Potential Recommendation of Dr. Cam Simmons of Toronto

[Bill - Seemiller]

Dear Forum Members,

 

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

 

I would appreciate this community's input on the potential recommendation of Dr. Cam Simmons of Toronto on the Hair Transplant Network. At this time, Dr. Simmons is only being considered for recommendation, not the Coalition. To see our standards for recommendation, click here.

 

Dr. Cam Simmons trained and practiced under the well renowned Dr. Seager of the Seager Hair Transplant Centre from 1999 to 2005 and has been performing hair transplant surgery exclusively at his own clinic in Toronto, Canada since 2006. Dr. Simmons is very fortunate to have several of Dr. Seager's senior technicians working with him today. His surgical staff consists of 6 full time technicians averaging 10 years of experience.

 

Pat Hennessey had the opportunity to observe Dr. Simmons and his staff perform hair transplant surgery at his clinic. Pat feels that his clinic is performing large high quality follicular unit grafting sessions with very good results. To view the highlights from Pat's visit, see 'Pat's Visit to Dr. Simmons' Clinic in Toronto, Canada'.

 

Dr. Simmons has the staff and experience to perform large sessions exceeding 3000 follicular unit grafts when appropriate for the patient. All follicular units are carefully trimmed under microscopes by his staff. Dr. Simmons and his staff's technique and procedure remain very similar to the "stick and place" procedure performed at the Seager Hair Transplant Centre under Dr. Seager's tenure.

 

The "stick and place" technique describes the process in which the technicians make a recipient site incision and then immediately place the graft into the incision. By placing grafts immediately into a fresh incision that have not had time to contract or coagulate incisions can potentially be smaller relative to the size of the typical graft.

 

The stick and place procedure performed by Dr. Simmons is actually performed by his experienced technicians who follow the design created by him. However, Dr. Simmons always creates all the incisions in the critical hairline areas using the lateral slit technique to maximize artistic design. Dr. Simmons feels that his 'stick and place' technique yields results just as natural and optimal as leading clinics that create all the incisions beforehand.

 

Dr. Simmons typically uses 19 and 20 gauge needles (which create incisions of approximately 1.1 mm and 0.9 mm) to create the incisions for the grafts. 21 gauge needles (0.8mm) are sometimes used in patients with fine hair. His staff trims the follicular units so they include the surrounding tissue. Dr. Simmons believes that these "chubby grafts" have a higher rate of survival, growth, and have a better chance of preserving natural hairs in the telogen (resting) phase of the natural hair growth cycle than grafts that are trimmed into skinny or tiny grafts. Though some may argue that higher densities cannot be achieved in a single session with 'chubby grafts', Dr. Simmons still manages to pack up to 60 FU/cm2 in a single session when appropriate for the patient.

 

Dr. Simmons harvests the donor strip using a single blade to minimize transection. He uses the trichophytic closure technique by trimming the bottom edge (Rose technique) of the donor wound 1mm deep and 1mm wide to maximize viable donor hair for transplanting. The wound is then sealed with a single layer running suture to minimize tension on the wound. Dr. Simmons closes high tension wounds with a double layer closure to minimize the risk of scar stretching.

 

Given Dr. Simmons and his staff's excellent credentials, experience and technique, I believe he should be considered for recommendation. To view our standards for recommendation, click here.

 

View some of their patient and surgical photos below:

 

2470 Graft Hair Transplant Repair with Dr. Simmons

 

5220 Grafts in 2 Sessions with Dr. Simmons

 

2001 Grafts with Dr. Simmons

 

3288 Grafts with Dr. Simmons

 

3026 grafts with Dr. Simmons

 

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

[PLEASE GROW PLEASE]

HEEEELLLLZZZZZ NAAAAAAAWWW!!!!!

 

The work looks ok I suppose. Im not impressed but also not disgusted.

There are a couple of impressive pics .

Tough call . Im glad Im not in charge, and so should this clinic

[Bill - Seemiller]

Please Grow Please,

 

Can you please tell us what in particular you're not impressed with?

 

If you look at the comments on his photo albums, many members have given him glowing reviews.

 

One member even stated:

 

"this example truly rivals other top coalition docrors' work imo."

 

Though Dr. Simmons is only being considered for recommendation at this time, not the Coalition, I do agree that his work looks impressive.

 

Bill

[PLEASE GROW PLEASE]

Probably the lack of photos

Nuhart showed me some impressive photos.

Not saying hes Nuhart but every clinic has a handful of nice results.

I would like to see more photos.

I always forget there are recommended and coalition surgeons .

Big difference between the two so for recommended I would say sure why not.

[rsf]

please grow please

have any photos of yourself on this website? If so could you provide the link

 

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Note by Moderator: RSF and Dr. DeYarman share the same IP address. RSF was questioned on this but never answered. Thus, although technical anomalies occur (dynamic IP addresses, IP spoofing, etc), it's a possible conclusion that RSF is a representative of Dr. DeYarman. Due to his failure to adress the concerns of a shared IP address, he is no longer a member of this community.

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[Bill - Seemiller]

rsf,

 

Please keep this thread reserved for discussion on the potential recommendation of Dr.Simmons.

 

Feel free to send Please Grow Please any questions privately.

 

Bill

[Mr. GQ]

Probably the lack of photos

if you meant lack of examples i'd agree with you 100%, but lack of photos no way. this is one of the few clinics that shows you post op photos from all angles and plenty of them too. but yes we need to see few more results (4 or 5 more) before we can/should recommend someone. the thing is they can cherry pick their best and that's it. same goes for the last lady that got the nod (last one that got recommended, sorry forgot the name) from Bill and Pat while the clinic posted only few (i think 3) results.

 

i'm just calling it like i see it. fair assessment and valuable input from us members is the only way to go. i wish more members get involved in these kind of important discussions.

[PLEASE GROW PLEASE]

Yes GQ I meant examples .

At first I read chubby grafts and needles and I always thought that ultra refined was the opposite of chubby.

Anyway those are nice examples but not enough imo

Yes rsf pm me and ill send you some

[Old Baldy]

Based on (1) Pat's report of his visit to the clinic and (2) the pictures of the transplant operations, I think you should recommend Dr. Simmons for hair transplant surgeries.

[Leeson]

I'd like to see the hairline of the 3,288 fu patient first. Why didn't the doc just raise the hair, knowing this is the area of greatest importance.

[Bill - Seemiller]

Thanks to those of you who've offered your input.

 

When considering a physician for recommendation, it isn't always easy knowing exactly how many examples of a surgeon's work should be presented before being able to draw a proper conclusion. Whereas some surgeons have been approved by this community after displaying only a couple examples, other surgeons needed to present several examples in order to win this community over.

 

However, based on all the positive responses on his presented albums, it appears that most of you feel he is doing impressive work. I happen to agree.

 

Additionally, Pat did visit and observe Dr. Simmons in live surgery and feels that he is doing excellent quality follicular unit hair transplant work.

 

Due to your feedback, I asked Dr. Simmons if he'd be willing to present a few more patient albums for your review. Dr. Simmons promptly responded to your requests and presented two more albums for your review.

 

4 Months After 2770 Grafts Including Donor Scar Picture

 

Female Hair transplant - 2093 Grafts

 

Kudos to Dr. Simmons for addressing the requests of this community and recognizing the importance of presenting several examples of his work.

 

I look forward to your feedback.

 

Bill

[Leeson]

I'm for recommendation.

[Cam Simmons MD ABHRS]

Thank-you all for your comments and suggestions.

 

As a result, I will add close-up hairline and donor scars as part of my routine at future follow-up visits.

 

Bill reported accurately but I have gradually changed my trichophytic technique since our interview.

 

I routinely measure the vertical scalp laxity and plan to keep the donor strip narrow enough to avoid undue tension. Particularly with simple closure for younger men, scars that are narrow at 1 month may stretch a bit in the next few months. Either using deep sutures in a 2-layer closure or undermining the edges a short distance just below the follicles (and well above the nerves and vessels) can reduce the forces that would tend to stretch the scar. Each method has its own benefits and risks. I have actually not used a 2-layer closure since October 3, 2008 but now routinely undermine at least one edge no further than the width of the donor strip (as per Dr. Frechet's technique.) I have adopted Dr. Rose's technique in taking a ledge off the bottom edge. Each doctor will find what works best and most consistently for them. Whatever works best for them is best. This technique is currently what works best for me.

 

I know that I will not be able to be as active as Dr. Feller in the forum but I will try to answer your questions.

 

Regards,

[Bill - Seemiller]

Dear Members and Guests,

 

Thanks to everyone who provided public and private feedback on the potential recommendation of Dr. Simmons.

 

After reviewing all the information we've collected including input we received privately and publicly from patient and physician members, we found the majority of responses to be overwhelmingly positive. Therefore, we are pleased to announce Dr. Cam Simmons has been approved for recommendation.

 

We believe Dr. Simmons' dedication to his patients and state of the art hair transplantation will serve prospective patients from Toronto and beyond very well. Click here to view his profile and to find his contact details.

 

Best wishes,

 

Bill

[Mr. GQ]

after reading this post just now i clicked on "click here" link that Bill posted. there i saw that you also offer FUE. so from that page i clicked on link that goes to your website to find out more about the FUE work, but there, in the gallery section, you only have one example of it.

 

so +1 that you offer FUE at your clinic and i would love to see few more of your FUE work and if you don't mind sharing some examples on this forum.

 

GQ

[Mr. GQ]

oh yeah and congratulations on being approved for recommendation!

[Cam Simmons MD ABHRS]

Thanks Mr. GQ

 

I do some FUE but I do much more FUT-T (Follicular unit transplantation with trichophytic closure.)

 

For FUE, I mostly use Dr. Harris' SAFE technique and do all the extraction myself. As with any skill, you need to do it well before you do it quickly. Speed comes after lots of practice. With closely clipped, straight hair, I can extract and transplant 1000 grafts per (long) day. With long, straight hair or short, very curly hair, I can extract and transplant 600 grafts per day. I am not the doctor to pick for FUE megasessions. My fees reflect the work required so a 1000 graft FUE session currently costs the same as a 3000 graft FUT-T session.

 

FUE can be a valuable tool to reduce bigger grafts and then reimplant the follicular units. I also find FUE useful if a small number of grafts are required, as in eyebrow or scar transplants. If someone wants to keep their hair very short, FUE scars may still be less noticeable than trichophytic scars (but I am working on that.)

 

I still encourage most patients with a significant area of hair loss to have FUT-T because it is much more economical, takes less time, and I have much more experience with FUT and more confidence in it. Most patients do not intend to shave their head after a hair transplant and modern trichophytic scars are easy to hide with hair as short as ?? to ?? inches long.

 

After all is said and done, if a patient chooses FUE over FUT-T, I will do it. So far, I have had good results. I still suspect that you won't see many FUE results in my photo gallery in the near future.

 

As paraphrased from Jim Collins' book 'Good to Great', one needs to focus on what they can do best but can't ignore other important technologies. I, personally, would rather be a world-class FUT-T doctor who can also do FUE than a world-class FUE doctor who can also do FUT-T.