Question For Pat

[bezane]

Hey Pat...Thanks for all the great info provided in the forum.

 

I'm going for consultations with Alexander and Keene next week. Would appreciate your opinion on both as a one verse the other. Price as well although not a determining factor at all. I've had two procedures with Unger way back in 99, very pleased, all micro stuff, very nice start to hairline and a great repair from a butchered job by Nuhart in 94 (just giant plugs in corn row fashion that became exposed with more loss). Problem with Unger for me is that very limited in amount of work he will do per procedure as well as I'm in Vegas now and hard to coordinate a NY or Toronto trip.

 

I probably need three nice sessions for a GREAT look.

 

Also, because I work in a very public capacity and can only get about 2 weeks off to recover, what are your thoughts on being shaved. Is it necessary with these surgeons' approach? Might be a factor for me.

 

Thanks. You've gained a huge amount of credibility and trust in your opinion.

[bezane]

Hey Pat...Thanks for all the great info provided in the forum.

 

I'm going for consultations with Alexander and Keene next week. Would appreciate your opinion on both as a one verse the other. Price as well although not a determining factor at all. I've had two procedures with Unger way back in 99, very pleased, all micro stuff, very nice start to hairline and a great repair from a butchered job by Nuhart in 94 (just giant plugs in corn row fashion that became exposed with more loss). Problem with Unger for me is that very limited in amount of work he will do per procedure as well as I'm in Vegas now and hard to coordinate a NY or Toronto trip.

 

I probably need three nice sessions for a GREAT look.

 

Also, because I work in a very public capacity and can only get about 2 weeks off to recover, what are your thoughts on being shaved. Is it necessary with these surgeons' approach? Might be a factor for me.

 

Thanks. You've gained a huge amount of credibility and trust in your opinion.

[Pat - Community Publisher]

Bezane,

 

Welcome to our community. The contributions that others make on this forum every day are what make this a real living breathing resource.

 

I think you would be pleased with the work you would get with either Dr. Keene or Dr. Alexander. You may also consider consulting with Dr. Williams in Vegas if that's where you live.

 

All three of these surgeons are doing Ultra Refined Follicular Unit Hair Transplantation so you will find that your healing in the recipient areas will be more rapid than in the past due to the very small and minimally invasive incisions. Two weeks is more than enough time to be healed in the grafted areas.

 

As for price, I'm not sure how their prices vary at this point. I also don't think that any of these three will require you to shave the top of your head.

 

I suggest you consult with all of them and choose the one that you are most comfortable with.

 

Thanks for your vote of confidence. I think you will be very pleased by how much more you can accomplish in one session these days.

 

Best wishes for getting a great result.

 

Pat

 

P.S. I also suggest you enter the last name of any surgeon you are considering into the "Find" feature of this forum. It will bring up all references to them for the past five years. It's one wealth of info.

[GuitarPlayer]

Bezane,

 

To the best of my knowledge, I believe Hasson and Wong are the only physicians that require you to shave the recipient area.

 

GuitarPlayer

[the B spot]

I think that most surgeons would prefer that the recipient area be shaved in order to angulate the new hair properly with existing hair. Should patients be unable to do so, most doc's will simply go in-between native hair. It is a matter of preference, but not one that should deter you from your ultimate goals.

[Gorpy]

Dr. Keene does not require you to shave the recipient area. Dr. Alexander does (or at least buzzed very short).

 

Dr. Keene is slightly cheaper.

[bezane]

Thanks Gorpy. That's good news and bad news as I only have two weeks to recover then have to go back to work in the public eye with very close scrutiny. And good luck with your results. My consultation is Thursday. Will be stopping in to see Dr. Alexander and then on to Tucson to Dr. Keene the same day. I wish I had this forum back in 93 when I was 28 and after enjoying the fullest head of hair known to man before I started thinning at warp speed. Like nature's cruel joke. It may have been nutritional that spurred it on that quick as I am a vegetarian, but nonetheless, I panicked and went to a clinic called Nuhart where they gave be the "corn row hustle". Big plugs in a straight line right around my hairline. Within a year they were visible and luckily I wised up and didn't go back for more "fill in" as they called it. I kind of dodged around for several years and let my hair fall out more. Luckily I owned my own business that allowed me to bounce around in a baseball hat. Everyone thought I was just stylish. And my swimsuit model girlfriend was actually the one that said I was silly not to get it fixed. So I consider myself lucky to have an understanding soul and the smarts not to have further damaged myself with more bad sessions.

 

I consulted with Dr. Walter Unger in 99 finally and he removed some bad plugs in the first procedure and more in the second. He did micros and minis and created a hairline. He doesn't do very large sessions so that's a bit of a problem. But any work he did to this point is undetectable, but the problem is that it needs more filling and there's still a couple of bad plugs that I see in certain situations. The crown is not touched yet. I'm now living in the west and for convenience thought I would consult with a couple of coalition docs. I think 2000 grafts in the front will satisfy me and then I'll book a procedure to attack the crown. Now I wear my hair slicked back with some FX Molding Wax and I look like the Italian from Little Italy New York that I am. But after five years, and allowing my real hair to finish falling out for the most part, I want it all filled in!!!

 

My objectives for my consultation are to find out if drugs will help or if necessary, to see if the surgeons can "play ball" with what I've had done so far, and to see if I can finish the entire job over the next two years for 35K. Just a number. That's not the most important part. But I put that money aside and hope it's enough as with houses cars and an expensive girlfriend (I said she was understanding, not cheap!) I think staying out west here and having it done is the way to go if I can avoid more extensive travel. If Keene is in my backyard, and all checks out, than why not go for it.

 

Thanks again guys.

[tkerr22]

I had a Ht done with Alexander and think he does great work, am 7 months post op and my front hairline looks a lot thicker. Thought he is a very sincere, trustworthy guy and am going back in July for another HT for my midscalp to crown area, am done with the front! he asked me if he could buzz my hair in front so he could put the hairs in easier and I didn't mind. think he would've done it with my hair still longer if I cared but I thought whatever is easier for him and lets him do his job to the best is good enough for me!

[Gorpy]

Ha ha! That's a good post Bezane. I think you are doing the right thing by consulting with both of them. You'll have a better feeling for it after that. I have to admit, I found myself hoping that picture you supplied at the bottom of you post was of your swimsuit model girlfriend, but alas it was you. Oh well.

[dhuge67]

Us Italians always get the girls, hair or no hair!

[the B spot]

Paisant!!!

[Hair Apparent]

Originally posted by dhuge67:

Us Italians always get the girls, hair or no hair!

That reminds me of a bit I saw on The Tonight Show about thirty years ago, when Johnny Carson ruled the late-night hours.

 

One of his guests was a comedian who, during his time in the chair next to Johnny, was relating a story of being at his hotel swimming pool and trying to make time with a beautiful girl. The comedian stated that he couldn't get to first base with this girl and grumbled that the girl must have had her eye on someone else, "probably some good-looking Italian guy who had just come out of the pool, his muscled body dripping and his hair slicked back by the water."

 

Carson's very next guest was former baseball major-leaguer and sports-broadcaster Joe Garagiola--who had a scalp well into the Norwood VI classification. However, when Garagiola came out on stage, his face was dripping wet and what fringe hair he had was slicked back with water.

 

Garagiola sits down and says "I just wanted to show [the comedian] was an Italian guy looks like when he just comes out of the pool."

 

I must have laughed non-stop for fifteen minutes.

 

[Dr. Victor Hasson]

Bezane,

 

I wanted to respond to your initial question to Pat regarding recipient shaving but I felt it was better to start a new thread due to the importance of the subject. To view my response, click here. I hope you find it to be informative.

[bezane]

Thanks Doc. While I'l be on my way to a few consultations with some other Docs tomorrow, it's great hearing it from the guy who wrote the book. I did call yesterday to consult with Dr. Wong or yourself. Just a bit inconvenient for me, as it will require a trip north.

 

I'm in a bad predicament when it comes to this issue. My job doesn't allow for any alteration in appearance in regards to hair "style", color, facial hair etc. Whie I can certainly get a leave of absence for a few months, it would put an awful lot of financial stress on me. I've waited so long to go back and do this, and the reality just struck me that it might not happen now. Couldn't be more shattered as it's been a priority. But although the truth hurts, it's refreshing for a doctor to deem it important enough to fess up the grim answer.

 

Down deep I know that a few months will never get my hair back the way it is. I have grown out to six inches in the front and slick it backwards. Might be as much as a year's growth.

 

This is the kind of information that makes this forum so outstanding. And rather than ignore an expert opinion in order to get the answers I want, my mind has shifted into another mode of "how to" make this approach happen.

 

Thanks again.

 

And another note to all those reading and especially those that have not yet gone down the road. BE CERTAIN. While baldness can play tricks on your mind, depress you, ruin your confidence and all those things, it's much worse it you end up with anything at all that's detectable. For me, my repair made me just okay for the moment, but it still eats at me that if I coud get just one mega with Dr. Hasson, I'd be back on top (pardon the bad pun).

[Guest]

Bezane,

 

I am in the same situation as you. I can't drop out of sight for 2 months while I wait to recuperate. Just not possible. Have you come up w a solution. Someone suggested a hairpiece to cover up what was shaved until hair starts growing in. The trick is to match the color,texture density etc., of existing hair. Let me know if you find a solution and I'll do the same

[bezane]

We may not be in the same situation Z. I have some transplanted hair and a hairline that's not too bad. After my consultation I decided on a Doc (Keene) that doesn't buzz the recipient area. She feels a 10-14 day recovery should be adequate.

 

Truth be told though Z, I've been waiting too long to do this and I'm going for it. Any aspect of my life I can rstart I figure, but I don't want to go on in my state of mind.

 

Go for a consultation, and talk it over with the Doc. Only way to make a plan.

 

But there's no way to do it without at least taking a full 14 days after surgery.

 

The hairpiece thing is a "no way" for me. And to get one that works will be a huge additional cost.

 

Worse case, plan way ahead. Take a leave of absence. See what the Doc says.