best doctors for "repair" cases ???

[ThisOlHead]

After seven strip procedures in the 90’s, my head needs work in just about every “repair” catagory. Hairline is still somewhat “dolls head” looking. Donor scar has very little hair in and around it. A gap has opened up at the “part” between grafted and native hair. Crown is bald (which isn’t actually much concern to me), with a very pluggy looking transition to the grafted area in front of it.

 

Like so many people in similar situations, my donor supply and laxity is likely very limited, so I may have very limited options at getting this right ... so the doctor should be very good with this type of work.

 

It would be nice to stay in California for this, but I would definitely travel if that was needed for a top “repair” doc.

[Sparky]

Dr Umar is in LA, and i've seen some pretty amazing repair jobs from him.

[ThisOlHead]

Thanks Sparky

 

I’ve been researching heavily into Dr. Umar, although at this point I have to find out how much scalp donor I have left, if any. Unfortunately, BHT (which he seems to specialize in) might not be a good option for me because of type and quantity available.

 

Instead, a lot of what I have done might be along the lines of removing large grafts and re-using them as FUs. I see a lot of this type of work demonstrated on Dr. Shapiro’s and Dr. Rassman’s sites as some examples.

[Blake Bloxham]

ThisOlHead,

 

Thank you for sharing your information. First, you may want to look into fully utilizing these forums by creating and updating a hair loss blog and social profile. Sharing your experience and adding some photographs may allow other members to help more efficiently!

 

Second, it's difficult to state the necessity of Body Hair Transplantation (BHT) without analyzing your donor region. Like you said, after 7 strip procedures, your donor area may be fairly depleted, but a world-class hair transplant surgeon may still be able to harvest a significant number of follicular unit grafts (either by Follicular Unit Extraction -FUE, or by extracting what's left and revising some scars through Follicular Unit Transplantation - FUT). Currently, follicular units harvested from the universal safe zone are the "gold standard," and would most likely be used before body hair extractions.

 

Third, if you are looking to stay local, here is a list of recommended physicians in California. However, as you previously stated, traveling to see a world-class physician, especially for a repair, is definitely worth while. Here are some examples of repair cases from Dr Shapiro, and some information from Dr Rassman.

 

Fourth, you may find some intriguing corrective examples and further information by using the forum search function.

 

I hope this helps! Please feel free to ask any further questions. Good luck!

[Coligion]

I would also look into Hasson and Wong. They have provided the forum a good number of repair cases. They are located in Canada, but never let distance get in the way of a decision like this.

Edited May 18, 2010 by Coligion

[Bachstrad]

Im seeing Dr Beehner next month (volcanic ash permitting) for a repair involving plug removal if that's any use to your info gathering but maybe not if you only had strip procedures.

[ccexxp1]

I've had remarkable success with Dr. Bernstein in NYC. He is a wizard for repairs...I couldn't be happier. If you search my screen name, check all my history...

[ThisOlHead]

ThisOlHead,

 

Thank you for sharing your information. First, you may want to look into fully utilizing these forums by creating and updating a hair loss blog and social profile. Sharing your experience and adding some photographs may allow other members to help more efficiently!

 

Second, it's difficult to state the necessity of Body Hair Transplantation (BHT) without analyzing your donor region. Like you said, after 7 strip procedures, your donor area may be fairly depleted, but a world-class hair transplant surgeon may still be able to harvest a significant number of follicular unit grafts (either by Follicular Unit Extraction -FUE, or by extracting what's left and revising some scars through Follicular Unit Transplantation - FUT). Currently, follicular units harvested from the universal safe zone are the "gold standard," and would most likely be used before body hair extractions.

 

Third, if you are looking to stay local, here is a list of recommended physicians in California. However, as you previously stated, traveling to see a world-class physician, especially for a repair, is definitely worth while. Here are some examples of repair cases from Dr Shapiro, and some information from Dr Rassman.

 

Fourth, you may find some intriguing corrective examples and further information by using the forum search function.

 

I hope this helps! Please feel free to ask any further questions. Good luck!

 

Thanks Future_HT_Doc,

 

I have started a website for my story now.

http://www.hairtransplantnetwork.com/blog/home-page.asp?WebID=1688

This was something I wanted to do so that others might benefit as I did from reading the story's of other hair loss / transplant patients.

 

The repair info that Drs. Shapiro & Rassman show was definitely something I looked at in detail, particularly the removal and re-use of old, large grafts. I was surprised then to consult with a couple of doctors recently who both said they do not remove large grafts unless they are right at the hairline or below it. I guess that simplifies my case, though I can't say I’m thrilled at the idea of keeping mis-angled grafts. What they recommended was placing many FUs in front of and around the old larger grafts.

 

On the up side, I was told I still have 1,500 or more normal donor FUs available.

Edited May 24, 2010 by ThisOlHead
clarification

[ThisOlHead]

Thanks everyone; excellent suggestions.

 

ccexxp1,

I looked at Dr. Bernstein’s info a lot, as well as some of your history. He really is heavily into repairs, and great results too. It looks like more often he (and other docs) will use camouflage rather than excision & re-use of older grafts, and so I wonder why in your case he was more aggressive? And I’m not questioning the approach ... just curious what tips things one direction vs. another.

 

For my case, it looks like the limited donor supply is the main limiting factor in the decision. I’m gathering that the excision & re-use of older grafts results in more loss than a standard FUT session. The opinion I’ve heard most recently is that possibly just a small number of the pluggy grafts on top of my head would be revised.

 

Bachstrad,

Definitely, share with us details of your situation. Even if not many of mine get revised, others may benefit. I hear there are a lot of repair cases these days, but more often the blogs I see are starting from virgin scalp, so I think stories like ours are beneficial.

[ccexxp1]

All I know is how happy I am with the progress. Further, I'm not a Dr. or anything at all in the medical field, so, please don't take any medical advice from me! I'm just way pleased with Dr. Bernstein's work over the past 2.5 years...he's superseded any of my expectations...in all respects.