Certified Doctors Not List On This Site

[Freezeout]

I'm new to posting on this website but I have been following it closely for the past couple of months as I'm planning on getting my transplant next month...I have narrowed my decision down to two doctors and I'm not sure which one to go with both seem top notch and the consult/techniques are very similar.

 

The biggest difference is:

 

One of them is mentioned on this site but "NOT" certified by the American Board of Hair Restoration Surgery.

 

The other doctor is "NOT" mentioned anywhere on this site even thou he has all the certs including a diplomat of the American Board of Hair Restoration Surgery.

 

The questions I have:

 

1) I'm not sure which is a better indicator to sway my decision on which to go with forum post on here or their professional

certifications. What makes this even more confusing is another HT website suggests "ONLY" using ceritifed surgeons. How much weight should be placed on certs when selecting a surgeon?

 

2) Is there a list of surgeons that this site meet with and "DOES NOT" recommend?

 

3) Due to graft splitting techniques etc... why aren't more doctors charging by session?

 

If anyone has an opinion on any of the above I would appreciate hearing their point of view.

 

Thanks in advance for the replies

[Dewayne]

In my opinon, Freezeout, it's best to keep this whole process as simple as possible - and it can get confusing.

 

I don't know about all the certifications, etc., but I know a lot of piss-poor clinics can meet requirements and get certified. Hair tranplants are still pretty much unregulated as far as good-looking cosmetic results go. And while a doctor might meet all the requirements set forth by some medical body, they don't care if you look like Bozo the Clown or Brad Pitt; as long as everything was clean, safe, etc.

 

The REAL proof is in the pudding. Check out the thousands of pictures and posts on this site and narrow your search down to four or five clinics that provide consistant, world-class results. The owners of this site travel around and make their own recommendations, but the 'volunteer' army of posters on here is where the greatest benefit lies. Look for posters who are 7 months + out and send them messages, look at their pics, ask them questions, etc. and the list of great clinics will start to narrow a bit.

 

Where are you?

[hairthere]

I would definitely go with a doc who has lots of positive results posted on these forums. htn and hlh are pretty good indicators of who the most consistent docs are. i'm sure there are plenty of other docs out there, and some might be good, but i wouldn't take any risks. i narrowed my list down to the following: feller, h&w, shapiro, rahal, alexander. look up any of these docs and you will find tons of great results. there are some other docs in the coalition whose work i really like too, but they were less familiar to me at the time of getting my ht. take your time, do plenty of consults, see ht patients in person, have a solid gameplan with your chosen doc and make sure you have realistic expectations. best of luck!

[Freezeout]

Thank you both very much for the replies.

 

I live in northern ohio about an hour away from the Ohio/Michigan boarder...

 

Yes this is very confusing and stressful. I really do not want to post the name of doctors as they both are professional and either one probably will do a good job. One obviously won't be selected and I don't want someone else to make a judgement against them based on my preference.

 

Once I make up my mind and put a deposit down I will start a blog and list the doctor.

 

Here is a link to the certification website I referenced in my original post.

 

http://www.abhrs.com/

 

Thanks Again

[latinlotus]

Freezeout:

 

I would trust this site and its many posters here over any certification bs. For instance, the International Alliance of Hair Restoration Surgeons (IAHRS) is pretty much worthless in term of indication whether a doctor provides good results. This organization only requires a doctor to pay his annual fees and that he is licensed to practice medicine. It does not even accept any complaint from unhappy patients.

 

It is your decision, but if i were you, i would trust ONLY the doctors from the Coalition.

[Bill - Seemiller]

Freezout,

 

How we recommend hair transplant surgeons is discussed heavily on our site. To see our standards for recommendation, click here.

 

In my opinion, the ABHRS is a respectful educational organization designed to help hair restoration physicians excel at what they do. While many often dismiss its value, some physicians cling onto these credentials as a promotional tool as if it??s the deciding factor on whether a physician does quality work or not.

 

As you can see, I??ve written about the ABHRS on our forum previously and it was met with some dissention. Additionally, Pat created a very detailed topic on the ABHRS on this thread prior. While I agree that some have certainly understated its benefit, the majority of the dissention appears to come from a small group of surgeons overstating and overselling its credentials.

 

Surgeons who are willing to operate in a transparent environment and be held accountable by hair transplant patients are invited to be considered for recommendation.

 

Quite frankly, there are ABHRS members that we'd never consider for recommendation on this site due to continued use of outdated techniques and patient complaints over the years. Some have come to us and never made it past the private screening process.

 

In this community, patients have the final say as to who is recommended based on proven consistency of excellent results. It involves a private and public screening process. See How we Recommend Hair Transplant Surgeons.

 

Best wishes,

 

Bill

[Freezeout]

Thank you - everyone - for the links and replies it has been helpful. After reading this I'm pretty sure I'm going to go with a doctor who is listed on the website. Once I put the deposit down I will start the blog and join you all

 

Thanks again everyone.

Freeze

[Freezeout]

Another question - sorry for being such a newbie !

 

Most people seem to switch doctors between transplants why is that, if the first doc did a good job why not just keep reusing the same one?

 

Thanks in advance for the replies!

[Bill - Seemiller]

Freezeout,

 

I'm not sure that I'd say most people have switched doctors since many do stay with the same doctor. However, I'm one example of the people who did. Each patient has their own reasons for the decisions they've made. You can read my detailed hair restoration experience here which includes links to each photo album. Within each album, I've explained in detail my reasons for switching surgeons.

 

I'm sure others will give you their own reasons.

 

Best wishes,

 

Bill

[vincehair]

freezeOut,the best thing you could do to get peoples opinons is to just name the 2 doctors. Seriously. The coalition has some docs that are never mentioned on here and that i doubt do "amazing" work.

[Bill - Seemiller]

The coalition has some docs that are never mentioned on here and that i doubt do "amazing" work.

 

Vincehair,

 

If you're going to make such a bold statement, I expect you to back it up.

 

I'd like to know who on the Coalition you don't think does top notch work and why? If you have examples and we find we agree with you, the surgeon(s) would be promptly removed.

 

Pat travels all over the globe to visit these clinics to verify everyone on the Coalition is doing top notch work. Each surgeon has been reviewed privately and publicy by this community. Nobody on the Coalition has made it without being screened and meeting our high standards.

 

Though no surgeon bats a 1000, if a Coalition surgeon begins to consistently produce less than optimal results, they are promptly removed.

 

Bill

[Dr. Mohammad Humayun Mohma]

Dear fiends

 

In my openion as mentioned before the ral test of a surgeon is not only the certifictaes but also the results. Mind you, no one in world has 100% excellent results, as mentioned earlier the doctor should have a persistent good results.

 

ABHRS is a good thing to have but not necessary a gurantee to have great results.

 

Second, the patient can change the surgeon from first to second surgery its his rights the reasons are

1) He might have seen better results

2) He might have found a better deal with same result

3) He might not be aware initially of a doctor nesr by his place.

 

Having said that, there are patients who make the price the main creterion and they usually cut a sorry finger at the end of the day.

 

So if some one makes a decision based on the results he will be always happy.

[Leeson]

My first HT in '94 was from a former pres. of the ISHRS, Dr. Daniel Rousso of Birmingham when he was w/ Dr. Mcoullough's clinic and this hack still practices. I just turned 21 at the time, and just had some light frontal thinning and in a consult he said he could give a very natural result by replacing 1 hair w/ 3. They were still using standards plugs on some of their patients and was an option in the info brochure (using open donor technique), flaps, and just got into mini grafts (w/ old open donor turned into wavy line closure technique) Thank God he didn't give me plugs. My friends dragged me into Sammy's (strip club) a few years later and who did I see in there But that SOB. He now has a clinic called the Rousso plastic surgery and spa in Mt. Brook, AL. Looking back, I'm not even sure I was losing my hair and just over analyzing my hair. B/c of that SOB, my life has been alter for my entire 20's to mid 30's.

sorry for the rant, but certification means nothing!

HERE'S HIS ACCOLAIDS FROM HIS WEB SITE AT DRROUSSO.COM

DANIEL ELLIOTT ROUSSO, M.D., F.A.C.S.

 

Dr Rousso is internationally renowned for his contributions to the field of facial plastic surgery and limits his practice to this area. He commonly performs facial rejuvenation procedures including face lifting, eyelid surgery, nasal plastic surgery, laser surgery, endoscopic surgery, and hair replacement surgery. He is the author of several publications on facial plastic surgery and has been the director of multiple courses teaching other physicians the artistry and techniques of these procedures.

 

Dr. Rousso has served on the Board of Directors of the American Academy of Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, the American Board of Hair Restoration Surgery and as the President of the International Society of Hair Replacement Surgery. He is a Director of a Fellowship Program, which trains young physicians under the auspices of the American Academy of Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery.

 

Dr. Rousso is board certified by the American Board of Facial Plastic Surgery, the American Board of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, and the American Board of Hair Replacement Surgery. He is also a Clinical Assistant Professor in the Department of Surgery at the University of Alabama at Birmingham.

 

Even my next doc at Lathams (not much better) said how bad his work was and how he had to correct alot of his grafts.

[Freezeout]

Thanks again very much for the replies it is appreciated and helps a lot.

 

Just to give you a quick update I made up my mind for sure today. I'm going to have Dr. Tessler in Michigan perform the procedure. Dr. Tessler and his staff were very professional and his work appears top notch. But what was most important I get the impression he sincerely cares about his patients and the end result. He did not give a sales pitch or sell grafts the consult was what was best for my situation. Trust me I'm nervous as heck about getting this done and he took the time to answer all my questions, explained everything in detail and nothing about the consult was rushed.

 

(I want to preface the following by stating Dr. Shapiro in Minnesota was NOT the other doctor I was referring to in my earlier post. He was only on my list of doctors to consider.)

 

What set my mind even further at ease regarding Dr. Tessler was a follow-up call I just so happen to receive today from a person in Dr. Shapiro's office. While I didn't expect them to come out and say directly something bad about another doctor, during the call I did do everything possible to get them to plant some doubt about my decision thus giving them the opportunity to further explore having them do the procedure. As by the reading the forums I know Dr. Shapiro is highly respected on this site and their opinion would have influenced my decision. Even after all my baiting when they said I was in "good hands" with Dr. Tessler I was relieved. I have nothing bad at all to say about doctor Shapiro's office either.

 

In total I probably talked with or visited 5-7

doctors in Michigan and Ohio. I don't think it would be right for me to post the names/clinics or my reasons for not having them do my procedure as I am far from an expert. But if someone is interested and wants to share experiences just send a PM.

[Freezeout]

Leeson,

 

I read your comments and webblog, man that sucks what you been through. I wish you all the best with this one. Hope Hasson straightened everything out for you.