Dr Karamikian NYC

[Stanley123456]

Has anyone used Dr Karamikian in NYC for HT?

[Stanley123456]

Has anyone used Dr Karamikian in NYC for HT?

[Mel from NY]

Hey Stanley, I will have a consultation with him next week, let see how it goes. Did you watch him on CBS early show on Wednesday?

[arfy]

It looks like Dr. Karamikian uses a multi-bladed knife for the strip excision. That's not considered top-rung, in the world of strip. How many blades can the doctor steer at the time he is making the donor strip incision? Probably just one. That means that additional blades are probably transecting (cutting) potential hair follicles, possibly damaging them beyond hope.

 

In short, the multi-bladed knife causes more damage than a single blade. A key in getting good results from a hair transplant is conserving potential donor hair, and maximizing your donor supply. You have a limited donor "bank" and wasting hairs is a cardinal sin, because you may need those hairs in the future. It is a terrible situation to run out of donor supply and still need additional work.

 

I would still go on your consultation with Dr. Karamikian just to get some experience in meeting with hair transplant doctors, but I would not sign up for anything until you really know the finer points of the procedure, what to look for and what to avoid, etc. Play the field for a while and don't rush into anything.

Dr. Karamikian on CBS, reference to multi-bladed knife

[Mel from NY]

Hey Arfy, that's a good observation we thank you for that. I will have a consultation with Dr. K sometime next week, so now I have a better idea of what method he uses. By the way, do you know which method is better than the one Dr. K uses? Thanks

[Paco]

Hey all,

 

I had 2 consultations with Dr. Karamikian recently. Now my 1st transplant is scheduled for June 2, 2004. I hope to have 1400 Single FU moved to fill in the temporal angles and bring down the front hairline. Any suggestions?

I have suffered lots of ridicule from my family and friends. I just want to have normal hair and have a positive self-esteem when I look at myself in the mirror.

 

I am very excited to have a normal again after losing my hair when I has just 19.

 

Attached is my picture before transplant. Hopefully, I can keep everyone posted of my progress after a few months.

 

I am glad I found this forum before my transplant.

[arfy]

Paco

Your hair looks pretty normal to me, I don't know why you are getting so much flack from family and friends.

 

I think you can probably do better than Dr. Karamikian. I'm not even convinced that you need a hair transplant. How old are you? Are you using any preventive medication like Propecia, to keep the hair you still have? Have you seen many of Dr. Karamikian's patients in person, so you have an idea of what you can expect?

 

To Mel in NY, most top docs say that a single blade is the preferred way to create the donor strip. Like I said, you really can't steer more than one blade at a time.

 

Some doctors use a double blade, with each blade acting as the 'outside edge' of the strip. The logic is that cutting both edges at once means that you are cutting into taut, virgin scalp. In other words, a single blade will loosen ("un-tether") the scalp after the first incision, making the second incision into a scalp that "gives" more than they prefer. By using a double blade, the scalp remains taut while doing their first incisions. The reasoning is that in a de-tethered scalp, some follicles might get dragged in front of the knife blade during the second pass.

 

I may not be explaining that very well, but some doctors use a double blade for what they explain as caution. I'm not defending the double blade, the single blade is the preferred method, but a single blade probably takes more time and more care than the double blade. I'm just explaining what is some of the reasoning behind a double blade. If my explanation doesn't make sense, let me know.

 

Any more than a single blade is really for the convenience of the surgeon and the techs. (3 blades creates 2 smaller strips, 4 blades creates 3 strips, etc). It makes their jobs easier by giving them a jump start on graft dissection, because they are starting out with smaller pieces right off the bat. However, multi-bladed knives waste donor hair, and since every follicle is valuable, this approach should be avoided.

 

Maybe you can ask Dr. Karamikian how many blades does the scalpel have, that he use for creating the donor strip? Ask if you can see it, and if there is more than one blade, ask him why?

 

Should be interesting to hear his reasoning...

[Paco]

Arfy,

 

As per your questions, I am 27 years old and my hairline is exactly like my 51 yr old dad's.

 

Some friends say that it is no big deal because I can comb my hair forward to cover my receding hairline... but this problem had taunted me for the last 7-8 years. With modern science, hairs can now be moved!!

 

Dr Karamikian's website is http://www.nyhlc.com

 

He seems to be a honest and reputable person.

Feel free to post about any opinions about him before I have surgery in 2 weeks. I'll keep everyone posted about my experience.

 

Hair transplants can be like box of chocolates.

This is always risk involved. I wish it was easier though.

 

Paco

[arfy]

Paco

Have you seen patients of this doctor in person? (And not just the people who might work in his office). Were you impressed with the doctor's patients? Since this doctor is local to you, there should be no problem with seeing plenty of patients.

 

Dr. Karamikian's website says he likes a "mixed graft" approach and thinks that the 'all-micrograft' approach does not result in enough density. Most of the guys on this forum think the mixed graft approach is not as good as the all-FU procedure (a type of micrograft).

 

Look at the article Best Hair Transplant to get an explanation of why the all-FU procedure is considered better than mixed grafts.

 

I know you already said that the doctor would use only Micrografts in your hairline (which is good). All I am trying to say is that this doc may not be one of the best choices out there. So make sure you've seen some patients in person, hopefully guys with similar hair characteristics as you have. Look at these patients carefully, up close and personal, and really examine their results with a critical eye.

 

By the way, this is what Dr. Karamikian says about megasessions, (which makes me think he may be behind the times):<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>What Are Single-hair Transplants and Megasessions?

 

Single-hair transplanting is the attempt to once again avoid "plugs" and thereby create a natural result. In this procedure, large numbers of single-hair grafts, sometimes even several thousand, are made from strips of hair removed from one's donor area, and are individually inserted into the top of the scalp. These megasessions can take up to twelve hours each. The benefit of this type of session is that the result looks natural, but as several patients have asked me, "Where's the hair?"

 

Megasessions usually create a thin result, and often, the patient is fooled into believing that one giant session will solve their whole problem.

This make Dr. Karamikian look "old school" and not one of the top modern doctors.

 

The best thing to do is to see as many patients in person as you can, and trust your own eyes.

[EastCoast]

Don't get mixed grafts. For every mixed graft you will probaly need 4 or 5 fus all around them to cover them up. I have had 2 touch up sessions costly me more money than if it was done right the first time. My mixed grafts aren't even getting lighter in the sun compared to the fu's. You can't wear your hair short with mixed grafts either. Read Dr. Beehener's website on how you will look grafty for about a year with coupled fu's.

 

Good luck.

[Smoothy]

Dr. K might be a good doctor but based on what you have said-- he is not a great or one of the best. First, multi blades are old school. Docs only still use this type if they are lazy and have no care about donor quality/future.

2nd, multi-graft approach is about 10 yrs old. I had multi-grafts back in the early 90's and now I need coverup/touchup work done with FU to hide the quality and make it look natural. Multi-grafts do not yield a "natural look" like all FU does--- from my personal experience.

I recommend getting a 2nd opinion because even if Dr. K is a nice guy, it sounds like he hasnt had nearly the experience or cases to advance his techniques or skill. But if you want average work go for it????????????

[Paco]

I agree.

 

Honestly, from much research on the American Medical Association website. Dr. K got his degree in 2001 from Lake Erie college. He promised that he can do 1400 single grafts of the front of my head. I am comfortable with his education, CBS publicity, and skills.

 

I didn't see any live examples, but just photos in the album and his website. Honestly, I don't expect him to bring a patient to show me.

I try to rely on word of mouth. I have no experience in HT's. I didn't know about the 'multi-blade' issue until this was brought up.

 

Hopefully, I pray that the result would be positive. I spent the last 2 months doing research on hair-transplants. There have been many good/bad stories on the web.

 

Thanks,

Paco

[Mr T]

Paco,

 

There are many things you've written that concern me. If the only things you've seen are pictures, then you haven't seen enough to move forward. Every doctor should be able to provide live references who are somewhere between 8-12 months post-op.

 

I won't beat around the bush. My opinion is that you should call and cancel now... or at least postpone until you've seen patients in person and find the work to be acceptable. This is a lifelong decision... on the front of your head... that everyone will see the first time they look at you... and they should not know you've had work done! Make sure that is the case when you look at those patients!

 

Mr. T

 

(Updated message to fix my grammar.)

[JohnH]

Paco, insist on getting only single FUs. Since you will be getting work to lower your hairline, there is no excuse for the doc to use any other size grafts.

 

To Rugger, what gives you the right to tell someone not to come to this forum and post their questions and experiences? And to call someone an idiot?

[Paco]

FYI, here are some pics I found on this forum of some guy who went to Karamikian. The guy was probably too rush. (went immediately)

 

http://hair-restoration-info.com/eve/forums?a=tpc&s=5696015661&f=1466060861&m=6426082774&r=2446041874#2446041874

 

In a away, I feel a little nervous that Dr. Karamikian shares an office with Dr. Hitzig (subject to many lawsuits).

 

For just single FUT transplants, I think Dr. Karamikian can do the job. However, he's is not an experienced and well-reputatable.

[Big1]

Paco

 

For the love of God, listen to these posters!!! You are about to make a MAMMOTH sized mistake!

[JohnH]

I'm not recommending Dr K. At the time you (Rugger) were calling Paco an idiot, it appeared that he had already made up his mind.

 

Paco, it looks like you are reconsidering your decision. You might want to check into Dr. Feller. He's in New York and does strip and FUE HTs.

[Paco]

I just wanted to say that I thank everyone (including Rugger) for their honest opinion. I will try to get opinions from other's who tried Dr. Karamikian. I will consider a second opinion from other doctors (i.e. Dr. True) in NY. I wish the Shapiro Medical Group in MN were more accessible.

 

I still have a week to decide before cancelling.

 

Thanks,

Paco

[arfy]

Paco

If you look at the pics supplied by JoeHT (you provided a link to them) he doesn't appear to have gotten a top-notch procedure.

 

It's not nice to tell guys "wow your HT looks bad" when they are fresh out of surgery, but I bet a lot of guys here were thinking exactly that, about JoeHT (like I was).

 

I believe that JoeHT has talked about looking for a different doctor, if he needs more procedures.

[Paco]

As promised, here was my post-op pix.

my 1500 FU transplant. I am happy with the work.

 

Now, I just need to take care and wait patiently.

 

 

Any comments?

[el guapo]

Dude

 

I cannot believe you just went and did that after all the advice that was given to you by people that really know what they are talking about.

[forlife]

Paco I hope I am wrong. but from the way the graphs were placed you look like you will have an unnatural hairline!!

[HairBeThere]

It's hard to tell, but do the grafts in the front look angled forward to anyone?

Looks like good density,.

But also, to the left of the widows peak it looks like the hair line goes in a bit. It maybe me or just the angle.

[forlife]

paco didn't even need a hair transplant!!