Dr. Hasson | 3,000 graft | 31M Caucasian | Documenting the Journey

[Axel]

2 minutes ago, sukh123 said:

If this was done by a hair mill in Turkey people would be jumping on the bandwagon . 25k is extortionate amount for what seems wrongly placed positioning of grafts at temple and poor customer care post op

Not only placed against the patient's desired location, but over-harvested. Not sure why there isn't more of a negative response. Concerning, considering this forum is supposed to be an unbiased source of information.

Weirdly, there is a "it's better than before!" attitude with the majority of comments. I don't know if this is more indicative of the clientele that hair transplants attract, or a lack of understanding about the transactional aspects of these high cost procedures.

Edited June 9, 2022 by Axel

[sukh123]

33 minutes ago, Axel said:

Not only placed against the patient's desired location, but over-harvested. Not sure why there isn't more of a negative response. Concerning, considering this forum is supposed to be an unbiased source of information.

Weirdly, there is a "it's better than before!" attitude with the majority of comments. I don't know if this is more indicative of the clientele that hair transplants attract, or a lack of understanding about the transactional aspects of these high cost procedures.

Yeh, I'm new to this forum and thinking of getting one done so joined to get real-life accounts of people's journeys . And what you just said is the exact same thing I get from this forum, having been on it for a short while. I thought i was the only one, but it seems people like you share my sentiment on this forum esp with regards to the "clientele" comment. I've seen posts where Turkey hair mills have done just the same, and the same people have gone hell to leather in chastising them, but suddenly quiet when its an affiliated doctor which is not good for what is supposed to be an "open" forum 

Edited June 9, 2022 by sukh123

[Axel]

4 minutes ago, sukh123 said:

Yeh, I'm new to this forum and thinking of getting one done so joined to get real-life accounts of people's journeys . And what you just said is the exact same thing I get from this forum, having been on it for a short while. I thought i was the only one, but it seems people like you share my sentiment on this forum esp with regards to the "clientele" comment. I've seen posts where Turkey hair mills have done just the same, and the same people have gone hell to leather in chastising them, but suddenly quiet when its an affiliated doctor which is not good for what is supposed to be an "open" forum 

Exactly! I actually had my hair transplant by Hassan and Wong as well. I would not say they were bad, but I had some concerns as well, many of which echo this patient's. The results are what matter in the end though, so I can not speak on that yet. If you end up using then or any other doctor, remember the stories you've heard so far and be cautious.

[HappyMan2021]

17 minutes ago, sukh123 said:

Yeh, I'm new to this forum and thinking of getting one done so joined to get real-life accounts of people's journeys . And what you just said is the exact same thing I get from this forum, having been on it for a short while. I thought i was the only one, but it seems people like you share my sentiment on this forum esp with regards to the "clientele" comment. I've seen posts where Turkey hair mills have done just the same, and the same people have gone hell to leather in chastising them, but suddenly quiet when its an affiliated doctor which is not good for what is supposed to be an "open" forum 

spot on. 

[HappyMan2021]

For $35k I would absolutely have expected the doctor to meet with you at the end of surgery. Even just a boilerplate 15 minute softball congratulations convo would have been sufficient. 

Kids getting braces put on get more post-op facetime than you got.

Maybe he had something more important to do like checking his stock portfolio or planning his next vacation.

It's also surprising to me that H&W each work on 2 patients a day. While I don't necessarily think that  impacts the results, you best believe for $35k I expect to be treated like a king and have the sole undivided attention of my surgeon. 

Edited June 10, 2022 by HappyMan2021

[Hairy Henderson]

The crazy thing is that he had a chance to clean this up and totally blew it!  0 for 2!  I would be livid.

[Hairy Henderson]

I'm really disheartened to read what transpired during the follow up call.  I was very much rooting for Hasson to redeem himself and make this situation right, but, he failed bigly.  This is coming from someone who got an HT 15yrs ago from Hasson and was considering going back, but, after reading this thread I don't see how I can.

OP has been much more patient and docile than I ever would have been in this situation.

[Z--]

9 hours ago, sukh123 said:

If this was done by a hair mill in Turkey people would be jumping on the bandwagon . 25k is extortionate amount for what seems wrongly placed positioning of grafts at the temples and poor customer care post op

I think because H&W has a reputation for being a top-tier and ethical clinic -- which they are. Their results historically back that compared to a Turkish mill, who steals patient photos from other clinics, deplete donor/overharvest, and threatens patients. It's easy to see why people are hesitant to jump to conclusions; this is super unusual and doesn't reflect their usual high-standards over the years.

That said, they clearly dropped the ball on this case. Leaving aside the graft positioning (which will be clearer once the hair grows in), the overcharging and misremembering graft count (how?!) is super disappointing. Surgeries can fail for reasons that aren't surgeon related, but their response towards a complaint is something entirely within their control. I can't imagine waiting to have my concerns addressed only to realize that the doctor showed up unprepared.

@Nordster34you've handled this situation with unbelievable grace. I hope that you have remaining donor and that they're able to do right by you.

[Vann]

Do you have any photos of your donor area preop and post op? Also, any photos of your donor at its current stage?

[HappyMan2021]

@Nordster34 im confused by one thing, maybe i skimmed over this part. 

This was your 1st HT, 4500 grafts were used, and now there is a realistic chance your donor is depleted? 

I dont understand how your donor is depleted after only 4500 grafts. Was your donor sparse to begin with?

In terms of lifetime grafts, 4500 is really below average. 

Edited June 10, 2022 by HappyMan2021

[Hairy Henderson]

@H & W Doug maybe should take a look here.

[Nordster34]

20 hours ago, Axel said:

I actually had my hair transplant by Hassan and Wong as well. I would not say they were bad, but I had some concerns as well, many of which echo this patient's. The results are what matter in the end though, so I can not speak on that yet.

Very much agree with this! I'm trying to share my journey as transparently as possible. And I think given how this discussion is evolving, it's important for me to restate that I'll be withholding judgement and any final recommendation until I have a result to analyze, which won't be until month 12. Sure, there are things along the way the clinic could/should have done better. But if I had to choose between a $35k great result w/ a turbulent journey and a $10k terrible result with lux journey, I'd pick the former every time. So everyone here, plz sit tight and I'll keep trying to provide transparent, unbiased updates! 

 

20 hours ago, Kent said:

Looks great my friend! And so the growing begins - very exciting.

Thanks! I'm excited for the growth to start and excited to begin crawling out of hibernation mode! 

 

6 hours ago, Vann said:

Do you have any photos of your donor area preop and post op? Also, any photos of your donor at its current stage?

Photos of donor area post-op are included in one of my prior posts. Here are current donor area photos I took just now. 

 

 

And here is a pre-op donor area photo:

 

 

6 hours ago, HappyMan2021 said:

@Nordster34 im confused by one thing, maybe i skimmed over this part. 

This was your 1st HT, 4500 grafts were used, and now there is a realistic chance your donor is depleted? 

I dont understand how your donor is depleted after only 4500 grafts. Was your donor sparse to begin with?

In terms of lifetime grafts, 4500 is really below average. 

Correct. I'm confused by this as well and am awaiting a reply and copy of my chart from Dr. Hasson. He did say that if I was willing to commit to wearing my hear >1cm, that I should definitely be able to harvest more. He also said my donor hair in the back was very strong but that my donor hair on the sides was less strong. TBD what I have left, but I'll update folks once I know more.

 

19 hours ago, HappyMan2021 said:

For $35k I would absolutely have expected the doctor to meet with you at the end of surgery. Even just a boilerplate 15 minute softball congratulations convo would have been sufficient. 

Kids getting braces put on get more post-op facetime than you got.

Yeah I agree. Not having any sort of ability to talk to the Dr. at the end of day 2 was the low-point for me. Wrapping up on Friday afternoon with a swollen & painful head, mentions of my donor area being depleted (but unable to get clear answers from the staff), looking in their bathroom mirror to discover an angular hairline with massive temples that didn't look like the planned sketch, and no doctor available to talk me through it... I felt like I had been taken advantage of. It did not feel like they cared about me as a patient or as an individual. Instead, I felt like I was a revenue line item. If H&W is to take away one thing from this post and all of the discussions that have ensued, it would be to focus more on relating to the patient as an individual person.

To the H&W team: I get that these procedures are your daily routine. I also get that, at the end of the day, this is a business. But for each patient, it is a massive decision, a leap of faith, and a time-consuming ordeal. Your patients have put massive chunks of their time, money, trust, hopes, self-image, etc. into this. Yes, the result is what matters the most and the evidence suggests you are nailing the result in most cases. But please remember that each patient deserves to feel cared for, valued, and respected! To be clear, I'm not suggesting you are unkind or uncaring. All of my interactions with Dr. Hasson and with his staff have been positive, kind and friendly. At the core, I think this is a process issue not a values issue. From a process perspective, the fact that I was not able to have any interaction with the Dr. at the end of day 2 (or day 1 for that matter) made me feel devalued as a patient. Additionally, the fact that the overharvest was not discussed transparently with me on day 2 (so that we could game-plan where to best put the extra grafts to use) also made me feel like I was being pushed through an assembly line, rather than being consulted as a integral member of the procedure team (which as the recipient, I definitely am!)

 

 

 

 

Edited June 10, 2022 by Nordster34

[Vann]

First and foremost, I would like to say thank you for your dedication to this post, the forum, and your attentive responses and attention to detail.

you are one of few posters I can say emmaculates their opinion in a… subjective but in an unopiniationed (unbiased) approach as well.

secondly, I think you might be dealing with some shock loss. It’s hard to say but looking at your pre-existing donor I think you’re right in saying it’s best to wait 12 months. However, when it comes to YOUR thoughts I don’t think you should be unbiased. They are a reflection of what you are going through. Now I am not saying freak out or to not worry. But it is nice to see documented psychological effects that you’re going through so other can look back to. EX: I was worried about my donor and started to panic. …*10+ months later, I forgot I was worrying about it then, my donor is absolutely stunner* type of thing.

[shadowcast]

Interesting thread. Not sure how any decent doctor can underestimate by 1,500 grafts. That is insane. Also not sure how they could've just thrown some of the excess grafts on the tip of your temple points, as I believe hair in that area is naturally very fine and nothing like "regular" donor hair.

[HappyMan2021]

1 minute ago, shadowcast said:

Interesting thread. Not sure how any decent doctor can underestimate by 1,500 grafts.

i'd say its actually quite common to underestimate. A webcam consult and photos can only tell you so much. 

The doctor will never 100% know the game plan until inspecting the patient in person. 

[shadowcast]

1 minute ago, HappyMan2021 said:

i'd say its actually quite common to underestimate.

By 1,500 grafts? Come on.

[Nordster34]

FYI quick update. It has been 2 weeks since I chatted with the Dr. and he said he'd answer my questions and send over my chart with details. Still have not heard from the clinic, so I'm guessing this fell though the cracks as well. Going to reach back out. 

[deeznuts]

I don't think the temple peaks are that bad in the sense that while Dr. Hasson brought forward the temple peak more than what was agreed upon, he only added a small triangle which tapers in almost immediately to the originally discussed hairline.

So instead of having the temple peaks brought forward a cm all the way up to the hairline, it's only a tiny triangle that was added so it almost seems like artistic license though obviously not what was discussed.

Basically, it conforms to your original hairline with maybe a tiny 1cm on all sides triangle of hair added.

Even then, I'm kinda curious since ~500 grafts for just a tiny bit more grafts to the temple points seem a bit excessive. I feel like at least half of them ended up elsewhere

[Kent]

Why don’t you send a quick email to Chris Wilson at Hasson & Wong? I’m sure he’d respond to your request within a day, if not a few hours. 

I’m sorry to hear you’re having a difficult time. Best wishes to you. 

[m.m]

Nordster34, I truly appreciate the time you've taken to post your experience at H&W. I was thinking about going for a procedure there, but i'm honestly reconsidering just because of the way you say you've been treated. Obviously, we should wait till the 12-18 month mark to truly have an opinion, but there are just some things that shouldn't be looked over at this point.

A few take aways:

- The doctor should have been in the room talking to you after the procedure. Totally unacceptable IMO

- The clinic and doctor should be on the same page about the amount of grafts you were given. It's a shame that he didn't have the correct information about how many grafts you were given (also you didn't mention if he looked at your donor during the follow up consultation), and for him to suggest more grafts are possible without really analyzing your scalp is a bit lazy IMO.

- 2 weeks after the follow-up and neither the clinic or doctor have reached out with your graft count? It really does sound like he just took your call to calm your nerves more than anything. 

-------

I hope that you get an awesome result and I honestly hope that H&W's loose patient after-care is somehow justified. I totally understand why you would feel taken advantage of. Let's hope this all works out and you get the answers you're looking for. 

Just throwing this out there for anyone who might have a definitive answer; If the 12 month mark passes and the patient is not satisfied with the result, does the clinic offer touch-ups for free? Considering the neglect that has already seemingly taken place, it's understandable that a distraught patient would want some sort of reimbursement or care considering the final result might not be adequate. IMO, just for that reason alone, I would want my doctor to communicate with me step-by-step throughout the journey. It would suck to be neglected DURING and after the procedure just to end up going back to the same surgeon pleading for them to make it right only for them to ask for proof that the patient took the right steps to ensure optimal hair-growth post-transplant. This whole situation seems kind of sketchy. The doctor seems to be banking on the idea that the procedure was done so good that a follow-up procedure won't even be needed in the next 10+ years - and by then maybe he'll be retired...who knows. 

High prices for HT are one thing, but neglecting a patient after the procedure is just unethical in my book.

Edited July 1, 2022 by m.m

[Jon2345]

I am following this thread. my two cents on a few parts

"

After harvest, Dr. Hasson came in to begin incisions. I asked him to hold off on starting right away so that we could take 5 minutes to discuss the temples. The temples they drew on day 2 looked much bigger and pointier than what we had agreed to on day 1. I tried explaining that they angled inward, were pointier, and were larger than we had drawn before, but the Dr. basically said nope, these are totally appropriate temples and it'll be great. Again, my inclination is to trust the expert. This is his domain of expertise, not mine, and he has a better eye for what will look good due to his decades of experience and success.

"

I would expect the doctor to maybe change course over the transplant to optimize aesthetics. Think about drawing a painting, you change stuff up as you go along. But that being said, from my personal aesthetic taste, I feel that the drs original temple design looked better, but I am far from an expert on this. But it seems others on here have said the same thing. But also, we can't really judge until 12 months.

Another thing that seems off to me is that the drs didn't explicitly tell you that there's going to be a drastic change of course. They should have told you, 'hey, as we get further into the procedure, I think this is the best route. What do you think?'. But he didn't. And then when you brought up your concern, he brushed it off. Finally, hair transplant surgeons should absolutely be for going conservative rather aggressive. It's a pattern I see with top drs like Konior. They go slow, allow it to grow in, and then do more.

"As such, he was in the room for about 30 minutes. "

"Dr. Hasson did about 16 minutes of incisions (16 clicks on the counter), and headed out to look after another patient.  "

This is baffling to me. I understand he was doing two patients a day, but 45 total minutes??

""will he have multiple patients per day?" The quoted answer from his team member was "he only does one patient per day."

This is completly unacceptable. They should have been honest with you. Surgeons should do as many patients per day as they can handle, but patients should absolutely have the right to make a decision based on that.

"Hasson did not come by to check on the implantations and confirm everything was done correctly. In fact, he was not present in the office when I departed on either day and did not plan to have any sort of in-person follow-up visit or debrief."

Again, I don't think this unacceptable for a top tier, world class regarded dr.

" I was quite shocked to see the hairline as it was much more aggressive than I was expecting! "

How about the hairline? Was it more or less forward than planned? It's hard to see. It's it's less forward, then you can always round it out later.

"FYI quick update. It has been 2 weeks since I chatted with the Dr. and he said he'd answer my questions and send over my chart with details. Still have not heard from the clinic, so I'm guessing this fell though the cracks as well. Going to reach back out.  "

smh

Overall, it was surreal reading this. H&W have built up one of the strongest reputations in the world. I feel that this is the actions of some bizaro hassan and wong.

The avoid what you went through is the reason people pay so much and go to a reputable dr. I feel that most of the surgeons on hair restoration network could have given you a better experience with a much lower price.

If I were you, show them this thread. Tell them about the concerns this community is bringing up.

 

 

[Etownone]

Looking forward to next uodate. 

I feel by month 4-6 months are when I've seen the biggest difference in growth. 

 

[Nordster34]

Month 4 Update:

Today is exactly 4 months since the procedure date, so I'm jumping on here to give a month-4 update! This seems to be the time when most people (myself included) start to see some significant growth. 

First and most importantly, here are pictures of my recipient area (hairline) as of today:

 

My take on progress so far: 

• Overall: My stance on the temples being more aggressive vs. the hairline height being more conservative still stands: I have youthful aggressive looking temples that angle inward vs. a 7+ cm high hairline, which feels a bit unbalanced. It's not terrible, but it's not ideal either. I  still feel that the line from the temples to the corners of the hairline appear to slope inwards. it almost feels as if the distance between the left and right hairline corners is a bit too short/narrow given how high the hairline is.  
• Growth: There are a couple of very subtle weak spots, but I'm hoping they'll fill in and it's far too early to tell if there will be any weak spots in the end
• Temples: It does feel like the temple points have softened a bit and are looking less sharp/pointy than immediately post-op. This has been a relief. My guess is the staff intelligently chose thinner, wispier single grafts for the tips of the temple points to keep them subtle. Hopefully that's still the case by month 12!  

I'd be very curious to get feedback from the community. I'm really happy things are starting to grow. I still am not convinced the placement of hairline vs temple line was optimal, but I still feel I'll have more confidence in my hairline than pre-procedure. 
 

Follow-Up from Dr. Hasson's Staff

• As mentioned previously, the doctor stated he'd review my chart, send me a copy with all the details, and let me know what he thought about my various questions, primarily around donor depletion
• After 2 weeks without a reply, I sent a follow-up email to the clinic to request a copy of the chart
• Three days after my follow-up email, a member of the staff sent over a copy of the chart. 
• Graft count from the chart as follows, and adds up to 4,500:
  • 1's - 500 
  • 2's - 3,138
  • 3's - 862
• Not sure there was anything on the chart worth mentioning, but if folks have any specific questions, ask and I'll share!
• Feedback on donor depletion: I did mention in my email to the clinic that I was looking for feedback on donor depletion, but they did not provide any follow-up on the availability of donor hair for future needs. They just sent the chart as an attachment without any commentary in the email or on the chart. I'm planning to arrange another call with the Dr.

Edited July 18, 2022 by Nordster34
Initially submitted the post without any content by accident!

[Hairy Henderson]

5 minutes ago, Nordster34 said:

Month 4 Update

Link not working....

[Nordster34]

16 minutes ago, Calihome1 said:

Link not working....

Sorry about that! I accidentally hit post before actually writing the entry and attaching content. It should all be there now!