implant doubles – it will give a pluggy look and I would rate that transplant as 50% failed right then and there. If during implant, nurses grab a multi - haired graft, at least microscopes will allow them to revisit to find a pure single graft and then insert it in the right spot. Joe Tillman's video is quite helpful : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MeQ4ZvEHb7Y 6. Doctor should have a solid reputation on major forums, hair restoration network, should be well read, traveled, have some global exposure, recommended by Bald-truth, Spex and many other HT mentors like Joe Tillman. Dr. Bhatti checks all those boxes. Yes – there are some mixed opinions about him (and every other Top HT surgeon out there) but perfection is impossible to achieve; so I decided to just look at the bigger picture and go for it. 7. Detailed info, pre op care, post op care, regular contacts and supporting your patients in their hours of greatest needs is of utmost importance. Its well know that Dr. Bhatti, Shera ( his rep) , California would contact their ex. Patients regarding some concerns, would stand by them and not disappear. This was impressive. 8. Patient advisor should be genuine, honest and straightforward – So far, Shera has been awesome, friendly and taking care of all my minor/ major concerns. Always reachable, quick responses and a real time patient who has experienced the same Doctor few years ago first hand. In the long run, it helps to have a contact like him for small chats if need be. I will continue to share my Journey with Darling buds and also, highlight If any red flags are there. So far, I’m just one naive internet researcher in this field who talks based on theories and hypothetical situations, I don’t have any practical experiences yet. Assuming I've made a good decision by choosing this clinic (over others) and trying to keep a positive mindset hoping I will be in good hands is the only thing I can do now. One Sr. Member said it wisely – “For Dr. Bhatti and his staff ( or other clinics) 18th March will be just another day with another patient like thousands came before and will come after, but for a patient who’s been researching on this constantly day/night, it’s a big life event and 18th is one of the most important day of his life after which either he could regain his lost confidence or could loose it forever “ After all, handing off your head to someone for the entire day isn’t one easy decision I’ve seen members here supporting each other against doctors if results aren’t satisfactory. That speaks volumes and the main reason as to why I joined here to gain support from my so called “Anonymous hair restoration family” Dr. Bhatti's hairlines were talked about – not too dense? Any suggestions? Should I revisit this with him ? I don't want a sparse hairline but Not sure if this was an old issue (one -off) Also, I’ve not met Dr Bhatti for any F2F consulting yet or a video consultation, plan is to meet him a day before my procedure. So far, Shera is my driving force. I’m hoping for a life changing experience (like many others), regain my lost confidence and I always say “ Hope “ is something that brings us to these Doctor’s doorsteps. Yes finance and reviews are important aspects but we all hope to be treated in the best possible way during our special treatment day. A little daunting for me to fly all the way, get operated in a surgical room, holes in my head but I’m collecting all the courage in this world to get this done. Shera is helping like one true Samaritan If some of you are able to read this completely, my apologies for such a long note but this is the only forum where I am able to write everything anonymously and vent out if need be. My Journey to be continued……………………………………………………………………………………............................................ -
Hi everyone, I’ve been a long time reader of this site while I’ve been on my own hairloss journey, and similar to many other people, I’ve decided to share my story and details of my procedure here to help anyone else who may be planning a similar path and would like to see my experience. The background I’m now 33, and I initially realised I was thinning around 10 years ago. My older brother thinned around a similar time, my Grandad was bald though my Dad (in his 60's) still has thin hair coverage. Initially it was just on the crown of my head before it thinned on my temples and I tried a number of solutions before realising I needed to take Finasteride and to look into Regaine / Rogaine products. I joined the hair restoration programme at Boots here in the UK, and paid the equivalent of £1 a day for Propecia. I’m very fortunate in that I don’t think I have had any side effects at all! I tried Regaine, but after a year I really didn’t notice any difference so I stopped it. About two years ago, when I moved to Barcelona, I started taking a generic form of Finasteride which is available over the counter in Spain. It’s in 5mg pills which I cut into four segments and I take one a day, at a cost of about 10 Euros for about 4 months’ worth (far more cost effective…). I also began shaving my head short (not skinhead, but shortly cropped) – and I had a micropigmentation procedure (basically a tattoo on my head) that certainly helps my head look a darker shade, but didn’t really solve the hairloss issue. While I feel happy that the finasteride has slowed down the hair loss and the pigmentation procedure helped disguise my situation, I’ve never been happy with the crown / corners of my hair and so I’ve worn either Toppik or Mane Hair Thickening Spray (dark brown) for a while which I feel covers up my hair loss really well. However, as soon as I lean against a white wall or sleep in a bed that doesn’t have dark bedsheets, I leave behind a black mess and I always knew I’d go down the hair transplant route one day. Plus I was recently with a dude who ran his hand through my hair then saw the black mess on his hand and was like ‘what’s this?’. Let’s just say I’d prefer not to deal with that kind of embarrassing situation again. Deciding on the hair transplant An ex of mine told me he’d gone to Este Grande in Istanbul for his transplant but it seemed a little too cheap to be true. He’s only just had his procedure and I think it looks great, but it’s too soon to tell and I didn’t want to choose price over quality reviews. Another ex had gone with DHI Global in Greece (I seem to have dated a lot of people with hair loss issues huh?), though I’d read some reviews of DHI that didn’t make me feel confident. I used these forums and found out about Dr. Erkan Demirsoy / Armamed and took some time looking through his work and reading through forum posts from people who’d chosen him, and I was sold. As I don’t need to create a new hairline (just lots of focus on the crown and temples) then I feel confident that for his price, it would be the best for me. He’s quoted me the standard 3500 – 4000 hairs, for 1.25 Euro a graft. I booked, and fortunately he had space in about 6 weeks’ time from when I booked. Today I'm flying from London (where I currently live) into Istanbul and my procedure is tomorrow on April 17th. I fly back to the UK on the 19th where I’ll spend a week with my family recovering and stuffing my swollen face with Easter Eggs. I’ve included some pictures here which show my hair before the MSP procedure and after the MSP procedure, and my current situation where I’ve grown my hair a bit which will help Dr D see the whole hair picture, which isn’t so easy to see due to the MSP procedure I had. You may notice my hairline isn’t all that straight (ironically) but that doesn’t really bother me – I’m happy with where my hairline is and would only want the temples filled in. I usually use Mane HT spray as I think it provides a really good cover up solution and some of you reading this may find it’s a better, temporary solution while you consider the transplant path. Final words I’m really looking forward to the procedure and will do everything I can to get the best yield. I’m a non-drinker or smoker, and I'll do my best to follow all the professional advice I can to get a good result. I play sport a lot – mainly cycling, lots of rowing, weightlifting and I walk everywhere so I’ll be keen to get back into that afterwards. My biggest fear in all this is being 6’5” (195cm) and the fact I hit my head everywhere I go….the metro…doorframes…lampshades…low hanging branches. Finally, something I’ve learnt from what I’ve read is to manage my expectations. I’m not expecting that I’ll come out of this (after a year) with a full head of hair. I just want MORE hair in the places that are thinning, and to not feel like I’m 53 when I’m 33 and to not leave a dark brown trail mark in white areas. All future posts will be shorter but I wanted to give you the background to my journey. The following post will show the pictures on surgery day and please feel free to ask me anything or comment as I’d love to share my experience with you all. -
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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. -
Thank you Dr. Bhatti, If proven to be true with evidence. This will not be tolerated at all. I’ve made it crystal clear to our community that we will not stand for any form of extortion. -
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Well, I'm not thinking that when I post but maybe an "unintended" consequence? 😁 Yes, his post here: no thx hairlossPA! I'm glad you asked, it is better to ask for confirmation than to assume what you read here is always correct. Where did you read that? Maybe you could direct me to the thread, I’m curious to see it. No I can’t confirm is it is true because it’s not. 😃 None of our staff were trained elsewhere. Unless, you consider doctors Hasson and Wong working alongside another doctor in the 1990's as such. What I can confirm is that on our journey to produce industry leading FUE results equal to if not better than our famous FUT results, we gathered a lot of information and data. While it is true our doctor/doctors and some select team members traveled to conferences and observed the various techniques and skills of a few prominent FUE surgeons and clinics, no training on any of our staff was performed, only observation. After all of the data was gathered, we brought home this collection of new found knowledge and developed our own FUE philosophies and techniques that we felt would produce the best results. Some doctors were more influential and maintain a closer relationship with some members of our staff. I would say doctors Devroye and Lorenzo fit that description. That is not to say some others such as Dr. Koray were not gracious and welcoming, but they had little or no influence on what we do today. Some deserved credit to the aforementioned Dr. Devroye and Lorenzo for which we are grateful but most of the credit would go to our doctors and the dedication of certain key staff members willing to research, study, practice and make the necessary commitment to prefect our FUE technique and make it their own. We would only proceed with offering FUE when we could produce FUE grafts equal to or greater than the quality of our FUT grafts. Now you just don't wake up one day and say you want to perform industry leading FUE. The extraction is only part of the equation and the years of experience with FUT play a prominent role. This case is an excellent example. How did this result turn out to be so good? Well, aside from being able to harvest perfect grafts via FUE which we will assume is a given at our clinic, the proof is in the post-op photos. Has anyone marveled at how good they are and what they reveal? Precise control of angle, direction and orientation of the transplanted grafts. Every hair lines up parallel with the others. High uniform density. Look closely at other post-op shots ( if anyone will show this clarity) and compare. You may look long and wide to try and find a replica elsewhere. Do you think some clinics don’t have the right camera to take clear close-up shots that have this detail? Or, would this type of transparency and compare expose the fact that the level of refinement is quite different? You decide. Besides the unquestioned skill of the surgeon and staff, technique, attention to the finest detail and artistry are all necessary in producing this kind of result. Let's also give credit to the lateral slit (inventor Dr. Wong) and the custom sized blade cutting device ( inventor Dr. Hasson). And hairline design you say? Very important, as always and thank you for recognizing it! I think hairline design can often be an overlooked component. Without a great design, the result will suffer no matter how good the grafts are and how well they are planted. And thank you to all who care to take notice all of these components that are necessary to produce the best result! Thank you for the comment and question MarkyH! -
It's good that you reached out to him, but it's a little disconcerting that after a "lengthy phone call", the only question asked was "what's changed?" - with an entirely predictable answer, and an answer that was repeated many times previous on other threads. Obviously, extortion and attempts to degrade a surgeon's reputation for financial purposes are always bad. I think we're all in agreement on that one. I personally didn't go to Dr. Erdogan, so I don't have any dog in this fight - but, based on what I've read from other "sub-par" results threads and experiences, people were looking for more specific answers to more specific questions other than the generic response delivered by the clinic above. I don't think anyone is saying all surgery's performed at the clinic are bad. I don't doubt that most are probably good. I think what's happened is that the number of "sub-par" surgery's appears to have increased. Increased doesn't mean more than 50%, but more than was previously experienced. That enough is alone to alarm patients. Yes, it's true that no surgery is a guarantee, but when you see the number of "sub-par" results rising when compared to previous years, that should alarm patients far, far more and it begins to give birth to questions as to whether that statistic will rise in the months and years to come. Also, it's a bit convenient that when you warn of fake accounts, that one of those would perfectly match that description and dare to post on this thread!!! -
Its my first post here and hope to get some support and answers. I live in Dubai and was going to have a hair transplant here with some little research, but thankfully I found this forum before taking any step. After going through this forum(for 3 months now), I held back from doing the surgery(and feeling down agian) until I am more aware and knowledgable. I am also not feeling comfortable with the idea of technicians and nurses performing on my head. 1) Could you please give me a list of doctors who perform the the whole surgery by themselves or most of the surgery? So I could start my research from here. 2) And I was also wondering is turkey a good place for hair transplant? I know that "dr.rasul yaman" and "dr.koray" are recommended by this forum, I've seen good result with dr. rasul yaman but what make me feel suspicious is the "very low" price. Dont get me wrong its a good price, but too good to be true. and for dr. Koray , after seeing several horrible results from users here ( hope all of them will get it sort out) which I believe in my opinion is the cause of unexperienced technicians , this clinic is out of my list, unless there is a good excuse for their failed recent surgeries. -
2500 grafts with Dr Steven Gable
MattyNJ1 replied to MattyNJ1's topic in Hair Restoration Results Posted by Patients
About 1yr 7 months since my HT with Dr. Gable. Sorry about ghosting some of your questions, been busy with life in general. So here is my takeaway from my HT, Finasteride usage, and my personal hair loss experience. Iam very happy that i put myself through this process, No regrets, the results i got, restored that gut wrenching feeling we all know about, (when we start seeing our ugly scalp in the reflection of the mirror), back to a feeling of satisfaction and confidence...I love not really thinking or worrying about my front hairline receding any more, and that feels great. I feel Dr. G was a little conservative with my hairline, as i would've liked to have it slightly lower, and a tad more in the temples, but i let him make the call on the final design. But as a HT surgeon, Dr. G, and the procedure were fantastic. Iam probably not one of this sites "WOW" before & after stories, but at nearly 51yrs old iam more than okay with the state of my hair at this point in my life. Its true what Dr. G and others have stated, IT TAKES MORE THAN A YEAR....iam just now still seeing visible thickening and maturing and naturalizing of the transplanted hair. I would also caution people about shock loss, as i experienced ALOT of shock loss, and it took a long long time to grow back. That was the only scary 'low point' I had post procedure. Finasteride: I went back on Fin shortly after the HT, despite having some strange reactions the 1st time around. This time low dosage EOD. I didn't get the visible hair growth right off the bat like the 1st experience, but stuck with it and still take it now only 2x per week. Look...idk how some ppl claim this drug doesn't give them sexual sides, and iam not calling them a liar however, in my case, it absolutely has many side effects that i acknowledged, monitored and dealt with. Very clear, side effects, not cognitive dissonance or paranoid delusions...just very apparent sides. ED, was one of them....no more morning wood was the eventual 1st obvious side effect. FIN comes with a price, while FIN was not growing my hair, (this time) i (believe) it may be stopping it from falling out and getting worse (fending off dreaded DHT) . So i stayed on it, despite obvious drops in libido, ED, and even some genital shrinkage.....however it would always seem to cycle. There were Eb & flow, highs and lows. And to be clear, never any permanent effects as i stopped here and there for just a few days or a week and everything seems to come back to normal. I settled into a twice a week dosage that seems to be the middle ground now where i dont see any shedding and my libido is normal. I also with out a doubt notice that Fin + Minoxidil in my case work to grow new hair, they seem to be synergistic, for sure. One without the other wont seem to produce for me.... So that is my experience, and anyone using this Rx should know that there is a possibility of these sides, however i think the nightmare cases are rare and are the exception rather than the rule... At any rate, these are my results taken in the past week or so, (some wet some dry) I grew my hair quite long on top, as ive been building a off grid cabin in the middle of nowhere so i dont cut it much, but you decide for yourself....Good luck to anyone considering HT, i do think it is a great option for most people with hair loss, and Dr. G is a great choice for surgeon....maybe ill be heading back for some temple work and crown in the future....till then I wish you all good luck with your choices and your road to happiness. -
This is absolutely true, we’ve been told that they have been in constant communication with their patients. That said, we’ve asked questions, because ultimately we want our recommendations to mean something, and we want to show our community that we listen. Ideally, it would be great if Dr. Erdogan, would respond to each thread, but we understand that takes a very long time to do and he’s a busy man. So once we speak to him we will report back our findings.
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Hello Everyone, After 4 years looking at this forum and others, I finally took the plunge and ultimatly decided with Dr. Rahal seeking to obtain those amazing hairline we see in his patient pictures. Adrian was superb in helping in coping with this surgery and explain in detail what was going to happen. The procedure was over after 7hours and I must thank his wonderfull staff for putting up with me. Thank you the Alana`s team! The initial estimate was 2500 then after the consult the Dr. bumped it up to 3000. With existing hair I ended up with up to 75graft/cm in front and: 642 - Ones 1975 - Twos 789 - Threes 19 - Fours Total: 3425 grafts/ 7035 hairs. Dr. Rahal is a true professional and really put me at easy during the procedure. He checked up on me the whole time and was allways a phone call away. So, I expect amazing results and will be updating this album. Cheers. Portugal25 -
Having attended many of the International Society of Hair Restoration Surgery (ISHRS) annual meetings over the years, I've long known that Dr. Robert Haber is highly respected by his physician colleagues. In 1995 he was recognized for his innovative techniques with an "Award of Excellence" by the ISHRS. In 2001 he was awarded the Archimedes Prize by the Italian Society of Hair Restoration and the Michelangelo Award in 2002. He also served as the President of the ISHRS from 2002 to 2003. But seeing him and his staff in action confirmed that he "walks the talk" in all aspects of his hair restoration surgery from A to Z. The issue of how hair bearing tissue is removed from the donor area has been a particularly hot topic on the Internet the past few years. Patients have been concerned about minimizing scarring in the donor area, while maximizing the amount of hair follicles that are successfully transplanted. Dr. Haber is very much at the cutting edge of addressing these issues so that patient's get the optimal amount grafts from a given amount of limited donor tissue, while minimizing the visibility of any donor scar. In fact, his new device, the "donor spreader", which virtually eliminates any transection (severing) of hair follicles in the donor area during donor removal, was a big sensation when it was introduced at the annual ISHRS meeting in Australia in August of 2005. Dr. Haber's new "Donor Spreader" ??“ making Donor Harvesting Transection Free. The donor spreader enables a surgeon to remove a single donor strip from the patient's donor area without transecting the follicles along the edges of the donor strip. This single strip of hair bearing donor tissue is then carefully "slivered" (trimmed) under microscopes into smaller sections, which are then trimmed into 1, 2, 3 and 4 hair follicular unit grafts. While many leading hair transplant surgeons have the skill to cut along the edge of the donor strip and carefully remove a single donor strip with minimal transection of the follicles along the single blade incision, the donor spreader makes this process easier and more assured. This single bladed donor removal and dissection process, when skillfully performed, makes the harvesting and trimming of donor tissue into follicular unit grafts virtually transection free. Thus a patient can know with confidence that every follicle that is harvested from their limited supply of bald resistant hair follicles in the donor area is going to be carefully preserved and transplanted. Such careful attention to maximizing a patient's limited bald resistant donor tissue is the hallmark of physicians who really care about the patient's long term well being. Such care is often not taken by clinic's who use "multibladed" knifes to quickly remove and trim the donor area in one step without carefully avoiding transecting and damaging the precious donor follicles. Such multibladed knifes and other patient unfriendly means of donor removal, while expedient for the clinic, are silent killers of hundreds of thousands of precious bald resistant hair follicles each year. In my opinion, Dr. Haber's new donor spreader is an outstanding and innovative tool that will save hundreds of thousands of precious follicles in thousands of patients as leading physicians incorporate it into their practices. I really commend him for making the donor harvesting process virtually transection free! Making the Donor Scar Virtually Invisible Dr. Haber also uses a relatively new technique for closing the donor area called "Trichophytic" closure, which can often make the donor scar virtually undetectable to the naked eye. This technique, also referred to as the "ledge" technique, was also detailed on this forum by Dr. Paul Rose who has championed this technique along with Dr. Mario Marzola of Australia. The "Trichophytic" closure enables the top and bottom lips of the open donor area to be joined together with a slight overlap so that the hair follicles in the lower lip grow up and out through the upper lip thus making the donor scar virtually invisible to the naked eye. To enable the upper and lower lips of the donor area to overlap in a smooth and level manner the top and bottom lips are trimmed and beveled so that they join together flush. Such a high level of care in the harvesting and closing of the donor area is producing optimal hair yield for his patients, while minimizing visible donor scarring so that it will not be an issue for a patient. Given his interest in minimizing the chance of cosmetically significant donor scarring, Dr. Haber likes to limit his typical surgical session to under 2,500 grafts in order to avoid over taxing the donor area. Microscopically Prepared Follicular Unit Grafts and Minimally Invasive Incisions Dr. Haber's technicians take great care to preserve the naturally occurring follicular units, while trimming them into 1, 2, 3 and 4 hair grafts. These grafts are then placed into very tiny graft incisions that are carefully oriented and angled by Dr. Haber. Like other leading hair transplant surgeons, Dr. Haber is sensitive to the varying angles and directions in which hair grows depending on where it is located. By following the natural direction and angulations of hairs in a given area, Dr. Haber is able to recreate a natural flow and direction for the new hair. Patient Focused Care Produces Optimal Results Dr. Haber and his staff also typically focus on one patient for the day. Such individual attention enables them to take the time and care needed at each step of the process to give the patient optimal yield and growth, rapid healing and very natural results. Such quality work, although not widely known or recognized online, has earned Dr. Haber and his clinic a strong local reputation in Ohio. In my opinion, Dr. Haber and his staff are real gems in the rough who quietly and consistently produce excellent state of the art results at very fair prices. -
Hi everyone, want to share my experience regarding a 2500 graft iFUE at Dr. Harald Eberson which i did last summer (July 21/22 2016) in Amsterdam, The Netherlands. Quick intro: Currently 33, was 32 last summer and the first signs of baldness started showing slowly around age 20 when my hairline was receding and around age 27 the crown started getting thinner and so did the entire scalp on top. I did read on possible remedies but was never attracted to finasteride for example due to the potential negative side effects. I'd rather be bald than having even a minor chance of suffering from those. The thinning and receding hairline did not impact me heavily but I did always promise myself when the time (and $ in the bank) is right, I would do a hair restoration regardless, at least to ensure a nice frame for the face. On my dad's side most guys are pretty much Norwood 4-5, and my mom's side less to none, but the idea of doing an FUE was to restore the look/appearance. Getting balder, about 2 years ago I started using fibers, which made a huge difference. It impacted my confidence more than I thought it would and everything looked good. However, with the process continuing, I started to lack hairs in the front to actually make the use if fibers nice and natural. That's the moment I knew: It's time for more fire power: an FUE. A few pics of the BEFORE situations WITHOUT any fibers. Selecting the right clinic: There were basically 3 criteria which had to be good: 1. Quality 2. Cost 3. Trust/confidence/good feeling I went to several doctors in and around San Francisco, e.g. Joel Beck and Sara Wasserbauer. From both I got a feeling they could get me the desired result, though Beck was not a specialist but a more common plastic surgeon, he would bring in Neograft, and Wasserbauer's results did not look that appealing. And both were tremendously expensive in my opinion compared to Western-European docs. So how did I randomly end in in Amsterdam, The Netherlands then? I work at a tech company here in San Francisco (did that shock you?) and have to travel to the UK and The Netherlands often for many years now. So I slowly, but surely also considered that as an option. I reached out to several clinics and selected the one where I could get good value for money and got the sense that the patients interest was on the top of the list. TransHair was one I reached out to but they were very unfriendly from the get go. Two other good clinics I heard about while in The Netherlands were: ProHairClinic in Antwerp Eberson Hair Clinic in Amsterdam ProHair did not have any bandwidth for the dates I was considering, so I connected with Eberson. The journey begins - Dr. Eberson From the start this seemed like the right guy. Calm, experienced, realistic and professional. It took two (long) calls were we discussed preferences, managed expectations, cost and assessed the situation. We decided to go for 2500 grafts, using the iFUE technique. the "i" stands for intermittent where the grafts are extracted and implanted again in a shorter time than some regular FUE. Instead of 1 extraction session and 1 implantation, it's done in several smaller batches to reduce time the hairs are outside of the body significantly, increasing chance of regrowth and survival. The paperwork was done fast digitally and we decided to do the operation on July 21st and 22nd in Amsterdam. The surgery Already in Amsterdam for two weeks in a business trip, I arrived well rested at the clinic, right next to Vondelpark, Rijksmuseum and the Van Gogh museum, not a bad place:cool:. We would do 1300 grafts on day 1, 1200 on day 2. I was welcomed by Dr. Eberson and his assistant and after some breakfast and chit chat we quickly started. Head was shaved, and the anaestetic injections done in the scalp. A very nice feeling to be honest, I enjoy that at the dentist too. Perhaps that indicates a different problem:D As I started feeling totally numb in my scalp, i lied down and Dr Eberson started extraction the grafts, kind of like a plucking feel but not uncomfortable at all. I even fell asleep during the session. Waking up, we did the incisions. A meticulous task (as is the entire surgery anyway, a true art) but i was simply enjoying the music and the good felling I got from the fact that this was a work in progress. Got some lunch in the clinic before Eberson put the grafts in the right spot and right position. Time flew by and before we knew it, it was 530. Time to call it a day. Day 2 went in a similar fashion. Honestly I though the surgery was 10/10. I felt completely at ease and relaxed, enjoyed my time with the doc and assistant and was never in one moment of pain, except for 2 times 1 second for 2 injections. Between day 1 and day 2, I spent the night in a nice hotel just around the corner. Of course I'd rather sleep in my natural position but for that night and the 2 nights to come, I had to sleep with my back/head a bit up so that the newly implanted grafts would remain untouched as much as possible. I had no discomfort or pain during the surgeries, and found the experience to be way more relaxing than I thought it would. It honestly made me consider doing a second FUE down the road somewhere already. -
RESPONSE FROM Dr. TAYFUN OGUZOGLU HAIR TRANSPLANT CLINIC Hello Dear Members of the Forum, To start with, I would like to introduce myself. My name is Nasimi Khalilzada. I am one of the patient coordinators of Dr. Tayfun Oguzoglu and I have been doing this job for more than 3 years. In our entire experience with Dr. Tayfun we have had a few similar cases before and we exactly know how to deal with them. Consequently, we showed Mr. Saulo many times that we are not insensitive people and we could solve the problem within the standards we know. However, Mr. Saulo continued accusing us of all what happened and reduced all the chances to solve the problem. First, I would like to give brief explanations to all Mr. Saul’s statements he shared above: 1. We confirm that we offered him the second session for free. Usually, if patient starts complaining about the results straight after the hair operation we try to give clear and easily understandable explanations and keep the communication on a good level in order to avoid misunderstandings. We let the patient know that we are concerned about what makes him worried and we never leave him alone face to face with the problem. We think about all possible solutions and ready to offer at least one if not more, till patient feels satisfied. Free second session is one of the latest options we would recommend. We do it only if we really find mistakes connected to the job of the medical team and if we really do not see any realistic explanation about what patient experiences. The case with Mr. Saulo was absolutely different. He did not want to listen Dr. Tayfun's recommendations and explanations and continuously was complaining that the frontal hair line was asymmetric. I explained him that it is normal to have some asymmetry straight after the operation and almost all patients have the similar thing. The swelling and redness after the operation are the actual reasons of the temporary asymmetry (it stays for a short time). As Mr. Saulo was not accepting any explanation we decided to offer him a free session. But it could be implemented only if the frontal hair line would still stay asymmetric after 1 year and if Mr. Saulo would not be happy due to this matter. We promised to find a solution for the problem if he could give us a chance and if he would not share a negative review on internet (you can see these conversation in the picture Mr. Saulo attached to his review). I tried to explain him that it is necessary to analyze the case from different aspects and to understand each other. But that was unsuccessful. 2. Mr. Saulo accuses us of being liars, dishonest and untrustworthy people. However, we did what had been promised. It is true that beside Dr. Tayfun we have other doctors working in our clinic (please check the link https://drthair.com/our-doctors/). They are the qualified members of our team and have certificates from international organizations. You can see in the screenshots attached by Mr. Saulo that we provided information about how the operation would happen and that Dr. Tayfun would be assisted by assistants. The main parts of his operation, opening incisions and extraction were done by Dr. Tayfun. The implantation was done by certified nurses under Dr. Tayfun's supervision. Mr. Saulo read that message and accepted what we offered him. But now he is complaining about the procedure and accuses us of being liars. 3. The next day after the procedure Mr. Saulo and his friend had a long consultation with Dr. Tayfun and they actually could tell him all their complaints. He could mention that the line was asymmetric. He was supposed to do it on that day. However he did not. Miscommunication between him and us started from that point. 4. Now I would like to ask Mr. Saulo to answer my question about why he deleted his first bad review on this forum despite the fact that he knew we are liars and dishonest people? I mean he knew that we are liars and it would be better not to believe us anymore. I think Mr. Saulo would not give a true answer for this question. So I want to answer it myself. He deleted that review about us because a few months after the procedure he understood that it had been a wrong decision to share it on the forum. He understood that the frontal hair line was getting better by time and it actually was not asymmetric. Finally he started realizing that the result would be good. But at the same time he was thinking about the free session, because he knew that he would need a second session (Young patients may need second operation as the hair loss remains active. We provide an informative document to our patients about that and they sign it before the procedure starts. Mr. Saulo signed it in the hospital). He is a young patient and he is still losing hair. Thus, the free session we offered, seemed to be useless in the beginning but started being attractive a few months later. But Mr. Saulo forgot that we are not stupid people. That bad review made some problems for us. But even then we did not reply to his review on the forum. Because we did not want to hurry to justify ourselves. We decided to wait one year until we get the final results and then we could show him that he was wrong about the frontal hair line. Now we have pictures as a proof and we can surely comment his second bad review. 5. Dear Members of the forum, we all know well that the reason why you are here is to share your experience with others who want to have hair transplant operation. When you write about your positive experience you want to show people that they can choose the same doctor and be happy. When you write a bad review you want to show your dissatisfaction and you do not want other people to have the same experience and to be sad. In his first bad review Mr. Saulo was calling people to stay away from Dr. Tayfun. He was thinking that he was doing good for people, because he was trying to change their opinions about Dr. Tayfun by showing him as a liar. He was sure that we are liars. Did not he want to warn people and to keep them away from us? But why he deleted his review after couple of months? Most probably he would not give an honest answer to this question too. Therefore I am answering this question here. Mr. Saulo knows very well that he did wrong when he shared his first bad review. Actually he was lying to people about how Dr. Tayfun is bad. He could not keep his emotions under control and wanted to damage the doctor's reputation. Later he decided to delete his first bad review and try to get that free session from us. 6. In conclusion I would like to say that it is better to give the real facts and show the before and after pictures of Mr. Saulo. It is better to expose the facts than to accuse others of something. Please see Mr. Saulos before and after pictures in the attachment. Thank you All! -
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 -
Fue dr gabel 1500-1600 grafts
win200 replied to Curlinginthesquatrack's topic in Hair Restoration Results Posted by Patients
Look, I see what the patient is talking about. This is a great result considering where he started from, but it's true that the density in that corner isn't the same as the hair behind it. BUT, I think we need to acknowledge that this kind of result is really common, even among the best surgeons, when a patient is starting out where this guy did. Gabel was building a new hairline on a patient with fair skin and very dark hair, and transplanting into slick bald areas. That makes it incredibly hard to get something that passes for full density and doesn't show scalp, and it's pretty tough to do in one pass. I had a surgery with Dr. Rahal that built a hairline just like this, and one side was relatively weak and showed scalp almost exactly like this. It was not even close to a failed surgery or a poor job; just the reality of the limitations of coverage you can achieve in one pass. This is very good work, and I would be pleased. But it's also totally reasonable to want to do a second pass and beef up the density in that corner. It's what I did, and it turned out great. We just need to remember that a great surgery can still leave some work to do--building a new and dense hairline on a patient like this with minimal loss takes time. -
Hasson & Wong negative reviews
zach0786 replied to zach0786's topic in Hair Transplant Experiences and Surgeon Reviews
I looked into Dr. Konior. Amazing results, but too expensive. Is it true that he is one of the few surgeons who does the implants in the recipient area himself? Most others use technicians. -
It is simply a fact that FUT is still more popular than FUE...by far. In the Tom Hanks movie Apollo 13 Jim Lovell's wife asks why her husband's flight to the moon was not being televised live. The answer that was offered was that NASA "made going to the moon seem like a trip to Pittsburgh ". The same goes for FUT. The success and popularity of FUT has been so well established and proven over the past 20 years that it is taken for granted. There is no excitement in viewing the results of an FUT patient because we have already seen, literally, thousands of them online. Sure, there are variations from doctor to doctor, but by and large the results are predictably good. FUE SEEMS like the "next step", but it has been around for 14 years and it's safe to say that it has failed to launch. What has happened is that the pool of wishful thinkers and uninformed patients has grown and there has been no shortage of clinics willing to service these patients. So the number of patients has grown and thus the number of results online. But if you compare the ratio of successful to unsuccessful procedures FUT wins hands down. And this is for predictable reasons. FUE suffers from three detrimental forces that no doctor, clinic, or innovator has yet to overcome: Compression, Torsion, and Traction. You can add Skeletonization to that list as well. FUT does not suffer from these forces. This illusion of popularity is sparked by the interest of a FEW posters on websites like this one. But it is the very nature of this interest that betrays the weakness of FUE. We are all captivated by the man who walks along a tightrope a hundred stories off the ground. "Will he fall?" Same thing with FUE, but in this case it's "will it grow?" And if it grows "will it be as good as strip"? For all the distortion surrounding FUE one line has not been crossed, and that's the claim that FUE actually grows better than Strip surgery. Thankfully, that hasn't happened...yet. The best FUE can claim is that it grows AS WELL AS STRIP. So why not just get strip?! I'm in the business 20 years and that's what I did. You think I would pick an inferior procedure? Vehement FUE supporters, all of them lay non-doctors, say that FUE has improved over the past 14 years. This is simply NOT TRUE. It is wishful thinking. Nothing about the procedure has changed except for the hype and the number of clinics offering it because patients engage in either wishful thinking or are simply uninformed. NOT A SINGLE FUE DOCTOR HAS COME ONLINE ANYWHERE THAT HAS MADE A CLAIM THAT THEY USE NEW TECHNOLOGY. Only lay, non doctor, unaccountable FUE chest beaters who post anonymously have made this claim. Recently a poster on here made such a claim and I offered to host a three way call between him, me, and the doctor he said made the claim- and then post the call online. He did not take me up on the offer. Instead he made a limp-wristed attack on me and then disappeared. Nothing has changed in the world of FUE. A punch is used to score around a graft causing torsional damage. The graft is then grasped with a forceps causing compression damage, and then finally it is literally RIPPED out of the scalp causing traction damage. Sure, there are new machines to assist in taking out the grafts, but they either cause more damage doing it, or they only mimic (poorly) what an experienced FUE practitioner can do. I won't even go into the ridiculous extra costs these "technologies" involve. FUE has it's place, and in some cases it even has a place in megasessions. But I state without reserve that ANY time you see an FUE result, no matter how good or bad it looks, that same patient would have looked BETTER if he had a strip procedure. Furthermore his prospects for future surgery would be better and his donor area could be used more efficiently. FUE is the "have your cake and eat it to" procedure. And in some cases this may be the case. Such as in the hands of very dedicated and very experienced physician practitioners who carefully screen their patients. However, just scanning this website's chat forums alone I have seen more negative postings from patients who actually underwent FUE than I do positive ones, and precious few posts that involve actual FUE results from patients themselves. What you really see are posts by enthusiastic hopeful patients right after FUE surgery but no actual results posted- even years later. What happened to these FUE patients? While the same thing does happen with FUT from time to time, FUT already enjoys thousands of online megasession before/after photos, whereas FUE hasn't even made it to more than a hundred to two hundred yet...and that's after 14 years! If every doctor who performed a hair transplant surgery tomorrow were to check in on this forum and tell us what HT surgery they performed on that particular day you would find 99.9% would be FUT, not FUE. But you would not know that by reading forums because FUT is old news and unexciting. How many before/after pictures of a 2500 graft case can you look at before you become bored? And it is this very reality that demonstrates the reliability and strength of this procedure. FUE has it's place, but NOT first place, and it never will. Dr. Alan Feller
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