My Hair Transplant Journey: It Has Not Been An Excellent Adventure.

[StaggerLee123]

After many years of being out of the loop and basically ignoring my situation, I have started to do some research with the intenet of seeing if another go around may be warranted as I am very unsatisfied with my present appearance. I have had two previous hair transplants and both were extremely lacking to say the least, actually I am embarrassed by my appearance. I have been reviewing a number of forums and I like this one very much so I'd like to thank the publisher, moderators, all sincere participants, and doctor's reps. It is comforting to know you are not the only one out there.

 

I was in my early 30's (I am 47 now) when I started to show serious signs of thinning, The first time I realized I was going bald was playing a round of golf one spring and getting the top of my head badly sunburned. My father was completely bald by the age of 35 so I saw what the future had in store for me and I didn't like it one bit. I have an oddly shaped head with bumps and knots from a former life as an athlete, so the possibility of shaving was never considered seriously, besides most of us pasty white guys don't good with shaved heads anyway! I was probably a NW4 when I started.

 

My first procedure was done in the late 90's with the now defunct "Elliot & True" here in Chicago. The surgeon was Thomas Wentland. Unfortunately I was reeled in by their late night marketing campaign and some quite nice "smooth jazz" playing in the background. Looking back on the experience I am shocked that I put my well-being and appearance in the hands of a surgeon that I knew virtually nothing about. I met with consultant named Ron at Elliot & True and was booked for surgery. We did not discuss any planning for the future, as I was assured that I would need this one procedure and I would be done. We never discussed the possibility of permanent shock loss or the fact that I may well need another pass to get the results that I wanted. Now for those of you that aren't aware some practices use "dilators" in the recipient sites after they are created. I was told the reasoning behind this was to ensure that the recipient sites didn't "close up" before the grafts were planted and to ensure a "good result." Looking back I think the dilators were used to primarily compensate for the lack of skill in the techs doing the planting and probably also for the surgeon making the sites for that matter. The dilators were finishing nails that were stuck into my head although they didn't use a hammer. I literally looked like a pin cushion or "Pin Head" from the movie Hellraiser during the procedure. Every once in a while one of the techs would place his palm over the top of the dilators and press them back into my head as they would start to work themselves out after a bit. The techs were constantly apologizing to me throughout the procedure, not a good sign.

 

Dr. Wentland ended up taking the donor hair from very low on my head and ended up with around 600 (?) mini grafts that they proceeded to spread out over the top of my head and into my crown. I was told that this would be the best strategy for my situation (custom!!) In retrospect all the grafts should have gone in and right behind my hairline and none should have come anywhere near my crown. The net result of this painful surgery was that I ended up losing more hair than I gained due to the permanent shock loss of existing hairs that were on their way out anyway. The trauma from the dilators and the incisions simply hastened the dying process of many of my hairs and they fell out over the next few months or so never to return. I also had horrible pitting, that has eased up over the years, and permanent red scarring. I'm not sure how many of the grafts actually grew and I had hairs falling out with the root attached for years to come. Magnification used while making the recipient sites? Reading glasses...

 

The net result of the surgery was that I now had less hair than when I started and the top of my head looked freakish. I was devastated. I was never suicidal, but believe me when I say I can understand how a guy can get to that point after being subjected to such poor work. You know... you just want a little more hair in order to look a littke better and it turns into this psychologically draining life event that just plain sucks. I suddenly became hyper self-conscious about my appearance. At the time I was the GM of a national chain restaurant and when I returned to work our employees who were primarily teenagers and college students subjected me to snickering and comments behind my back. Not good, I had turned into one of "those guys." I never felt so uncomfortable in all my life and ended up starting a business where I wouldn't have to deal with the public on a day-to-day basis and where I could wear a hat if I wanted. I was always outgoing, laid back, and confident, now I had become withdrawn, insecure, and very unhappy. And not the best company I might add. It affected everything from my professional life to my personal life and everything in between. The whole process was a nightmare. I finally ended up meeting with Dr. True himself about 8 months or so after the surgery, as he never seemed to be in Chicago when I was available, to discuss the results from the clinic with his name on it but since I have nothing positive to say I am going to leave it at that.

 

Feeling that I had to do something, a few years later in the early 2000's I started planning for another and hopefully better result. The major "for" argument that I heard in favor of the major chains such a s Bosley and MHR was the fact that because they did so many procedures they were extremely adept as repetition makes for a consistent result time and time again... unfortunately I later learned that the "consistent result" was one of consistent mediocrity. At the time this line of thinking made sense to me as experience does matter and once again I allowed myself to make the decision to move forward with the again now defunct (do you think there is a pattern emerging here or is it just me?) MHR in Chicago with Dr. Arthur Katonah. The smaller clinics logically seemed like more of a risk at the time, as my previous experience bore out, and I am sure for many uninformed patients this line of reasoning continues to be used as an effective selling point for the major clinics.

 

Now compared to Dr. Wentland, MHR was a step forward if you can actually imagine that, especially in pain management during the procedure and I know for sure that some of the grafts did grow. They were more professional during the consultation and took more time, yet strategic planning was once again lacking as I was promised that this would be the last surgery that I would need. One thing that Dr. Wentland did well was to basically leave my hairline roughly where it was and thankfully didn't try to lower it that much, if he had the bad result would just have been magnified that much more. Dr. Katonah also basically left my hairline where it was and worked on the frontal third trying to fill in the dreaded "see through" effect that continues to be the bane of my existence to this day. Again mini-grafts were used and I think they got around 1000 or so. The result was better than at Elliot & True yet the appearance is one of extreme thinness and did not prevent the see through look that I was assured would go away. I also have some multi-hair grafts in a very poorly defined hairline that are just not natural looking. The other major problem resulting from this surgery was that Dr. Katonah didn't attempt to take the donor area starting from the previous scar but rather decided to take a new strip above the old one.

 

As a result of these two surgeries I now have two rather wide strip scars that are "stacked" one upon the other, what must be a rather depleted donor area, a very poorly defined hairline, and basically diffuse thinning throughout the entirety of the top of my head and crown. In the middle of the back of my head the scars are spaced about 1" apart at their widest and I doubt that they can be merged into one strip scar. I know scalp laxity and donor density play a role and after seeing some of the repair work presented on this site I look forward to examining my options in the near future if I can screw up my couarge, although I have to be honest I am not that optimistic.

 

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated as to how I might proceed to get back to a more normal appearance. At this point my goals are modest, I would just like my hair to simply look natural again, it doesn't have to be the greatest head of hair in the world!

 

As a suggestion to the moderators, I think that if a section dedicated solely to the inspiring repair work done by coalition doctors could be added it would be of enormous help and inspiration to others patients such as myself.

 

Thanks for reading about my story!

[Capelli11]

Hey...quite the story you have! Well you made your first good move coming to this site...welcome! This site is great for beginners looking to do research and find great doctors. You should search this site for repair patients as there are a good amount of them here. I would personally start consulting with some of the top doctors so that they can see you and evaluate your personal situation. I would recommend Dr. Rahal (I had my HT with him...great experience), Hasson and Wong as Dr. Wong I know does a lot of repair patients...they are great...the person you should contact is "Jotronic" on this site...he is a patient rep for them and a great guy...he was a repair patient too...his hair looks amazing now! He is your best bet to help you out and steer you in the right direction.

 

Also...are you on meds? If not, you should consider getting on Propecia and/or Rogaine to hold onto the hairs you currently have and to stablize it at a minimum. Your not all that bad and I can easily see your situation getting corrected if you seek out the right doctors as mentioned above. Hope this helps!

[StaggerLee123]

Thanks for the word of encouragement Capelli, I will definitely follow up on your suggestions. I was looking through my pics and realized that the ones I posted were the better ones I had, I think I probably look worse in person. Lol.

 

I'm not on meds and I'm not sure why. I don't think they were offered to me at either place but I will look into them for sure.

 

I checked out your website and all I can say is wow. I think you're going to look unreal when your hair grows in. Congrats on your surgery with Dr. Rahal.

[StaggerLee123]

One more to illustrate the reality of the situation with normal dry hair as view from above.

[N-6]

StaggerLee, based on the fact that you've only had about 1600 or so grafts, then I'm assuming most of your hair is native. You should look into a combination of rogaine and propecia to try and strengthen your native hair. I would also consult with several reputable docs. You will find some on this site. If you come across the name of a doc that's not on here, they may still be great but just not have a big online presence. After your research, run the names of your docs across this forum to try and get some feedback. I personally would recommend Dr. Ron/Paul Shapiro in Minneapolis and below is a link of one of their recent repair jobs.

 

http://www.hairrestorationnetwork.com/eve/134995-bullitnuts-hair-loss-repair-program-shapiro-medical-2.html

 

I think you need to add some density and try and revise the scars but I don't think your hair looks bad. Best of luck and keep us posted.

[NEWHAIRPLEASE]

Staggerlee

I agree with the above post..I have to say based on the story you gave I actually expected your pictures to be a lot worse!! Now, your donor area does look thin,but you do appear to have donor availability left...I don't think there IS ANY WAY POSSIBLE to merge the two scars if they are in fact an inch apart..Im sure you can get at least one scar, obviously the one taken in the right area, more refined! Good luck on your journey!

[Atticus]

Hey Lee,

 

All in all you come out pretty lucky. At least your recipient area doesn't look bad. I would like to recommend my doctor, who I consider to be the top and foremost expert in FUE/BHT repairs and mainstream HT's, Dr. Umar in Redondo Beach, CA. Do a search and you will see for yourself. He has done magic on folks full of scar tissue, some looking like they were badly burned in a car accident. No joke. The proof is in the results, photos, videos, etc.

 

Have a great Christmas,

 

Atticus

Edited December 25, 2011 by Atticus

[StaggerLee123]

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to all. Thanks N6, MewHairplease and Atticus for your repsonses. I appreciate you taking the time to read my story. I have looked at some of the other repair cases and I might not be as bad as I suspect. MHR took me to a more normal looking appearance after getting the pits and scars from the dilators the first time. I am hoping that the next step will show a marked improvement also.

 

I am starting to garner some hope and will look into meds and visiting some docs after the new year. Another pic illustrating the view from above.

 

Thanks!

[Atticus]

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to all. Thanks N6, MewHairplease and Atticus for your repsonses. I appreciate you taking the time to read my story. I have looked at some of the other repair cases and I might not be as bad as I suspect. MHR took me to a more normal looking appearance after getting the pits and scars from the dilators the first time. I am hoping that the next step will show a marked improvement also.

 

I am starting to garner some hope and will look into meds and visiting some docs after the new year. Another pic illustrating the view from above.

 

Thanks!

 

No problem. All in all, you have pretty good coverage in the front, and a top notch doc can help camo those scars. You came to the right place! 2012 will be a kick ass year for you!

 

Have a good X-Mas man!

 

Atticus

[Jotronic]

I think you are in a better position than you think, or thought, you were. I too had two donor scars that were stacked one above the other and I know it's not fun having to worry about them. I'm now in a much better position and I can tell from experience that hope is a reality for you, it just depends on which route you take. If you send me a private message with your phone # I'd be happy to give you a call. I can do it tomorrow or wait till after the new year, whichever you prefer.

 

Happy Holidays!

[wylie]

Great story, thanks for sharing. When I got butchered in Chicago in the mid 90's it was called "Elliot and Thomas", with Elliot bailing to California and it becoming the Robert Thomas Medical Group, of which I heard that he was facing lawsuits for his shoddy work and eventually bailed himself to something called the Cleveland Hair Clinic, or some chop shop hair mill like that. That POS was killed in a traffic accident in 2003, and I consider him the Dr. Mengele of this industry (although many veterans can throw out names like Puig, Brandy, etc. that are just as evil)

I've heard Wentland's name come up once, followed by "he ruined my life", so I get the idea of the work he does.

 

Fortunately for you you're not in that bad of shape. I don't think your hair looks unnatural and everything is age appropriate, to include the mature hairline. I think you simply need to soften the hairline, add some density and perhaps consider a scar revision.

 

At this point, you need to consider your options: Do you want a strip scar, or do you want FUE? FUE means no scar, but some think you don't get the required density from such procedures, so if you opt for it, you should choose a surgeon who specializes solely in its use (for me, the choice for repair was easy, it was Dr. Umar, he was the only person who could attempt a repair from a strip scarred donor area already ravaged) As previously mentioned, he is in Redondo Beach.

 

You have a couple excellent choices in the Midwest, in Chicago Dr. Konior is excellent and one of the best in the business, and the story of Jotronic's repair is one of the most remarkable out there to date. Thankfully your results are not the cringeworthy variety, as there are plenty out there (myself included, although to a lesser degree)

 

Good luck on your quest!

Edited December 26, 2011 by wylie

[znydn]

Hey Lee,

 

Seems good at first sight, but you got quite much lower in density. But in my opinion, you should stop worrying about the density and focus on your hair front line and vertex. Are you on fin or minox at the moment ?

[StaggerLee123]

@Jotronic: I will be in touch, ty for your reply. Your saga is no less than amazing and our situations are quite similiar with the stacked scars, pitting, etc... Have a great New Years!

 

@Wylie: Thanks for the kind words sir. You have truly been through the ringer and I hope that Dr. Umar has gotten some peace of mind back for you. I wil definitely look into Dr. Umar further. I respect the fact that even though you have had some truly bad experiences you continue to look for solutuions. I hope your latest procedures are starting to bear fruit and that things are returning to normalcy for you. Best wishes.

 

@Zyndin: I tried rogaine for about a year and it didn't seem to do much. I need to revisit the idea of starting Propecia, I think I was reluctant to try it in the past as I have a few other health issues that I was concerned about but I will reconsider at this point. Cheers.

[orlhair1]

Glad you found this forum. I think you can get a really improved result and situation with a top clinic. Hassan & Wong, Dr. Konior and Dr. Rahal are all great choices to consult with. In addition to those, I would recommend consulting with Dr. Ron Shapiro at Shapiro Medical Group who has done a lot of very successful repair work as well. That gives you several outstanding clinics to consult with and eventually you will settle on the one that you are most comfortable with. Good luck with your consults and keep us posted.

[Atticus]

Check this out StaggerLee:

 

 

 

Atticus.

[StaggerLee123]

@orlhair: I think that it would be foolish of me not to visit Dr. Konior since he is so close and also a drive up to SMG wouldn't be that difficlut as well, the gf can go shopping at the Mall of America while I consult. Although I can't find much of Dr. K's work what I have seen looks quite good. I'm trying not to let air travel dissuade me from choosing a doc but to be quite frank the thought of going through security and a flight doesn't seem appealing to me. I would like to hear from guys who had to travel after their procedure and how things were handled. This might be a ridiculous questions but do the metal staples used for closing the donor area set off the metal detector? Having TSA hovering around you wouldn't be cool!

 

@Atticus: That unbelievable vid speaks for itself. I feel happy for this stranger I see on the video, he must feel like he has gotten his life back... what his previous docs did to him was nothing short of butchery. I hope someone like Wylie gets close to what this guy has accomplished.

[ckc527]

I would like to hear from guys who had to travel after their procedure and how things were handled. This might be a ridiculous questions but do the metal staples used for closing the donor area set off the metal detector? Having TSA hovering around you wouldn't be cool!

 

I recently traveled to Vancouver for my HT with Dr. Wong. On my return trip back to California (2nd day Post Op), I was asked to take off my hat after going through the metal detector. The staples did not set off any alert, I was only asked to take off the hat so they can see underneath it. That took maybe 3 seconds, no big deal. I did notice one lady gave me a 2nd look while the hat came off but who cares, I will never see that person again. Then at immigration, I was asked to take off the hat for a few seconds so they can see my entire face, again no big deal since everyone else was behind the line or minding their own business.

 

ckc

[orlhair1]

@orlhair: I think that it would be foolish of me not to visit Dr. Konior since he is so close and also a drive up to SMG wouldn't be that difficlut as well, the gf can go shopping at the Mall of America while I consult. Although I can't find much of Dr. K's work what I have seen looks quite good. I'm trying not to let air travel dissuade me from choosing a doc but to be quite frank the thought of going through security and a flight doesn't seem appealing to me. I would like to hear from guys who had to travel after their procedure and how things were handled. This might be a ridiculous questions but do the metal staples used for closing the donor area set off the metal detector? Having TSA hovering around you wouldn't be cool!

 

I flew from Orlando to Minneapolis for my surgery and it was not too bad. With Dr. Konior and SMG within driving distance you have two great clinics close by.

[Albion71]

@orlhair: I'm trying not to let air travel dissuade me from choosing a doc but to be quite frank the thought of going through security and a flight doesn't seem appealing to me. I would like to hear from guys who had to travel after their procedure and how things were handled. This might be a ridiculous questions but do the metal staples used for closing the donor area set off the metal detector? Having TSA hovering around you wouldn't be cool!

 

I've done it twice now. You don't feel completely comfortable but you just have to grin and bear it. If you wear any headgear, you'll have to take it off going through passport control, etc, but only briefly.

 

I had staples with my first HT and it didn't set off the metal detector.

 

For my most recent HT, I didn't use an ice pack on my face post op, but I flew back four days post surgery so it didn't matter. If I had flown back any sooner, I would have been a bit self-conscious as I looked like the elephant man.