My consultations with Bernstein and Feller

[marc515515]

Hi everyone. My name is Marc. I've been lurking and occasionally posting for the last few months but have not really introduced myself yet.

 

I am 33 years old, and I have had 7 (that's right, SEVEN) strip procedures. My first was when I was in October 1998 when I was 26, and my seventh was in December 2002. The first five were with a NYC doctor whose name I've never heard mentioned on this board. The sessions were extremely small, probably around 300 grafts. The next two were with a different doctor and were a little larger, about 650 grafts each.

 

In the last two weeks I've had a consultation with both Robert Bernstein (of NYC) and Alan Feller (of Great Neck, NY). Both doctors impressed me very much on a personal level. They seemed caring and honest, and both met with me personally and gave me plenty of time to ask any questions I had. They agreed in their assessment of the current state of my hair--that I am very, very lucky, especially considering the very high number of procedures I've had and that I started seven years ago. Both considered my hairline and donor scar to be of decent quality. (I'm completely happy with my hairline but wish my scar was thinner--my hopes regarding scarring are probably not realistic.) My density, however, is not very good, and both thought I would benefit from another procedure. My previous procedures were (if I'm not mistaken) micrografts and not follicular units. But I'm lucky in that I have wavy brown hair that looks fuller and gives better coverage than most straight hair.

 

However, the two doctors disagreed as far as what my next procedure should consist of. Bernstein, I know, has a reputation for being very conservative. He thought the density of my donor area was not very good and suggested we do a small procedure of about 600 grafts, strengthening the hairline a bit and filling in some of the weak spots behind the hairline. I asked him about FUE, but he seemed very skeptical and couldn't recommend it for me.

 

This afternoon I met with Feller, and he was much more optimistic about what I might achieve. He suggested a large strip session of 2000 grafts, maybe more. He thought that would be enough to give me really good overall coverage. In about a year after the procedure, he said he might be able to do an FUE procedure of around 500 grafts in which we could try to fill in the donor scar a bit.

 

I should also add that at this point pretty much all the hair on the top of my head is transplanted. I've never used Propecia or Rogaine.

 

Any thoughts or suggestions that anyone might have would be appreciated. Though both doctors impressed me, right now I'm leaning towards going with Feller. I'm not sure if 600 grafts from Bernstein, and the marginal improvement that would provide, would be worth the expense and inconvenience of an eighth (eighth!) procedure.

 

Thanks,

Marc

[marc515515]

Hi everyone. My name is Marc. I've been lurking and occasionally posting for the last few months but have not really introduced myself yet.

 

I am 33 years old, and I have had 7 (that's right, SEVEN) strip procedures. My first was when I was in October 1998 when I was 26, and my seventh was in December 2002. The first five were with a NYC doctor whose name I've never heard mentioned on this board. The sessions were extremely small, probably around 300 grafts. The next two were with a different doctor and were a little larger, about 650 grafts each.

 

In the last two weeks I've had a consultation with both Robert Bernstein (of NYC) and Alan Feller (of Great Neck, NY). Both doctors impressed me very much on a personal level. They seemed caring and honest, and both met with me personally and gave me plenty of time to ask any questions I had. They agreed in their assessment of the current state of my hair--that I am very, very lucky, especially considering the very high number of procedures I've had and that I started seven years ago. Both considered my hairline and donor scar to be of decent quality. (I'm completely happy with my hairline but wish my scar was thinner--my hopes regarding scarring are probably not realistic.) My density, however, is not very good, and both thought I would benefit from another procedure. My previous procedures were (if I'm not mistaken) micrografts and not follicular units. But I'm lucky in that I have wavy brown hair that looks fuller and gives better coverage than most straight hair.

 

However, the two doctors disagreed as far as what my next procedure should consist of. Bernstein, I know, has a reputation for being very conservative. He thought the density of my donor area was not very good and suggested we do a small procedure of about 600 grafts, strengthening the hairline a bit and filling in some of the weak spots behind the hairline. I asked him about FUE, but he seemed very skeptical and couldn't recommend it for me.

 

This afternoon I met with Feller, and he was much more optimistic about what I might achieve. He suggested a large strip session of 2000 grafts, maybe more. He thought that would be enough to give me really good overall coverage. In about a year after the procedure, he said he might be able to do an FUE procedure of around 500 grafts in which we could try to fill in the donor scar a bit.

 

I should also add that at this point pretty much all the hair on the top of my head is transplanted. I've never used Propecia or Rogaine.

 

Any thoughts or suggestions that anyone might have would be appreciated. Though both doctors impressed me, right now I'm leaning towards going with Feller. I'm not sure if 600 grafts from Bernstein, and the marginal improvement that would provide, would be worth the expense and inconvenience of an eighth (eighth!) procedure.

 

Thanks,

Marc

[Robert_]

Your experience just goes to show that fine physicians can disagree in their assessments and that there is never a "right" answer in the world of surgical hair restoration.

 

After that many procedures, I am glad to hear that it still sounds like you have some good donor to select from and that your scars aren't atrocious. I cannot really give an opinion of what you should or should not do without some kind of photos to go by. Even then, I would say to go with whatever YOU feel is best for you. It is, after all, your scalp and you come off as a reasonable, rational, educated patient.

 

Post some photos, if you want. I am curious to see what you have going on. Use the "Photo Album" feature located under the "New" button to upload them straight from your hard drive. This photo album can serve as your online pictoral diary for pre- and post-op surgery from whatever physician you choose.

 

-Robert

[marc515515]

Thanks for the reply, Robert. I'll post some photos soon.

[JacobS]

Geesh.....I don't know either doctor however a 600 graft strip transplant sounds like a waste of time unless you are targeting specific areas. How many grafts total do you have?

[marc515515]

I tried to upload seven photos, but it looks like the experiment failed. Sorry about that!

 

Jacob S:

 

I'm not sure of the exact count of the number of grafts I've had. I'd estimate it being around 2800 or so total.