Regular Member Sierra6 Posted August 14, 2009 Regular Member Share Posted August 14, 2009 Hi All, Following some online consultaions (e-mails, pictures and telephone calls) I am contenplating getting circa 3,000 BHT grafts. Has anyone received a BHT with either of these doctors? While are more than reputable in their own right I would welcome your views. BTW - I have little scalp donor hair so BHT is required. I appreciate the replies in Advance! Sierra! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member thanatopsis_awry Posted August 14, 2009 Senior Member Share Posted August 14, 2009 Are you positive that your legit donor is really unable to be harvested? FWIW, manymany times I have seen a doctor (or doctors) tell a patient his donor is poor -- if not inoperable -- and then they go and get a bajillion grafts. Maybe this would be the case with you, maybe not; but, I would certainly consult with a very wide range of physicians just to be sure on this, since it's such a critical decision. If BHT, as a last resort, was a route that I'd be going, Dr. Umar would probably be the only doc I'd go to. Out of Dr. True and Epstein, Dr. True has more experience and involvement in BHT from what I know. I also feel he is a superior clinic to Epstein. I would certainly consider Dr. True for BHT, and try to discover more. But the only doctor who seems to have truly devoted himself to this particular "craft" in a comprehensive way is Dr. Umar. And I certainly have reservations about him, nonetheless. ----------- *A Follicles Dying Wish To Clinics* 1 top-down, 1 portrait, 1 side-shot, 1 hairline....4 photos. No flash. Follicles have asked for centuries, in ten languages, as many times so as to confuse a mathematician. Enough is enough! Give me documentation or give me death! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member Franklin Posted August 15, 2009 Senior Member Share Posted August 15, 2009 Make sure you get a few cosultations before doing bht. It should be only used as a last resort. And make sure whatever doc that would be doing bht on you has a few patients to see in person. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill - Seemiller Posted August 16, 2009 Share Posted August 16, 2009 Sierra6, Have you had scalp hair transplant before? Otherwise, why do you think you have little scalp donor hair? BHT in my opinion, is better used as filler hair in between and around scalp hair. It's also less consistent with growth yield than scalp hair. The most important thing is that you are aware of the pros and cons beforehand and are making an informed decision. All the best, Bill Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member Sierra6 Posted August 16, 2009 Author Regular Member Share Posted August 16, 2009 Guys, Thanks for the replies. Some background first. I underwent 3 strip procedures in the UK in 2001/2002 and out of the 1,600 grafts implanted, less than 10% grew. This, without doubt was due to the negligence of the advice provided by the clinic. I had a 600 graft FUE grafts implanted 6 months ago. These are all growing ??“ and in fact there was no shock loss after the treatment! The doctor at the time said it was pretty close to the max he could take without exposing my strip scar. He felt that another 500+ could be taken and implanted in the strip scar and on the hairline at a later date. In any event, I have now contacted all the top doctors in the US - Umar, True, Epstein, Cole, Feller, Bernstein etc - and have sent them pictures of my hair. The general consensus is that another 600 to 1400 FUE could be extracted. 300 can be used to fill the scar can the rest on the hairline. Umar, True and Epstein will also do BHT. This is attractive because the BHT grafts can be used to fill the scar leaving all the Scalp FUE to complete the hairline and mid head section. BHT will be used for the crown also. In terms of growth rates, Umar and Epstein are suggesting in around 60%. However, True believes that he can identify good BHT from bad BHT once extracted and therefore will only implant the good BHT grafts. This, he tells me, can result in yields between 75% to 90%. Better still, True only charges for the implanted BHT.... By all accounts, True seems like an honest and caring physician (if not a little conservative). As such, I am likely to place some faith in him. I have my reservations about Umar. His work seems controversial and lacks documentation of results. In essence, I see that his mega procedures produce lesser results than small sessions - yet he suggested 6,000 grants to me (circa 4,500 - 5,000 BHT). I just don't get a good vibe from him. Epstein is up there with True (although 1$ per graft more expensive!). Has anyone any experience with him or any thoughts to share? One of the big problems with BHT, from what I can see, is the lack of patient involvement in forums like this. Some guys have posted pictures but them disappeared. It would really help if these people could step up. So if I go ahead, I will certainly consider breaking the mould and posting some pictures....for all the other poor souls. But I would welcome views on the above. Has anyone out there got BHT?? Especially with True or Epstein'? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member thanatopsis_awry Posted August 16, 2009 Senior Member Share Posted August 16, 2009 I would go with True > Epstein any day of the week. If those are the two whom you are deciding upon, I would go True all the way. However, if you are also looking to get traditional scalp hair taken, Dr. Feller is an exceedingly attractive option, and you'd have to weight the pros of that vs. not getting any BHT. (personally, I would have extremely low expectations for any BHT work). Honestly, I'm quite surprised Dr. True says he is able to get such high yield. I've never heard of yield that high for BHT. ----------- *A Follicles Dying Wish To Clinics* 1 top-down, 1 portrait, 1 side-shot, 1 hairline....4 photos. No flash. Follicles have asked for centuries, in ten languages, as many times so as to confuse a mathematician. Enough is enough! Give me documentation or give me death! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted August 16, 2009 Share Posted August 16, 2009 Sierra, You should be very careful.Go Feller he is a great doctor. I am having HT with Dr. Charles in Boca, thanks to this site and posts of Dr. Epstein's patients I was very skeptical to go to him. You should read Jose's story, this poor guy actually believed and trusted Dr. Epstein for a long time, he had various surgeries with him and things kept going wrong, Dr. Epstein even went ahead and performed a free one for restauration, and that didn't work either. Thae relationship you have with a doctor becomes very close and after Jose was decent and worried Dr. Epstein just blew him off, getting to the point of cruelty he told Jose that his behavior was unacceptable and that he will no longer take blame, seems like an irresponsable doctor to me and heartless, be safe and look around. I really don't know what has happenned to this d <pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre"> </pre> <pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre"> </pre> <pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre"> </pre> octor I met him in May 2009 and seemed like a happy caring guy. Guess he has been making wrong decisions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member Sierra6 Posted August 16, 2009 Author Regular Member Share Posted August 16, 2009 Thanks guys! To be honest, I do have some reservations about Epstein....my gut feeling is that there is something not quite right with his set up - maybe its the big sales effort. But True seems to be a straight down the middle old school doc....I think I will choose him ultimately... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member thanatopsis_awry Posted August 16, 2009 Senior Member Share Posted August 16, 2009 Sounds good. For real, if you/Dr. True can document your case it'd be a huge asset, and could help out a lotta people considering BHT! ----------- *A Follicles Dying Wish To Clinics* 1 top-down, 1 portrait, 1 side-shot, 1 hairline....4 photos. No flash. Follicles have asked for centuries, in ten languages, as many times so as to confuse a mathematician. Enough is enough! Give me documentation or give me death! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member wylie Posted August 18, 2009 Senior Member Share Posted August 18, 2009 I've consulted with Dr. True myself and have met him and Dr. Dorin. Dr. Dorin showed me pics. of one of his patients with extensive baldness that he did a BHT on. It has not grown in yet as its only 6 months but looked good and I would suggest you ask to check out this patients progress. I didnt see any specific pictures of Dr. True's BHT experience however, but he does have alot of experience and really seems to be someone you can trust and interested in his patients welfare. In my experiences of meeting with Dr. Umar never once did I feel one iota of trust after my conversation with him. Let me state emphatically that I am not saying he cannot be trusted, I'm saying in my own experience I never felt any bond of trust, nor did his interest in my personal goals or past experiences matter at all to him. Ultimately I never felt comfortable with either Dr. True's experience in BHT or the lack of connection I made with Dr. Umar. As far as BHT goes there have been some amazing results. The problem is the graft yield/survivability can be much lower and it boils down to personal involvement in the process. The less your physician is present, the worse your result is likely to be. I do think Dr. True is involved in all aspects of the process and would feel comfortable with him, but might have concerns over his actual experience with positive, documented results doing BHT. I'd ask to see results and meet his patients in person. Picture gallery's is where Dr. Umar shines, he's had amazing results but I've not seen enough patients other than his showcase ones. They seem to be a small percentage of his overall clientele. Whoever you choose, check closely their experience in performing BHT, their level of involvement in the process from start to finish, and also ask to meet patients of study closely their before/after pics. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member Sierra6 Posted August 21, 2009 Author Regular Member Share Posted August 21, 2009 Thanks All. I have booked in for 3000 grafts with True in September. I'll let all know how it goes! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member tremblant Posted March 16, 2010 Regular Member Share Posted March 16, 2010 How has your experience been? Any update?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member Sierra6 Posted March 18, 2010 Author Regular Member Share Posted March 18, 2010 Hi Tremblant, The results are not great at all so far...however, it appears that some of the hairs are now (6 months on) only beginning to break through the surface of my skin. I have created a blog so I can get some feed back and will post some pictures at the weekend...maybe I'm a 'slow-grower' (really hope I am!!!) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member Time to do something Posted March 21, 2010 Senior Member Share Posted March 21, 2010 I had two procedures with Dr. Epstein in Miami. The first produced almost nothing so he did a second one free. That too produced almost nothing. I went to several other coalition doctors to make sure my expectations weren't too high and that I didn't have some kind of scalp condition that would prevent me from obtaining satisfactory results. I was told I had no scalp condition and should have more hair for the amount transplanted. I made Dr. Epstein aware that I was not happy with the results and requested a partial refund to give him the benefit of the doubt since some of the hair surfaced. He said he did not know what I was basing the request for a refund on and denied it. I have since gone to Dr. Shapiro who preformed a procedure free of charge due to the mess I was left in. I am at month four after Dr. Shapiro's procedure and I am beginning to see results but of course it will be another eight months before I can say what the final outcome is. NW5 Dr. Epstein July 4, 2007 2520 grafts 471 one hair grafts 1540 two hair grafts 505 three hair grafts 5070 Total hair count Dr. Epstein August 4, 2008 2384 grafts 870 one hair grafts 1150 two hair grafts 364 three and four hair grafts 4262 Total hair count Dr. Ron Shapiro November 18, 2009 1896 grafts 760 one hair grafts 852 two hair grafts 288 three hair grafts 46 four hair grafts 3362 total hair count Dr. Ron Shapiro July 1, 2011 1191 grafts 447 one hair grafts 580 two hair grafts 150 three hair grafts 14 four hair grafts 2113 total hair count Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member Sierra6 Posted March 21, 2010 Author Regular Member Share Posted March 21, 2010 All, I've added some pictures....pre-op right up to 6 month post op (last week). I'm still disappointed with the results so far...although the BHT is starting to come through. To be fair, Dr True did say it would take a little longer for the BHT to come through compared to the normal donor hair. Any commments (words of encouragement) would be appreciated. http://www.hairtransplantnetwo...-page.asp?WebID=1621 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill - Seemiller Posted March 22, 2010 Share Posted March 22, 2010 Sierra6, Thanks for documenting your progress with us. You've selected a terrific doctor to perform your hair transplant. BHT in particular has been a hairy procedure (pun intended). Unfortunately, growth is relatively inconsistent however, it has proven to be successful in a select group of patients. Given the growth you've had so far at only 6 months, it seems that you are responding well to the treatment. Of course, you've had a good amount of scalp FUE too which could be what's coming in so far. Either way, be encouraged since you still have plenty of growth time left. I trust you expect that you won't have excellent density given the number of grafts transplanted over a large balding area. However, it should provide a nice covering and base for additional procedures if you choose to have them. I look forward to following your progress. Best wishes, Bill Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member Sierra6 Posted March 26, 2010 Author Regular Member Share Posted March 26, 2010 Billerous, Thanks for the encouragning reply. I plan on sitting tight for another few months. Hopefully the density will improve. Given that the BHT was centrally placed in the mid scalp....it should be easy to follow progress. Dr True didn't place any scalp hair in this area so it should be interesting to see how things work out. Hopefully, I'll achieve enough to allow me tidy things up nicely with another procedure. In the meantime, I'm going to find a hair thickening product and maybe try finesteride. Thanks Sierra6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member hairthere Posted March 26, 2010 Senior Member Share Posted March 26, 2010 Six months is quite early for any HT, but especially BHT. I actually think it's made a decent cosmetic difference for you so far. Good growing! I am the owner/operator of AHEAD INK a Scalp Micropigmentation Company in Fort Lee, New Jersey. www.aheadink.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member MikeTheDane Posted March 27, 2010 Senior Member Share Posted March 27, 2010 I agree. Too early for a BHT, but the results so far look pretty ok! A definite improvement. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 11/04-07 - 800-1600 ish grafts - danish clinic - poor results 12/02-08 - 2764 grafts - Dr. Devroye - good result but needs hairline density 03/12-10 - 1429 grafts - Dr. Mohmand - result pending Feel free to visit my picture thread My Hair Transplant Photos - Surgery with Dr. Devroye Young lads below 25 unite! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sneakyd007 Posted April 17, 2010 Share Posted April 17, 2010 sierra, how have the body hair donor sites healed in 6 months? any noticeable scarring? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Topcat611 Posted April 27, 2010 Share Posted April 27, 2010 Sierra, I think you have some decent growth. I do think that the scarring on your arm should be considered unacceptable. I am just guessing but it looks like the punch size might have been too big. I might catch some heat for this but I think a true master at fue develops a feel for it over years and this gives them the ability to use a smaller punch where required. Those not so skilled need to use a larger punch to extract a viable hair. Here is a link to my pictures. I was really worried about any scarring to both the face or body and this is why it took me 10 years to find the right doctor for me. http://tinyurl.com/y8m256z Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tsakalos Posted June 19, 2010 Share Posted June 19, 2010 hey mate how is this going ? looks like there is considerable difference. how do u feel about it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member Danielkiwi Posted June 19, 2010 Senior Member Share Posted June 19, 2010 yes..it would be really informative to get feedback on this from either Sierra6 or Dr. trues representative...A successful BHT from a reputable doctor could help answer a lot of questions Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member getitoverwith Posted June 20, 2010 Regular Member Share Posted June 20, 2010 Sierra, looks very good, congratulations ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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