Transplant with Doc Jeffrey Epstein

fedup77 · May 11, 2004

First, some background on myself. I'm 57 years old and have been losing my hair since I was 25. I tried Rogaine when it first came out and it did nothing for me. I have been on propecia for about 4 years and it has stabilized my loss but it stabilized at a norwood 5A. I had been thinking about a HT for a good many years ----I'm glad that I was too poor to afford one until now because of the poor results of transplants until the last few years when FU techniques became commonplace and more reasonably priced.

The internet has been a godsend of information ( as long as you do your research and don??t believe everything you read), I found Doctor Jeffrey Epstein (and other highly qualified HTsurgeons) on the internet during extensive research. Since I live in Michigan and Doc Epstein practices in Florida, I did my initial consultation via E-mail. The doc quickly answered my e-mails and also called me on the phone so we could discuss the pictures that I had sent him.

We decided that 2500 grafts would be a good place to start ( although I could use more, I couldn't afford more). Since I had contacted him before his recent price increase, ( necessary due to increased staff salaries and higher rent and insurance costs) , he agreed to honor his old prices ---$8200 for 2500 grafts ( in the end, I actually received 3115 grafts---the extra 615 were FREE---but I'll get to that later).

My wife and I flew to Miami, Florida on April 10th 2004 for my procedure (on April 12th ) and stayed for 2 weeks to make it a combination procedure and vacation.. I was hoping I would feel good enough after the procedure to be able to vacation ( as it turned out, I only stayed "holed-up " in my hotel room for the first day after my surgery---I felt surprisingly well ).

My wife and I arrived at Doc Epstein's office at about 9:00 AM on the 12th . After a pre-surgery discussion with the Doc about what our "game-plan" would be, I was introduced to the technicians that would be helping out that day ( I believe there were 7) and ushered into the operating room. Doc Epstein was happy to see that I had a very dense donor area and average laxity along with straight, dark brown ( almost black) hair----I think he was as excited about doing my hair as I was about having it done!!! I was hooked up to a heart rate monitor, a blood--oxygen monitor and had a blood pressure cuff placed on my arm. During my procedure, these instruments were regularly checked to make sure everything was going smoothly.

Doc Epstein uses a special instrument ( brand named "the Wand" ) to administer the local anesthetic at a controlled rate and thereby minimizing the pain felt during numbing the donor and recipient areas. I have a low threshold for pain and, even though " the Wand" was used, administering the anesthesia HURT LIKE HELL !!!! Doc Epstein apologized for the pain and his technicians did their best to comfort me, but it still made me wonder what I'd gotten myself into ( however, after the anesthesia set in, the rest of the procedure was totally painless). Like I said, I have a VERY low pain threshold and it was evidenced by the fact Doc Epstein said that, normally, it takes only one or , at the most, 2 passes of "the Wand" over the recipient area to fully numb it---in my case, it took THREE passes to numb mine ( my dentist always gives me a double dose of novocain when he works on my teeth ).

Earlier, Doc Epstein had asked me if I objected to having my recipient area " shaved " ( I had the option to leave it long if I wanted to) and I told him that he could shave it if it helped him do his job ( I wasn't going to do anything to jeopardize my hard earned dollars ) so it was trimmed with scissors to probably 1/2 inch in length. When my head felt numb like it should ( like it had a tight-fitting helmet on it ) , the Doc proceeded to remove the donor strip. I don't remember a lot about what happened next because I was "in and out" of a valium --induced sleep, but I do remember the technicians that were dissecting the FU's ( using huge stereo microscopes ) commented that I had a lot of very unusual " SIX --HAIR FU's ". Doc Epstein double checked, and confirmed that I did indeed have 6-hair FU's.

Doc Epstein did all of the lateral slits in the recipient area and placed a good portion of the grafts himself ( especially in the frontal hairline area). In 5 hours ( more or less ) I was done and ready to be cleaned up. Instead of the 2500 grafts that I had paid for , I received 3115 grafts !!!!!!! The doc knew that I had plenty of space for any extra grafts, and so he purposely "went heavy " on the donor strip---the result was that I won't have a bare spot where the grafts end and my native hair begins. I had been planning on a second procedure, but with the extra grafts I shouldn't need one !!!!

In the end, I received 404 -- one hair grafts, 1169----2 hair grafts, and 1542 ---3, 4 and 6 hair grafts---- grand total----3115 grafts. I was cleaned up and outfitted with a cool looking blue bandanna to wear over my head and then was given a " care package" consisting of instructions, pain pills, anti-biotic pills, a large spray-- bottle of "Graftcyte" ( very expensive if you have to buy it yourself), a month's supply of " Rogaine 5%", and a jar of "Toppik" in a color that matched my hair---everything was included in the price of the procedure ( a lot of clinics offer these extras at an extra cost but not Doc Epstein ---they were all included with the procedure)

My wife and I went back to the hotel and I expected to be very uncomfortable for the next 3 or 4 days. To my surprise, I didn't need any pain pills and I had virtually no swelling ( Doc Epstein doesn't inject saline solution into your scalp for the procedure like a lot of places do---thereby eliminating the swelling that saline would cause and keeps your face from looking like a huge marshmallow ). On the second day post-op, I went back to the doctor's office for a check-up and shampoo and then it was off shopping and sight-- seeing. I felt surprisingly great!!!! The "graftcyte" spray that I applied every hour kept the grafts from itching and, since there was a motorcycle show the coming weekend, my bandanna clad head fit right in with the crowd. On the 8th day post-op I had the stitches removed ( virtually painless ) and everything checked again---I was good to go.

It is now 4 weeks post-op and about 30 percent or so of the grafts have shed ( due to shock) and I've had a few in-grown hairs where the stitches were removed. The numbness is nearly all gone and the tenderness of the donor site is totally gone. Now I just have to wait for the results.

In conclusion, I feel that Doc Epstein did a FANTASTIC job---the donor scar is thin, I will have a good ---looking ,mature hairline ( if everything grows in like expected) and his generosity in purposely giving me enough extra grafts to cover my entire bald area ( instead of leaving a small bare spot and the necessity of having to return for another procedure) has all added up to a TOTALLY POSITIVE EXPERIENCE. The whole time I was there, Doc Epstein and his staff made me feel comfortable and confident in their ability and attention to details. Doctor Epstein seems to thoroughly enjoy his work and his generosity proves that money is not his only motivation ----he goes the extra mile because he takes pride in doing an excellent job. I will post some pictures soon. Sincerely, Gerald ( fed

fedup77 · May 11, 2004