Dr. Torgerson (Toronto, Canada) - 2212 grafts FUE - 10 month update

[rob7331]

Hello HRN,

My previous thread: https://www.hairrestorationnetwork.com/topic/56697-how-does-a-second-fue-in-the-same-area-work/
My original thread from HLT: https://www.hairlosstalk.com/interact/threads/2212-grafts-fue-dr-cory-torgerson-toronto-canada.126449/#post-1866430

So I'm 10 months in and I'd like to write a proper review of my hair transplant experience. You can find more details in the above links. For ease I've attached my pre-op and post-op photos. Everything after that is 10 months.

This review is mostly a copy of the above review posted half a year ago on HLT, with some changes and recent thoughts added.

Summary
Total grafts - 2212 PRP session included
Price - $10,000 CAD (all taxes in) negotiated down from ~$13,000

Yield breakdown
Singles - 654
Quadruples - 60
Doubles and triples - all remaining

Medication
Fin (going on 5 years)
Nizoral

My score: 4/5 - Positive experience for a Canadian clinic, but read to the end

The pros
- Clean facility
- Courteous staff across the board
- Was able to negotiate cost due to another patient dropping out last minute
- Location is downtown Toronto (15 min drive at the time) and not across the world
- Brian the main coordinator is very courteous and has excellent customer service skills
- Followup service: scheduled visits after 9 days, 3 months, 6 months, 1 year

The cons
- Expensive even after discount: comes with the territory if you're looking in North America
- Surgery performed by techs, not doctor (this doesn’t bother me)
- Medication not included in costs, needed to be picked up by patient
- No shampoo, spray, or any care package of any kind given aside from a couple pillow covers
- Transit to and from surgery not covered. If patient needs to take a taxi home after surgery they must be accompanied by a member of the clinic in the vehicle (required by law), and then pay for that employee’s ride back. Not a huge deal, just an odd inconvenience given the overall price.

The surgery itself
- Hairline drawn by Dr. Torgerson, adjusted with my feedback
- Excellently performed by two techs: Rachelle and Raygana. Special praise to Rachelle who was incredible at her job and made me feel very welcome the whole time. Her service alone is most of the score
- Despite being over a 10 hour period the surgery flew by thanks to the medication and good spirits of the techs
- Dr. Torgerson came in periodically to check but was mostly uninvolved

Lessons learned
- Tie your hands the first few nights. On the first night while asleep I touched part of the transplant area and it bled, resulting in a large spot of dried blood. I immediately went to the clinic that day, thankfully none of the grafts had been disturbed. The blood however had dried onto the transplant area and I wouldn’t be allowed to clean it until Day 10. Not a big issue, but when your head is already weird looking it was an annoyance that could have been prevented.
- I feel more confident having done the surgery once - if I want to do another one I know how the process works. With proper research there are many clinics where the difference in quality is signficant.

Updated thoughts at 10 months
I am very happy with how my transplant turned out. While I'm still planning a second surgery to fill in the hairline, mid scalp and crown, I'm generally very pleased and have received lots of compliments from friends and family. In short, it was a good decision. That said, I need to be upfront with anybody considering getting a HT at Dr. Torgerson's clinic. Please read the following carefully: Dr. Torgerson is not a hair transplant expert. He is a cosmetic surgeon who happens to offer HT at his clinic, but it is carried out almost entirely by Brian (who runs the hair transplant part of the clinic) and the technicians who perform the surgeries. Dr. Torgerson has very little to do with any of it.

So although my score for this clinic is relatively good, I need you to be aware of this caveat. I am very thankful to the people who worked on me, and this review is in no way meant to disparage their excellent work. But hair transplants are a life altering surgery. Just because my result satisfied me doesn't mean yours will if you go to this clinic. There are many, many clinics out there that specialize in hair transplants and nothing else. This is not one of those clinics, so keep that in mind when you carry out your research.

 

[rob7331]

Y'all are awfully quiet. Bump.

[deitel130]

Did you consider FUT? Are you from Canada? If not what made you go there. Did you consult with Hasson and Wong?

[win200]

Very odd that they did not include any post-care package; did they advise you to keep the grafts moist?  Failing to do so can lead to a poor survival rate.

[NDAustralia]

You were right about our similar hair characteristics! Almost identical!

[rob7331]

Hi guys - sorry for not replying, I completely missed the notifications.

@deitel130 - I considered FUT but often keep a tight buzz on the back and sides so didn't want the scar. Having done FUE I'm pleased and would do it again. H&W are pros but way out of my price range.

@win200 - No they didn't advise the keep the grafts moist. If I can be honest the aftercare was very minimal. Like I said in the review, I'm happy with my result (hence the 4/5) but I'd warn anybody considering surgery with this clinic to look elsewhere, as they may not be happy.

@NDAustralia - Right on haha. I'm super excited to get my second surgery when travel re-opens. Gonna be a curly haired mofo after that.

[Rossybop]

Looks like you got a good result dude, especially on the hairline where it is most perceptiple and most important. Its also probably a good thing that you didn't get 3,000 grafts in one session because if you did so you might have experienced poor growth and your donor area would be more sparse now. Now you know that you will respond well to surgery so adding density will be an easy job. I believe curly hair makes it easier to pull off a succesful HT so you're lucky on that front too.

I must say it sounds like it was an expensive job although that's not surprising as I believe Toronto is pretty expensive in general. It sounds like they could improve their aftercare service amongst other bits and bobs. I live in Ireland so I've mostly been researching doctors in Europe. Dr Anastasakis in Greece and Dr Saifi in Poland seem like good guys in Europe, and they are reasonably priced.

Anyway, you got a good result and I'm glad you're happy.

Best of luck with everything and kindest regards!

[T95good]

How do you feel Fin has helped/not helped over the past 5 years

[didit07]

i initially went into this clinic and was semi interested while talking to brian but as soon as i walked in and saw the doctor I was out. He has completely mutilated himself and looks like a cartoon. I would never trust someone who has so badly botched themselves to work on me for 14k. I went to turkey instead and spent 2k and very happy with my results.

Edited November 30, 2020 by fabofly

[rob7331]

@Rossybop Thanks man. I'm definitely happy I did it, although with more research I could have picked a better clinic. I'm stoked for my second HT once we finally get Covid under control. Yes Canada is crazy expensive - if you thought what I paid was high try having a consultation with H&W 😬

@T95good I experienced an absolutely nuts regrowth on fin for the first 3 or so years. It's leveled out a bit now, but I'm gonna take it for life Everybody's different, but I honestly wouldn't recommend someone getting a HT without being on fin.
 

@fabofly Right? I try not to judge people by their looks but damn was he hard to look at. Brian is actually wonderful and pretty easy to deal with. I almost feel bad for him having to work there under Dr. Torgerson. Turkey can absolutely work for a lot of people, I commend you for getting results you wanted for such a great price.

[Rossybop]

11 minutes ago, rob7331 said:

@Rossybop Thanks man. I'm definitely happy I did it, although with more research I could have picked a better clinic. I'm stoked for my second HT once we finally get Covid under control. Yes Canada is crazy expensive - if you thought what I paid was high try having a consultation with H&W 😬

@T95good I experienced an absolutely nuts regrowth on fin for the first 3 or so years. It's leveled out a bit now, but I'm gonna take it for life Everybody's different, but I honestly wouldn't recommend someone getting a HT without being on fin.
 

@fabofly Right? I try not to judge people by their looks but damn was he hard to look at. Brian is actually wonderful and pretty easy to deal with. I almost feel bad for him having to work there under Dr. Torgerson. Turkey can absolutely work for a lot of people, I commend you for getting results you wanted for such a great price.

Canada is known to be one of the most expensive countries in the world along with the other usual suspects, i.e. America, Australia, Switzerland, Ireland and so on. For 2,000 FUT grafts at HRBR in Ireland you'd pay about €20,000, that equates to about $30,000. So, had you have gone to HRBR in Dublin you'd have forked out more than double what you did.

[UnbaldEagle]

10 minutes ago, Rossybop said:

Canada is known to be one of the most expensive countries in the world along with the other usual suspects, i.e. America, Australia, Switzerland, Ireland and so on. For 2,000 FUT grafts at HRBR in Ireland you'd pay about €20,000, that equates to about $30,000. So, had you have gone to HRBR in Dublin you'd have forked out more than double what you did.

That's not true at all. Canada's top clinics, Hasson&Wong and Rahal both charge a lot less than most US clinics. In fact, they're more affordable than the top clinics in Europe. At H&W, FUT is around 3 EUR/graft, less if you get more than 2000. FUE is 5 EUR/graft under 2000 grafts, less if more. How is that the most expensive?

[Rossybop]

10 minutes ago, UnbaldEagle said:

That's not true at all. Canada's top clinics, Hasson&Wong and Rahal both charge a lot less than most US clinics. In fact, they're more affordable than the top clinics in Europe. At H&W, FUT is around 3 EUR/graft, less if you get more than 2000. FUE is 5 EUR/graft under 2000 grafts, less if more. How is that the most expensive?

Cool. Perhaps I stand corrected. I was assuming Canada would not be too cheap for a hair transplant given that it is one of the world's more wealthy and developed countries, and, cities such as Toronto and Vancouver are known to have a high cost of living compared to, for example, Belarus or Argentina.

€5 per graft for FUE is expensive when compared to prices in Turkey, Poland, Greece, Ireland, Mexico, Domican Republic and so on. Of popular destinations for a hair transplant I would say €5 per graft errs onto the more expensive end of the spectrum.