Potential Recommendation of Dr. Mike Vories of Mount Pleasant, South Carolina

[Bill - Seemiller]

Dear forum members,

 

As many of you know, we gather as much information as possible about a physician, their staff, technique and track record before they are even considered for recommendation on the Hair Transplant Network. Part of our review process involves getting input from patients and the members of this forum community. To learn more about this review process, click here.

 

I would appreciate this community’s input on the potential recommendation of Dr. Mike Vories of South Carolina on the Hair Transplant Network. At this time, Dr. Vories is only being considered for recommendation, not the Coalition. To see our standards for recommendation, click here.

 

Dr. Mike Vories has over 9 years of hair transplant experience and now performs advanced FUE (follicular unit extraction) exclusively on only one patient per day at his clinic in South Carolina. He is an ISHRS (International Society of Hair Restoration Surgery) chairman and is on the ABHRS (American Board of Hair Restoration Surgery) board of directors.

 

Because FUE is more tedious and time consuming than traditional strip surgery, Dr. Vories typically limits his procedures to 1500 grafts in a single day and dense packs up to 50 FU/cm2 when appropriate for the patient. His largest session to date is over 5000 grafts over a 4 consecutive day period.

 

Dr. Mike Vories specializes in advanced FUE, eyebrow reconstruction and scar repair. He also provides prescriptions for Propecia and offers free consultations.

 

Dr. Vories uses the NeoGraft machine with punches as small as .8mm to extract follicular units and carefully places grafts using the "stick and place" technique with the Hans implanter. Dr. Vories is very hands on and extracts and places all follicular units himself.

 

His experienced technicians averaging over 7 years of experience carefully load follicular units into the Hans implanters. Dr. Vories then uses the Hans implanter to make a tiny recipient site as small as .8mm followed by immediate placement of the graft into the incision. Dr. Vories feels that the Hans implanters minimize damage to the follicles during placement while another advantage includes prolonged sharpness of the blade.

 

Dr. Vories recognizes the controversy surrounding the NeoGraft and its marketing and feels strongly that the skill and experience of the physician is significantly more important than which tool they use. Dr. Vories believes the NeoGraft machine can be a valuable tool in experienced hands but is not for the neophyte physician and/or untrained technicians.

 

Dr. Vories feels that the suction of the NeoGraft allows him to enter only the first 2-3mm of the dermis to "grip" the follicle and minimizes transection since neither the "bulb" or the "bulge" or disturbed during the extraction process. While some physicians have expressed concerns that the NeoGraft machine may lead to desiccation (dehydration which leads to death of the follicle), Dr. Vories hasn't seen evidence of this in his hands.

 

Given Dr. Vories' skill and experience in performing quality FUE with excellent results, in my opinion, he should be considered for recommendation.

 

In recent weeks, Dr. Vories has presented numerous examples of his recent FUE and specialty results on this forum. Dr. Vories Recent Patient and Surgical photos can be found below:

 

3800 Grafts via FUE over 2 days with Dr. Vories

 

3020 Grafts via FUE with Dr. Vories

 

2000 Grafts via FUE with Dr. Vories

 

4225 Grafts over 2 Days via FUE with Dr. Vories

 

1800 Grafts via FUE on African American Female Patient with Dr. Vories

 

3412 FUE Grafts over 2 Days with Dr. Vories

 

2025 Grafts via FUE with Dr. Vories

 

2020 Grafts via FUE with Dr. Vories

 

2110 Grafts via FUE with Dr. Vories

 

3110 FUE Grafts over 2 Days with Dr. Vories

 

Surgical Walkthrough

 

3000 Grafts Post-Op via FUE with Dr. Vories

 

2000 Grafts Post-Op via FUE with Dr. Vories including explanation of Hans implanter pen

 

2500 Grafts Post-Op via FUE with Dr. Vories

 

Note: A single FUE session may be accomplished over multiple consecutive days. Many of the below above sessions are accomplished in more than one day.

 

You can find additional examples of his work by visiting the “Results Posted by Leading Hair Transplant Clinics” forum and by using the “search” feature.

 

I welcome input and comments from forum members regarding his potential recommendation.

 

To view our standards for recommendation, click here.

 

Onwards and Upwards,

 

Bill

[1978matt]

Some nice results presented there.

 

It is good that he has posted a range of NW numbers and not just the NW2s with dense packing at the front!

[hairthere]

Bill, I reserve a healthy dose of skepticism when it comes to clinics performing all-FUE procedures. That being said, the fact that Dr. Vories limits procedures to 1500 grafts/day and has a lot experience using the Neograft does put me more at ease, especially considering the results he has presented look quite good. I do think HTN should proceed cautiously and request more results from Dr. Vories because of the nature of his practice, and the fact that many of us have not heard of him before. Thanks.

[Mickey85]

Bill, how long do we have to raise any issues(if any)? I would like to look over dr. Vories's work with a bit more detail before i give an opinion. I like that he performs FUE only but there are standards to uphold.

[Bill - Seemiller]

Hairthere,

 

Thanks for your valuable input. You can find a few additional examples of Dr. Vories results in the "Results Posted by Leading Hair Transplant Clinics" forum. Actually, I feel that Dr. Vories has presented a healthy number of examples of his results to evaluate, moreso even than many physicians we've presented for recommendation.

 

That said, I value your input on the results he's currently presented.

 

Best wishes,

 

Bill

[Bill - Seemiller]

Mickey,

 

We typically allow a couple days for members to weigh in. All of our members have also received newsletters inviting them to provide their input. I look forward to your feedback.

 

Best,

 

Bill

[hairthere]

Thanks Bill, I will be sure to check them out.

 

I do think Dr. Vories' work presented here looks quite good and it is exciting to have a potential HTN-recommended surgeon doing all FUE and using Neograft. His prices also seem very reasonable.

[TygerD]

I am a patient of this clinic, 9 months post op. I need someone to assess my results independent of the Dr's opinion as well as my own. Would like to remain anonymous during this process.

[Denny]

I must confess I am a little skeptic about the use of NeoGraft machine (my personal impression). I have not heard anything about him before this post so I went to see some results from his work and I realised that only a few results in terms of density and hairline I would compare with other surgeons recommended here. The results from Dr. Vories are good, but I don't think good is enough to be recommended on this Forum. This is my opinion.

I would wait a little bit longer until other members give their opinion.

Good to see that you are always open for new doctors! Thank you for all your effort, Bill.

[Bill - Seemiller]

Tyler,

 

Thanks for your reply on this forum. As one of his patients, we certainly value your input. Since you would prefer to stay anonymous, I've sent you an email asking you for more detail surrounding your experience and an invitation to send me photos. Anything you send me will be kept confidential and between us unless we both decide to contact Dr. Vories to garner his input on your experience and/or results.

 

Best wishes,

 

Bill

[Spanker]

I am not blown away by the naturalness of the hairlines, with the exception of the 3000 graft pt that had very fine low contrast hair. Are you going to get robbed by going to him? No. Are you going to see one of the best in the world? I don't really think so either.

 

 

One of my concerns that I have addressed but have not seen a reply on (there may have been one, I just didn't see it) is that first and last names are being used as the image names that this doctor presents. They may have consented to the use of their first and last names on a global forum, but I doubt it. I think it is a bad habit to get into and possibly a HIPPA violation depending on what his consent form says.

[Bill - Seemiller]

Guys,

 

Thanks for everyone's input regarding Dr. Vories' potential recommendation so far. I understand and can relate to some of the controversy surrounding the NeoGraft and its marketing. However, after speaking with Dr. Vories, I feel confident that the device can be a valuable tool in the right hands; however, no more and no less than other viable extration tools and devices.

 

Spanker,

 

Everyone will have their preferences but I do think that the results Dr. Vories has displayed so far show some pretty impressive looking results. You also have to keep in mind that many of the cases he's presented show higher levels of baldness which will always be less impressive than physicians who've shown large numbers of grafts on Norwood level 2 or 3 patients.

 

The issue with patient's names being displayed in photos is a result of the way the forum software works. The names of the actual images are displayed when you hover over them so physicians have to remember to rename their images before presenting them. There was nothing purposeful done here and I believe these have all been corrected. If not, let me know and I'll correct it from my end.

 

I look forward to more input.

 

Best wishes,

 

Bill

[Michael Vories, MD]

Spanker- I agree with you. Hopefully I have erased all names of patients who have had their photos cropped. (Patients whom I show their full face have given name permission as well). I have gone through the photos, but if I have missed any please let me know so I can have names erased. As a new poster, this was my error.

[Mickey85]

Hmmm I'm on the fence on this one Bill... The first few cases I looked at made me think "Hmmm these are actually pretty good" but then a saw an equal amount that made me think "oh now he dropped the ball on these ones". His photos are very honest but the yield is certainly lacking. I certainly would not boycott this forum if his is inducted but I won't be recommending him to others either. It would be great to have another FUE only surgeon in the US but the yield is lacking for me. Having said all that, I was more against Diep's induction than Vories. Please let me know what you think.

[Spanker]

Bill, I understand that everyone will have their preferences. Planting 2500 grafts at NWIV will give a less impressive result than a physician that plants 5,000 grafts on the same pt and with the same skill, as well. I guess it comes down to the needs of the pt. If the patient is a higher NW level and wished to transplant a modest amount of grafts, then there has been evidence that the doctor looks like he is getting pretty good yield. I think it is important for a recommended doctor to display the ability to do higher density cases. I don't feel that those cases have been displayed yet.

[Bill - Seemiller]

Mickey,

 

I appreciate your input, but I think you are confusing "yield" with density. Yield implies that a patient hasn't had full growth whereas if a patient lacks density, he could've still had full growth.

 

I do agree that some patients lack density, but as I said to Spanker, you can't compare densely packed sessions on Norwood level 2 patients with full coverage with a similar number of grafts on Norwood level 4, 5 and 6 cases. Density will always be lacking.

 

The good news is, any of these patients who lack density that typically impresses people can return for subsequent procedures. I think sometimes people forget that it often takes patients with a lot of hair loss multiple procedures to meet their goals. Personally, I went through 4 hair transplants and 9600 grafts (on a Norwood 5A/6) to get the kind of results I have, and it's still thinner in appearance in the crown.

 

All the Best,

 

Bill

[Bill - Seemiller]

For those who've asked,

 

In the interest of being thorough, I emailed Dr. Vories asking him to present a few more additional examples of his results for the community's review (in particular, cases showing dense packing when appropriate).

 

Best wishes,

 

Bill

[Mickey85]

Mickey,

 

I appreciate your input, but I think you are confusing "yield" with density. Yield implies that a patient hasn't had full growth whereas if a patient lacks density, he could've still had full growth.

 

I do agree that some patients lack density, but as I said to Spanker, you can't compare densely packed sessions on Norwood level 2 patients with full coverage with a similar number of grafts on Norwood level 4, 5 and 6 cases. Density will always be lacking.

 

The good news is, any of these patients who lack density that typically impresses people can return for subsequent procedures. I think sometimes people forget that it often takes patients with a lot of hair loss multiple procedures to meet their goals. Personally, I went through 4 hair transplants and 9600 grafts (on a Norwood 5A/6) to get the kind of results I have, and it's still thinner in appearance in the crown.

 

All the Best,

 

Bill

 

Hmmm I am actually talking of yield Bill, areas that were implanted into and did not fully come to fruition.

[Bill - Seemiller]

Mickey,

 

While I appreciate your input, making generic statements about poor yield without showing pictures and documenting your reasons for why you feel that way is not constructive. I certainly don't want to dismiss your input, but making statements about poor yield isn't a statement of opinion. You are stating "facts" that as of now, are unsubstantiated.

 

Realistically, it makes no sense for a surgeon to post cases of his/her own showing poor "yield". Progress photos a few months into surgery are different because the result hasn't fully grown in yet. But this is still different than poor growth/yield.

 

I sent you a private message suggesting that you send me links to forum topics/albums that you think show poor yield with reasons why feel that way. I'd prefer to reserve this topic for his potential inclusion and not a specific debate about a particular result and density versus yield.

 

Thanks,

 

Bill

[Mickey85]

Mickey,

 

While I appreciate your input, making generic statements about poor yield without showing pictures and documenting your reasons for why you feel that way is not constructive. I certainly don't want to dismiss your input, but making statements about poor yield isn't a statement of opinion. You are stating "facts" that as of now, are unsubstantiated.

 

Realistically, it makes no sense for a surgeon to post cases of his/her own showing poor "yield". Progress photos a few months into surgery are different because the result hasn't fully grown in yet. But this is still different than poor growth/yield.

 

I sent you a private message suggesting that you send me links to forum topics/albums that you think show poor yield with reasons why feel that way. I'd prefer to reserve this topic for his potential inclusion and not a specific debate about a particular result and density versus yield.

 

Thanks,

 

Bill

 

No worries Bill, I have responded to your private message in kind. I just want to say I now way stated anything as fact as I said "but the yield is lacking for me". Maybe my expectations are just a bit too high but I will gladly send you the examples I felt were not satisfactory.

[Bill - Seemiller]

Thanks Mickey, I will look for your reply. If I happen to agree there is truly a "yield" issue (in that the vast majority of grafts transplanted truly aren't growing), then we certainly wouldn't recommend him. But as of now, I don't believe there's an actual yield issue in any of the results I've seen.

[Mickey85]

That's totally fine Bill, it is your forum after all. You can't please everyone really and you have to do the best based on your sentiments. I will forward my reply shortly.

[Questionmark]

I must agree with most of the posters here that most of the results look good, but imho there are not enough results that would make me consider him one of the best surgeons in the world. Actually I`ve looked at some cases he posted over the last few weeks, and I usually get very interested when I see results being posted here, but after looking at those, I then overjumped the new threads when they were posted.

That may be due to the really honest quality and lighting of the footage shown, which I highly appreciate, but I think I have to agree with Mickey that there might be some little lack of yield in very few cases:

F.e. Patient 3, last picture, middle of hairline: 2110 Grafts via FUE with Dr. Vories (Patient Three) - Forum By and for Hair Loss Patients

 

I think there were grafts placed that did not yield, but I could be wrong..

 

As for me, this really is an excellent, exceptional result with a great outcome considering the number of grafts: http://www.hairrestorationnetwork.com/eve/169884-2000-grafts-via-fue-dr-vories-patient-four.html

 

It is only my opinion, and I highly appreciate the HRN and Bill`s opinion, but I think the recommendation should be given when more outstanding results will be posted over time.

Thanks for involving the members, and keeping the spirit of this forum!!

[Bill - Seemiller]

Questionmark,

 

Thank you for your input. I see what you're referring to in the picture, but if you look at the before picture, it appears as if the patient had more natural hair in that area before surgery. While I can't be 100% sure, it's possible that the patient lost more natural hair after his hair transplant, leaving that area with a little less density. The postoperative pictures seem to promote this as a possibility as well.

 

The way his hair is styled also makes a difference. The lighting on top of his scalp is a bit harsh (possibly from a camera flash), but it looks like the way his hair is styled could potentially be making any "gap" appear bigger than it is.

 

Unfortunately, the photos aren't real high resolution so it's difficult to see any real detail on this result.

 

Perhaps Dr. Vories can clarify this further for us.

 

Best wishes,

 

Bill

[Bill - Seemiller]

Guys,

 

Also keep in mind that we are currenlty considering Dr. Vories for recommendation, not the Coalition. The Coalition represents an elite group of physicians who perform larger, densely packed sessions when appropriate for the patient. Typically, even those elligible for Coalition membership are first approved for recommendation and later admitted into the Coalition. However, not every surgeon we approve for recommendation is elligible.

 

I encourage you to read and become familiar with our standards for recommendation, which also describes the criteria distinction between recommended and Coalition doctors.

 

Best wishes,

 

Bill