Am I nutz?

[onemoretime]

My hair loss remedies go back some 25 years when I was told by (at the time) the self-proclaimed guru of hair transplantation that my mild thinning would progress & could be halted by his "scalp lift" procedure. I know what you're thinking but I was young, naive, about to be married & quite vain. Yes-bad move. My hair became thick on the sides appeared uplifted in the back and offered what I thought was a solution-but not so natural looking. I kept in touch with the surgeon & went back a few times for some "micrografts"-last of which in 2001. By now, I'm older, techniques are better and I'm still thinning-only now somewhat irregularly. None of the surgeons in my native western Pa. area do great work with HT. I recently met Dr. Robt. Haber-liked him but am still skeptical. Haber says he can use his new ARTAS technique as it would be best for someone with prior (scar-laden work done: my words not Haber's). Dr. Haber seems competent, but he practices dermatology, teaches in Pediatrics residency,on & on. HT isn't the only thing that makes Haber tick-should this concern me? Also, I got an appointment rather soon-even got offered a surgery date-also soon. What are your thoughts-should I subject myself to surgery one last time? Is Haber the guy? What about ARTAS? Or perhaps, I'm just nutz for even considering this-your thoughts?

[Shampoo]

Personally I like to always go with specialists. To me it's just a safer bet. If I need a root canal I go to an Endodontist. If I need a tooth implant I go to a doctor that specializes in dental implants. If I need a medical surgery why would I choose someone that does it on a "part-time" basis?

 

Technicians play a very important part of the success of hair transplant surgery, and doctors that don't do hair transplants on a full time basis are less likely to have a deep experienced highly skilled staff of technicians that have worked with the same doctor for years. Rent-a-tech or part-time techs are much more common with part-time hair transplant clinics.

[harryforreal]

Shampoo speaks gospel.

[TakingThePlunge]

onemoretime,

 

It's never a bad idea to proceed cautiously. While I think it's the best course of action to consider any and all reputable surgeons within a distance that you are comfortable traveling, I'd also like to state that Dr. Robert Haber performs world-class hair transplant surgery. For that reason, he is not only recommended by our community but is a well-respected member of the Coalition of Independent Hair Restoration Physicians.

 

To learn about our criteria for recommending physicians, click here.

 

I suggest taking a look at Dr. Haber's Coalition profile. Here are just a couple of highlights from his bio:

 

In 1995, the International Society of Hair Restoration Surgery honored him with its first Award of Excellence in recognition of his innovative techniques.

 

Dr. Bob Haber is the winner of the 2009 ISHRS Golden Follicle award. To learn more about his outstanding clinically based achievements in hair restoration and this award, visit “Coalition member Dr. Haber Receives the Golden Follicle Award at the 2009 ISHRS Meeting in Amsterdam”.

 

You may also wish to view our interactive map where you can locate all of the physicians we recommend worldwide.

 

Finally, it's important to note that our list of recommended physicians is by no means a comprehensive list of all physicians around the world performing ultra-refined follicular unit hair transnation. However, our screening process ensures that each of the physicians we do recommend are among the finest, most skilled and ethical surgeons practicing.

 

For more on ARTAS, you may wish to view the following articles.

 

ARTAS Hair Restoration System and the Hair Transplant Surgeons That Use It

 

Advantages of the ARTAS Robotic Assisted Hair Transplant for Follicular Unit Extraction (FUE): By Dr. Robert Bernstein

 

Best of luck!

[Burned]

Dr. Haber? Run. He has done hairlines and left them with pitting.

[TakingThePlunge]

Burned,

 

Welcome! All members are free to share their opinions and experiences. But, I find it interesting that your first post here is designed to criticize the work of a skilled and respected Coalition physician like Dr. Haber while offering no evidence or details to back up your statements.

 

On what do you base your comment above? Have you had surgery with Dr. Haber? Do you know someone who has had a bad experience?

 

The truth is that Dr. Haber has a long and documented history of performing ultra-refined follicular unit transplantation with excellent results.

[TakingThePlunge]

Burned,

 

I see now, in looking at your profile, that you did have surgery with Dr. Haber as well as with Dr. Bernstein. Can you please elaborate on your experiences?

 

Do you have any pre and post-operative photos you can share, documenting your case?

[Burned]

Burned,

 

I see now, in looking at your profile, that you did have surgery with Dr. Haber as well as with Dr. Bernstein. Can you please elaborate on your experiences?

 

Do you have any pre and post-operative photos you can share, documenting your case?

 

As you've noticed in my profile, I indeed did have surgery with him David. I will elaborate further on my next post.

[Burned]

Here's some comments posted on 7/25/2012, that basically summarize my history of hair transplants/doctors/having comparison photos/etc. These were made under another username I have, but forgot about until this morning.

Having not posted much on any or many hair loss message boards and basically trying to forget about the bad procedures, I somehow came up with 2 usernames with different emails. They are HT3 and Burned. From this day forward, I will use Burned only.

I think in many cases, after having a hair transplant, the patient sits back for some time (I know I did) and after complaining to the doctor about being unsatisfied, is told things like "don't worry, time will take away the pits at your placement sites" or "we have some things here in the office we can use to help with the healing process" and the next thing you know, it's a year or two gone by. Then the doctor drops all offers of support and the patient who's been "burned" doesn't have much other than words to back up their disappointment with the doctor.

I've had some transplants. 1 with Robert Bernstein was the best ever and did a lot to cover up the bad transplant I had before that.

It doesn't change that the 1st transplant was terrible!!!!! Do I have photos to document my 1st transplant? No.

After Bernstein, I had another with Francis Badamo. He was hired by N.H. I. (Bernstein/Rassman) and after being promised by staff that Dr. Bernstein would oversee this procedure, he wasn't there that day. Result? Badamo had some difficulty with placement direction of the hair.

What was I told would help this? Start plucking. I've plucked and plucked and plucked and they continue to grow. The plucking plan was offered as they will come back thinner and thinner, then not at all. Never happened.

My last transplant with Dr. Robert Haber was where I got all the pitting at the placement areas. It's next to impossible to show in photos, due to the Dr. Bernstein Transplant still holding up the "masking".

Dr. Haber is the doctor who made the comments in my 1st paragraph and then after the healing/pitting never changed told me "it's caused from you getting transplanted so much" and the procedures that would remove the pitting (lasers/injections) would not work (lasers) and were only temporary (injections). It was a very different attitude than a few months earlier and a whole new agenda for the doctor.

Can I prove this to this message board with photos, dates, etc.? Not most of it, but my point here is many folks who have inferior transplants are in the same boat.

I forgot to add, after Dr. Bernstein left N.H.I., I decided to complain about Dr. Badamo (since fired from N.H.I. I believe) to Dr. Rassman in California as my wife & I were going to be in LA for another reason.

Basically, Dr. Rassman couldn't be taken seriously and just joked & joked with me and gave my hair/scalp a view and said I had almost no miniturization. When I kept pointing him back to being serious about the hair direction, transplanted by Dr. Badamo, he agreed to give me a 10% discount on future transplants, but stressed, "if I needed one".

Again, my point here is I'm not making this stuff up, but can't back it up with photos on this board.

I can't say enough good things about Dr. Bernstein. Healing/direction of hair transplanted was great. My only criticism, if any, would be too conservative for me.

In closing, I'll be more than happy to meet/speak to anyone considering trying the other doctors. The pitting can be seen fairly well when close up and in proper lighting.

Thank you and I look forward to participating a bit more here if I can. I am considering Dr. Rahal if and when I go for the next one and trust me, I'll be doing photos and keeping much documentation this time.

[Blake Bloxham]

Burned,

 

First, I am sorry to hear about your poor hair transplant experience. Having said that, it does seem like - by the time you reached Dr. Haber - your case was complicated, and I'm wondering if this affected the final results?

 

Regardless, I truly believe sharing some images of your hair restoration journey and final result would help the community analyze your case and come to an informed conclusion. What's more, I'm sending Dr. Haber an emailing explaining the situation and asking for him to review and leave a comment.

 

Again, I am sorry to hear about the poor experience. If there is anything I (or any of the other moderators) can do to help, please let me know!

[Burned]

Burned,

 

First, I am sorry to hear about your poor hair transplant experience. Having said that, it does seem like - by the time you reached Dr. Haber - your case was complicated, and I'm wondering if this affected the final results?

 

Regardless, I truly believe sharing some images of your hair restoration journey and final result would help the community analyze your case and come to an informed conclusion. What's more, I'm sending Dr. Haber an emailing explaining the situation and asking for him to review and leave a comment.

 

Again, I am sorry to hear about the poor experience. If there is anything I (or any of the other moderators) can do to help, please let me know!

 

Thank you for your comments.

Let me make this 100% clear. While I guess your suggestion could be possible, the sites where Dr. Haber placed transplanted hair ALL had pitting.

If there was that possibility, I would have expected the Dr. to notify me AND disqualify himself from further work on me and I'm not talking about the contract you sign before surgery that says this and that is possible to basically protect all hair transplant surgeons from anything going wrong.

I also want to reiterate that when I went in for my 1st checkup and mentioned the pitting and told the doctor I was upset, he immediately told me "it's more pitting than we like to see, but it's still early in the healing process". I let him know how upset I was and he also told me quickly that he had some things in place that could help with the pitting in the form of injections and lasers, that could bring a more level appearance.

When I went for my next check up, these options became lasers that in the doctors opinion "don't work" for pitting and the injections would only help for a temporary period. I was completely blown away at what a different attitude was present. He also got into the practice of every time he left the room saying the pitting was from me being transplanted so much. Again, I would have liked to be told and turned down as a patient if this indeed was the case.

With regard to me selecting help with lasers, he told me he was going to be receiving a new laser machine and the option for using his current laser machine would go away, when the new machine arrived. He told me and I quote "knock yourself out".

When I did choose to go in for laser treatment, the person operating the laser explained the new laser was the type that could level things out better, but would also kill the hair, so that was why they couldn't use it on me.

[Burned]

One last thing please. The original starter of this thread onemoretime owns this thread. I apologize if this thread went off track. It's not about my experiences with transplant doctors, but about him asking for feedback on a number of things including this particular doctor. That was my whole intention when offering my opinion and hopefully he could weigh in on the feedback provided from myself and the other board members who replied and will reply.

Mods/onemoretime, if you feel the need to remove my comments and start another thread dedicated to my experiences, please let me know and feel free to do so.

Thanks again..

[Dr. Robert Haber]

Allow me to address the two main concerns.

 

1. “Full time” vs “part time” hair transplant surgeons.

 

Just because I perform other procedures and see general dermatology patients does not make me a “part time” surgeon. I perform about 200 hair transplant procedures each year and produce some of the best results in the world. I have a team of 8 full time surgical assistants, and have never ever used a “tech-for hire.” Our cases average 2500+ grafts, take 8+ hours to complete, and we only perform one procedure each day. I’ve posted over 50 results here on the HTN that speak for themselves, and in well over a decade of being a member of the HTN, I believe this is the first negative post about my work.

 

I am generally booked out about two months in advance. I recently added the ARTAS robot to my practice, and for a 5 week introductory period in July and August we have set aside surgical dates for ARTAS patients. “Onemoretime” was offered one of those dates as part of this promotion.

 

2. Pitting

 

This is thankfully a very rare complication and something I have not seen in a “virgin” patient for many years. I have no way of knowing who “Burned” is, but if a procedure with me has caused him distress, then I am distressed as well. “Burned” states that he had a terrible transplant, followed by a good transplant, followed by a long period of “plucking.” This history most likely altered the scalp tissue, resulting in pitting after my procedure (I’ll assume “Burned” is accurate.)

 

I have never refused to try to help a patient resolve any concern, and if “Burned” would give my office a call, I would be pleased to offer fractionated resurfacing, dermabrasion, or any other available technique (at no cost of course) to help reduce his pitting. At the same time, I would strongly advise against any additional surgery. I take great pride in being available to my patients forever. They are all given my personal cell phone number and are told to call me anytime. “Burned” may still have the number, and can call me tonight if he wishes.

 

If this thread started by “Onemoretime” results in an improved outcome for “Burned,” then these forums will once again have been shown to be a valuable resource for current and future patients.

 

Sincerely,

 

Robert Haber, MD

[nathaniel]

Thank you, Burned, for sharing your story. I wish there was a single thread or gallery where people could see bad hair transplant results by doctors all in one place. It is difficult sifting through all these various threads and trying to remember all the doctors' names and cases of hair transplants gone wrong.

[Dr. Robert Haber]

Duplicate post

[onemoretime]

First to "Burned"; I admire you & appreciate hearing your story. So what if you haven't posted in a while, you have now and that post has provided a wealth of information to anyone reading. I am truly sorry for your experiences and if anyone's bad HT circumstances could be rectified I would hope it would be yours. Maybe cloning is the answer & maybe its not as far off as we think. Good luck, my friend, and thank you.

 

To Dr. Haber: The sentiment that each person's opinion is important has obviously made you react to this post. Certainly,it would have been easier to ignore it, but you did not, and I, as well as other potential patients, appreciate this.

[Bill - Seemiller]

Burned,

 

I'm sorry to hear of your unfortunate circumstances that may have led to pitting. As Dr. Haber already explained, pitting is a rare occurrance but frankly, I wouldn't be surprised if your complicated situation including many hair transplants followed by a long period of plucking didn't increase these risks.

 

I know and understand you are upset and angry. But Dr. Haber has a long history and reputation for producing outstanding results. Examples of over a dozen examples of his impressive results can be found on this community. I'm not saying this to dismiss your concerns or circumstances - but some of your statements has made it necessary to remind the overall community that one complicated situation that led to a rare side effect doesn't mean that Dr. Haber is doing sub-par work.

 

As you can see by Dr. Haber's post above, he is willing to help do whatever he can in his power to reduce the amount of pitting you have free of charge. Thus, I strongly encourage you to take him up on his offer to see what he can do to help you.

 

Best wishes in obtaining a satisfying outcome.

 

Bill

[Burned]

Nathaniel-Thank you for your comments.

onemoretime-Best of luck on your situation. I know there are doctors out there who can improve your hair. I believe you're doing the right thing in researching doctors. You cannot do enough "homework".

Lastly to Bill/Dr. Haber-If & when I respond, I believe I am going to take my time in doing so as I feel it needs to be very carefully worded, thought out & maybe some research done before I do so.