Worlds Top HT Surgeon Please Advise!!!

[NeveVirgem]

Hello Everyone,

 

I am a 25year old Portuguese going for a FUT 1500-200 grafts. (posted a pic of the damage so far). Can you guys guess how many grafts I need?

 

I need your advise choosing a Surgeon and from reading the posts I can see that the Users Top 7 are:

 

Hasson & Wong

Rahal

Feller

Shapiro

True

Epstein

 

 

Please dont put any more comments going on and on that every colation Dr is top noch because there is always 1 or maybe even 2 that stands out in a crowd.

 

I would like to ask you all to advise me on who you would choose and if possible Why.

 

Thanks for your help.

 

Cheers

[EmuSteve]

I narrowed my choices down to Hasson or Shapiro. Ultimately, I went with Shapiro. Have my surgery date set for Nov 30th.

[hairbank]

It's hard to give a graft estimate without some pretty detailed pics. All of the docs you listed are solid and I would encourage you to review work done by each, narrow it down and do some consulting. I chose Dr. Wong for my 2nd HT and was very, very pleased.

 

From the pics, yes, I'd guess 1500-2000 in the frontal 1/3 would do nicely. Purely a guess mind you. You would be filling in around native hair though and run the risk of some permanent shock loss and/or follicle transsection.........not that this will happen but it can.

 

Do some consulting and see how it goes. Are you taking anyting for loss prevention like finasteride or using minoxidil? If not I'd urge you to consider it.

 

Hope this helps,

[Arrie]

Neve its all about personal preference. As far as you list goes those are the best of the best, in my opinion. Listen I am 2.5 months post op and I chose Shapiro. I chose him because of his amazing rep and, kind of too good to be true, he has no bad past procedures. Listen I chose him cause being 25 I want a long term solution and Dr. Shapiro usually quotes less grafts as opposed to some other docs (personal experience, and still provides amazing results. It is a finite supply so I want to be cautious with it. Choose who you think is the best for YOU. I hope this helps

[NervousNelly]

Neve,

 

Those are some awesome choices. You can't go wrong with those docs from the work that I have seen from them. There are others that do great stuff but I don't want to get into naming docs for fear of forgetting a few.

 

It does become a personal preference however. Some might be a better fit for you than others. There approach and personality should be factored into the whole decision process. Keep researching and don't rush into anything.

 

NN

[Bill - Seemiller]

Neve,

 

What you have to realize is that often some hair restoration physicians stands out more than another because of their online presence - but in no way does it suggest tha one is superior over the other.

 

Ultra Refined Follicular Unit Grafting with high hair growth yield and minimal scarring is just that. It takes a talented hair restoration surgeon to perform this type of surgery - but whether you want to hear it or not, every coalition physician has met this criteria.

 

What you are asking for is very subjective data.

 

Some hair restoration physicians have slightly different philosophies and some are more conservative than others.

 

I do suggest however, that if you are not on Propecia to help combat future hair loss, that you consider it strongly. Subsequent hair transplant procedures may be needed in the event of future hair loss.

 

Bill

[Guest wanthairs]

i can vouch for a good experience with Dr. Epstein, although I like to wait for finished results before I jump up and down and act like a shill....

[Guest wanthairs]

byt the way.....I fi were you i would not even bother with doing a hair transplant. I would get on medication and leave it at that for noe, because your loss looks very minimal.

[Middleson]

I usually don't post in the "who's the best" threads that inevitably pop up every now & then. But...

 

In my opinion your list is incomplete if it doesn't include Dr. Jerry Cooley in Charlotte, North Carolina.

 

Also, I would second the recomendation from wanthairs. Your hairloss does look pretty minimal and it's hard for me to tell from that photo where you are headed in terms of hairloss. Honestly, you look pretty good in that photo.

 

Best

[NeveVirgem]

Thanks Middleson and Wanthairs, but although I am not in the same stage as you guys once were. I was one of those kids with great wavy hair and to have that taken away slowly n for 6 years is brutal!

 

I was on Propecia a year ago but its hard for me to keep up with routines althoug I will be starting again this month.

 

So far its:

 

Shapiro

Hasson

Epstein

 

Would someone choose Feller over this 3 top Surgeons?

 

Bill I know you are a moderator but you went with Hasson why not give him Top Doc credit and tell why in the end you choose him?

 

Hope to hear more comments from you guys!!!

 

Cheers

 

NeveVirgem

[NeveVirgem]

Thank you for replying, I actually sent you an email asking for advise last week

 

I completly agree that opinions here are biased and like I stated, the TOP list I made is from reaserching users commentes in this forum, not actually my thoughts cause those aren`t formed yet.

 

I hope you dont regard me as another joker trying to ask impossible questions because the reality is that, since I am in Grad School this procedure is going to severly set me back and I just want to be sure not to choose someone because of price (which is what contemplating).

 

I am now just waiting for replys and maybe more users insight for a decision.

 

Thanks Again and I will be waiting eagerly for your reply to my email.

 

Cheers

[Bill - Seemiller]

NeveVirgem,

 

I choose Dr. Hasson for my third surgery because he is the king of large single megasessions.

 

I needed the largest session possible being that it was my third surgery and I still had a high level of baldness.

 

Does this make Dr. Hasson better? The answer to this question much more subjective than objective. Different philosophies are held by varying physicians and you must choose one that impresses you the most. I was and still am extremely impressed by a number of physicians, but for MY needs, Dr. Hasson's results stood out the most.

 

Your question is a good one, but it should cause you only to spend more time researching our forum rather than taking someone's word for it.

 

I hope this helps,

 

Bill

[balody]

neve,i am of wanthairs thinking, maybe leave it another 5 years?i remember my hair looking simular to yours and within 5-7 years it had all but gone.i dont mean to scare you as everyone is different.if i was you i would hold on a little longer and get on the meds,never know someone could find a cure tomorrow.

if you cant hold on you obviously know your doctors,any of them would no doubt do a top job!good luck.

[NervousNelly]

???

 

Didn't I just see a response from Dr. Feller? Did he delete it himself? It was well written and by no means slanted towards self marketing.

 

NN

[balody]

yup!he was definatly on here a minute ago

[John_in_NC]

Great marketing and group think aside:

any doctor who does not pick thinner hair for hairlines should not be there. In my opinion of course.

[NeveVirgem]

Hey Everyone,

 

Lets not deviate from the Topic lets talk about who you think is the Best HT Surgeon and Why!!!

 

And although no TOP Position can be accuratly awarded at least we will see what names pop up and why!

 

Hope to hear more from you guys!

 

Cheers

[Bill - Seemiller]

Nervous,

 

I had to remove Dr. Feller's post on this thread.

 

Whereas I understand that his intent was to be helpful, I have great reservations about clinical consultants and hair restoration physicians posting anything on "which doctor is best" type threads.

 

I believe these types of questions are better left up to patient members and moderators such as me (in order to attempt to keep a post balanced)

 

My reasons for this are simple:

 

I believe it gives one hair transplant clinic and unfair advantage over the other. It also can come across as advertising even when the motive is pure.

 

Hair restoration physicians and clinics are free to contribute their input and experience on specific threads directed to them, general hair restoration and hair loss question threads, and by posting recent examples of their work.

 

Their involvement in our community is important and appreciated.

 

Dr. Feller has not been the only one to do this. I have sent Dr. Feller (today) and others (in the past few weeks) a private message explaining my stance on this subject.

 

Thank you for understanding,

 

Bill

[EmuSteve]

I love you Bill. You know that.

 

But I am also not a big fan of censoring anyone that isn't blatantly lying, promoting false claims/products, or soliciting business.

 

Just my 2 cents.

[Bill - Seemiller]

Steve,

 

You know I love you too bro.

 

I can ppreciate your sentiment and do not believe in censorship either, but one has to consider the greater good.

 

Consider this:

 

One clinic responds and other clinics feel they that other clinics have an unfair advantage. So instead of preventing clinics from involving themselves in these types of threads, we encourage every clinic to get involved in answering them.

 

Sooner or later you have every clinic answering these kinds of questions and the only responses are from clinics.

 

That would like a potential consumer asking multiple car dealerships who they should buy from where every dealer is now competing for their business.

 

Our forum could easily turn from a patient driven community into an online advertisement. Trust me when I say that I believe in free speech and lack of censorship, but there is a greater good at stake in my opinion.

 

I understand that not everyone will agree with every decision I make and I can appreciate that. Understand however, that I am doing what I feel is best for the overall community keeping our mission and purpose in the forefront of my mind - even if it means occasionally overstepping other important principles.

 

Sorry this thread has gone off track a bit - feel free to carry on.

 

Thanks for understanding,

 

Bill

[Guest wanthairs]

whether i agree with censorship or not...I applaud you Bill, for keeping this forum so honest and unbiased...Thats one of the reasons I log on every evening to have a good read and this is why I got a transplant in the first place that is changing the way I view myself and hence my life altogether....

[Time to do something]

NeveVirgem,

 

Your question is an excellent one. I know exactly where you are coming from because I asked the same question last week. When considering a HT we want to make sure we are getting the absolute best there is because we have to live with the results the rest of our lives and we have all heard horror stories about HT's gone bad.

 

My opinion to you is to not only ask that question on this forum but go to some of the several others on line and ask that question. If you see one, two or three names appear over and over on multiple forums which all have different criteria then that should tell you something. However, some of the other members gave you some good information. This is an extremely subjective matter. What may look like the best HT to one person may not to another. I would suggest going to the websites of the top three or four doctors you are narrowing it down to and look at their photo gallery. Look at the after photos and see if one doctors results pop out at you as being more to your liking than the others.

 

Also take into account that the people you are asking are giving their opinion. Who are they? Are they qualified to answer a question like that and what are they basing their answer on? I am not implying their answers aren't valid but keep in mind it is their opinion. I have learned a lot from this forum and it has really taken some of the stress off of getting the procedure. In fact I probably wouldn't have gone through with it had it not been for this forum. So just ask yourself are the answers you are getting based on results from their own transplant or have they see others that have had transplants from the doctor they are recommending? Also they might like the results they see from the doctor they are recommending but how do they know there may be other patients out there with even better HT's they haven't seen from another doctor.

 

One doctor my be among the best in megasessions and another may be the best in hairlines. I believe the doctors that have been mentioned on this forum so far will do a great job for an overall appearance. If one happens to be better than the other in a specific area then the difference is probably very small and probably not noticeable to the average person except maybe in the case of Bill who was looking for a doctor that specialized in megasessions.

 

I used Dr. Epstein for my first procedure and I am going back for my next one with him in January. The results of my first one aren't far enough along yet to speculate how it will turn out but I have no reason to believe it won't be very good. I hope this helps you and I'm right there with you in wanting the best outcome!

[TheEmperor]

My opinion:

 

There are a select few doctors who are doing mega-mega sessions. Then there is everyone else.

 

While 2500 grafts is nothing to sneeze at, the ability to move 4000-7000+ grafts in a session is the only time we see these "home run" transformations.

 

If a patient has less loss and only needs hairline work, then 2500 will provide a signiificant improvement, but its understood that patient will need more down the line.

 

Having read these forums for years, its not uncommon to see someone get two small procedures with minimal improvement (while continuing to lose native hair) and then go to a mega-mega clinic. This is when we see the transformation.

 

The artistry is the other side of this, so if you see a particular Dr whose results "speak to you" then by all means go to that doctor. Also, if you like the idea of a gradual approach in increments of 1500-200fus, then youve got many docs to choose from.

 

I can only think of 4 clinics that I see performing mega-mega sessions. And if you are a NW5+, youre still going to need 2 passes. Get as many as you can in a sitting! There used to be debate about yield of larger sessions but I believe they have been proven to be effective.

 

Good luck.

[baldeagle11]

Just feel the need, based on my recent experience with Hasson & Wong, to recommend this clinic highly!

 

True, I have not had more than one HT (hopefully this will be the only one) but I did two years of research and was initially considering a HT with another coalition doctor.

 

While I have no doubts about the other coalition doctor's skills, Hasson & Wong specialize in HT - other clinics, such as the one I visited, can be housed inside a larger dermatological clinic, and I simply didn't feel it was as high of a standard. (yes, I flew to Vancouver to interview H&W, prior to booking)

 

Big kudos to Doug at H&W for an amazing haircut, which basically makes my HT unnoticeable after only 10 days.

[Arrie]

Good job Bill on that post removal. I have much love for that doc, but it just doesn't look right when in its related to this kind of thread. God i love this site. Neve someone else mentioned cooley in caolina he does amazing work also. Your top three are still amazing docs.