TERRIBLE HT RESULT AND EXPERIENCE - DR. TEJINDER BHATTI (DARLING BUDS)

[watterot]

Hi all,

Will keep this as short as possible since I find long posts hard to digest myself. I have my HT with Dr. Bhatti (Darling Buds) on 6th December 2019. He had transplanted approx 3500 grafts, with 2400 at the hairline and front. And subsequently 1100 in the crown after a lunch break. I had met Dr. Bhatti a year prior to the op and while I had got the recommendation from this forum, I did not go through many of the disastrous results his patients have been putting up on this forum.  

I am now 6 months post op and the results have been extremely underwhelming. My biggest concern however as been from day Day 1, that the clinic decided to leave a spot bare at the midscalp.

I noticed something was wrong right after the surgery and asked the doctor in my discussion with him the day after. The conversation went as follows:

Me - I noticed a large spot has been left bare

(Dr. Bhatti observes)

Dr. Bhatti - We fell short of grafts 

Me - How can that be possible. After leaving this area bare, 1100 grafts were placed in the crown! 

(Dr. Bhatti give it another look)

Dr. Bhatti - Don't worry, if you take Finasteride it will grow there

(SPOILER ALERT - It did not)

Now every subsequent month I wrote to the doctor with pictures to show that the area obviously did not have any growth. His response was to no worry and just keep on taking Finasteride. Which is of course did.

After six months (show in the subsequent two pictures), when the area where no grafts were planted looked extremely disconnected from the rest, I asked him again why the clinic had decided to leave the area bare? His response again was that it was 'DUE TO A SHORTAGE OF GRAFTS' and that he will check his records. I had to remind him once again that this was not possible! Since hair was planted in the crown after leaving that area empty! 

Now that I have gone through many HT experiences on this forum and others, this has to be the first time I'm seeing a doctor falling short of grafts (even though in my case it wasn't really him falling short? And the experience of dealing with Dr. Bhatti post HT is an absolute nightmare. Has anyone here had a experience where the doctor leaves an area bare and moves to the crown? And then claim he fell short of graft?

 

I have failed to get a clear and honest answer from Dr. Bhatti regarding this for six months now. He is asking me to come visit him. With the current COVID situation in India worsening that would obviously not be possible at the moment. In any case, I do believe he owes me an explaination to why the area was left bare and why he keeps insisting that he fell short of grafts when he clearly did not. The way the HT was conducted meant it was meant to be a failure from day 1. I am now reaching out to other doctors to get their perspective. 

 

 

Edited June 2, 2020 by watterot
T

[Britanium]

Hi,

sorry to hear of your experience. Would you be able to put up a pic of you prior to the transplant being performed.?

I was thinking of choosing this clinic, but am seeing quite a lot of poor results recently.

[KarmaPolice]

Why are the grafts at the frontal hairline spaced so far apart? Did you have a diffused loss? Pre-op pictures would be nice to see (If you're okay with uploading them).

 

Edited May 30, 2020 by KarmaPolice

[watterot]

2 minutes ago, Johnboy71 said:

Hi,

sorry to hear of your experience. Would you be able to put up a pic of you prior to the transplant being performed.?

I was thinking of choosing this clinic, but am seeing quite a lot of poor results recently.

Sure, I had put some in an earlier post. I'll add some here tomorrow (pretty late here in India). I think there are a lot of good options both in India and Europe that you can safely avoid Dr. Bhatti. 

[watterot]

On 5/30/2020 at 11:06 PM, KarmaPolice said:

Why are the grafts at the frontal hairline spaced so far apart? Did you have a diffused loss? Pre-op pictures would be nice to see (If you're okay with uploading them).

 

I'll be posting more pics shortly. The hairline was completely bare.  I have spoken to a few doctors recently and that been their observation too.

Edited June 2, 2020 by watterot

[KarmaPolice]

3 minutes ago, watterot said:

I'll be posting more pics shortly. The hairline was completely bare. It's Dr. Bhatti's 'style' to space them apart. I have spoken to a few doctors recently and that been their observation too.

Well if that's the case the first thing I'd be doing is to count the number of grafts from my post-op pictures and verify if at all 2400 grafts have indeed been implanted. If actual density is lower than what has been quoted, I think in your case you should be a little elated. That's X number of grafts saved and repair becomes easier with a good supply. 

But if at all there have been 2400 incisions made at the donor, and for some weird reason, a lesser number implanted - that would be a different nightmare. 

Regardless I think your repair should be easy, and let's not forget you're only at the 6th month mark, you'd be growing for another 2 months at least. 

Edited May 30, 2020 by KarmaPolice

[Britanium]

1 minute ago, watterot said:

Sure, I had put some in an earlier post. I'll add some here tomorrow (pretty late here in India). I think there are a lot of good options both in India and Europe that you can safely avoid Dr. Bhatti. 

Great. Thank you. I have already had x5 HTs. But was thinking of choosing Dr Bhatti based on how he used to perform, especially with BHT. 
It does not even look like 3500 grafts have been placed. To leave a patch like you show is bad planning on his part.

And there are a lot of grafts which have been placed quite far apart. It does not look like they planned this at all well. 

Most decent Drs will totally stand by there work. In your case I agree he has let you down. 

[watterot]

5 minutes ago, Johnboy71 said:

Great. Thank you. I have already had x5 HTs. But was thinking of choosing Dr Bhatti based on how he used to perform, especially with BHT. 
It does not even look like 3500 grafts have been placed. To leave a patch like you show is bad planning on his part.

And there are a lot of grafts which have been placed quite far apart. It does not look like they planned this at all well. 

Most decent Drs will totally stand by there work. In your case I agree he has let you down. 

It's 2400 in the front and 1100 at the back. I never bothered to count of course!

Regarding BHT do check out Eugenix. They've had some great results with BHT. And most important they tend to stand by their patients unlike Dr. Bhatti. I've been been doing a lot of research off-late (which I should have done before of course), happy to connect with you and discuss options going forward.

Edited May 30, 2020 by watterot

[Britanium]

Hi,

Yes Eugenix is now my first and only choice. Great BHT results. They have come far since i have been away from the forum (4 years)

Standing behind your patients is so important for me. I’m so sorry that yours hasn’t. 
 

[Yake]

Frankly speaking I can't even see any growth I mean forget about the density now I feel you'll have to comb your crown hair forward n front hair back to hide that spot. Let's be honest 3500 is quite a huge number of grafts. A surgeon could have easily covered front hairline till midscalp n you would have been very much satisfied but looking at this I feel you'll need a repair but let hope for some postive results n the next 3 months will give you a clear indication of what to expect or the outcome of this hair transplant .. and yes one more thing bhatti usually recommends finasteride for 6 months n if you have passed the 6 month phase than you'll most probably stop taking finasteride n from thereon your hairloss will progress further so idk what to say but do stay in touch with dr bhatti 

[Badresults]

13 hours ago, watterot said:

Hi all,

Will keep this as short as possible since I find long posts hard to digest myself. I have my HT with Dr. Bhatti (Darling Buds) on 6th December 2019. He had transplanted approx 3500 grafts, with 2400 at the hairline and front. And subsequently 1100 in the crown after a lunch break. I had met Dr. Bhatti a year prior to the op and while I had got the recommendation from this forum, I did not go through many of the disastrous results his patients have been putting up on this forum.  

I am now 6 months post op and the results have been extremely underwhelming. My biggest concern however as been from day Day 1, that the clinic decided to leave a spot bare at the midscalp.

I noticed something was wrong right after the surgery and asked the doctor in my discussion with him the day after. The conversation went as follows:

Me - I noticed a large spot has been left bare

(Dr. Bhatti observes)

Dr. Bhatti - We fell short of grafts 

Me - How can that be possible. After leaving this area bare, 1100 grafts were placed in the crown! 

(Dr. Bhatti give it another look)

Dr. Bhatti - Don't worry, if you take Finasteride it will grow there

(SPOILER ALERT - It did not)

Now every subsequent month I wrote to the doctor with pictures to show that the area obviously did not have any growth. His response was to no worry and just keep on taking Finasteride. Which is of course did.

After six months (show in the subsequent two pictures), when the area where no grafts were planted looked extremely disconnected from the rest, I asked him again why the clinic had decided to leave the area bare? His response again was that it was 'DUE TO A SHORTAGE OF GRAFTS' and that he will check his records. I had to remind him once again that this was not possible! Since hair was planted in the crown after leaving that area empty! 

Now that I have gone through many HT experiences on this forum and others, this has to be the first time I'm seeing a doctor falling short of grafts (even though in my case it wasn't really him falling short? And the experience of dealing with Dr. Bhatti post HT is an absolute nightmare. 

Has anyone here had a experience where the doctor leaves an area bare and moves to the crown? And then claim he fell short of graft? The only explanations I can think of:

1. Incompetence - The clinic simply forgot to plant the grafts in the area and moved on the crown (with the 30 min lunch break in the middle!). This would explain why Dr. Bhatti insists that he fell short of grafts. After all, that could be the only logical reason why a clinic would do something this silly. Of course, on reminding Dr. Bhatti that he could not have fallen short of grafts due to the subsequent crown HT, he simply says he needs to check his records

2. Malice - Leaving the area bare means the patient would need come back for a follow up procedure. This is a risky strategy since it assumes that the HT is successful otherwise. Which was not the case with me. I'm willing to accept that this was simply a case of negligence and incompetence from Dr. Bhatti and the clinic. After all, why attribute to malice that which can be adequately explained by incompetence. 

 

I have failed to get a clear and honest answer from Dr. Bhatti regarding this for six months now. He is asking me to come visit him. With the current COVID situation in India worsening that would obviously not be possible at the moment. In any case, I do believe he owes me an explaination to why the area was left bare and why he keeps insisting that he fell short of grafts when he clearly did not. The way the HT was conducted meant it was meant to be a failure from day 1. I am now reaching out to other doctors to get their perspective. 

 

 

Honestly, I see a procedure where it's being done with poor planning, laziness and untrained tech team. I know it might sound harsh to you but this is what I see.

First, how could he forgot the space to implant the graft, and continue to crown area? Was he trying to finish up the surgery quickly?

Second, how can he says that he ran out of graft when he is going to do the crown with another 1100 grafts? What logic is that? 

Third, his answer that if you take finestride and the fair will grow is unacceptable answer for a doctor! If your hair could grow with finestride alone, why do you have to do the surgery? 

And on the placement of grafts, for 3500 that looks really bad. I'm a patient of Dr Bhatti and I know how he space up the graft placement and when you argue with him on this his patient rep would show you some old videos of his case where the density was there.. What they don't do is take the responsibility.

I would suggest you to consult with some better surgeon who will stand by their patient side. Good luck!

[watterot]

15 hours ago, Yake said:

Frankly speaking I can't even see any growth I mean forget about the density now I feel you'll have to comb your crown hair forward n front hair back to hide that spot. Let's be honest 3500 is quite a huge number of grafts. A surgeon could have easily covered front hairline till midscalp n you would have been very much satisfied but looking at this I feel you'll need a repair but let hope for some postive results n the next 3 months will give you a clear indication of what to expect or the outcome of this hair transplant .. and yes one more thing bhatti usually recommends finasteride for 6 months n if you have passed the 6 month phase than you'll most probably stop taking finasteride n from thereon your hairloss will progress further so idk what to say but do stay in touch with dr bhatti 

Yes, it is quite unfortunate. And yes, Dr. Bhatti did ask me to stop taking Fin after six months. I'm disregarding his advice at this point. Luckily I haven't had any side effects and have been recommended by another doctor to keep on taking it at this point. 

[watterot]

4 hours ago, Badresults said:

Honestly, I see a procedure where it's being done with poor planning, laziness and untrained tech team. I know it might sound harsh to you but this is what I see.

First, how could he forgot the space to implant the graft, and continue to crown area? Was he trying to finish up the surgery quickly?

Second, how can he says that he ran out of graft when he is going to do the crown with another 1100 grafts? What logic is that? 

Third, his answer that if you take finestride and the fair will grow is unacceptable answer for a doctor! If your hair could grow with finestride alone, why do you have to do the surgery? 

And on the placement of grafts, for 3500 that looks really bad. I'm a patient of Dr Bhatti and I know how he space up the graft placement and when you argue with him on this his patient rep would show you some old videos of his case where the density was there.. What they don't do is take the responsibility.

I would suggest you to consult with some better surgeon who will stand by their patient side. Good luck!

I don't doubt anything you've said. Frankly, I'm surprised how quick the doctor was to suggest that they fell short of grafts. At the minimum it mean poor planning. But of course in my case it wasn't a shortage of grafts since 1100 were planted in the crown subsequently. 

I have consulted with a few doctors and they are shocked with the approached followed by Dr. Bhatti as well. Fortunately, my donor area has healed well and should be able to yield 3000 graft comfortably. The lockdown over the last few months has meant I haven't had to deal with the social impact of this procedure.

 

I saw your thread. Sorry you had to go through this twice. Happy to connect and share my plan going forward. Maybe this forum needs a dedicated "Dr. Bhatti Victim Support Group".

[Al - Moderator]

You haven't posted whether you requested grafts in the crown or not. That can completely change what happened. If you were seeking overall coverage with the crown included then I don't see an major issue. Your hair loss was going to take much more than 3500 grafts to complete, so it was going to take 2 hair transplants assuming the Drs limit for a session is in the 3500 range. You can elect to only do the front portion in the first one and the crown in the second one or you can try to get as much area covered in the first one and then go over the area again to thicken it all up in the second one.

As for your statement that you never see a case where Drs fall short of grafts.... well that happens a lot. There are plenty of cases where two transplants are planned (as I just mentioned) in order to get the desired result because the Dr can't do enough grafts in one transplant.

 

[watterot]

11 minutes ago, BeHappy said:

You haven't posted whether you requested grafts in the crown or not. That can completely change what happened. If you were seeking overall coverage with the crown included then I don't see an major issue. Your hair loss was going to take much more than 3500 grafts to complete, so it was going to take 2 hair transplants assuming the Drs limit for a session is in the 3500 range. You can elect to only do the front portion in the first one and the crown in the second one or you can try to get as much area covered in the first one and then go over the area again to thicken it all up in the second one.

As for your statement that you never see a case where Drs fall short of grafts.... well that happens a lot. There are plenty of cases where two transplants are planned (as I just mentioned) in order to get the desired result because the Dr can't do enough grafts in one transplant.

 

Hi,

Appreciate your response, but I think you're being too charitable to the clinic here. Let me explain in details:

• Prior to the surgery I was told that I would need 3500 grafts to address both the front (2500) and crown (1000). 3000 would be scalp grafts and 500 beard. He drew the hairline accordingly. 
• There was no mention of two surgeries either before or after the procedure. I would have preferred if he had simply told me that. Instead he did the math and drew the hairline accordingly that could be addressed with 3500 grafts. 
• On the day of the procedure I was told that the front would be address first and then the crown
• Let's assume during the surgery he realized that more grafts are needed for the front. Why leave a large spot bare and move to the crown? That's simply setting me up for failure! 100-200 grafts (I don't know the number) could have been used to give a illusion of density. Instead he chose to leave it empty, take a lunch break and move to the crown. 
• Even after the procedure he simply said that they fell short of grafts. And then on a second look that I should take Finasteride and it'll grow. No mention of another surgery soon. In fact he only said I would need another procedure in 3/4 years when the midscalp goes away (and that he'll be there for me when the time comes).
• In our post procedure communications, he's simply asked me to keep taking Finasteride and the hair will grow there. And then in the final communication, again referred to a shortage of grafts. 

You say this happens a lot. Can you point me to an instance where the doctor has simply left a gap on the front and moved to the crown? 

I'm choosing to ignore the fact that growth (where grafts have been planted) has been poor too. Other doctors I've spoken to have also mentioned that the grafts are spaced out will not give the appearance of naturalness even if they all grow out. 

[Yake]

27 minutes ago, BeHappy said:

You haven't posted whether you requested grafts in the crown or not. That can completely change what happened. If you were seeking overall coverage with the crown included then I don't see an major issue. Your hair loss was going to take much more than 3500 grafts to complete, so it was going to take 2 hair transplants assuming the Drs limit for a session is in the 3500 range. You can elect to only do the front portion in the first one and the crown in the second one or you can try to get as much area covered in the first one and then go over the area again to thicken it all up in the second one.

As for your statement that you never see a case where Drs fall short of grafts.... well that happens a lot. There are plenty of cases where two transplants are planned (as I just mentioned) in order to get the desired result because the Dr can't do enough grafts in one transplant.

 

I agree he needed 2 sittings but there is no way one would leave that much gap between grafts n leave a spot.  Someone like bhatti could have handled this much better.. its like having a frontharline n crown, while your midsection is without hair n you rely on finasteride.  He could have covered the front first 

[tressful11]

Bullying by reps, back-to-back failed transplants with no proper response to patients who invested emotionally and financially into a procedure. 
It's a shame that this doctor is still being recommended on the forum.

[Looking for HT]

On 5/30/2020 at 6:24 PM, watterot said:

Hi all,

Will keep this as short as possible since I find long posts hard to digest myself. I have my HT with Dr. Bhatti (Darling Buds) on 6th December 2019. He had transplanted approx 3500 grafts, with 2400 at the hairline and front. And subsequently 1100 in the crown after a lunch break. I had met Dr. Bhatti a year prior to the op and while I had got the recommendation from this forum, I did not go through many of the disastrous results his patients have been putting up on this forum.  

I am now 6 months post op and the results have been extremely underwhelming. My biggest concern however as been from day Day 1, that the clinic decided to leave a spot bare at the midscalp.

I noticed something was wrong right after the surgery and asked the doctor in my discussion with him the day after. The conversation went as follows:

Me - I noticed a large spot has been left bare

(Dr. Bhatti observes)

Dr. Bhatti - We fell short of grafts 

Me - How can that be possible. After leaving this area bare, 1100 grafts were placed in the crown! 

(Dr. Bhatti give it another look)

Dr. Bhatti - Don't worry, if you take Finasteride it will grow there

(SPOILER ALERT - It did not)

Now every subsequent month I wrote to the doctor with pictures to show that the area obviously did not have any growth. His response was to no worry and just keep on taking Finasteride. Which is of course did.

After six months (show in the subsequent two pictures), when the area where no grafts were planted looked extremely disconnected from the rest, I asked him again why the clinic had decided to leave the area bare? His response again was that it was 'DUE TO A SHORTAGE OF GRAFTS' and that he will check his records. I had to remind him once again that this was not possible! Since hair was planted in the crown after leaving that area empty! 

Now that I have gone through many HT experiences on this forum and others, this has to be the first time I'm seeing a doctor falling short of grafts (even though in my case it wasn't really him falling short? And the experience of dealing with Dr. Bhatti post HT is an absolute nightmare. 

Has anyone here had a experience where the doctor leaves an area bare and moves to the crown? And then claim he fell short of graft? The only explanations I can think of:

1. Incompetence - The clinic simply forgot to plant the grafts in the area and moved on the crown (with the 30 min lunch break in the middle!). This would explain why Dr. Bhatti insists that he fell short of grafts. After all, that could be the only logical reason why a clinic would do something this silly. Of course, on reminding Dr. Bhatti that he could not have fallen short of grafts due to the subsequent crown HT, he simply says he needs to check his records

2. Malice - Leaving the area bare means the patient would need come back for a follow up procedure. This is a risky strategy since it assumes that the HT is successful otherwise. Which was not the case with me. I'm willing to accept that this was simply a case of negligence and incompetence from Dr. Bhatti and the clinic. After all, why attribute to malice that which can be adequately explained by incompetence. 

 

I have failed to get a clear and honest answer from Dr. Bhatti regarding this for six months now. He is asking me to come visit him. With the current COVID situation in India worsening that would obviously not be possible at the moment. In any case, I do believe he owes me an explaination to why the area was left bare and why he keeps insisting that he fell short of grafts when he clearly did not. The way the HT was conducted meant it was meant to be a failure from day 1. I am now reaching out to other doctors to get their perspective. 

 

 

Sorry about your experience mate. I have never heard a doctor saying that they fell short of grafts and left an empty patch. Pre planning done by an experienced doctor can judge the number of grafts required approximately.  Also lets say if they do fell short, a good doc would always find ways to accommodate a patient and atleast talk to them and not just leave a blank spot.

Dr Bhatti was on my list. Lucky, I didnt go ahead with him. 

Ask for some refund for the trauma you are going through and go to a different doctor. Not sure if Bhatti would even consider that .

[Melvin- Admin]

Please send me your name and date of surgery. I will reach out to Dr. Bhatti to confirmation you’re his patient. At this point, I hear the communities concerns loud and clear.

[watterot]

2 minutes ago, Melvin-Moderator said:

Please send me your name and date of surgery. I will reach out to Dr. Bhatti to confirmation you’re his patient. At this point, I hear the communities concerns loud and clear.

Sure, I'll PM the details to you. I am conversation with Dr. Bhatti over email.

[Badresults]

6 hours ago, watterot said:

I don't doubt anything you've said. Frankly, I'm surprised how quick the doctor was to suggest that they fell short of grafts. At the minimum it mean poor planning. But of course in my case it wasn't a shortage of grafts since 1100 were planted in the crown subsequently. 

I have consulted with a few doctors and they are shocked with the approached followed by Dr. Bhatti as well. Fortunately, my donor area has healed well and should be able to yield 3000 graft comfortably. The lockdown over the last few months has meant I haven't had to deal with the social impact of this procedure.

 

I saw your thread. Sorry you had to go through this twice. Happy to connect and share my plan going forward. Maybe this forum needs a dedicated "Dr. Bhatti Victim Support Group".

Thanks man. Definitely it would be great to connect with you and know your plan

[watterot]

20 minutes ago, Looking for HT said:

Sorry about your experience mate. I have never heard a doctor saying that they fell short of grafts and left an empty patch. Pre planning done by an experienced doctor can judge the number of grafts required approximately.  Also lets say if they do fell short, a good doc would always find ways to accommodate a patient and atleast talk to them and not just leave a blank spot.

Dr Bhatti was on my list. Lucky, I didnt go ahead with him. 

Ask for some refund for the trauma you are going through and go to a different doctor. Not sure if Bhatti would even consider that .

Thanks. Lucky you. I'm not sure about a refund since I remember reading on another post that he doesn't do refunds. And to be honest it's not something I'm concerned about. I guess it was money paid for an education. I am already in touch with a few doctors (on this forum and outside).

[Clark.Ethan]

just run from Bhatti. Anywhere I see on this forum something about him is absolute horrible results. 

[Al - Moderator]

6 hours ago, watterot said:

Appreciate your response, but I think you're being too charitable to the clinic here. Let me explain in details:

I wasn't trying to be charitable to the clinic. I just didn't want to agree that the clinic was in error without knowing all the details. If the rest of what you said in your post responding to mine is true then I agree with you that the clinic should have done a much better job. Thank you for giving us more details. I'm thinking his first mistake was way underestimating how many grafts you would need and then the mistakes got worse as he couldn't give you what was told to you with 3500 grafts when he probably should have explained to you that you would need a lot more than he first suggested now that he is looking at you again and then plan from there with you on what to do. That makes it sound like a bait and switch tactic to get you in and then tell you you need 2000 more grafts, but that would have been better than continuing while you are thinking everything was good.

 

 

Edited May 31, 2020 by BeHappy

[Yake]

6 hours ago, Looking for HT said:

Sorry about your experience mate. I have never heard a doctor saying that they fell short of grafts and left an empty patch. Pre planning done by an experienced doctor can judge the number of grafts required approximately.  Also lets say if they do fell short, a good doc would always find ways to accommodate a patient and atleast talk to them and not just leave a blank spot.

Dr Bhatti was on my list. Lucky, I didnt go ahead with him. 

Ask for some refund for the trauma you are going through and go to a different doctor. Not sure if Bhatti would even consider that .

Exactly he could have extracted grafts from elsewhere. As It was clinics mistake of overlooking it n they should have filled that spot immediately before finishing the surgery.   My question is was that  spot not noticed before touching the crown area? Did they tell you that they would finish that area after lunch n had completely forgotten.