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

[Dr. Alan Feller]

Thank you very much Dr Feller. I am extremely happy with my surgeries. It has been life changing.

 

Regarding my pics, no I am not denying the FUE scars cannot be seen. As I explained to Blake, no one has noticed anything through the years. Of course an trained eye, like yourself would be able to. I state once again, I have not seen FUT results with shaved doners like mine. Please post some; for the benefit of this community

 

Yaz,

 

Your donor area is not shaved, most of your donor area still has hair covering it, you just shaved a small portion of it and it is obvious that the skin has been disfigured there.

 

You have seen plenty of FUT patients with fade cuts like yours but you never knew it because the entire scar was easily concealed in the remaining donor area you chose not to buzz.

 

Your scars are plain to see to the naked eye- educated or uneducated. They are not subtle nor are they hard to pick up. If you shaved your entire donor area, which unethical FUE proponents claim patients can do, it would be even easier to see the scars and associated skin damage. Which, obviously, is why you chose to leave a large amount of uncut hair in your donor area.

 

These visible scars that show in your buzzed area (which are outside the safe donor zone by the way) would not even be there if you had had a strip procedure. All the evidence would have been concealed in the very fade cut you chose to show in your photos.

 

If the fade cut is how you like to wear your hair, and the very fade cut you are showing in these photos leaves more than enough hair to conceal a strip scar, why did you bother with FUE ??? Especially since the FUE option left you with MORE visible scar than an FUT would have ?

 

And remember, now that we know your grafts were taken from outside the safe region at some point those hairs, if they grew in the recipient area at all, are at a high risk of falling out. Doesn't this bother you?

Edited May 22, 2017 by Dr. Alan Feller

[Dr Blake Bloxham]

Gladly post some of your patients with donor's shaved like mine.

 

Yaz,

 

The point I was making is that you're sporting a classic "fade" cut with the hair on the upper part of the fade quite long. You could have awful scarring underneath here, and no one would ever know because you've faded below the scar. And that's what most of my FUT guys who want this look do; they leave it whatever length they want above (3 guard or higher) and go as low as they want below the scar because there is no scarring here whatsoever.

 

I've attached a few examples that came to mind. Many, many, many more, but these were just a few I attached to show that you can easily do this style with an FUT because you have the ability to buzz as low as you want below the scar. In fact, I'd probably argue that you could pull this off easier than an FUE if you truly wanted because you have zero scarring below the strip scar -- opposed to FUE scarring throughout the donor, including the lower part of the fade.

 

But, again, I always tell patients: don't get hair transplant surgery if you ever want to "shave" your head. I've had too many upset FUE patients from other clinics come into consults and ask what their FUE doctor did wrong because they "shaved it off" after their surgery and have visible scarring.

 

-DOCTOR Bloxham

[Dr Blake Bloxham]

And Yaz ...

 

I'm very pleased you are happy with your procedure as well. This is what is most important in the end, and we can't forget that.

 

However, in the interest of being completely honest here, this is actually what your head looks like shaved. And I believe this is after the first procedure of around 2,000 grafts and you had another of around 2,500 or so, correct?

 

 

 

 

 

Now, I'm not saying anything about the scarring itself, but that's just the point -- you have visible scarring that can be seen when the hair is shaved short. This is par for the course and should be clearly explained to any transplant patient considering surgery. All patients need to be aware that you will have visible scarring in some form if you have surgery. Shave low enough, and you will see it. But do not expect to just "shave it off."

[Yaz89]

You have seen plenty of FUT patients with fade cuts like yours but you never knew it because the entire scar was easily concealed in the remaining donor area you chose not to buzz.

 

Your scars are plain to see to the naked eye- educated or uneducated. They are not subtle nor are they hard to pick up. If you shaved your entire donor area, which unethical FUE proponent claim patients can do, it would be even easier to see the scars and associated skin damage. Which, obviously, is why you chose to leave a large amount of uncut hair in your donor area.

 

These visible scars that show in your buzzed area (which are outside the safe donor zone by the way) would not even be there if you had had a strip procedure. All the evidence would have been concealed in the very fade cut you chose to show in your photos.

 

If the fade cut is how you like to wear your hair, and the very fade cut you are showing in these photos leaves more than enough hair to conceal a strip scar, why did you bother with FUE ??? Especially since the FUE option left you with MORE visible scar than an FUT would have ?

 

And remember, now that we know your grafts were taken from outside the safe region at some point those hair, if they grew in the recipient area at all, are at a high risk of falling out. Doesn't this bother you?

 

 

 

I do apologise but I have not. Not with the skin showing such as mine. I have seen grade 2's. I cannot call grade fades true fades as no skin is shown.

 

The scars do not bother me. I have very dark hair as you can see and my skin tone is very fair. An very bad combination for hair transplants. Actually no hair is left uncut. It is faded meaning my stylist works through the whole donor area with different lengths.

 

I have been on fin since 2013 and the general conception is that fin helps keep donor hair. There is no tool to look into future to see how ones donor will end; the same risk is for FUT. Thats why some doctors elect to fue into strip scars; which I find ironic.

 

I have explained why in my previous post; FUT was not for me. You never know how an strip scar will turn out.

 

All my grafts have grown. I am very sure of that. My chosen doctor is very skilled in growth percentages and in donor management.

 

It doesn't bother. I can say the same where I seen pics of FUT strips taken from ear to ear resulting in the smiley strip.

Edited May 22, 2017 by Yaz89

[Yaz89]

Yaz,

 

The point I was making is that you're sporting a classic "fade" cut with the hair on the upper part of the fade quite long. You could have awful scarring underneath here, and no one would ever know because you've faded below the scar. And that's what most of my FUT guys who want this look do; they leave it whatever length they want above (3 guard or higher) and go as low as they want below the scar because there is no scarring here whatsoever.

 

I've attached a few examples that came to mind. Many, many, many more, but these were just a few I attached to show that you can easily do this style with an FUT because you have the ability to buzz as low as you want below the scar. In fact, I'd probably argue that you could pull this off easier than an FUE if you truly wanted because you have zero scarring below the strip scar -- opposed to FUE scarring throughout the donor, including the lower part of the fade.

 

But, again, I always tell patients: don't get hair transplant surgery if you ever want to "shave" your head. I've had too many upset FUE patients from other clinics come into consults and ask what their FUE doctor did wrong because they "shaved it off" after their surgery and have visible scarring.

 

-DOCTOR Bloxham

 

Dr Bloxham. Thanks for the pics. But the patient hair cut is no where close to mine. No way at all. Mine is much shorter.

Edited May 22, 2017 by Yaz89

[Yaz89]

And Yaz ...

 

I'm very pleased you are happy with your procedure as well. This is what is most important in the end, and we can't forget that.

 

However, in the interest of being completely honest here, this is actually what your head looks like shaved. And I believe this is after the first procedure of around 2,000 grafts and you had another of around 2,500 or so, correct?

 

 

 

 

 

Now, I'm not saying anything about the scarring itself, but that's just the point -- you have visible scarring that can be seen when the hair is shaved short. This is par for the course and should be clearly explained to any transplant patient considering surgery. All patients need to be aware that you will have visible scarring in some form if you have surgery. Shave low enough, and you will see it. But do not expect to just "shave it off."

 

Nice try Dr Bloxham I am South asian with fair skin and thick black hair. The colour contrast between black hair and fair skin is always problematic. And I have said that already!

[Yaz89]

I bid you guys farewell. Was nice to have an decent conversation without the bitching. Once again, I am happy with my surgeries and I have not denied the flaws with FUE. Similar flaws also exist with FUT. I can pull out terrible FUT work from the internet just like the way you have displayed my donor. Good day gentlemen

[Dr. Alan Feller]

Yaz,

You may refer to an FUT scar as a "smiley face" to denigrate it, but it's just as fair to describe your scarring from your FUE procedures as a massive amount of shotgun holes, the damage of which to your donor area is multiples greater than an FUT scar.

 

Please see your own photo of your donor area that we re-posted here.

 

The bottom line is that you have to leave your hair long to conceal all the FUE donor damage. This is the antithesis of what FUE supporters constantly claim. Had you had an FUT you could have kept the same fade cut with no evidence of any surgery in the buzzed portions AND no concern about grafts that will die because they were taken from the unsafe areas.

 

I'm glad your grafts grew, but all the faith you put into your doctor is not going to change the fate of those grafts that have been taken from BELOW the safe donor zone. You are a young man, very young, the chances of the back hairline creeping up are very very high.

 

I have read all your comments and honestly see no logical reason why you opted for FUE except that you simply do not like the thought of having a strip harvested from your head. If that is your reason, even though you have never admitted to it, then that is absolutely fine and valid. But admit to it rather than making up all these other nonsensical and conflicting reasons.

[Dr Blake Bloxham]

I bid you guys farewell. Was nice to have an decent conversation without the bitching. Once again, I am happy with my surgeries and I have not denied the flaws with FUE. Similar flaws also exist with FUT. I can pull out terrible FUT work from the internet just like the way you have displayed my donor. Good day gentlemen

 

Yaz,

 

I'm sorry but you don't get to "hit and run" like that. When people attempt to retreat from arguments like this, it ruins the discussion for researching patients up the road.

 

Like I said before, you're pleased with the results of your surgery and that's what matters. However, you are the one who said you can shave your donor to a zero guard, but then only showed a fade cut with very long hair above the upper part of the donor. And I did not display your donor in a terrible manner. This is the way you presented your donor in your very own thread. I didn't dig this up or present it in any other manner; I copied the link from the thread you created.

 

Nor do I think any of this has to do with "terrible work" at all. This is regular FUE scarring. And it's not abnormal for any skin type. If you have hair transplant surgery, you have scars. Period. There are different types and ways to conceal it, but to pretend that you can "shave it to a zero" and only a "trained eye" can spot the scars is harmful to future patients.

 

Best of luck with everything.

[Shampoo]

 

 

 

wow....that's a much more "invasive" scar than my 3 procedure FUT scar, and that can't all be safe-zone" hair can it?

[Matt27]

Actually our practice is FUT and FUE based. So no sample bias.

 

When a lay member of the public says they are only interested in FUE it just demonstrates an overall lack of knowledge regarding hair transplantation in general- and that patient is usually setting himself up for disappointment.

 

Patients shouldn't try to pick the procedure they want performed. Patients simply don't understand what is involved. I know they think they do because of lay forums like this one, but discussions on this board do not include the subtle details of either surgery.

 

The bottom line is that FUE procedures injure the grafts far more than FUT and also injure the donor area more as well. The result is a consistently poor result by comparison.

 

With all due respect to education and intelligence, if a person hasn't actually performed these procedures then they have no idea which is the right procedure to have.

 

You should not be saying you are "only interested in FUE". You should be saying you are only interested in choosing the physician/clinic who can give you the best final result possible. How they do it should be left to the doctor. This is what you pay him for.

 

Hair Transplant procedures are not options like engines and radios in cars.. Unfortunately, unethical doctors, unethical equipment manufactures, and uninformed but loud online posters mislead the public into thinking that they are.

 

We've conversed before. And my response was that, if only FUT was available, I wouldn't get a hair transplant. Considering that, I'm only interested in FUE.

 

I respect that you are businessmen and, out of self interest, want to do what you can to preserve your business with the market trending away from FUT, but there is a reason you see much more anti-FUE salesmanship from FUT practitioners, who even claim to be impartial. It's because the FUE method sells itself and the slightly lower yield, etc. with FUE isn't enough to steer people away from it.

[Shampoo]

As somone who has had nearly 5k grafts removed via FUE manual punch.

 

What was the longest continual "face down" position for harvesting you had for FUE?

 

The "face down" position even for FUT is not something I enjoy,

and it seems "face down" for FUE is much, much longer?

 

Also how many days in the surgery chair did "nearly 5k grafts" take?

 

And what was cost of 5000 FUE grafts?

Edited May 22, 2017 by Shampoo

[Yaz89]

Yaz,

 

I'm sorry but you don't get to "hit and run" like that. When people attempt to retreat from arguments like this, it ruins the discussion for researching patients up the road.

 

Like I said before, you're pleased with the results of your surgery and that's what matters. However, you are the one who said you can shave your donor to a zero guard, but then only showed a fade cut with very long hair above the upper part of the donor. And I did not display your donor in a terrible manner. This is the way you presented your donor in your very own thread. I didn't dig this up or present it in any other manner; I copied the link from the thread you created.

 

Nor do I think any of this has to do with "terrible work" at all. This is regular FUE scarring. And it's not abnormal for any skin type. If you have hair transplant surgery, you have scars. Period. There are different types and ways to conceal it, but to pretend that you can "shave it to a zero" and only a "trained eye" can spot the scars is harmful to future patients.

 

Best of luck with everything.

 

Dr Bloxham, I have far better things to do with my time than being on an online forum. I have not retreated from any arguments. It is you and Dr Feller misleading my words. My fade is zero guard! What don't you get it? Bottom is zero, the fade is 0.5 and the bit I leave it "longer" like Dr Feller keeps talking is grade 1. Are you now an barber as well an surgeon?

 

Yes, keep banging on scars. Even in FUT, you cannot shave to zero.

[Yaz89]

wow....that's a much more "invasive" scar than my 3 procedure FUT scar, and that can't all be safe-zone" hair can it?

 

I don't give a damn. I'm very happy with my results. I had no nerve pain. Was back to normal within 10 days and pumping weights in the gym within 2 weeks. Shame FUT guys can't go gym in the fear of stretching the scar

[Yaz89]

What was the longest continual "face down" position for harvesting you had for FUE?

 

The "face down" position even for FUT is not something I enjoy,

and it seems "face down" for FUE is much, much longer?

 

Also how many days in the surgery chair did "nearly 5k grafts" take?

 

And what was cost of 5000 FUE grafts?

 

I wasn't face down. I was in prone and sitting postion. Very comfortable indeed.

 

I had 2 separate surgeries. First one in 2013, second in 2016. 1st surgery 2400 grafts took 6-7 hours to extract manually. Same for 2nd surgery but 2492 grafts

[Dr Blake Bloxham]

Dr Bloxham, I have far better things to do with my time than being on an online forum. I have not retreated from any arguments. It is you and Dr Feller misleading my words. My fade is zero guard! What don't you get it? Bottom up is zero, the fade is 0.5 and the bit I leave it "longer" like Dr Feller keeps talking is grade 1. Are you now an barber as well an surgeon?

 

Yes, keep banging on scars. Even in FUT, you cannot shave to zero.

 

Yaz,

 

I don't wish to argue in circles either. The point is that you can easily have that hair style with either method. And I may not be a barber, but the length you have at the safe donor area there is much longer than a 1. And it's long enough to conceal a strip scar or FUE scarring. However, you can't shave the entire donor down to a zero or it will have the visible scarring seen in the picture you posted in your original thread. It's important for researching patients to know this.

 

And I agree with you 100%: you cannot shave down to a zero with an FUT scar ... or FUE scars, or any sort of scarring in the donor. If your goal is to shave this low, don't have a transplant.

 

I don't give a damn. I'm very happy with my results. I had no nerve pain. Was back to normal within 10 days and pumping weights in the gym within 2 weeks. Shame FUT guys can't go gym in the fear of stretching the scar

 

Oh, come on now! You can't make these comments and then leave. The chances of nerve pain are actually higher with FUE compared to FUT. This is because of the widespread area harvest from. We also tell our patients that they can go back to regular weight lifting once the staples are removed at 10-14 days. No greater incidence of scar stretching that we've noted.

[Dr. Alan Feller]

We've conversed before. And my response was that, if only FUT was available, I wouldn't get a hair transplant. Considering that, I'm only interested in FUE.

 

I respect that you are businessmen and, out of self interest, want to do what you can to preserve your business with the market trending away from FUT, but there is a reason you see much more anti-FUE salesmanship from FUT practitioners, who even claim to be impartial. It's because the FUE method sells itself and the slightly lower yield, etc. with FUE isn't enough to steer people away from it.

 

Matt,

 

Why do you bother to participate when all you offer is vitriol and negativity ? Your comments only confuse and mislead people.

 

If they outlawed FUT today I could switch to a pure FUE practice and still do very well. I don't reject FUE for megasessions out of a need to preserve my business. I reject it because it is not what it's proponents and practitioners claim it to be.

 

The facts:

 

FUE does not allow you to shave your hair.

FUE is not less invasive.

FUE causes more trauma to grafts and donor area.

FUE does not grow as well as FUT.

 

Notice how no FUE practitioners have come online to refute any of those statements and the only one who tried got his butt whooped and disappeared ? (By the way, the way I beat that doctor was to post his own video of him removing (ripping) the FUE grafts from the donor area. You could hear the gasps from the viewers. )

 

FUE most certainly does NOT "sell itself". By far the most egregious, aggressive, and outright illegal marketing tactics are utilized by FUE salesman around the world to this very day.

 

So now that we've talked about my business, let's talk about yours, Matt. What do you do for a living ?

[Shampoo]

I wasn't face down. I was in prone and sitting postion. Very comfortable indeed.

 

Yaz that sounds really good for me.

I am at the end of my FUT journey and if I need more it will have to be FUE.

I have dental chair anxiety, which is actually much worse "face down".

So I worried about being "face down" for hours.

Glad to hear it's possible to do without being "face down".

 

1st surgery 2400 grafts took 6-7 hours to extract manually.

 

If you dont mind, can you share how long you were in the chair if you

combine 6-7 hours for extraction followed by placement of 2400 FUE grafts?

[BaldingBogger]

For the benefit of interested posters I posted this on another thread. My head a few days after being shaved unguarded . After 6000 FUE and 3 surgeries.

 

Picture taken inches away. There is no comparison than if i had even the best possible FUT scar which cannot be predicted in advance how it will heal or ultimately stretch.

 

This is an example of being able to 'Shave it off'. And total freedom to sport the hair as close as desired.

[Dr Blake Bloxham]

Just because the subject was brought up:

 

 

[Shampoo]

Picture taken inches away

 

with better lighting your donor area looks a bit thin,

but after 6000 grafts I guess that's to be expected?

 

[1978matt]

For the benefit of interested posters...

 

http://www.hairrestorationnetwork.com/eve/173108-15-months-post-fue-will-i-get-more-growth.html

 

For the benefit of interested posters I posted this on another thread. My head a few days after being shaved unguarded . After 6000 FUE and 3 surgeries.

 

Picture taken inches away. There is no comparison than if i had even the best possible FUT scar which cannot be predicted in advance how it will heal or ultimately stretch.

 

This is an example of being able to 'Shave it off'. And total freedom to sport the hair as close as desired.

[BaldingBogger]

with better lighting your donor area looks a bit thin,

but after 6000 grafts I guess that's to be

 

A few days after shaved unguarded all hair will look

'Bit thin'. Brightening a picture unnaturally with lightening affects is not a true reflection of reality and in fact even after your photo shop adjustment I still think it looks fine.

 

I would be very interested to see your head shaved unguarded?

 

Getting back to point. There's no comparison with strip scar and FUE scars when performed to proper standard

[Shampoo]

I would be very interested to see your head shaved unguarded?

 

That will NEVER happen, because I would NEVER shave my head whether I had ever had a transplant or not. I will say after 3 FUT surgeries my so-called "scar" has never been any issue what-so-ever. In fact on a 1-10 scale my so-called scar...(if it can even be called a scar)...has been a ZERO issue. I had to guide my hairdresser to it and he was like "I guess I see something".

Edited May 22, 2017 by Shampoo

[Shampoo]

Brightening a picture unnaturally with lightening affects is not a true reflection of reality

 

Just curious...do you think it is any less a true reflection of reality than the dark picture you supplied?