ACell with Dr. Hitzig (My photos)

[UnfinishedSymphony]

The first three pictures attached were taken August 10th 2012. Surgery was in November 2011. At the time of writing this I'm at 9 months post op. The next two photos were taken in December, approximately one month or less after surgery. There are two more photos taken August 10th '12 of corners of my hairline where the majority of the transplants were put. Unfortunately I do not have anymore before pictures.

 

Doctors say to wait a full year to see the finished results. I doubt the appearance of the donor area will change between now and then. I've sent some of my photos to another doctor who uses ACell and he has said my images show a scar. I can expect not to see any more new growth in the healed strip harvest area.

 

I'm sharing these photos because I would have liked to have seen more photos from this site myself, particularly of the donor area as I have been worried about it lately. I do not like living with uncertainty. These photos may be of value to anyone considering treatment involving ACell in conjunction with a strip harvest.

 

I am not happy with the results so far and I regret to say that I failed to do adequate research (or any research). I have been viewing the information on this site today to determine which doctor in my area (NYC) should be given the task of making repairs.

 

From what I can tell Dr. Alan Feller appears to be the man. Bernstein and True/Dorin also worth consulting. I plan to consult with all of them.

 

You're more than welcome to give me feedback, vouching for said doctors, if you can. Can anyone give me an idea of how bad this is? In other words, how challenging repairs would be? I fear I've made an irreparable mistake.

 

Thanks so much. By the way, could I get into trouble for sharing this info? Can doctors take legal action against me for providing this post? Sorry, I'm really naive.

 

-Mark

Edited August 12, 2012 by UnfinishedSymphony
Unsure about legalities.

[RCWest]

Dr. Hitzig didn't do you any favors there. I hate that you had to learn the hard way.

 

I'd consult with Dr. Feller or True & Dorin. They are the best in New York. Dr. Bernstein is good, but he charges a $285 consult fee and he is conservative with graft placement.

[PupDaddy]

While you are at it, also consult with Dr. Carlos Wesley in NYC. He charges a $100 consult fee and is very knowledgable (and enjoyable to talk to, to boot).

[ej]

firstly i want to express how sorry i am for you , i shared a similar experience to yours .You really need to take your time and get the next step right . Im unsure about revision as possibility of stretching again .

 

I started a repair procedure with Dr Bisanga , at the consult we adopted a go slow procedure of around 6 procedures using beard hair to repair the damage , I would consult with Dr Umar, Dr Bisanga check out there results with repairs

 

Thanks for having the courage to come forward ,unsure about legalities , i would seek advice on that

 

all the best

ej

[Sparky]

Dr. Hitzig didn't do you any favour's there, I wouldn't consult with any Dr's who use Acell at all, as it always seems to cause carnage!

 

True and Dorin are good, they produce very fine scars. Could also consult with Umar, he could make a big difference to your situation.

 

It is not irreparable, but just steer clear of Acell from now on.

 

Regards

[UnfinishedSymphony]

 

Thanks for having the courage to come forward ,unsure about legalities , i would seek advice on that

t

 

Okay. I may delete this thread within the next few days because I don't want to take any chances and I feel vulnerable right now. So if this thread disappears within the next few days that will be why. Can I delete my own thread? I guess all I can do is edit the content. Why don't I do that right now...

 

Thanks for the support, though, guys. -M

[Sparky]

I find it highly unlikely that you are breaking the law, did you sign some sort of disclaimer stating that you would never talk about this?

I would imagine that they are more worried that you are going to sue them.

[HARIRI]

ACell is very risky, when i consulted Feriduni for my scar revision, I had a special request which is NOT to use ACell although he offered it for free. I still refused. EJ's ACell bad experience really freaked me out to hell. For anyone considering strip procedure, please don't risk your surgery with it. It could soften the tissue and get extra stretching instead. Thanks unfinishedsymphony for posting this here.

[Sparky]

I'm suprised that Dr Feriduni is able to use Acell on anyone as it is only licensed to be used on animals in Europe, which means there is probably a lot of pets running around with bad HT scars!

 

But seriously, find out if you have signed something stating that you can't talk about this before you delete it, as it is a helpful thread.

[Blake Bloxham]

Symphony,

 

I'm very, very sorry to read about your experience. Like a few other members are stating, your post-operative scar is less than ideal. From what I can tell, the use of ACell (which was all the rage several years ago) has really "dropped off," and I'm not sure it ever quite lived up to its hype.

 

Coalition physician Dr. Cooley was paramount in researching and first testing ACell, so maybe we can speak with him about how he feels the "ACell experiment" concluded. Dr. Rassman experimented with the product as well, and you can read his final conclusion here.

 

Having said that, like a few others are stating, you may want to now consider a repair procedure. With repair, you basically have two options: one, undergoing a second FUT procedure with a combined scar/strip extraction and a neater wound closure; two, a FUE procedure (either using scalp hair or beard hairs if the donor region is exhausted) into the scar with excess implanting into the temple region.

 

Both procedures should suit your needs adequately, but both also carry a set of "cons." With another FUT procedure (albeit one without ACell), you're running the risk of the new scar stretching during the healing phase, and still ending up with unacceptable scarring in the donor region. With FUE into the FUT/ACell scarring, you could experience a much poorer yield because the grafts are being implanted into thick, fibrous scar tissue with poor blood supply.

 

At this point in time, investigating both options is probably a good idea. Let me know if you'd like more information on any particular physician for the repair.

 

 

 

Okay. I may delete this thread within the next few days because I don't want to take any chances and I feel vulnerable right now. So if this thread disappears within the next few days that will be why. Can I delete my own thread? I guess all I can do is edit the content. Why don't I do that right now...

 

 

Symphony,

 

I don't see any reason why you need to delete the thread or edit the content at all. Not only will it render the thread useless for others performing research in the future, but as of now, you have not posted anything controversial, dishonest, or inappropriate. We always encourage hair transplant patients to fully share their legitimate experience, and this case is no different. Furthermore, full deletion can only be performed by a moderator. We're all here to help and I hope this thread and spending additional time on our forums will make you feel less vulnerable.

 

Good luck!

Edited August 12, 2012 by Future_HT_Doc

[Sparky]

So does Dr Cooley or Dr Bernstein have any before and after pictures of surgeries that they used Acell with, that show an improvement?

[ej]

Okay. I may delete this thread within the next few days because I don't want to take any chances and I feel vulnerable right now. So if this thread disappears within the next few days that will be why. Can I delete my own thread? I guess all I can do is edit the content. Why don't I do that right now...

 

Thanks for the support, though, guys. -M

 

Hey , you have no worries , yours is an honest , genuine experience , its unfortunate the way you have been made to feel , everyone on this site will support you ,

I think the Dr needs to address how he is going to make this right by you , my opinion is look at getting some consults with Drs , ones who have done repairs , Dr Lindsey has done tonnes of scar repair work , seems like a nice bloke too , work out a plan , cost of procedures etc and ask your Dr to pay for it , no harm in asking

 

all the best

 

ej

[RCWest]

Dr. Cooley and Dr. Wesley are the only surgeons here that I have seen enough results from to trust them with ACell.

[Sparky]

Can you link to some threads with improvement in scars when Acell has been used?

[Sparky]

It doesn't matter by which Dr's, any results would be interesting, as the owner of a less than spectacular strip scar this is of interest.

[ej]

suppose theres `zero`results, showing improvements then

 

ejj

[HARIRI]

Guys pls listen to ej. He is a victim of Acell. His wide scar is because of it. I personally was offered a free Acell in my scar revision session with Feriduni but I refused it. It would be much safer if its a traditional scar revision.

[MAGNUMpi]

you have not posted anything controversial, dishonest, or inappropriate. We always encourage hair transplant patients to fully share their legitimate experience, and this case is no different. Furthermore, full deletion can only be performed by a moderator. We're all here to help and I hope this thread and spending additional time on our forums will make you feel less vulnerable.

Comforting words for all of us here. Thanks Blake.

[ej]

yes , but still no results

 

ej

[Sparky]

There aren't any results, Acell was a big mistake and seems to of done much more damage than good. I don't know anything about the Acell strip, but the powder seems to have a similar effect to pouring acid on the wound.

There was someone on here who had a scar revision with Acell, but has since vanished, I'm sure if he was happy he would of posted his results, as he posted all of his results beforehand.

[Sparky]

How are you getting on now Mark? Have you looked into going to a good Dr that doesn't use Acell for repair?

[ej]

wonder what happened to this poor guy ? did he ever get helped , or just dissapear like so many other poor results

 

ejj

[ej]

hope things are good , be good if you could update on how your situation is , i have just updated my own thread on the repair journey i embarked upon , im in a lot better place now , theres always hope !

 

all the best

 

ej

[StaggerLee123]

Coming in late on this thread but why is it automatically assumed that Acell was the reason for the scar stretching? Haven't we seen many stretched scars over the years without the use of Acell? Could it have been his physiology or the surgeon? Doesn't SMG use Acell...

 

I hope the OP has gotten his scar revised and is doing well.

[mahhong]

Coming in late on this thread but why is it automatically assumed that Acell was the reason for the scar stretching? Haven't we seen many stretched scars over the years without the use of Acell? Could it have been his physiology or the surgeon? Doesn't SMG use Acell...

 

I hope the OP has gotten his scar revised and is doing well.

 

That's a good point, it might not be the Acell that is responsible. That having been said, for something that is supposed to promote healing and be of significant benefit in that area, you wouldn't expect this to be happening if Acell was a consistently good, useful and cost-effective addition to hair transplantation.

 

I'm not up with the current position regarding Acell, but it certainly seems that overall it hasn't provided significant benefit in the hair restoration field. I remember 2-3 years ago listening to Dr. Hitzig (and a few others, in fairness) talking very positively about Acell, almost going so far as to hint it was going to be the key to unlocking unlimited donor by using it to promote total regeneration in partial follicles. That position quickly shifted to having more realistic benefits in limiting scar tissue and promoting growth, but it would appear overall it's not even really doing much of that.

 

Dr. Rassman's verdict wasn't overly enthusiastic and the results that I see popping up on here have been mediocre at best. As I say, I have no idea where Acell is currently viewed in the whole restoration industry, but I'm sorry to hear it hasn't been a success for the OP.