Affordable Hair Transplant Chicago Area

[3DPsycho]

As I come from 6 years ago and being in Cleveland when I was quoted 3800 to do a hair transplant, I was (needless to say) in for quite a shock when I decided to finally go under the knife here in the Chicago area. Like the rest of you who are scouring these boards who have more brains than money (or so I like to tell myself) I would assume that most of you are not a salesperson without a grasp on the real world and are looking for a reasonable affordable price to have a transplant done without half of the wrong side of your skull being done.

I believe I have done an exhaustive search and evaluation to weigh the balance between quality work and being actually able to come close to affording this procedure.

Any rich lazy snob can go with the most expensive person in the most affluent area and tell you only

stick with “the best” or you’ll be sorry (and yes the more expensive ones are certainly worth it if you can afford them from what I gather).

Get real, most of us don’t have that kind of scratch to pay for a fancy office. For about 1/3-1/2 the cost I found that after an extensive search, interviews, phone calls, reviews with local and “affordable”(but scary as it turns out) outside the state surgeons, Dr. Panine was the one that was that perfect balance… (um, ok he turned out to be the only one that wasn’t “run away screaming” for the price that I could find any sort of enough reviews, testimonies, and history on this and a number of other sites and searches) at least for this area…

I am sure there are people out there that have done other research and found other competent surgeons for a comparable price either around the area or a competent affordable out of state surgeon (mind you I didn’t do as an exhaustive search outside the state). That’s why its always good to do your own research, this is just a good place to start.

So, my personal experience was very impressive so far… they explained everything to my technical satisfaction, Stuart their main contact put up with a lot of annoying questions and constant phone calls including ridiculous questions about hats and hair loss. Aids were cute, I mean patient and nice. They explained that hair transplant was more an art form (which of course appealed to the 3d animator part of me) to correctly align the hair follicles and follow calics with what you have. They even put up with me subjecting them to 4 hours of antique road show while they were working on me.

So its been about a month since I was at the Chicago hair transplant clinic and I am going through that stage where your hair falls out from shock and then starts to grow in again. Super satisfied with the results so far. Will of course post pics as time goes on (sadly I don’t have any before surgery shots, I am about a class III vertex?... thin heavily in the crown and major widows peak, I’ve had about 3000 grafts) This round of pics is right after surgery and some two weeks after when they pulled the stitches out of the back of my noggin.

Edited April 24, 2012 by 3DPsycho

[RCWest]

Dr. Panine consistently posts excellent results. I don't believe their is another surgeon as good as him for the low fees he charges. I hope you keep us updated as time goes on. You made a great decision!

[BadBeat]

I love the hairline design. The work looks really clean. Do you have any before pics?

 

BTW, not sure if you were aware but it looks like your real name is listed on the file name of your pics.

[StaggerLee123]

Glad to hear you think you found the right doctor at the right price.

 

Grow well!

[3DPsycho]

thank you BadBeat, and I will try to find some before pics (although I think I was a bit embarrassed to have many!)

[southbeacharchi]

Looks like you are going to have good results. However, I wanted to address one of your main points in your initial post.

 

You said: "Any rich lazy snob can go with the most expensive person in the most affluent area and tell you only stick with “the best” or you’ll be sorry (aka Dr. Keller, Dr. Konior)… sure if you have money to blow out your arse, don’t want to research, and you don’t have anything else better to do with your funds even if you could come close to affording it.

 

I am far from rich, actually a graduate student while working two jobs (due to economy...won't go into that) and I also did extensive research. Of course it is all a matter of opinion, where your priorities lie, how much of a gamble you are willing to take, your "gut feeling" of any particular doctor, etc.

 

First I hope you, and anyone reading these boards, of course have consultations with several doctors before selecting one. And I couldn't imagine that you would select a doctor based mainly on price, but to each their own. After stating that, I am in just as much of a financially difficult position as the next person. After I did my research and had multiple consults, I actually decided to go with Dr. Keller - one of the two that you single out as a doctor that is one of the most expensive and that a rich, lazy, snob would goto. I completely disagree. If you actually had done your research, you would know that while Dr. Panine is slightly lower-priced than Dr. Keller, it is not by much.

 

I am not going to go into my personal reasons, but I felt that if I was going to spend thousands of dollars to literally change my life completely, I was more than willing to spend a couple hundred more to go with the doctor that I personally felt the most comfortable with, had no hesitations with, and walked in and out of that office feeling great......before I even scheduled the appointment. One reason I will say I chose Dr. Keller is that, and anyone who he has performed work on, or even has just spoken with, would back me up in saying that he is an extremely personable, friendly, and caring human-being - as well as his entire staff. He was willing to spend as much time answering my questions, addressing my fears (some rational...some not so rational...haha), and basically teaching me anything I wanted to know for as long as I was wanting to sit there. Also from experience, and speaking to several of his past patients (also a must-do before selecting a doctor) I know that he is a perfectionist and that he stands behind his work 100%. At a follow-up appointment, there was ONE HAIR that he mentioned that he wasn't sure about, and was actually about to pull out his FUE machine just to extract it. I told him that was not necessary. That speaks volumes!

 

I think I've said enough. But I just wanted to address you personally on what you said and at the same time inform people to not necessarily go with the doctor I chose because of my incredible experience and result, but to choose a doctor after meeting with several different ones that they have previously rigorously researched. Just as someone should not be discriminated against because they don't have money or because of where they live....a doctor should not be chosen or discriminated against, just because their office is in a specific location, in a nicer building, or charges a tiny bit more. Make sure you look at the WHOLE picture and take everything into consideration as a whole.

 

But, your results look great from so early on, and of course I wish you the best. I think you will be very happy, and in the end.....that is what most of us are searching for in this quest for hair that we once had...

Edited April 14, 2012 by southbeacharchi