baldlivesmatter transplant experience with Dr. Jim Harris

[TakingThePlunge]

I have notified Dr. Harris of this thread via email and requested that he contact you about your concerns. As I'm sure you know, he has an excellent reputation not only for his surgical skill but also his dedication to patient care. I'm sure he will work with you if your results are not acceptable after 12 months.

 

Best of luck!

[JayLDD]

Agree that this forum largely supports patients and they are far better off with it than without it, but lets be real; this is a bad result and even in terms of forum recommended doctors some are without a doubt better and more consistent than others.

 

Certainly the results on this forum reflect that apart from the absolute cream of the crop FUE doctors FUE is more likely to have a low yield or fail altogether like this result.

[Swooping]

Yeah, this is unsatisfactory. I pray for you that it will still turn out well, but that's highly unlikely. I find the graft amount also pretty low also to be honest? But I guess that is another discussion.

[Shera]

Hi Baldlives,

 

Looking at your before pics, it does look like you may have suffered from some shock loss which should all start to come back. As for growth and panic after 6 months, I'm glad you are taking it all in your stride. Worrying and getting stressed out after 6 months will probably have a detrimental effect rather than a positive affect on future growth. I'm sure your doctor never once said that you would look like Elvis after 6 months!

 

Here's a couple of links to a couple of Spex posts, someone who knows what he's talking about.

 

http://www.hairrestorationnetwork.com/eve/147837-patience.html

 

http://www.hairrestorationnetwork.com/eve/152638-growth-number-sessions.html

 

Might help put things into perspective.

 

Good luck with your future growth.

[James A. Harris, MD, FACS]

I would like to thank you all for your attempts to help and support my patient but unfortunately, I don’t believe that the information you are providing is quite accurate. Because of the multiple posts, I’m going to enumerate my comments. They are not intended to address all of the members’ posts, but convey general impressions.

 

1. Thank you to the members that have encouraged baldlivesmatter to contact me. What many on this forum fail to recognize is that the doctor is not the enemy, we are in this profession to help the patients that we treat. I have gone through my E-mails and have not been able to find a single letter of concern from this patient. The first step when a patient is concerned about any aspect is to ask their physician, and I would say that if they are a member of HTN I hope that they will respond with concern and professionalism.

 

2. The members stating that 7 months is long enough to wait for full growth obviously have not had enough experience or exposure to hair restoration to render an accurate opinion. The regrowth of the individual grafts is a bell curve and the often the visible bulk growing around the 6-7 months in most patients. The overall growth by individual patients is also represented by a bell curve, with a modest number growing fully by 4-5 months and others fully at 9-12 months and most other patients in the middle somewhere. There is absolutely no evidence to support the contention that all patients with “quality” hair restoration will be fully grown at 7 months.

 

3. There seems to be an underlying assumption that I will not take care of baldlivesmatter should this be a case of poor growth. I’m not sure why there seems to be this antagonism between members and the physicians. My reputation, and the reputation of most doctors, is based on the fact that we are ethical and truly care about our patients and their results. I can tell you that if baldlivesmatter does not receive the growth that he or I expect I will work with him to achieve an outcome that he will be find acceptable.

 

4. After 19 ? years of practicing hair restoration and approximately 7000 cases I can tell you for certain that there are cases of poor and delayed growth experienced by every single physician practicing hair restoration. If a doctor or their representative claim that they have never had a case then they are lying. I know this because I have sent some of my patients with poor growth to other physicians and I see a good number of patients who have had poor growth from physicians are touted in these forums.

 

5. The patient stories and experiences recounted in these forums are very biased, meaning it is not a true representation of the actual population of hair restoration patients. What tends to be reported is the very best outcomes (full growth at 4-5 months), the worst outcomes (too many too mention). When a patient like baldlivesmatter reports his progress, he is automatically placed into one of those two categories, ignoring the fact that he may be in the category of one of the average, like the tens of thousands of patients that do not concern themselves with posting their experiences. Thank you to those with the voice of reason encouraging baldlivesmatter to wait 10-12 months before making a final decision about the outcome. The rest of you that are encouraging panic and despair are not really being helpful. Baldlivesmatter, there is no reason for me to believe that you will have anything other than a great result, and I have two things to say. If you don’t have a great result I will make things right for you whatever is required. The second is that if you do get great results, then you should take a stance on this forum as a voice of calm reassurance for the average patient.

 

 

Sincerely,

James A. Harris, MD, FISHRS

[James A. Harris, MD, FACS]

On item 4: I have been practicing hair restoration for 19 1/2 years. The 1/2 was translated as a question mark.

 

JH

[Swooping]

Oops, I stand corrected, I thought the result was at 11 months in for some reason, instead of 7.

 

At 7 months there is definitely still much room for improvement.

 

Although I was an early grower myself I still had significant improvement after month 7 with my own hair transplant .

 

Keep us updated baldlivesmatter!

[chevenowner1]

I have notified Dr. Harris of this thread via email and requested that he contact you about your concerns. As I'm sure you know, he has an excellent reputation not only for his surgical skill but also his dedication to patient care. I'm sure he will work with you if your results are not acceptable after 12 months.

 

Best of luck!

 

Hi, can you please open my inbox for PM ? Apologies for messaging here as I can't message I to ask u for it

[TakingThePlunge]

Hi, can you please open my inbox for PM ? Apologies for messaging here as I can't message I to ask u for it

 

I will pass your request on to our webmaster.

[HairDew]

David, I for one honestly believe you. You were a patient first before you became a moderator. I remember your first procedure that didn't turn out as well as you'd hoped.

 

On a side note, the Coalition list really needs to be readdressed. Some of the doctors on that list either not post anything at all or post very infrequently. The list also has to be divided for FUE and FUT. It is unfair to list say a doctor who is exclusively FUT for example, then some new member comes and looks him/her up and thinks, they do it ALL. Not all doctors are created equal. Some pioneers in the industry are behind the tides these days.

[Bill - Seemiller]

Having been involved with this community over the last 13 years (the first 4 of which, I was a patient only), I have seen a disturbing trend of blaming and vilifying the doctor every time a patient shares their concerns. As Dr. Harris rightfully stated, the doctor (at least in most cases) is not the enemy. Most physicians, especially the ones we carefully recommend on this community truly care about their patients and want their patients to be happy. Dr. Harris is one of those physicians.

 

Furthermore, this patient is 7 months post-op. He has at least 5 more months of growth and maturation before we can call this a "result" and know whether or not it is a "success" or "failure".

 

Moreover, if this patient's growth is poor, Dr. Harris already stated that he'd stand behind his patient and help him get the results he wants and deserves.

 

This community exists to enable patients to share their experiences good or bad. When publishers/moderators respond, we aim to keep our posts educational. At times, we may appear to "protect" a doctor and at other times we may appear to "protect" a patient. There are no financial incentives in doing so. In fact, the only time we may defend one side or another is if we feel that one side is being wrongfully attacked. In many cases, the doctor is wrongfully attacked as if he/she purposely set out to hurt the patient. What people have to understand is that hair transplantation is still surgery and no matter how great a doctor is, every doctor has cases of poor growth. At the end of the day, it's how the doctor works with the patient to satisfy his concerns that makes the difference. But patients must be held accountable too. Patients can't attack doctors just because they're concerned. We know it's not always easy to be patient, but a hair transplant should be evaluated at 12 months and after that, the patient and the doctor can work together on an attack plan on resolving a patient's concerns if it hasn't grown or matured the way it was expected.

 

In this case, it's only been 7 months. The patient posted his concerns at 6 months too. The patient has the right to his feelings, but are we going to go through this same process again at 8 months? Those who truly understand the procedure have already suggested that the patient waits until 12 months to evaluate it. While we do encourage patients to share monthly updates, we ask that the members not exacerbate the patient's concerns by making accusatory statements towards the doctor or this community. Instead, let's wait 12 months and then let's see how Dr. Harris and the patient work together if any concerns still remain.

 

For instance, David, our forum co-moderator was in a very similar situation. His first hair transplant with an outstanding surgeon didn't grow the way any of us expected. He was very patient and the doctor worked with him to get him the results he wanted and deserved in a second pass without any charge. Sure it took a little extra time but Dave was happy with the outcome.

 

Nobody is here to hurt anyone. We are only here to help. I hope forum members can understand that there is no "us" vs. "them" and that we are all on the same team.

 

Best wishes,

 

Bill

[ModernHair]

Dr. Harris is as skilled a surgeon as they come and his credentials absolutely impeccable, but even he cannot guarantee a perfect result. What he can do, like he did here, was to assure the patient that IF things don't turn out as they both expected, he will make it right.

 

What more could any patient ask for? That's nearly unheard of today in almost any service industry and shows how absolutely stand-up a surgeon Dr. Harris is and why I trusted him implicitly with my transplants.

 

This book is not yet written. It needs 5 more months, so I'm not sure why so many here are pre-judging the results so harshly. It may turn out there is not much more growth to go, or the OP may grow a tremendous amount between months 8-9 like I did during my first procedure (but to show the variance possible even within patients, all of my growth for my 2nd procedure happened by month 4-5 and I am THRILLED with my result! See Dr. Harris' FUE handiwork below!).

 

We'll know soon enough how it turns out, but the most important thing is that Dr. Harris come on here to assure his patient that he will stand by him and he should be commended enormously for that!

[baldlivesmatter]

Hi everyone,

 

Thanks for all the responses.

 

Not much change at month 8, and I was very busy at work, so elected not to post an update. A few items though:

 

1. David -- For what it's worth, I think you do an excellent job with this forum. Not sure what the cause of all the animosity towards the moderators and this forum is, but it seems somewhat strange to frequently use a forum and then complain about said forum. I know that I was in a much better place to make an informed decision as a result of primarily this forum, as well as other similar resources.

 

2. Dr. Harris -- I appreciate the response. You're correct that you did not have an email from me. In my 6 and 7 month updates, where I said I was waiting for growth, I was in no way insinuating that my result was bad -- just that I was impatiently awaiting my growth. I only really started to be concerned after the myriad of negative responses saying "get a refund!", "bad result!", etc. after my 7 month update. I re-read through SPEX's thread on patience, took a deep breath, and decided I'd hold off final judgment until 12 months (like is preached ad naseum on this forum).

[baldlivesmatter]

Attached 9 month update pics.

 

Still room for improvement, but I think the growth in the last two months is encouraging. Also, there are small vellus (sp?) hairs that seem to be new. Hoping these darken in the next few months. Also of note, the hair that has grown in is somewhat coarse and wirey when compared to my native hair. I believe this is part of the hair maturation process which would indicate that things are still developing.

 

One win to note is that after growing my hair out a bit I can use Toppik and it really improves the appearance of my hair. Still clumps a bit in the areas that are lagging, though provided these areas catch up in the next few months this might be a viable option going forward.

[Melvin- Admin]

If I'm being honest I would expect more growth at this point, im sure your doctor is great and will stand by his work, but at this point for nearly 1,800 grafts I'd say the yield is lacking. With that said, you have plenty of donor left, and you still have some time for things to improve so I really hope things work out.

[JayLDD]

Not trying to be hostile to the doctor as I would say this in any case of a poor yield and every doctor has examples of this, if it does not improve substantially by the 12 month mark I would ask for a refund and avoid a touch up with the same surgeon.

[baldlivesmatter]

Not trying to be hostile to the doctor as I would say this in any case of a poor yield and every doctor has examples of this, if it does not improve substantially by the 12 month mark I would ask for a refund and avoid a touch up with the same surgeon.

 

Appreciate the response Jean, and glad to see your recovery is going well. Afraid you may be right regarding my result as it's not really improving much. I just booked time off work for next may for a potential second surgery to remedy the current situation (which looks worse than pre-op tbh). You made an interesting point regarding asking for a refund and going with a different doc. Is that common practice? My thought was that a refund would only really be in play in the case of some kind of negligence (which is not the case here, just shitty growth). Anyone else have any insight on this?

 

Unless things drastically improve in the next two months I'm going to need another procedure and even with no refund/discount I'll need to consider going elsewhere to avoid potentially burning through more grafts with poor aesthetic improvement.

[baldlivesmatter]

If I'm being honest I would expect more growth at this point, im sure your doctor is great and will stand by his work, but at this point for nearly 1,800 grafts I'd say the yield is lacking. With that said, you have plenty of donor left, and you still have some time for things to improve so I really hope things work out.

 

The man, the myth, the legend -- HT soon. Glad to see your crown looking good in your update video! Actually had an in-person consult set up with diep but had to cancel due to a work commitment. May need to reach back out to him for a second procedure.

[JayLDD]

Appreciate the response Jean, and glad to see your recovery is going well. Afraid you may be right regarding my result as it's not really improving much. I just booked time off work for next may for a potential second surgery to remedy the current situation (which looks worse than pre-op tbh). You made an interesting point regarding asking for a refund and going with a different doc. Is that common practice? My thought was that a refund would only really be in play in the case of some kind of negligence (which is not the case here, just shitty growth). Anyone else have any insight on this?

 

Unless things drastically improve in the next two months I'm going to need another procedure and even with no refund/discount I'll need to consider going elsewhere to avoid potentially burning through more grafts with poor aesthetic improvement.

 

No matter who the doctor is I'd opt for this approach. I've seen a dodgy Rahal case recently where he has suggested they go to another surgeon and refunded them, as every doctor has different protocol and it is questionable to do the same thing if it didn't work the first time.

 

I don't know the law in the US or your state, but I suspect that if you are provided a service and it doesn't achieve a reasonable expectation of what the service was they propose they offer you would be entitled to compensation. Not that I think Harris has done anything wrong at this point but you likely have a wide range of compensation options beyond just medical negligence.

 

To quote Einstein, doing the same thing over and over again really is insanity. Move on and ask for a refund, otherwise I would make a fuss. Bad results happen with all doctors at times and there is no shame in that, but any ethical doctor with a blatantly bad result should be happy to offer a refund.

[Melvin- Admin]

The man, the myth, the legend -- HT soon. Glad to see your crown looking good in your update video! Actually had an in-person consult set up with diep but had to cancel due to a work commitment. May need to reach back out to him for a second procedure.

 

Your attitude towards everything is fantastic, in my years of being on this forum I’ve never encountered such a level headed guy, typically these forums are filled with body dysmorphic hypochondriacs who hyperventilate at the site of a shed hair. Your attitude alone will get you far trust me. I’d consult with Dr. Diep but don’t stop there, consult with as many doctors as possible, really get a feel for which doctor you think would best fit your needs, this forum is a great resource. Speak with the clinic and try to reach an agreement, whatever you do decline a second procedure, if it didn’t work the first time chances are it won’t the second time. I hope you can reach an amicable agreement with the clinic keep us updated.

[baldlivesmatter]

Per the suggestion of many in this thread I emailed Dr. Harris with my concerns and pictures. He agreed that the growth was not as expected and that if things don't improve by the 12 month mark I have two options:

1. Additional surgery at no charge

2. Refund

 

Although I'm not pleased with my results thus far, I am happy that Dr. Harris is standing by his work and not trying to bullshit me by either saying the results are good or blaming my physiology for the poor growth. Not being able to leave the house without concealer is tough enough without being blamed for it as well. It's unfortunate because I have a friend who got a similar sized procedure (~1500 grafts) with Dr. Harris and his results are looking good so not sure why mine didn't turn out well.

 

Regarding the options, as alluded to here, I'm leaning more towards getting a refund and going to a different doc. As has been discussed, all doctors have different methods and some methods work better on certain patients than on others. I'll be out in the Bay next month for a week or so and I reached out to Dr. Diep's clinic for a consult. I'll need to dig back into researching other FUE docs, I know Konior has a good reputation on here too so maybe I'll reach out to him this week. Also open to suggestions if anyone has any.

[baldlivesmatter]

Hey all,

 

A bit late but attached are my 12/14 month update pictures.

 

I grew my hair a bit longer per forum recommendations.

 

Looking for honest feedback, advice moving forward, as well as styling options.

[JayLDD]

Refund, opt for another surgeon. If I was in your case I would probably try FUT rather than FUE to maximise my chances with someone like Konior or Hasson/Wong. If you're set on FUE I would definitely suggest Erdogan strongly, specifically because you have quite a large area to cover as well as thinning way back in the midscalp, which ought call for a larger megasession than most of your other options opt for in FUE cases, including reinforcement of thinning areas behind the hairline.

[Legend007]

Hey it doesn’t look good .. sorry about your situation.. when I read ur first post I felt really hopeful for u .. u seemed like a good candidate , u were implanting Into bald areas, so less chance of native hair shockloss .. n the hair that u already had looked strong , hence is why u had so many 3 hair grafts .. so I felt u would get a great result ..

- I felt most sad though , when in ur post u said u were patient n been waiting for along time before going to surgery . But finally decided to go under the knife , cuz once u cut , u cut!

- n mentioned u might look back on this day 10 years later n be like what the heck did I do ..

- think u jinxed ursself

It was a bad sign when from the beginning on ur wash that u noticed a lot of the hair fell out , I think it wasn’t just ur shaved hair but also grafts that fell out ..

- me sad to know that u going to look back n remember this day was a bad decision . Now it makes me worried myself since i was planning on doing a transplant myself this year , but now I’m nervous about going through with it ..

— well all is not lost ,, ur hairline looks good n a second pass through will make things denser .. most people get a second transplant right away for more density anyways ..

at least u chose an ethical doctor that’s willing to give u a full refund ..

so on the bright side , it’s like u getting two transplants for the price of one .. best of luck to u ... keep us updated .. things will turn out well..

[mikeyhwk]

Refund, opt for another surgeon. If I was in your case I would probably try FUT rather than FUE to maximise my chances with someone like Konior or Hasson/Wong. If you're set on FUE I would definitely suggest Erdogan strongly, specifically because you have quite a large area to cover as well as thinning way back in the midscalp, which ought call for a larger megasession than most of your other options opt for in FUE cases, including reinforcement of thinning areas behind the hairline.

 

definitely get to another doctor and get the refund. I don't know that you have to go fut as while it's not a small procedure it's not that you're a nw 5+ either but you are going to be dipping into your donor extensively with fue so you need to get this right this time, right with either procedure but especially with fue with less margin for error. If you are going to opt for fue, one of the top Euro specialists is my advice as well, Erdogan, Lorenzo, if you're the patient sort DeFreitas...if you do opt for fut then Konior or Hasson/Wong are top of the food chain. You need a sure thing and these guys are as close to your sure things as the market has.