My Excellent Experience with Dr. Michael Meshkin

[Guest Gary Kaplan]

After doing research on hair transplant physicians on this website and others, I chose Dr. Michael Meshkin of Newport Beach, California to do my procedure in November 2007. I picked him because he was certified by The American Board of Hair Restoration Surgery, and he invented the current micro graft procedure.

This turned out to be an excellent choice. Dr. Meshkin is a gifted surgeon. My first sign of success came immediately when the donor incision healed very quickly and then dissapeared seamlessly. Weeks later I saw that Dr. Meshkin placed my new hair hair perfectly. Its looks natural, youthful, and it appears to be thicker than it really is. I have nothing but good to report - - his staff is kind and helpful, and Dr. Meshkin follows up thoroughly.

I have no business ties or financial arrangements to say this, I'm just a very satisfied patient. A+++.

[thanatopsis_awry]

Glad to hear your HT went so well; pics would be great, nonetheless so they can be oggled by myself and others!

 

Also, I haven't slept in a day and may have a rare form of ice-cream induced fuzziness, so don't take this judgement as absolute by any means, but "inventing micro grafts" doesn't seem like the greatest accolade -- at least not in this day and age -- and I'm not so sure how "current" it is.

 

Meshkin has showns some clean work and I am sure he doesn't rely on micros/minis; but, if you are referring to micros as the current gold standard (i.e. "ultra-refined follicular units") it is new news to me that Meshkin invented 'em.

[Dewayne]

I'm not being smart either, but I think all clinics claim to have invented micro / mini grafting, etc.

 

At least mine did. Unfortunately for me, it was 1991 and the internet wasn't widely available and I believed my clinic's claims to have invented modern hair transplantation right there in North Alabama!

[Bill - Seemiller]

Gary,

 

Welcome to our forum community.

 

Dr. Meshkin is recommended on the Hair Transplant Network for doing high quality follicular unit hair transplantation. I would not go as far to say he "invented" the state of the art follicular unit hair transplant procedure.

 

I do hope however, that you will share your photos and surgical experience including the number of grafts you received, date of surgery, etc.

 

This will be seeking patients and Dr. Meskin more than speaking in general terms about your satisfaction with your results.

 

Best wishes,

 

Bill

[Guest Gary Kaplan]

Its easy to make a glib statement..."I think all clinics claim to have invented micro / mini grafting, etc."

 

However, the truth is - - Dr. Meshkin did invent the Mokor Microslit Grafting technique, which was a major step forward while other doctors were transplanting plugs. Why do you discount his accomplishment?

[Bill - Seemiller]

Gary Kaplan,

 

Either you are very well educated in hair transplant surgery or simply have good reading skills since it states on his website that Dr. Meskin pioneered the "Mokor Microslit Grafting Technique".

 

Now I'll really be impressed if you can tell me what this means especially since doing a search on google for this term solely lists Dr. Meshkin's website.

 

I don't think anyone is discounting Dr. Meshkin's skill in performing high quality follicular unit hair transplantation however, many surgeons have created a variation of a well known technique and called it their own. Dr. Meshkin happened to do this by trademarking the above term. Surgeons who pioneered follicular unit grafting which was a huge step toward advancing hair translant surgery include Dr. Bernstein and Dr. Rassman amongst a few others.

 

Since Dr. Meshkin posts on this site, I'm sure everyone could benefit from a description of his technique.

 

Best wishes,

 

Bill

[Guest Gary Kaplan]

Bill, I have to admit - - I don't like your confrontational attitude. Please take it to another thread.

 

I am well educated and I also read well - - yet somehow I need to imprress you, or so you say.

 

I just wrote in to say that Dr. Meshkin did an excellent job. Leave it at that. Dr. Meshkin developed a technique, he contributes to medical textbooks, he is an esteemed member of The American Board of Hair Restoration Surgery. To listen to you, he trademaked someone elses work and call it his own?

I don't like how you twist this into a confrontation about who is better than Bernstein or Rasstein - - your inappropriate comments are not appreciated one bit - - Bill please go away to another thread, okay?

[something]

Gary, you newbie idiot!!!!

 

Bill is the forum moderator. He is here to make lives easier.

 

You ask him to go away...haha, thats very nice of you, but unfortunately, thats probably not going to happen.

 

Spend some time and learn about the procedure you underwent before making uninformed posts about nothing.

 

Your Dr., while might be very good, did not invent modern follicular unit transplantation. Sorry, but that distinction goes to others in the field, Dr.Rassman comes to mind as maybe one of the first to coin the term.

 

So, go read your books and come back when you become a man.

[alwayswaiting1]

Seriously GARY KAPLAN,

Bill goes out of his way to make this forum an invaluable source of information and support. You will not be received well here by being confrontational.

By the way, to avoid any skepticism about your first post caused by your subsequent rudeness, you should post photographs to document your surgery.

[Bill - Seemiller]

Gary,

 

I want to make it clear that I am not questioning Dr. Meshkin's ability. As you can see, we recommend Dr. Meshkin here and are very impressed with his hands on approach and dedication to state of the art follicular unit hair transplantation. See Pat Hennessey's (Publisher of the Hair Transplant Network) visit and observations of Dr. Meshkin in live surgery by clicking here.

 

You've quite obviously twisted my words when I was trying to give you a legitimate history lesson. The term "Mokor Microslit grafting technique" is trademarked by Dr. Meshkin alone. Nobody else uses this term. Follicular unit grafting is a universal term used by hair restoration surgeons and has been well adopted by those leading surgeons in the field, including Dr. Meshkin. I only mentioned Dr. Bernstein and Dr. Rassman because they are pioneers of follicular unit hair transplantation. I never said who I thought was better.

 

I think you have to understand that members of this community (including me) are skeptical of new members who come here, and instead of sharing their actual surgical experience and photos, sound like a sales ad.

 

If you want to discuss the "Mokor Microslit Grafting technique", please go ahead. But I would assume since you've mentioned it, you have no problem explaining the technique and how it varies from standard follicular unit hair transplantation.

 

Or instead, perhaps you'll be willing to share your surgical experience and post some before, immediately postoperative, and after photos which would be most helpful to prospective patients considering Dr. Meshkin for surgery.

 

I think if you stick around and get involved, you will find that the members of this community (including me) are quite sincere in helping give support to hair loss sufferers and hair transplant patients.

 

Best wishes and happy growing,

 

Bill

[Guest Gary Kaplan]

Bill - - sorry, I had missed seeing you are the administrator.

 

I felt my words got twisted. I am saying that he was in on the research and development twenty years ago that evolved into todays better methods. Someone else said I claimed he invented todays breakthough procedures. Also, someone else said that Dr. Meshkin still uses the technique he invented twenty years ago. I don't know this is true, all I know is that while other doctors were placing plugs in the 1980s or giving you the Bosley butcher stich up the middle of your head - - Dr. Meshkin was inventing the micro graft procedure. In a university setting, researchers work in teams - - I don't know the fine details of who worked on this, give me a break.

 

I know there is suspician everywhere around this site for salespeople pushing their doctor. Thats why I use my real name (not a 2nd grade nickname,- -like "something"?) - - I am a real unbiased patient.

 

Spex - - I don't have pictures, but Dr. Meshkin took a lot. Maybe he can provide them. I saw them and the "before" pictures shocked me.

 

"Something" - - you are an idiot. People like you who immediately throw out manhood insults are usually too stupid to articulate.

[something]

Gary, would you like me to articulate the finer points of manhood....

 

When you come on a forum and talk nonsense, this is how you get treated.

 

BTW idiot, almost all members of internet forums use nicknames, from the most highly esteemed to the lowest of the low, and i hardly think that makes them all second graders.

 

In fact, i would venture to say that if you were in second grade and visiting this site, just shave you're head and get on with life...haha..

 

Have fun Gary Kaplan.

[Bill - Seemiller]

Gary,

 

It's perfectly normal to be defensive of your physician. Understand that the skepticism of our members was due to the glowing review of his credentials rather than the details of your actual surgical experience.

 

But let's not make a big deal of it.

 

I do encourage you to share the details of your experience and either take some photos or ask Dr. Meshkin to send them to you so you can share them with us.

 

The best way to document your progress and share your photos is by creating on of our free hair loss weblog.

 

Best wishes and happy growing!

 

Bill

[thanatopsis_awry]

I certaintly look forward to the photos; I just hope they don't portray Meshkin-invented micro-grafting!

[Dr. Michael Meshkin]

I am glad that Gary has decided to get involved and share his experience. I just became aware of this thread and I will be more than happy to share his results if gary allows me to do so.

I must say I am very surprised and disappointed at the questioning and line of talk by Bill the moderator. I was under the impression that a moderator is to be neutral and when someone is trying to share their experience he directs the line of questioning as to how their whole experience of the hair treatment was and not to scrutinize them on the terminology and make fun of them for not knowing the exact meaning of words or technoques. The way Bill approached my patient with his remarks and I quote

"Either you are very well educated in hair transplant surgery or simply have good reading skills since it states on his website that Dr. Meskin pioneered the "Mokor Microslit Grafting Technique".Now I'll really be impressed if you can tell me what this means especially since doing a search on google for this term solely lists Dr. Meshkin's website."

is completly uncalled for and very unprofessional. If you want to know my technique or want to know how the terminolgy came about you should ask me and not belittle a patient for knowing or not knowing the techniques. Also you twisted his words by saying that he claims or I claim that "NOKOR microslit grafting technique" is the same as follicullar or ultra follicular technique. This kind of questioning and twisting of words are expected from other clinics or competitors but not from a moderator. Bill, I have tried to have my clients more involved on this forum and I know pat wants the doctores and their clients to get more involved but unfortunetly you have made it difficult for other patients to come forward and share their experience. I will ofcoarse let pat know of my disappointment and I hope that this doesnot happen again from you The "moderator".

[Bill - Seemiller]

Dr. Meshkin,

 

Excuse me Dr. Meshkin, but didn't we recently have a talk offline about suspicious behavior?

 

I'm not quite sure why you would be surprised that as the Associate Publisher of this community, that I would encourage the poster to share his actual experience and photos rather than promote your credentials and technique.

 

Quite frankly, this guy sounded like a talking sales ad. Understand that this is an educational community and prospective patients benefit by the specifics and explanation of hair transplant surgery which includes experiences and photos shared on our forum.

 

I also don't appreciate your threats to contact Pat as if he is going to reprimand me for pointing out the suspicious nature of this thread. I've already had a talk with him about this a few days earlier, and he agreed that this did appear suspicious.

 

I have not twisted anyone's words, nor did I say what your technique actually is. I think if you re-read my responses, you'll see I was trying to give him a legitimate history lesson. Perhaps my attempt at humor was interpreted as belittling. If you read this entire thread, I've already explained this.

 

I also think you need to read through my posts. I am typically very encouraging and supportive of prospective and actual patients.

 

You and your patient have my sincere apologies, but I do hope for his benefit and for that of the community, he shares his surgical details and photos.

 

In the future, I encourage you to ask your patients to share their actual experience and photos rather than promote your technique and credentials.

 

Feel free also to help educate this community by explaining your technique and how it differs from other approaches.

 

Out of respect, I left you a message on your cell phone so we can continue this discussion privately.

 

Regards,

 

Bill

[thanatopsis_awry]

"Bill, I have tried to have my clients more involved on this forum and I know pat wants the doctores and their clients to get more involved but unfortunetly you have made it difficult for other patients to come forward and share their experience."

 

..... For real?

[thanatopsis_awry]

As usual, Bill is being exceedingly professional and diplomatic. That said, re-reading the quote above is disturbing and it's a cheap jab that smacks of something a political cronie would say to obscure truth and displace responsibility. Not something I, and I am sure many, would expect from not only a doctor but a doctor whose work Bill has taken the time to vouch for.....

 

The last post could have just as easily contained the pics which the patient basically already gave his approbation on to be posted; the situation would have been diffused, and the community (Bill included) would have given a completely "objective opinion". Oh ya, and nobody would have really cared much if the patient or John Doe waxed poetic on Meshkin's credentials and pumped him up like a blimp.

 

But the response that came out, and the quote in particular, is almost comical in that it is so far from the truth; but, in a field where truth is already assaulted from so many sources, there really cannot be much tolerance for anything that seeks to obscure it.

[Dr. Michael Meshkin]

As I said, I just became aware of this post last night, and I donot work on saturday nights so I don't have access to patients photos, but I will post them as soon as Gary allows me to do so.

I have recently started asking my clients to go on line and share their experiences with the network, I donot give them a script or donot give a protocol. If the patients experience sounds to you like a sells pitch then it is your job to direct them to talk about their actual experience of the transplant and the result. Each client percieves their experience in their own personal way. To some the technique is important and to some it may be the comfort of the whole procedure and so on. Their level of knowledge also differs, some like to know in detail about the whole technical aspect and they research throughly months in advance in the internet and other means and gather information before they make up their mind about a perticular doctor. However, to some clients it is the personal and the comfort level with the doctor and thier staff. Again they describe their experience depending on the way they percieve it. So it is important as a moderator to direct the line of questioning in a way so the clients who arenot "scripted" and arenot paid promotors for doctors to share their experience in a way that others could benefit and not redicule them.

 

For some who wonder about "Nokor Microslit Grating" technique, it is a technique that I introduced to my collegues in 1989. I lectured and wrote articles about this technique in many Journals. It was the first time a flat needle technique was introduced in the field of hair restoration surgery for placing 1-3 hair grafts(which we now call Follicular Units). This technique allowed for placing more number of grafts and more density and also less scaring and better cosmetic result. The technique was documented in the Journel of Cosmetic surgery, Journel of Dermatologic Surgery and The Hair Transplant Text book by Doctor Dough Stough and currently in the Hair Transplant Textbook by Doctors Unger and Shapiro as reference. This technique was used for many years by vast majority of best hairtransplant surgeons around the world. Still some doctors use the Nokor needles for making recipient sites.

As the hairtransplant surgery evolves, we as hairtransplant doctors have the resposiblity to improve our techniques. I am commited to staying active in this field through ongoing educations and incorporating the latest advances into my practice. I am constantly looking for new techniques and innovations which may benefit my clients. I am now doing exclusively microscopic "Lateral Ultra Refined Follicular Unit Grafting Technique" for the recipient area and for donor area I use double trichophytic closure. If the clients are good candidate we also offer FUE.

If I was not clear in any aspect of explaining the Nokor Microslit Grafting Technique or the current technique that I use, I will be more than happy to explain in furthur detail.

[Bill - Seemiller]

Dr. Meshkin,

 

I appreciate your last post, though I wish you responded this way the first time.

 

Now that I have talked to you on the phone and we came to an understanding, I trust we can move forward and work toward educating and encouraging patients together.

 

Best wishes,

 

Bill

[Guest Gary Kaplan]

I must agree there is unprofessionalism in the moderation of this website, As a new patient, I would not post a report on my procedure again, nor would I encourage others to do so.

 

What you call an "investigation" was an attack. Please read my original post again - - I was completely happy with my procedure by Dr. Meshkin - - what did I say that warrants me a salesman, over-zealous, pumping my doctor up like a blimp? What part of the actual procedure would you have liked more reporting on?

 

Also...I cannot take you seriously when you compare your website to an elite educational institution. Anyone who worked to attend an elite educational institution will laugh at this silly claim. Would any of our doctors out there agree with me?

[Bill - Seemiller]

Gary,

 

Well, I'm sorry you feel that way, especially after I thought we came to an understanding.

 

As a legitimate patient, I apologize for any misunderstanding. However, if you were a long time member and saw a new member promoting a doctor's credentials and techniques rather than share their personal experience, I'd expect you would be suspicious too - just as many members were of you.

 

Members of this community are interested in protecting the integrity and honesty of this community.

 

I'd suggest a clean slate and encourage you to create a new thread and share your personal experience such as how it felt going through surgery, how many grafts/hairs you received, where they were placed on your scalp, and post photos.

 

Regards,

 

Bill

[Guest Gary Kaplan]

Thank you Bill. I will do that.

[futbol9]

he gary did you ever post some pics of your hair transplant with dr. meshkin? I also had hair transplant with him 2 months ago and had a great experience. I already posted my pics though. I really would like to see some pics of your hair transplant. thank you