Woman's hair transplant

[DonnaB]

I had my original procedure done in April and have excellent results. I didn't post for a long time as found the whole procedure "more than I bargained for", had significant areas of focal scalp pain above the graft site for several weeks afterwards (that the doctor was less than sympathetic about). However, now that we are almost 6 months out with great coverage and all pain long resolved, I am a "happier camper" and consider it worth the ordeal. I am surprised that we don't have more postings by women...

My advice is to do more homework than I did ahead of time-I had only a five min phone conversatin with the doctor and probably would have realized in a face to face that we were not the best fit. The office never requested that I report results or called after my complaints of pain to see if pain resolved or what my final outcome was... Realize that your initial contact is in many cases a marketing and PR expert. You may or may not see that person in the office which is what you care about. Find out how long the staff have been working there and their experience. Chat with them-are they cordial and knowledgable? Get lots of patients opinions, experiences and outcomes. If the physician has to pay a fee to be on a "list"-then realize it is not totally an unbiased list. The surgeon may be excellent or just have good marketing skills. In my case, I had less than a desirable experience but excellent hair growth. Many would consider the latter outcome more important than the first... I agree but think that whenever you can find both--go for the full package! Good luck to all women venturing into this male dominated topic!

[DonnaB]

I had my original procedure done in April and have excellent results. I didn't post for a long time as found the whole procedure "more than I bargained for", had significant areas of focal scalp pain above the graft site for several weeks afterwards (that the doctor was less than sympathetic about). However, now that we are almost 6 months out with great coverage and all pain long resolved, I am a "happier camper" and consider it worth the ordeal. I am surprised that we don't have more postings by women...

My advice is to do more homework than I did ahead of time-I had only a five min phone conversatin with the doctor and probably would have realized in a face to face that we were not the best fit. The office never requested that I report results or called after my complaints of pain to see if pain resolved or what my final outcome was... Realize that your initial contact is in many cases a marketing and PR expert. You may or may not see that person in the office which is what you care about. Find out how long the staff have been working there and their experience. Chat with them-are they cordial and knowledgable? Get lots of patients opinions, experiences and outcomes. If the physician has to pay a fee to be on a "list"-then realize it is not totally an unbiased list. The surgeon may be excellent or just have good marketing skills. In my case, I had less than a desirable experience but excellent hair growth. Many would consider the latter outcome more important than the first... I agree but think that whenever you can find both--go for the full package! Good luck to all women venturing into this male dominated topic!

[Janna]

Hi Donna,

 

Thank you for posting your experience. You are correct that this is definately a male dominated field. There are more male doctors, more male patients, and more postings by males on the various ht forums. However, we have gotten more female patients in the last two years than we did in all the previous years put together. Females are just finding out that there is another option than wigs or extensions. Our patient today is a female.

 

It's always a good idea to research as much as possible the doctor you are going to choose. You can get the full package, in fact, it's a shame you did not. It sounds like things are looking up for you. Are you able to post your before and after pictures? It would be nice to follow along in your progress. Good luck to you.

[Bill - Seemiller]

Donna,

 

I am glad to hear that after some of the pain you've experienced that you came out ahead and are satisfied with your hair transplant results.

 

If I am correct, you had your procedure with Dr. Alexander? I remember discussing the topic of pain with you and the different thresholds everyone has for it.

 

As Janna said, though this certainly has been a male dominated procedure, many women have recently been attracted to HT for the same reasons men are - it's the only option to restore a good amount of real hair. I have seen a number of women come and go on the forum but certainly the issue of hair loss impacts women too.

 

If you have any photos you are willing to share with us of your procedure, we'd love to see them.

 

Best wishes,

 

Bill

[NervousNelly]

Donna,

 

I'm glad for you that you have achieved some great results after a very testing period. We all respond differently to surgery and nothing can be predicted unfortunately. It's too bad that you didn't get the emotional support (or little support period) that you should have after mentioning your complications. I'm sorry to hear this.

 

I think that sometimes things become somewhat routine for many healthcare/cosmetic facilities and they forget that what might be day to day for them is very concerning to the patient. I know that I had personal e-mails from both Dr. Shapiro and Janna and it was very comforting to know that they were concerned with my well being.(Matt on the other hand was off spending his commission. --I'm seriously kidding--don't anyone run with that one. He's is very thoughtful and kind and always there for any questions)

 

The bottom line Donna is that there are some pretty bad stories in this industry unfortunately, and you have gotten thru the worst of things and are now going to reap the rewards. This should be very exciting for you. If you get the chance we would love to see your transformation.

 

Take care,

 

 

NN

[DonnaB]

I will post photos with results as there are so few on there for females-- and they are encouraging!! When people see these, they will do it in a minute (pain is tolerable if you know what to expect and are supported and medicated as needed post-op) :-) Thanks for your response.

[Jeffrey Epstein MD, FACS]

Donna- Hair transplantation in women is the fastest growing area of my practice, for a number of reasons. Perhaps the most important is that the results that are able to be achieved as so much better than that from 8 or more years ago, primarily due to the technique of follicular unit grafting and the combining of multiple follicular units into single tiny recipient sites. another key element is in providing women with realistic expectations- letting them see actual results, of patients with donor hair similar to their own.

 

jeffrey epstein, md, facs

www.womenscenterforhairloss.com

www.foundhair.com

miami and nyc

[DonnaB]

Thank you for your reply and the information on your facility and website for women. I agree that there is a huge market and many potential female patients who would benefit from this. I am a nurse practitioner in a private affluent OBGYN office in Las Vegas and recognize the need for this speciality from the patients I see. Our city of 2 million has little hair transplant experience (I know- as I researched it). So, if you are looking for a West coast location-may I suggest here vs Los Angeles? My hair loss occured after a chemical peel gone bad (a nightmare of a story); then multiple debridements,a mini-facelfit to try to remove some tissue but peristent scarring/hair loss. The new hair gained has done wonders to making me feel whole again.It has been more effective than the min-facelfit that only removed 1.5 cm of the sacr tissue on the side of my face. The plastic surgeon recommended hair transplant and suggested I seek a specialist who does it on a large scale basis. (You never know how vain you are until you go from an attractive person to one with a visible facial deformity). I still have scar tissue but having some hair to help cover it has been such a morale booster. Please feel free to share this with others--even if their results are not 100% in hiding a cosmetic deformity--the coverage gained has made a world of difference!

[lisa]

DonnaB

I also used Dr Epstein for my transplants 5 months. I am delighted to see growth in my temple area and the front of the crown. I know I need more but may get a mini face lift first in case there's hair loss. after reading of your chemical peel experiences, I won't have that done. So sorry you had that happen to you! Was it a co2 laser?

[DonnaB]

Lisa-Glad that you are happy withyour results also. My chemical peel was done without a patch test and with 50% TCA whereas 30% is more common (other than on cheek bones which tend to have coarser skin and more discoloration from sun exposure). From what they can figure-since the skin on the sides was the most damaged--solution likely to have run into the hairline there also from too liberal application. After all the debridements, hyperbaric chambers, etc-a new doctor was able to remove 1 cm of the 3 cm of scarring ( a mini-face lift but by no means perfect due to limitations with scarring) but the hair loss made the scarring all the more prominentand noticeable. Having had all the negative experiences, I went into the hair transplant more anxious than the average pt. Glad to have everything behind me now. Be aware-being a board ceritified facial plastic surgeon does not require a specific residency/fellowship. Thus an Ear, Nose and throat doctor may submit x number of cases (usually nose jobs or earlobe repairs) to a credentialing committee and they review the operative reports and issue the board certification. Not the same as a board ceritifed plastic surgeon! They sound similar so many are mis-lead. I learned the hard way (although there may be good ones out there). Beware. That is why this forum is so good at providing education on hair topic; so people don't have such bad experiences.

[lisa]

Thank you for the reply. I'm glad you found Dr Epstein! The best to you in the future.