Artas FUE: Fail

[Valgreats]

I am posting a before and a one year after. 2000 grafts. I don't look any better. Doc says wait to 15 months to see him again. Should i ask for my money back? Try again, or just live with a bald spot?

[Sean]

This is concerning. See of the surgeon offers anything because i am having a hard time seeing a distinct difference between the two pics. Thank you for sharing this result. You should also get some consults and see what other docs think and if they can remedy the area. Dr Wong is a great surgeon and i think he does one of the best whorl designs for the crown. It may be worthwhile getting a second opinion too. If you plan on doing nothing, have you tried toppik? It may help conceal the crown well. How long was the procedure? Do you have grouping details of grafts? 1s 2s 3s? Best of luck with everything

[Valgreats]

Thanks.

 

I paid $12k for this, and only got a shaved head out of it. Procedure was about 8 hours. I slept through most of it. Valium and Versed. On the plus side, I don't have any scarring. I don't know the grouping. I will ask.

 

Do doctors ever refund the money?

 

This was a SoCal doc who had all the "right" credentials.

[mattj]

The crown can definitely take longer to fully grow, but unfortunately I doubt if you'll see much improvement. You'd be quite an extreme outlier in terms of growth onset if you did.

 

Considering the positives: You've reached your fifties with only minimal hairloss. You've depleted your donor by a relatively small amount and no doubt have enough left to try again with your crown. It's worth adding that your hair texture is favourable for coverage.

 

So it's not all doom and gloom and you have all the options open to you. Cost and time are the main drawbacks.

[gillenator]

I don't see any difference either...who was the surgeon and wonder what level of expertise he had with FUE regardless of whether it was manual or robotic.

[Shampoo]

If there is not vast improvement at 15 months I would think you deserve a full refund. Like someone suggested go see another top notch full time hair transplant surgeon and get an opinion on what happened. That may be the worst 2000 graft result I've ever seen.

[jimbrann]

Would you say this lack of result is more due to the ARTAS machine or more due to the implementation of the grafts into your recipient area? I.e. machine's fault or the fault of the tech/surgeon?

[Gasthoerer]

To be honest: I do not like the Artas, but I have seen some good results from it if used by skilled surgeons (Dr. Alexander?).

 

This leads me to the conclusion it is not the machine itself, but the clinic using it wrong or doing sth else wrong. Could be:

 

- You were a bad FUE candidate

- Grafts kept wrong after extraction (dried out, wrong fluid,...)

- Grafts implanted to deep or low

-...

 

Maybe with better pics we could tell, but I doubt it. Go to a top clinic for a consultation.

[Speegs]

I'm not a fan of robots in hair transplantation, and stories like this only keep me a skeptic.

 

Any clinic that advertises the robot as primary to the practice deserves a red flag in my opinion.

[gillenator]

Robotics is not the problem...the problem is the degree of skill or competence of the individual using the tool.

[wazaam]

"Robotics is not the problem...the problem is the degree of skill or competence of the individual using the tool."

__________________

 

 

I couldn't disagree more and the results speak for themselves. Some of the most respected clinics who have implemented the Artas are no longer using the system. Rahal, Shapiro (SMG), and Hasson & Wong who clearly were after the best method possible for their FUE extraction.

 

A statement from Hasson & Wong website;

We have spent the last four years researching the FUE process. We have looked at manual punches, multiple varieties of power punches and purchased an Artas robot. Each technique has been assessed from multiple angles and in great depth.

Approximately six months ago we made an assessment and came to a conclusion. The best technique -in our opinion – and by a large margin, was the manual punch.

I would like to thank personally our friends Dr. Jose Lorenzo and Dr. Korai Erdogan, for their very kind assistance and opening their doors for us -so we could learn their techniques.

 

 

This speaks for itself.

[Djlazerblue]

Thanks for sharing not many people share there poor results and live in silence, after 12 months I would expect to see some improvement, I think it's safe to say this is failed surgery, I would definitely be contacting the DR for a refund and go elsewhere do not get fobbed off

[Speegs]

"Robotics is not the problem...the problem is the degree of skill or competence of the individual using the tool."

__________________

 

 

I couldn't disagree more and the results speak for themselves. Some of the most respected clinics who have implemented the Artas are no longer using the system. Rahal, Shapiro (SMG), and Hasson & Wong who clearly were after the best method possible for their FUE extraction.

 

A statement from Hasson & Wong website;

We have spent the last four years researching the FUE process. We have looked at manual punches, multiple varieties of power punches and purchased an Artas robot. Each technique has been assessed from multiple angles and in great depth.

Approximately six months ago we made an assessment and came to a conclusion. The best technique -in our opinion – and by a large margin, was the manual punch.

I would like to thank personally our friends Dr. Jose Lorenzo and Dr. Korai Erdogan, for their very kind assistance and opening their doors for us -so we could learn their techniques.

 

 

This speaks for itself.

Good find, I just know that Dr. Feller, Konior and Gabel all shy away from the robots as skeptics, and those three are pretty much avatars for the top tier of doctors in the US.