Cleveland,ohio

[Guest]

Has anybody used doctor Robert s. Haber at the university hair restoration center? He claims his prices a good because he needs not to advertise. He is a board certified dermatology and he is on hairtransplantnetwork web site.

[Guest]

Has anybody used doctor Robert s. Haber at the university hair restoration center? He claims his prices a good because he needs not to advertise. He is a board certified dermatology and he is on hairtransplantnetwork web site.

[Dr. William Parsley]

As a transplant surgeon I feel that I can give some input. Dr. Haber is a co-author of one of the major textbooks in our field. Next year he is going to be President of the ISHRS. He is as solid as they come. While there are many good hair surgeons out there, one would be in excellent hands with Dr. Haber.

[arfy]

Dr. Haber may very well be an excellent HT surgeon. My comments do not pertain to him. My point is that patients need to very careful and read between the lines, and probably IGNORE the things that seem like credentials, when it comes to hair transplantation. Many of the things that sound like traditional credentials are a SHAM in this field!

 

Again, this is NOT a reflection on Dr. Haber, just some general information.

 

Any doctor can contribute to a textbook. I would wonder if that is more a sign of "who" you know than "what" you know. It is certainly not always a sign that you are going to get a top-notch hair transplant! Just contributing to a textbook means nothing... what if the chapter was teaching others how to do Flap surgery, for example. That's a horrific procedure that should be avoided!

 

Also, belonging to the ISHRS and even holding an "office" in the ISHRS means nothing, in regards to your results! I point to Dr. Robert T. Leonard, who was a President of the ISHRS, and in my opinion is a career hack, NOT somebody I would trust with my appearance. Many of the WORST hair transplant doctors can proudly point to a list of groups they belong to (and even hold office in)!

 

These kind of credentials Dr. Parsley mentioned are best ignored, in my opinion.

 

Here's some "credentials" that count, in my opinion:

 

<UL TYPE=SQUARE>Does the doctor ONLY use microscopically-dissected follicular unit grafts?

 

How long has he been exclusively using FU grafts?

 

Does the doctor NOT do scalp reductions?

 

Does the doctor typically refuse to transplant on guys under 25, and usually not on guys below Norwood 3?

 

Does the doctor insist his patients are using Propecia if at all possible?

 

Does the doctor allow you to watch a procedure in progress, and meet as many of his patients (in person) as you like (and not just the other guys who work in the office)?

 

Does your doctor do all of the patient consultations himself, instead of hiring a salesman? Does he NOT give you a hard sell? Is he trying to educate you as a patient, instead of just selling you a plastic surgery?

 

[Dr. William Parsley]

I agree with Arfy in that you can't look at one at credentials only. You must look at all these factors. It is extremely difficult to separate fluff from substance - that is why these web sites are badly needed.

That said, I think that Dr. Haber looks good in light of these questions. I don't send messages like this, especially about a regional competitor, unless I have some conviction. But even so, one needs to study any doctor closely.