My FUE experience so far with Dr Feller

[hairroot]

Hi guys,

 

Great Forum!!

 

Just wanted to make a post to update the troops about my growth to date as well as my recent

second FUE session with the one and only Dr Feller.

I had my first procedure with Dr. Feller about a 10 months ago. While I still had most of my

hair I noticed that my hairline was thinning but wasn't sure how to go about fixing it. Spex

and Dr. Feller's assessment was that my hairline was not well defined and that it would need

to be thickened and lowered ever so slightly to fix it up. I opted for Dr Fellers FUE technique

as many of you know, because I wanted the option to be able to shave my hair in the future

and had heard nothing but great reviews about him on all the forums.

 

Dr. Feller took out about 1800 grafts during my first visit (which took 2 days by the way) and

planted them into my hairline and temples. There was no pain at all and I flew back to the UK

the next day with no problems. In brief, the growth was fantastic and I was very very satisfied,

but I caught the "hair greed" bug as Spex calls it and wanted more, like we all do. At first

Dr. Feller wouldn't do it because he doesn't do large FUE sessions anymore, but since I was

such an easy FUE patient (his words) he agreed to do it.

 

I flew back to the States a few weeks ago and had Dr. Feller fill between the old FUE grafts and even

lower the hairline a bit more. It worked out perfectly and we transplanted another 1400 grafts.

This time Dr. Feller did all the work in just ONE day which made life easier. Half of the grafts

were single hair grafts, the other half were mostly 2 hair grafts with a few 3 hair grafts

sprinkled in. Dr Feller was unbelievably meticulous in the hairline design just like before.

 

I am ever so grateful to Dr. Feller and his staff for doing such a great job on me. The day was

long and they were all very patient, but never did I get the sense they were rushing to try and finish.

As Dr Feller would say when I would ask him about the time he'd answer "we finish when we finish,

there's no rushing in this office". I think this doctor is a bit of a perfectionist.

 

I recommend Dr. Feller very highly. Unlike the doctors I visited in the UK ! Dr. Feller was

very forward, blunt, and not at all salesman like. He said what he would do,

and he simply did it. I am going to try to be at the Feller open house in London at the end of

January, so if anyone would like to meet with me I should be available. The last one was great

and it was great to meet so many guys with similar experiences.

 

Special thanks as well to Spex who i have liased with several times since my first op and he has

always been a pillar of support throughout my journey, thanks for everything mate!

 

Grow well everyone!!

 

Hairroot

 

 

My situation before

 

 

Here are some pictures of my situation immediately after my 1st session

 

 

My pictures at 10 months

 

 

I saw someone do this before to highlight the difference between before and after pics... It really helps see the clear difference!!

 

 

Here is a picture of my donor area which is amazing to be honest. There is no evidence of FUE work being done in this area. Several guys also examined it at the London Showcase in September and were all quite amazed!

 

 

 

This is a picture of me just before my recent 2nd FUE session with Dr Feller.

 

Immediately post op my 2nd session, 1400+ FUE

 

 

 

 

 

 

Look forward to meeting a few of you guys at the Openhouse in January!

 

Hairroot

[hairroot]

Hi guys,

 

Great Forum!!

 

Just wanted to make a post to update the troops about my growth to date as well as my recent

second FUE session with the one and only Dr Feller.

I had my first procedure with Dr. Feller about a 10 months ago. While I still had most of my

hair I noticed that my hairline was thinning but wasn't sure how to go about fixing it. Spex

and Dr. Feller's assessment was that my hairline was not well defined and that it would need

to be thickened and lowered ever so slightly to fix it up. I opted for Dr Fellers FUE technique

as many of you know, because I wanted the option to be able to shave my hair in the future

and had heard nothing but great reviews about him on all the forums.

 

Dr. Feller took out about 1800 grafts during my first visit (which took 2 days by the way) and

planted them into my hairline and temples. There was no pain at all and I flew back to the UK

the next day with no problems. In brief, the growth was fantastic and I was very very satisfied,

but I caught the "hair greed" bug as Spex calls it and wanted more, like we all do. At first

Dr. Feller wouldn't do it because he doesn't do large FUE sessions anymore, but since I was

such an easy FUE patient (his words) he agreed to do it.

 

I flew back to the States a few weeks ago and had Dr. Feller fill between the old FUE grafts and even

lower the hairline a bit more. It worked out perfectly and we transplanted another 1400 grafts.

This time Dr. Feller did all the work in just ONE day which made life easier. Half of the grafts

were single hair grafts, the other half were mostly 2 hair grafts with a few 3 hair grafts

sprinkled in. Dr Feller was unbelievably meticulous in the hairline design just like before.

 

I am ever so grateful to Dr. Feller and his staff for doing such a great job on me. The day was

long and they were all very patient, but never did I get the sense they were rushing to try and finish.

As Dr Feller would say when I would ask him about the time he'd answer "we finish when we finish,

there's no rushing in this office". I think this doctor is a bit of a perfectionist.

 

I recommend Dr. Feller very highly. Unlike the doctors I visited in the UK ! Dr. Feller was

very forward, blunt, and not at all salesman like. He said what he would do,

and he simply did it. I am going to try to be at the Feller open house in London at the end of

January, so if anyone would like to meet with me I should be available. The last one was great

and it was great to meet so many guys with similar experiences.

 

Special thanks as well to Spex who i have liased with several times since my first op and he has

always been a pillar of support throughout my journey, thanks for everything mate!

 

Grow well everyone!!

 

Hairroot

 

 

My situation before

 

 

Here are some pictures of my situation immediately after my 1st session

 

 

My pictures at 10 months

 

 

I saw someone do this before to highlight the difference between before and after pics... It really helps see the clear difference!!

 

 

Here is a picture of my donor area which is amazing to be honest. There is no evidence of FUE work being done in this area. Several guys also examined it at the London Showcase in September and were all quite amazed!

 

 

 

This is a picture of me just before my recent 2nd FUE session with Dr Feller.

 

Immediately post op my 2nd session, 1400+ FUE

 

 

 

 

 

 

Look forward to meeting a few of you guys at the Openhouse in January!

 

Hairroot

[Guest Cousin_It]

Welcome Aboard! Glad your have formally joined our forum and chosen to share your hair transplant experience with us.

 

I must commend you on your richly documented post. Those are excellent pictures noting your experience. Some of them are quite explicit and will give prospective hair tranplantees a real look at what an FUE procedure entails.

 

You have certainly chosen a top rate surgeon. Dr.Feller is a highly regarded surgeon and poster on this forum. You could not have made a better choice.

 

The two surgeries to augment your hairline will certainly make a substantial difference in your appearance. You did not state your age, but you appear young and it seems like you still have a good head of hair and donor area, so you appear in good shape in the event your hair loss progresses.

 

Again welcome to our forum and looking forward to additional posts of your progress.

[hairroot]

Thanks for the welcome. I intend to keep my experience well documented with pictures along the way.

 

I am 27 and do indeed have a great donor supply thankfully.

 

Thanks again for the warm welcome.

Hairroot

[Bill - Seemiller]

Hello hairroot,

 

These photos are not new to me...I've seen them before on another forum perhaps? I am pretty certain I remember seeing your case and being VERY impressed with the work done. In fact, I've never really been an advocate of FUE, because I still think Strip is superior in terms of numbers and growth percentages, HOWEVER, Dr. Feller has been doing some great work with FUE and your case definitely proves this. I hope that you'll stick around and continue to keep us updated on your progress.

 

Bill

[no hair sux]

i like dr. feller's work. what was the density on each of those procedures and what does dr. feller charge for fue nowadays?

[the B spot]

Hey Hairroot!!!! Glad to see you made it to the "Dark Side" LOL!!!!! J/K

 

I have viewed your pics on HLH, and I find your posting to be refreshing and helpful.

 

Great Job documenting your results!!!!!

 

Keep Up the good work!!!!!!!

 

Hey Spex, perhaps you can post Dr. Feller's view on FUE for some of the interested parties?

 

I think it will be very helpful and informative.

 

Cheers Mate!!!

[hairroot]

Hi there Billros, Bspot, nohairsucs

 

Thanks a lot. I am very happy with my results so far and the hair greed bug just took over hence my 2nd session with Dr Feller. I appreciate i am a very suitable FUE candidate fortunately thats why i have recieved such high numbers with FUE.

 

I will keep checking in and keep you well informed on my progress but for now i have got a number of months ahead of me until i see the signs of new growth

 

Take care and hope you all have a nice xmas

 

 

hairroot

[dhuge67]

I wish Feller still performed large FUE sessions...since that's the only surgery I'm really considering right now - with all of the physical demands on me to stay in shape, I couldn't be down for more than 7 days at the most.

 

Damn, I'm depressed about my hair situation...

[Bill - Seemiller]

Spex (and anyone who is reading),

 

Thanks for the information Spex. And though what I'm going to say below regarding the below quote is not where we originally started on topic, I feel compelled to comment on this. Maybe I'm alone on this, but this statement is enough to stop someone like me (who's already pretty much "stripped" out) from getting FUE, at least with Dr. Feller.

 

They must also accept and agree when booking for an FUE megasession (800 and up) to be CHARGED $4,000 for the day WHEATHER I SUCCEED or not.

 

Firstly, before I continue, does the same fee apply for FUE NON-megasessions? At what point is there no fee for "succeeding or not"?

 

I'm glad this is being stated up front, but I disagree with it...I think since FUE is obviously inferior to strip in many ways (though I understand people do it for healing time and possibly less scarring), that FUE should be handled in an inferior way. Since most doctors for strip surgery guarantee every graft (though I'm not sure how many actually follow through with that), FUE should be handled the same way, possibly more experimental even, at lower costs. I understand of course that a doctor's time is valuable, but I could NEVER see paying a doctor $4000 if I was told after 40 minutes that the surgery would not be successful. Obviously as an INFORMED patient (since Dr. Feller informs patients of this upfront whic is good) I can easily make the decision to NEVER go for FUE, but that gives patients who have no more donor for strip, very few options.

 

Personally, I wasn't necessarily planning on doing FUE, but I was hoping to keep it in reserves as an option if I ever want more density. Being that I've already had 7550 strip grafts, I'm not going to have a lot left to do more if I feel I want it. So the option Dr. Feller gives to go to strip at normal price would not be feasible for everyone, but unfortunately, for someone like me, this basically rules out FUE as a possibility for me, because I wouldn't want to "risk" losing $4000.

 

Anyway...I'll be bold enough to ask Dr. Feller to reconsider this as a standard rule since going to strip isn't feasible to all patients. I'll also be bold enough to say that charging a fee whether successful or not appears unprofessional.

 

The following statement I'm about to say is far from a direct quote, but it was during a conversation I had with Dr. Hasson during my surgery. The statement was regarding BHT and it was something like: Since BHT has low yields and is very experimental, no doctor should be offering it unless for free. Now again, I'm going by my memory of a conversation during my surgery on 10/19/2006, but I agree with it. IMO, FUE should be handled similarly...since FUE has a much greater potential to fail than strip, there should be no fee associated with it for an unsuccessful surgery.

 

Now I do have to say that this post is in no way to bust on Dr. Feller. If you read many of my previous posts I've said what an excellent physician he is and actually recommended him to several people who were looking for "the best physician in their area". BUT, I do have some serious problems with ANYONE who wants money for a service not provided. I know...it depends on how you define service. If services provided aren't successful, then they really aren't services. In fact, they can be just as frustrating to the customer as they can be to the vendor (the one providing the service). Nobody would accept paying $1500 for a computer that simply doesn't work. They'd either replace it with another computer (an exchange) or get their money back (a refund).

 

Anyway, I think I made my point...even if people disagree with it. Comments are welcome.

 

Bill

[Bill - Seemiller]

Why do I do this? Because if I put a day aside for a megasession FUE patient I can't risk losing that day just because the patient's scalp won't cooperate.

 

One more thing and I intend no disrespect here but: I don't believe the good doctor should be offering this type of session if it really is a "risk losing the day". And maybe I'm being a prick here...but what does Dr. Feller really mean by losing the day? To me, that states "I don't want to risk losing a lot of money that I could be making if I didn't offer this session". So the solution should be...don't offer the session!

 

Anything that is somewhat experimental, IMO, should be worked on and enhanced on the doctor's own time to perfect the method...which means at no cost to the patient. If I want to learn more about something to increase my knowledge so I'm a better web programmer, I'm not going to charge one of my clients for my research. Additionally, if a client asks me for something, if I determine it won't work out (even if I thought it would originally), I'm not going to charge them for it. I'd lose clients that way.

 

But maybe I'm getting bent out of shape over nothing...if patients are willing to pay the $4000 fee even if it isn't successful, then that's their call. But I think most patients will say "yes" they are willing with the thought that a failure won't happen to them and that all will be successful. How many patients would really hand over $4000 with no yield and would be happy about it...or for that matter, even go back to the clinic?

 

Just some food for thought!

 

Bill

[Dr. Alan Feller]

Bill,

 

I do not take what you wrote personally, but I do disagree with you on a few points. I also think there are a few things that you haven't taken into account.

 

1. FUE procedures are no longer experimental. They are now a proven entity and have entered the mainstream of modern hair transplantation. Body hair FUE has NOT. The two are not comparable.

 

2. When FUE was experimental I DID do hundreds of them (thousands of FUE grafts) for free on volunteer patients. From 2002 to 2004 I never charged a dime for FUE until I had worked out a viable technique, designed and built customized FUE instrumentation, and had enough patient results to satisfy even the harshest critic that FUE was a successful adjunct to strip.

 

3. What I have learned from practicing FUE from 2002 to now is that NOT everybody is a candidate, and even fewer are candidates for FUE megasessions. Any doctor claiming that they can do FUE on everybody is doing one of two things: a. They are lying about the actual number of grafts they report

or

b. They are switching up to larger punches beyond .9mm in diameter which takes the procedure out of the FUE realm and into the old "plug" territory.

 

Since I refuse to do either of the above, I would rather tell the patient before

hand that they simply may not get the number of grafts desired.

 

4. I want to make it clear that I am an unabashed and unapologetic capitalist. I absolutely love performing surgery , but I am also in business to make money and I, like you, strive to work in the most efficient manner toward that end. This hardly means that money is "everything" to me. On the contrary, I have been donating my services for years and have a waiting list for my pro bono patients well into 2007. But I can't afford to lose valuable days of surgery on a hit or miss procedure like megasession FUE, particularly when I know I could have scheduled sure-fire strip surgeries on those days. Yes, it IS about the money as such days like those can add up.

5. While I may not be able to perform a megasession FUE on a particular patient, it doesn't mean they have thrown away $4,000. They always have the option to switch it to a strip procedure on that very day and apply every dollar of the $4,000 to the strip. In this scenario I make no money for attempting the FUE megasession.

6. I firmly believe that if I can't perform a megasession FUE on a particular patient, then neither can any other doctor practicing FUE today and that patient should switch over to a strip procedure. If any FUE doctor out there cares to challenge me on that statement I await your invitation. There are a few high profile FUE doctors out there whom I've openly challenged to disclose their methods and results on these forums who haven't answered these challenges. That should tell you all something.

 

Hairroot understood and agreed to the terms of my megasessions and it paid off for him.

 

You should also note that in only two cases have I failed to achieve the FUE megasession count. In both those cases the patient was switched to strip and actually SAVED money.

 

I do all of this not because I want to make money for doing little or nothing, but because I want to see the best results possible.

 

Dhuge- Since you've already had a strip procedure, there is really no reason for you to go for FUE. The whole point of FUE is to avoid a strip scar, since you've already got one from your first doctor you would simply do well to revise it and then get as many grafts as you possibly can in your next procedure. From your photos I would recommend at least 2,500 grafts if not more applied to just the hairline and top of your scalp.

[NervousNelly]

Bill,

I do understand where you are coming from with your statement. Surely no one should be paying for a service not performed; however, it does seem to me unless I misunderstood things, that Dr. Feller is very upfront about the associated risks with this procedure and does give the office policy interms of fees. If the individual proceeds and agrees to the terms I think that it is their choice. There is definitely an inherent risk of paying $4000 for nothing, but they are aware of this and it ultimately becomes their choice.

It is my bet that most HT docs would rather do strip methods because they have perfected the procedure(not all ofcourse) and the results are much more predictable. It is the consumer who is putting the demand on the doctors to find "better" or "other" ways to get desired results. The fear of having a scar, recovery time, having someone notice, is what is pushing the drive for other techniques. (not the only reasons ofcourse)

Unfortunately the cosmetic industry is a Business and they have a great deal of overhead to contend with. Yes they can do very well financially but they do have the same concerns that every other business owner has. It is us that are demanding that they use the greatest technology and have several fully trained technicians and only perform 1 surgery per day. This is challenging for these physicians, Ill guarentee it! If it wasn't there would be a whole hell of a lot more coalition physicians. For Dr. Feller to "lose a day" is a justifiable statement as sad as it is. I own several businesses and I know where he is coming from. It is a sad truth but he needs to focus on his talent/technical and artistic skills but can never lose sight of the business side of it. We need these guys to continue to have high revenues so that they can continue to advance their skills to meet our demands.

Does this make sense? I'm sure that this will be debated somewhat and I know that there are several sides to it, but I wanted to give the side from strictly a business point of view.

[the B spot]

Unabashed Capitalist......... LOL!

You crack me up Dr. Feller...... I

 

I seem to recall you throwing around the word libertine as well......

 

WELL,

Of course, Doc's want to make money, they are human after all! (MOST Doc's, that is )

 

Anyway, I am looking at 75,000 for Law School on top of the 25,000 I owe for undergrad, PLUS whatever it costs me live for the next few years. While I absolutely will do pro bono work(probably in the HT industry, LOL) I need to provide for my family as well. I would think that at the very least most Docs owe a minimum of 125K for school so making money is fine AND necessary.

 

As long as these terms for FUE are in writing and clearly expressed and explained to patients, I have no problem whatsoever with Dr. Fellers approach.

 

I would have a problem with a Doc who does a 1200 FUE case only to find that he/she needs a larger punch and the patient has follicules that tend to spread out at different angles under the skin. This same Doc then procedes with the full session, charges for it, and then crosses his fingers.

 

No, I like the fail-safe built into the program.

 

Everyone is NOT a candidate for FUE session, contrary to popular belief.

 

Anyway, just my take on it..... Glad that someone is at least offering some logical explanations on the potential drawbacks of FUE.

 

You guys keep doing what your doing......

 

Dr. Feller, STOP counting your money and read this!!!!!! LOL!!!!!!

[Dr. Alan Feller]

Don't be ridiculous B, I have an accountant

Thanks for the post.

Dr F

[TooThin]

I think Dr. Feller's approach is fair and reasonable. If I was in that position, I would much rather have the physician provide me with the option to switch to strip surgery than to have him transect 1,000 FUs from my limited donor supply and charge me $10,000 for the work. TooThin

[Bill - Seemiller]

Dr. Feller (and all),

 

Great posts from all of you. Indeed I shared my honest thoughts about this to generate discussion on the topic, so I'm glad that it did just that and that nobody took it personally.

 

I want to make clear that I don't have any ethical issue here with what Dr. Feller is doing. Dr. Feller is clearly stating to his patients what he intends, and his patients either agree or disagree to the terms. I do, however, have a personal problem with it...as I'll define further below by addressing some of the points Dr. Feller has made. These are just my opinions, and anyone can take them or leave them.

 

Just to hit a few of Dr. Feller's points and reply to them

 

1. FUE procedures are no longer experimental. They are now a proven entity and have entered the mainstream of modern hair transplantation. Body hair FUE has NOT. The two are not comparable.

 

Yes, I am aware that they are not experimental like BHT (sorry if I used that word by mistake), so perhaps comparing the two isn't completely fair, however, since the success rate is still much lower than strip, those patients that undergo FUE should be aware of this (which seemingly, you present to them in some way, hopefully in writing), so there is no problem there.

 

3. What I have learned from practicing FUE from 2002 to now is that NOT everybody is a candidate, and even fewer are candidates for FUE megasessions. Any doctor claiming that they can do FUE on everybody is doing one of two things: a. They are lying about the actual number of grafts they report

or

b. They are switching up to larger punches beyond .9mm in diameter which takes the procedure out of the FUE realm and into the old "plug" territory.

 

Since I refuse to do either of the above, I would rather tell the patient before

hand that they simply may not get the number of grafts desired.

.

 

I think this is good...I am aware that not everyone is a candidate for FUE, and it takes an ethical doctor to refuse surgery on someone who is not an FUE candidate...so this is good. I've read about too many doctors doing surgeries on patients that are not candidates and it turns out to be a nightmare. Regarding ethics, I do not question you.

 

4. I want to make it clear that I am an unabashed and unapologetic capitalist. I absolutely love performing surgery , but I am also in business to make money and I, like you, strive to work in the most efficient manner toward that end. This hardly means that money is "everything" to me. On the contrary, I have been donating my services for years and have a waiting list for my pro bono patients well into 2007. But I can't afford to lose valuable days of surgery on a hit or miss procedure like megasession FUE, particularly when I know I could have scheduled sure-fire strip surgeries on those days. Yes, it IS about the money as such days like those can add up.

 

This is more of a personal problem with me rather than an ethical one. I simply suspect that patients (even though they know the facts) can be exploited, even if unintentionally (which I truly believe Dr. Feller, that you would not do it intentionally). There are certain states that people can be in which "clouds" their ability to make an informed decision, typically those states are normally those in desperation. There were big controversies way back when whether it was ethical to perform medical experiments on prisonors even though they agreed, because their "state of mind" was said to be clouded. Inevitably, medical experiments were mandated to be stopped on prisoners. Though it's not a perfect comparison by any means, someone going into get an HT by a well known doctor who constantly yields excellent results could be "clouded" with excitement with hopes and dreams of a new head of hair and agree to anything just so you'll perform the surgery on him. So in the event of a failure of the FUE surgery, this patient COULD argue that he let his excitement cloud his judgement and get the best of him. Now I'm not stating that this is your problem Dr. Feller, at least, not entirely...a patient MUST own up to their own decision making...however, I just see this as a potential issue, that could arise and come back to bite you.

 

And as one who is not a strong advocate for unabashed capitalism (simply because it's easy for the little guy to get stepped on), I'd like to see the PATIENT win out rather than the DOCTOR in the event of a failure. This is a personal opinion. I agree that you are doing everything to inform the patient of the situation, and if he agrees, it's on his head...however, it's the philosophy I have a problem with. The bigger guy can afford the loss...the little guy can't. So I think the bigger guy should let the little guy win in the event of the failure.

 

5. While I may not be able to perform a megasession FUE on a particular patient, it doesn't mean they have thrown away $4,000. They always have the option to switch it to a strip procedure on that very day and apply every dollar of the $4,000 to the strip. In this scenario I make no money for attempting the FUE megasession.

 

In most cases yes...but think about those people who want FUE:

 

1. They are trying to avoid a strip scar

2. They might be like me and wanting to tap into reserves when they are stripped out

3. Want faster healing time

 

Since you've only ran into this situation one or two times (which is good), we don't really know if it happens again which patient might be the bombshell who will set off based on my above points. Again...I rather see the little guy win over the bigger guy, if things don't work in the little guys favor.

 

I do all of this not because I want to make money for doing little or nothing, but because I want to see the best results possible.

 

 

I know you care about your patients and want the best possible result for them...but:

 

1. "unabashed and unapologetic capitalist"

2. "can't afford to lose valuable days of surgery on a HIT OR MISS procedure like megasession FUE, particularly when I know I could have scheduled sure-fire strip surgeries on those days"

3. "Yes it IS about the money as such days like those can add up".

 

I'll add a few more opinions here.

 

1. If the surgery is HIT or MISS...why do you offer it when you know very well the patient MIGHT come out disappointed and lose $4000? He might not opt for strip or even have the option for it.

 

2. When you say you "can't afford it", I'm assuming this is the capitalist side of you that wants to make the most money possible talking. Surely you CAN afford it since the percentages of this happening are obviously extremely small, as you said one or two. But I think most likely who CAN'T afford it is the patient who might be stuck shelling out $4000 and get nothing in return IF they can't opt for strip or choose not to.

 

3. I know you love your work...and you do it well. I also know that as a business, it's important to make money, and I don't question your desire to make money...after all...that's the main reason why we work isn't it? If I could...I'd retire and I'm only 29

 

My entire post can be summed up in this statement: It's good to make money, it's great that you love your work, but I think sometimes it's better to give the little guy the victory when in doubt. In business, sometimes it's better to cut your losses in order to keep the customer (or patient in this case) happy. Heck, after all, the patient is already going to be disappointed enough that FUE won't work for him...let him have his money back and take it as a loss. Surely...any doctor in your fiend CAN afford it with a heavy clientele like yourself. In the longrun, I think you'd be even MORE respected if a failure like this does come up, and you give the patient his money back IF he strongly objects to strip.

 

Anyway...on a brighter note...I think you do great work and I still believe that you have taken FUE a long way. I'll be interested to see when and if this will evolve even further in the coming years.

 

Bill

[Bill - Seemiller]

Toothin,

 

I think Dr. Feller's approach is fair and reasonable. If I was in that position, I would much rather have the physician provide me with the option to switch to strip surgery than to have him transect 1,000 FUs from my limited donor supply and charge me $10,000 for the work. TooThin

 

I agree...I'd rather have the option for strip than have him charge me $10000 for FUE that will yield very little...but I agrue that for those who don't opt for strip, they should be compensated with their money back...OR, perhaps Dr. Feller could ask "are you willing to do strip in the event that FUE is unsuccesful?". If the answer is "yes", then proceed, if "no", then don't book the surgery. This is just IMO though. You are allowed to disagree

 

Bill

[Beefy]

From reading about FUE it seems it is best utilized as a fill in "touch up" procedure. I would'nt risk a megasession with FUE. For someone like myself having 3 strip procedures I would opt for a smaller FUE procedure rather that a 4th strip.

[NervousNelly]

Bill,

 

In a perfect world I totally agree with you that you hate to see the little guy lose and you make a good arguement for it. Possibly this is something that Dr. Feller could evaluate as I'm sure he knows the costs of a day without a surgery. There is the chance that when he evaluates the numbers he might be able to restructure his policy as it might not be as big of a financial hit as he thinks. As you alluded to, there is the other side of things as well, such as the future referrals from the happy client that got his money back. If indeed it is true that he has only had a couple of instances of having to alter the surgery it might not be a big deal.

 

I think that we are all in agreement that Dr. Feller does great work but I will agree with Bill that some of his statements referring to money are a little strong. I'm in the healthcare business and I think it is very important to be a little more tactful when talking to potential patients about your desires for profits. I thought my previous post went before his (not sure what happened), and I thought I gave a pretty good arguement as to why these doctors needed to be concerned about the financial side of things. It obviously benefits them and in the long run will benefit us. I tried to spell things out diplomatically and was in full support of Dr. Feller and other physicians, but was a little saddened to see his kind of blunt, brazen response.

Again, I reiterate that it is us, the consumer who is putting the pressure on the doctors to provide alternate forms of HT and do it with highly trained techs, in a sterile environment, with advanced techniques and at a competitive price. This costs a lot of money for the physicians and they have no choice to pass it on to us. I have no problems with them making lots of money and if fact I want them to so that they can continue to offer the services that they perform. I hope that they will all be ethical in the way they go about soliciting business, but usually the free market and forums such as this will help to limit those unethical physcians.

Referring back to Bills comments though, I too hate to see the little guy lose. History has shown however that it usually is the little guy who doesn't come out on top. That is why such forums like this exist so that the little guy can now educate himself and enter into a possible HT fully knowledgeable and informed. This does level the playing field somewhat. Hopefully those that are not providing the latest technology and that do not have good contract policies will be slowly weeded out. Life isn't perfect and it is up to the little guy to do all he can to not be someone that enters a scenario clueless.

[the B spot]

Hey Guys, I am all for the little guy winning!!!!

 

Hey, I'm one myself!!!!!!!

 

However, we should respect Dr. Feller for being

CANDIDLY HONEST, characteristics that are found all too infrequently these days.

 

Any negative connotation that one would attach to his approach has to be dispatched by the fact that he is totally, 100% up-front with what he charges, why he charges it, and the various situations that can and have occurred in his clinic.

 

Given the amount of time Dr. Feller spends here and the amount of people that this forum reaches, we would have heard about Dr. Feller "screwing" someone out of their money a long time ago.

 

That is why I chose to understand his philosophy and believe that he is not quite the unabashed capitalist he says he is

 

Bill, as usual my friend, you ask the questions and bring up great points. I'm not sure we agree/disagree on this one, it just seems we are looking at it from different points on the spectrum!!!!!!

 

Later Guys!!!!!

[hairroot]

Billros,

 

 

The success rate for FUE is ONLY lower if performed but an incompetent Dr who forces FUE unlike Dr Feller who performs it correctly with the appropriate size tools. Dr Fellers FUE results and the success of them speak for themselves. Be careful not to tarnish FUE with low yields just because some Dr's cannot perform it correctly, because when FUE is performed correctly by a competent Dr like Dr Feller the results are consistent. If they weren't consistent, Dr Feller wouldn't offer FUE as a technique unlike other Dr's. This is the entire point of his post.

 

Dr Feller is NOT about exploiting patients as you well know, being a religious poster im sure you know all about Dr Feller and his reputation. He is about HONESTY and telling the patient how it actually is. Dr Feller tells it how it is, plain and simple with no frills, just facts. He made me very well aware of the situation i was embarking on with him via FUE and that there was a chance i might not get the outcome i wanted. He was very clear about this and the potential limitations with FUE. Fortunately for me the gamble paid off i am happy to say as you can see from my results. He has an impeccable reputation with regard to ethics and generosity as anyone who has had surgery with him will only confirm. If it was all about the money he would sit there and perform strip surgery day in day out no questions asked. Instead he provides an honest service and answers to all questions with clear concise answers which is rare in this industry. Dr Feller is a very generous man speaking from personal experience which proves he is not all about money but providing a realistic, honest, service to his patients. Every patient that walks through his door is an individual patient with their own personal goal, something Dr Feller truly embraces. People that walk through his door are not numbers or statistics like many other clinics. Dr Feller has one thing in mind with all his patients, the best possible outcome by the best means possible. He is the most honest and direct Dr i have met in this industry which is the reason i opted for my surgery with him. I know this is why many others have chosen to have their surgery with him also. Trying to pull him down on the is just petty IMO.

 

What are you suggesting then that Dr Feller who provides a service second to none, give free surgery away to guys that aren't eligible candidates. He runs a business not a charity. If you don't agree with it then its simple you don't have surgery with him and you got to another FUE Dr. But i recommend you go to one who knows what he is doing and doesn't run the risk of performing poor FUE surgery and wasting precious donor hair if you aren't and eligible FUE patient. Better the devil you know.

 

To give you an example of Dr Fellers integrity, I had to cancel my initail 2nd session with Dr Feller a few days before due to work commitments and phoned to reschedule. I spoke to the Dr directly and just assumed i would lose my $1000 deposit due to the very late cancelation and was prepared to lose it. I didn't lose it and he just remarked how he could do with a day off which i found very humorous. Does this sound like a guy who just has money on his mind??

 

 

If you are so concerned about the little guy, pay a thought to ALL the guys that get butchered by ALL these useless clinics, especially in the UK. Would you rather pay $4000 to be told you are not an FUE patient but you can have a top self strip surgery performed on you IF you want..... OR...... pay $10000+ and be butchered by some Dr who ONLY has money on his agenda and couldn't give 2 hoots about you or the outcome of the surgery they perform or the fact for the rest of your life you are going to be disfigured and seeking repair and then spend the next 2/3 years having the work then repaired if your lucky by a Dr like Dr Feller..........get my point?!

 

Hairroot

[the B spot]

Root----- RELAX my man........ No one is questioning Dr. Feller' integrity here.

 

We do so well on this site simply because we all ask questions and post hypotheticals.

 

You certainly have the right to disagree with anyone here. There is no problem whatsoever with that.

 

Bill is an important part of this community because he is willing to post the questions necessary to clarify these situations. He does not deserve to be talked down to, and given the amount of time he has spent here and the fact that he has had 3 HT's with 3 seperate Doc's,

he is qualified to question or comment on any practice or method used by any Doc.

 

The reason why we are here is to critique and share our experiences with various Doc's.

Some Doc's abhor the thought of us ignorant layman questioning their methods.

 

Others, (like Dr. Feller), relish the opportunity to discuss, present, explain and debate just about any topic.

 

Dr. Feller has thick skin and has weathered other criticisms very well and in a direct manner.

 

This site is all about the "little guy" so when you point a finger or direct something at a fellow member that somehow insinuates he is taking a "cheap shot" or is missing the point, it rankles a bit.

 

I agree with your assesment of Dr. Feller.

So does Bill.

 

Just try to keep things a little more even keeled, ok?

 

We benefit from your presence here as well!!!!!

 

Thanks Guys

[Guest Cousin_It]

Hairroot...

 

I will agree with you 100% that Dr.Feller is totally honest and candid in telling a patient of what can and what cannot be expected in a transplant. I feel he is one of the most honorable surgeons in his field. Personally I have felt this way for quite a while, hence the reason I employed him for my procedure. I have nothing but the utmost respect for him as a person and surgeon.

 

One point I must disagree with you is that FUE will not give you the same high percentage of intact grafts obtained by FUT, it may come close in the hands of the most gifted surgeon but still not as high.

 

FUT by the methods utilized by the top surgeons allows approxiamately 98% graft survival. On the other hand FUE by methods available today by top docs allows only slightly over 90% graft survival which can be due to the damage of transcetting the follicles to the avulsion of vital elements of the graft. It is entirely due to the fact that in strip surgery, graft are transected under a high powered microscope while in FUE they are not.

 

Is this an acceptable tradeoff in terms or results? This would be dependent on the patient. If the needs of the patient for various reasons precludes a strip procedure than I believe it is.

 

I am sure in time, due to the advances in the field of transplantation, FUE will be comparable to FUT in success, but as of today it is slightly lagging.

[hairbank]

Hairroot-

 

Thanks for posting your history along with GREAT PICS. Your FUE journey is probably one of the most detailed I've seen and it looks great.

 

Bill & others- great discussion! IMO.....I think what Dr. Feller is offering his patients with respect to FUE is fair. We know Dr. Feller's work is solid so that is not in question. As for charging a $4,000 fee regardless of the FUE success, he does offer them the option to change to strip and as long as he is open about the fact that FUE may or may not work for them in the beginning, I think it's fair. Dr. Feller has committed his time for them that day and cannot reschedule someone else into their slot at the last minute, so, if it doesn't work and they opt to not have strip, his day is shot. Again, as a long as the prospective FUE patient is aware of this in the beginning, I believe it's fair.

 

Just IMO, Bill.....as usual, thanks for honest and unbiased prospective presented with class!!