Dr. Scott Alexander FUE Patient 1500 FU | Phoenix AZ

[HairLossBlog]

Just had a transplant of 1500 FU via FUE a few days ago. Originally was recommended 1800-2000. Picture attached immediatley post-op.

Here is my review of the day so far:

I arrived at 7:30 for the surgery and was met at the desk. I filled out some paperwork and was asked if I brought my post-op antibiotics which the girl at the desk made it sound like they forgot to prescribe, but I did get a prescription on my way out and was able to fill on the way home.

I was placed in a chair and although I shaved my head the night before with no guard as requested in the pre-op docs, I was told my hair was too long by the nurse and she shaved it closer. Dr. Alexander then came into the room and mentioned that my hair was too short, which caused me some concern about the miscommunication.

Dr. Alexander made sure I was comfortable in the chair, he drew the hairline, he made sure we were on the same page about what I wanted from the surgery, and we had some small talk about what was on TV, and then we were off. He had no problem talking me through the whole procedure which I appreciated. I feel extremely comfortable with his skill and ability. He numbed the top of my head which was slightly painful but only for a few minutes and proceeded to create the holes for the grafts. This took about 2-3 hours, and you could tell he puts a lot of thought into this process and the proper angles for each hair.

After the holes were made, we began prep for the ARTAS machine. For some reason the numbing of the back of my head hurt extremely badly. Like an 8 out of 10 on the pain scale where I couldn't even breathe. I had to request Dr. Alexander stop a few times so I could catch my breath. Likely I am just sensitive in that area, but man.... that part sucked. Once he was done obviously the operation was painless albeit uncomfortable. I was given some Xanax to relax during the ARTAS procedure. The staff mentioned the ARTAS takes about 2 hours. During the procedure they kept having discussions about how the machine was being extremely slow and they needed to call the rep to see what was going on. Just a warning: be ready to have your face mashed into some metal for a few hours. Overall I spent almost 4.5 hours under the ARTAS and after a few hours it became extremely uncomfortable. It was really difficult to stay in that position for 4.5 hours under that machine. Again, I'm not sure if this is normal or if the machine was broken, but after 4.5 hours and 1950+ FU removed, I was told only 1500 were able to be transplanted. I am trying to find some research online if this is normal because I hate to lose the 450 units, but I also appreciate Dr. Alexander not transplanting FUs that wont grow and  just charging me, which he easily could have done. I think this shows a lot of credit to his character. It does seem odd that it was exactly 1500, but again, its possible it was more than 1500 and he rounded down (its possible too that he rounded up) because of the potential machine error and time in chair so I will refrain from making any judgement here yet.

I was then moved back to the chair, and the nurses came in and placed the transplanted hairs into the holes that were previously made. Honestly, I fell asleep during this time. I woke up about an hour later and the nurses were still working. Dr. Alexander popped in a few times to check on their work. They were having some discussion on where to put the hairs since 2000 holes were punched and they were only using 1500. I was done around 5:30pm, was given a prescription for antibiotics and some pain meds, and was on my way and felt fine. 

One more interesting note. In the pre-op notes it states to stop finasteride and Rogaine, but in the post-op notes it states to use Rogaine at least 2 weeks prior and 2 weeks after the surgery to decrease shock loss. Interesting conflicting statements, and I would confirm with Dr. Alexander which he prefers before your procedure with him. 

I got home and went to sleep pretty quickly. Some blood seeped through the bandage onto the pillow but there really wasn't that much pain, and I didn't need the pain meds starting the next morning. I removed the bandage and took the attached picture. As I write this 3 days post-op I am in almost no pain, but I do have significant face swelling from transfer of fluids (right eye swollen shut.) 

Even with the odd experiences during the transplant, I feel comfortable Dr. Alexander is an extremely skilled surgeon and cares about each patient he takes care of. As of today, I wouldn't hesitate to recommend him. I might recommend he coach his staff about the conversations they have in front of the patients because it may cause more concern than necessary, but lets see how everything turns out. I'll update with 1 week post-op pictures soon.

 

[Gasthoerer]

Thank you for your report. There are not many patient reports with the ARTAS.

But honestly: You have a really positive demeanor. If what you say is true this is unbelivable and unacceptable behavior from the clinic.

If the machine is broken or they think it is not working propoerly, they should not (!) perform a procedure on a client. 500 of 2000 dissected grafts is also an unacceptable huge number. Hopefully, the root is still ok, and graft is still grwoning in the donor. I would contact the clinic. They should have inspected the grafts and should be able to tell you what kind of dissection appeared. 2000 slits and 1500 grafts is also not acceptable, sorry. 500 scars for nothing and a thinner result?

Furthermore: Do you have pre-op pics? 1500 grafts for this area seems low if there wasn't a lot of remaining hair. Pics from the donor would also be nice, cause ARTAS donors look always...diferrent. That the assistants cut your hair too short is just the (negative) icing on the cake.

 

 

 

Edited July 21, 2018 by Gasthoerer

[HairLossBlog]

Thanks Gasthoerer. I was disappointed but was hoping this was normal. I couldn't find anything online of the amount of time in the chair or if that many failed grafts was a normal number. I don't have any pre-op pictures unfortunately, but your response definitely raises serious concerns; I know Dr. Alexander frequents this website so I'll follow up with the clinic. 

[Gasthoerer]

You do not have any post up or donor pictures? Not even from the clinic? There should be always pics from a reputable clinic (pre, intra and post op).

I do not want to scare you. Of course, you can still have a good result. And if it is too thin, you can make a small touch up. But this behavior of the clinic (if true) would still be unacceptable.

[HairLossBlog]

They did take pictures; when I follow up with the I will ask them to share. Here is a donor-site picture from today.

[JayLDD]

The ARTAS makes absolutely no sense. 

Cons:

Significantly larger punch sizes than possible by hand

Potential machine error as described above

Slower extractions than by hand

Lower yields than by hand

A learning curve as difficult as using a motorised handheld punch 

Pros:

zzzzzzzz

The idea that the ARTAS is "just a tool" is laughable, it offers a very specific set of parameters that cannot be magically overcome by the operator. Alexander is a competent surgeon, but clearly as this case shows that doesn't magically overcome the potential negatives because ultimately the ARTAS is only good for two things, marketing and being a piece of shit.

 

 

Edited July 22, 2018 by JeanLDD

[Mick50]

Jesus what a story I hope you get good growth ,if this doesn't put  off anyone going with the Artas  nothing will , I bet there's a few  Artas machines gathering dust and the clinics still paying for them .

Edited July 22, 2018 by Mick50

[Legend007]

This is a horrible story . I almost fell for the marketing also when I first researched hair transplants .. it’s a bad tool , only positive it has is that it’s able to map out ur donor n  choose the thicker hairs . N that’s only going to happen if the clinic has enough experience n training using this machine .. if u can’t tell why around 500 grafts didn’t survive for transplant it’s because a machine is punching holes into ur head .. so it’s not able to know how hard it’s impacting ur scalp .. causing trauma to surrounding hairs n damage done to extracted hairs ., I don’t need to be doctor to understand that .. did the clinic  insist on using the Artas? Or did u ? 

They just experimenting on u with that machine ., the clinics paid a lot of money for that  Robot ,, they trying to get that money back .