Dr. Pawlinga - any experiences with him?

[cuuler]

Hello everyone,

 

I am a NW6, considering hair transplant procedure for the very first time.

 

I was wondering if anyone could share their experiences with Dr. Pawlinga of Saratoga Hair. There doesn't seem to be much feedback/review information on him anywhere on the internet.

 

The only information I could gather from the forum was how Stumper had a very bad experience with him about 10 years ago when he was a fellow with Dr. Beehner.

 

He seems to do combination grafts using FU's (in the front and back) with DFU's (usually in the central core). Any info would be much appreciated!

 

Anyone?

[BUSA]

there is no one in FL worth going to. especially if ur a NW6. how much money do you have to spend?

[cuuler]

Lesser the better in my current financial state, but about $8000-$9000 at the most.

 

I will prob need more than one procedure down the line, so I plan to save some more for that.

[cuuler]

I sent an email to Dr. Feller and he told me that DFU is just another term for mini-grafts which he said he doesn't do. He said he just does FU's.

 

Are DFU's really that bad?? He sounded pretty against it.

[TakingThePlunge]

cuuler,

 

Some physicians advocate the use of DFU's in combination with FU's in some patients with great effect. DFU's can add to the appearance of density in patients with fine hair. However, they are not right for all patients and I believe they should be used in limited quantities.

 

Here is a case by Dr. Paul Shapiro utilizing DFU's on a female patient with fine hair.

 

Dr. Carlos Wesley used DFU's in this case, Carlos K. Wesley, M.D. (NYC) - Frontal Coverage (2434 FU)

 

Dr. Wu used them here, Dr. Wen-Yi Wu / one session FUT 3608 grafts/ Chinese patient

 

There are truly numerous cases of excellent results that utilized DFU's to achieve a natural and dense appearance.

 

We have not heard much from Dr. Pawlinga patients but you can view examples of his work by visiting his profile page.

 

Best of luck!

Edited May 25, 2015 by David - Moderator

[cuuler]

Tremendous! Thanks David for your reply.

 

It was very insightful.

 

A good friend of mine who's also considering HT went to see Dr. Pawlinga with a NW5-6 and was told that he would do 400 DFU's in the central core and FU's in the front (total of 2000-2300 grafts).

 

From what I've been able to gather, it seems that most of the cases where DFU's are successfully deployed it's usually for about 200 grafts. 400 feels a bit much.

 

Any thoughts?

[Torn]

Have you spoken with or meet with Dr Beehner ? I recall reading a few posts here from patients who were very satisfied with his work. As I understand it he uses DFUs.

 

Here is one case of Dr Beehner's I followed as it related somewhat to my situation. I thought he did a fine job as did the patient.

 

http://www.hairrestorationnetwork.com/eve/159110-plug-removal-dr-beehner-2.html

 

Good luck....

 

 

 

 

 

Hello everyone,

 

I am a NW6, considering hair transplant procedure for the very first time.

 

I was wondering if anyone could share their experiences with Dr. Pawlinga of Saratoga Hair. There doesn't seem to be much feedback/review information on him anywhere on the internet.

 

The only information I could gather from the forum was how Stumper had a very bad experience with him about 10 years ago when he was a fellow with Dr. Beehner.

He seems to do combination grafts using FU's (in the front and back) with DFU's (usually in the central core). Any info would be much appreciated!

 

Anyone?

[cuuler]

Thanks Torn!

 

These are the three consultations that I had in the past few weeks:

 

I went in for a consultation with Dr. True (NYC) recently and, after a careful look at my head, he told me that I'm actually a NW5V with probably around 7000 - 8000 total donors. He suggested we shoot for 3000 grafts and try to cover the vertex as well. He does true FU's and no Multies.

 

I also went in for a consultation with Dr. Feller (Great Neck, NY) and he said he wanted to do around 2000 for the first session to cover the front half of my scalp and leave the crown + vertex for a second session because Asians have coarse hairs but they're less dense. He does true FU's and no Multies like Dr. True.

 

I finally drove over 2 hrs and consulted with Dr. Pawlinga (Saratoga, NY) who wanted to shoot for around 2000, but with about 400 DFU's in the central core for density.

 

From what I was able to gather from my consultations, the differences between the three doctors (for my case) seem to be that:

 

1) Dr. True/Dorin sounds pretty confident in being able to get at least 2500-3000 grafts and in trying to cover my vertex as much as possible, while Dr. Feller and Dr. Pawlinga want to shoot for around 2000 just for the front half of my scalp, leaving the vertex untouched for another session. This would mean that I would have to walk around for another two years with a big bald patch on my head.

 

2) Dr. True/Dorin and Dr. Feller uses only true FU's while Dr. Pawlinga uses DFU's.

 

3) Dr. Feller needs to shave my recipient area while Dr. True/Dorin and Dr. Pawlinga won't have to since most of it is gone anyway except for the few in the front that they could work around.

 

4) Regarding cost, Dr. Pawlinga is the most affordable (hands down!!!) by quite a bit when compared to the other two. Dr. True/Dorin was initially higher than Dr. Feller, but Peter (who represents Dr. True/Dorin) told me that he could work with me on the cost if I could work with his schedule which was pretty cool.

 

Conclusion (so far at least):

 

Frankly at this point, I'm leaning toward Dr. True/Dorin because they seem pretty confident that they could get the most number of grafts in one sitting (2500-3000), I don't have to shave my head, and are willing to work with me on the cost if I could work with their schedule.

 

I really liked Dr. Feller but he is pushing for about 2000, wants to shave my head, and seems pretty fixed on the cost.

 

The advantage of going with Dr. Pawlinga is that he's definitely quite affordable and I won't have to break my bank! He's about a third to almost half lower than both Dr. True and Dr. Feller. As a blue collar working man it's very difficult to completely ignore this. The only thing that's in the gray for me is that he uses DFU's (which I'm still not 100% sure about - although Dr. Behner (who Dr. Pawlinga works with) does seem to have a great reputation) and wants to push for about 2000. He (like Dr. True) said he he doesn't have to shave my head.

 

I am planning to make a decision soon.

 

I'd love to hear your thoughts!

Edited May 25, 2015 by cuuler

[Torn]

Not personally familiar with those Drs though I'd suggest reading through all the reviews here if you haven't already.

 

Good luck ....