The Best Transplant Results I have ever seen, is this legit?

[Britanium]

A very interesting read, thanks for the link 🙏

[Curious25]

I think the forum needs and quite frankly deserves some clarity surrounding safe/unsafe extraction patterns, and how doctors are able or unable to ascertain this. 

It seems as though it is acceptable to nit pick at this particular Dr who isn't recommended on the forum, for his larger use of the donor region - however when other recommended clinics are doing exactly the same, its accepted that not all hair loss patterns are the same, and for some patients (and rightly so) who are NW5/6, surgeons are able to be a little more aggressive with the size of the donor area that they extract from.

I'm pretty sure I read one of the clinic reps (I cant remember who) on here talk about Dr Zarev's seminar at one of the conferences, and allude that his extraction pattern went out of the traditional safe zone - yet only a few days ago the rep from one of the leading hair restoration clinics in the world informed me that there is no such thing as a traditional safe zone, every patients hair loss is different. 

So what is it . . some doctors are rightly or wrongly more conservative and risk averse than others, or other doctors are more confident they can pretty accurately determine final loss patterns? 

If this is the case, then we need absolute clarity as to why and how this can be determined - because we have the likes of Dr Bernstein and Rassman preaching that extractions only from NW 7 regions of donor should be utilised, to avoid the risk of the patient progressing to that extensive level (risk averse) and then on the othrer hand we have showcases of other world class doctors such as H&W extracting right up until just below the crown. I've also noticed this a lot on Dr Diep cases, however won't use him as an example because I know some of his techniques are questioned by quite a few of the community regardless of this. 

I've not came across this trend as much with the European FUE surgeons who get a lot of postings on here, which again makes me wonder. 

Essentially, I want to know what mine and others donor estimations are based on, and how this should be done - conservative NW 7 extraction patterns, or NW5/6 - because the difference is going to be quite a few thousand grafts, which would quite considerably change ones restoration goals and plans if this were to be the case.  

On a final note, I don't think its a fair or appropriate comment to cite a Dr's nationality and/or location as being a reason as to why he wouldn't be able to pioneer anything in the hair restoration industry.  

 

[Cristero]

9 hours ago, Curious25 said:

I think the forum needs and quite frankly deserves some clarity surrounding safe/unsafe extraction patterns, and how doctors are able or unable to ascertain this. 

It seems as though it is acceptable to nit pick at this particular Dr who isn't recommended on the forum, for his larger use of the donor region - however when other recommended clinics are doing exactly the same, its accepted that not all hair loss patterns are the same, and for some patients (and rightly so) who are NW5/6, surgeons are able to be a little more aggressive with the size of the donor area that they extract from.

I'm pretty sure I read one of the clinic reps (I cant remember who) on here talk about Dr Zarev's seminar at one of the conferences, and allude that his extraction pattern went out of the traditional safe zone - yet only a few days ago the rep from one of the leading hair restoration clinics in the world informed me that there is no such thing as a traditional safe zone, every patients hair loss is different. 

So what is it . . some doctors are rightly or wrongly more conservative and risk averse than others, or other doctors are more confident they can pretty accurately determine final loss patterns? 

If this is the case, then we need absolute clarity as to why and how this can be determined - because we have the likes of Dr Bernstein and Rassman preaching that extractions only from NW 7 regions of donor should be utilised, to avoid the risk of the patient progressing to that extensive level (risk averse) and then on the othrer hand we have showcases of other world class doctors such as H&W extracting right up until just below the crown. I've also noticed this a lot on Dr Diep cases, however won't use him as an example because I know some of his techniques are questioned by quite a few of the community regardless of this. 

I've not came across this trend as much with the European FUE surgeons who get a lot of postings on here, which again makes me wonder. 

Essentially, I want to know what mine and others donor estimations are based on, and how this should be done - conservative NW 7 extraction patterns, or NW5/6 - because the difference is going to be quite a few thousand grafts, which would quite considerably change ones restoration goals and plans if this were to be the case.  

On a final note, I don't think its a fair or appropriate comment to cite a Dr's nationality and/or location as being a reason as to why he wouldn't be able to pioneer anything in the hair restoration industry.  

 

Couldn't have said it better myself.

Also, I'm not Bulgarian, but I need to point out that Bulgaria is the leading country in the CGI and VFX industry. Softwares that are used for Hollywood's high end VFX have been developed in Bulgaria by Bulgarian people. There are studios which did the whole special effects scenes for the main movies in the past years.

So if they mastered that industry, I don't know why it's not possible for a Bulgarian talented doctor to be one of the best in the world.

Edited October 4, 2020 by Cristero

[Gatsby]

With the greatest of respect to Dr Zarev as a surgeon I have a lot of doubts. Firstly;y because he will not reveal his 'technique' to other world class surgeons and keeps claiming that it is 'currently awaiting patent approval.' The other thing is that I believe he himself wears a hair piece, but you be your own judge.

[Cristero]

12 minutes ago, Gatsby said:

With the greatest of respect to Dr Zarev as a surgeon I have a lot of doubts. Firstly;y because he will not reveal his 'technique' to other world class surgeons and keeps claiming that it is 'currently awaiting patent approval.' The other thing is that I believe he himself wears a hair piece, but you be your own judge.

2 objections to your claims:

- If you have found a revolutionary way/tool in your industry that brings you to the very top of it, why would you share it with your competitors? Do you think surgeons are doing their job for the sake of balding people mental health? If that was the case, you would have seen much different prices;

- even if he wears a hairpiece, what does it have to do with his ability as a surgeon or his credibility? I'm not following your logic here.

[Curious25]

1 hour ago, Gatsby said:

The other thing is that I believe he himself wears a hair piece, but you be your own judge.

Bit of a strange point - many of the worlds leading hair surgeons are bald or balding, should we discredit them also? 
 

That’d only be an issue in my mind if he was wearing a hair piece, yet proclaimed to prospective patients his hair was a result of undergoing FUE. 

Edited October 4, 2020 by Curious25

[giegnosiganoe]

Came across his Instagram today: https://www.instagram.com/drzarev/

He displays quite detailed photo progressions of his patients throughout their multiple surgeries. Very impressive work.

Edit: Just realized he puts in the same amount of photo detail on his website before/afters too. And there doesn't seem to be any lighting trickery as I usually see from most clinics.

Edited October 5, 2020 by giegnosiganoe

[DrTBarghouthi]

1. I strongly believe that hair restoration- just like hair loss is a dynamic process. Therefore, Restoration should in most cases be seen on a patient by patient basis. It is important to start off with the safest region first, extract a decent number that will greatly fulfil expectations . These patients are then followed up and if the donor pattern is leaning towards a less aggressive pattern, then that donor area extraction can be extended gradually if no significant miniaturization is seen on dermoscopy. I’m not in line with utilizing the entire donor limits from the first go unless the final pattern is clearly reached. 
 

2. Vaccum assisted extraction adds further stress on the follicles. It is hard to judge the effect of vaccum on drying up grafts. Remember that dryness is more significant than partial transection when it comes to survival.

3. I have numerous patients who have had surgeries in clinics that claim new and secret techniques. One of them is a clinic that claims only partial extraction of the follicles to preserve your donor. Unfortunately they end up having 2-3 procedures before noticing any significant growth in the recipient area. When we do one session for them after that, they realize how different their results are and the huge improvement they get after only one proper transplant. 
 

4. I am on the members selection committee of the ISHRS. I therefore go through the new applications. According to the ISHRS guidelines, naming new techniques that are not backed by evidence for the sake of marketing is a questionable thing and can lead to a member being refused membership or even for an existing member to be asked to provide further explanations about this technique. 

[Curious25]

3 hours ago, DrTBarghouthi said:

1. I strongly believe that hair restoration- just like hair loss is a dynamic process. Therefore, Restoration should in most cases be seen on a patient by patient basis. It is important to start off with the safest region first, extract a decent number that will greatly fulfil expectations . These patients are then followed up and if the donor pattern is leaning towards a less aggressive pattern, then that donor area extraction can be extended gradually if no significant miniaturization is seen on dermoscopy. I’m not in line with utilizing the entire donor limits from the first go unless the final pattern is clearly reached. 
 

Thankyou for your input Dr. What age, in your opinion, can one start to safely assume final hair loss patterns? For instance - there has been a recent case from a leading clinic extracting from high in the donor region from a 29 year old patient . . I’m not suggesting this was incorrect, but I want to know how it could have been justified to be be safe? 

[DrTBarghouthi]

5 hours ago, Curious25 said:

Thankyou for your input Dr. What age, in your opinion, can one start to safely assume final hair loss patterns? For instance - there has been a recent case from a leading clinic extracting from high in the donor region from a 29 year old patient . . I’m not suggesting this was incorrect, but I want to know how it could have been justified to be be safe? 

i dont believe there is a certain age for that. I think it is always good to start off with a strict safe zone. Further follow up over the years and for any subsequent surgeries, one can evaluate the unextracted areas and extend a bit beyond. Maybe a simple rule of thumb (not always applicable) is to stay safe for thos ein their 20s and 30s. Be a bit more open about extending the area in the 40 age group and beyond. 

[Curious25]

55 minutes ago, DrTBarghouthi said:

i dont believe there is a certain age for that. I think it is always good to start off with a strict safe zone. Further follow up over the years and for any subsequent surgeries, one can evaluate the unextracted areas and extend a bit beyond. Maybe a simple rule of thumb (not always applicable) is to stay safe for thos ein their 20s and 30s. Be a bit more open about extending the area in the 40 age group and beyond. 

Thankyou for your input Dr. 

@Cristero@ADuckwithNoHair

[JohnBob]

On 9/5/2020 at 3:58 AM, 1978matt said:

There's about 41 exceptional results, but what about the other 4959 surgeries he did in (I'm guessing) the last 10 years? The 41 are probably the top 1% of results.

You have to have great donor, excellent hair qualities, and maybe even be a fin responder to get these types of outcomes.  They do look really good but I would advise the average guy not to expect the same outcome as you could end up very disappointed. 

 

Very true, the results he is publishing is for certain the top of the top of his work. 

But...

If you compare Dr. Zarev's top results with the top results of other good doctors, his results STILL stand out or even blow away the ones from the other doctors. 

He is obviously doing something very right. Possible reasons why he is achieving those results: 

- He claims his extraction technique allows him to extract 60 percent of hair from the donor area, without leaving any obvious signs of damage or barren gaps.

- I've also read that he claims he can achieve 98% of survival rate of extracted/transplanted hairs. 

- He is very meticulous on how he plans and organize his sessions. Take a look at that this videos between 3:30 and 4:30 

 

- He may be aggressive in what he consider the safe zone of the donor area

- He supposedly doesn't use technicians to actually perform de surgery, doing all the craft by himself. 

- He is very talented. 

 

[JohnBob]

double post

 

Edited October 27, 2020 by JohnBob
double post

[JohnBob]

double post

 

Edited October 27, 2020 by JohnBob

[JohnBob]

double post

 

Edited October 27, 2020 by JohnBob

[giegnosiganoe]

Found a post on here from 6 years ago of a guy who went to Zarev, but he never updated the final result. Also looks like all of the photos were taken in Zarev's clinic.

 

[DrTBarghouthi]

There has been an interesting talk by Dr True recently at the world congress about possibilities of extracting grafts from the upper and lower intermediate zones of the donor area or what may be considered out of the safe zone. These areas as he demonetised could be separated and used in areas that are non critical in case they thin out with time despite of medical therapy. He suggested using them in the crown or in the hairline so as not to cause diffuse thinning if used all over the scalp. Ofcourse this is still an ongoing observation and is not a suggestion to adopt this. Interesting enough though. 

[fueshare]

4 hours ago, giegnosiganoe said:

Found a post on here from 6 years ago of a guy who went to Zarev, but he never updated the final result. Also looks like all of the photos were taken in Zarev's clinic.

 

Hey guys that's me. My result was not that great overall. Certainly nothing like the ads showed, but I do actually have some hair 6 years later, although I have to keep it very short. I had a free corrective follow up procedure again with Dr Zarev few months later, but still far from the best results he's shown. As far as I can tell the cases he shows are real but he may have others that didn't grow that well like me.

[tressful11]

10 minutes ago, fueshare said:

Hey guys that's me. My result was not that great overall. Certainly nothing like the ads showed, but I do actually have some hair 6 years later, although I have to keep it very short. I had a free corrective follow up procedure again with Dr Zarev few months later, but still far from the best results he's shown. As far as I can tell the cases he shows are real but he may have others that didn't grow that well like me.

Do you mind sharing photos post-op 1st surgery and 2nd surgery?
That would give everyone here more perspective on how much difference there is between the results Dr posts on his channel vs other results. More realistic perspective into the doctor's skills and the specialised FUE technique he uses.

[Curious25]

2 hours ago, tressful11 said:

Do you mind sharing photos post-op 1st surgery and 2nd surgery?
That would give everyone here more perspective on how much difference there is between the results Dr posts on his channel vs other results. More realistic perspective into the doctor's skills and the specialised FUE technique he uses.

+1 - I would also be interested in seeing your results if you don't mind. 

[JohnBob]

7 hours ago, giegnosiganoe said:

Found a post on here from 6 years ago of a guy who went to Zarev, but he never updated the final result. Also looks like all of the photos were taken in Zarev's clinic.

 

Good find man. And thanks Fueshare for sharing your results with us. To be honest, while not bad they are a far cry from what Zarev showcases in his website and social media account. On the other hand, I like that the photos were professionally made with flash and no gimmicks even in 2014. Very transparent and correct of Dr. Zarev.

Your procedure got done a long time ago, maybe he got better since then since he is still a relatively young doctor. Do you know if he used his AVA technique in ir your procedure or if it was available in 2014?

Also as other have already asked, it would be great if we could see what were your definitive results since you stoped posting after the 4 month mark. Thanks!

 

Edited October 27, 2020 by JohnBob

[asterix0]

Do you have pictures of your current hair to show us?

Your 4 month result looked decent from your previous thread, I would have anticipated it would fill in more. 

[JohnBob]

2 hours ago, asterix0 said:

Do you have pictures of your current hair to show us?

Your 4 month result looked decent from your previous thread, I would have anticipated it would fill in more. 

Yes please fueshare give us some pics of your final result, thanks!

[giegnosiganoe]

16 hours ago, fueshare said:

Hey guys that's me. My result was not that great overall. Certainly nothing like the ads showed, but I do actually have some hair 6 years later, although I have to keep it very short. I had a free corrective follow up procedure again with Dr Zarev few months later, but still far from the best results he's shown. As far as I can tell the cases he shows are real but he may have others that didn't grow that well like me.

Did not expect you to reply so soon after being quoted 6 years later 

Thanks for coming back to inform us. I would also love to see pics. Also curious if you've been on any medication since the procedure?

[JohnBob]

Obviously fueshare doesn't want to post the pics and we should respect that. It's not easy to expose your case when you don't like the result and people are expecting so much.