HT in SE Asia?

[Saigon]

Hi i am an expat living/working in Saigon, Vietnam and doing some research on HT at the moment and looking for information on who would can sucessfully perform this/has the best reputation? Thinking that someone in Bangkok is the nearest, any recomendations on clinics there? Came across Bumrungrad Hospital web page, any feedback on them?

Thanks!

[erldette]

Why don't you check out Australia

[Saigon]

Hey thanks eridette, haven't looked to much at Australia (even though i am from there orginally) just looking at Thailand at the moment as it is close and convenient for me but subject to being satisfied with the treatment there.

[Mark H]

Hey Saigon, its great to see an Asian ex pat on here. I'm an ex ex pat who worked for about 10 years in Asia Pac. Loved it. Wish I was still in it. ...maybe I will be after my hair grows in.

 

Meantime, if you're a professional you should NOT be considering anyone but a coalition member here, or someone practicing at that level.

 

You cannot afford to get a second rate job, game over. I thought I heard something about an Aussie doc that was pretty good, but in any case, do it right, and you won't need to do it over.

 

cheers mate,

 

mark h

[Saigon]

Well i have read here and seen reports on places like Bumrungrad Hospital etc in Bangkok. Yes i am looking for someone at a high level, not interested in bad results!

[Mark H]

I wouldn't think that now is an especially good time to go to Thailand. I wouldn't be surprised to find someone top notch in Singapore, but I've no idea how to screen AP docs for Ultra Fine FUT.

 

mark h

[Guest]

I went to Dr Pathomvanich in Bkk. Money wasn't an issue for me, I wanted thebest in Asia. He is considered the best. He is the Dr they use at Bumrungrad but it is cheaper and better to go direct to his clinic. He has a (very outdated) website. He's popular, so you would need to book a few months in advance.

He uses the latest techniques for FUT including Tricho-closure.

I am 7 months p-o and am very happy.My HT and the donor scar is non-detectable, although the suturing marks at the donor area were noticeable with very short hair for a few months.

With a HT from any DR anywhere you will need a few weeks off work if you don't want to be noticed.

[enimag]

hello ! i see dr Pathomvanich in BKK, and friday 27 octobre i'm di my HT for 3000 grafts...But i'm not realy sure about this doctor, can you help me little !! ( Sorry for my English)

[Saigon]

Hey thanks brianf, i am in touch with Dr Pathomvanich's clinic at the moment they seem to be the best option though hard to get into which can only be a good sign. You mention that you need a few weeks off after HT if you don't want to be noticed, how noticable is it after surgery? I will be lucky to get a few days off work let alone a few weeks, should a longer period of rest be had after a HT?

[Guest]

Dr Pathomvanich uses absorbable sutures for the donor area which will stay in for 3 weeks. If you have your hair short they will be noticeable. He advises to leave your hair longer at the back for this reason. At 7 months my donor scar is completely invisible due to the t-closure, I would challenge anyone to find it, but the sutures left my skin red for a few months and this redness was noticeable with short hair. Now this redness has completely gone. I'll dig out my digital camera and take some pics soon and add them to this thread. The recipient area will be noticeably scabby for about 4 days and still red for about a week. This will be the case with any doctor.

I think you need to rest for 3-4 days after the surgery. It will give your body a chance to heal. Eat a lot of protein, fish, red meat, eggs etc.

I am very happy with my outcome and would recommend this doctor and his very professional team.

[Bill - Seemiller]

I don't want to knock Dr Pathomvanich because I don't know anything about him...but my best advice is to have multiple consultations. You might also want to have a virtual consultation with one of the top coalition docs. Follow the link below for a list of names:

 

http://www.hairlosslearningcenter.org/hair-loss-content...s/our_physicians.asp

 

I imagine Pat hasn't tracked down every single doctor in the world, so perhaps Dr. Pathomvanich would be elligible to be part of the coalition. Anyway, I hope this helps.

 

Bill

[the B spot]

Brian, if money wasn't an option, why not come over to the Western side of the world and take less of a chance?

 

While I am glad that you are happy with your results, the fact of the matter is the Doc's out in India/Asia are not really that impressive.

 

To be perfectly honest, while your recommendation is great, I think one would need to show DETAILED photos before offering a recommendation.

 

What you think is great, might not be great to the rest of the membership.

Here is an excerpt of his "bio" from the Internation Society of Hair Restoration Surgery

 

As a surgeon he enjoys scalp reduction, but today most patients prefer only the hair graft. He is currently researching possibilities in the preservation of hair follicles during donor harvesting -through careful dissection under magnification, since the donor hair is limited; and uses the same scar on subsequent session.

 

I rest my case, and leave it to my fellow members to see if a potential problem exists with recommending this Dr.

No offense.

[Mark H]

Spot on, B spot...

 

There may be some outstanding HT doctors in Asia, but if so, where did they learn the latest technique....in the US? Was it simultaneously developed in Asia? How do you vet a doc for this in Asia. I've no idea, but as B Spot points out, if money is no object, then seek out a coalition doc from this site, and sleep well.

[Guest]

Dr Pathomvanich learnt his profession and lived in the US from 1970 to 1991. While these were not great years for HT's he now returns there yearly and attends seminars, training workshops etc. and keeps up to date with the latest methods. He also wrote a paper on his method of T-closure where he makes the incision at the same angle as the hair follicle leaving an almost non-existing scar.

 

Dr Wong (from Hasson & Wong)says he is one of the best surgeons he has worked with.(yes, worked with)

 

I do agree with what you say about Dr's from India and Asia, but , IMO, Dr Pathomvanich stands out.

 

I don't take anyones opinions personally.It's good to see some healthy sceptisism, that's what makes this forum invaluable. But you can't tar every Dr in Asia with the same brush.

 

Dr Path does 100's of HT's per annum.He is booked out months in advance.

Is there anyone who has had a bad experience with this Dr? If so, please share.

 

I have no interest in promoting this Dr, just giving my opinion.

 

To everyone, good luck and good growth. And of course, do your homework and research before you make your decision.

[Guest]

This is my first op 7 months. 2400 on my NW5 @ 25fu/cm. Obviously not dense enough at this stage but with a similar amount next op should be OK.

Unfortunately I dont have any pre-op pics but I was basically bald except for a small tuft of hair at the front.

I comb my hair from left to right and asked the Dr to shape it that way.

 

 

was taken outside in the sun so a little unflattering. You can see my hair is short.I recently had my hair cut with a #4 comb.

[Guest]

 

is the donor area at 7 months cut with a #4 comb.

[Mark H]

I don't take anyones opinions personally.It's good to see some healthy sceptisism, that's what makes this forum invaluable. But you can't tar every Dr in Asia with the same brush

 

"Hey Brianf, read more carefully. No doctor was tarred. Full stop. We don't know those doctors. We do know our doctors, and we don't recommend very many of _them_ in this country either. That is the point.

 

One final comment: a more pointed question to Dr. Wong would have been if doctor Path practices the Ultra refined FU techniques as practiced by himself. If yes, then Dr. Wong's opinion is most significant. If OTOH, he's practicing STD FU methods, then results may be adequate, but are not going to be the best obtainable.

[Guest]

the fact of the matter is the Doc's out in India/Asia are not really that impressive.

 

I was refering to B spot's comment above.

[Mark H]

Originally posted by brianf:

the fact of the matter is the Doc's out in India/Asia are not really that impressive.

 

I was referring to B spot's comment above.

 

Got it, and I had missed that comment earlier. Now, I don't know B spot's experience, but I lived for many years in Asia, and I found the doctors to be fine.

 

My experience is that if a doctor is competent, then most medical needs will be met equally in any part of the civilized world. OTOH, when your requirement is for an area of medicine that requires state of the art technique, then there IS no safe part of the world. You have to be able to vet the doctor as best of the best, and a star in the field.

 

How to do that in Asia? That hasn't been this board's focus, and so B Spot's perspective holds together well enough for AsiaPac because it holds for any part of the world and doesn't (necessarily at least) represent an unfounded prejudice.

[the B spot]

Thanks for posting Brian.

 

I appreciate you sharing your results which look great at this point.

I would like to see your HT grown out so we can see the overall effect, etc....

 

If indeed you feel my negative comments toward doctors operating in the Asia/Pac area are wrong, I understand. I feel the same about the HT clinics in Europe. At this point in time, with the amount of information that is available on the internet, a person that finds this site and a few of the others should be able to determine who is a safe viable HT doctor and who is not.

 

What I will not do is stand by and let people come across this board and see ONE good result and determine that Dr. P is a great surgeon.

Just to show you I am good sport, I was on HLH and checked the list of doctors they have and Dr. Panagotacos and DiStefano are on there, two of the biggest hacks the world has ever seen.

 

I don't close myself off to something without good reason. Because of Poswal's unethical display and results like Jagdish's I think it is better safe than sorry at this point.

 

Check out the immediately after surgery photos from Panagotacos---- why would ANYONE go to this guy? Or Distefano (whose scalp reductions and multiblade knife work is legendary).

 

My point isn't to down Dr. P. My efforts are to plant a seed of doubt on order to force people to do research. What they decide after that is up to them.

[Guest]

B Spot, ironically, I agree with you and join you in warning people of the perils of looking for a HT Dr in Asia/India. Most of the Dr's here are hacks using outdated methods.

 

I did a lot of searching for a Dr and after consulting a few I was about to jump on a plane and head for the US.

 

IMO, Dr Path is the only quality HT Dr in Asia performing the latest non-detectable F/U methods with Tri-closure of the donor area.

He is an obvious choice for anyone in India who is considering a HT and cant afford the US.

 

Thankyou for the complement on my HT, but, I still think I have a long way to go before it is considered good, but I'm confident at this early stage. One thing I am very happy about is the donor scar. A very good job of T-closure.

[Saigon]

Well i guess that one question of mine started a bit of debate on having an hair transplant in Asia. Just to let everyone know i am coming up to 4 weeks now after having HT with Dr Pathomvanich in Bangkok with 2,421 grafts on the front, hairline and temple area.

The procedure and recovery so far has been comfortable with no complaints from the procedure.

Just looking for advice on future hair care though, basically i have never looked after my hair in 36yrs washing every day with what ever shampoo i can get hold of. The HT was to help recover some hairline that has been receeding slowly over the years. The rest of my hair is relatively thick so no real sign of thinning. Not interested in taking any drugs long term, what products are recommended in the form of shampoo's, applications etc?

[noobineub]

Hi Saigon, was just wondering how your donor scar is healing? Is it still visible? I'm actually considering going to Dr. Path as well. Just worried about how well donor scars heal up at the mo.

Edited May 11, 2012 by noobineub

[rp1979]

The highly respected Dr. Wong himself has recommended the works of Dr. Pathomvanich of Bumrungrad Hospital. Just ask Dr. Wong and see for yourself.

 

My parents lived in Thailand and my younger brother was born at Bumrungrad Hospital in Bangkok. I can tell you first hand that the facilities and service at Bumrungrad Hospital rival that of any top hospital/clincs in the US. I live in the US so have the convenience and benefit of easily being able to go to one of the coalition docs in North America. But for those based in Asia and think that crossing the Pacific ocean to get to a doc in North America might be of an overkill, I feel that they should definitely consider Dr. Pathomvanich. I think I might know of a few patients who had work done with Dr. Path, PM if you are interested.