Lorenzo vs Erdogan vs Diep

[HairlessUser]

Hi guys,

 

I have been researching a lot and following this forum for the past two years.

 

Some background about me:

I have been slowly losing hair since the last 10 years and am a Norwood 6. I even underwent a small 2300 graft FUE procedure last year, the results of which I feel are ok, not good or great.

 

I have been told I have close to 5000-6000 grafts remaining I am contemplating a second hair transplant, an FUE again. However, this time I intend to make the best use of my remaining donor supply.

 

Having done a lot of research I have narrowed down my choices to 3 surgeons. Money is not an issue for me. I am just hoping to get the best yield possible.

 

1. Dr John Diep: I live in California and so he is naturally the closest. He has produced some solid FUE work that is evident through his youtube videos and patient experiences. He extracts all the grafts himself and makes all the incisions. However, he seems to use 1mm extraction punches which can potentially leave the donor area scarred. Also, occasionally I have seen below par results from his FUE work.

 

2. Dr Koray Erdogan: Dr Erdogan does not perform the extractions himself. However, his results seem to be super consistent and the techs in Asmed seem to be doing a great job.

 

3. Dr Jose Lorenzo: Dr Lorenzo is hands down one of the top choices when it comes to FUE. However, I have been reading posts where he seems to be no longer performing the extractions himself. His techs seem to be doing the work. Also, he does not seem to have a website where more information could be found. If Lorenzo is still performing the extractions himself, then I feel he is the best among the 3 choices.

 

I am not looking for unrealistic expectations. All I am hoping to accomplish is good coverage, so that no scalp is seen in the frontal half or two thirds, potentially leaving the crown empty.

 

Any advice will be extremely helpful.

[robc]

Hi Hairless,

 

I can only speak from my experience, but really happy with my decision to do 3k FUE with Dr Vories over a year ago.

Uses smallest punch to extract given the situation usually about .8 for Caucasian, does all the extraction and incisions and placement. It is a lot of work and having been through it I can see why most Docs don't want to do it, but my yield was excellent and he does the work himself as he cares about quality results. If wanted to shave my head no one would know I ever had a HT.

I know Diep has quality results, but a buddy from this site told me they put you under so you are unconscious during the procedure so who would know what really happened??

[mikeyhwk]

If I were a nw6 my choice would be Lorenzo hands down. I think Diep and Erdogan both do a better hairline than Lorenzo so my answer would be different if you said I just want to focus on that but given you need coverage and need to get absolute max mileage out of your grafts, I don't think there is anybody outside Cuoto these days that gets coverage better that then Lorenzo. I'm a big fan of all 3 of these docs but with your case in mind id say Lorenzo.

[KO]

Erdogan - uses way too many grafts IMO, but for patients with limited donors, I've seen some good work from his clinic.

 

Lorenzo - Even for NW 6, the most important part is the hairline and frontal region, and Lorenzo seems to favor covering a lot of area evenly rather than building a good hairline. But I could be wrong.

[HairlessUser]

Hi Hairless,

 

I can only speak from my experience, but really happy with my decision to do 3k FUE with Dr Vories over a year ago.

Uses smallest punch to extract given the situation usually about .8 for Caucasian, does all the extraction and incisions and placement. It is a lot of work and having been through it I can see why most Docs don't want to do it, but my yield was excellent and he does the work himself as he cares about quality results. If wanted to shave my head no one would know I ever had a HT.

I know Diep has quality results, but a buddy from this site told me they put you under so you are unconscious during the procedure so who would know what really happened??

 

Thanks. Good to know. I have heard about Dr Vories but for some reason he is not as popular as the other 3 surgeons. However, I will definitely look into his work.

[HairlessUser]

Erdogan - uses way too many grafts IMO, but for patients with limited donors, I've seen some good work from his clinic.

 

Lorenzo - Even for NW 6, the most important part is the hairline and frontal region, and Lorenzo seems to favor covering a lot of area evenly rather than building a good hairline. But I could be wrong.

 

Thanks. When you say uses too many grafts, you mean he wastes grafts? I was thinking, if a lot of the grafts grow, wouldn't it be good even if he uses too many grafts? Just wondering.

 

As far as Lorenzo is concerned, I know his yields are very good. However, I am hearing people say he no longer performs the extractions himself, which is what is giving me second thoughts.

[HairlessUser]

If I were a nw6 my choice would be Lorenzo hands down. I think Diep and Erdogan both do a better hairline than Lorenzo so my answer would be different if you said I just want to focus on that but given you need coverage and need to get absolute max mileage out of your grafts, I don't think there is anybody outside Cuoto these days that gets coverage better that then Lorenzo. I'm a big fan of all 3 of these docs but with your case in mind id say Lorenzo.

 

 

Yeah but Lorenzo does not seem to be performing extractions anymore. I could be wrong.

 

Actually, my 4th surgeon choice is Dr Couto , but AFAIK his waiting time is almost 3-4 years, which is in my opinion outright impractical. Do you happen to have any information on whether Dr Couto is taking international patients? His website seems to be in Spanish it is difficult to comprehend.

Edited May 4, 2017 by HairlessUser

[KO]

Lorenzo does do graft harvesting, he doesn't do all of it. There are many patients per day and both him and the techs work simultaneously. This has been the case for years.

[HairlessUser]

Lorenzo does do graft harvesting, he doesn't do all of it. There are many patients per day and both him and the techs work simultaneously. This has been the case for years.

 

Is that so? I will send them an online consultation email. Lets see what they say. Thanks for your inputs

[keltharan]

Hello man! Even though I'm a new member and still on early days with the question behind whether I should/shouldn't do a HT, I'm already contacting a few Doctors.

 

Aside from the usually discussed in the forum, I really like what I see from Dr. De Freitas and Dr. Couto in Spain.

 

Regarding Dr. Couto, I've received an answer from the clinic which as basically this:

- Fully booked 2017 and 2018 for a live consultation. After that assessment, around 3,5 years for the procedure.

 

Of course we can be on a waiting list in case some people give up but on a worst case scenario, we're facing around 5 years for an HT with him

[HairlessUser]

Hello man! Even though I'm a new member and still on early days with the question behind whether I should/shouldn't do a HT, I'm already contacting a few Doctors.

 

Aside from the usually discussed in the forum, I really like what I see from Dr. De Freitas and Dr. Couto in Spain.

 

Regarding Dr. Couto, I've received an answer from the clinic which as basically this:

- Fully booked 2017 and 2018 for a live consultation. After that assessment, around 3,5 years for the procedure.

 

Of course we can be on a waiting list in case some people give up but on a worst case scenario, we're facing around 5 years for an HT with him

 

 

Too bad Couto's waiting list is 5 years. That is just too impractical for anybody Otherwise going to him is a no brainer for anyone contemplating FUE today.

[mikeyhwk]

Yeah but Lorenzo does not seem to be performing extractions anymore. I could be wrong.

 

Actually, my 4th surgeon choice is Dr Couto , but AFAIK his waiting time is almost 3-4 years, which is in my opinion outright impractical. Do you happen to have any information on whether Dr Couto is taking international patients? His website seems to be in Spanish it is difficult to comprehend.

 

 

Even if he wasn't performing extractions he would be my choice. We get hung up on which doctor does the most and that somehow meaning the result is better but in talking with dr Lorenzo the man is an absolute perfectionist, if he thought somebody who helped him even in the slightest wasn't up to his standards they wouldn't be there. As KO said he was still doing some of the extractions last I heard. If that has changed recently I am not aware of it.

 

 

As for Cuoto, what Keitharan said is also my understanding based on my contact. I asked to bypass the consultation and just get put on a waiting list, and they wouldn't do that lol. I was like call me with a days notice I'll get to Spain and they said he needs to see you first but they did say if im in spain to contact them and they would try to fit me in for a consult should a cancellation arise. That's the best they seem willing to do, just impractical to wait that long. I'm surprised people want to. I'm tempted to pay somebody for their spot lmao. I should just book one for 4 years down the road and auction it off lol black market transplant bookings, I just created a business

[HairlessUser]

Even if he wasn't performing extractions he would be my choice. We get hung up on which doctor does the most and that somehow meaning the result is better but in talking with dr Lorenzo the man is an absolute perfectionist, if he thought somebody who helped him even in the slightest wasn't up to his standards they wouldn't be there. As KO said he was still doing some of the extractions last I heard. If that has changed recently I am not aware of it.

 

 

As for Cuoto, what Keitharan said is also my understanding based on my contact. I asked to bypass the consultation and just get put on a waiting list, and they wouldn't do that lol. I was like call me with a days notice I'll get to Spain and they said he needs to see you first but they did say if im in spain to contact them and they would try to fit me in for a consult should a cancellation arise. That's the best they seem willing to do, just impractical to wait that long. I'm surprised people want to. I'm tempted to pay somebody for their spot lmao. I should just book one for 4 years down the road and auction it off lol black market transplant bookings, I just created a business

 

Thanks Couto 4 years :eek:

[Denny]

I can only speak for myself. I had my surgery done in 2014 with Dr. Erdogan. I would choose him again for my surgery if I had to.

[HairlessUser]

I can only speak for myself. I had my surgery done in 2014 with Dr. Erdogan. I would choose him again for my surgery if I had to.

 

Your results look great. My first hair transplant was not good. Although I got around 2300 grafts, considering that I have very good thick hair, I expected a better result. So this time, I do not want to repeat the same mistake of not researching thoroughly.

 

I have a question, what aspects of the surgery was Dr Erdogan involved in? Did he perform the extractions?

[ediee02]

Dr Koray meets with you and plans out how the hairs will be distributed. He draws the hairline, and makes all the incisions. His team of nurses do the extractions and implantations once Dr Koray makes the incisions. These nurses are highly skilled with many of them having years of experience, and I wouldn't be to afraid of them doing the implants. Dr Koray does come in takes a look at the work during the procedure from time to time. I just had 4000 Grafts a little over a month ago.

[Denny]

Exactly! I would say Dr Erdogan is involved in the whole procedure. He works with well traine people under his supervision. I also had a bad experience before and couldn't make the same mistake. I am glad I found Dr. Erdogan!

[HairlessUser]

Dr Koray meets with you and plans out how the hairs will be distributed. He draws the hairline, and makes all the incisions. His team of nurses do the extractions and implantations once Dr Koray makes the incisions. These nurses are highly skilled with many of them having years of experience, and I wouldn't be to afraid of them doing the implants. Dr Koray does come in takes a look at the work during the procedure from time to time. I just had 4000 Grafts a little over a month ago.

 

Thanks a lot for the information. Really appreciate it. It will be a hard decision to choose one I guess.

[HairlessUser]

Exactly! I would say Dr Erdogan is involved in the whole procedure. He works with well traine people under his supervision. I also had a bad experience before and couldn't make the same mistake. I am glad I found Dr. Erdogan!

 

 

Thanks a lot

[ediee02]

No problem. I flew from the United States to see him. I do feel he is in the top 3 best Fue surgeons in the world. Maybe even #1 depending on who you ask. But I made the trip and hopefully I won't regret it. I still have 11 more months til my final result.

[HairlessUser]

No problem. I flew from the United States to see him. I do feel he is in the top 3 best Fue surgeons in the world. Maybe even #1 depending on who you ask. But I made the trip and hopefully I won't regret it. I still have 11 more months til my final result.

 

Thanks. Congratulations on your recent hair transplant experience.

[farmcat]

I have been to Dr. Lorenzo twice for a total of 5553 grafts so far and am scheduled again in July. I would have classified myself as almost a NW6 and after two surgeries I am thrilled with my results. ( I have had several previous transplants in the early 1990's that were both pluggy and had a low yield).

 

I chose Dr. Lorenzo because of his many cases on high NW's and his excellent video documentation of results. You are correct that techs do the extractions, at least in my case, and I was initially worried about that but my yield has been in the high 90's percent (I would bet) both times ( I have had the same girl both times).