Is Dr. Epstein still among the best

[Hoping]

I had an HT with Dr. E. back in 05 and its about time for my second. I used to read this board but have not been here for a while nor do I have the time to read updates about the coalition doctors. So my intention is to go back to Dr. Epstein for my second HT since I live in Florida. Anybody have a different recommendation.

[Rachmunas4life]

How was he the first time?

[Gorpy]

I think Dr. E is still among the best.

[Hoping]

I am very happy with my first HT.

[Leeson]

The last couple of stories I've read about him has scared me (i.e. Irishlad31). I would never go to him.

[John K]

I recently had two HT procedures with Dr. Epstein. I think he's great. My first procedure was in Dec 08 (3,073 grafts) and the second in Mar 09 (2,512 grafts). As a Class 6, I was more than happy with the results of the first procedure. Good coverage and natural placement. My biggest concern was an unnatural look. I had no need to worry. The small (1,2 and 3 hair) grafts and expert placement produced a very natural, undetectable look. Having just had my second procedure 12 days ago, I am looking forward to the new hair that will result. About 9 months after the procedure, I visited a dermatologist for some sun spots on my face. I told him I had had a hair transplant and invited him to look it over. His response was that he had never before seen a hair transplant patient with no visible scarring on top. BTW, the incision on the back of my head healed nicely with an almost undetectable scar. While I have no HT experience with other physicians against which to judge Dr. Epstein, I can say that I have seen a lot of hair transplants that look like hair transplants. Mine does not. I'm not shy about letting friends know about my hair transplants. Many have marveled at the results, including a friend's wife, who owns a hair salon and sees many men who have had hair transplants. I can say without reservation that I have complete trust in Dr. Epstein in terms of his technical and artistic talents, as well as his character. Both Dr. Epstein and his staff were thoroughly committed to my comfort during both procedures and the positive atmosphere in the office helped the time in the chair pass quickly. I did a lot of research before selecting a hair transplant surgeon and I am very happy that I chose Dr. Epstein. Not only is he a great HT surgeon (and facial plastic surgeon), but he's a humanitarian who has performed pro bono surgery on needy children. Please note that my only association with Dr. Epstein is as a patient... and now, a friend. John K (age 55)

[Leeson]

I only know what I saw; if you can explain that scar on Irishlad31 and poor results. I'm sure many would like an explaination for this, as he is a coalition doctor.

[dakota3]

I base this comment strictly on my opinion and I know of no facts but I think Dr. Epstien may have a weak link in the chain. He claims that he's had most of the same people working for him for years but I have to assume that just like any other profession that some people can become board, have a bad day or just dont care anymore. There have been a few complaints as of late which seems to have tarnished his reputation but all in all I'd say HE is still a very good doctor and IMO among the best with donar closure.

[Leeson]

John K,

You just posted an almost exact response on the bald truth, were you just registered. Did you copy and paste it?

 

Originally posted by John K:

I recently had two HT procedures with Dr. Epstein. I think he's great. My first procedure was in Dec 08 (3,073 grafts) and the second in Mar 09 (2,512 grafts). As a Class 6, I was more than happy with the results of the first procedure. Good coverage and natural placement. My biggest concern was an unnatural look. I had no need to worry. The small (1,2 and 3 hair) grafts and expert placement produced a very natural, undetectable look. Having just had my second procedure 12 days ago, I am looking forward to the new hair that will result. About 9 months after the procedure, I visited a dermatologist for some sun spots on my face. I told him I had had a hair transplant and invited him to look it over. His response was that he had never before seen a hair transplant patient with no visible scarring on top. BTW, the incision on the back of my head healed nicely with an almost undetectable scar. While I have no HT experience with other physicians against which to judge Dr. Epstein, I can say that I have seen a lot of hair transplants that look like hair transplants. Mine does not. I'm not shy about letting friends know about my hair transplants. Many have marveled at the results, including a friend's wife, who owns a hair salon and sees many men who have had hair transplants. I can say without reservation that I have complete trust in Dr. Epstein in terms of his technical and artistic talents, as well as his character. Both Dr. Epstein and his staff were thoroughly committed to my comfort during both procedures and the positive atmosphere in the office helped the time in the chair pass quickly. I did a lot of research before selecting a hair transplant surgeon and I am very happy that I chose Dr. Epstein. Not only is he a great HT surgeon (and facial plastic surgeon), but he's a humanitarian who has performed pro bono surgery on needy children. Please note that my only association with Dr. Epstein is as a patient... and now, a friend. John K (age 55)

 

QUOTE The Bald Truth:

I recently had two HT procedures with Dr. Epstein. I think he's great. My first procedure was in Dec 08 (3,073 grafts) and the second in Mar 09 (2,512 grafts). As a Class 6, I was more than happy with the results of the first procedure. Good coverage and natural placement. My biggest concern was an unnatural look. I had no need to worry. The small (1,2 and 3 hair) grafts and expert placement produced a very natural, undetectable look. Having just had my second procedure 12 days ago, I am looking forward to the new hair that will result. About 9 months after my first procedure, I visited a dermatologist for some sun spots on my face. I told him I had had a hair transplant and invited him to look it over. His response was that he had never before seen a hair transplant patient with no visible scarring on top. BTW, the incision on the back of my head healed nicely with an almost undetectable scar. Many friends have marveled at the overall results, including a friend's wife who owns a hair salon and sees many men with hair transplants. I can say without reservation that I have complete trust in Dr. Epstein in terms of his technical and artistic talents, as well as his character. Both Dr. Epstein and his staff were thoroughly committed to my comfort during both procedures and the positive atmosphere in the office helped the time in the chair pass quickly. I did a lot of research before selecting a hair transplant surgeon and I am very happy that I chose Dr. Epstein. Not only is he a great HT surgeon (and facial plastic surgeon), he's also a humanitarian who has performed pro bono surgery on needy children. Please note that my only association with Dr. Epstein is as a patient... and now, a friend. John K (age 55)

[lost my swagger]

john k--- what a detailed, friendly and overly positive FIRST post for you.. welcome to the forum. do you have any plans to document your amazing results from your 1st HT??? thanks

[latinlotus]

John K:

Your post sounds very promotional, very similar to a few posts I have read the past year from some of Dr. Epstein's other patients...usually a first post, overly praising the doctor, one paragraph only, no pic to show, no reply when asked to post picture...enough said.

 

Lets see if you can answer my question: what is the exact date of your first HT? If Dec 08 is the correct date, then your result is not out yet. Therefore, praising a doctor without fully grown result is premature and make me doubt your honesty.

[PLEASE GROW PLEASE]

I have no idea if John is legit or not.

If you are then cool but in my opinion I would not let Dr Epstein touch me even if it was free

[Leeson]

I'm still more concerned of Dr. Epstein just sweeping this aside after, again, reading IrishLad31's story. Even though alot of us had similiar experiences, I just feel somewhat upset at the Dr. for not addressing this and leaving him high and dry. I don't know, but I agree with PGP, I would not go to Dr. Epstein.

 

After going through his patient's blogs, does he have any patients that update their procedures? Seems they have surgery and nobody hears from them again.

[thanatopsis_awry]

Let's not forget Wanthairs, either, one of our own brethren on HTN. He was basically "muzzled" per a deal -- said as much himself -- and he doesn't really post anymore, but he got wretched yield, as confirmed by H&W, if I remember right.

 

I also agree that Epstein's handling of these matters leaves much to be desired in my vote of confidence. Consistently presenting overwhelmingly positive, transparent results would have gone a long way in combating all this -- I haven't seen anything approximating that, however.

[ej]

Hi Glajo ,

I am extremely Interested in Repair work , I assumed most coalition Docs have done there fair share of repairs , but i would be Interested in who you have chosen to correct yours , I to know what its like to be referred to as a `special case` makes you extremely wary !

Appreciate the post

Many Thanks and good luck

ej

[Guest]

Wow, I did not expect such defamatory opinions by some people here. I guess its easy to hide behind a screen name and defame a professional to your hearts content. Dr. E did a great job on me and it is highly unlikely that a surgeon is superior for a number of years and all of a sudden not so superior, absent drug or alcohol abuse. Its much more likely that the people complaining are simply malcontents who would complain about anything. I've done a search in the archives and could only find one poster who was concerned about Epstein, and then it was because of very slow growth . . which could have been a physiological reaction. Am I missing something? If Epstein is not now doing good work, why is he still a member of the Coalition? By the way, I'm hoping but for some reason need to reverify my email address and cannot do so since I don't even remember the email address I used when I originally registered in 05.

[Bill - Seemiller]

hoping2,

 

I just want to point out that just because members are pointing out they haven't had the most optimal experience with Dr. Epstein doesn't make them defamatory, nor does it make them senseless whiners or complainers. In fact, your last post was pretty insulting.

 

I'm pleased that your experience was a good one. But what right do you have to take other's experiences away from them?

 

This community allows members to share all genuine experiences, the good, the bad and the ugly. Some of the members you are accusing of complaining about anything are emotionally destitute about how their results have turned out. I know this because I've talked to all the members mentioned on their thread privately including others not mentioned who posted their concerns on our forum.

 

It's true that Dr. Epstein is still a member of the Coalition. However, we also realize there have been several reported concerns and we are watching him closely. And by using the "find" feature, you can find more than one reported concern since we have not removed any legitimate reported concerns. We certainly don't want to make decisions in haste, but trust me when I say that we are being vigilant.

 

Best Regards,

 

Bill

[Bill - Seemiller]

P.S. Your email address for your previous account was bouncing so we had to mark your account inactive. However, now that I have a valid email address for you since you rejoined as "Hoping2", I re-activiated your "Hoping" account with your new email address and marked "Hoping2" as inactive.

 

Thanks,

 

Bill

[Hoping]

Thank you for the changes to my account Bill. As to the comments about Dr. Epstein, I think when you run a site such as this, you have to play a balancing act between free speech and defamatory comments. I do find some of the comments over the line. Its one thing to say that some posters have had slow growth or whatever, its another to say something like "I wouldn't let him touch me even if it was free". Perhaps not legally defamatory as pure opinion, but over the line nonetheless. Therefore, I am glad you detected my post was insulting. It was meant to be.

[PLEASE GROW PLEASE]

Hoping with limited donor I would not risk going to any doctor I felt could waste any.

Ill stand by my comment .

There has been ALOT of issues with this doctor in the last year .

I can think of 6 off the top of my head.

Look at who people consider a top doc and search their name . You wont find more then 2 or 3 issues in the last 5 years.

I have nothing against Dr Epstein .

Something happened in his practice that has caused this NOT US

[latinlotus]

JohnK:

Are you going to answer my question, which is pretty legitimate.

[Bill - Seemiller]

Hoping,

 

There is a clear distinction between defamatory remarks and opinion posts. The beautiful thing about opinions is that people don't have to agree with what others have to say.

 

However, you did start this topic and ask for opinions. It seems that your surprise that everything wasn't overly positive has led you to insult others for giving you their honest feedback.

 

In my opinion, if you don't want to hear what other people have to say, don't ask for their opinions.

 

In the meantime, whether you choose Dr. Epstein or another surgeon, I wish you all the best in getting the head of hair you desire.

 

Best wishes,

 

Bill

[Jeffrey Epstein MD, FACS]

Dear Posters- Just want to clear up a few items.

First, Irishlad was all along taken care of me- at no point did I "leave him high and dry" - in fact, I was in regular communication with him (have an email trace to prove it, which starts from him writing to me a week after his procedure thanking me for the most positive experience). I have most recently sent him to a colleague in Europe who I had evaluate him. His yield was unfortunately less than expected, and I continue to stand by my work.

Second, Wanthairs was done a year earlier, and like IrishLad had less than expected growth. I in fact did take care of him- offered him a second procedure at no expense, and he is completely content with the outcome of how I handled things.

Third, in case anyone wishes to speculate about my "weak link"- I offer anyone out there, rather than merely pontificating and offering theories, to come in to my office and see my operation. My planting techs: Karelia, Candy, Linda, Raul, Elsa, Niurka, Carlos, and Karen, have each been with me on average 6 years- with 5 of them in the hair restoration profession for more than 10 years. These assistants are so highly trained that they are able to plant grafts in recipient sites 0.5 mm to 0.8 mm- the smallest of any practice to my knowledge. My cuting assistants: Mercy, Vivian, Alicia, Carmen, Marie Carmen, Jackie, Carmen, Peggy, and Marie similarly are outstanding professionals, with 6 of them with me for over 5 years, and the rest with me from 2 to 4 years. We have 15 Mantis scopes, a fully accredited AAAHC operating facility (a very rare certification for a hair restoration practice), and chart review and quality assurance standards up to the very highest level of standards.

I perform typically 10 procedures a week, making for over 500 procedures a year. If there are more than 5 patients in the past 2 years who have posted negative posts, and whose posts can be proven as legitimate, that would still be a rate of less than 0.5%.

I urge you to all go to my website, and see some of my new features- including a magnifying glass that shows close-ups of hairlines, donor sites, and entire areas of restored scalps, on more than 600 patients. Is there any other clinic or doctor that has such transparency- willing to show close ups of so many of my patients, and of hairlines, of which I am most proud?

I am devoted to my work and my patients, enjoying every day hearing from my patients (a third who come to me seeking the repair of prior work done elsewhere), seeing the positive transformations on them, and most importantly- doing the very best work I can and providing the most professional care. As a board certified facial plastic surgeon with almost 15 years' experience as a respected leader in this field by my peers and patients alike, I welcome anyone to come to my office and meet with some of my many thousands of happy patients- and most importantly, to meet me and see how I treat my patients with respect and care.

 

Jeffrey Epstein, MD, FACS

Miami and NYC

[latinlotus]

Dr. Epstein:

 

I was in regular communication with him (have an email trace to prove it, which starts from him writing to me a week after his procedure thanking me for the most positive experience).

It only proves that he has a positive experience during the surgery, that is all. What really counts is the result. That is why it always makes me laugh when a patient praising a doctor based on his bedside manner, which is really irrelevant.

 

 

Second, Wanthairs was done a year earlier, and like IrishLad had less than expected growth. I in fact did take care of him- offered him a second procedure at no expense, and he is completely content with the outcome of how I handled things.

This is very nice of you offering a free procedure. Hopefully the second time will be better for him.

 

I perform typically 10 procedures a week, making for over 500 procedures a year.

Perhaps, this is where the problem lies...too many procedures for you to supervise properly.

 

 

If there are more than 5 patients in the past 2 years who have posted negative posts, and whose posts can be proven as legitimate, that would still be a rate of less than 0.5%.

I hope you don't base your clients satisfaction on 5 posters who complained. For each poster who complains, I can assure you there are probably at least 10, maybe even 20 silent unsatisfied patients, who either are too busy, too shy, or resigned to the fact that they got a sub-par result.

 

 

I am devoted to my work and my patients, enjoying every day hearing from my patients (a third who come to me seeking the repair of prior work done elsewhere), seeing the positive transformations on them, and most importantly- doing the very best work I can and providing the most professional care.

Your competence or the personal care you offer to your patients is never in doubt. After all, you delivered some amazing results in the past. What some posters here are questioning is why there are the occasional sub-par results lately.

[PLEASE GROW PLEASE]

QUOTE:

Second, Wanthairs was done a year earlier, and like IrishLad had less than expected growth. I in fact did take care of him- offered him a second procedure at no expense, and he is completely content with the outcome of how I handled things.

 

Didnt wanthairs go to Hasson for his second surgery in October?

If so what good would it be to offer him a second procedure.

Its kind of fishy that wanthairs just disappeared after his negative post. He had been a longtime poster.

You sure he wasnt mistaken for shark feed.

I know you have a really nice boat down there

Seriously though I hope you got whatever it was wrinkled ironed out