Can anyone recommend a doc or clinic in LA/SoCal?

[Jeremy]

Can anyone recommend a HT clinic or doc in LA or SoCal that I can actually trust for good, natural results? And who will actually let me see photos of local clients, and meet/speak with actual local clients? I'm getting the "confidentiality" spiel at the clinic I have in mind. That makes me very suspicious. Any other warning signs I should look for, or places to avoid? I figure if this clinic were so great, they would have lots of satisfied clients willing to field questions for them, even anonymously. And all their "album" shows is before/after photos of guys with a different problem from mine. Also, I want to avoid a megasession...and am terrified of fake-looking or partial results. Any help would be awesome. Thanks.

[Jeremy]

Can anyone recommend a HT clinic or doc in LA or SoCal that I can actually trust for good, natural results? And who will actually let me see photos of local clients, and meet/speak with actual local clients? I'm getting the "confidentiality" spiel at the clinic I have in mind. That makes me very suspicious. Any other warning signs I should look for, or places to avoid? I figure if this clinic were so great, they would have lots of satisfied clients willing to field questions for them, even anonymously. And all their "album" shows is before/after photos of guys with a different problem from mine. Also, I want to avoid a megasession...and am terrified of fake-looking or partial results. Any help would be awesome. Thanks.

[arfy]

Here's a couple of things to look for...

 

The clinic should use microscopes (not loops) to view the grafts as they dissect them. Ask to see the microscopes. The surgical room should have several (and they shouldn't be covered in cobwebs ) Microscopes can raise the graft yield by something like 20%...!

 

The doctor should only use microscopically-dissected Follicular Unit grafts. They are the most natural looking, and do not need to be hidden by other grafts or "combed over" like Minigrafts do.

 

You should be able to meet patients in person, as you said.

 

You should consult directly with the doctor and not a "consultant" (salesman). The consultant might be useful if you know absolutely nothing about hair transplants. Otherwise, you should spend your time speaking directly to the person who will be operating on you. And by the way, it is illegal for a consultant to do anything more than give general information about hair transplants. It is also illegal to schedule surgery without meeting the doctor who will work on you.

 

You say you don't want a megasession. Anything over 1000 grafts could theoretically be called a megasession, and there are no problems with this amount of grafts. If you don't get at least 1000-1500 grafts, you may not be maximizing the use of your donor area. Every time you take a donor strip out, you are creating a scar, and affecting follicles along that scar line. Let me put it this way... It is more efficient and a better use of donor hair, to get 3 surgeries of 1500 grafts each (4500 total) than to get 9 surgeries of 500 grafts each. Having a fairly big session is the best use of your donor hair. I would start to worry about sessions over, say, 2000 grafts. Some doctors say they can do it safely, other doctors prefer not to go that high. 1500 grafts seems like an average yield that can be taken safely, with minimal risk of problem scarring or problems with graft survival. Like I said, some doctors do bigger sessions and say they don't have any problems. There used to be some criticism about megasessions, saying that graft survival was diminished. That was true of doctors who used larger grafts. But like I recommended, you should use ONLY microscopically dissected FU grafts, which are smaller, and survive megasessions better than bigger grafts. Bigger grafts require more blood flow for healing (I know there has to be a better way to phrase that) than FU grafts do.

 

If I were you, I would look at the list of recommended surgeons on this site, and take some time to visit each clinic's website, and really read each one top to bottom. This will be a great way to find out where the best guys seem to agree or disagree. You will be able to ask your doctor really informed questions the next time you do go for a consultation.

 

Here's some clinics I would avoid, off the top of my head...Bosley, MHR (Medical Hair Restoration), NuHart, Sword, Peterson.

 

Good luck.

[Jeremy]

Hi Arfy, thanks for the comments. Just wondering why you think I should avoid places like Bosley and Peterson? They surely have some of the most convincing advertisements, but it's confusing since everyone makes the same claims. Do you know of any clinics in SoCal who actually allow you to see and talk to satisfied patients?

 

Also, can anyone recommend if I should wait till I'm significantly balding before going for the HT?

 

Thanks.

[arfy]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Also, can anyone recommend if I should wait till I'm significantly balding before going for the HT?

Yes, I can definitely recommend waiting until you are at least a Norwood 3. It's not just me who says that. Many doctors advise waiting until you are at least a Norwood 3 before starting in with hair transplants. Until then, you should be using Propecia (and maybe Minoxidil) and hopefully you might never need a hair transplant in the first place.

 

You should use Propecia even if you do decide to get a hair transplant. You don't have enough donor hair to just "replace everything" if you continue to lose hair (which is extremely likely.) Propecia is excellent for slowing or halting hairloss, and lots of good hair transplant clinics are telling their patients to get on it. <BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Just wondering why you think I should avoid places like Bosley and Peterson? They surely have some of the most convincing advertisements, but it's confusing since everyone makes the same claims. Actually, the various clinics do NOT make the same claims. Read my previous post regarding "no consultants" "yes microscopes" etc. The clinics I named do NOT use microscopically dissected Follicular Unit grafts. Did you read my post? Try to use your head and see through the advertising hype. Clinics like Bosley and MHR spend millions each year on advertising, because they are interested in quantity not quality. They also pass those expenses on to their patients. Does McDonalds' make the worlds' best hamburger? I could turn your question around, and ask why McDonalds' claim it is the best, then. Their ads are really convincing, too. After all, it is just ground beef on a bun, just like every other burger. What else is there to say?

 

To put it another way, clinics like Bosley, NuHart, Peterson, Sword and MHR use MINIGRAFTS, which if you would take the time to do a little reading, are a technique left over from the mid-80s. (There is currently only one doctor that I am aware of at MHR who actually does use microscopically dissected FU grafts. the rest use a combination of grafts).

 

You can lead a horse to water, but you can't make him drink, I suppose. If you would be happy with a sub-par and generic looking transplant, just ignore everything I've been telling you.

 

I usually hesitate to recommend a specific doctor, I would rather give you some things to look for, that make a doctor or clinic good. that way you can choose who you like, based on an informed opinion. However, in your case, if you are looking for a doctor in the LosAngeles area, you might try Dr. McLellan or Dr. McAndrews.

 

Do yourself a favor, and research the hell out of hair transplants, before you decide to get one. Good luck.

[mel]

how do i get more info on mclellan and mcandrews?

have you heard of any good/bad results at nhi?

also, alfy, where did/are you going for your repair work?

[arfy]

I hesitate to "recommend" anyone too strongly, as I have had bad results, and I can't really endorse hair transplants based on my own experience. However...

 

You can see Dr. McAndrews website here:

http://www.hairgrowthdoctor.com/Pages/home.html

 

You can see Dr. McLellan's repair job on a fellow here: http://www.hairlosshelp.com/hair_loss_treatments/hair_transplants/hair_transplant_repair_main.cfm You can also see a documentation of Dr. Woods' repair work there, in the story "Hair Transplant Survivor".

 

If I haven't already mentioned it, you should check out the "corrective procedures" section at www.newhair.com

 

Right now I have been having some corrections done by Dr. Bernstein. It is improving things, but it is slow going. I've already discussed it in depth, so do a search or let me know and I can direct you to those threads.

 

Hair transplants are so much easier, cheaper, and have much better results when you "do it right" from the very beginning. Pick a world-class doctor, or don't do it at all!!!

[mel]

thanks very much arfy

you ever hear of any actual experiences at nhi?

[arfy]

Mel

To answer your last question, "me"...In case you didn't realize it, Dr. Bernstein is a doctor with NHI. So far he has just done a few graft revisions on me, nothing major. Read the section on "corrective procedures" at the newhair.com website I already pointed out, that will explain it better.

 

You might also do a search on "NHI" or "McLellan", you can find the search function at the top (and bottom) of the web page. Some entries that came up when I tried a search on NHI don't seem to apply to this discussion, but there are many that do. Just read up.