Please advise on Dr. Sara Wasserbauer

[xerexes]

I have had a few transplant surgeries in the nineties using mini follicular units by a well known bay area surgeon who is one of the recommended hair transplant surgeons from Hair Transplant Network. I am happy with his general work but Not with the naturalness of the frontal hair line. My scalp is tight and I like to have this last final surgery done by one of the best to revise the hair line for a truely natural one. Dr. Wasserbauer seems to be very compassionate with good credentials. I believe she has also worked with Dr Rassman in the past. There is not much info from patients on the web or on your site about her. All I have is from her own website. Her expertise is in eyebrows and eyelashes and she is bord certified in hair transplantation. Is there Anyone out there who has had work done by her before or know of her work? I need someone who has good vision and artistry to design the hairline and deliver near perfect results. Again, during consultation she came accross as a very good and genuinely interested doctor but as important as this is to me, I like to hear from anyone with diresct past experience with her.

Thanks so much and I need your response ASAP as I am doing this in a few days.

[thanatopsis_awry]

Hmmmm, the ASAP thing is a bit alarming (to me)....so many people who get brutally hosed by a surgeon, or even walk into something that simply isn't as good as what they could have had, do so because they rushed into it.

 

That you can't find clear, detailed info on her is even more alarming. Regardless of how great she seems from her website or in person, proof is truly in the pudding -- think Bosley, MHR, etc...

 

This seems to be a seminal surgery for you, so I would really do what it takes to get what you acknowledge you need -- an elite HT with an elite surgeon.

 

She may very well be great, I don't know -- I would def recommend you don't go through with it until you know either.

[hairthere]

The fact that you can't find much info about her speaks volumes.The only thing I'd be doing asap is canceling. You need to do more research. Speaking from experience, you must go with a TOP doc for an HT to ensure optimal results (my first HT was with a lesser experienced guy who ripped me off). And there are only a handful of top docs. The ONLY docs I considered were: Feller (who did my 2nd one), Alexander (top notch work in Arizona), Rahal, H&W, Shapiro.

[hairthere]

Again, during consultation she came accross as a very good and genuinely interested doctor

 

Most do. She wants your $$$. And I'm not saying she isn't well intentioned and could be a fine doc, but do you want to gamble (time/money/pain) especially when it comes to your hair and everyday appearance?

[Bill - Seemiller]

Xerexes,

 

Welcome to our community. I have also received your email and have replied to you privately as well.

 

Our forum members are cautioning you out of interest for your well being to ensure you have a satisfying hair transplant experience.

 

Obviously those who have not heard of Dr. Wasserbauer (including myself) cannot comment as to her ability. However, having surgery performed by an unknown doctor can be very risky simply because there is nothing to base your opinion on but trust that she will do a good job.

 

In my opinion, it would best not to rush into hair transplant surgery and take your time to research the latest techniques in hair transplantation, and view patient experiences and before/after pictures on our online hair restoration community. Select a physician based on visibility and positive consistency.

 

That is why the Hair Transplant Network recommends only those physicians with a proven track record of excellence. I was in touch recently with a hair restoration physician who was interested in recommendation on our network. Though they seem to have adopted to the latest techniques and their practice sounds promising, they haven't been established long enough to prove it - therefore they are not yet recommendaton material. Therefore, I sent them a polite letter back telling them to contact me in the future once they've been more established in their practice and can provide a compelling patient portfolio of detailed pictures including before/after/immediately postoperative/donor area/ and surgical pictures.

 

In my opinion, you would be in the best hands with a Coalition physician who has such a proven track record.

 

Best wishes,

 

Bill

[notgoing2gobald]

Dear Exorcist,

 

Dr. Wass-a-brow does not appear to be a good call at this time. Please cancel...Do nothing ASAP unless you want the density of an eye lash / eye brow on your head...

[xerexes]

Dear All, I am impressed and very thankful to the responses I received from all of you in just a matter of two hours after my first posting. Its delightful to find such a site with caring individuals. Let me say that I am typically a very cautious guy and the reason I am saying that I need to know ASAP is that I want to have the surgery between holidays so I take the recovery time outside of my extreemely busy and demanding work schedule.

Now on the choice for this doctor here are the positives:

1) I saw a patient of hers and the work was unnoticeable (or very good). The only thing was that his hair quality is softer than mine and lighter in color (mine is dard brown and coarse) which are both (his) good qualities for transplantation.

2) she worked with Dr. Rassman for a few years and he (Dr Rassman) was apparently the pioneer of single follicular units and is recommeded by this forum. At NHI (belonging to Rassman) there are hundreds of before after photos that speak well for their Institute and I know that Dr Rassman does not do them all himself as it says that if surgery is requested by him, himself, his fees are $10/graft versus $6 per graft by the other physicians. Now she did work with Dr. Rassman so I am assumiong some of those photos may have been her work?

3) she is board certified and fellowship trained in Hair Transplantation, meaning that she must have done over a few hundred successful transplantations to be certified by the american board.

She said that when she was with Dr Rassman, she did belong to the "hair Transplant Network" of doctors but since her departure from the group she has no longer renewed her membership. She has been on her own the last 13-14 months when she started her office in northern Cal.

4) She has about 10-12 photos on her site only claiming that she needs to get permission and is awaiting to get that from other patients to display their photos.

5) two other doctors that were recommended on this forum perform two surgeries per day but she only does one a day which conforts me that she won't Rush things.

6) and perhaps very importantly, One of the doctors (other than dr. Rassman) who was recommended by your forum and was familiar with her, gave a positive response as to her abilities and standing.

Anyway, I am still interested to hear from you or anyone who may know of her work. I also have the option to go to Dr. Meshkin in So. Cal (I know he is good) as my brother is doing his surgery with him in a week. Of course that will make it more complicated for me and what I am unconfortable with is that Dr Meshkin may want to do both our surgies on the same day (and as said before, I am afraid of RUSHING the surgeries when a doctor has two on same day).

I will axiously await any responses and whoever I end up going to I will make sure I come back to this site and provide my final feedback in a few months.

Thanks all of you.

[notgoing2gobald]

Dear Exorcist,

 

no I still don't like her. I would wait, research, and ONLY undergo this surgery after considerable evaluation and consistent results have been verified. The simple fact is: this surgery will permanently alter your appearance for the rest of your life. Waiting and researching is worth the cost of having this temporary window of opportunity to undergo surgery lost for the benefit of having a world class result later...

[Bill - Seemiller]

Xerexes,

 

I am glad to see that you are doing your research.

 

Currently, I am unaware of whether or not Dr. Wasserbauer was once recommended on our network. I did a search for her name using the "find" feature on our forum and returned very little.

 

Have you contacted Dr. Rassman directly about Dr. Wasserbauer? What is his opinion of her work?

 

In my opinion, if a physician can't produce even the seeking hair transplant patient with a decent portfolio of work, this is a bit alarming. I'm not suggesting she is not a quality physician. But how do you really know that she is good?

 

In regards to your number 3. Which "board" is she certified by? To my understanding, there is no "board" including the ABHRS (American Board of Hair Restoration Surgeons) that "board certifies" based on "successful hair transplants". The only "board certification" available to hair transplant physicians are knowledge based tests, not surgical performance ones. Take this next statement as a precautionary GENERAL statement but "lesser" hair restoration physicians who perform sub-par hair transplantation often hide behind words like "board certified" to market themselves even though they use older techniques. Of course, there are excellent hair transplant physicians also who belong to a number of professional organizations and have also passed "board certified" tests.

 

The Hair Transplant Network's Coalition of Independent Hair Restoration Surgeons and recommendation is one of the only organizations that accepts physician membership based on proven patient results.

 

Keep in mind that I'm not trying to convince you not to go to her. But I AM trying to convince you NOT to rush into things and continue your research.

 

Best wishes,

 

Bill

[xerexes]

Thanks for your continued interest to keep me informed and educated.

She is a:

- Member of the International Society of Hair Restoration Surgeons (ISHRS)

- Member of the American Board of Hair Restoration Surgeon (ABHRS)

- She Completed the ONLY Accedited Fellowship in Hair Transplantation Surgery in the United Staters, working with a National team of board certified Hair Transplant Surgeons.

She employs the follicular Unit hair transplants as the most natural state of the art technique.

Thanks.

[hairthere]

x,

I'm afraid to say your reasoning for picking surgeons is way off. just because she worked for rassman means nothing about her skills as a surgeon and she can have all the certifications and endorsements from all the docs in the world. patient results are what counts.

 

i chose dr.feller for several reasons and one of them was because I can go on any Ht forum and find tons of patients and view their results. And all of those results displayed ultra-refined work with great density and design. i could also find patients that went to him years ago. basically his reputation and track record are stellar. that's what you want, proven results. you should also see more than 1 patient in person if possible.

 

i understand you want to get this done asap, and you have time constraints, but it's not something to rush into. take your time with this and travel to a TOP doc if you must. Do online consults. also, post your pics on here and let people know what docs are recomending: you'll get great feedback.

[thanatopsis_awry]

X, I may have misread, but it seems you have had several prior procedures with antiquated methods -- even a scalp reduction, I think I read in another thread. It is really vital that this go around you go with the best person out there for your individual case -- Dr. Wasserbauer may or may not be that person.

 

In any event, the bottom line, I think, is that there is plenty of doubt which has been raised that needs to be resolved before you make such a monumental decision; you should have clear, plentiful information about her methods and her results. Immediate post-op pics, especially, to go along with clear before and afters of various people with varying levels of hairloss.

 

In the end, you will act with your own tolerance for risk; I would, however, heed the advice in this thread, as well as arrange a consult (online or live) with a "Coalition" doc...Feller, H&W, Shapiro, etc. all of whom have showed again and again and without doubt that they are in the elite.

 

We are at a point where it is no longer impossible to find an elite doc, I would take advantage of that opportunity and move ahead with total confidence!

 

Best of luck, of course, with w/e you decide.

[xerexes]

I am beginning to reconsider. Does anyone know of an excellent Hair Transplant surgeon in the San Francisco Bay Area?

Thanks.

[hairthere]

p.s. my doc told me he did follicular unit transplantation too. he lied...

[chucky]

great advice given to you .

if you are determined to go ahead with this dr ask for at least 3 former patients you can meet who have pre op photos.

i went to a sales seminar where they had a stooly who pretended he`d had a ht.

you`ve got to be very cautios as the best scammers are the best at decieving you.

 

i hope this dr is genuinely good if you do choose to use her and remember this may be your last bite at the apple.

[richie48]

X are you having a laff ???

 

you seem to be defending this choice of surgeon ,beggers belief that a man in your predicament would take such a foooking huge risk when this is your last chance ....... complete madness !!!!!

 

DO YOURSELF A BIG BIG FAVOUR AND TAKE HEED OF PEOPLES POLITE WARNINGS !!!!!!!!

 

Jump on a plane and go see Dr Feller in New York ,genius is the only way to describe this man .

 

Good luck

richie

[Bill - Seemiller]

Xerexes,

 

Just one more comment...

 

The ABHRS has it's place and those who are members typically are dedicated to improving their knowledge and skills.

 

But being "board certified" only means that they have passed an extensive written and oral exam and has nothing to do with their surgical ability. I don't want to dismiss it by using the word "only" above however, when it comes to surgical competence - in my opinion, a written and oral examination can only do so much. Could you imagine if there was only a driver's PERMIT test and there was no road test? Most drivers are already bad enough...I'd hate to see what it would be like if they were never road tested.

 

As you can see - the many members of this forum advise you to do more research and select a physician based on proven SURGICAL results. Dr. Wasserbauer may or may not be a quality physician. But the "unknown" factor brings about additional risk.

 

Given the fact that you've had prior old style surgeries (including scalp reduction), it is imperative that you choose wisely.

 

Best of luck,

 

Bill

[killbyinches]

just bite the bullet and go for the hair transplant.. if you don't like you can always have it fixed by a reputable doc.

[chucky]

Originally posted by killbyinches:

just bite the bullet and go for the hair transplant.. if you don't like you can always have it fixed by a reputable doc.

 

bad advice kbi, this may be his last throw at the dice and he doesn`t want to to waste it

[Pat - Community Publisher]

Just for clarification, Dr. Sara Wasserbauer was never recommended on the Hair Transplant Network. com.

 

She did work for Dr. Rassman at the New Hair Institute (NHI) a few years ago. Dr. Rassman of the NHI was and still is recommended but Dr. Wasserbauer was not - since this site makes recommendations on an individual physician by physician basis.

 

I have no opinion regarding the whether or not Dr. Wasserbauer does or does not perform quality follicular unit hair transplantation.

 

I suggest you contact Dr. Rassman for his opinion given that she received her training and experience from him.

 

Best wishes, Pat

[hairthere]

just bite the bullet and go for the hair transplant.. if you don't like you can always have it fixed by a reputable doc.

 

Wow, that's really terrible advice. Have you ever gone through a fouled-up HT KBI? If not you should keep quiet, and if you have then you're just plain evil.

[wylie]

If youve seen one of her patients and was impressed, I would say to this woman that you would like the contact information of two other patients before scheduling, and then after further discussion and arranging a visit with at least one of the two (preferably both) you can check for the consistency of her results.

 

She may have a great way of talking with people but that does not translate into good results.

 

Thats the only thing you should ever concern yourself with. Choose wisely, if you rush into this due to time constraints you very well might make a decision you will regret.

 

Dont take that risk, its stupid.

[xerexes]

Thanks everyone. Has any of you checked her web site to see what you think from the photos? www.californiahairsurgeon.com?

she has some (12) before and after photos there which a couple have close up of the frontal hairline for which I am interested. I also met patient 6 and his hair was very good and natural but he has light and softer hair than mine. Not all those photos relate to my situation except 3 that have received a decent hairline with adequate density. I like to hear you guy's opinion about those patients after you see the before afters as that is the only thing available since she has only been independent for one year and although her office claims that they have many photos but they say they can't display or show them due to medical privacy issues unless they get signature approvals.

I know you see that I like to make it easy on me and want to believe in this Dr. but also in my discussions with her she came accross very knowledgeable and claimed that she does single unit follicle transplants as well as FUE's at times. she also has dedicated her practice to nothing but HT!

At Dr Rassman's office most transplants are done by other Dr's trained by Rassman but under his name.

One other point is that the Forum only recommends 5 doctors in california one of which is in my region with the name of Kabaker. I have already done 4-5 sessions in the 1990's with him who was also recommended then by the plastic srgery board on HT. My only issue for not going back to him is that I am not sure whether he can give me that natural, unnoticeable hairline, cause he did not 8-9 years ago when he could have (he is a good Dr though). But he did say that Dr Wasserbauer is pretty good and has a positively interesting approach!

Sorry to drag this on on everyone but like your fair input before I finalize my decision between now and the next day or two.

Thanks.

[wylie]

Originally posted by xerexes:

Sorry to drag this on on everyone but like your fair input before I finalize my decision between now and the next day or two.

Thanks.

 

You want to finalize this in a day or two?

 

You are making the classic of all classic mistakes, and that is rushing to judgement.

 

If you want to make snap decision, be my guest, but dont say we didnt warn ya.

 

If you do decide to go with her, then I hope it works out for you, but you should take your time in making these decisions, fools rush in.

 

Good luck!

[hairthere]

Go look at Hasson and Wong's web site. there you will see multiple pics of various patients with different angles. it also will tell you how many grafts were used. then look at dr.alexander's site (biltmoresurgical.com i think). there you will see immediate post-op pics and up close shots from different angles. those are useful web sites that demonstrate a skilled doctor. sorry, but wasserbauer's doesn't really tell too much. ok results, but nothing great.