Weird Consultation, really weird!

[losingslowly]

So, Ive been thinking about getting a small procedure done. I visited a surgeon by the name of Jeffrey Epstein in Coral Gables, Florida which is only about 30 minutes from where I live. I have been to 1 consult before with Alan Bauman. I must say it seemed like Bauman required a lot more information from me and gave me a recommendation NOT to do a procedure. His office and approach was very detailed and professional.

 

So, flip to my visit to Jeffrey Epstein. First, it seemed like he was very eager to "sell" me a procedure and sounded like we was actually trying to talk me into it after I told him what Bauman's opinion was. He said that Bauman was overly conservative and he probably didn't want to take the risk because his experience with my hair characteristics were not was his was. Another thing was that Epstein's office is dark with no open windows around, it just felt creepy. Also, there weren't even any large mirrors on the wall where I could actually show I'm together of what I was concerned about or anything. The whole experience gave me the severe creeps and don't think I will be contacting him again. I am new to this forum and saw some horrible things about him, so I guess there is no reason to even consider him when there are so many other good doctors out there. On his website I saw he has a section for transsexuals, chest hair implants and other stuff that creeps me out.... anyway, just thought id share...

[corvettester]

On his website I saw he has a section for transsexuals, chest hair implants and other stuff that creeps me out.... anyway, just thought id share...

 

 

Bigotry and homophobia creep me out... just thought I'd share.

 

 

Corvettester

Edited August 28, 2011 by corvettester

[losingslowly]

Bigotry and homophobia creeps me out... just thought I'd share.

 

 

Corvettester

 

what does that have to do with bigotry or homophobia? my sister is gay, and those procedures sound physically unsettling to me, i can have an opinion can't I?

 

Aren't you the one who posted a video on how you think women are prejudice against bald people and agreed that "thats the way it is?" For someone who was against bigotry, I would think you would be the one who would be spreading positive reinforcement and not lies.

[lorenzo]

Corvettester I think you are a bit oversensitive. I am lost where you get the bigotry and the homophobia from? Looking at his website I believe there is also stuff that can be considered creepy like armpit transplant and transplanting into the pubic area. I read his post and found it quite interesting. I think maybe you misunderstood the post.

 

Losing slowly it was nice of Dr. Bauman to give you an honest evaluation. Did he tell you the reasons for not recommending a transplant? Thanks for you posts and welcome to the forum. Glad that you decided to see two doctors to get an honest evaluation. On this website you will see alot of great doctors who are in your area.

Edited August 28, 2011 by lorenzo

[losingslowly]

Thanks for the backup lorenzo, Corvettesetter, I apologize if I offended you, if you are a transexual or had a pubic hair transplantation, my deepest apologies for bringing it up. I was simply trying to say that I wouldn't want someone doing a hair transplant on me that is not a purest and whose portfolio of service involves so many (what I consider) bizarre and non-standard procedures. In my opinion, someone who is involved in doing those types of procedures is probably willing to do anything and not really as in tuned with standard practices as so many doctors are. The point, and this is my opinion, that when you surround yourself with things like that, it is possible that one can lose touch with what is normal looking in a society, i.e., a normal looking person or head of hair.

 

Lorenzo, Dr Bauman said that I was a perfectionist after really talking and getting to know me and said that the color difference of my donor hair and recipient area was off and if I wasn't prepared to deal with that then I shouldn't move forward. Also, he said that if I wasn't prepared to have more than 1 procedure then I shouldn't move forward...which a really appreciated his honesty. Epstein however said he could make everything look totally undetectable and just shook his head when I told him Baumans concerns, so although I was initially confused on who to believe, and after i did my research on epstein, I've decided to wait

[corvettester]

Corvettester I think you are a bit oversensitive. I am lost where you get the bigotry and the homophobia from? Looking at his website I believe there is also stuff that can be considered creepy like armpit transplant and transplanting into the pubic area. I read his post and found it quite interesting. I think maybe you misunderstood the post.

 

 

So let me get this straight, Lorenzo...

 

Hair transplantation is not creepy because the hair is being transplanted from the back of the head to the front or top of the head. However, it is creepy when it has anything to do with the body? Like chest hair transplantation as Losingslowly stated?

 

There is nothing creepy about any of those procedures... or transgender individuals for that matter. Your poor choice of words only serves to further stigmatize and demonize those people who opt to undergo such procedures.

 

Further, I do think it is homophobic or bigoted to say:

 

On his website I saw he has a section for transsexuals, chest hair implants and other stuff that creeps me out.... anyway, just thought id share...

 

In essence, he is equating transgender individuals and those who opt for chest hair implants with creepiness and all its attendant derogatory stereotypes.

 

I'm not being oversensitive. Maybe you should think out the logical conclusion of your statements better, Lorenzo. I can only imagine what type of nonsense people say about those of us who opt to undergo FUT/FUE, as if it's any different. "He's creepy. He must be insecure cause he got a hair transplant! That's weird."

 

Let's not be hypocrites, gentlemen.

 

 

Corvettester

[orlhair1]

Losingslowly, you did the right thing consulting with at least two doctors. I would recommend doing several consultations as this would give you a lot of information to consider in making your decision of what to do, if anything. I do think that it is good when a surgeon will tell you that your expectations can't be met. In the world of hair transplants, your expectations of the potential results must be aligned with what the surgeon believes is a reasonably likely outcome......otherwise, there is potential to regret the decision to have the HT in the first place. Doing your homework like you have started to do allows you to make informed decisions, including which surgeons to consider and which ones not to consider.

[Dr. Glenn Charles]

Losingslowly I think you are proceeding correctly by doing your due dilegence. I am sure Dr. Bernard Nusbaum would be glad to see you for consultation. He is also located in Coral Gables and does excellent work. He is one of only a few docs I would let do a hair transplant on me if I were to ever need it. If you want to travel 45 minutes north to Boca Raton I would also offer you a complimentary consultation. More opinions are good. You do not have to make any quick decisions. Wait til you are good and ready.

[Blake Bloxham]

Guys,

 

I agree; let's all remember to act appropriately and keep negative comments regarding race, gender, sexual orientation, and lifestyle preference off the discussion boards. Thank you.

[Spanker]

I don't find anything about pubic, armpit, ect, creepy. To me, transplantation is transplantation.

[hairthere]

"On his website I saw he has a section for transsexuals, chest hair implants and other stuff that creeps"

 

Lots of top doctors perform work on transexuals and have presented the cases on here, so there is no reason to be "creeped out" by it. BHT should not be considered creepy either, although I do agree it does not look very good and should only be utilized in certain cases (like major repair jobs). Seriously, the fact that Epstein does and presents this type of work is a non-issue.

 

What should concern you is that he was trying to hard-sell you when another doctor denied you. Now, both docs you have mentioned have been hotbeds of discussion at one point on this board for various reasons. I personally would steer clear of both of them and choose to consult with any of the other excellent HT docs recommended by this forum.

 

One other caveat before you go any further, though: Dr. Bauman may have a point. If you are a perfectionist, HT surgery is certainly not for you. A HT can mock natural hair, and modern HTs certainly look great, but they will never look 100% like your native hairline. The donor quality will always be different.

[SkinUpPinUp]

On his website I saw he has a section for transsexuals, chest hair implants and other stuff that creeps me out.... anyway, just thought id share...

 

Surely HT is should be readily offered to those who are physiologically appropriate for it and those who can afford it? Unless transsexuals use some other form of 'creepy' currency that I'm not aware of.

 

I don't want to get into rant, but I think the synopsis of your experience was basically that the office was a little dark and he does work on transsexuals.

 

Neither of these things necessarily make him a bad or unprofessional hair restoration physician. Unless he was wearing stillettos at the consultation, whilst wildly attacking you with a FUE punch and singing an impromptu version of 'Sweet Transvestite' from The Rocky Horror Show.

 

Seriously though, if there are legitimate reasons for not liking or trusting this physician (i.e. poor results, bad aftercare, poor patient treatment and so on) - fine. I'm sure many would back you up. However, so far I'm not convinced by your appraisal of his abilities or lack thereof.

[hairthere]

"Neither of these things necessarily make him a bad or unprofessional hair restoration physician. Unless he was wearing stillettos at the consultation, whilst wildly attacking you with a FUE punch and singing an impromptu version of 'Sweet Transvestite' from The Rocky Horror Show."

 

Wow, quite an image, lol.....

 

Btw, being transphobic does not make someone homophobic necessarily as transexuals aren't all gay.

[Michael5577]

I didn't see anything homophobic in the first post (is C. HRT's watchdog of Political Correctness?).

[lorenzo]

Micheal I also didnt see anything homophobic in the first post. That is why I posted what I originally posted.

I agree C believes he is some sort of watchdog/ moderator on this forum. Its too bad in some ways because new posters will get the wrong idea sometimes.

[Sparky]

Dunno what transsexuals have to do with homophobes anyway. Surely being a homophobe just means you don't like gay people, transsexuals aren't gay persay, they were born in into the wrong gender in the first place.

[aaron1234]

I'm chesthairphobic. In fact, I shave it off almost every other day.

[Atticus]

I'm chesthairphobic. In fact, I shave it off almost every other day.

 

Me too! I look more cut without chest hair.

 

Atticus

[losingslowly]

Alright people, for those of you who I offended, I am sorry. I have an opinion and this is a free country. I never said ANYTHING directly about an individual person or a group of people or that someone was wrong for doing certain things. MY POINT WAS that THOSE TYPE OF PROCEDURES PERSONALLY CREEP ME OUT and make me feel uncomfortable and ME PERSONALLY would not go to a Doctor who performs those types of procedures because there is a HIGH chance that they will not give me a conservative opinion on anything as they perform in what I believe are non-conservative and (bizarre to me) surgeries.

 

As someone else stated, I did not mark Jeffrey Epstein off my list soley because of this. I decided not to continue to talk to him because his consultation did not give me a good feeling that he had my best interest in mind. I felt pressured and after doing more research, I felt like he told me many things that were untrue or unatttainable for me. I found 2 cases on this forum that also hit it home and I can see why it happened. There was a guy on here called used and abused and he had a horrible result from Epstein and that pretty much closed the books for me.

 

Everyones hair is different and this is a lifelong decision. Epstein was ready to schedule a surgery date with me after the consultation when I thought he didn't have really any information about me personally or gather enough information about my hair or physical background. He didn't ask me anything about my propecia and rogaine regimen, how I thought it was working, how much hair was I currently losing, my physical activities, if I did have a surgery was I prepared to handle the downtime. He didn't even ask what I did for a living! I think all of this is very important to evaluate as a who is a good candidate. He just made me feel uncomfortable, a little arrogant, and now that I think about it CREEPED ME OUT.

 

We just sat in a small dim room with a makeup mirror on the table and a book with a bunch of blurry before and after pictures. It was like I was back in the 80s. Its 2011, and I have heard of doctors having big computer screen with charts and pictures and explanations on various scenarios, full mirrors so you can see yourself.

 

Anyway, I wanted to avoid going into detail about that but, that is why I didn't choose him, so there you have it. I didn't feel so strongly about it or notice all those things until I saw Bauman, and it was night and day...he really made me realize all the things I just wrote be seeing how much more caring and professional he was.

[Sparky]

I wasn't offended, I understood exactly what you were saying, don't let it bother you

[lorenzo]

When I first read your posts I found it quite interested. Both the doctors you mentioned dont have a very good reputation and in 11 years that I have been online I have never seen an impressive result from Dr. Bauman.

In your area there are a few world class doctors that have amazing reputation. I would consider consulting when you are ready with Dr. Charles, Dr. Rose, and Dr. Nusbaun. I wouldnt have a transplant with any of the two doctors you mentioned even if it was free.

You have the right to be creepy out or uncomfortable with certain situtation this in my opinion doesnt make you a bigot or homophobic. I personally feel creepy out when I see dead soldiers on tv or on the internet, this doesnt make me unpatriotic nor a member of terrorist group.

 

Sparky you made a good point that I was thinking myself. Although it has nothing to do with hairloss I wanted to bring up a point.

 

Dunno what transsexuals have to do with homophobes anyway. Surely being a homophobe just means you don't like gay people, transsexuals aren't gay persay, they were born in into the wrong gender in the first place.

 

 

If you call a transsexual (M to F) gay for liking men you are insulting them. To comments that losinghair made a homophobic comments is to comment that transsexual are gay. This in my opinion shows a lack of understanding.

Edited August 29, 2011 by lorenzo

[losingslowly]

Yeah, I am still in the early research stages and just wanted to get the opinions of the Drs around me....Whether Dr Bauman has a high percentage of good result or not, he seemed to be a straight up and honest person and gave me a logical and detailed evaluation. Ethics and honestly are very important when doing research and of course experience, skill, and a high yield of good results are very important when doing the actual procedure if it is decided to go that route.

[hairthere]

losingslowly, Dr. Bauman's reputation is not one of an honest and ethical businessman. Do some research on here and you will see why.

[lorenzo]

 

losingslowly, Dr. Bauman's reputation is not one of an honest and ethical businessman. Do some research on here and you will see why

 

I agree from what I have heard. That is why I am quite surprised from about what you said.

[aaron1234]

losingslowly,

 

The reasons for which you have chosen not to proceed with Dr. Epstein are all valid. And I concur with the above posts on Dr. Bauman.

 

It is time for you to expand your search outside your region. Yes, they are some other good docs in your area to consult with. But an old adage on this forum is to not let travel affect your decision. It has been challenged of late but I still think it holds true. The most important moment between you and your doc is the day of the procedure. Spend a few months on the forums and pick out your top surgeons - not just in Florida but all of North America. If you are a perfectionist then a HT procedure is not something you want to take any chances on.

 

Good luck and all the best!