Thoughts on a transplant doctor

[GoForIt]

Hello - I wanted people's thoughts on a few transplant doctors. I'm 40 and have been losing hair for about the past 5 years. I have deep temporal gulfs, thinning on top (but very narrow), and a pretty small area of crown thinning (all on the top, none going down the back of my head). To be specific (and mangle a quote from Dr. Bernstein's website): I've never had a sunburn on the top of my head, and my hair still keeps me warm .

 

I started finasteride and minoxodil 3-4 months ago and had a pretty good shedding / thinning phase which seems to have now stopped, and now things are feeling a little fuller. No side effects at all.

 

I've visited a few doctors, two of whom I feel very comfortable with: Dr. Beehner in Saratoga Springs and Dr. Bernstein in NYC. They both pretty much said the same thing, 2600-3000 grafts to cover up to the vertex transition and Dr. Beehner thought a few in the crown. My donor area has no miniturization, is large and has a lot of multi-haired follicular units. Dr. Bernstein's hairline was a little more conservative than Dr. Beehner's, and Dr. Beehner spoke about some double follicular unit grafts (but would do all FU). There was only about 1/2cm difference in the hairlines - which to be honest does not make much difference to me as I've always had a high hairline. From the forum's here I was expecting a more conservative hairline from Dr. Bernstein. Dr. Beehner's office is easier for me to get to, but Dr. Bernstein's isn't bad either.

 

I know the standard is for single FU grafts, but Dr. Beehner's photographs look very impressive with the DFUs. I've read through experiences here with both surgeons, but would be good to hear from people about how they decided. I'm not rushing into this. Looking at some of the finasteride studies, 90% of people were unchanged or better at 10 years so my goal would be to gain as much density, hairline as possible but if/when the hairloss continues for it to look natural.

 

Specifically:

1. Anyone who has had the DFU grafts with Dr. Beehner, how do they fare over time?

2. Any thoughts on how to decide (other than tossing a coin!)?

[Blake Bloxham]

GoForIt,

 

I wish I could be more helpful, but I'm very familiar with Dr. Bernstein and Dr. Beehner's work and I truly don't think you "could go wrong" with either.

 

In the end, I think your decision will likely come down to small (but important) personal details. However, I think you should take comfort in the fact that you are deciding between two highly talented and trusted physicians.

 

Good luck!

[GoForIt]

This was my gut feeling too . . . and I couldn't find anything from patient reviews or results to guide me one way or the other! I guess finding two hair transplant physicians you think would do a great job is a good problem to have! I was going to visit with a few more, but I don't think I'd feel more comfortable with anyone else (but perhaps as comfortable).

 

My thoughts on meeting both of them:

 

Dr. Bernstein: Will give the best hair transplant he can, employs the best techniques even if the gain is small.

 

Dr. Beehner: I think he has a good feel for hair transplant, good techniques and from many years of experience knows what works and does not work.

 

While both seemed excellent in the art and science of transplanting, I think Dr. Beehner edged out Dr. Bernstein a little on the art of transplanting, and Dr. Bernstein edged Dr. Beehner a little on the science of transplanting.

[Dr. Glenn Charles]

I agree that you will get high quality work at either clinic. Sometimes you have to go with your gut feeling. DFU's used in the mid scalp and crown can be very effective. There is definitely more than one path way to get similar good results in hair transplants.

[fueonly]

I will say even dr glen charles does good job

he is very informed and skilled.

I like the way he replies and his replies have very indepth knowledgeable answers pertaining to HT

[Mike1651]

When I was going through the process of choosing a HT surgeon, I also sought out Dr. Beehner and Dr. Bernstein for consultations. In my case, Dr. Beehner's plan was more conservative than Dr. Bernstein and struck me as a more logical approach. In addition, I felt extremely comfortable with Dr. Beehner and decided on his clinic in spite of a much longer commute.

 

My case was complicated due to the removal of multiple plugs that had to be removed from my hairline and crown. Also, I discussed using 100% FU's, which Dr. Beehner agreed to, although he had complete confidence in using DFU's which we discussed in detail. I scheduled a procedure and had approx. 1800 FUT's. It went extremely well and I couldn't have been more pleased.

 

Because of the great experience, I scheduled a second procedure and had approx. 2000 more grafts transplanted. It's been several years since my last transplant and I am still grateful to Dr. Beehner for the excellent job restoring my hair--not to mention what hair does to one's confidence!

 

In closing, I found Dr. Beehner to be a 1st class surgeon and artisan in the HT field. More importantly, he's an extremely caring doctor/person and goes above and beyond in his patient care.

 

I don't think you can go wrong entrusting your procedure to Dr. Beehner. Good luck with your decision!!

[GoForIt]

Thank you for sharing your experience. It really does look like he did a great job from your pictures. It's nice to hear from prior patients.

 

I go back and forth as to which one, but am going to wait and think about it for a few months. They both have different approaches and I'll have to decide which one works best for me. Maybe it would be better to flip a coin and get the decision over with .