Help Deciding Surgeon (De Freitas, Cuoto, Ferreira)

[Jtoorrees]

Hi Gents,

Was hoping to start a convo in hopes of helping me pick a doctor for my HT. 

I’ve narrowed down my decision to 2, maybe 3 doctors. First is Dr. Cuoto who I just recently had a video consultation with, and quoted me at 3000-3500 grafts (over 3 days) and classified me as a Norwood 5 which is a lot worse than I thought I was lol. 

The other doctor who I’m leaning towards is Dr. De Freitas who emailed me back my assessment and quoted me at 2700 grafts (over 2 days). I thought I was pretty set on Dr. De Freitas until I had my consult with Dr. Couto and actually have him as an option now. 

I’m also considering Dr. Ferreira but he’s not taking consultations, and not sure when he’ll open back up. 

All 3 are releasing amazing final results in their videos, and I feel like I couldn’t really go wrong with any of them. One thing about Dr. Dr Freitas that I’ve noticed that had me leaning towards him is that out of the 3 Doctors post surgery pics on their patients, he seems to have a lot of grafts (more than the other 2) packed into the frontal hairline which is what I really want fixed the most from this HT. I don’t think I’ve seen a hairline from that doesn’t look dense at all. 

I think I’m still leaning towards Dr. De Freitas right now, but am heavily considering going to Dr. Couto now since I actually got to talk to him and got a really good impression out of our convo, he really comes off as a perfectionist.  I believe Dr. Cuoto also does both extractions and implantation which is a big deal to me. 

Given that all 3 are putting out great results, I was wondering who’s final results do you guys like the most out of the 3? And if you had to go with one of the 3 who would you pick and why?

Thanks in advance!

 

[Guzzy]

I honestly think you will not make the wrong choice no matter who you choose.  I personally will be going to Dr. Ferreira in May.  I've seen amazing results and everyone who has gone to him has raved about his work ethic.  I think you have chosen the best of the best, but ultimately it's up to you.  Do not rush this. I've thought long and hard about this, and I mean LONG, but now I feel is the perfect time and I have full confidence in Dr. Ferreira.  Obviously Dr. Couto & Dr. De Freitas are amazing as well, but you've chosen the best.  Hope this helps.

[JoeMan]

All 3 are great options in my opinion. Maybe look for results with similar hair type as yours. I went with Dr. Ferreira but I really struggled with my decision as I also liked Dr. De Freitas. In the end I'm sure all 3 can provide a good result though so take your time but once you pick, don't look back. For months after I booked Dr. Ferreira, I kept thinking about canceling for Dr. De Freitas. I'm only 2 months post op so my results aren't known yet but so far I'm happy with my decision. 

 

[Melvin- Admin]

I think Dr. De Freitas is one of the very best, I’ve been very impressed by Dr. Cuoto as well. All three are good docs, my suggestion is to speak to past patients, look at reviews and ask for video comparisons of patients similar to you. If possible, do a video consultation with each doctor. Once you speak to them, you’ll be able to make a better decision.

[TheGreatPretender]

Similar dilema here between Pinto,Ferreira and Freitas. I consulted with both Bicer and De Freitas a few months back. 

I feel like a lot of it depends on your gut/intuition. But I am slightly leaning in for De Freitas but there is something that is keeping me from pulling the trigger.

[drawdownfx]

Anybody know Dr de Freitas current wait times? 

[MachoVato]

6 hours ago, TheGreatPretender said:

Similar dilema here between Pinto,Ferreira and Freitas. I consulted with both Bicer and De Freitas a few months back. 

I feel like a lot of it depends on your gut/intuition. But I am slightly leaning in for De Freitas but there is something that is keeping me from pulling the trigger.

You're comparing Bicer to De Freitas?!

[TheGreatPretender]

6 hours ago, MachoVato said:

You're comparing Bicer to De Freitas?!

Never said that. I only did a consultantion with bicer that's all. But I would like to have with pinto and Ferreira since these are on my top shortlist too. Problem is they are too busy atm. 

[jay80]

9 hours ago, drawdownfx said:

Anybody know Dr de Freitas current wait times? 

I paid my deposit in February and first slot I could get is February 2023

[drawdownfx]

9 minutes ago, jay80 said:

I paid my deposit in February and first slot I could get is February 2023

Thanks yh I saw your post so it's roughly a year currently. Damn these wait times lol 

[TheGreatPretender]

29 minutes ago, drawdownfx said:

Thanks yh I saw your post so it's roughly a year currently. Damn these wait times lol 

I would expect it roughly a year to be honest. All great clinics are saddly facing high volumes of trafic so its a bit of a miracle if you are able to find something in less then a year so one year is not too bad. Plus you got the time to spare all that money in so its not too bad. 

[drawdownfx]

Just now, TheGreatPretender said:

I would expect it roughly a year to be honest. All great clinics are saddly facing high volumes of trafic so its a bit of a miracle if you are able to find something in less then a year so one year is not too bad. Plus you got the time to spare all that money in so its not too bad. 

Yeah definitely. Do you know if Dr Ferreira's wait time is also around a year?

[JoeMan]

1 minute ago, drawdownfx said:

Yeah definitely. Do you know if Dr Ferreira's wait time is also around a year?

It is but you're going to have to factor in consultation time as well. Last I heard he wasn't taking new patients but should start again soon. 

[drawdownfx]

Just now, JoeMan said:

It is but you're going to have to factor in consultation time as well. Last I heard he wasn't taking new patients but should start again soon. 

Alright thanks Joe. In regards to consultation I believe you can also pay 50 euros where he gets back to you within 48 hours, it's good to have the option.

[JoeMan]

6 minutes ago, drawdownfx said:

Alright thanks Joe. In regards to consultation I believe you can also pay 50 euros where he gets back to you within 48 hours, it's good to have the option.

Actually I believe he took that option down for the time being if I'm not mistaken. He told me during my surgery that he's been wanting to open it back up but figured what's the point since I'm a year booked. This was in late November and to my knowledge it hasn't opened up yet. 

[TheGreatPretender]

2 minutes ago, JoeMan said:

Actually I believe he took that option down for the time being if I'm not mistaken. He told me during my surgery that he's been wanting to open it back up but figured what's the point since I'm a year booked. This was in late November and to my knowledge it hasn't opened up yet. 

That option is down too sadly, I am not sure how long it will take as Alexandra (his assistant) told me that it "might take a few months". The option where you pay for a face to face consultation in Porto for 75€ only starts in September. Hopefully the online ones wont take that long but only time will tell.

[drawdownfx]

6 minutes ago, JoeMan said:

Actually I believe he took that option down for the time being if I'm not mistaken. He told me during my surgery that he's been wanting to open it back up but figured what's the point since I'm a year booked. This was in late November and to my knowledge it hasn't opened up yet. 

sadly you are right, when trying to add to cart it says out of stock! 

[JoeMan]

Just now, TheGreatPretender said:

That option is down too sadly, I am not sure how long it will take as Alexandra (his assistant) told me that it "might take a few months". The option where you pay for a face to face consultation in Porto for 75€ only starts in September. Hopefully the online ones wont take that long but only time will tell.

I got the impression that he has plenty of work and wanted to focus more on surgery than consultations to clear his back log. These are my words of course. The good news is that if you stay diligent and eventually get a consultation then the 1 year wait might be less since he's likely only booking repeat customers at the moment. 

I just posted my 2 month results yesterday and so far I'm pretty happy with everything. Feel free to look my post over and I'd be happy to answer any questions about him that you may have. 

Good luck!

[JoeMan]

7 minutes ago, TheGreatPretender said:

The option where you pay for a face to face consultation in Porto for 75€ only starts in September

I ended up doing an online fast track consultation but then I also met with him in person because I wanted to see the facility and put a face to the person I was trusting my procedure with. I made a vacation out of it so it was worth it for me but I think they will open Fast Track well before September. 

[TheGreatPretender]

1 minute ago, JoeMan said:

I ended up doing an online fast track consultation but then I also met with him in person because I wanted to see the facility and put a face to the person I was trusting my procedure with. I made a vacation out of it so it was worth it for me but I think they will open Fast Track well before September. 

I got contacted by lorenzo asking some better quality pictures back which were sent too a week back but no answer came from his assistant. 

Oh well, at least it reduces down my options currently. I like De Freitas work a lot but I think Ferreira would be a bit more of my comfort zone because the surgery would be done in my own country, although he is a tad more expensive now.

[JoeMan]

1 minute ago, TheGreatPretender said:

I got contacted by lorenzo asking some better quality pictures back which were sent too a week back but no answer came from his assistant. 

Oh well, at least it reduces down my options currently. I like De Freitas work a lot but I think Ferreira would be a bit more of my comfort zone because the surgery would be done in my own country, although he is a tad more expensive now.

What area of Portugal are you from? I have such wonderful memories of my stays there. 

[JoeMan]

If I lived in Portugal then Dr. Pinto would be on my list as well. I see you mentioned him earlier but I like his work as well. 

[TheGreatPretender]

3 minutes ago, JoeMan said:

What area of Portugal are you from? I have such wonderful memories of my stays there. 

I am originally from Lisbon, but am currently residing in the UK. I do own a house in Lisbon though so it would be a 2/3H jump to my home. 

There would be an option to travel back to Lisbon post surgery I guess and recover there.

2 minutes ago, JoeMan said:

If I lived in Portugal then Dr. Pinto would be on my list as well. I see you mentioned him earlier but I like his work as well. 

Yep, he is on the list but also busy. Though I have seen more movement from Ferreira as he seems to be a bit better though.

The thing that seems consensual among most people around is that even though both Ferreira and Pinto are great at their craft they still fall short in comparison with De Freitas though but I am not sure if this is just because of personal preference or if his technical skills are better for most patients.

[JoeMan]

8 minutes ago, TheGreatPretender said:

The thing that seems consensual among most people around is that even though both Ferreira and Pinto are great at their craft they still fall short in comparison with De Freitas though but I am not sure if this is just because of personal preference or if his technical skills are better for most patients.

I think Dr. De Freitas advertises more as well. He posts more results. I'm pretty sure on Spanish forums that you can find a bunch from Dr. Pinto. I definitely think that Dr. De Freitas has more name recognition at the moment. He's also a forum recommended Dr. I believe Dr. Ferreira is going to be more recognized in another 6-12 months. Plenty of people currently posting results. 

[TheGreatPretender]

5 minutes ago, JoeMan said:

I think Dr. De Freitas advertises more as well. He posts more results. I'm pretty sure on Spanish forums that you can find a bunch from Dr. Pinto. I definitely think that Dr. De Freitas has more name recognition at the moment. He's also a forum recommended Dr. I believe Dr. Ferreira is going to be more recognized in another 6-12 months. Plenty of people currently posting results. 

Yeah, you might be right. 

Maybe in the end it is a matter of personal preference, I feel like by the time you narrow it down to the best surgeons you hit a so called "grey area" where you got to make a choice and commit to it.