New Member - Words of Wisdom from you?

[La La Land Hair]

Hello all,

 

I met with 4 surgeons about four years ago out here in LA. Rassman, Straub, Elliot, Mcandrews. I was only impressed with McAndrews and Rassman but I was also wary of Rassman's 'mill' procedure. (I've since changed my mind a bit on him after more reading here.) I decided at the time to wait a while and continue Propecia and Minoxidil.

 

I'm finally ready and have decided this summer is the time. I'm glad I found this amazing forum. The firsthand accounts and photos are very helpful. I've done tons of research over the years and recently (although it feels like it never ends) and I feel like I have a really good grasp on what I want and what is attainable.

 

I'm meeting with Dr. Siporin this week and will do more research on Shapiro (I'm not afraid to get on a plane here even if I'm surrounded with good surgeons.) I'm also going back to NHI (Rassman) to meet with Dr. Pak and attend an 'open house'. I'm still strongly leaning toward McAndrews but I can't seem to find anyone on these forums who had an HT with him, (I will eventually ask him for a first hand referral I guess) Price is important of course but I'm willing to spend whatever it takes to get it done right. I've read way too many horror stories here and elsewhere to skimp.

 

I know I'm not giving you all the details and I'm missing a lot of info but I will post more as I go. I'll also attempt to add some pics of me.

 

I'm a class 4 (I think)

[La La Land Hair]

Hello all,

 

I met with 4 surgeons about four years ago out here in LA. Rassman, Straub, Elliot, Mcandrews. I was only impressed with McAndrews and Rassman but I was also wary of Rassman's 'mill' procedure. (I've since changed my mind a bit on him after more reading here.) I decided at the time to wait a while and continue Propecia and Minoxidil.

 

I'm finally ready and have decided this summer is the time. I'm glad I found this amazing forum. The firsthand accounts and photos are very helpful. I've done tons of research over the years and recently (although it feels like it never ends) and I feel like I have a really good grasp on what I want and what is attainable.

 

I'm meeting with Dr. Siporin this week and will do more research on Shapiro (I'm not afraid to get on a plane here even if I'm surrounded with good surgeons.) I'm also going back to NHI (Rassman) to meet with Dr. Pak and attend an 'open house'. I'm still strongly leaning toward McAndrews but I can't seem to find anyone on these forums who had an HT with him, (I will eventually ask him for a first hand referral I guess) Price is important of course but I'm willing to spend whatever it takes to get it done right. I've read way too many horror stories here and elsewhere to skimp.

 

I know I'm not giving you all the details and I'm missing a lot of info but I will post more as I go. I'll also attempt to add some pics of me.

 

I'm a class 4 (I think)

[TheEmperor]

You'll need 4000+ grafts. Pick a clinic that consitently does large sessions. Its no guarantee you wont have to go back a second time, but you look like you may be able to get it done in one procedure with enough grafts.

 

I dont think any of the surgeons you mentioned are in the elite group that are consistently doing 4000+ grafts. Look into H&W, Feller, Shapiro.

[HK500]

I cannot tell much about your hair from your single picture. Since you have spent time on this Forum you already know the VERY general rule of thumb is 1K grafts per Norwood. I am not familiar with Dr McAndrews but I would love to hear more about him, I ran a search and read that in March 07 Pat posted that Dr McAndrews refused to allow him in his clinic for an evaluation, IMHO that's not a good sign. Accountability is of the highest order here and it can be scary if you cannot show consistent results.

I had my first HT with Dr Straub and would not recommend him, BTW he is no longer on our recommended list, I think he is just ok and we have many better choices these days. Dr Rassman is always a great choice but he is very expensive, I decided to to go with Dr Siporin and I am very happy I did. Let us know what you decide to do, we have very few approved Dr's in the LA area now and your input and experience are important to this community.

[its752]

La La Land Hair, If you really want an excellent result from your transplant, stick with the top 5!!!! The road has been paved already by other members having work done by them, and they are surprisingly more reasonable in price! The worst hair transplant doctors have the nicest offices and staff but don't even compare in skill to the top 5! A clinic I chose paid me to go there and the whole procedure ended up costing me less than staying in my area plus I got a vacation to boot.

[La La Land Hair]

Thanks all,

 

its752: Are you in southern CA? Who did you end up going with? Do you have a blog/pics/etc. I'd love more info. Also what do you mean by "top 5"? Who are they, I only saw the list of "Coalition Surgeons" here.

 

HK500- I think McAndrews would allow him if the patient allowed it, he's just all about privacy. If I went with him I would definitely bring that up and see if Pat could come in at that point. After meeting with him and several phone calls I've been very impressed with his attention to detail and his level of communication. I've found all of methods seem to live up to coalition standards, I'd just like to see more documentation in the way of patient blogs and firsthand accounts on the web. Plus he's steep, but this is not a thing to be penny wise on.

 

I will post my "before pictures" shortly so you can get a better look at my noggin.

 

I'm very interested in Shapiro and Reed. I'll continue my in depth research and ask for online consults with them too.

 

Thanks for all your help guys.

[HK500]

You are definitely going about this the right way, taking your time and doing all the tedious research will pay off and you will feel great about your final decision. That's exactly how I did it for my second HT and I was very happy with my decision, I posted my comments after all the Dr consults which were conducted online, by phone or in person. Let us know how you come to your final choice and your impressions and the differences you observed between the surgeons. Every Dr has a different approach and it's a great way to learn more, I hope you'll enjoy this exciting time.

[La La Land Hair]

I posted a bunch of before pics. They're on my 'blog'.

[HK500]

Can you post a link to your blog?

[La La Land Hair]

It's next to my name. How do you add it to your signature?

[La La Land Hair]

I think I figured it out...

[HK500]

I checked your blog, Toppik really adds a lot of density it's pretty amazing, I bought some like a year and a half ago but I never used it much because I was not able to make it look natural even with the airbrush applicator, I guess I need practice.

 

I agree with you on Norwood 4, if you are willing to prioritize on the frontal and temple areas you could get nice density out of 3500 FU or maybe even only 3000 depending how greedy you are (I would go with 3500).

It looks like you manage well the coverage on your crown with the way you style your hair, so you may not want to use too much of your available donor hair in the crown area.

IMO density in the front and temple area is where you get by far the most bang for your buck, appearance, perception/illusion is what's it's about.

 

In an ideal situation and speaking from experience, I'd try to stay ahead of future hair loss and attempt to be done for life with only 1 HT. I know it's VERY difficult to achieve this but if you could get as close as possible to being satisfied with one... Wow!!!

 

I know you did not ask for advice on your hair but only on Dr's and I would be curious to know what the different Dr's you have talked to or met with have recommended so far.

 

Please allow me to express what I think would be the best case scenario if I were you. Assuming you have good/average donor supply, 3500 FU in the front/temple areas for good density (better density seems to be the #1 minor complaint in most SUCCESSFUL HT's) and 800 to 1200 in the crown area depending on how much coverage you want up there since you already do a nice job covering up the area.

[beachair]

Stay away from Straub! He was one of the advocates of the plug graft method, and made promise he couldn't keep. He came out of the Bosley school, followed the same "get them in the chair" philosophy, and never delivered. Take it from my personal experience.

HK500 and I had very good results with Dr. Siporin. He is ethical, honest, and an excellent surgeon. What the hell; the consultation is free!

bb

[La La Land Hair]

Beachchair!

 

Could you post some pics and more info about your experiences (perhaps create a blog?) I'd love to see any pics you have and read your experiences with him.

 

Thanks

[HK500]

La La Land,

Just checking in to get your feedback on your recent Dr consultations.

[La La Land Hair]

I've since met with and/or had phone consults with a wide array of doctors (total of 9!)

 

Many great doc's but I had to narrow it down. I feel I've got that list down to 3 great ones. Reed, Shapiro and Epstein. I'm leaning toward Shapiro but I'm waiting to speak in person with a few people and see more pics (they're still updating their 8 year old website...)

 

Please try to keep comments tactful. If you want you can email me personally.

 

Getting excited...

[HK500]

9 consults, that's impressive!! You are making an excellent case for HT candidates and their decision making process. I would love to hear about how you perceived the differences to be between the Dr's.

[flyby]

Hi La La!

 

With that many consultations I'm sure you've become quite educated. Dr. Shapiro is one of the best so you'de definitely be in great hands with him. Have you already consulted with Hasson & Wong? With your amount of loss I think it's going to take Shapiro at least 2 sessions to get you where you want to be whereas Hasson may be able to get you there in 1 with their ability to consistently perform 4000+ (obviously depending on the individual patients characteristics).

 

Best of luck to you!

[dakota3]

ts752: Are you in southern CA? Who did you end up going with? Do you have a blog/pics/etc. I'd love more info. Also what do you mean by "top 5"? Who are they, I only saw the list of "Coalition Surgeons" here

 

Lalaland,

The "Top 5" is a thread that discusses whom the top 5 doc's are in people's opinion. Ironically the same names appears in the top 5! H&W, Shapiro, Alexander, Rahal, Feller, Cooley, T&D, are all names that appear on most people's thread, but the key is to remember that all Do'c on this forum all provide high quality HT's. Do a search w/ your key words being "top 5" and you should see quite a few comments regarding this thread. Hope this helps!

[La La Land Hair]

I haven't, but they also seem great. My issue is I cxannot have my head shaved for the surgery and need to maintain my look as much as possible. Because huge sessions like that tend to need shaving and also create more tenegin stage 'shock loss' I couldn't hang with it. SO I'll probably need a second at some point, maybe not. Maybe they'll have the whole cloning thing out by then!

[HK500]

I can relate to not wanting to shave your hair, I insisted to keep my hair long for my 2 HT, I believe it does make it more difficult for the surgeon and might limit the size of the session but it is worth it to me to remain undetected.

[hairthere]

la la land, you should also look at dr. alexander in arizona. he has tons of results from guys who didn't shave their heads and gets fantastic results. very natural. he also does mature hairlines which i think would work great in your case. if you go to hlh he has a bunch of results posted there too. best of luck!

[flyby]

Hi La La,

 

Your answers as to not choosing to do a mega session with H&W are dead on. I also did not want to and could not shave down due to work reasons. Since that is your case as well then you'll be able to accomplish an incredible complete (crown and all) results in probably 2 sessions of about 2800 or so. Most surgeons who don't require shave down won't do anything above 3000 in one session due to time constraints. Not sure what your preferrences are for your hairline but if you're not looking to lower it too much your post op concealing efforts will be alot easier. Especially with your Toppik artistry .

 

For your case Dr. Shapiro would be an excellent choice. As hairthere said Dr. Alexander also does amazing work and does not require shave down. With the two of them it's like comparing a BMW to a Mercedes. Both are awesome it just depends on your individual preference and who you gel best with. I had my procedure with Dr. Alexander on 12/5/07 2739 grafts and I've been extremely pleased so far. I had my procedure on a Wed, Stayed in Scottsdale AZ til Friday and was back at work on Monday. Nobody ever knew I had the procedure done.

[La La Land Hair]

The reasons I'm not going to shave this area are this. I'd keep 85-95% of what I have now in that area intact without shaving. You will see the little hairs form the transplant behind these for the first month but with Toppik it can be hidden (for the most part.) Then from 1-2 months I'll look much like I did before surgery. After that the hairs grow in randomly at a gradual rate.

 

On the other hand- if I shave all of the hairs I have in the front area now it will take 3-4 months for them to grow back to my current state. (by then the others will be outpacing them.) The reason for this is that they are mostly miniaturized or in some state of miniaturization. They grow much slower and are in a state of telegin much longer.

 

So I don't think it will be as obvious as if I shaved the recipient area. You can see what I'm referring to on many of the blogs (various doctors) I'll see if I can post some.

[La La Land Hair]

don't know if this link will work but here's a guy with similar hair and exactly what I'm talking about. There are many more around this website:

http://www.hairtransplantnetwork.com/blog/home-page.asp?WebID=312