Why NOT to get an FUE- Interview with Dr. Willaim Reed- by Dr. Feller and Bloxham

[Dr. Alan Feller]

Here is a physiological explanation as to why you should not get an FUE megasession:

 

 

 

 

 

This video is almost two years old and not a single FUE megasession doctor has addressed it nor refuted it. And the reason is simple: they can't refute it.

 

To you potential patients out there wondering if you should have FUT or FUE rest assured that you want FUT.

[Justin77]

Dr. Feller, I need a relatively small procedure of about 1000-1500 grafts and I greatly prefer keeping my donor area shaved to a grade 1-2 (or whatever the lowest is that I can go without showing scarring). In my case, is FUE not a good option considering the low number of grafts and the desire to wear my hair at a shorter length?

 

I read this entire thread and essentially I would be making the decision to sacrifice a percentage of grafts (likely <10% if going to a top-rated surgeon) in order to achieve my goals of restoring density and being able to wear hair cut shorter on the sides. Is that correct?

[dan26]

Dr. Feller, I need a relatively small procedure of about 1000-1500 grafts and I greatly prefer keeping my donor area shaved to a grade 1-2 (or whatever the lowest is that I can go without showing scarring). In my case, is FUE not a good option considering the low number of grafts and the desire to wear my hair at a shorter length?

 

I read this entire thread and essentially I would be making the decision to sacrifice a percentage of grafts (likely <10% if going to a top-rated surgeon) in order to achieve my goals of restoring density and being able to wear hair cut shorter on the sides. Is that correct?

 

Will depend on your age, family history, meds you are on etc. From Dr Fellers POV FUT is always preferable (if donor permits) because it is simply the superior procedure.

 

IMO if you are someone who keeps your hair long FUT is almost always the route to take (minimize risk, most lifetime grafts etc). But if you have minimal loss, have stabilized with meds, AND wish to keep your hair very short, an FUE is a perfectly reasonable choice. You just need to be very picky with the surgeon you chose.

[Shampoo]

Here is a physiological explanation as to why you should not get an FUE megasession:

 

Another great easy to understand video. Dr. Feller I know you take a lot of heat and insults by being so involved in these threads, but these threads even-though controversial are some of the most educational. Thank You.

[Dr. Alan Feller]

Dr. Feller, I need a relatively small procedure of about 1000-1500 grafts and I greatly prefer keeping my donor area shaved to a grade 1-2 (or whatever the lowest is that I can go without showing scarring). In my case, is FUE not a good option considering the low number of grafts and the desire to wear my hair at a shorter length?

 

I read this entire thread and essentially I would be making the decision to sacrifice a percentage of grafts (likely <10% if going to a top-rated surgeon) in order to achieve my goals of restoring density and being able to wear hair cut shorter on the sides. Is that correct?

 

Justin,

Your description is the classic beginning of the FUE cautionary tail. The short answer is no, FUE is NOT a good option for you.

 

Let me tell you why:

 

1. 1,000 to 1,500 grafts is not a small procedure.

2. You should not have a hair transplant with the expectation of being able to shave your donor area.

3. Your estimate of less than 10% sacrifice is wishful thinking. But not your fault, you have been lead to that false conclusion by the internet and silence of FUE practitioners who should be disclosing more. This is called "informed consent".

 

25% sacrifice of grafts during FUE is a more likely optimistic figure. From there the success yield goes DOWN. Compare this to FUT which is about 2% and UNDER !

 

4. Your understanding of a "top rated" surgeon is also in error. There is no such thing as a "top rated" anything regarding FUE. There is a lot of unsupported internet hype, self promotion, and a willingness to let the public draw it's own conclusions but that's about it.

 

The limitations of the FUE procedure are independent of the surgeon performing it. That has been the basis of my opposition against large FUE surgeries for the past 15 years.

 

By the way, I may know who you mean by "top rated" and they don't perform their own procedures, their technicians do it in violation of basic ethical standards. If those doctors did that in the United States they would lose their licenses. There is a reason for this and you and other potential patients should not ignore this. Too many have to their detriment.

 

If you need 1500 grafts now, chances are you will need more in the future. You don't want to sacrifice any of your donor area for the immediate satisfaction. Instead, get a proper FUT and ask the doctor to locate the donor zone high up in the donor area. This way you can do a fade cut. This method has been working wonderfully with military and police patients for over 20 years. This way when you need more, the rest of your donor area is virgin and ready to give it.

Edited June 6, 2017 by Dr. Alan Feller

[Sean]

Dr Feller, it seems there are doctors not informing them of the damage caused by FUE thus liable for uninformed consent. They may make you sign a paper but this info helps. That heavy megasessions in FUE carries way more damage then FUT. if doctors would disclose this, rather then say their FUT matches their FUE to confuse a patient then that is just unethical and wrong. You don't see these fine details on some surgical consents nor are they discussed in detail.

 

I really am really thinking that megasessions are better with strip. It is not fair what im going through and i am hoping there is something that could give me some peace soon. I am hoping if things do not look by November, that there is hope somewhere. Also, is it illegal for a doc to talk any detail about their patient to another patient or anyone without their approval? I am not aware if HIPPA regulates this.

 

That's my fear too, when you get a strip taken out of fued out area, then the shockloss and healing variable changes. Do you have any cases of repairing FUE with strip or mFUE you can share in the future?

 

Thanks for your input.

[JayLDD]

http://www.hairrestorationnetwork.com/eve/185564-5000-grafts-fue-13th-14th-december-asmed-dr-erdogan-30.html

 

Can you honestly look at that donor area at a grade one after 5000 grafts and say that manual FUE scarring is comparable to FUT? You make fools of yourselves.

[Dr Blake Bloxham]

The reality in this thread has killed me a little. When almost all doctors say FUT is so much better, then you quickly realize this is the case. I for sure am one of those who have overlooked a FUT in favor for FUE but never realized FUT is way better and i've been on hair forums for more than 8 year.

I really really don't want to get a FUT but i also really really don't want to get a FUE which is so so. I'm trying to optimize my result and the only way seem to be FUT.

 

Rappy,

 

Your precise dilemma is not uncommon, and it's exactly why we decided to offer patients a third harvesting option with our modified approach (mFUE). It's an excellent option for those who need FUT growth in crucial areas, need to keep the donor in better shape for future surgeries (compared to FUE), etc, but just can't do the strip harvest or worry about the strip scar. FUT results without a connected linear FUT scar. Tends to work out very well.

[Dr Blake Bloxham]

It's probably inaccurate -- and is certainly not very polite -- to assume Feller or Bloxham are deliberately giving misinformation out of some intricate greedy and lazy scheme. None of us know their private thoughts. And the real lazy and greedy thing to do, actually, is to push procedures for whoever wants them regardless of your own reservations and just have techs do most of the work, cheerlead surgery and watch the money roll in. My read on all this is that Feller totally believes what he's saying. He says we're all skewed by the rare good results posted online...well, perhaps he's a tad skewed by being a guy that patients with bad FUE results come to for help. But I don't think he's wading into the online chaos over and over again because he secretly doesn't believe his own position and thinks that he can somehow make more money by criticizing a hugely popular procedure. And in any case, it's not necessary to question a doctor's sincerity and morality just because we may disagree with his position.

 

Just my .02

 

Very fair. Thank you for sharing.

[Dr Blake Bloxham]

I really am really thinking that megasessions are better with strip.

 

No question. If viewed from an objective, anatomical, and unemotional point of view, there is absolutely zero argument that megasessions should be done as FUTs.

 

I actually wrote a blog article discussing this very phenomenon not too long ago if anyone is interested:

 

What is a Hair Transplant "Mega Session?" | Feller & Bloxham Hair Transplantation

 

Do you have any cases of repairing FUE with strip or mFUE you can share in the future?

 

Absolutely. I believe a few have actually been shared on here before, but this is a very common procedure in our office. I think the last one I did was last week or the week before. I believe I shared his donor in this thread too; very blown out from FUE. I was able to do smaller mFUE hits on the patient -- twice, actually -- and achieved his goals in the front without causing additional thinning in the back.

[Gasthoerer]

The dreaded scar, or for Dr Feller, in his opinion it's the fear of the actual procedure itself in having a lump of flesh removed

form the donor area then sutured up ,which lets be honest is a legitimate fear.

It is this fear rational or otherwise which a has led to online marketing promoting FUE if you like as a soft option with no need for a scar and comparable results to FUT .

 

I think you have a point here. FUT might look cruel to some people and they prefer FUE for that reason.

 

Personally, I have gone to many (!) much more pain from injuries and surgeries than any FUT will cause (according to all sources I have). What many (including me) fear is the stigma of a hair transplant. Even though times are changing a strip scar (if visible) is recognized by every laymen (to stick with Dr. Feller's words) as a sign of hair surgery. This can lead to negative aspects in social live or business live. FUE scars (even if visible) or not as clearly related to a hair transplant for a laymen. Just watch the NBA finals, Steph Curry (who never had a hair transplant) looks like he has FUE scars from distance. In reality it is just his curly hair with a fade cut.

[Gasthoerer]

This video is almost two years old and not a single FUE megasession doctor has addressed it nor refuted it. And the reason is simple: they can't refute it.

To be fair: There aren't many "FUT specialist" supporting you either. Actually, almost no other clinics post here much more than their own results.

But, we were about to change this, right? Did you already get into contact with the clinics we discussed?

To speed up the process, here are already my first questions:

1. What is the percentage of FUT and FUE in your clinic.

2. Is there a minimum number of grafts below that you recommend FUE over FUT (in average, of course it depends on the case)? What is this number? What is the reason (e. g. scarring, yield, location of the recipient area …)?

3. Can you break down the single steps of both surgeries and give an average “efficacy” (sorry for the lack of a better word)? E. g. Scoring, Extraction, insertion, … Can you name the dependencies as a function of the number of grafts.

4. Do you think that the number of “injured” grafts today is still similar to the results shown in the “FOX test”-Study?

5. How do is the difference in growth (e. g. shaft diameter) for the grafts which are rated as “injured” and the one which are rated as “not injured” from FUE compared to FUT in th long haul?

6. Is there an optimum extraction speed for FUE (=more damage below and above this speed) or is slower always better?

7. How is the number of totals failures (the x-factor) in FUE and FUT?

8. Do you see an effect of FUE scaring on the yield of a second procedure (=worse results in a second surgery?).

9. How do you make sure that you get the right amount of grafts in your strip? What happens if you get too few or too much?

More questions will most likely follow!

[Gasthoerer]

 

No question. If viewed from an objective, anatomical, and unemotional point of view, there is absolutely zero argument that megasessions should be done as FUTs.

 

 

Dr. Bloxham,

 

just for my understanding: You just mixed up FUT and FUE, right?

 

If I am correct, than let me ask some questions:

- Is there really no reson to perform more than 2500 grafts (your definition of a megasession) as a FUE? Meaning: If you need > 2500 grafts you should do FUT even if you are a bad candidate or you shouldn't do any surgery? Or is the meaning of this sentence, that there can't be any medical resons not to have a FUT?

- What is below that threshold of 2500? Why is your threshold so much different from that of Dr. Feller (he mentioned around 500 grafts). Or did I make a misinterpretation of your post or Dr. Fellers post regarding this thresholds?

[Dr. Alan Feller]

Gas, you will have better luck pissing into the wind. You caught Dr Feller in a bluff. He has no intention of calling the said clinics, and if he did, they will never in a million years agree to the interview. He will either ignore this post like he did the last one or hide behind another excuse such as you not agreeing to disclose your real name to the whole community ?.

 

 

 

mav23100gunther,

 

Are you sure you want to continue accusing me of engaging in a "bluff" in a public forum ?

[JayLDD]

mav23100gunther,

 

Are you sure you want to continue accusing me of engaging in a "bluff" in a public forum ?

 

Oh come on, what are you going to sue him Dr. Feller? What you're proposing doesn't take months to organise, if you want it to happen you would get it done. Otherwise it is hard to take you seriously.

 

The truth is that you're an intelligent and highly competent person and you know as well as anyone here that the vast majority of doctors are unlikely to want to engage with someone as headstrong and aggressively opinionated as yourself, because they have nothing to gain. There are hundreds of thousands of results over more than a decade for people to make up their own minds on choosing between FUE and FUT and a doctor does themselves no favours to engage in a debate like this, the best way to market themselves is to consistently put out good results.

 

Do you consider your own FUT results to be consistently better than FUE only doctors such as Lupanzula, Keser and Erdogan?

[mav23100gunther]

mav23100gunther,

 

Are you sure you want to continue accusing me of engaging in a "bluff" in a public forum ?

 

Feel free to prove me wrong then. If you produce recordings of the interviews or Gas confirms to all of us that he was on the 3 way call where you made a good faith attempt to conduct the interviews, then I will retract and post an apology in bold on this thread and ask the moderators to delete my previous statements on the matter or delete them myself. And no, I will not disclose my real name when I do so.

Edited June 11, 2017 by mav23100gunther

[Spidey]

Why do these posts keep coming up from the same clinic? The reason FUE is opening up shop around the world is because of trend and fad and unethical doctors taking advantage of desperate individuals. Just like when the strip procedure first was available, I am sure a boat load of doctors jumped on board and offered it even though they weren't very good at it. The difference is the internet now adays allows for more advertisement and people to display how unhappy they are with certain things.

 

At the end of the day, the Dr should and can recommend what they believe is best for the client, but it is up to the client. Imo, if you plan on wearing your hair short and don't require that many grafts, fue is the way to go. If you wear your hair longer and require more grafts and have a nw pattern that appears to genetically predispose you to a higher nw, fut is the way to go. Even if you like to wear your hair short but have a higher nw, I would say you either should get used to a buzzed head or get used to wearing your hair longer on the sides and back and get fut. Fue has it's limitations for sure. Fut does but the only one I can think of is not being able to wear your hair as short, and the recovery time (which in the grand scheme of things isnt a big deal).

 

Fue scars are actually easier to conceal with smp as well, where as fut is very difficult.

 

Check the link in my signature. I had about 1000 grafts done via fue. I wear my hair pretty damn short. Number one to a number two fade. The clippers used is from an oster classic where their number one is actually shorter than traditional number ones. There is NO WAY you can cut your hair that short with fut. Does fue leave scarring, yes. But is it easier to conceal with shorter cuts, yes. Of course there are different variables but the point I am making is that there is a place for both. And at the very end or the day, if the client is happy that is all that matters.

 

LeBron had fut. U can see the scar on the right side of his head. But I am sure he's had more than one procedure.

[Dr. Alan Feller]

Feel free to prove me wrong then. If you produce recordings of the interviews or Gas confirms to all of us that he was on the 3 way call where you made a good faith attempt to conduct the interviews, then I will retract and post an apology in bold on this thread and ask the moderators to delete my previous statements on the matter or delete them myself. And no, I will not disclose my real name when I do so.

 

 

So from your response in post # 175 you are not going to stop posting false claims in public about me which include your active assertion that I engage in deceptive practices.

 

You’ve got the situation completely backwards:

 

I have no duty to perform in order to clear my name of the defamatory statements and accusations you made about me in this public forum (all of which I completely and easily deny by the way).

 

Rather, it is your legal obligation to be able to support every last nasty and defamatory word you used in your malicious and uncalled for post of June 10, 2017 Post # 171 and others.

 

Something I know for a fact you cannot do.

 

I can assure you, this is not a game and that I do not bluff.

[stephcurry30]

Dr. Allen Feller,

 

I've been readog through this thread but I noticed that your Partner, Blake Bloxham pisted an article about Modified FUE where he states:

 

"Why create a new approach to FUE?

 

The FUE technique continues growing in popularity. Patients clearly want FUE. Whether it's the less invasive nature or the lack of the linear scar, hair loss sufferers have spoken! "

 

http://www.hairrestorationnetwork.com/eve/179637-introducing-modified-fue-mfue.html

 

 

Does that mean by your reasoning that modifed FUE is also as bad as FUE? Why try and create a new form of FUE if by your initial statement that FUT is better than FUE and that people do not request FUE over FUT in which you made a video about that here:

 

 

So does that mean that you were wrong about Patients looking for FUE more often? or the fact that FUE is getting popularity

 

Sorry for my English I am not native.

[Dr. Alan Feller]

Dr. Allen Feller,

 

I've been readog through this thread but I noticed that your Partner, Blake Bloxham pisted an article about Modified FUE where he states:

 

"Why create a new approach to FUE?

 

The FUE technique continues growing in popularity. Patients clearly want FUE. Whether it's the less invasive nature or the lack of the linear scar, hair loss sufferers have spoken! "

 

http://www.hairrestorationnetwork.com/eve/179637-introducing-modified-fue-mfue.html

 

 

Does that mean by your reasoning that modifed FUE is also as bad as FUE? Why try and create a new form of FUE if by your initial statement that FUT is better than FUE and that people do not request FUE over FUT in which you made a video about that here:

 

 

So does that mean that you were wrong about Patients looking for FUE more often? or the fact that FUE is getting popularity

 

Sorry for my English I am not native.

 

Actually, hair loss suffers have not spoken. If you watched my Myth video you would know that. FUE is not gaining in popularity. It is only gaining in hype, as it has been for over ten years.

 

The mFUE procedure is not as good as FUT, but far closer to it than FUE.

 

Substantively, mFUE causes less damage to the grafts during extraction and damages the donor area less than FUE. It also results in less donor thinning for which FUE is notorious. A recent analysis and article by Dr. Paul Rose of Florida supports this. It is also becoming common knowledge that donor thinning after megasession FUE is a regular problem.

 

Patients who are looking into FUE are doing so because the truth of the dangers of the procedure have been downplayed, hidden, or outright lied about. Mostly by anonymous online posters.

 

If, however, a patient opts for a megasession FUE and is given informed consent in writing as to the disadvantages of FUE compared to FUT I have no problem with it all. Buyer beware.

 

When a doctor offers megasession FUE without first offering the patient FUT and explaining, in writing, the disadvantages of FUE, he is doing a bad thing.

 

Thank you for viewing and posting my video.

[Dr. Alan Feller]

[stephcurry30]

Actually, hair loss suffers have not spoken. If you watched my Myth video you would know that. FUE is not gaining in popularity. It is only gaining in hype, as it has been for over ten years.

 

The mFUE procedure is not as good as FUT, but far closer to it than FUE.

 

Substantively, mFUE causes less damage to the grafts during extraction and damages the donor area less than FUE. It also results in less donor thinning for which FUE is notorious. A recent analysis and article by Dr. Paul Rose of Florida supports this. It is also becoming common knowledge that donor thinning after megasession FUE is a regular problem.

 

Patients who are looking into FUE are doing so because the truth of the dangers of the procedure have been downplayed, hidden, or outright lied about. Mostly by anonymous online posters.

 

If, however, a patient opts for a megasession FUE and is given informed consent in writing as to the disadvantages of FUE compared to FUT I have no problem with it all. Buyer beware.

 

When a doctor offers megasession FUE without first offering the patient FUT and explaining, in writing, the disadvantages of FUE, he is doing a bad thing.

 

Thank you for viewing and posting my video.

It is hard to believe the bold without any statistics from the number of surgeries of FUT and FUE.

 

I think that FUT would easily be seen as MORE better than FUE by many patients if a linear scar can be determined to stretch or not.

 

ALso I have never heard a lot of procedures of mFUE. How many surgeries of mFUE have you performed? Pictures of mFUE scaring?

 

I've only een Dr Lindsey perform 1 mFUE

[Dr. Alan Feller]

It is hard to believe the bold without any statistics from the number of surgeries of FUT and FUE.

 

I think that FUT would easily be seen as MORE better than FUE by many patients if a linear scar can be determined to stretch or not.

 

ALso I have never heard a lot of procedures of mFUE. How many surgeries of mFUE have you performed? Pictures of mFUE scaring?

 

I've only een Dr Lindsey perform 1 mFUE

 

You're concerned about a scar that is easily concealed under a short length of hair but not:

 

1. The lower growth yield of FUE ?

2. The poorer results of FUE ?

3. The increased donor damage FUE megasessions inflict limiting future yields?

4. The thinning of the donor area due exclusively to FUE

 

We will be releasing our mFUE results in due time. FUE only clinics have much to worry about because despite untrue and misleading claims on the internet MOST patients have no problem with a scar that is easily hidden by short hair. It is the fear of the surgical strip harvest itself. They only claim they object to the scar so as not to admit their true fear. This is not supposition on my part, it's based on real world patient consultations.

Most patients admit to me that they can't stand the thought of a strip being removed from their head- not fear of an easily concealable scar.. And,

MOST patients who visit seeking FUE switch to FUT when they are given the reality of both procedures.

Those who can't be comforted enough to accept FUT readily accept mFUE as the alternative.

 

With the choice of FUT or mFUE there is almost no point in performing FUE which is inferior in growth yield to the other two. And growth yield is the primary factor in hair transplantation.

[HairLostYears]

It is the fear of the surgical strip harvest itself. They only claim they object to the scar so as not to admit their true fear. This is not supposition on my part, it's based on real world patient consultations.

Most patients admit to me that they can't stand the thought of a strip being removed from their head- not fear of an easily concealable scar.

 

I agreed with Dr. Feller in another thread on this point, and I'll do so again here. This is absolutely true for me, even if I sound like a tinkerbell for admitting it.

 

Never having had any type of surgery at 40 years old now, strip just scares the hell out of me. Getting my head carved into seems pretty extreme for the sake of vanity. The procedure just appears so archaic, like how they would have performed a hair transplant on The Knick (excellent show that ran for a while set in 1900 NYC hospital).

 

I'd club a baby seal to have Chris Cornell hair (RIP...wtf?), so even a bad scar would probably be a total non-issue for me...

 

 

-HairLostFears

[Dr. Alan Feller]

I don't post false claims about you.

 

Don't know how to make it any clearer for you.

 

On June 10 you posted claims about me which are demonstrably and undeniably untrue. What you "believe" is immaterial.