Strip vs FUE vs mFUE - Dr. Alan Feller Great Neck, NY

[thatoldchestnut]

Shan't be posting again in this thread, if you think you've got it all figured out, more power to you. I'm glad you were happy with your FUE result. Staggering amounts of unhelpful subjectivity in this thread.

[KO]

Hey BaldingBogger, any update on your claim that "Top FUE" has "90% yield"? Data? Statistics? Anything?

[KO]

Dr Feller,

 

I strongly disagree solar panels can & do create some good dam electric and in fact you could end up selling electric to you local Electrical company.

USA is behind the modern technology always have always will compared to Europe & rest of the world.

 

Next time you go to England, Scotland Wales , Ireland, or even Europe take a look at the roofs or go in the local council house and ask them how much do they use solar energy and how much more they will use in the Future and will they save money...they will sure give you the numbers.

 

Everything is pricey when first come out, just like dvd, blue Rays , plasma, LCD Tvs but now look at the prices dropped down to the floor why because everybody got one, demand is/was there same goes for solar panel or FUE pricey at the start but now in hands reach of the average blue collar worker and that's always good for the customer.

Fair Point?

 

Please Dr Feller with respect again take off your blinkers.

 

Solar panels do not provide electricity in the same way as coal plants do. Solar power can only generate electricity when the sun is out, and ideally when there is a good deal of it, another important characteristic that benefits solar is when peak power demand coincides with peak sunlight - aka Saudi Arabia where people crank up their AC's during midday.

 

Solar power cannot provide baseload power, even if there is a snowstorm going on, a power plant manager can look outside and see 3 months worth of fuel that he can burn anytime. A solar guy cannot do that. They are not replacements for each other.

 

This claim of "In Europe solar works" is nonsensical. It works in the US too.

[tommygun]

He is threatening legal action???!!! Wow! Why was BUSA really banned? This doctor is starting to remind me of a desperate Fox News trying to control the narrative on certain subjects. After every new and outrageous post, I think of this video:

 

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=P74oHhU5MDk

 

It's really a shame Blake has chosen to partner with a guy that will indoctrinate him. With his passion, Blake can be something special.

Edited July 19, 2015 by tommygun

[Dr Blake Bloxham]

Tommy,

 

Thanks for the kind words. I'm absolutely passionate when it comes to this field. It's something I pride myself on, and it's actually kind of rare to find people who are big "hair geeks" like I am. In fact, it's part of the reason why I chose to partner with Dr Feller. His passion exceeds mine. It's actually this passion that drives him to come on here and tell the truth when it isn't popular.

 

As far as the BUSA situation is concerned, let me say the following: I was still a moderator when the issues with BUSA started, progressed, and ended. I can tell you with 100% certainty -- I was copied on all PMs and emails involving this issue -- that no doctor ever actually complained about BUSA. This includes doctors discussed in this thread. He was banned after MULTIPLE complaints from other members. None were affiliated with clinics in any way.

 

Bill and Dave will tell you the same.

[mav23100gunther]

I don't intend to get involved in this (at this point, often rather petty) debate one way or the other but I will say one thing. I realise that members of this forum probably value their anonymity, but if Dr.Feller's offer of a three way phone call with a doctor is genuine then I'm shocked that someone hasn't been minded to take him up on it. I think it would be immensely interesting to get a FUE specialist's (that is not meant as disrespectful, i simply mean a doctor for whom FUE work constitutes the majority of their practice) direct opinion on matters.

 

There have been some pretty bold claims made on both sides of this debate but as of yet Dr. Feller has been given carte blanche to make largely irrefutable claims (though with a little too much anectdotal conjecture for my liking ) simply because he is a qualified hair transplant surgeon. If people are really so certain he is wrong about what he is saying, what have they to lose by taking him up on the offer of such a phone call? I'm certain that by putting many of the key points in this thread to a "FUE favourite", it would be immensely educational for the party involved and could be reported back to the community.

 

Then why don't YOU step up to the plate?

[ontop]

Maybe I should open a FUE clinic next door to his prime location & let's see how long he would last for before he moves on or jump ship.

 

Dr F you make up your own stuff to approve yourself & nothing to back it up only a few Pts & a few Phones calls to show for it that's piss poor & nill & void, just like you say the Club is wrong but of course your right because you got plenty of folk knocking your door Monday mornings right?

 

I would like for all Drs. & clinics worldwide not just in NY city to fill in your forms correctly & honestly to put these so called Dr F claims to bed.

But saying that Dr F seems so hell bent that most are wrong & he's right.

 

We shall see in the coming yrs, I sure hope you won't be eating your own words there Doctor.

 

Try & have a better day as it seems like by your tone that you are not....try to relax deep breaths.

[thatoldchestnut]

Then why don't YOU step up to the plate?

 

Probably because I don't have a vested interest in the topic per se? A lot of posters seem to have a burning desire to discredit what Dr.Feller says. You can be absolutely sure that if I felt as passionately as some posters seem to, I would take up such an offer in a heartbeat.

Edited July 21, 2015 by thatoldchestnut

[fueBobby]

I have to agree with some of the members here that Dr Feller is a strip doctor Dr. and not a FUE doctor. I think in that in your video you mentioned that you don’t do more that 2000 fue grafts, top surgeons like Dr Bhatti, Dr Bisanga, Dr Feriduni, Dr. Koray Erdogan all do mega session over 1 or 2 days are they still getting top results. I would love to get these fue surgeons or any other fue surgeon to give their opinion on your video.

I’ve had FUT and FUE over the years and I’m sorry to say Dr Feller what you say is mfue in my eyes its smaller version of fut, but your method you would be leaving small scars all over the safe donor area. If I decide to have another hair transplant, I most likely will have fue again as my results were the same compared to fut and fue and I’m not a fan of having a u shape scar.

I remember reading few weeks back a new repair forum has started up where all cases of FUE and FUT gone bad are posted, maybe Dr Feller cases may pop there under the mfue method.

It’s also misleading the patients, confusing them with fut and fue with your mfue method.

[irishsailor]

I have to agree with some of the members here that Dr Feller is a strip doctor Dr. and not a FUE doctor. I think in that in your video you mentioned that you don’t do more that 2000 fue grafts, top surgeons like Dr Bhatti, Dr Bisanga, Dr Feriduni, Dr. Koray Erdogan all do mega session over 1 or 2 days are they still getting top results. I would love to get these fue surgeons or any other fue surgeon to give their opinion on your video.

I’ve had FUT and FUE over the years and I’m sorry to say Dr Feller what you say is mfue in my eyes its smaller version of fut, but your method you would be leaving small scars all over the safe donor area. If I decide to have another hair transplant, I most likely will have fue again as my results were the same compared to fut and fue and I’m not a fan of having a u shape scar.

I remember reading few weeks back a new repair forum has started up where all cases of FUE and FUT gone bad are posted, maybe Dr Feller cases may pop there under the mfue method.

It’s also misleading the patients, confusing them with fut and fue with your mfue method.

 

I think your confusing patients more by referring to strip as FUT. it's all FUT.

 

The difference is how we extract the donar. Which is strip and fue.

[hair-buyer]

This comment is from the patient eyes, my eyes.

 

I watched the video, it looks that you are absolutely know what you are talking about and that you do put the HT success in front of your eyes, but, I saw many bad scars.. really bad ! ok, it may not the best doctors or the best recovery but in fact, bad scars and for me it was impossible to go for such a surgery.

 

I am a physical therapist and I may not commit any surgery in my life, but, I know that there are more than one or two criterions that should lead to the good treatment, one of the most important criterion is patient preference, even if the therapist / surgeon think that he know a much better way to get the result.

 

This is my opinion, maybe you will agree and maybe you don't, but, I could not see myself risking the back of my head for a nice front, if I will need more grafts than I have chest, axilla, pubis and beard grafts available for that, I may pay a little extra but walk on the safe side.

[Dr. Alan Feller]

Hair-Buyer,

If only it was as easy as throwing money at the hair loss problem. It isn't. Unfortunately, paying more doesn't mean you get more.

 

And it certainly doesn't mean you will be walking on the safe side.

 

In fact, body hair transplants are still considered experimental and at best result in only a 1/3 growth yield in almost all patients.

 

If you wish to regain your front and top it must be done at the expense of the back. However, you can minimize that expense by utilizing the strip method over the FUE method for megasessions.

 

Problem with body hair transplants is that many are used in the scalp, and when they fail to grow well they leave crops of scar tissue in the recipient area which damages the skin, gives a shiny and mottled appearance and can cause shock loss. I also happen to feel most BHT look like pubic hair which does not match normal terminal hairs of the scalp.

 

Dr. Feller

Great Neck, NY

[HairJo]

Wow that doesn't sound too good I would really like to see what the donor area looks like and of coarse the hair texture.I hope to see more pics on this

[voxman]

Wow...338 posts and still no consensus! There are valid points made in all corners but ultimately you can not deny that very good practioners all over the world are getting world class results from FUE and doing so every day quietly and to their customers satisfaction. Cite all the empirical data you wish, as I see it someone will question it! Why so vociferous?

Yes, there are black sheep in India and Turkey and elsewhere, but there is little cause for scathing attacks on those who do so as their offering. I see way too much effort to discredit the processes, or the ethical FUE Doctors, at a time when this community should continue intelligent and open discussion.

[Dr Blake Bloxham]

Vox,

 

How can we have an open and intelligent discussion if we refute data and evidence? This isn't good science. I also don't think it's fair to say that a lack of response from practitioners indicates that there are world class results flying under the radar everyday. This would be akin to saying that there are patients fully restoring their hair with lotions, potions, and lasers all over the world daily simply because no one is coming on the forums saying they aren't doing so. See what a slippery slope this can be? This is why it's important to rely on data and facts, and not feeling when it comes to these manners.

 

And laying out some data and facts isn't an attempt to discredit the process. In fact, it's what we need to actually have the intelligent and open discussion you referenced earlier. Objective data is never as fun, interesting, or sexy, but it needs to be put out there.

Edited July 29, 2015 by DrBlakeBloxham

[Dr. Alan Feller]

Voxman,

"Scathing attacks?"

Please show me where that occurred. I have been personally attacked multiple times on all my topics, but I have not attacked anyone, scathing nor otherwise.

 

"338 posts and still no consensus!" From whom are you seeking consensus ? Uniformed anonymous lay posters who engage in wishful thinking? Where are the FUE doctors??????? Not a peep from them.

 

***The lack of participation on the part of actual FUE megasessionists is deafening don't you think?**** Think they haven't read this topic with thousands of views and hundreds of posts? You bet they have, and not a single word. How is that for consensus?

 

FUE advocates always try to reframe the debate by claiming there are so many FUE cases out there so therefore FUE is just as good as strip. Nope. Simply not true, and a disingenuous shift of the conversation.

 

So many times the names of FUE doctors are invoked to support the uninformed view of vociferous posters. But those doctors never come online to actually back up these statements. Surely that's been noticed by now?

 

I say again: No matter what result you get from FUE, good or bad, doing the same surgery with Strip would have yielded a better result each and every time.

 

It is up to the FUE megasessionists to PROVE an improvement in the following detrimental forces associated with ALL FUE procedures in order to make the claim that FUE megasessions are as reliable as strip megasessions:

1. Torsion damage

2. Traction damage

3. Compression damage

 

Yet to date not a single FUE doctor has. There have been NO improvements in FUE since it's inception. None. Any allusion to such is nothing more than ignorance and wishful thinking. Or worse: out right fraud.

 

 

Every time I read about a patient who had a megasession FUE I think of their donor areas being fibrosed and devascularized. An absolute brutal assault on the only scalp that patient is ever going to have.

 

Strip FUT does not suffer from this type of trauma and is why all physicians must describe this reality to patients before offering FUE because not to do is to fail to give informed consent. One lawsuit based on this reality and the party is over. At least in the United States where the law frowns on doctors who fail to properly inform their patients of the main stream methods before offering alternative forms. FUE is an alternative. Simple as that. It has had 14 years to prove itself and still has not.

 

Solve the three detrimental forces of FUE and you will have an HT revolution. But it hasn't happened yet and none of the so called new technologies on the market even come close to it. Perhaps it will happen, but not likely to be soon.

 

The floor for debate has been opened for a long time, problem is the FUE camp never showed up.

[Spanker]

Would you not say that the tools have improved and where one a 1mm punch was standard (after the big plug punches) and now it seems like it's a .8, making the damage from the torsion lower (think thinner piece of plastic when you tear it from your video). Also creating less tissue damage and scarring in donor?

 

Obviously that means less tissue around the follicle making it more susceptible to out of body time and compression when implanting. Either way, something had changed in the last 5 years, as I do believe that results have improved.

 

That's not to say that I believe it is better than fut, for many reasons (but mostly lifetime grafts availability and better/easier grafts on subsequent procedures).

 

Also, Dr. Vories made a claim that he got better yield with fue, but added that he also changed his implantation technique. Which seems to me the only reasonable explanation for that.

 

Either way, it takes skills to do either. At least to do it right.

[Dr. Alan Feller]

Would you not say that the tools have improved and where one a 1mm punch was standard (after the big plug punches) and now it seems like it's a .8, making the damage from the torsion lower (think thinner piece of plastic when you tear it from your video). Also creating less tissue damage and scarring in donor?

 

Obviously that means less tissue around the follicle making it more susceptible to out of body time and compression when implanting. Either way, something had changed in the last 5 years, as I do believe that results have improved.

 

That's not to say that I believe it is better than fut, for many reasons (but mostly lifetime grafts availability and better/easier grafts on subsequent procedures).

 

Also, Dr. Vories made a claim that he got better yield with fue, but added that he also changed his implantation technique. Which seems to me the only reasonable explanation for that.

 

Either way, it takes skills to do either. At least to do it right.

 

 

No, i do not believe the tools have improved since the introduction of FUE. In fact the doctor who was the first to sensationalize FUE routinely used .7 mm punches. So no improvement there. I developed and patented some FUE tools that addressed the torsion problem, but even that didn't make a huge difference. It's still selling throughout the world to this day however. I sold the business and patents as it was getting beyond me. But I still use them to this day. No other punch has surpassed it in my opinion and experience.

 

The use of a smaller punch may decrease the area necessary to tear, this is likely true, but the area of follicle available to endure the tension upon traction with forecepts is also decreased, thus a more easily injured and skeletonized graft. Of course compression is also worse when the graft is skinnier as there is less tissue to protect the cells of the follicle. Think grabbing an eyeball directly and then squeezing. That's how grafts should be thought of.

 

So no, Spanker, no improvement in reality. Quite a lot of window dressing, but no substance. Smaller punches are not new. Better to use a larger punch. Or just mFUE.

[Sean]

Voxman,

"Scathing attacks?"

Please show me where that occurred. I have been personally attacked multiple times on all my topics, but I have not attacked anyone, scathing nor otherwise.

 

"338 posts and still no consensus!" From whom are you seeking consensus ? Uniformed anonymous lay posters who engage in wishful thinking? Where are the FUE doctors??????? Not a peep from them.

 

***The lack of participation on the part of actual FUE megasessionists is deafening don't you think?**** Think they haven't read this topic with thousands of views and hundreds of posts? You bet they have, and not a single word. How is that for consensus?

 

FUE advocates always try to reframe the debate by claiming there are so many FUE cases out there so therefore FUE is just as good as strip. Nope. Simply not true, and a disingenuous shift of the conversation.

 

So many times the names of FUE doctors are invoked to support the uninformed view of vociferous posters. But those doctors never come online to actually back up these statements. Surely that's been noticed by now?

 

I say again: No matter what result you get from FUE, good or bad, doing the same surgery with Strip would have yielded a better result each and every time.

 

It is up to the FUE megasessionists to PROVE an improvement in the following detrimental forces associated with ALL FUE procedures in order to make the claim that FUE megasessions are as reliable as strip megasessions:

1. Torsion damage

2. Traction damage

3. Compression damage

 

Yet to date not a single FUE doctor has. There have been NO improvements in FUE since it's inception. None. Any allusion to such is nothing more than ignorance and wishful thinking. Or worse: out right fraud.

 

 

Every time I read about a patient who had a megasession FUE I think of their donor areas being fibrosed and devascularized. An absolute brutal assault on the only scalp that patient is ever going to have.

 

Strip FUT does not suffer from this type of trauma and is why all physicians must describe this reality to patients before offering FUE because not to do is to fail to give informed consent. One lawsuit based on this reality and the party is over. At least in the United States where the law frowns on doctors who fail to properly inform their patients of the main stream methods before offering alternative forms. FUE is an alternative. Simple as that. It has had 14 years to prove itself and still has not.

 

Solve the three detrimental forces of FUE and you will have an HT revolution. But it hasn't happened yet and none of the so called new technologies on the market even come close to it. Perhaps it will happen, but not likely to be soon.

 

The floor for debate has been opened for a long time, problem is the FUE camp never showed up.

 

Dr. Feller, what do you mean by "Every time I read about a patient who had a megasession FUE I think of their donor areas being fibrosed and devascularized. An absolute brutal assault on the only scalp that patient is ever going to have. ."

 

Does this have a substantial impact long term? Would PRP help the situation?

[Dr. Alan Feller]

Dr. Feller, what do you mean by "Every time I read about a patient who had a megasession FUE I think of their donor areas being fibrosed and devascularized. An absolute brutal assault on the only scalp that patient is ever going to have. ."

 

Does this have a substantial impact long term? Would PRP help the situation?

 

 

It means what I wrote. The more FUE extractions you attempt, the closer and closer the holes get to each other which in turn allows the overlapping of scars from one hole to the next. I call this "confluence of scar". It results in sheets of fibrosis, shock loss, and permanent damage of the scalp. The effect is irreversible. In terms of future HT the impact is devastating. Should a second FUE procedure be performed the skin reverts from soft and flexible to hard and brittle. This in turn reduces the success rate of extraction, a problem that, incredibly, is NEVER discussed or even mentioned.

 

PRP would NOT help. In fact, it would HURT. The use of PRP during an HT procedure is irresponsible and demonstrably bad. I can't believe it is ever done. Using it after the fact to improve a fibrosed donor area (or fibrosed anything) will only make it worse. Guaranteed.

 

Remember when you were a kid and bumped your head hard and a day later you noticed an "egg" in the skin? Well that was a hematoma, a collection of blood in one area trapped under the skin. As the hematoma solidified, thanks to platelets, the skin itself fibrosed. Ultimately other blood factors ate away most of the hardened clot and the "egg" went away, but not without damaging the area from the inside. If you were to stick a needle into it, as I do every day, the skin would be quite hard and brittle. PRP is a hematoma on steroids. It would CAUSE fibrosis on top of an already fibrosed area.

[Sethticles]

Should a second FUE procedure be performed the skin reverts from soft and flexible to hard and brittle.

 

ive had two FUE HTs and my skin is exactly the same as it was before,

[Dr. Alan Feller]

ive had two FUE HTs and my skin is exactly the same as it was before,

 

Seth, your skin is anything but the same as it was before. If you've had thousands of FUE attempts performed in your donor area I GUARANTEE you have massive change in the skin as I described above.

 

Shave the area where you had your FUE and take a photo and put it up on this topic. I'll show you with ease where the damage is. FUE is anything but a "scar less" surgery.

[Sethticles]

texture feels the same it still lovely and soft not hard and brittle as you described. is it scar less, no it has 1000s of tiny near impossible to see dots, we all know this, but the skin feels the same

[Dr. Alan Feller]

texture feels the same it still lovely and soft not hard and brittle as you described. is it scar less, no it has 1000s of tiny near impossible to see dots, we all know this, but the skin feels the same

 

You are being disingenuous, Seth. The skin may feel the same to you, but I am referring to the changes that affect the skin and hair around each of those tiny dots. To the finger you will feel no significant difference, but when you try to extract hairs via FUE or FUT the scarring is massive and will severely limit the number of otherwise obtainable grafts.

 

You are also disingenuous with your description of the dots. Yes, each one is relatively tiny. This is true, but THOUSANDS of them do not make them "near impossible to see". In fact they are quite easy to see. Unless of course you allow your hair to grow out. Then they are nearly impossible to see, but the same exact thing is true of FUT scars. So why risk the lower yield and greater donor damage of FUE ?

 

Ask your doctor about the phenomenon of "Follicular Collapse" during an FUE attempt. Even if he is unaware of the nomenclature, he knows what I'm talking about. It's when you go into a fibrosed area of the donor and attempt to score around a target follicle. But instead of the punch gliding through the skin in a controlled manner, it collapses right to the skull like stepping on to a floor board eaten out by termites leaving a transected/broken graft.

[ontop]

Maybe FUE Drs is just to busy to even come on here or other Forums & even more so dont want to get involved with members or Drs pissing contest.

 

I dont blame them, they have many years to speak up when they choose to and not dictated by anyone else....no names mentioned.