Looking for a Surgeon

[JackNeedsHair]

Hi everyone!

 

I am looking into a surgeon for a hair transplant. I am 28, and see attached for my pic. Note I feel that photo is not very accurate, bad lighting or something made it more transparent. Up to this year I could more or less ignore it but the bald spot on the crown is hard. I also work in an open office so everyone gets to stare at it all day. I have done rogain since I was 18. I have done propecia and wow that stuff screwed with my testosterone levels.

 

I was very interested in dr mcgrath but we have been having some communication issues.. I Love that he has videos on youtube. But its mostly the same guy. Albeit amazing results. Also he is in Austin while I am in Colorado. I might still go with him, but its hard to say I am picking a guy off one set of youtube videos.

 

I want the best result I can get. I know I will need to do 1-2 strip procedures. Then that fancy robotic one (which apparently was invented here in co)

 

I would like a doctor closer to Colorado, but they ones I looked up had weird out of date websites with DISCOUNT cheap prices splashed across. Or seem very corporatized. I mean, if only I could walk into Bosley and say fix me, and walk out.. No not the case.

 

I am just trying to find the best results I can. I want one surgery now that looks great and as it gets worse an I save up deal with the fine touches in 2-4 years. I have no idea how to find these doctors as it is all marketing and fluff. I ask for referrals and I am told legally they cant. I can spend 5k no problem for 1 surgery. 7k I feel uncomfortable, and 9k+ -- Well I am going to cut 2 years off my mortgage instead.

 

I am also blond, albeit it is darkening with age, but in summers it can get bleached. What kind of guard am I looking at for hair cuts? I look better with short guards on the sides.. That scar..

 

Anyways! Thanks! Help me get on a better path!

[Speegs]

My advice is don't be afraid to travel, a plane ticket and hotel room is worth it to get it done right. Especially since the United States and Canada have the lion's share of the world's most trustworthy physicians in the field, I'd go to them because they're good, not because they're geographically the most convenient.

 

I actually live in Austin for instance, and I went far out of state to do my procedures.

 

A quality HT is life style altering and confidence boosting, a bad one is frustrating, demoralizing and possibly embarrassing....not to mention expensive with little positive to show for it.

 

Take your time investigating, do not rush in.

 

And yes, STAY AWAY from the chains such as Bosley or Ziering.

[Sean]

I see a lot of loss in midscalp towards crown in that pic. Do you have pics showing front? Id approach this carefully and stick to two procedures at least FUT. do not do a one and done megasession. Scar may heal well bit no one can predict it. It can turn out and be the opposite. My advice would be to start doing some scalp stretching exercises and reach out to numerous docs for opinions in graft counts based on your goals. You may need to travel. For this type of hairloss, there are some FUT surgeons that can handle it better. Reach out to Dr Konior, Dr Blake Bloxham, Dr Gabel also and see what they say.

[Slush]

Where do you want your first surgery to focus? Crown or front of hairline?

 

 

I am only 10 days post op from my first surgery, but I have researched for years.

 

I think you have two options, roll the dice by going the medical tourism route or find more money. At $4/graft with FUT your budget isn't worth going through the procedure imo. You just won't get enough grafts done for the work (cost/travel/recovery).

 

 

This is simply my opinion, but I would demand only the best doctor for the front hairline. Find the one you are comfortable with before budget is on your mind. You only get one head/face, right? Spex bumped an excellent thread yesterday about the importance of the hairline and how it frames your face. Do all you can to get it right the first time. I hope/think I did. Six months minus 10 days until I know... I went with Dr. Scott Alexander in Arizona despite living in Los Angeles.

[gijedi]

If you want to stay in Colorado, I'd recommend Dr James Harris. He's right outside of Denver.

I've had three HT's with different doc's. All went well and I'm happy with results. Last one was FUE to crown with Dr. Harris. First two were FUT's

He has an excellent reputation and staff. My experience with him could not have been better. I had to fly there and would do it again.

[JackNeedsHair]

Oh there are lots of replies. My email only got pinged for one. Well I've had a few days and also talked to the doctors office. Unfortunately they said all the wrong things. That I only needed one mega procedure. That they need 12k and everything will be perfect forever... I went back and couldn't find anything about them that review wise they didn't control. So I think I'll pass. I'm getting something else done and I picked the doctor because he films all his surgeries and puts online. No question what he can do. I want the same with a hair doctor. Lots of people who have had good results and able to show me more than 1-2 for 10+ years of work. (photoshopped stills don't count. Anyone can buy and fake those)

 

I'll check out those doctors! Thanks!

 

Oh some talked about more exotic methods of getting this done. I'm planning on leaving the state and going within country to get the best results. Willing to pay a premium for the right doctor.

 

Looking to do the strip. Planning 2-3 procedures. I wasnt thinking I would need to pick hair line or the crown. I thought it was gradual all over both. Uh. That's hard. Hairline I guess. I'm 6ft so the front matters most.

[Mountinvan]

Two pieces of advice. My experience is that the best doctors are not necessarily the best marketers, Some practices excel at videos and websites, others excel at hair transplantation. Sometimes the 2 coincide, but not always. The bottom line is some clinics are better and more interested in marketing---not necessarily a reflection of their competence. Secondly, paying a premium, if necessary, is spot on. Beware, however, a higher price doesn't always equal higher quality, but a lower price is often a danger signal! I would focus on U.S./Canada doctors that excel in hairlines. You received some excellent names above. Check them out. Do your homework. P.S. Spex has a terrific hairline. He is a good resource.

[ArochaHair]

You've gotten some good advice and I think your approach is sound, in that you realize you can't just have one surgery and be finished. Anyone that tells you otherwise either doesn't know any better themselves or are trying to lure you into a procedure. In fact, the only guarantee that should ever be given is that the doctor and his team will do the best job they can. Anything beyond that is in God's hands alone.

 

Mountinvan made an interesting point about doctors and marketing (videos). Dr. Arocha is one of the doctors I feel has both sides aligned. He's very good at what he does and his videos show the quality of his work quite clearly. Recently we've embarked on a path to do more than just show before/after results with our video but we are trying to show a more comprehensive picture (pun not intended) of how the patient has been affected by the result and what Dr. Arocha's philosophy is for his work. This is one example of this direction we're trying to take.

 

[Somitdas]

Hi,

In India there is no other clinic that can offer best cosmetic surgery at an affordable cost other than Enhance Clinics. When I got my hair transplant done I got the best treatment and support I could ever hope for. And after the surgery they would keep in touch just to ensure how my hair growth was progressing. Just awesome

[RockStoneSteel]

I recommend Dr. McGrath in Austin, Texas. I had two procedures there. The pics are on my profile. He did a great job and the scar from the strip procedure is a total non issue. It is not visible, even with short hair. Concerns about scarring were of great significance, a close second to the transplanted hair itself. No doubt skin type plays into that healing process, but not sure that the extra cost of FUE is worth it over the strip process. So McGrath did a good job all around.

 

About the only other clinic/doctors I would have confidence in are Hasson and Wong in Canada.

[JackNeedsHair]

You've gotten some good advice and I think your approach is sound, in that you realize you can't just have one surgery and be finished. Anyone that tells you otherwise either doesn't know any better themselves or are trying to lure you into a procedure. In fact, the only guarantee that should ever be given is that the doctor and his team will do the best job they can. Anything beyond that is in God's hands alone.

 

Mountinvan made an interesting point about doctors and marketing (videos). Dr. Arocha is one of the doctors I feel has both sides aligned. He's very good at what he does and his videos show the quality of his work quite clearly. Recently we've embarked on a path to do more than just show before/after results with our video but we are trying to show a more comprehensive picture (pun not intended) of how the patient has been affected by the result and what Dr. Arocha's philosophy is for his work. This is one example of this direction we're trying to take.

 

 

Yes I love videos like this. I am glad to see you all are going that way. Though looking at the videos, I feel that most of the patients were pretty early in their hair loss. I first noticed when I was 18, about a decade ago. I would be interested in seeing the results for someone that has more advanced hair loss.

[JackNeedsHair]

I recommend Dr. McGrath in Austin, Texas. I had two procedures there. The pics are on my profile. He did a great job and the scar from the strip procedure is a total non issue. It is not visible, even with short hair. Concerns about scarring were of great significance, a close second to the transplanted hair itself. No doubt skin type plays into that healing process, but not sure that the extra cost of FUE is worth it over the strip process. So McGrath did a good job all around.

 

About the only other clinic/doctors I would have confidence in are Hasson and Wong in Canada.

 

Well if you read my first 2 posts, he was the one I was talking with at the start. I did not feel he was a match. He obviously does good work, but I felt I wasn't being given a realistic sales pitch. But I'll check out your pics.

 

edit do you have any pics in the years since? My biggest issue is everyones portfolio is of bloody heads right after surgery, not what the long term results were. interesting he did 3.5k and 1.5k offerings to you. I was given 7k follicles ++ packages.

[Speegs]

Well if you read my first 2 posts, he was the one I was talking with at the start. I did not feel he was a match. He obviously does good work, but I felt I wasn't being given a realistic sales pitch. But I'll check out your pics.

 

edit do you have any pics in the years since? My biggest issue is everyones portfolio is of bloody heads right after surgery, not what the long term results were. interesting he did 3.5k and 1.5k offerings to you. I was given 7k follicles ++ packages.

McGrath has a Zeiring background I'm not fond of (they're a chain similar to Bosley, in fact Dr Zeiring used to work for Medical Hair Restoration which Bosley bought and absorbed), and I feel his practice incorporates many of the salesy tactics of where he trained.

 

I investigated him as I live in Austin.

 

I don't think he's an incompetent surgeon, but I think you can do much better for the same money...and I hate the ambiguous attempt to sell you hairs by the strand over follicle grafts, as if this is somehow more hair, when it reality it makes it harder to gauge the volume of hair you're getting in comparison to the grafts.

 

So since you're already willing to travel, I think it would be worthwhile to investigate alternate clinics, just my opinion as a local that went far out of state and didn't choose McGrath.

[JackNeedsHair]

Yeah I cannot say how good he is. Though I don't want this to be a thread about any one doctor. At this point I am still ill-equipped to figure out who to hire. Random googling and youtube videos.

[Speegs]

Yeah I cannot say how good he is. Though I don't want this to be a thread about any one doctor. At this point I am still ill-equipped to figure out who to hire. Random googling and youtube videos.

Take your time, I'd line up at least 5 consults off this network.

 

I think I talked to 8 to 10 doctors before I pulled the trigger on my first procedure, and then I switched doctors for my second and third to Dr. Gabel after I felt his work was better than my first choice.

 

Personally Dr. Gabel and Dr. Konior would be at the top of my consult list if I were in your shoes, and I once was.

 

There's truthfully only about five surgeons I'd let touch me, so be very particular and thorough, you want to get this right.

[UKLad81]

I see a lot of loss in midscalp towards crown in that pic. Do you have pics showing front? Id approach this carefully and stick to two procedures at least FUT. do not do a one and done megasession. Scar may heal well bit no one can predict it. It can turn out and be the opposite. My advice would be to start doing some scalp stretching exercises and reach out to numerous docs for opinions in graft counts based on your goals. You may need to travel. For this type of hairloss, there are some FUT surgeons that can handle it better. Reach out to Dr Konior, Dr Blake Bloxham, Dr Gabel also and see what they say.

 

Sean, why would you not recommend Dr Rahal? Especially as you have had two HT's with him?

 

Also, why should a megasession not be considered? Given the fact that this person has considerable loss would a megasession and maybe further procedure(s) (of course donor allowing) in the future do the job? Just curious to know your thoughts.