Opinion on H&W vs Shapiro Med..

[rocketmas]

I am a Norwood 3A. I have met many doctors

and almost all have told me 1500-2000 grafts

are required in the frontal and hairline region.

Hairline reconstruction is requied.

 

I am struggling on deciding between H&W and

Shapiro Med group. Dr. Shapiro is only

available in February. Matt is able to

get me in with Dr. Charles or Dr. Keene sooner.

I prefer going in for treatment in the next

2 weeks because of the coming holidays,

but do want to make the best decision for

my hair and go to the best.

 

My questions :

 

1.) Given my needs - max 2000 grafts frontal and hairline who is a better doctor between Dr. Hasson and Dr. Wong .

 

I know that this is a tough one to answer but

your opinion is valuable for me.

 

2.) At The Shapiro Clinic, are Dr. Charles and

Dr. Keene almost as good as Dr. Shapiro ? Sorry, not "almost" but are they as good?

 

Does anybody see compelling reasons for me to

wait for my appointment with Dr. Shapiro?

 

I am in San Jose so I will have to fly no matter

whom I decide to go with.

 

I have read this board extensively and most

people seem to think H&W is the best?

 

Thanks, folks,

Sean

[rocketmas]

I am a Norwood 3A. I have met many doctors

and almost all have told me 1500-2000 grafts

are required in the frontal and hairline region.

Hairline reconstruction is requied.

 

I am struggling on deciding between H&W and

Shapiro Med group. Dr. Shapiro is only

available in February. Matt is able to

get me in with Dr. Charles or Dr. Keene sooner.

I prefer going in for treatment in the next

2 weeks because of the coming holidays,

but do want to make the best decision for

my hair and go to the best.

 

My questions :

 

1.) Given my needs - max 2000 grafts frontal and hairline who is a better doctor between Dr. Hasson and Dr. Wong .

 

I know that this is a tough one to answer but

your opinion is valuable for me.

 

2.) At The Shapiro Clinic, are Dr. Charles and

Dr. Keene almost as good as Dr. Shapiro ? Sorry, not "almost" but are they as good?

 

Does anybody see compelling reasons for me to

wait for my appointment with Dr. Shapiro?

 

I am in San Jose so I will have to fly no matter

whom I decide to go with.

 

I have read this board extensively and most

people seem to think H&W is the best?

 

Thanks, folks,

Sean

[Jotronic]

Being a part of the H&W team I have no problem at all recommending Dr. Shapiro. I think he is an excellent doctor and if you choose him over us you'll be sure to have a great experience and result.

 

What is it exactly that you are looking for in an HT? Are you looking for density? Coverage? Both? Have you sent us your information or spoken with Mike, Doug, Christina or myself?

 

Peace,

Joe Tillman

aka, Jotronic

Hasson & Wong

 

 

Carpe Capillus!!

www.HassonandWong.com

www.Jotowen.com

1.800.859.2266

All statements and opinions that I share are my own and are not necessarily shared by H&W. I am not a doctor so if your head falls off it's not my fault. Go VOLS!!

[Mr T]

I don't think you can go wrong with any of the doctors you mentioned. I am a happy H&W patient, but also think highly of SMG.

 

Will each of them produce an equivalent result? No, but you will never know what might have resulted if you used another doctor, so why worry about that.

 

Mr. T.

[otto]

I am a Norwood 3A. I have met many doctors

and almost all have told me 1500-2000 grafts

are required in the frontal and hairline region.

Hairline reconstruction is requied.

 

I am struggling on deciding between H&W and

Shapiro Med group. Dr. Shapiro is only

available in February. Matt is able to

get me in with Dr. Charles or Dr. Keene sooner.

I prefer going in for treatment in the next

2 weeks because of the coming holidays,

but do want to make the best decision for

my hair and go to the best.

 

My questions :

 

1.) Given my needs - max 2000 grafts frontal and hairline who is a better doctor between Dr. Hasson and Dr. Wong .

 

I know that this is a tough one to answer but

your opinion is valuable for me.

 

2.) At The Shapiro Clinic, are Dr. Charles and

Dr. Keene almost as good as Dr. Shapiro ? Sorry, not "almost" but are they as good?

 

Does anybody see compelling reasons for me to

wait for my appointment with Dr. Shapiro?

 

I am in San Jose so I will have to fly no matter

whom I decide to go with.

 

I have read this board extensively and most

people seem to think H&W is the best?

 

Thanks, folks,

Sean

[FUTzyhead]

I'm all over Hasson and Wong- But I also know that Shapiro does great work. I'd choose Shapiro over the rest of his group- But that's just my opinion...

 

Good luck!

[G Dominic Olsen]

You may want to consider Doctors Seager and Simmons from the Seager Hair Transplant Centre. They did an excellent of hair transplant for me and I was balding at the time and not yet completely bald on top. That was 18 months ago and the result looks as great now as it did when it was first fully grown in.

[rocketmas]

Thanks guys.

 

Based on many inputs I have received I have

pretty much decided to go with Dr. Shapiro

himself or Dr. Hasson. And I am willing

to wait for mu turn with either doctors

(Small price !)

 

The decision between the two is going to

be difficult and I will base it on feedback

from the esteemed members, references and

speaking to the doctors themselves on the

following specifics :

 

1.) The doctors opinion on what they will do for me, in terms of hairline and frontal density.

Dr. Shapiro has some good white papers on hairline

work and reconstruction.

 

2.) The general feedback I get on hairline and

frontal work skills of both these doctors.

 

No more consideration of other doctors.

 

Any feedback is appreciated.

-Sean

[bverotti]

If you have a'virgin' head I would also look into FUE. It is more expensive but it will not leave you any visible scarring, even with a very short haircut. Besides that the healing process is much faster, no stitches or staples are used.

Although some may still disagree, FUE is a proven technique and gives the same end results.

Think about it !

[C. Smith]

I think you are making a wise decision to wait for the doctor who you feel best suits your needs. I did the same and never have regretted it. Sure we would all like to get started as soon as possible once we have made the decision to actually do it. But this is such a very important thing that we are to live with the rest of our lives. It just makes good sense to wait that little extra to get the best.

 

One thing you can do is to ask Matt at Shapiro, or Jo at H&W, whichever you choose, to let you know about a cancellation which may occur. That is what I did and it actually worked out great. Got me in much sooner than I otherwise would have. I would likely do the same for my third, if and when I choose to do it.

[Guest]

Dr. Keene is as good as any of the other surgeons you named (and I'm sure there are others who are as good). Using 1300 grafts in my surgery, Dr. Keene did an excellent job of covering/filling-in an inadequate and unnatural-looking previous surgery. I have relatively course, wavy dark hair which is excellent for achieving coverage, but it poses some challenges to the creation of a soft, natural-looking hairline. At 10 months post op, I couldn't be more pleased with my results.

 

The surgery itself went very smoothly. Dr. Keene was very hands-on throughout the procedure. She had an incredibly deft touch with a scalpel and showed extraordinary focus and stamina throughout my 6 hour surgery.

 

In addition to her skill as a surgeon, I was impressed with Dr. Keene's integrity. She began her medical career as a surgeon. Although she considered hair restoration work earlier in her career, she waited until she saw evidence that the techniques had evolved sufficiently to offer consistently high quality, natural-looking results to her patients. When she made the transition into hair restoration surgery, she associated with Dr. Shapiro who is widely regarded as one of the best in the field.

 

Without question, I'll return to Dr. Keene if I need any additional work in the future.

 

My 8 month photos are posted and I've continued to progress since then. I'll be posting photos again when I reach the 1 year mark.

 

My Surgery With Dr. Sharon Keene

 

[luberta]

I had my procedoue (1) year ago and I'm very happy that I chose Dr. Charles. The procedure went great Dr. Charles and his staff were grest and I'm planning a second procedure in the very near future with him.

 

luberta

[Guest]

rocketmas,

 

As of today, 11 weeks post-op for me with Dr. Hasson. The entire experience was great. Including recovery. Even with an extremely tight scalp Dr. Hasson managed to close my donor area and leave a very minimal scar. I don't know if it is his technique or the fact that they use staples, but I could not be more pleased with it. I was in your same situation. Shapiro and H&W were my final two choices as well. I thought there abilities were equal in recreating a natural hairline. The deciding factor for me was the donor scar. Because, there will be a donor scar and it is there for life. When I saw Futzy's and Joe's scar I was convinced. Maybe I didn't do enough research, and that may be true, but I really didn't see enough documentation from other doctors depicting former patients donor scars.

 

I'm not trying to sell you on H&W I just want to make sure you covered all the bases. I have not had a procedure with Shapiro so I really can not comment on his work. Other than the fact that I think he is one of the top HT surgeons.

 

Good luck in your decision,

 

Cam

[tkotko]

Rocketmas - I think with the choices you've narrowed down to you've definitely given yourself the best odds at having good results. Personally I wanted Dr. Shapiro but had to wait longer, eventually went with Dr. Charles. I'm 7 mos out and very happy with the results to date. Will post some pics shortly, possibly this weekend if I get the time. The scarring in the back was a big concern going in, and Dr. Charles assured me it's a big concern with him and I'm happy with that results as well. Just wanted to throw that in there just in case you haven't completely eliminated Dr. Charles. Probably all the docs in SMG are top notch, same for H&W. BTW, I had 1900 FUs, frontal area, similar to what you're looking at. Good luck.

[newby]

Thanks guys.

 

Based on many inputs I have received I have

pretty much decided to go with Dr. Shapiro

himself or Dr. Hasson. And I am willing

to wait for mu turn with either doctors

(Small price !)

 

The decision between the two is going to

be difficult and I will base it on feedback

from the esteemed members, references and

speaking to the doctors themselves on the

following specifics :

 

1.) The doctors opinion on what they will do for me, in terms of hairline and frontal density.

Dr. Shapiro has some good white papers on hairline

work and reconstruction.

 

2.) The general feedback I get on hairline and

frontal work skills of both these doctors.

 

No more consideration of other doctors.

 

Any feedback is appreciated.

-Sean

[newby]

Thanks guys.

 

Based on many inputs I have received I have

pretty much decided to go with Dr. Shapiro

himself or Dr. Hasson. And I am willing

to wait for mu turn with either doctors

(Small price !)

 

The decision between the two is going to

be difficult and I will base it on feedback

from the esteemed members, references and

speaking to the doctors themselves on the

following specifics :

 

1.) The doctors opinion on what they will do for me, in terms of hairline and frontal density.

Dr. Shapiro has some good white papers on hairline

work and reconstruction.

 

2.) The general feedback I get on hairline and

frontal work skills of both these doctors.

 

No more consideration of other doctors.

 

Any feedback is appreciated.

-Sean

 

I'm trying to make the same kind of decision. What made you go with Hasson?

[Ken belanger]

You said any Feedback is appreciated so....

 

My feedback is don't do it. If you want more of this opinion, you can e-mail me at hair@ByteShark.com.**

 

But, it looks like you will anyway.

 

You have choosen the best good luck.

 

**My opinion is based on my personal experience with HT, and has nothing to do with any wonder drugs I may be using.++++

 

++++ Feel free to e-mail at hair@ByteShark.com if you also want my opinion on "any wonder drugs" I may be using.

 

[This message was edited by Ken belanger on December 04, 2003 at 06:04 PM.]

[hairbgoin]

Ken,

 

I think it would be nice to share with the board, since we can discuss your findings in an open forum...which will be more valuable to a person like myself who has never had a transplant, nor knows everything there is to know to make a sound judgment based on one person's viewpoints

[Ken belanger]

O.K. here is my opinion.

 

But remember, I like coming here. This is the only forum that I do my best not offend others.

 

My opinion may offed others sorry

 

Here goes:

 

------------------------------

 

Knowone knows how much hair you will lose in the end.

 

The HT won't stop your hairloss and may accelerate it.

 

Your HT will take about a year or two to look O.K. During that time you will still lose hair.

 

As you continue to bald, the hair on your sides get's thinner, this means your HT hair will also get thinner.

 

As you continue to lose hair, 10 years from now, you will look a lot worse then when you started, and you will have no donor hair left. This assumes the HT doc does a good job.

 

That's the gamble a lot of guy lose. In most cases they end up worse off then when they started.

 

That's it.

[baldbozo]

I gotta tell Ken makes very good Points. I agree with most of what he says. I had transplants at a young age in 1989. "one round" fortunately i did not go back for more back then, or id very difficult to have been repaired now & look half way decent. And being repaired now for many guys is just getting to a point of "looking normal" again.

 

But even the transplanted hairs do thin out over time as well some of the transplants you get today if you are young and still balding.

 

Your side and back of your head hairs thin out too. Propecia can help, but even then alot of guys have switched to trying avodart because propecia lost its effectiveness.

 

I really think transplants are only good for significant baldness to just have some hair on top and a very conservative/recessed hairline can work ok. For norwood 5's and 6's... and some 4's.

 

Beyond that, if your just filling in the front, and you are relatively young, you're going to play a lifelong catchup game and gamble, you cant win with transplants.

 

or hopefully cloning/hair multiplication can be a viable option in the next few years as well.

[Jotronic]

A lot of what Ken says has to do with surgery centers that may be out of date or lack proper experience in what they are doing. God knows I've been through the ringer myself as my first two procedures were four years after Ken's.

 

Let me address his points...

 

1.)Knowone knows how much hair you will lose in the end.

 

Not exactly to the hair but a lot of guys show a faint pattern of hairloss if they are doomed to loose it, especially in the crown area. A good doc will take this into account and convey this to the patient. The use of Propecia, which so far works great,(maintaining the hair), for most guys plays a part in this.

 

2.)The HT won't stop your hairloss and may accelerate it.

 

Again, a good doc will tell the patient that a HT is not a cure but a treatment. The patient will need to go on Propecia or face the fact that a second or third HT may be in the cards down the road. The key here is proper donor management.

 

3.) Your HT will take about a year or two to look O.K. During that time you will still lose hair.

 

A year or two? Highly doubtful. Most patients know within six months what is going to happen and between months six and eight they have a great overall idea of what the final product will look like. One year shows the basic end game of the HT development. As far as losing hair in the meantime, Propecia.

 

4.) As you continue to bald, the hair on your sides get's thinner, this means your HT hair will also get thinner.

 

So who's to say that the thinning won't look natural?

 

5.) As you continue to lose hair, 10 years from now, you will look a lot worse then when you started, and you will have no donor hair left. This assumes the HT doc does a good job.

 

Boy that's a blanket statement if I ever read one. How do you know he will need a HT in the next ten years to begin with? This was the case for me when I had my first two HTs eleven years ago but that was before hairloss drugs came out that actually work.

 

I basically think that while Ken's heart may be in the right place on this he is giving you a worst case scenario that may only pan out should you choose a subpar doc.

 

Continue your research and you most likely will make the right decision for you, which is what matters overall.

 

Peace,

Joe Tillman

aka, Jotronic

Hasson & Wong

 

 

Carpe Capillus!!

www.HassonandWong.com

www.Jotowen.com

1.800.859.2266

All statements and opinions that I share are my own and are not necessarily shared by H&W. I am not a doctor so if your head falls off it's not my fault. Go VOLS!!

[baldbozo]

Still jotronic you have to admit,

 

Everything that happened to Ken, for about 10 years or so, little less or more, Happened to you probably. (and many of us as well)

 

And you really dont know how you/the transplanted hair you had recently will look 10 years from now. (as neither do i).

 

However just a thinner look 10 years from now with fu's is defenitely more natural no matter what, so that point is well taken.

 

Do you have any patient photos of H&W from 1993 and how they look today, 10 years later? that would be interesting to see.

 

Chances are H&W were not doing 'all fu' back then, or maybe not as good as they do today, so in many cases Ken's theory might hold true at this point for many of his statements.

 

At this point id guess 99% of those patients who had work 10 years ago 1993/4 and before would probably semi-agree with many of Ken's points.

[Jotronic]

Don't think for a minute that I've forgotten what I went through. I make it a point to look at my website at least once a week just so that I don't forget what I used to look like and to remember that this is a slimey business.

 

No, I don't know what I'll look like in ten years but I do know that I will have the same hair on top of my head as I do now. If the hair diameter gets thinner then so be it. It will still look natural because I've got coverage in the areas that matter.

 

I wish you had asked about the ten years later issue a few days ago. A patient had come in from several years ago and he decided he wanted to get some crown work done. The crown was somewhat thin years ago but even today with the front and top done with mini/micros,( I was surprised how good it looked), he still looked natural. Same point in my case. When I first came to H&W in 2002 Dr. Wong camouflaged my old grafts in a way that once it grew out I would look like my crown was gone with a natural looking high but healthy hairline. Of course I wanted more later on but it wasn't out of necessity. It was out of narcissism.

 

I don't know where you can get a 99% figure and then say they'd "probably semi agree". Bottom line is this though; natural FU grafts will stand on their own be it from strip or FUE.

 

Peace,

Joe Tillman

aka, Jotronic

Hasson & Wong

 

 

Carpe Capillus!!

www.HassonandWong.com

www.Jotowen.com

1.800.859.2266

All statements and opinions that I share are my own and are not necessarily shared by H&W. I am not a doctor so if your head falls off it's not my fault. Go VOLS!!