Dr. Pistone

[willjayna]

I have already been in for my consultation and before I schedule my surgery and put 1/2 down 3250. I need to know what the reviews are for this surgeon.

 

I was provided with a list of patients who had surgery with him and I do intend on calling some of them but before I do I wanted to get an idea of what other people think of his reputation and his work.

 

Thanks in advance

Will

[Blake Bloxham]

Will,

 

I've had a few people ask questions regarding Dr. Pistone on this site, but I have personally never heard anything about his work (positive or negative). My suggestion would be to use the search function and further research Dr. Pistone. Additionally, you may want to consider consulting with several other physicians before undergoing surgery. Here is a list of our recommended surgeons in New Jersey (which, to my knowledge, is where Dr. Pistone operates). I hope this helps!

[frickster]

Had my first HT surgery with Dr. Pistone on 08/26/10. Went very well. He knows what he's doing and I think the key besides his skill and artistry is the size and density of your FUT donor area. I was told I have a very high density donor area and thick hair consistency which means a better result on the first surgery and probably less surgeries in the end analysis. Whichever surgeon you choose, try and have them give you a thorough analysis of your donor area. It will definitely give you a more realistic goal and expectation when and if you start this process. Hope this helps.

[JoeKid0000]

Why did you put money down without doing thorough research first? Even if Pistone is great (I don't know anything about him) it is wise to see what experiences people have had with him.

[Cuervo]

As a quick reply to above, you need to go in there and know everything. They will say anything - lies or not - and you have no idea if they're truthful! Get a camera, zoom in on your scalp, measure your own density. OR go to 2-3 different consultations (Bosley is good for this) get a picture of your scalp: right there on the screen when they use the camera whip out your smartphone and snap a pic! This way you'll have evidence of what your density is and you don't even have to invest in a microscope camera. You should use a little ikea-type measuring tape to have a reference. Key point, don't ever say, "I was told I had so and so density" you need to know this stuff BEFORE going in to the guy who's doing the work. More power for you - or you'll get rammed. So, walk in, "hey, I know I have about 20-30 grafts per sq cm presently in my 150 sq cm of key areas over my scalp and I believe my donor density is - actually, can you tell me what my donor density is, please?" And make sure the number meshes with your number, Have more info, be less ignorant and you will reign supreme. Chances are, you will leave some practices. Background and review on Pistone:

 

Started losing early around 21. Went in at around 34 to see Pistone - do not recommend which is why I'm creating this account. I learned of his tactics AFTER the procedure (of course) because you see the results. Who CARES of the courtesy of the staff, how polite the guy is, where he went to medical school - if the results blow, then it was not worth it.

 

Basically, his practice committed FIVE TREMENDOUS no-nos of hair transplantation which most people simply do not understand or appreciate.

 

1) he used larger grafts (micro-minis) even though he was supposed to be a FUT guy. How do I know? Well, I have access to a camera to see the head and you can see larger grafts! I went to see another doc (Brandon Ross) who said I had larger grafts like mico-minis which is not really the standard nowadays. What this means is his staff spent LESS time cutting the strip and he spent less time making incisions (for placement of the graft) because there were less grafts because they were bigger. So, less work, but more or equal money. So, he used micro minis which I did not want.

 

Here's how you thwart that. If you must use Pistone (don't recommend) go in there with a camera and a pic of your scalp and you know how many follicles you have per sq cm, etc. Something like a smartphone would be fine, I think. Make it clear YOU ARE EDUCATED. Make it clear you have a friend, Rocko, who's a surgeon and he's going to look at the incisions later on to make sure they're single follicular units. "Hey, doc, how many grafts do you think we'll get in here because my friend works over at CHOP and she's a surgeon. She says she'll stop by in a few days and she says she'll count the grafts to see how many I got...and can tell if there's multiple follicles per graft." YOU SAY THIS and YOU WILL IMMEDIATELY GET RESPECT because you will cease being an idiotic patient like this guy thinks you are. You will cease being an ATM machine for this guy and he will probably feel the pressure to do the right thing: single follicular units. (OF COURSE he will say this is what he does, BUT it's NOT!)

 

2) he used staples!!! Unbelievable. I thought it was pretty clear that with a cosmetic procedure you would never use staples - wow! so much for intuition. But nope, this guy used staples. Even sent me home with a staple removal kit!! Staples result in LARGE SCARS. And I have a massive one. The next transplant guy was like, "Whoah!! Who did THIS??" God forbid, you use a few minutes extra to suture the inside and the outside. God forbid!! GO MONEY. So, tell the guy: "I want to make sure you do not use staples at this reputable practice because that's for butchers." They'll thread you - if they say they will use staples, run!!

 

3) He uses techs to insert the hairs (or is simply incompetent)!!! Lord, there's a few things a hair transplant practice must do well: cut the graft into follicular units, poke the little holes, and then insert the grafts into the little holes. Who cares about buying you lunch?? When I went to the next guy Brandon Ross, he showed me many grafts right at the hairline!! that were "indented" or ingrown meaning they were placed in such a way that they were BELOW the surface of the skin. This results in a graft that looks pretty bad. It should be even with the skin so it looks natural. So, either Pistone was DRUNK, HIGH, or he used incompetent techs to do this and went off for a smoke. I was OUT like a light so I didn't see who inserted the grafts. ASK, "hey doc, who does the actual insertions of the grafts because I understand that constitutes the practice of medicine and I want to make sure it's an MD who does this not a tech..." (I understand inserting grafts is a skill that techs can do in some states so maybe my complaint can be watered down to "I had inferior techs insert my grafts...")

 

4) He does not do his own consults. I know this is common - but in general, see the doc who is going to do you - if you get a tech/some other person, this is points off for that doc.

 

5) LIED about the graft numbers: this is related to number 1 above. Of course, if they do a micromini graft in their head they might think there's like .... 4 follicular units so they might equate that to four grafts even though its ONE graft and tell you it's FOUR. This is a lie. I had them counted by three different people: 789, 817, and 830. He said I had over 1500 grafts!! BULL! And yes, I paid for more grafts. So, would you go to this guy?

 

I'm not spending much time praising Brandon Ross in La Jolla, but I should: he is a cool un-cocky guy who sits with you for the consults. He gives you what you ask for. He calculates accordingly. He doesn't do larger micominis and he uses stitches! THIS should be the gold standard. Pistone does not meet this so I cannot recommend him. Brandon Ross charges a flat rate of $3 per graft and there's no room to cheat because whatever strip you get will get cut down to whatever native number of follicular units there are. You get billed for what's harvested and he has natural results - my result looks so much nicer AFTER Ross went in and fixed up my ingrown hairs that Pistone did. Go Ross, Boo Pistone.