Regular Member hair70 Posted October 15, 2012 Regular Member Share Posted October 15, 2012 FUE using NEOGRAFT machine at NORTH VALLEY PLASTIC SURGERY in AZ Ran into the doctor / plastic surgeon for a few minutes before surgery and he took off not to be seen again and the 20 something year old hair technician (who flew in from somewhere) started "working" on my transplant SOLO. Excuse me. . .their was a nurse? giving anaesthesia shots also soo I guess he wasn't SOLO. Less than 7 hours later including break for lunch. . . I would appreciate comments on what the forum thinks? How many grafts? Angles of implants? Gaps in coverage? THANX Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member Blake Bloxham Posted October 16, 2012 Senior Member Share Posted October 16, 2012 Hair, I'm sorry to hear about the poor experience. The NeoGraft, like any other FUE device, is simply a tool that enables a physician to perform a procedure. It isn't a completely automated device, nor is it a magic wand that allows a neophyte surgeon to perform quality FUE. In the right hands, robotic or motorized FUE tools can help standardize results and reduce some of the "human error" associated with any surgical procedure. However, for this to occur, the device needs to be in the hands of a trained, experienced FUE surgeon. As far as your immediate post-operative results are concerned, it is far too early to tell. It's best to closely monitor your growth during the upcoming months and make a final evaluation at the 12 month mark. "Doc" Blake Bloxham - formerly "Future_HT_Doc" Forum Co-Moderator and Editorial Assistant for the Hair Transplant Network, the Hair Loss Learning Center, the Hair Loss Q&A Blog, and the Hair Restoration Forum All opinions are my own and my advice does not constitute as medical advice. All medical questions and concerns should be addressed by a personal physician. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member Spanker Posted October 16, 2012 Senior Member Share Posted October 16, 2012 Man, I have seen worse, but that looks pretty bad. Not something you are going to be thrilled about in the end. Low density and it looks like pretty large grafts. Some big gaps. People do not realize the expertise that it takes to do high quality work. I am an online representative for Dr. Raymond Konior who is an elite member of the Coalition of Independent Hair Restoration Physicians. View Dr. Konior's Website View Spanker's Website I am not a medical professional and my opinions should not be taken as medical advice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member hair70 Posted October 16, 2012 Author Regular Member Share Posted October 16, 2012 You are absolutely correct about NEOGRAFT machine and its intended purposes. They are putting these machines in the hands of technicians to perform hair transplant procedures who undergo some sort of training and mentoring program before they are on their own. One could argue the technician has more experience than the plastic surgeon or office doc who wants to provide this service in his practice also. This is still surgery in my opinion and technicians should not be allowed to perform surgery. . .especially unsupervised in my case. During my procedure, even the nurse? took the machine and practiced on me while the solo techician was counting. . .soo unprofessional! When scheduling, they had to call some sort of central dispatcher to find a technician that was available for my surgery date. First it was one person scheduled who I tried to research and then she had family issues last minute soo they sent someone else. . . Doesn't sound promising huh? I was stupid and impatient and should've done more research especially on THIS FORUM. My procedure was over 8 months ago at NVPS in AZ. 8 month result attached. . . .less than 100 hairs out of a supposed 1000 FUE implants and most pointing at un natural angles to my hairline. . .it is worst then being bald in recipient area. . .I hoped no more hairs showed up actually! I am sure the transplant gurus will refine extraction techniques in the future whether automated or not but it is going to be almost impossible to teach the artistry of natural hairline creation depending on age, race, facial characteristics, etc, etc. . . Some people are just naturally going to be better than others. For those of you who are looking to get a transplant procedure. . .take it from me after loosing thousands of dollars and even more in sleep, frustration, anxiety, etc, etc. . .don't go to an office that does FUE "on the side" like North Valley Plastic Surgery in AZ who calls a NEOGRAFT dispatch center to send out a "trained" technician to do your transplant. That may work well for getting your car towed when it breaks down but not for your hair surgery! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member hair70 Posted October 16, 2012 Author Regular Member Share Posted October 16, 2012 Man, I have seen worse, but that looks pretty bad. Not something you are going to be thrilled about in the end. Low density and it looks like pretty large grafts. Some big gaps. People do not realize the expertise that it takes to do high quality work. You guessed the outcome expected Spanker! Just posted 8 month results. Scalp still red from likely being traumatized in all different directions with whatever he was using to make recipient sites. You are totally right about the expertise it takes. . .NOW I KNOW! If I could prevent one person from going through what I went through by posting on this blog. . .it will be worth it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member GreatPelo Posted March 9, 2013 Senior Member Share Posted March 9, 2013 First flag was "saw plastic surgeon." Should always decide on a hair transplant specialist....not a plastic surgeon who does a plethora of services and is the perfect candidate to be sold the NeoGraft, without HT experience...and techs are flown in to do the surgery...which is unethical and even illegal in some/most states. At his point you're in a "wait and see" situation. If you decide to do future HT surgeries....make sure you choose a specialist. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member hair70 Posted March 14, 2013 Author Regular Member Share Posted March 14, 2013 Thanks for reviving post GreatPelo I wanted to post this to warn others of this practice so no one gets "jacked" like I did. Definitely should be illegal and definitely unethical! Didn't "wait and see" like the plastic surgery center suggested. . .just went with a real HT doctor and happy ever since. I don't know how to warn other people of this place other than posting on forums. . .any suggestions? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member hairz Posted March 14, 2013 Senior Member Share Posted March 14, 2013 Thanks for reviving post GreatPelo I wanted to post this to warn others of this practice so no one gets "jacked" like I did. Definitely should be illegal and definitely unethical! Didn't "wait and see" like the plastic surgery center suggested. . .just went with a real HT doctor and happy ever since. I don't know how to warn other people of this place other than posting on forums. . .any suggestions? Thank you very much for posting this and warning people. Some that had bad results disappear without sharing. You've done a good thing to help others! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member hair70 Posted April 18, 2013 Author Regular Member Share Posted April 18, 2013 you are welcome hairz, only if someone warned me of North Valley Plastic Surgery! they were on the local news and even Rachel Ray with beautiful pictures and lingo. . .don't get sucked in!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member HairKlepto Posted April 18, 2013 Senior Member Share Posted April 18, 2013 Thanks for reviving post GreatPelo I wanted to post this to warn others of this practice so no one gets "jacked" like I did. Definitely should be illegal and definitely unethical! Didn't "wait and see" like the plastic surgery center suggested. . .just went with a real HT doctor and happy ever since. I don't know how to warn other people of this place other than posting on forums. . .any suggestions? You said you had another procedure since then? Can we see photos? How was your yield vs. last procedure? I'm assuming much much better. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member hair70 Posted May 16, 2013 Author Regular Member Share Posted May 16, 2013 You said you had another procedure since then? Can we see photos? How was your yield vs. last procedure? I'm assuming much much better. Hello HairKlepto, I had big plans to document week to week my progress but dropped my trusty camera in the sink at week two while snapping pics. It stopped working and I forgot about my grand plans. I got my nice new SLR camera out the other day and snapped a picture at about month 7. . . I am setting up another procedure to get more density and filling in my temple areas also. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member TygerD Posted May 21, 2013 Regular Member Share Posted May 21, 2013 You are absolutely correct about NEOGRAFT machine and its intended purposes. They are putting these machines in the hands of technicians to perform hair transplant procedures who undergo some sort of training and mentoring program before they are on their own. One could argue the technician has more experience than the plastic surgeon or office doc who wants to provide this service in his practice also. This is still surgery in my opinion and technicians should not be allowed to perform surgery. . .especially unsupervised in my case. During my procedure, even the nurse? took the machine and practiced on me while the solo techician was counting. . .soo unprofessional! When scheduling, they had to call some sort of central dispatcher to find a technician that was available for my surgery date. First it was one person scheduled who I tried to research and then she had family issues last minute soo they sent someone else. . . Doesn't sound promising huh? I was stupid and impatient and should've done more research especially on THIS FORUM. My procedure was over 8 months ago at NVPS in AZ. 8 month result attached. . . .less than 100 hairs out of a supposed 1000 FUE implants and most pointing at un natural angles to my hairline. . .it is worst then being bald in recipient area. . .I hoped no more hairs showed up actually! I am sure the transplant gurus will refine extraction techniques in the future whether automated or not but it is going to be almost impossible to teach the artistry of natural hairline creation depending on age, race, facial characteristics, etc, etc. . . Some people are just naturally going to be better than others. For those of you who are looking to get a transplant procedure. . .take it from me after loosing thousands of dollars and even more in sleep, frustration, anxiety, etc, etc. . .don't go to an office that does FUE "on the side" like North Valley Plastic Surgery in AZ who calls a NEOGRAFT dispatch center to send out a "trained" technician to do your transplant. That may work well for getting your car towed when it breaks down but not for your hair surgery! Sounds almost exactly like my experience where neograft was used. Sad that there's unethical doctors and practices out there. Glad that you ultimately went to a better surgeon and came away with a better result though. Hopefully Neograft becomes an extinct tool in the near future. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member Denny Posted May 22, 2013 Senior Member Share Posted May 22, 2013 Tks for this post and I am sorry for your bad experience. I (speaking for myself) would never go for a HT with NeoGraft. An amazing experience (4002 grafts) with Dr. Koray Erdogan (ASMED Clinic). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member HairKlepto Posted May 22, 2013 Senior Member Share Posted May 22, 2013 Glad to see things worked out for you this time around! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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