A facial plastic surgeon lectures about FUE

[crankyhair]

So let me say up front about this: Everything below might not be totally wrong and probably is. But I’m repeating it here because I haven’t heard this perspective before after reading these boards for a couple years and I found it interesting. Went to a fancy facial plastic surgeon in Beverly Hills who dabbles in FUE (no, i wasn’t considering him for a hair procedure — I’d only go to a specialist, of course) and he had an, um, interesting perspective.

 

These were his comments when I started by asking who’s the best surgeon for FUE out there (and, again, I realize he's probably wrong, but it’s an interesting take):

 

“There is no best in FUE. There used to be ‘bests’ for FUT back in the day, but there’s no best in FUE. Anybody who’s skilled and decent will give you roughly the same results depending on your hair characteristics so it's a waste of time searching for 'the best.' Here’s the truth about FUE that nobody will tell you: FUE is an easy procedure. It’s very easy. Surgeons overcharge for it like crazy. Facial plastic surgery is very, very, very difficult to do well. FUE, moving hairs from the back of your head to the front of your head, is totally easy. That’s why surgeons have they techs do most of the work. Somebody recently offered me like 50k to do a hair transplant if I’d do every hair myself. I told them that’s ridiculous and unnecessary. You’re a smart guy, I bet I could teach YOU how to be an FUE tech in two weeks — that’s how easy it is to do.”

 

Of course I hear this and wonder: Then why are there so many bad results out there from even good surgeons…but I don’t argue with him…anyway, passing along…

[Transhair]

Was this surgeon either Dr Aharonov or Dr Meyer?

Don't know much about the first, but if it's Dr Meyer, he's pretty terrible.

[gambler]

Lol.......some of the worst results of all time have been from Plastic and Cosmetic Surgeons dabbling in hair transplant surgery....I really don't care what they might say or think.

[KO]

Take it with a grain of salt, but he has a point. FUE is easy to learn for sure. There are people who've done FUE on themselves.

[Spanker]

Good luck with that. I can see a disparity in skill just on the board here, and all of these docs have been approved by HTN. There are so many things that this guy is not taking into account that makes a difference in your results. He is acting like its moving a carrot from one piece of dirt and putting it in another piece of dirt...and it is ridiculous.

 

So, HT may seem pretty easy...chess is easy...but playing chess well is not.

 

You deal with a lot of ego when you deal with surgeons (I have been in the medical field my whole life and they will tell you that themselves), and I think that HT gets some rap from surgeons because they they see themselves as surgeons and HT docs can be dermatologists or family practice and start punching out grafts...and I think some of them take that personally. Then you have surgeons like Konior who has a surgical background (head, neck, plastics) but only does HT now and does almost all of it himself in terms of implantation plus all of the extraction...why would he put himself through all of that if there were no difference in the outcome? By this docs calculations, Dr. Konior and the turkish tech mills should basically have the same outcome??? The more I think about it, the worse the advice this guy gave sounds.

Edited October 4, 2016 by Spanker

[Vainism]

very interesting post

[Spanker]

Take it with a grain of salt, but he has a point. FUE is easy to learn for sure. There are people who've done FUE on themselves.

 

I will refer back to my chess analogy on this one...a lot of people know how the pieces move, but there are very few Bobby Fischers out there.

[Bill - Seemiller]

That's very interesting. I disagree with most of what has been said. Every skill has a best or at least a group of bests. And the procedure in general may be relatively easy to a certain extent, but even so, there's a huge difference between a child just learning how to ride a bike, another easy task and an expert bicyclist who can not only compete in marathons but win.

 

I've been told for years that hair transplantation is just a matter of talking and planning to a certain degree and in that sense, it is kind of easy. But like I said, there's degrees of expertise even in the most easiest of tasks. I am relatively average, maybe slightly above average out riding a bike and going pretty fast. But an expert has the skill, the endurance and knows several tips and tricks that make going uphill easier and knows how to compete and win a race. Even though plucking and planning may be easy to a degree, it's an all day procedure and requires patience, a steady hand of experience, endurance and more.

 

I'm not going to sit here and say that I don't think FUE is overpriced however, people don't pay because of the degree of difficulty of the procedure, they pay because it's extremely tedious and time-consuming, more so than strip.

 

Anyway, I'll be interested to hear what other people have to say. But at the end of the day, I do believe that there are levels of quality in an FUE procedure and therefore, there are doctors that people feel are in a group of bests. That's true of FUT and FUE.

 

Best wishes,

 

Bill

[Melvin- Admin]

There are people who've done FUE on themselves.

 

This is the most ridiculous thing I've ever read, these individuals performing this procedure must be working in a sterile environment right? Like their bathroom or kitchen lol.

[chris39]

This is the most ridiculous thing I've ever read, these individuals performing this procedure must be working in a sterile environment right? Like their bathroom or kitchen lol.

 

It is ridiculous . One of those urban myths that spreads around the internet and some people take it as gospel - although I'm sure a few oddballs may have tried it .

[JohnCasper]

Love Spankers chess analogy.... chess is easy...but playing chess well is not. I have a friend who works for a well know plastic surgeon in my home town. They occasionally do hair transplants but they charge more than double what well know hair surgeons charge. They actually fly trained techs in to perform the procedure. I hope most people choose a reputable hair surgeon and not the plastic surgeon route. That's why this website is so valuable to those who actually do their homework prior to making such an important monetary and surgical decision.

[MrGio-WHTCClinic]

So let me say up front about this: Everything below might not be totally wrong and probably is. But I’m repeating it here because I haven’t heard this perspective before after reading these boards for a couple years and I found it interesting. Went to a fancy facial plastic surgeon in Beverly Hills who dabbles in FUE (no, i wasn’t considering him for a hair procedure — I’d only go to a specialist, of course) and he had an, um, interesting perspective.

 

These were his comments when I started by asking who’s the best surgeon for FUE out there (and, again, I realize he's probably wrong, but it’s an interesting take):

 

“There is no best in FUE. There used to be ‘bests’ for FUT back in the day, but there’s no best in FUE. Anybody who’s skilled and decent will give you roughly the same results depending on your hair characteristics so it's a waste of time searching for 'the best.' Here’s the truth about FUE that nobody will tell you: FUE is an easy procedure. It’s very easy. Surgeons overcharge for it like crazy. Facial plastic surgery is very, very, very difficult to do well. FUE, moving hairs from the back of your head to the front of your head, is totally easy. That’s why surgeons have they techs do most of the work. Somebody recently offered me like 50k to do a hair transplant if I’d do every hair myself. I told them that’s ridiculous and unnecessary. You’re a smart guy, I bet I could teach YOU how to be an FUE tech in two weeks — that’s how easy it is to do.”

 

Of course I hear this and wonder: Then why are there so many bad results out there from even good surgeons…but I don’t argue with him…anyway, passing along…

 

Most of the opinion of the 'facial plastic surgeon' is based on his or her experience and patient base. There can be an elite group and team, however, the patient's preferences and surgeon's preferences must share similar qualities on outcomes.

[voxman]

Wait...I coulda had a BETTER Plastic Surgeon? I thought they were pretty much all alike.....

 

[KO]

Then why do great FUE clinics relegate harvesting to the techs? I'm not talking about just the FUE mills either. I agree to some extent with the plastic surgeon because I think strip harvesting requires a lot of skill. With FUE though, harvesting is laborious, painful, and yet rote. Consequently, IMO FUE harvesting is heading towards commoditization with the placement of grafts the core of surgery.

[crankyhair]

Oh I forgot one more thing the facial plastic surgeon said. More amusing -- and surprisingly blunt -- than anything else and not about FUE per se: "Most surgeons are sociopaths and many will just tell you want you want to hear. Look at photos of ALL their work -- not just the procedure you want but of their other stuff too. If you see one person looking weird, that's fine. Even two or three people. But if you see a bunch of patiences that look odd, even if it's not for the procedure you want, then run."

[Louisjams]

I gotta say, and I feel pretty strongly on this point, there is a whole lot of art to a good HT. I would pretty much dismiss this surgeon's POV. It sounds like he is talking about the TECHNICAL part, but the art of designing the hairline, adjusting the density of the grafts, making the HT as a whole look syntonic to the patient and age appropriate...that is not easy. That is not easy at all.

 

A good HT is absolutely undetectable. A bad HT can be spotted a mile away.

[mrkellymac10]

I think his collagues would disagree with him that FUE is so easy it can be learned in a couple of weeks. Did he say that was all the training he himself has? That's frightening. He must know the more you do something the better at that something one gets. How can this be lost on a doctor? I would not re viist with a doctor like this.

[KO]

FUE is a harvesting technique. Nothing to do with hairlines.

[mrkellymac10]

FUE is a harvesting technique. Nothing to do with hairlines.

 

Agree. And the harvest and the hairline are demanding chores that require a skilled and experienced hand. Can't be learned in two weeks.

[KO]

Nothing can be learnt high level in a few weeks, but I don't believe it requires a lot of talent to learn FUE harvesting.