My hair transplant with Dr. Umar.

[Heliboy]

I follow the forum briefly these days but haven't commented in quite some time because I myself was able to put my hair loss behind me because of Dr Umar. I began transplants at 19 y/o (23 years ago) back when only strip was available and FUE was only a dream. After many poor decisions and doctors in the late 90's and early 2000's I was left with extensive scarring and improperly placed hair that left me with no choice but to wear a hairpiece which I did for 14 years.

 

When I found out Dr Umar was beginning his work years back using body hair I contacted him and we discussed my case. I was Dr Umar's first mega session I believe and one of the first handful of patients that underwent body hair transplants for repair. Dr Umar is an extremely thorough and very upfront physician. In my case he outlined what he felt would achieve my goals and told me that it would take time / alot of grafts/ and first and foremost PATIENCE to acheive my goals.

 

Over the course of 4 years I flew from the east coast to California on 5 separate occasions to complete various phases of work. I can tell you right now I'm not sure if there are more than a handful of individuals that have been in the surgical chair at Dr Umar's office more than I. Some visits I spent an entire week there when I was getting 4000-5000 grafts. So I know exactly what the routines are / medications and so on . Dr Umar would come in prior to surgery each day and discuss exactly what we would do and his goals. When we got to the hairline restoration he drew it out for my inspection to ensure I was satisfied.

 

It is very discouraging to see that accusations are thrown out against Dr Umar's character and integrity because an individual could not wait 6 months! Seriously. And laser removal? What ? Dr Umar had to extract hundreds of grafts that I had done from previous M.Ds because those M.Ds had misplaced the grafts and he decided to use those same grafts in more useful locations. There were no scars from those grafts being removed. He certainly didnt have to use laser to resurface the extracted areas.

 

I can tell you this. I was involved in the forums extensively from 2005 - 2008 when I was undergoing my procedures. I learned a great deal about individuals that post on the forums as well. You have those who are very sincere in learning about what direction to go and being fulling researched when they are ready to make a decision. You have those that have never had a single graft transplanted offering advice on hair transplants and considering themselves experts. And then you have those that work to demean the character of an M.D simply because they favor another M.D or in some cases M.D's put the posters on the forums for that very purpose. (Yes it happens) I can tell you for a fact that I went to the doctor in Alpharetta that was mentioned in the post along with many other doctors prior to finally getting my life back after Dr Umar did not give up on my difficult situation and he didnt give up on evolving his body hair transplant techniques.

 

Anyone going into a procedure needs to be very upfront about their needs and most importantly be PATIENT enough to work through the impatience which is often difficult. Anxiety and depression do not work well with those who do not cope well with hair loss. Believe me I know. There was a point in my own life in my teens and early 20's that I had to discuss with a psychologist my difficulties at coping with hair loss especially after all the M.Ds prior to Dr Umar had left me with so much scarring that I had to wear a hairpiece. So after 5 M.Ds / anxiety/ depression/ and 14 years of wearing a hairpiece I got my life back because of Dr Umar and it really pisses me off quite honestly to see things like this - ESPECIALLY if it is found out that another M.D has put someone up to smearing the character of Dr Umar. I have seen it happen on the forums many years ago when Dr Umar was making huge strides in the field very quickly. The character assasinations are much of the reason I got away from posting on the forums but I will not sit back and see the same reenactment I used to see all the time happen again . Especially when the same exact M.D is now involved in this patients care that was involved several years ago trying to stir up trouble. Maybe so and maybe not but I see irony.

 

Dr Umar patient

Extensive scar repair and restoration over 5 years

18000 + body and scalp hair grafts

[BlackAmish111]

The Doctor or any business beats a case of incorrect allegations by disputing the facts -not the character of said patient. Case in point you've now already labeled the patient as "suffering from mental problems". Do you know how many people in the world are treated for depression? Are they all now unqualified to state that something was treated properly in their case or all they all just a bunch of nutjobs?

 

In that case, a Psychiatrist would have carte blanche in that any and all allegations would be met with "What do you want -my clients crazy?". That would go for any doctor if the client had a mild case of depression. Ludicrous. It's easy enough to dispute the facts of the case, contact the client privately and state that this concern is being worked out privately -in the public forum.

 

If he was indeed too fragile to treat initially, he should have been screened out in the first place. Should never have had to come to this.

[BlackAmish111]

Anyways, enough on the sidetrack. I think this brings up a similar point to the thread I started here https://www.hairrestorationnetwork.com/eve/172138-what-protocol-hairline-design.html#post2363355

 

I also felt that a solid, precise and fully illustrated pre-design was lacking although my Dr. had a solid line in that certain discussions could not be had after I was medicated. It seems clear by this case that expectations were different by the client and I'm really trying to understand why the profession as a whole doesn't approach this in a more visually compelling way. For example, take a picture of their face, and show them exactly where the hairline will be place with said amount of grafts -why is this so hard?

[Hairguy350]

Responses to first set of questions prior to thread being locked. More to come soon.

 

@ Blackamish111, thank you for your response, and I agree that part of the problem in this situation is the lack of sufficient pre-design consultation / collaboration. This is something that should be addressed industry wide. Furthermore, asking a patient to collaborate and make decisions while they are impaired due to sedatives is a gross error. “Furthermore, in the morning of your surgery, in our pre-surgery discussions and planning, I gave you a pencil and a mirror and had you indicate on your forehead where you wanted your hairline positioned so I understand your understanding of aggressive hairline positioning (Dr. Umar, email July 21, 2013).” This statement substantiates my previous claim that while in the operating room, under the influence of sedatives given to me by Dr. Umars’ dermhairclinic, he asked me to make cognitive decisions related to the hair transplant design.

Drugs such as diazepam and lorazepam are schedule IV controlled substances that fall into the following classes benzodiazepine, anxiolytic, and hypnotic. The Tylenol with codeine is a schedule II substance that falls into the following classes analgesic, opiate, and antidiarrheal. The attached video below shows a patient who has taken Valium, which is a brand name for diazepam.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4OiMl1RW5cg

 

Would you ask this patient to make decisions and collaborate in the operating room for a hair transplant procedure? Would you trust their judgment under the influence of this medication? Would you make the decision as a physician to give these medications then ask your patient to make decisions?

 

Attached here is a video of another patient under the influence on Lorazepam. Notice at the 1:26 mark that the video-taper asks the person under the influence if she remembers something she just did?

 

 

 

In addition here is a video that explains some of the side effects of Lorazepam such as drowsiness, dizziness, loss of coordination, blurred vision, memory impairment, and confusion.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4GiAYbI1whE

 

@ Spanker, I will be uploading pictures asap.

 

@ Mickey85, in my opinion, I cannot recommend Dr. Sanusi Umar.

 

@ MAGNUMpi, I agree that Dr. Umar has performed repair work in the past where patients were satisfied with the results, and he is known for getting high yields on body hair. However, in my opinion his hairlines are poor. Therefore, he may be the doctor of choice for repairs that need body or beard hair.

 

@ Shampoo, You are correct it is very difficult to locate negative reviews about Dr. Umar. Throughout the hair transplant community forums, and relevant review websites the negative comments are sparse or non-existent. If you look hard enough you will see people mention that they do not like his hairlines, that his results are unimpressive, or they did not think he was professional. I suspect the lack of negative reviews may be by design, however, it is possible that I am a rare dissatisfied customer who was a casualty of Murphy’s Law, or something like that. The reason I have my suspicions is because the hair transplant industry is a moneymaking industry, and not just in the surgeries itself. There are substantial sums of money that can be made from products, advertising, and websites. Therefore, it is possible that negative reviews or comments are mitigated in favor of continuing the streams of income to people who stand to benefit. While I am not saying this is a fact, I am saying that it is possible, but I digress.

Lastly, I had originally scheduled my flight to arrive the day prior, but had to change my flights at the last minute. This put me in a position to re-coordinate the appointment, and flights. Several options were considered by the clinic and I, but were not viable. My flight landed at 10am the day of surgery and upon collecting my bags and baggage claim I took a taxi directly to the dermhairclinic. In hindsight this was an unnecessary constraint that seems to have created duress and carelessness that was part of the problem. So in my opinion if a similar situation arises in the future the patient, doctor, or both should err on the side of caution and not rush or change the plan.

 

@Bill, I will be posting pictures asap for the community to make their objective assessment. In regards to your question about the discrepancies about getting to ask the final questions, and why I decided to proceed here are my answers. Dr. Umar requires that the entire surgery be paid in full one-month prior and all paperwork be filled out. I had placed my trust in him and his office, and filled out all the paperwork even if I was unsure on some things because there is supposed to be time to answer final questions later, and because I was working in Iraq with poor Internet. I did not have the best communication methods available to me to nor did I have a great amount of free time to stress on the details. If I had stressed on the details and not paid in full I would not have been able to book the surgery within my allotted time-off from work. Therefore, the combination of my unique work situation, and the institutional norms that Dr. Umar has in place did not work in my favor it seems.

As far as my understanding of everything the best way I can explain it is that it is a little like going to combat. When we are all kids, or young adults we have an idea of what we think combat is, and all the things associated with it. So we sign up, and go. However, once you go to combat you realize that what you thought combat is is actually something different entirely. Therefore, as a layman I was and am not able to fully comprehend all the true nature of everything associated with it.

You asked, “At any point did you say, "Before we proceed with surgery, I need you to answer these questions?” I previously stated that I had written my final questions down, and that we were supposed to collaborate on the design. However, I never saw the doctor until I was already given sedatives to knock me out for the day. At that time I was under the influence of these sedatives, and not able to fully comprehend or understand what exactly was going on. I passed out shortly after Dr. Umar entered the room. I have no recollection of asking any questions, getting any answers, or collaborating, or agreeing to what was designed. If I had had my normal capacity to critically think, and articulate I would have. That is why in my opinion it is so important to not be under the influence of medications that can impair cognition.

You asked why I did not wait the full 12 months to see the full final result. The problem does not lie as much with the grafts per se, but with the placement. The overall design of the hairline is too low, too straight, and the temple point angles were pretty drastic. Therefore, it didn’t matter how much hair was there or not, or even if it had to be retouched later. http://www.hairrestorationnetwork.com/eve/137035-age-appropriate-whats-2.html

. However, the use of two, three, and five hair grafts in the front of the hairline did not give it a good look either. When I was at the repair clinic some of the techs even found some hairs that had been placed upside down with the bulb sticking out! Furthermore, you will see a posted microscopic photo of five hair grafts used in the front of the hairline.

Furthermore, I fully understand your need to vet my claims and bring Dr. Umar into the equation on this thread, and I welcome both opportunities. I know you have said you have heard similar stories before, and if you ever spoke to any of my primary care or other physicians they would most likely tell you I endeavor to be an informed patient. While I may have made some mistakes I am also a layperson. I am not a doctor whose practice is built on marketing and executing hair transplants. I will be posting pictures in a separate thread once I respond to all these questions. I will also contact the dermhairclinic to provide the authorization to respond without releasing my face, name, or identifying information, as I do want to protect my identity to some degree.

 

@Curious, you will see pictures of the 5cm forehead. I actually have a photo where the repair surgery measured and marked it in a photo.

 

@fueonly, I will take your advice under consideration. I think that contacting media outlets may be a viable option. Doctors should not give medications that confuse, or impair judgment or memory. I know that when I had my first graft extraction surgery that only topical numbing injections were used, and motrin afterwards, and that was all I needed, and I was able to make competent decisions because of the professional use of medications.

 

 

@talcolinowest, It is a bittersweet thing to have had fue. I do have a lot of scarring on the back and sides of my head, but I do not have a large fut scar. Time will tell if the grafts that are removed in the front, and the subsequent laser treatments will ever normalize my forehead and frontal scalp. I do not think it is 100% reversible though. I will likely have to live with some level of facial and scalp scarring for the rest of my life, and be less a great deal of money, and time. It is impossible to go on a job interview, or take advantage of the graduate school scholarships I have at my disposal. 2013 for me has been my worst year on record, and I have experienced some real hellholes in Iraq, and Afghanistan. I would gladly have spent a year back in one of those places taking fire than going through this nightmare.

 

@fueonly, There is an abundance of paperwork required by Dr, Umars office. I will post a copy of all of it if so desired. It is about 38 pages. I do believe it may be designed to absolve him and his clinic from any responsibility no matter how large or small.

 

@BlackAmish111, I am here to talk about my experience and share my opinion. I am not here to bash but to present facts. I think positive and negative reviews should be equally regulated because it is known that doctors hire people to advocate and sell patients on treatment.

 

@Atticus / Abner (realself.com), I do not believe anyone on here has been or is being unreasonable, but like us you are entitled to your opinion and expressing it whether it is positive or negative. Based on your experience in your hair transplant and eyebrow surgery you seem to be happy, and I think that is awesome, and Dr. Umar seems to have done well if you are both satisfied. Were you sedated for either of your procedures? However, your procedures are low graft counts of 600 hair grafts to reshape your widow’s peak and whatever the eyebrow surgery required. I had almost four times the amount of grafts, and you had very little hairloss to begin with, therefore, it would seem your case was probably not that difficult to begin with.

Dr. Umar will get his opportunity to share his side of the story, and based on his take of events I hope this community is able to take our truths and find that actuality of the situation. Lastly, your last sentence can be interpreted as a veiled threat, and I believe that has no place in these forums. Alluding to legal action for expressing our first amendment rights within a hairloss / hair transplant community forum is reprehensible. This should be a place of safety and reason to converse like civil adults based on our mutual interests and experiences. Some of these will be positive, some of them will be negative, but as long as we present evidence and facts with our opinions then the moderators such as Bill will regulate the forums. If there is any place to talk about cases such as mine it is here.

You are an advocate for Dr. Umar on multiple websites and that is perfectly fine, but it is very easy to decipher the meaning of Res ipsa loquitur. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Res_ipsa_loquitur. You may even work in the legal field and be certified to make such claims, but I do not believe this is the place, at least not this thread. This is meant to broach a specific case and debate the merits of the associated content. You do not see me using my military skillset to intimidate anyone. Rather I want to talk amongst the community, and aggregate data and opinions of people from this community.

 

Correcting Widow's Peak With A FUE Hair Restoration Procedure

 

@Scar5, Is it true that Dr. Umar pays to post on this website? How can this be an objective forum or community if this is the case?

 

@Wylie, it seems you have based my credibility on your subjective experience. While you may have had a great experience with Dr. Umar and I commend you that does not mean that every experience is the same. You have actually committed a logical fallacy, which is called a hasty generalization.

 

Hasty Generalization: This is a conclusion based on insufficient or biased evidence. In other words, you are rushing to a conclusion before you have all the relevant facts.

 

This is the beginning of this discussion. In the near future Dr. Umar will be presenting his side of the story, and I will be posting photos.

 

Are you a medical professional? Are you a pharmacist? Are you an anesthesiologist? If you are not then your opinions are just that, and there is a lack of credibility in your statements related to sedation. Furthermore, everyone is affected by medications differently. That is why some people can have penicillin and some people cannot. Some people can take something like Paxil and have their depression symptoms mitigated, whereas someone else may take it and become worse. Therefore, you may not have the profound effect the medications had on me, but it is not unreasonable or impossible that I had the experience I had. Benzodiazepines are sedatives that can produce amnesia.

 

Did you take the exact same medications that I did, and are you willing to post a redacted copy of your medical record to substantiate your claim?

 

I had issue with the lowness of the hairline from day one, and did my best to adjust and rationalize that it was ok. The gravity of the situation takes time to adjust to, so naturally giving ones psyche time to adjust to a new look that develops over months after being placed, falling out, and then regrowing over several months does not bode well for immediate decision making even when they are left with just red scalp. That is why I am here now telling my story and not months ago. This is a process and you must know as a four-time patient. There is still no excuse for the use of the sedatives that were used, and I was knocked out for the procedure.

 

You are once again committing a logical fallacy though. This time it is the straw man, but there is not need to continue with addressing these issues. The issue at hand is the case in point. I am not here to lie; I am here to start a dialogue. I apologize that I will not be able to give a perfect account; I am a mere fallible human. It is my intent to present the truth, along with photos, and Dr. Umars side and opinions.

 

I would caution against 100% trusting your spidey sense though, and I encourage you to read a correlative story presented by NBC news conducted by Florida State researchers about high-place phenomenon That weird urge to jump off a bridge, explained - NBC News.com. If more people trusted their spidey sense in this case there would be a higher rate of suicides simply because they did not question it. I am sure you can see my point. The brain is not perfect it is an evolving organ that sometimes creates links and pathways that are illogical and unnecessary in its attempts to rationalize reality. That is why common sense is not an actual thing. There is reasoned sense, which is based on our experiences that help shape our subjective realties. These subjective realities are not perfect or one stop shops that can be applied to all situations. I look forward to the presentation of all information from all sides of this discussion in the future.

 

@Northwest-Hairline, I did not arrive out of the blue and expect them to accommodate a late arrival. There were last minute issues, and I contacted the office immediately to attempt to problem solve with them for a solution. Initially other days were booked, and then unbooked then it was decided that the appointments would be kept with a later start time. The office was involved from the start and collaborated.

 

Again your situation is different than mine because you had time to converse with Dr. Umar in pre-op. Was this prior to the start of your procedure? Was this prior to ingesting sedatives? Were you given the same cocktail of pills? Are you wiling to post a copy of your medical records showing the pills administered name redacted of course?

 

I am glad you had a good experience and positive outcome. I commend you and Dr. Umar in your case. I am not the only person to have a negative opinion of Dr. Umar, and I admit it may be wrong as I have had very little personal contact with the man and almost all of our communication has been via email. As it stands right now that is my opinion, and others share it too. Dr. Sanusi Umar - Redondo Beach, CA Dermatologist - 22 doctor reviews | RateMDs.com

[fueonly]

I would say this happened in US. I have said multiple times in US doctor cannot get away with medical negligence or giving sedatives that too without consent. It is a matter of time that doesn't matter doctor have been doing this from a long time.Today or tomorrow "noone can fool all the people all the time"'

Hairguy is going to take appropiate actions as he feels justified.I was wondering one more thing 8$per graft how much HT cost in Nigeria.

In US their is very strict rules and regulation for medical board and once you are not born US citizen. Doesn't matter if you are naturalized citizen they take your licence and after good good time of jail time they revoked your citizenship and send you back home.

Do the google search on naturalized US doctors getting deported.

It is my opinion on research and I am not saying about doctor here just in general

[greatjob]

In US their is very strict rules and regulation for medical board and once you are not born US citizen. Doesn't matter if you are naturalized citizen they take your licence and after good good time of jail time they revoked your citizenship and send you back home.

 

You should probably refrain from talking about things that you don't fully understand.

[Shampoo]

The Doctor or any business beats a case of incorrect allegations by disputing the facts -not the character of said patient.

 

If a doctor being attacked states that the person making outrageous claims has actually been medically diagnosed as having mental disorders that is not attacking "the character", it is simply stating diagnosed medical fact. And how would a medical diagnosis of mental disorders not be at least one possible factor that should be known before deciding about the credibility of the claims?

 

Case in point you've now already labeled the patient as "suffering from mental problems".

 

Can you show me in a quote where I state this patient "suffers from mental problems"? As a matter of fact I have not stated this patient has mental problems. If you read my words I stated "if it is indeed true this patient has mental disorders".....and in my latter post I stated ..."just for the sake of the argument....totally apart from HairGuy350's case......for example what do you advise a Doctor whose reputation is being impugned by a patient that has mental problems". So you see I never labeled this patient has having mental problems.

 

By the way did you answer my question? Just in a broad sense...not relating to this particular case....what would you advise a doctor being attacked in a public forum to do....if the doctor honestly thinks the patient's diagnosed mental disorders could be playing a central role in his claims and major anxiety at the 6 month juncture? Would you advise a doctor given full permission to discuss the case to leave out such an important factor? Why the fear of transparency?

 

Ludicrous. It's easy enough to dispute the facts of the case, contact the client privately and state that this concern is being worked out privately -in the public forum.

 

What's ludicrous is to attack a respected surgeon in a public forum, give then them permission to discuss your case and then claim it is "over the top" to present facts that could influence the credibility of those claims. Again you appear to deny that a person's professionally diagnosed mental stability can be a factor in the credibility of the claims. You also want the doctor to only defend himself with all the facts in private while he is being attacked in public.

 

While I certainly appreciate this guy's service to the country, and hope his case has a happy ending, I have no idea whether this patient's claims have any merit. Nor do I know whether this patient's possible mental disorders could be impairing his judgment, but I do think when attacked with outrageous claims of reckless behavior that Dr. Umar certainly has the right to state facts that may be a factor in this patient's claims.

[Hairguy350]

@tacolinwest, That first pic is roughly six months post-op.

 

@greatjob, I had had attempted laser therapy, and it had jumpstarted the catagen / telogen phase of the very front of the frontal grafts. This picture was taken prior to the area being cleaned up by another doctor’s staff. This was the same staff that found a number of hairs stuck in my forehead upside down. I had not lost any grafts at this point yet though to laser or extraction.

 

The second picture is of me the day of my first graft extraction surgery. That is why you see the angle of the temple points annotated with the marker and the forehead line measured at 5 cm. In this photo you can see where most of the very frontal grafts have been put into the resting telogen phase. However, they all regrew within 6-8 weeks. That is why I mentioned in a previous post that laser is not a viable option. I don’t want someone to waste time with laser as I have. The only sure way to repair seems to be graft extraction.

 

@fueonly, you are correct the nurse gives the medications in a cup while they direct you to change. I asked her what all these pills were and she said it was just antibiotics, and pills to make me relax. They did much more to me though, as I have detailed in my previous posts. It was only after ingesting these pills, changing, and waiting in the operating room for some time that Dr. Umar showed up and the staff began to give me the IM shots. The medications took over and I quickly became impaired, and soon passed out. Therefore, his claims on this website that I was not under the influence of any medications prior to seeing him are unequivocally false.

 

I did not wish to discuss my mental health on this forum because I do not believe it is related. I have responded to the concerns, and I finally relented only in order to continue this dialogue. However, Dr. Umar attempted in my mind to create speculation by how he phrased things in his response. I was actually at the VA today where I met with the VA psychologist where we talk about specific combat incidents that have happened over my career, and when I told her what Dr. Umar had made me do she said that it was reprehensible. She is actually a licensed mental health professional qualified to give her expert opinion on mental health matters unlike Dr. Umar who wanted to maliciously attack my credibility because he does not want to have to engage in the true conversation regarding improper use of medications.

 

Today I contacted the California Medical Board with a formal complaint. I have also found multiple precedence cases and statutes that enable me to circumvent MICRA and any arbitration agreement that was signed. Therefore, even though Dr. Umar sends me private emails passively accusing me of defamation of which I do not meet the criteria I am not afraid.

 

@Magnumpi, exactly! Depression caused by having to look and live with such a horrible appearance now sounds pretty normal to me. Over a decade in combat where I experienced death in very dramatic ways would lead to probably needing to talk to someone about that so pretty reasonable to do so. Civil servants like cops and firefighters have to talk to someone to get cleared from time to time too. I have passed multiple psychological tests for work. I mean you have to do that when your carrying weapons like machine guns and you’re within a few feet of diplomats, heads of state, etc… I still have a security clearance, and an honorable discharge from the military twice.

 

@curious, I waited and hoped for so long, even though I have no recollection of agreeing to what Dr. Umar did in the O.R. I just hoped it would work out for the best. I did not want to take action such as this or talk about this, but I am doing so in good faith, and only to reputable sources. I feel I have a duty to convey this information.

 

@wylie, I agree that someone frame of mine as you have said should be considered, but would a physician who had been given the authorization not explain the two conditions he mentioned? He fought so hard to get the authorization, why did he not say what the two conditions were? Why write it in such a speculative matter where the reader can misinterpret it so easily. In my eyes that is manipulating the reader.

 

@Mickey85, first picture roughly 6 months. No, there had not been any grafts extracted in the first photo. Reference my first reply in this post for more details. If you need more post again.

 

@Atticus also adbner, No amount of grafts would ever change a five centimeter forehead with such a straight hairline. There was no point in continuing the waiting game. When I spoke with Dr. Fisher his recommendation to deal with the hair transplant was to cut out the entire grafted area leaving me with a huge scar. You can reference the link I previously posted that says something like revision of hair transplant. That doctor wrote it, and the major errors he cites have pretty much been committed here.

 

@notakebacks, I will post more photos for all to see as you have requested.

 

@greatjob, I will post photos tomorrow.

 

@blackamish, I have received several stern emails from Dr.Umar meant to intimidate me. I can copy and paste if requested.

 

@shampoo, to imply that a doctor medicated then sought additional consents is not a personal attack, it is a matter of professionalism. Since the physician engages in said occupation he is subject to scrutiny, and abiding by medical ethics and regulations.

 

@everyone, almost everyone will experience some sort of depression in their lifetime. PTSD is a very subjective condition. For some it can be severe, for others it is not so bad. Some people just need to talk about some things that have happened. I think to take the time to seek treatment shows a greater resolve and mental competency than to just suck it up

@heliboy, I am glad you had good result with Dr. Umar and did not have issues with the medications. I wish my case had been the same; it has not though. There are no other doctors involved in my posting, and no one is directing me to do this. I am doing this as a measure of good faith. You are correct that some doctors put people on forums I believe. I believe atticus who is also known as abner may be one of those people. Who knows you may be too since you have just recently come back as you’ve said.

 

@blackamish, I think there needs to be industry wide reform. Hairlines and their placement should be drawn and agreed to prior to any medications ever being given.

 

Tomorrow, I will get the pictures that have been requested.

[BlackAmish111]

@Shampoo: Stating that pre-design plan was not sufficient before being administered meds is not an "outrageous claim" nor is it some over the top attack on Dr. Umar character. The fact that I also as well as many other posts I've read here, experienced poor pre-design planning makes it at the very least a credible claim worth investigating.

Again, the Doctor need only address those facts to defend himself and going public with a patient's private mood disruptions should be frowned upon. I don't think a doctor would appreciate his or hers prescription for Prozac being aired out on public forums -the same credence should apply to patients.

 

 

By the way did you answer my question? Just in a broad sense...not relating to this particular case....what would you advise a doctor being attacked in a public forum to do....if the doctor honestly thinks the patient's diagnosed mental disorders could be playing a central role in his claims and major anxiety at the 6 month juncture? Would you advise a doctor given full permission to discuss the case to leave out such an important factor? Why the fear of transparency?

 

Again, his method (alleged) of poor pre-design before medication is what is under attack -not Dr. Umar the person. And yes, a doctor or any businessman that is privy to a clients personal situation should refrain from exposing them just to undermine their complaint. Trust me, In my business I know enough to end marriages yet I would never reveal such information just because I had a fall out with a client and they criticized me online. I am also familiar with PTSD and that is not sufficient to claim a client is of unreasonable mind to make a complaint. Like I said, if he was, he should have been screened out beforehand.

 

I am more interested in changing the industry commitment to pre-design excellence than anything else and would be very curious to hear other doctor's opinion on the matter.

Edited September 17, 2013 by BlackAmish111

[Curious]

Hairguy350, Did you tell Dr. Umar you were diagnosed with two mental disorders? If so, why did you tell him that info. if you felt it had nothing to do with your transplant situation?

[Shampoo]

@Shampoo: Stating that pre-design plan was not sufficient before being administered meds is not an "outrageous claim" nor is it some over the top attack on Dr. Umar character.

 

It certainly is outrageous if his claim is not what happened.

 

Again, the Doctor need only address those facts to defend himself

 

If a patient's diagnosed mental stability plays a part in the claims....those are "facts" the doctor is discussing.

 

I don't think a doctor would appreciate his or hers prescription for Prozac being aired out on public forums -the same credence should apply to patients.

 

If for example it was discovered that Dr. Umar was on Prozac or some other judgment impairing drugs while performing his duties running a medical office you don't think you, HairGuy350, and other patients would be crowing about that or not want to be aware of that? Of course you would! But oh if a patient making outrageous claims is the same you think it should not be discussed! One way street!

 

Plus if a doctor was diagnosed with mental disorders and gave full permission for his practice and skills to be discussed why would you want to stop patients from having at least knowledge of his mental diagnosis? It's not "over the top" to prefer knowing if a patient or doctor has mental disorders while attempting to fully understand and investigate a dispute.

 

You continue to prefer on a "one way street" where a patient can make outrageous claims in public, but a doctor can not fully defend himself. Dr. Umar has a long proven track record. Who is this guy? Where is his long record we can examine? Where are this guy's published articles? Articles about Hair Restoration | Hair Transplants | Hair Loss. We have no idea how difficult or unrealistic this patient may or may not be, but asking for refunds at 6 months is not a great sign.

 

We basically know nothing about this guy who had less than ten posts on Sept 6, who showed up hours late for his surgical appointment, did not provide pictures or permission until pressed repeatedly by Bill. Basically I tend to trust Dr. Umar until I see more actual facts, until I see more before and after photos, until I see results at the 12-14 month mark, that may show the true results of this case.

[Shampoo]

And yes, a doctor or any businessman that is privy to a clients personal situation should refrain from exposing them just to undermine their complaint. Trust me, In my business I know enough to end marriages yet I would never reveal such information just because I had a fall out with a client and they criticized me online.

 

I agree in most cases, but if a specific dispute was being resolved and I believed the client's mental faculties had seriously influenced or even caused the problem then I would certainly bring that up as a matter of fact to the arbitrator. For example if I knew a client had been earlier diagnosed with Alzheimer's but was defaming my professional reputation in what I believed was an untrue and unsubstantiated manner then how could I leave out this critical factor in his thinking process when discussing the problem with an arbitrator?

 

I am more interested in changing the industry commitment to pre-design excellence than anything else and would be very curious to hear other doctor's opinion on the matter.

 

Hooray! We can agree on something! I agree the industry as a whole can do a better job on patient pre-op education and patient pre-op expectations. Although many of the better doctors are doing this already, we as patients need to be fully informed and also be smart patients and educate ourselves as well.

[BlackAmish111]

It certainly is outrageous if his claim is not what happened.

 

Well I suppose this could go either way yet in neither case would I call it "outrageous".

 

If a patient's diagnosed mental stability plays a part in the claims....those are "facts" the doctor is discussing.

 

Should be discussed in private only unless they are in a court of law.

 

If for example it was discovered that Dr. Umar was on Prozac or some other judgment impairing drugs while performing his duties running a medical office you don't think you, HairGuy350, and other patients would be crowing about that or not want to be aware of that? Of course you would!

 

Strongly disagree. How much do you want to bet many of these or any respected doctors are on anti anxiety/depressants? I and I'm sure the moderators would consider it in poor taste if not right impermissible to have conversations about doctor's personal prescriptions, lifestyles, anxieties or the like. Unless we are talking about a raving lunatic in which case neither the doctor should be practicing nor the patient served.

 

Plus if a doctor was diagnosed with mental disorders and gave full permission for his practice and skills to be discussed why would you want to stop patients from having at least knowledge of his mental diagnosis? It's not "over the top" to prefer knowing if a patient or doctor has mental disorders while attempting to fully understand and investigate a dispute.

 

Again, you would be surprised at the amount of Dr's who themselves are treated for various afflicts, addictions etc...As long as they perform well within licensing guidelines, you generally won't here about it.

 

You continue to prefer on a "one way street" where a patient can make outrageous claims in public, but a doctor can not fully defend himself. Dr. Umar has a long proven track record. Who is this guy? Where is his long record we can examine? Where are this guy's published articles? Articles about Hair Restoration | Hair Transplants | Hair Loss. We have no idea how difficult or unrealistic this patient may or may not be, but asking for refunds at 6 months is not a great sign.

 

We basically know nothing about this guy who had less than ten posts on Sept 6, who showed up hours late for his surgical appointment, did not provide pictures or permission until pressed repeatedly by Bill. Basically I tend to trust Dr. Umar until I see more actual facts, until I see more before and after photos, until I see results at the 12-14 month mark, that may show the true results of this case.

 

*Sighs*. So post count and lack of track record discredits the consumer on this site? I don't care if he had 1 post, he has articulated his complaint very well and I for one find it credible. Sorry if I was mistaken, I came to this site in the first place to find fellow consumers who could better help guide me thru this quite intimidating and somewhat unknown process. I'm not interested in a cheerleading squad for rock star elevated doctors, just the facts and experiences of others in my shoes.

 

The bottom line is that the pre-design plan was not sufficient for this client -THAT, is valuable information for a new person still trying to formulate what questions to ask, how to have the best line of communication with their doctor. I could have used this type of "warning" before going in myself as I just kind of assumed by the doctors reputation that "all would be well". A forum full of "He's awesome!!" "More great work!" -doesn't really help prepare the newcomer for what to expect.

 

It's very possible that Dr Umar does 99% outstanding work and had a bad day -no? Or maybe much like the industry , needs to make more effort to solidify the pre-design plan way before launch time? Or maybe he's just isn't very good? All are possible and a smart consumer reads the good with the bad and filters it all into a final decision.

 

But make no mistake, silencing critics helps no one.

[BlackAmish111]

Hooray! We can agree on something! I agree the industry as a whole can do a better job on patient pre-op education and patient pre-op expectations. Although many of the better doctors are doing this already, we as patients need to be fully informed and also be smart patients and educate ourselves as well.

 

Please let me know what doctors are doing what as far as this is concerned? It is my belief that an enormous amount of dissatisfaction in the hair restoration industry could be avoided if this was made standard. I'm only in this to help others who are still on the fence -I have zero interest in either elevating or denigrating doctors.

[fueonly]

greatjob I know what I am saying. You will see this is not umars first time

you will see how many cases are now coming up .

this a a breaking of silence by hairguy

why dont you go and find out contact medical boards of different stae and see doctor striped of licenses in US who were naturalized citizen and GC holder what happen to them.

I said this is opinion in general

[wylie]

In the interest of full disclosure, the doctor Hairguy is seeing for his alleged repair is a notorious doctor with a very polarizing reputation in the industry who has alot of skeletons in his closet. I know you are unaware of this Hairguy because it would appear others who pursued a similar vendetta against this man have disappeared, their own personal websites being scrubbed from the web. I will assume he spent some of his earnings on legal pursuits.

 

I ignored the red flags that were all over the web about his history and started my repair with this doctor. We had agreed to a small test session of 500 grafts. After sedation and having my head shaved the doctor suggested we double the size of the procedure to 1000 grafts. I gave my permission. I got zero noticeable growth from the scalp grafts mainly because of a change in plan once i was in the chair and them just being added to existing "mini grafts" for reasons that now appear strictly for financial gain. Furthermore, the entire plan he followed was to waste my precious scalp grafts by spreading them amongst a scalp full of the dreaded "mini grafts" which, if any growth resulted, it was not at all apparent.

 

The entire session was to be a 500 graft beard session to determine the efficacy of this donor. They were added to my strip scars and yielded some growth. But the scalp, if it grew, was not apparent upon close inspection 9 months later. So I ended up wasting close to ten thousand dollars and squandering my precious and finite scalp donor. I remember this doctor telling me "I might not need another surgery" when the session was done. He never made any plan for a follow up, largely because he knew I would be disappointed and not come back. And I barely saw him that day, as he spent most of his time working on another patient, only stopping in briefly a couple times.

 

My own repair journey got off to a dreadful start, but when I found Dr. Umar, that all changed. You see, Dr. Umar not only got me results, but he was someone I could trust.

 

I certainly had the exact opposite experience in Alpharetta, Georgia.

[wylie]

greatjob I know what I am saying. You will see this is not umars first time

you will see how many cases are now coming up .

this a a breaking of silence by hairguy

why dont you go and find out contact medical boards of different stae and see doctor striped of licenses in US who were naturalized citizen and GC holder what happen to them.

I said this is opinion in general

 

You don't know what you are talking about and are trolling. . You have not contributed one cogent thought or opinion to this entire thread, or any other thread I've seen you comment on, to include one that I started a few weeks ago.

[Blake Bloxham]

Hi Guys,

 

Obviously, I understand this thread/topic is controversial and realize the conversation will be a bit intense. However, I wanted to say a few things:

 

First, please remember to be civil. I know this is difficult in the heat of debate, but keep in mind that it will only result in a thread closure without any real resolution in the end.

 

Second, let's try to stick to the facts. It's extremely easy to make assumptions, extrapolate, etc, but I don't think it's worth our time.

 

Third, remember that threats rarely do anything besides add unnecessary fuel to the fire.

 

Thanks, guys! If anyone has any issues at any point, please remember to PM me.

[Mickey85]

Really need to see more pictures before making a comment.

[greatjob]

Really need to see more pictures before making a comment.

Yeah I think everyone does. I'm not really sure why or what people are arguing about at this point.

[Atticus]

Really need to see more pictures before making a comment.

 

Precisely. Need to see a picture that was taken before hair removal with hair grown out.

[Mickey85]

Precisely. Need to see a picture that was taken before hair removal with hair grown out.

 

This whole case carries with it very sensitive information that is very inflammatory and damaging to both parties involved. I owe nothing to Dr Umar or to Hairguy except to look at things with a neutral perspective and then to come to a conclusion.

[Heliboy]

So the question remains?

 

Do you have pictures of the hair grown out up to the point prior to the hair removal? I know this has been asked previously but it is an important question.

 

Secondly I think that it is best to not ignore the comments of Wylie above. As he said I'm sure Hairguy is not aware of the forum history dating years back but there has been a serious history of defamation on the forums from the Georgia doctor that appears since day 1 to have something against Dr Umar.

 

At this point I do believe you need to provide photographic evidence of your so called poor work. As someone who has had a hairline created by Dr Umar that looks completely natural and involved 2500+ grafts your word is not proof especially knowing that your work is now being done by this Georgia doctor . This doctor has done great work himself but unforunately he has left a mark on the forums for years trying to discredit this M.D. I mentioned this in my previous post before and I will again- its ironic that this doctor is now overseeing your care.

[Shampoo]

Do you have pictures of the hair grown out up to the point prior to the hair removal? I know this has been asked previously but it is an important question......your word is not proof

 

Yes asked and not provided.

 

As other's like Mickey85 have stated we need more pictures especially

from the one making the accusations....otherwise it's just "talk".

 

Some may see it as "cheerleading for rock star elevated doctors" and then claim they just want "the facts and experiences of others"

 

ok...but do we have the facts or do we have just talk?

 

Do we have multiple before/after pictures before rushing to judgement?

[Rem]

This is turning into a mockery. I do not understand the delay in posting immediate pre-op and post-op pictures.

 

"A picture is worth a thousand words".