After months of researching I finally decided...

[JoDirt]

I am going with Dr. Diep in Los Gatos, Ca.

I know he has not being reviewed on this forum, nor is he one of the preferred doctor. But after visiting Dr.Pak and consulting with other online surgeons and MRH clinic(i only went to just to get an opinion because you guys have shown me the lights on this and other big butcher clinics which I wont mention any names), I feel Dr. Diep is the best. Maybe because I, like Dr. Diep, am vietnamese and felt a good connection with him. Beside being the same ethnic group, what he said made sense. He drew a hairline that was not high but rather low to fit how Vietnamese hairline is suppose to be. Other doctors would draw a hairline that was pretty much the same for all their patients, but after months of researching on google, asian hairline is much lower than cauasians, mexicans, etc. You guys really help me out in what to expect in HT, pros and cons on it and I really appreciate that. My schedule date is sometime at the end of the month. I am going in for a second consult with him on Monday so we can draw a game plan.

I will post up pics and start using the hairblog to update everyone on my status. Hopefully, I wont look odd because I have a wedding to attend to in May.

Again, thank you everyone, especially Bill, for this forum and I will update everyone on my progress. You guys pretty much kicked the crap outta my stomach to chase away the butterflies i had about HT.

[hairthere]

have you seen any of his patients in person? i went with my first HT doc based on the fact that I liked him personally and felt comfortable with him. He was the only doc aside from MHR I consulted with and had a better feeling from him. WHAT A HUGE MISTAKE! Now I'm not saying Diep isn't a good doc, I know nothing about him. And maybe that's the point--I googled his name and nothing came up. Going with a doc not mentioned on here or HLH positively is a risk. I went to Feller for my 2nd HT because I knew how much great feedback he got from the HT community. And I saw his work in person. So the risk was minimal.

 

Before you do go with Diep, make sure you:

1)See patients IN PERSON

2)See that he has stereo microscopes to dissect the grafts

3)Has a large staff of techs (that means more than 2-3)

 

I personally would never go with a relatively unknown doc again. I hope you are not making a mistake....

[thanatopsis_awry]

I concur that it is disconcerting that there is virtually zero information on Diep online...plus, it seems you've gravitated towards him on an "emotional" level, being your related ethnicity and feeling comfortable around him.

 

IMO, that can be a dangerous mix.

[Bill - Seemiller]

Joe,

 

Congratulations in your decision to undergo hair transplant surgery.

 

Physician selection is key to ensure a successful hair transplant.

 

Though it is true that lack of online visibility does not equate to lack of physician ability, be sure to do your due dilligent research offline as well by talking to and meeting with several patients. At the very least, make sure you view and are comfortable with seeing high resolution consistent positive results.

 

Be sure to also use the "find feature" of our forum community to see if any of his patients have posted online.

 

I hope you will share your experience and photos with us.

 

Best wishes,

 

Bill

[Dewayne]

I can certainly appreciate the ethnic similarities you share, and agree whomever you choose would be better if they were familiar with your hairtype.

 

However, I would think some of the top docs in New York especially would have seen many different ethnic groups; and would have experience in your hair type.

 

I would definitely call and meet some of his patients. I've done the same thing for the same reasons and regretted it. Go for the best, whether he's black, white, brown, jewish, etc. Ask them to provide you with some Asian patients you can interview. I bet Feller or Wong has operated on some.

[notgoing2gobald]

yeah, that's precisely why I haven't had a ht yet: I haven't been able to find a doc who is 50% Armenian and 50% German. You guys know any?

Also, I haven't been to the dentist in 20 years for the same reason. My teeth are decaying and every time I kiss a girl she practically chokes on the teeth that are falling out of my mouth.

Any body know a dentist who is 50% Armenian and 50% German?

[chucky]

Dr Wolfgang Bud Weiser, top bloke

[Jorge1977]

With all due respect JoDirt, I think your reasons for going to Dr. Diep are poor and you're making a mistake. Believe me, we all wish we could have a low hairline, but most responsible doctors make that determination after examining your finite donor supply and hair characteristics not by what racial background you are.

 

It's important to plan for the future since there will more than likely be further hair loss in the coming years. I have never heard of Dr. Diep. Have you seen any pictures of his patients? Do you have any idea what kind of yield, scar, etc. he may produce? Think long and hard with your head not your heart. The last thing you would want to become is a repair patient.

[nikkop23]

This is the one and only "Johnny" Diep? Who like so many other doctors rotated onto Dr. Rassman's baldingblog masthead for a few months and then vanished without a trace? I think Rassman is disingenuous when he claims his member physicians (eg, Pak) do work just as good as his own (and I'm no fan of his, aesthetically, for the most part), but perhaps if you contacted NHI they might have some photographic evidence of Diep's ability, or be able to refer you to patients treated by him. Always love that euphemism "treated"....

[its752]

JoDirt, Y

[its752]

JoDirt, You have no idea what your leaving yourself open to--disappointment!!! Of course a doctor is going to show compassion but don't confuse that with hardline evidence that include patient's before and after photos and cutting edge techniques the doctor is using via his/her website. You really can't get better first-hand experience and advice from members here who have gone before you to use doctors recommended and have a proven track record.

[notgoing2gobald]

If you end up going to a really bad doc you could end up with a bad scar and wasting precious valuable donor hairs.

By the way, since you are being given advice and are weighing your options based off it, in the interest of full disclosure I must tell you that Im not Vietnamese...

[thanatopsis_awry]

By the way, since you are being given advice and are weighing your options based off it, in the interest of full disclosure I must tell you that Im not Vietnamese...

 

Nope, you are a WASP -- henceforth your infatuation with Hasson..... .....Seriously though, JD, I'll reiterate to not risk Your Precious on the basis of an emotional connection based off of ethnic familiarity. This isn't to say that Diep isn't great, or great for you, but that is something which needs to be conclusively proved.

[JoDirt]

Man, this is why I love this forum so much. All the input and opinions given here are the best. Yes opinions should not be followed, but nevertheless should be heard and I thank you guys.

Nikkop23, yes this is the same doctor diep that was trained under Rassman.

 

Beside Dr.Wong, are there any good asian HT doctors that you guys recommend? Dr.chang in southern california?

I would go to Dr.Wong, but he's in vancouver and his office in the US is operated by a hair consultant. I rather have a direct consulation with the doctor and not someone else.

thanks all!

[notgoing2gobald]

not to belabor the issue here, but why does it HAVE to be an Asian performing the surgery?

it's your head, but Im just curious why you are only comfy with an Asian. By restricting yourself to this condition your REALLY limiting your choice of docs. Asian docs perform surgeries on non-Asians and non-Asian docs perform surgeries on Asians. Just because a doc is Asian does not mean that he specializes in Asian hair transplants. Hair characteristics do play a big role in the final outcome of your ht but I seriously doubt ANY docs change ANY of their techniques dependent upon the ethnicity of their patients. We all want the same things: the thickest, densest mop with the lowest hair line. And the docs do their best to give us that.

Dr. Wong is excellent. I just don't get this though...

[JoDirt]

I know you guys arent doctors, but guessmating, how many grafts will I need and what norwood class do i belong in? I attached some pictures. My crown area is decent. I want a hairline that is .5cm or 1.0cm above the Frontalis muscle. is this doable?

thanks

 

[JoDirt]

NG2GB

 

To answer your question, have you seen an asian person or in my case a vietnamese woman who had a nose job done by a non-asian doctor? Well I have seen many and believe me, the nose job is perfect, but it does not suit her facial feature. every ethnicity group has their basic common features which they share, hence why most asian people look like, most black people look like, and it goes for white people and other as well.

 

I'm sure non-asian HT doctors do wonderful jobs at what they do best, but I personally feel that an asian HT doctor would know exactly what I want and give me the results I'm looking for.

[hairthere]

JD, You look like a NW2-3. I'd say roughly 2-2.5k grafts would restore and lower your hairline. I would say forget Diep. You want an artist to design a hairline for you like Alexander, Feller or Hasson.

 

Honestly man, I know it's tough not to have an in-person consult. Not sure how I would have felt without seeing Dr. Feller in person. But I do know that if Feller wasn't in my backyard I'd be traveling to Arizona, to see Alexander, or Canada, to see Rahal or H&W. I would have done my best to see patients of theirs in person. But if that was not an option I still would have traveled because I know these docs do top work from the research I've done. I have to agree with the other posters too that going to a guy because he made you feel comfortable and based on ethnic background is ridiculous. Please do not be one of these guys that gets all kinds of advanced warnings and then goes ahead with the surgery anyway. At the very least take the proper steps to ensure this doc meets the criteria to perform an ultra-refined, high-standard, modern HT. There are far more docs performing below par than above. You've been thoroughly warned.....good luck!

[JoDirt]

Hairthere

As I stated before, i do take the opinions on this board very seriously.

And i'm not rushing into any surgery without digging deep. I'm open to any excellent HT doctors, but it seems that there are far less doctors that does transplant on asian men for me to gauge properly, I mean i know everyone has different hairs, etc, but if i was a white guy, i can gauge how I would look like with x numbers of grafts performed by doctors that is recommended on this forum. hope everyone understand my point of view.

 

Oh and Dr.Pak said that i am a NW 5??

[Dr. Alan Feller]

JD,

After looking at your photos IMO you MUST get a super dense pack on the hairline or you WILL be disappointed. This is because you have pretty good hair on the top. If your front isn't thick to the point of "puffy" your transplant WILL be very noticable.

 

This asian patient I included in the link below went to a doctor who could not handle a large donor harvest and dense pack. Look at his before photos. The haze of hair you see are the transplant. They are NOT cut, that's how they look grown out. By dense packing him tightly with ALOT of grafts we were able to return him to well balanced head of hair

 

No matter who you go to (Asian, Anglo, or Martian) If you don't see photos like this guy I did, then run. Because Asian hair is so low in density in the donor area you NEED someone who can remove a large amount of donor and then pack it tight into the recipient area

 

http://www.hairrestorationnetwork.com/eve/showthread.php?t=154571

 

Best of luck,

Dr. Feller

Great Neck, NY

http://www.fellermedical.com

[NervousNelly]

JD,

 

Listen to what everyone is saying. Do not choose a physcian based on ethnicity and know that there are more skilled docs (like Dr. Feller) that have seen many Asian patients. Please be certain of choice of doc and unless you find several great quality photos online or meet personally with patients do NOT proceed. Good luck.

[Dewayne]

You see there, Joe? I'd bet guys like Dr. Feller have done more Asians than the doc you are talking about. And has HE had a transplant himself? He trained over here, so odds are he's been working on middle-aged, slightly over-weight white guys.....

[JoDirt]

Dr. Feller

Thank you for your insightful input.

How would consulation work since we are pretty much one end of the country apart?

I dont have much money, the money I'm saving is pretty much for the operation, flying back and forth is something I cant really do.

 

Everyone else that chime in on this thread, you guys are the best! I no longer have a narrow view.

Gosh, I think because i really want this done so bad that it kinda cloudy my overall judgement.

I consider all who on this forum as my friends who without you guys, giving me sound advices, I would have probably regret my decision.

 

Any recommended HT doctors on the west coast that does dense packing like Dr. Feller?

[NervousNelly]

H&W, Dr. Gable and Dr. Siporin.

[notgoing2gobald]

most docs will help reimburse you for the traveling expenses and have nice deals on local hotels. If your going to go through with this do NOT let distance be a factor. What's another grand or so when your talking about surgery on your head that will last a life time? Save up or throw it on a credit card.