Do You Recommend Going For Personal Consult Prior To Deciding

[reverse]

Just wondering how many of you recommend going in for a personal consultation before the final decision?

 

The obvious answer to me if yes. I feel like it would make me more comfortable to be seen by the actual surgeon performing this life changing, costly procedure. Even though they offer online consults, I really would feel better and less nervous if I had had a chance to meet with the doctor personally, ask more questions, have him examine me hands-on and for him to get a better idea about both my balding, and donor situation.

 

Sure, from where I am, it might set me back ~$800 to do so, just for an evaluation, but would it be worthwhile to do so?

[Cant decide]

Without a doubt yes. Not only do you get a feel for your comfort level but the doc can determine much better your donor density, laxity, and hair loss.

 

yes yes yes...

[james84]

1000000% yes!

[Spanker]

Yes I do.

[Nick153452]

It's obviously preferable to see the person in real life, however, most people don't have the financial means to do so. Most of us, myself included, would settle for an online consult with their surgeons of choice (if they didn't have a surgeon within driving distance). Indeed, I would personally rather trust their reputation, know my limits, and get an extra 200-300 grafts than to go visit my doctor for a consultation. Additionally, how many doctors are you going to visit? 2-3-4? I see my hopes of ever having another transplant diminish significantly.

[Shampoo]

The answer has to be yes.....BUT

I agree and did exactly what Nick said.

 

Of course it's best to meet the surgeon, see the clinic, ect.

But I studied this and other forums for quite some time

Met with a Hasson/Wong patient in Dallas who looked awesome

And he strongly urged me to save the $1000 flying to Vancouver for a consult

which I had planned to do...

he said like Nick says "use the $1000 for more grafts".

Like Nick says....how many patients fly to 2, 3, 4 cities for consults?

I doubt very many do.

 

So again....I think in person consults are by far the best.

But I think a patient can study, study, study

and then decide if they want to take the chance

of not having an in person consult if they go to a doctor

that is widely held as one of the best in the world.....

again I would not suggest it for others.....

but yes after becoming educated about who they are

I would go to a Hasson/Wong, a Rahal,

a Feller, a Shapiro and a few others without an

in-person consult. And thats exactly what I did

and I feel I got an outstanding result.

[Spanker]

Shampoo and Nick are both correct. I significantly narrowed the field through some serious research and then I drove 8 hours to see Dr. Konior. Had he been much further I probably would have just done the online consult.

[chrisdav]

In an ideal world yes but I know it can be difficult and expensive.

 

Clinics do hold consultations around a lot of countries so maybe you could consult in an area closest to where you live.

[scar5]

Personal consults are a waste of time, money and words IMO.

A, they are trained to spin

B. you'll end up getting what you get anyway

C. How on earth do you expect to get an objective opinion from their nominated 'willing to share' patients

 

 

IF and this is the CAVEAT , IF you have made it to this board, asked the questions you need to ask, including, "Is a personal consult necessary"?" You are well and truly in a passive position with the HT surgeons you have narrowed yourself to. In other words, of they say, "reverse" we can do 4000 grafts, and on the day, they do 3000 with a plausible explanation, what difference is it gonna make? Are you gonna say, " We'll, in that case I gotta consult with Dr. X on the other side of the earth, to confirm it" Basically, you go where you think is right, stick to your guns, listen carefully, respond appropriately, but in the end, all this stuff about meeting patients is just gob smack righteousness. Who can afford the necessary trips, and create the framework in their brain before hand to apply an 'objective' analysis. Some do, but it is by accident, and not by rational percentage playing the field.

 

But I must say, there is the odd case, isn't there, where a nominate patient tells the reality and in that case you are getting words straight out of Gods mouth. But how are you to know, so basically, a waste of time if you ask from the starting line.

Edited June 20, 2013 by scar5
Last paragraph , obviously, sometimes it is valuable

[Shampoo]

i agree with Scar mostly....

it all sounds good about the importance of meeting in person beforehand

but in so many cases is it practical?

who is really going to fly to NY, Vancouver, MN, Toronto just for consults to compare?

heck you could have thousand$ in costs flying to all the cities just for consults

 

I have a slightly different take on meeting patients or even talking to them on the phone. I think one can tell pretty quick if the patient is some paid stooge for the clinic that is really just an arm of the sales department.

 

Each situation is different but I feel I learned a lot from the local Dallas patient I met for dinner that had gone to Hasson/Wong. This guy is a full time successful realtor. He shared his before/after pics....and just to see his outstanding results in person was in my mind valuable. I like hearing his thoughts about why he chose a certain doctor, his thoughts about passing on an in-person consult (saved me $1000), his thoughts about the clinic, the staff, his recovery. I felt he was being very genuine and helpful. Of course it has to be taken in perspective....sure a clinic is not going to put you in contact with someone that had a bad result, but still meeting patients in an unscripted environment can be valuable and you can pickup little tid-bits of information that you may not find anywhere else. I honestly think I would be honest/objective as a "willing to share" patient.

 

Of course meeting patients or talking to them on the phone is just one part of a patient doing his due diligence before choosing a doctor.

Edited June 20, 2013 by Shampoo

[JohnnyDrama]

Personal consults are a waste of time, money and words IMO.

A, they are trained to spin

B. you'll end up getting what you get anyway

C. How on earth do you expect to get an objective opinion from their nominated 'willing to share' patients

 

 

IF and this is the CAVEAT , IF you have made it to this board, asked the questions you need to ask, including, "Is a personal consult necessary"?" You are well and truly in a passive position with the HT surgeons you have narrowed yourself to. In other words, of they say, "reverse" we can do 4000 grafts, and on the day, they do 3000 with a plausible explanation, what difference is it gonna make? Are you gonna say, " We'll, in that case I gotta consult with Dr. X on the other side of the earth, to confirm it" Basically, you go where you think is right, stick to your guns, listen carefully, respond appropriately, but in the end, all this stuff about meeting patients is just gob smack righteousness. Who can afford the necessary trips, and create the framework in their brain before hand to apply an 'objective' analysis. Some do, but it is by accident, and not by rational percentage playing the field.

 

But I must say, there is the odd case, isn't there, where a nominate patient tells the reality and in that case you are getting words straight out of Gods mouth. But how are you to know, so basically, a waste of time if you ask from the starting line.

 

You think that the absolute top end docs are 'trained to spin'?

 

I think you've gone off on one a bit there scar.

 

My personal experience: I was lucky enough to meet 4 great docs in one weekend (thankful that Belgium is so small). I was so much more educated after that weekend than I was beforehand. They also had very different estimations once they saw me in person compared to the plans they had for me going from my online consultations.

 

I felt WAY more comfortable with some docs in comparison to others. I was given my donor density, something that is not possible over online consults. As a result, I have a good idea of how many FUE grafts I realistically can have in total.

 

From my research, I was aware that the docs I was meeting were genuine honest docs, who could easily tell me I'm not a candidate, since they have told this to people before. Where is the 'spin' in that?

 

Another little story that goes to show how in-person meetings are so much more beneficial than photo sharing.......

 

I spoke with an ex-patient of one of the clinics I looked at. He went there for a repair after 2 bad HTs in 2 other clinics before that. He was delighted with the result. 2 years later, he thought he would go back and touch up a certain area (chasing absolute perfection - almost going back to teen hair quality). He sent on pics, fully paid for the HT, and arranged a date. When he got to the clinic, the doc straight up told him 'No'. They felt he was in far too good a shape to get a HT. They turned him away and within a week he was FULLY refunded, at the loss of the clinic. Again, they had his best interests at heart. If they were a 'spin' clinic, they would have put him back under the knife to make a handy few €ks.

 

He told me, thinking back, it would have been crazy for him to get one, and he is very grateful they said no.

[JohnnyDrama]

Also, one of the clinics I visited give a discount if you have made the effort to visit them beforehand for a consultation. To me, that says a lot.

[Mickey85]

I think consults via Skype or preferably in person are very valuable because you get the Doctor's angle on what he can accommodate for or plan to do. If you avoid the consult and wait until the procedure date, what's to say the surgeon's opinion on what to do will match your own? He might not want to give you that low of a hairline or close the temple points off or think your hairline design is too aggressive. A consult will avoid all this and help the patient make a more informed decision in my opinion.

[1978matt]

I normally go to the US at least once every 2 years for a vacation and built it in to a stoppover on the flight back. I don't think the ticket was any more expensive. I just had to pay for a hire car for the day.

 

I think I would struggle to get it done without an in-person consult.

[TommyLucchese]

It's like ordering a shirt online with no real clue about size or how it will look on you, or going in person and trying it on and seeing how it looks in person.

 

I felt so clear and positive after my in person consultation.

[BlackAmish111]

I would HIGHLY recommend the in-house visit! I failed to do so and we had to do a last minute procedural change as FUE just wouldn't take on my type of hair so we did FUT for the hairline. The problem is I would have preferred to transfer some of the savings to more coverage but basically the whole day became time sensitive and although I'm mostly happy with the final results (at 2 months), I might need to do another one which could have been saved if we had met beforehand with a stronger gameplan.

[scar5]

 

I think you've gone off on one a bit

 

I felt WAY more comfortable with some docs in comparison to others. o.

 

You know Johnny, I think u may well be right about that. I had some compunction to illuminate that sentiment you get when you feel you are wading in that , " do as I say, not as I do' territory, which often seems to be the case whether it is buying a used car or getting an HT.

 

But I must say, if personal comfort is the goal of visiting the doc that you have chosen from your research, and If it makes or breaks your decision to do an HT with that doc, then who am I to say that can be wrong, or suggest that one is deluding themselves thinking that the doctors demeanor will make a difference to the outcome.

 

Some docs are seductive, all reps are (else they have no job) and some docs are cantankerous or proud beyond anyone's grasp but, yeh...it is hard to argue that it isn't beneficial to have a physical checkup.If it costs you 1000 grafts for the airfare, so be it.

 

But the idea peddled around is to visit as many docs and patients as possible. Then make a decision. That really is impractical for a start and I think that when impractical ideas get too much traction, people tend to bury their heads in the sand and shut it out, until we get realistic again.

[JohnnyDrama]

Scar....my message and I reckon others would say the same is 'If it is at all within your capacity to get multiple in-person consultations, then by all means go for it. If not, then so be it, and go the route that so many have which is also perfectly acceptable'.

 

But I must say, if personal comfort is the goal of visiting the doc that you have chosen from your research, and If it makes or breaks your decision to do an HT with that doc, then who am I to say that can be wrong, or suggest that one is deluding themselves thinking that the doctors demeanor will make a difference to the outcome.

 

Personal comfort was not my goal. My goal was to attain the kind of details that is impossible to attain via online consultations. I wanted to know my donor density. I wanted to know if I was a good FUE candidate. I wanted to get a vibe to see if the doc was confident in my case once he had my head physically in front of him, as opposed to looking at pics. I got different vibes from different docs in that respect.

 

Also, I got to compare each of their individual plans for me. This was arguably the biggest factor. One doc estimated 1500, another 2000, and another 2800-3000.

 

These details are hugely significant for me, and I would have been clueless had I not gone ahead with it.

 

Another example of just how I benefited from this was from a planning perspective. The clinic that I was most impressed with from my research, initially said that I would possibly need 3000-3500 grafts going by my pics, and that I may need to go the FUT route. When I got to the clinic, I found out that I was a very good FUE candidate and that around 2000 grafts would be necessary.

 

Some docs are seductive, all reps are (else they have no job) and some docs are cantankerous or proud beyond anyone's grasp but, yeh...it is hard to argue that it isn't beneficial to have a physical checkup.If it costs you 1000 grafts for the airfare, so be it.

 

It's funny, of the 4 docs I met, they could each fall into the categories you mentioned. I could argue that I actually decided to go with the least 'seductive' of them after weighing up everything.

 

If I had not gone ahead with this consultation......I could easily have just put a deposit on a 3500 FUT procedure and let it be. As a result, I'm paying for far 'less' grafts.

 

In the grand scheme of things, I actually feel as if the trip I made has saved me money (as well as preventing me from committing to a scar). The clinic even gave me a discount due to me making an effort to visit. This discount was more than what my airfare cost.

 

 

But the idea peddled around is to visit as many docs and patients as possible. Then make a decision. That really is impractical for a start and I think that when impractical ideas get too much traction, people tend to bury their heads in the sand and shut it out, until we get realistic again.

 

I think everyone who has chimed in on this would say to get an in-person consultation 'if it is in anyway within your capabilities'. Obviously for some it is easier than for others. In my case I am lucky that I can takes me 3-5 hours depending, to get to a city that has 4-5 top surgeons within an hour of each other. Obviously this isn't a case for most, particularly outside of Europe.

 

My weekend turned out to be incredibly practical in hindsight. Granted, it was a tough weekend with a lot of effort and planning put into it. I was pretty exhausted by the end of it, but had gained so much from it. My procedure is exactly 2 months away, and I'm a long way from finding out if it will be a success, but at least I will be able to tell myself that I did everything I could from a research point of view beforehand.

[MAGNUMpi]

I normally go to the US at least once every 2 years for a vacation and built it in to a stoppover on the flight back. I don't think the ticket was any more expensive. I just had to pay for a hire car for the day.

 

smart. Im gonna try that.

[greatjob]

I think doctor demeanor or bedside manner is the most overrated thing in the entire medical field. I could careless if a doctor is a complete asshole, as long as he is the best at what he does. I have had many other surgeries over the years and one of the doctors was the orthopedic surgeon for all the pro teams in my city, and he is the most rude pompous jerk I have ever met, but he is one of the best in his field so I could care less. I don't want a friend I want results. Anyways rant over.

 

I never met with Dr. Rahal pre-op, hell I never even talked to him, but I didn't care because I had already made my decision, and I don't have the money to jet set around for consultations. The easy answer is if you can meet with a bunch of doctors, do that, if you can't, do your research and due diligence and it more than likely won't matter.

[reverse]

Thanks everyone for your take on this! This place is awesome!

 

It's just that, for me, I have never had anything like this done before and I certainly have not spent this type of money on any one thing before. I just really feel like I would feel so much better if the doctor could assess me in person before committing to a particular approach. I'd really like to know the total amount of donor I will have available and hair to graft ratio, all that, the best that they can tell beforehand. It's not that I don't trust an experienced and talented surgeons recommendations from pictures but I would just be a nervous wreck going into it without meeting with him first and letting him evaluate me completely, give me some time to ask some questions directly and see what else the in person meeting might bring about.

 

Yeah, it might cost me $800 or so to go do this from where I am but I think I might rather do that, even if it meant that that money, from the HT fund was spent and I needed to wait another month or two to save it back up, I just think it might be worthwhile. How many people go travel all around and meet with more than one surgeon before making a decision?

 

Also, would it bother you if you spoke with a clinic and after the online consultation, you then offered to fly to meet for an in person consult, and then were told that it is not necessary, would that concern you?