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Showing results for 'Dr. Steven Gabel'.
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Hello everyone, Around seven years ago I had a 4,100 grafts FUT procedure with Dr. Rahal, in which he mostly worked on the front/mid scalp. Overall, I was very satisfied with the hairline he created, and the obtained results. However, during these years -most likely- I have lost the remaining native hair I had by that time, and hence overall density, so lately my hair had a more thin appearance. For that reason, after thinking about it, I tried to schedule a new appointment with Dr. Rahal. Due to COVID restrictions it wasn't easy, so I started to make a new Dr. research. I contacted Dr. Konior, Dr. Saphiro, and Dr. Gabel, among some others. After consideration, and based on the personal approach and confidence during this process, I scheduled the surgery with Dr. Gabel. It was carried out past Monday/Tuesday so, here, I want to share my recent experience with Dr. Gabel and his team. Many on this site have already said positive things in other posts about him and I don't want to repeat, however, now that I had my own personal experience, I can tell you all the positive things you can hear/read about him are true. It exceeded my expectations. I am not just saying that my experience with Dr. Rahal wasn't good (indeed, it was good), but the level of care and detail that I experienced with Dr. Gabel through all the procedure (and following days) was truly remarkable. The surgery was divided in two days: first day 2,435 grafts FUT lasted around 12 hours, and second day 1,066 grafts FUE lasted around 10 hours. Here is te final graft count: Day 1- FUT (2,435 grafts) to reinforce front-mid scalp and gain density 1-hair 444 (18.2%) 2-hair 1,296 (53.2%) 3-hair 539 (22.1%) 4-hair 156 (16.4%) Day 2- FUE (1,066 grafts) to gain density in the crown 1-hair 94 (8.8%) 2-hair 537 (50.4%) 3-hair 379 (35.6%) 4-hair 56 (5.3%) Special mention as well to his staff; from the desk to the surgery room. All perform their duties smoothly, always in synchronization, skillful, friendly, and nice, which makes everything easier. At the technical level, Dr. Gabel was very meticulous in every aspect of the surgery, he has the confidence that puts a patient right at ease, and I felt very comfortable through out. Dr. Gabel performed all the extractions and created all the slits both days. He and his technician placed the grafts both days as well. After all was complete, Dr Gabel did a final walkthrough, moving things around, perfecting the work, that was followed during next 3 days I stayed in Oregon. I did not wrote a review from my previous HT but this time had to do it. If you are thinking about getting a hair transplant, my opinion is: talk to different doctors, and take advantage of the valuable information you can get from the internet. If finally decided to move on with Dr. Gabel, I am pretty sure you won't regret. I'm on my 4th day of post op: 5 first pics are pre op, 4 last pics post op. I will try to keep you guys updated. Best I thought I -
Hello! I am 4 weeks post-procedure and I wanted to post some photos and a little about my great experience with Dr. Gabel. Excellent consultation, friendly and helpful staff, lots of patience. Just as many others have noted. After a fair amount of research I chose him for his good communication and design work, his FUT experience, and his reputation for good results and dense packing in the front. My goal was to bring my hairline forward a bit and fill in the sides/corners which have receded a lot over time. I am 51 and have been receding steadily for about 25 years. Never tried any oral medication or topical treatments. He confirmed that my hair is indeed quite fine (small diameter), but with decent donor density. I think the design phase in the morning took longer than usual, and I appreciate that he was patient during that process. A few things to note that may be helpful to others: Apparently local anesthetic wears off quickly for me, and it seems I need more than most people. Also, I was pretty out of it from the narcotics and my communication wasn't great at first. I was slow to let them know that I was starting to feel pricks as the local wore off, and did not always give them warning when I moved my head. Remember that during surgery, communication is key! During the procedure, the doctor told me that my grafts were quite large and splayed - and that I would NOT have been a good candidate for FUE. Presumably because there would have been a high transection rate with FUE, i.e. it would be difficult to extract grafts without damaging them due to their size. I had never heard of this before (someone having extra large grafts). I was pretty set on FUT during my research, but there were a few times when I thought maybe I would go with FUE. Glad I didn't. When I started applying Polysporin to the recipient area a few days after surgery, I used too much. Plus it seemed to pool together and coagulate, maybe from sleeping upright. You can still see some of it mixed in with my scabs in the "1 week" photo. It took a LOT of spraying to get it to dissolve. So, go easy on that stuff! Shedding has happened quickly. I think I may have actually started shedding in under one week. You can see that at 4 weeks, most hairs have been shed. Seems my ugly duckling phase happened sooner than it does for most people (from what I read on these forums), but maybe that means the growth process will start sooner too? Hoping that's the case! Anyway, hopefully this post will be helpful to someone. I will post more pics after I have had some new growth. Looking forward to it! -
I wanted to share the incredible experience I had with Dr. Gabel and his team. Getting a hair transplant was very nerve-wracking because I was afraid of making a mistake. I did a lot of research and consulted with a handful of other doctors. It was important for me to find a doctor that I was confident in doing the procedure but most importantly a doctor that I trusted. After my first consultation with Dr. Gabel, I knew he was the right doctor and I trusted his judgement. I had a lot of questions around all aspects of the procedure; Building natural looking hairline, hair density, FUT vs. FUE, scarring, what to expect appearance wise after procedure, timelines for re-growth, operation details (Pain?, meds, etc). Nothing felt like a bad question and every answer I received was honest, with a well educated recommendation when needed. I couldn't be happier with Dr. Gabel and his team! Dr. Gabel was very transparent with his expectations on what he could accomplish, he was also patient with all of my questions/concerns, and he guided me where I needed to ensure I got my HT done correctly. I can easily say Dr. Gabel is a true expert and someone to trust to get things done correctly....his team and him definitely lived up to my expectations and even exceeded it! Not having hair has been a very personal thing for me and something I have dreamed of fixing for sometime. I am so glad I finally decided to made the decision to get it done! -
Canada, but what about Seattle?
Melvin-Moderator replied to taochange's topic in Hair Restoration Questions and Answers
Dr. Gabel in Portland is an excellent choice https://www.hairtransplantnetwork.com/physician/Oregon/Steven-Gabel/633 -
Canada, but what about Seattle?
O Hare 57 replied to taochange's topic in Hair Restoration Questions and Answers
Dr. Gabel is a three hour drive. Nice guy, very professional. Cheap hotel and grocery store near his office. He aint real cheap but is an excellent surgeon and will give you his full attention. God knows when Canada reopens. Something about 70 percent vaccination. -
Canada, but what about Seattle?
shami26 replied to taochange's topic in Hair Restoration Questions and Answers
Some states and countries simply don't have reliable hair surgeons for whatever reason. You could check out Dr. Gabel in Portland, there are reviews of him on this forum and he was trained by Dr. Konior. There are more options if you are willing to travel though. -
Dr. Gabel is truly one of the best in the industry. One of the nicest people i've ever met. Eager to see your updates.
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This is the second time I've heard this now, again from Dr. Gabel. It's quite interesting, and I wonder what other surgeons have to say about it. You hardly ever hear of surgeons advising FUT instead of FUE, only the other way around. And I've never heard this concern mentioned. Would be an interesting question for the next Q&A @Melvin-Moderator In any case, you can't really go wrong starting with FUT. Work looks good to me. Best of luck! -
The work looks great! Thanks for sharing. I'm surprised Dr. Gabel had you put polysporin on the recipient. I've always been instructed by every surgeon to only put it on the donor. It seems that would be very difficult to wash out when doing the no touch cup and shampoo technique. My post op instructions from Dr Konior suggested that the recipient only gets saline spray for the first few days then aloe vera. -
Ninja edit: I remembered the graft count incorrectly, it was actually 2325 grafts, not 2125. Hi everyone, I had my procedure with Dr. Gabel on July 29th, 2020. So, not quite 7 months, but close enough. 28 y/o male. You might remember my original post. I asked Melvin to archive it. Posting this one as a quick review to get the word out about Dr. Gabel. I'm not on his payroll or anything, and he didn't request a review. I'm doing it as a happy patient. Just do yourself a favor and have a consultation with him. He's low-key one of the most experienced, talented, and ethical surgeons in the country. He learned from Dr. Konior, who is the best surgeon in the world. He doesn't promote himself as much because he personally responds to every consultation request and email, and is involved in all aspects of the surgery. That's including extraction and graft placement. He's a busy guy. 2325 Grafts, FUT, ~2.5 hairs/graft on average. Graft breakdown was 212 singles, 955 doubles, 870 triples, and 288 quads. Taking 1 mg oral Finasteride daily, no side effects. Was using Minoxidil foam twice daily, but recently switched to once a day about a month and a half ago, because it's expensive. Hair loss is mostly stabilized, assuming I don't suffer greatly from cutting back on Minoxidil. When I derma-needled, I noticed way faster growth and fullness. It's not something I see myself maintaining though, so I stopped. I may start again to see if it is as effective as I remember. Here's what I consider to be my baseline. I've always had a relatively high hairline. This was taken in 2014: Here's a month pre-op, stabilized on medication for 2 years: Another angle, taken at Dr. Gabel's office on the day of surgery: Here is immediate post op: Some pictures taken in the first ten days: Here is my ugly duckling phase: Here are some photos taken today. Just had a haircut yesterday: Here's the donor in different lighting, #2 guard on the nape faded into a #3: Very happy with the result, and I think I still have some maturing to go. Hope you enjoyed! I'll do an update in a few months if any changes occur. -
FUT + FUE combo with Dr. Gabel
RubenH replied to RubenH's topic in Hair Transplant Experiences and Surgeon Reviews
Good morning everyone, I'm glad to share with all you guys the half way (theoretically) of the journey: 6 months update after my FUT+FUE procedure with Dr. Gabel. Again, I tried to take pictures in different light environments: living room (natural environment light), close to the window (sun light) and bathroom (harsh light). Personally, I'm happy as it is and my expectations are covered. So any improvements in the next few months would be like an "extra" to me. Keep doing minoxidil 5% two times a day (but very little amount on each application) and 0.5 mg finasteride per day. Have a nice weekend! -
If price is not an issue then you don't need a top 5 list. You need to contact Dr. Raymond Konior. You won't get a surgeon that is more genuinely interested in your long term goals then him. He is expensive but he delivers and his FUT scars are second to none from what I've seen. Chicago Hair Institute. Hasson or Gabel would be my second recommendations. Keep us posted on who you decide on.
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Hi everyone, Long time creeper across the net just getting around to posting. Been an up and down ride for the last few years dealing with hair loss, snake oils, meds, and ultimately pulled the trigger on FUE at approx 3,000 grafts with Dr. Gabel out of Oregon state. Figured I could share some of my "progress" and what led up to the surgery. Ill try to detail most of this to the point for scanning purposes and if theres any questions just feel free to ask or reach out. This may get long but Id rather type it all out now without having to come back multiple times to add what I missed/forgot. I am currently 31 years old and 3 months post FUE. Started noticing marginal thinning in my crown at approx 27/28 years old (bordering birthday time period). I brushed it off as stress while working overseas (mil), and a possible hormonal reaction (supplements) and let it go for about 6 months until I noticed that my crown was becoming more transparent weekly. My room mate had been experiencing hairloss and I saw that he was using Rogaine so I tried it out for a few months and hated how irritated my scalp got with liquid (yes I now know the foam is a better route, too late) so I discontinued it and had went through back door routes of jumping on Dutasteride without consulting a doctor first. I discovered Toppik and just figured my body would normalize and my hair would eventually come back until I started doing my due diligence/ homework. One of the original supplements used had a straight conversion to DHT inside the body and had lit a wild fire for MPB for me even though NO ONE in my family had a real history of major hair loss.. OOF, I was pissed at myself. The first Doc that I originally sat with requesting FUE run down and prices told me I hadn't experienced enough loss yet and it was too early (he was a straight shooter and wasn’t trying to sell me on anything.. Besides a laser cap lol ((yes I know they work but the money used for that could be money used for FUE was my initial mentality)). As time went on I stuck with the meds and using concealers to keep my (then) long hair looking thick. I got sick of it all.. Sick of the daily hair routine and not being able to just jump out of bed and go, or going for a damn swim without wondering if the crap in my hair was going to wash out. I got sick of the meds making me feel sluggish, lethargic, and having tiny baby loads for sperm production (no libido issues just the fore mentioned). I weened myself down and off the duta and increase natural supps (biotins etc etc), and watched my hair thin more and more and just took the clippers to my head accepting that this is nature and I am a man. This was around 29/30 years old. Fast forward; I'm now financially savvy enough to afford FUE, I'm in a happy place mentally/physically/spiritually, and I'm ok with aging and not worrying so hard about what I look like and my ego. I started growing my hair back out just to see the round about area I was sitting at and sure it doesn’t look great but I saw all hope wasn’t lost and HONESTLY, I got sick of shaving my damn head (some people look great with it, it just isnt for me). Having freewill and the ability to make a choice about how I would like to live/look without boundaries is pretty nice. I did some research, got in touch with Dr. Gabel out of Oregon (better reviews and geographically desirable for where I live) and did a consultation. He understood my concern with ingested/ oral medication and having side effects and had me start a topical Fina/minox (82F), briefly talked about surgeries, and to come back in a few months and see how I feel on the meds and if I wanted to pursue the FUE. I was seeing some results from the 82F thickening and even bringing back some of my front hair line (super thin before/ that transparent look) after 4+ months and revisited Dr. Gabel and discussed an FUE gameplan. I still had a pronounced hairline even though it was thinner than Texas grass in the summer so no lowering was wanted on my end, just density. I still work overseas so I didn’t want to do multiple visits/ surgeries and agreed to do a 2 day operation basically hitting 1500/1500 front hairline and crown with the middle getting the bulk of the front and back stretched over it for overall top density. The doc provided me with plenty of material, references, websites, and emails back and forth leading up to the date to make sure I was ready, presented all the facts, and had a realistic expectation of whats to come and what to expect. Day 1 of surgery: I arrived approx 6 am to the office. Pre-op pictures taken, and road map drawn on my head for gameplan. Walked me through the office and different stations so I knew exactly what to expect for the next 2 days and introduced me to his awesome staff that were extremely friendly, offered me anything to help comfort (drinks snacks etc), and even just chatted with me to keep it a loose environment and not just a medical procedure. They offered me some meds for the pain, got me in the chair, shot me up with lidocaine, and began extracting from my donor area. Lunch time came around and they wrapped my noggin up and let me grub down on the lunch provided for approx 30 min so we could get back to it ASAP. Back in the chair, another pain med, and alotttttttt of Lidocaine and they started with the crown moving into the middle region. Not a lot to note besides they had plenty of music and movie selections. (YES Dr. Gabel did perform the extractions and implanting the follicles himself along with his power crew/ staff backing him up during the procedure). We finished the day up, wrapped my head accordingly, provided me pain meds, a special ATP spray solution to help my head in healing, and other supplies I might need in the following nights/weeks. No questions or concerns were left un-answered. Day 1 ended approx 6pm. Day 2: Same showtime at about 6 am, same meds, and back into the chair for extraction (all generally the same as Day 1). Lunch time, and then back into the chair for implanting the follicles. Day 2 was a little higher on the sensitivity scale in terms of "pain" but it still wasn’t unbearable (reminded me of getting a larger tattoo and having to sit all day). They loaded me with more lido and kept cracking on the front hairline into the midscalp. I don't have the paper in front of me but I believe we finished with about 2,982 grafts done (I even got a small reimbursement for the few grafts we didn’t hit since I paid for 3,000 which I didn’t expect at all so that was nice). Day 2 also ended approx 6pm. Since I was local to the area Dr. Gabel had me come in the following day for a head wash and examination followed by several other visits and washes up to about a week or so post-op. I had one more visit before I had to leave the country for work and he was satisfied with what he covered and my healing so far. My next check up will be around the 6 month post-op mark. We have kept in touch via email and I told him that I would do a thorough and honest review and document what I went through if he was ok with me being open about anything I liked/ didn’t like over public forums like this and he obviously didn’t seem to have a problem with it. *Pictures to follow this post granted its easy to upload from my Iphone or ill have to transfer the photos to my computer so bare with me. ((**note, I am extremely active and have a high/fast metabolism, lidocaine and many other meds run through me extremely fast so I was forced to use an abnormal amount of lidocaine to keep me sitting comfortably, this isn't normal for others so don't mind my swollen ass head pics coming after this post. It has always been like this for me since my teenage years**)) I hope this helps and covers some of the stuff I had questions on while going down the same research road. Cheers -
We have quite a few options in the US, Dr. Konior, Dr. Cooley, Dr. Shapiro, Dr. Wesley, Dr. Gabel, just to name a few. I suggest looking at our recommendations and researching them here on the forum. Send multiple doctors virtual consultations, they're free. https://www.hairtransplantnetwork.com/Consult-a-Physician/hair-transplant-surgeons.asp?sr=HRN
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Hello everyone, I'm back in the game for a quick procedure this time - I'll be doing a scar revision with Dr. Gabel on this Thursday (Oct 17th). All of my results have been great so far, but after three FUT procedures totaling around ~4,500 grafts, my incision scar had gradually become larger and larger, and now that I have coverage over the majority of my scalp and will just use some small-to-medium FUE procedures for any further necessary touch-ups, I just want to get my incision scar reduced down to where it was after my first HT (it was basically invisible at a #3 Guard haircut). First pic is from 2011 - about a year after my first FUT in late 2010, at about a #3 Guard buzz... Pic below is after my third HT, with roughly a #6 Guard buzz - it can be hidden, but is still quite visible under bright lights due to the very light skin color underneath and the relatively sparse "curtain" of hair covering it - and on top of that I have to cut my hair myself because no stylist seems to be able to figure out the concept of how to properly mask it with longer hair above and shorter hair below without giving me a total botch-job or exposing the scar. Also, the longer #5 or #6 Guard buzz kind of chafes against military standards - it's not technically out of regulations, but everyone constantly thinks I need a haircut And Below you can see the incision scar revealed... I want to point out that Dr. Gabel is a pro with his subtle trichophytic enclosures (as per the first pic, and the second procedure wasn't even bad at all either) and the increasing scar size was not an error, but a calculated temporary sacrifice; the size of the scar is really due to multiple incisions and a bit of stretching, and due to the fact that since I'd already done two FUT's before the third one, my scalp skin was already pulled fairly tight at that point - meaning that Dr. Gabel didn't want to cut out the entire scar while also taking another ~1,300 graft strip out simultaneously - it would have been too large of an incision at that point with my scalp laxity. So we settled on only removing about half of the scar tissue that time around - as you can see in the picture below from HT #3 in late 2016 (the blue marker line is right through the middle of the scar), compounding upon the current scar with the understanding that I would need to come back in a year or three for a scar revision. So basically we're going to do a strip-FUT procedure - but with no hair removed from the site - only the old scar tissue, and the doc says he plans to use staples this time in addition to the regular methods, in order to ensure there's no stretching so the scar heals as narrow and invisible as possible. After a year or so, I may return for some SMP or small FUE into the scar if necessary, but if it turns out like my first incision scar and I can easily hide it completely in broad daylight with a #3 Guard buzz then I think I'll be fine! I fly out to Oregon tomorrow (Wednesday) morning. It should also be noted for anyone considering Dr. Gabel that he has relocated to a township called Tigard which is only ~20 minutes from the Portland PDX airport (as opposed to being in Hillsboro nearly an hour away), so a quick Uber will get you there much faster and cheaper than before (which was a pleasant surprise). I'll keep you guys updated as progress is made! -
Hello there folks - long time lurker in this forum. I finally decided to go in for my procedure this week. I chose Dr. Scott Alexander in Phoneix for my procedure. I had consulted with a few other doctors as well, and all of them gave me pretty much the same recommendations (except one): 1. Dr. Blake Bloxham - 2500 - 3000 FUT 2. Dr. Jae Pak - 2000 - 2500 FUT 3. Dr. Sahar Nadimi(Konior) - 2500 - 3000 FUT 4. Dr. Shaver (Bernstein) - 2500 FUT 5. Dr. Hasson - 5000 FUE 6. Dr. Alexaner 3000+FUT I also tried contacting Dr. Gabel a couple of times, but didn't get a response. I decided to go in with Dr. Alexander because of his excellent results that look extremely natural. Also, he was closer to me than the others (I live in NorCal) I am not going to bore you all with the details of my history - but just a quick background - Norwood 5A, Age 28 and been on Fin for past 1.5 years. I initially had a FaceTime consult with Dr. Alexander where he examined my hair and answered any questions I had. He recommended a 3000+ FUT as a first procedure to address the hairline and frontal scalp. And another 3000+ FUT after a year for the crown area. I booked a procedure date with him for Sept 10th. Since he had not physically seen me before, I was asked to come in the day before my procedure. He examined my donor and drew the hairline he thought would look good. I liked the design. I was out in about 20 minutes. The next day I was asked to be in the clinic at 7.30 AM. I was kinda nervous in the beginning. I had to sign some paperwork and they offered me a Xanax (which I refused). I then went in to meet Dr. Alexander. He started by drawing the hairline again. A few changes and we were ready to start. I was numbed at the back and he started to cut out the strip. This took about an hour. I was told I have thick skin. LOL (turns out my Mom was right all these years) Dr. Alexander then started stitching me up. He uses two layers of stitches. This procedure took about 1.5 hours. In the meantime, his techs started dissecting the strip in the next room. I was also asked for my choice of lunch. Next, I was numbed up in the front. Dr. then started making the incisions into which he would place the grafts. He told me he wanted to concentrate and not to talk to him. I selected a movie, and let him do his work. This took about 2-3 hours. I then had a quick lunch and went back into the procedure room. The techs then started placin the grafts into my head. Dr. Alexander only came in to numb me up when needed. The techs took turns working on me (about 4 of them in total, 2 of them planting hairs at one time). This took about 3.5 hours. I finally finished around 5.40 PM. A couple of tips for others looking to have a HT soon: 1. Eat well the morning of your procedure. I usually do not eat breakfast. But since this was a big day, I had a light breakfast (I couldnt eat well because I'm not used to it and I was nervous). Even though you are sitting the whole day, you get exhausted. Also its good to eat well as you will be medicated. So make sure you have a good breakfast. 2. A neck pillow is a lifesaver for the first few nights after the procedure. It prevents your implanted area from rubbing against the bed/pillow and gives you good neck support. Below are pre-op photos: Hairline design: After Incisions before graft implants (during lunch): Immediately post Op: Day 1 Post OP after rinsing the area: Donor area (not the best pic): Day 2 post Op: That's all for now. Will keep this thread updated as often as possible. -
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. -
FUT + FUE combo with Dr. Gabel
RubenH replied to RubenH's topic in Hair Transplant Experiences and Surgeon Reviews
Good morning everyone, Here is the 5 months update after my FUT+FUE procedure with Dr. Gabel. Any complaints at all, everything is going very well. In the first months I had a bit tightness in the back, which is normal considering that this was my second FUT surgery. But now it seems to be totally recovery in terms of laxity. Since the last update, pretty much all the transplanted area have gotten thicker. Specially happy on how the growth in the crown is progressing, considering that only 1,066 grafts were transplanted there. Originally, our plan was 1,500/2,000 for the crown, but the day of the procedure, Dr. Gabel preferred not to take the risk to deplete my donor area; "I don't want to fix a problem creating a new one" in his own words. I tried to take pictures in different light environments. I think it's looking great for 5 months, although I'm pretty sure it would look much better with a haircut (that I honestly need 😊) ps. As requested by the user "yes please", I tried to find some pictures before/after my first procedure 7-8 years ago with Dr. Rahal. Unfortunately, those pictures were stored in an old phone and I could not find them easily. Sorry about that! -
Hasson and Wong are probably the best clinic for doing megasession hair transplant procedures, even Konior acknowledged this in our interview. Dr. Konior is probably the most detailed surgeon in the world. Great for repairs, hairlines, etc. Dr. Gabel is genuinely one of the nicest surgeons/people I’ve ever met. Ethical, skilled, and reasonably priced. Dr. Shapiro is one of the most experienced surgeons in the world. He was the surgeon who essentially started this community, after performing an 1,800 graft procedure on @Pat - Community Publisher back in the late 90s. Back then it was unheard of. You really have to examine your own case and figure out what it is you need. Do you need a lot of grafts? Do you need a repair? Do you need quality at a lower budget? All of these things will need to be factored in.
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FUT Scar Revision - Dr. Steven Gabel
OtherSyde replied to OtherSyde's topic in Hair Restoration Results Posted by Patients
Thanks! I keep it either a 3 or 4 guard now. 3 is a little iffy, but I can pull it off and it's slowly getting better every month. I did not know there was even a such thing as laxity exercises lol, maybe I should've been doing those! Feeling it right now with my hands as I lean my head forward, my scalp doesn't feel "tight" per se, or like is is stretching really. Scar stretching wasn't the reason I went back in the first place though - it was because, in order to avoid stretching in the first place, Dr. Gabel did not remove the entire scar with each subsequent procedure, instead only removing maybe ~50% of the previous scar each time, so the laxity/tightness didn't really significantly change but the scar grew wider each time. Then, this time he just removed the scar tissue alone and did a nice trichophytic enclosure to complete it (which is why there is now thin hair scattered throughout what remains of the scar area. I hope it gets a little more subtle, but I think it's just about almost at its pinnacle now; like I said, when I inevitably go back for another procedure sometime in the future I'll toss a few FUE grafts into it just to finalize it, but as of right now it's quite manageable with basically zero effort! -
Hey all, Here are 28-month pics taken during my visit with Dr. Gabel late last month. These are in a brightly lit room with a high resolution camera and no touch-ups whatsoever. I don't think it's bragging to say--because this isn't my work--that this is one of the best transplants I've ever seen. It's incredibly dense with tough characteristics--very dark hair against extremely fair skin--and the hairline is completely natural. No one would ever guess that this isn't natural, and even is broad daylight, the work doesn't look thin or artificial. It's a complete knockout. I'm on oral dutasteride and not losing any hair, so I'm expecting to keep my head of hair intact indefinitely. It's been nine years now since my first transplant in 2012, and one of the awesome benefits is that as I get older (I'm 38 now), the hairline looks better and better as people my age progressively recede. I now have a lower hairline than any of my friends, and a better hairline than I did even at 15. I'm beyond thrilled. The scar isn't an A+, but that's due to my natural healing and not to Dr. Gabel; I've had three transplants with three different surgeons, and each one yielded a just-OK scar, so that's simply how I heal. Dr. G. and I talked about doing some FUE into the scar this year to camouflage that a bit, but I'm not in any rush. I honestly don't care about the scar.
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FUT + FUE combo with Dr. Gabel
Melvin-Moderator replied to RubenH's topic in Hair Transplant Experiences and Surgeon Reviews
I’m literally shocked. SHOCKED! This is 4 months. I’m amazed, Dr. Gabel strikes again! -
Hello all, I finally bit the bullet. To give everyone a rundown I’m 39 years old this year. I live out of Austin, TX but I’m from closer to the Houston area. I started thinning when I was 18 and I tried everything to slow down the process, admittedly without a lot of knowledge back then. This was 1998 and I didn’t know much about propecia or minoxidil. I tried shampoos and all kinds of gimmicks. I did try propecia and minoxidil liquid but because I didn’t know enough about it and didn’t see immediate results I just stopped and got on with my life. It all started in my crown and then over the course of a decade marched its way forward toward my hairline. While my crown was very noticeably thin my hairline and frontal third stayed noticeably strong until my mid to semi late 20’s. At 24 I went and had my first consultation at a Bosley clinic in Houston and the whole experience made me feel uneasy. The doctor wasn’t really concerned with my crown which is where all the thinning was happening and wanted to lower my hairline which was still a teenage hairline. It was less than four fingers down on my forehead and still really thick. Ah, how I miss that wall of hair... lol. I politely passed but they called me every single day for two years straight trying to get me to come in for the transplant. They wanted to charge me 20K to lower my hairline and sprinkle some grafts in the crown. Knowing what I know now I think back about how they didn’t even bother to mention propecia to help slow loss. Bullet. Dodged. I got married in 2010 which ended really badly very soon after and my hair really started to go after that. Around 2012 I went to Dr Brad Limmer and got on Propecia/biotin/minoxidil foam to slow things down. Sadly he passed away the next year almost to the day of my consultation with him. I’m an actor and I was staying in Houston with a friend in 2014 while filming a movie in Louisiana when someone mentioned Dr. Arocha. I scheduled a consultation and we immediately got on very well. I loved his attitude, how much knowledge he wanted to share, that he was very honest about what we could achieve. I was traveling a lot though and it just wasn’t the right time to pull the trigger. While I traveled around the states for jobs I would schedule consultations with other doctors. I spoke with Feller and Bloxham, Gabel, Hasson and Wong, and others-some through email, FaceTime, in person. Ultimately it came down to me feeling the most comfortable with Arocha although Gabel was pretty close. I’m a diffused thinner and if my father and maternal grandfather are any indication I’m going to end up a 6 on the Norwood’s scale. I was going to go ahead with the procedure last year but my wife (I got married again in 2017) and I found out we were pregnant with twins so I decided to wait until things settled down with them. Side note: I did not stop taking finasteride when we found out we were pregnant and our babies our beautiful and healthy and at the time of this post almost 6 months old. The Big Day! I got to Arocha’s office a little after 7:30 am (traffic in Houston sucks) I signed the paperwork. We took some preop pics. Dr Arocha designed the hairline basically within my existing one. The plan was to work through the existing hairline, fill in the temple corner recession, and bulk up the frontal forelock. We discussed what we would do next year, reassess the front or go ahead and work on the crown. Everybody was really nice. I was visibly nervous and my blood pressure was a little high due to my being a little antsy. The Valium quickly helped out with that. When they were injecting the numbing solution into the back of my scalp I noticed I started shaking and feeling queasy so I spoke up immediately. They turned me over and raised my legs and put ice on my chest. I almost immediately felt better. Dr Arocha was there and cracked a joke about how I was his first patient of the day but probably his 7000th patient altogether so there was really nothing to worry about. TBH I wasn’t nervous about his ability to help me as much as I was just nervous about this giant step I was taking. After this procedure there was no going back. I turned back over when I was ready and they took the strip out. They kept complementing me on how good my donor was however I never got a number from them. I asked but they were just like, “don’t worry, it’s really really good.” I believe I heard say as they were looking at it that it looked like 80 to 90. Dr Arocha started to make the incisions and we talked for awhile before I dozed off and the next thing I know is I’m waking up to salmon kabobs, a killer salad, and potato and black bean soup. I eat up and then I go back to the chair where the techs start to insert the grafts. We chat for quite awhile. Dr Arocha was there for quite a bit of it as he would interject in our conversations. Every once in a while he would remind them about this or that concerning my grafts. I dozed off again and when I woke up we were basically done. They informed me that while I was out they put PRP all over my head. They went over cleaning instructions and we took some post op pics. My wife came in to pick me up and everyone came out to meet our twins. After that we were off and back to Austin. The ride back was pretty rough. There was a lot of pressure in my head and I got a pretty bad headache. Even with the pain pills. It didn’t even last the entire three hour drive though. I’m attaching some pics. Some preop through day two. I don’t have any pics with the design yet. I’m going to speak to Arocha’s office and see if I can get my hands on the hairline design. -
Dr. Shapiro and Dr. Josephetis have super reasonable FUE prices that are cost-effective when compared to H&W, Gabel, Cooley and the others. I saved quite a bit of money going to Shapiro Medical Group versus H&W, and SMG is top notch (cost was not the determing factor either, it was just another plus side by going to SMG). Melvin posted an interview with H&W and it's not all about the graft numbers, but how the transplanted hairs covers your skin to look less bald. Yes, more grafts will give you more density, but Coronal vs. Sagittal slits and other factors like size of hair follicles (fine vs thick hair) will determine the looks. Hair transplants are an illusion of density and you have limited supply. Each person has roughly 6 - 9k grafts and you want to plan appropriately. Shapiro who teaches transplant strategies extensively taught me that you shouldn't blow your wad in one session and cap it around 3k grafts to determine where you need to go next. Since you are young, you will most likely lose more hair and need another transplant. A low/aggressive hairline may look great now, but in 20 years, it may not. So, you need to plan accordingly based on donor supply. Chasing your hair loss will never end and you will need to keep taking meds, monitoring hair loss and seeing what your next steps are. One procedure is not enough and if money is an issue now, it will come to rear its ugly head again in the future imo. The next procedure you may not need as much, but it's still costly. Several veteran member here have had 4+ surgeries perfecting the density and hairline as their hair loss progressed even with medication. So, ask yourself now if this is worth chasing for the next 10, 20, 30 or even 40 years. To get that density and what you are looking for in that picture, I would say you need 4 - 5k grafts, maybe even more. 3k is a good starting point, but won't get you that amazing hairline in your doctored photo. You will look great for sure, but you have to be realistic and understand that a HT will never look as good as natural hair, but can improve your appearance and make you happy. There are grand slams and good results. Everyone is different and there is a chance that the procedure could fail (very low chance with a good clinic) but it's happened. Every doctor have people who had transplants that were complete failures due to the person not taking grafts well, even elite doctors. I am not to trying scare you, but saving you lots of time by being upfront about what it takes to keep your hair and the future. I would highly recommend you contact Shapiro Medical Group as they have amazing prices and are an elite clinic. Working with them, they didn't care about my money and honestly wanted what was best for me. They educated me about transplants and offered a whole new perspective. They even recommended other top clinics if I decided not go with them, so they truly care about you as a patient. You get the best of both worlds there and I am thrilled with my transplant thus far. Of course I would love a lower hairline and more density (everyone does), but you gotta be realistic and manage expectations with your budget and needs. Feel free to PM me and I can give you some guidance on what I have learned. However, please also contact other members for real reviews and results. Melvin has amazing YT videos on what to look for and how to pick the right surgeon -- follow his lead and investigate these forums to find your answer. Here is my thread if you want to learn more: https://www.hairrestorationnetwork.com/topic/58171-3332-fue-grafts-dr-ron-shapiro-dr-josephitis-smg/- 56 replies
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FUT Scar Revision - Dr. Steven Gabel
OtherSyde replied to OtherSyde's topic in Hair Restoration Results Posted by Patients
Thanks, and here are a few pics from over a decade ago, back before I got anything done; I'd basically be a hard Norwood 4 or 5 by now without the expert intervention of Dr. Gabel and the patience of the members on this forum teaching me the ways!
