11 new doctors approved in the last year

[multiplier]

I hope this isn't too a controversial question. When I first joined the community a few years back, there was a pretty small pool of doctors that HRN officially endorsed. They were all pretty well known already and were vetted a lot both by management and by the users here.

 

I noticed in the last year, a new doctor was approved almost every month. 11 new docs I hadn't heard of since December 2011. I received an email asking for comments on each one. Before I realized it, each one had been quickly approved.

 

I don't check into the forum often so maybe I'm missing a discussion. Is there a post about a change in approval criteria? Or did something change about the whole process? From what I understand, doctors pay a pretty good sum to be approved here, yes?

 

Anyway, don't mean this to sound suspicious, but feel like I missed out something that had changed about the nature of the site. Thanks.

[Cant decide]

I have always felt that coalition status has been granted to too many docs on here.

 

Also, I think a more in depth write up of each docs approach and philosophy that you can search by doc name would help in patients deciding on a doc. I don't mean the generic "Practices ultra-refined FUT, etc". But really specific info on their approach. For example, Dr. Hasson and Dr. Ron Shapiro are equally good docs in my mind but their approaches are very different. Don't even get me started on Dr. Bernstein who is a brilliant academic and a talented surgeon but if you think he and Dr. Rahal for example see HT the same way, think again. They both are ethical, they both follow the basic core principals of HT, but their approaches are not even close in my opinion.

[Bill - Seemiller]

multiplier,

 

This community prescreens and recommends doctors based on a set of high standards that are publicly listed on our website. We've also written and published our process for recommending physicians on our discussion forum. See "How We Recommend Hair Transplant Surgeons".

 

If anything, the process and criteria for recommending hair transplant surgeons have gotten more strict over the years. And while we may approve new physicians for recommendation on the Hair Transplant Network and membership in the Coalition of Independent Hair Restoration Physicians if this community feels they're doing top notch work, we also regularly turn down dozens of physicians privately who we feel do not meet our demanding standards.

 

In 2012, there have been a total of 6 physicians who were either approved for recommendation or for Coalition membership. Those who were approved for Coalition membership were already recommended on the Hair Transplant Network. Thus, only 3 new physicians were added to our community in 2012.

 

New additions to the Hair Transplant Network include: Dr. Radha, Dr. Diep and Dr. Mwamba. New Coalition members (who were already recommended on the Hair Transplant Network) include Dr. Beehner, Dr. Wesley and Dr. Panine.

 

In 2013, we have added a few more excellent physicians.

 

Before being invited to present examples of their work on this forum in consideration for potential recommendation, physicians must undergo private prescreening. Thus, I've been in touch with many of the recently approved physicians (or prospective physicians) for months or even years before they're presented on this community. Recently, many of the behind the scenes processes have come to fruition with several surgeons which is why you're seeing more physicians being presented for potential inclusion.

 

Once physicians present enough examples of their work and results on ths forum, we create a new forum topic to garner input from our community. Members are then invited to weigh in on each physician we're considering for recommendation. Additionally, physicians currently recommended by our community are asked for their private and/or public feedback about the prospective physician.

 

In several cases, we've received private and/or public genuine and specific feedback against a particular doctor's inclusion and a particular doctor was not approved for recommendation. Furthermore, many physicians never make it as far as the public prescreening process and their application for membership is privately rejected.

 

The fact that physicians approved for recommendation pay a sponsorship fee to support this patient based community is no secret and is referenced on our physician selection standards page. However, just like a top notch university only admits the brightest students based on their grades, GPA and other criteria, this community only recommends those doctors with a proven ability to perform world class hair transplants with excellent reesults. Likewise, students who choose to enroll in a top notch university pay a tuition to keep the educational institution running just as physicians who we recommend choose to pay a sponsorship fee to help with the costs of maintaining this community.

 

This community is always on the lookout for highly skilled and ethical surgeons to recommend to this community, which at the end of the day, benefits everyone. This large and popular community freely provides hair loss sufferers a venue to share their genuine opinions and experiences. We recommend only surgeons who have met our high standards and are regularly producing excellent results. And this community continues to operate thanks to those we invite to sponsor it.

 

I hope this helps address your questions and concerns.

 

Best wishes,

 

Bill

[Bill - Seemiller]

Can't Decide,

 

We present very specific details about each physician we present for potential recommendation which includes information regarding their experience, skill, technique and tools. Furthermore, if a physician is approved for recommendation and/or Coalition membership, this information is added to their profile on the Hair Transplant Network and/or Coalition Hair Loss Learning Center.

 

We use very objective criteria when evaluating physicians for recommendation and/or Coalition membership. Those surgeons we approve have a proven ability to perform high quality and natural looking results. Ultimately, everyone will have their preferences and favorites and some may perform arguably more refined work than others.

 

I also think you may be confused by a recommendation versus Coalition membership. I suggest viewing our physicians standards page which explains the criteria for recommended physicians versus the ranks of the Coalition.

 

While this community does a lot of the work for prospective patients by prescreening and recommending solid and ethical surgeons, we strongly encourage all prospective patients to research all physicians their considering. Patients choose physicians for various reasons. At the end of the day whether it takes 1, 2 or 3 sessions, as long as they get the results they deserve, that's what matters most.

 

Best wishes,

 

Bill

[HARIRI]

Some doctors aren't active at all in the forum and very rarely they post any results, they should really be checked again if they worth to be recommended in this reputed network.

 

Also some Asian surgeons got so much complaints in other forums that should be monitored again like Dr. Madhu and Dr. Humayun. So far the only trustworthy Asian docs here are Dr. Path from Thailand and Dr. Radha from India. I hope Dr. Bhatti would be given a chance, doctors like Madhu and Humayun aren't better in my opinion thus Asian surgeons recommended should be screened again as their performance got lower. This is my advice and thank you.

 

However Dr. Bisanga and Mwamba were the best additions to the recommendation list. Wishing as well for more Turkish doctors to be recommended such as Dr. Koray Erdogan which I find the best surgeon in Turkey. Ask anyone in Turkey about the best FUE surgeon around and you will definitely hear his name.

[Bill - Seemiller]

Hariri,

 

While I agree that some physicians/clinics are more active than others, approximately 95% of the physicians recommended by this community present at least one example of their results in the "Results Posted by Leading Hair Transplant Clinics" forum.

 

As you know, all patients are welcome to share their genuine experiences, good or bad on this forum. These reviews, along with physician posted results, do help us continue to evaluate physicians already recommended by our community. No physician receives tenure.

 

Because every physician has cases of poor growth, complications and unhappy patients, we're ultimately looking for consistency in evaluating surgeons. If a physician is regularly producing excellent results and has the occasional patient complaint/concern, while we have empathy for the patient, a physician's recommendation isn't terminated. However, in the event there's an obvious pattern of less than optimal results and/or other problems developing, physicians will be re-evaluated and if the concerns aren't rectified, will be promptly removed.

 

I appreciate your feedback on the physicians you like the best. We are in the process of privately prescreening many physicians, most of which may not make it to the point where they're presented for potential recommendation. However, I will certainly look into Dr. Erdogan and other surgeons that appear to be doing solid work.

 

Best wishes,

 

Bill

[Bill - Seemiller]

I also want to add that no process is perfect. However, rather than focusing on the 10% that's half empty, I hope members can appreciate all the work we do to keep this community running and recommending only those surgeons who continue to meet our high standards. If any member has a reasonable suggestion in order to improve this community and/or the process of recommending surgeons, we're certainly willing to consider your feedback.

[HARIRI]

Thank you Bill, wishing for more Middle Eastern (Turkish + Arabs) and Asian surgeons to be recommended. We do appreciate your efforts.

[james84]

Bill,

 

This is probably the best forum out there, and i like the fact, of all the effort you go through to recommend a surgeon, however the key word here is recommend;)

 

I agree with the comments regarding Dr Koray, great FUE Doc in turkey and has many consistent results to be seen however like lorenzo some Docs struggle to have the time and effort to go through the process:(

[Bill - Seemiller]

James and Hariri

 

I appreciate your support and compliments. This community strives to provide up to date information on hair loss, support for balding men and women worldwide and recommends excellent surgeons based on rigid criteria. Even more importantly, it provides hair loss sufferers with a venue to research and speak candidly about treatments and physicians whether they're recommended or not.

 

Frankly, we are the only community that invites its members to weigh in on all recommendations, only recommends surgeons with a proven ability of providing excellent results and and has always provided an open discussion forum for its members - which keeps everyone (including physicians and the publishers of this community held accountable for their actions and recommendations).

 

Many websites provide a forum and freely accept advertising money from any physician and/or clinic whether they're reputable or not. While most forums are upfront that their only criteria is a clinic's willingness to pay for advertising, in my opinion, hair loss sufferers visiting their website can easily be mislead to believe that each physician who advertises there is doing top notch work. These forums are directly leading patients to their advertisers (whether they're good or not) through banners and other advertisements and takes no responsibility when a patient ends up with poor results.

 

Moreover, another website used to recommend surgeons for years without the public accountability and transparency of an open discussion forum.

 

While no process is perfect, I think the fact that we openly and transparently prescreen and recommend only those surgeons who meets this community's standards and invite interested parties to weigh in helps to make this community the most unique and popular hair restoration community on the web.

 

Best wishes,

 

Bill

[Mickey85]

Man, Koray should pay me dividends for introducing the forum to him only kidding lol.

 

i think alot if the recent doctors inducted have been home rubs. certainly dr Bisanga was very long overdue. dr Mwamba was also a great addition and dr Hakan was a very nice surprise which will hopefully entice other Turkish surgeons to follow suit. i did not agree with dr Diep however but that's fine as it is not my forum. we also forget the surgeons who didnt make it like Bhatti and Keser. Bhattis results were great but his statements were a deal breaker where Keser had great results but was more a hairline/nw3 doctor.

 

Bill, is there a chance the aforementioned doctors could be reconsidered if the apparent problems were ironed out? or is it a one-time only deal, if they fail they cannot be reconsidered? which doctord have been recommended and eventually removed? i know Epstein is one....

[multiplier]

A little too swamped at work to respond in full quite yet, but wanted to say thanks to Bill for expanding on some of these ideas and clarifying a bit on stuff like recommendations vs endorsements.

[Questionmark]

Mickey,

 

what do you mean by

"Bhattis results were great but his statements were a deal breaker where Keser had great results but was more a hairline/nw3 doctor"? Which statement of him are you referring to? Also, you wrote of "stamentS". Which other (it has to be at least one) statement are you referring to?

 

Thanks for a clarification!

 

Also, why do you personally consider Dr. Diep as not such highly recommendable to become a member? From what I`ve seen - and I`ve looked up everything that he has published - he foremostly does the most natural hairline designs I`ve seen.

[Mickey85]

Mickey,

 

what do you mean by

"Bhattis results were great but his statements were a deal breaker where Keser had great results but was more a hairline/nw3 doctor"? Which statement of him are you referring to? Also, you wrote of "stamentS". Which other (it has to be at least one) statement are you referring to?

 

Thanks for a clarification!

 

Also, why do you personally consider Dr. Diep as not such highly recommendable to become a member? From what I`ve seen - and I`ve looked up everything that he has published - he foremostly does the most natural hairline designs I`ve seen.

 

Bhatti made some outlandish claims as to the advantages that FUE had over FUT and while I did agree with alot of them, his advantages were in the high 20-low 30 odd mark which is just hyperbole, semantics and fabrication. After in depth research I came up with 16 advantages FUE has over FUT, about half of Bhatti's claims.

 

Dr. Diep used a dual blade scalpel to extract a FUT strip, in under 3 minutes mind you. The video is available(unless it has been removed) publicly on Youtube for general viewing. Diep claims it was to save time and for demonstration purposes only but I do not believe this to be the case. What about the poor patient in the video?! Was he informed? Diep only made a rebuttal statement after several members and myself expressed vocal concern. Can you imagine Hasson and Wong posted a video of them using a dual blade scalpel to extract a FUT strip even for demonstration purposes? Not a chance!

 

I also did not like his brute force whilst extracting FUE grafts. You can see the scalp visibly warp and distort from the force he uses. How can one analyze the direction, angle, depth and tactile feedback when you are jabbing a punch into a tiny strand of hair at a very fast rate? I for one am not impressed by his FUE work one iota. However it is not my prerogative nor is it my forum and I merely made my opinion on Diep's potential and subsequent induction public. It is all I can do and I harbor no bitter feelings or illwill toward Bill or any of the moderators for deciding to persist. I have agreed with many of their other recent inductions(especially Bisanga, Mwamba, Umar, Hakan) and they are not going to please everyone, everytime. Hope that helps clear things up on my perspective.

[hairthere]

I'm relieved to see many new docs added to the coalition. It means more options for people and less shoddy work being done. I'm still surprised to see substandard HT work being performed these days, but I guess the regulations on HT surgery are still fairly loose. My first HT "doc" wasn't even using microscopes in his practice.

[Mickey85]

I'm relieved to see many new docs added to the coalition. It means more options for people and less shoddy work being done. I'm still surprised to see substandard HT work being performed these days, but I guess the regulations on HT surgery are still fairly loose. My first HT "doc" wasn't even using microscopes in his practice.

 

Shoddy work exists even in the best clinics. My surgeon's techs were busy conversing with eachother(and later engaging me in conversation) whilst the surgeon was in his office having consultations. My surgery failed. Was there a direct correlation between the tech's unprofessional nature and lack of concentration? Hard to say, but for a HIGHLY regarded hair clinic and an easily avoidable and potentially detrimental factor(is it that hard for techs to be professional?), I find it absolutely unacceptable. I would expect that from some back-water clinic or a franchise clinic but not from one of the world's renowned...

[hairthere]

Sorry to hear that your surgery did not work out Mickey. During my surgeries the techs would converse from time to time but were not overly verbose. I was so out of it that I honestly could not even tell what they were discussing at the time. It could have been about the surgery or about the Yankee game for all I know.

 

Are you considering trying again with a different clinic?

[Mickey85]

Sorry to hear that your surgery did not work out Mickey. During my surgeries the techs would converse from time to time but were not overly verbose. I was so out of it that I honestly could not even tell what they were discussing at the time. It could have been about the surgery or about the Yankee game for all I know.

 

Are you considering trying again with a different clinic?

 

Thank you for the sympathy buddy I have considered some clinics but I am very apprehensive champ. The emotional and mental trauma is something I am just starting to overcome and is not something I want to risk this soon....

[Denny]

I am still looking for the reasons Dr. Koray was rejected on this Forum. Does anybody know? Tks,

[Bill - Seemiller]

Denny,

 

Who is saying that Dr. Koray was "rejected" on this forum? He did express interest in potential recommendation some time ago however, I didn't hear back from him when I followed up. I suspect he didn't receive my email and/or he's been too busy to respond. This was some time ago. I did recently send Dr. Ergodan an email to follow-up however, I haven't heard back yet.

 

Best Regards,

 

Bill

[Denny]

Hi Bill, I am sorry if I am strong. I read some comments on this regard and decided to ask you. Good to know he was not rejected!

I am in contact with him since I will have my HT with him in July. If there is something I can do for you, please let me know! I spoke to him about this Forum when he asked me how I "found" him.

Best regards,