Dr. Diep Transplant FUT 1600 grafts

[throwaway1009]

This post is a recount of my experience with Dr. Diep, where I went to his office at Los Gatos for a free consultation and price quote. He spent a great deal of time going over in detail his recommendations and number of idea grafts needed. I scheduled my appointment with his team for a specified date and time right after.

Fast forward to the day of the appointment, I was instructed to eat a good breakfast with no coffee. A package was pre-shipped to me containing shampoo and medicated scrub to pre-wash my hair beforehand. I took an Uber to Dr. Diep's office, as it is strongly discouraged for me to drive post-surgery as the aphrodisiac is still wearing off. I was also told to wear loose, comfortable clothes.

Upon arrival, one of the ladies in the front desk handed me a list of local restaurants for me to select my lunch for the day. This is included in the operation cost. Dr. Diep went over all the procedures and details with me
one last time, had me fill out a few consent/agreement forms, and proceeded to give me the aphrodisiac shot on both arms.

Before I knew it, I was KO'd on the operation chair. The actual day long operation was still quite hazy, as I was in a constant state of wooziness while
slipping in and out of consciousness. I do not clearly remember experiencing any pain or discomfort sensation at all, fortunately. The next thing I knew, I was woken up when my lunch arrived.

The operation concluded at around 5PM and I was woken up one final time to clean up and was told to change back into my button up clothes. The nurse assistant then went over a comprehensive list of Do's
and Don'ts to ensure the hair regrowth process moves forward smoothly.
I was handed a to-go bag with all the medications, pain relievers, head cap, shampoo, a sponge, and a printout of what I should do in the following few days. After that, I waited in the front lobby for my pre-scheduled Uber ride to arrive to take me home for me to get further rest.

Post Operation
The first week is expectedly the bulk of the post-surgery discomfort. I remember waking up the next day with my left eye became puffy and swollen throughout the rest of the week. Taking my shirt off, I found a slight pigmentation formed in the front of my chest, with the appearance of a huge bruise.

There is also a lingering numb sensation on my head, which lasted for the next couple of months until recovery. For the same reason, I was given a blow up air neck pillow to ensure that I don't sleep on the
back or apply any excessive pressure on the back of my head where the incision was made. When showering, I made sure to wear a shower cap to protect the grafts. To clean the graft area gently, I was
provided with a special shampoo and a small sponge. It was pretty much the same thing for the next several weeks. The hardest part is trying not to subconsciously scratch the grafts when it itches, in fear of the fresh grafts dislodging before it fully takes root. Fortunately, there were anti-itch and pain relieving medicine provided to help alleviate these.

Two weeks after the procedure, I went back to their office for a post-surgery check-up. The nurse looked over everything and reaffirmed that everything looked okay and are recovering nicely. They removed my sutures, reapplied some cream to the back of my head and said I was good to go until our next video appointment in a year. For the next several weeks, I would wear a cap, a hoodie, or a beanie going out.
Eventually, the grafts would naturally fall off on their own, with fresh follicles taking their place to later grow out to full. Two months later, I was able to forego the hoodie and cap Attached images for reference to the before and after comparison.

Understandably, this procedure may not be for everyone, as most do not have the luxury of taking two whole weeks off work for the recovery period. Some people also may not like the idea of having the FUT procedure which leaves a lingering scar on the back of the head, and having to keep the back head a certain length to keep the scar covered. Despite this, my overall experience with this is a positive one with noticeable results.

[AlexMeister21]

You wrote a lot about the procedural aspects of your experience related to the clinic but not much on your actual personal growth journey, which is arguably the most important phase for someone who receives a hair transplant. Do you have post-op photos or monthly photos as opposed to just photos taken by the clinic? This would be of more interest to us.

Edited October 9, 2022 by AlexMeister21

[follically challenged]

Diep is handing out 'aphrodisiacs' now...?

Interesting

[HappyMan2021]

Diep has been a gamble for a few years now - wishing you the best of luck. 

Did he only do the donor on the one side of the back of your head? If so did he explain why he did this? 

I've never understood why he seems to be the only doctor on here who only takes donor from one side of the head. 

Also, I really appreciate your review, but to be honest 80% of what you wrote is literally boilerplate what would occur for any hair transplant operation - good clinic or bad. 

You may get more views and comments on this thread if you can speak specifically to Diep, his behavior during surgery, your actual surgery, the technical aspects of your surgery, etc. 

I feel like most people leave Uber rides, admin/secretary stuff and the like out of reviews because even the worst horror show hairmills can give Uber rides, front staff treat you nicely, etc. But none of that really speaks to the technical aspects of your surgery. 

Edited October 9, 2022 by HappyMan2021

[AlexMeister21]

Is this another one of those reviews from a newly created account that mention they received a hair transplant from Dr. Diep in Los Gatos with an exceptional result, but they don’t include much personal details about their experience and only provide photos taken by the clinic and then never return to these forums again?

[BDK081522]

4 hours ago, AlexMeister21 said:

Is this another one of those reviews from a newly created account that mention they received a hair transplant from Dr. Diep in Los Gatos with an exceptional result, but they don’t include much personal details about their experience and only provide photos taken by the clinic and then never return to these forums again?

That's exactly what this is. He joined yesterday and this is his first post. 

[AlexMeister21]

13 hours ago, BDK081522 said:

That's exactly what this is. He joined yesterday and this is his first post. 

This may possibly be their 10th post, judging from how many times we’ve seen this before. The question is, who is it? Elizabeth from the front desk?

[Melvin- Admin]

Guys,

Lets be very careful accusing surgeons of posting. I have spoken to at least 5 real patients who have posted once and never returned thinking they’re helping the clinic, when in fact it does more harm. The after photo posted is most certainly one taken by a real patient and not by a clinic. 

[RTC]

On 10/10/2022 at 8:48 PM, AlexMeister21 said:

Is this another one of those reviews from a newly created account that mention they received a hair transplant from Dr. Diep in Los Gatos with an exceptional result, but they don’t include much personal details about their experience and only provide photos taken by the clinic and then never return to these forums again?

Same happens with Dr Mani Mittal, a UK doctor on these forums. Every single review he has is posted a year later and laced with superlatives throughout.

[AlexMeister21]

On 10/11/2022 at 12:56 PM, Melvin- Moderator said:

Guys,

Lets be very careful accusing surgeons of posting. I have spoken to at least 5 real patients who have posted once and never returned thinking they’re helping the clinic, when in fact it does more harm. The after photo posted is most certainly one taken by a real patient and not by a clinic. 

The lighting and background of the result photo looks way too similar to Dr. Diep's office. You can even see a bit of paper on the bottom of the photo, used by patients who don't want their face shown.

 

5 hours ago, RTC said:

Same happens with Dr Mani Mittal, a UK doctor on these forums. Every single review he has is posted a year later and laced with superlatives throughout.

The loss of integrity for potentially new patients. Bad trade...

 

Edited October 12, 2022 by AlexMeister21

[Melvin- Admin]

16 minutes ago, AlexMeister21 said:

The lighting and background of the result photo looks way too similar to Dr. Diep's office. You can even see a bit of paper on the bottom of the photo, used by patients who don't want their face shown.

 

The loss of integrity for potentially new patients. Bad trade...

 

Dr. Diep takes all photos with flash, that picture isn’t with flash. That’s a screenshot from a video, not a photo. I highly doubt this is a screenshot. The quality is also much lower. This looks like a bad cell phone picture. 

[AlexMeister21]

46 minutes ago, Melvin- Moderator said:

Dr. Diep takes all photos with flash, that picture isn’t with flash. That’s a screenshot from a video, not a photo. I highly doubt this is a screenshot. The quality is also much lower. This looks like a bad cell phone picture. 

It looks very much like a screenshot and I assume it’s a screen grab from one of Diep’s videos. Don’t see why someone would be holding paper to cover their face in the instance that it was a selfie. Would also be difficult to angle the photo like that if it was a selfie with someone holding a piece of paper in their face, unless they had someone else take the photo, but then why would that be necessary in this case?

[Melvin- Admin]

49 minutes ago, AlexMeister21 said:

It looks very much like a screenshot and I assume it’s a screen grab from one of Diep’s videos. Don’t see why someone would be holding paper to cover their face in the instance that it was a selfie. Would also be difficult to angle the photo like that if it was a selfie with someone holding a piece of paper in their face, unless they had someone else take the photo, but then why would that be necessary in this case?

Someone probably took the photo with his phone. The quality difference is obvious, the account is registered under a personal email that I can see, and the name is an obvious nod to Reddit. I’ll email him and ask for more pictures, I hope this will stop these accusations. 

[AlexMeister21]

3 hours ago, Melvin- Moderator said:

Someone probably took the photo with his phone. The quality difference is obvious, the account is registered under a personal email that I can see, and the name is an obvious nod to Reddit. I’ll email him and ask for more pictures, I hope this will stop these accusations. 

I don't get why someone would go through the extra effort of asking someone else to take a photo of them while they hold a piece of paper to cover their face if they could easily obscure their face by angling a selfie photo, unless this person doesn't know how to crop photos or doesn't know how to take a selfie. Googling the user's username, I see they posted a review on Realself on the same date that this topic was created. Then I saw other several other Realself reviews that were also topics posted on these forums, most of them all on the same date and some of them with exact verbatim.

 

Case #1:

 

 

Case #2:

 

 

Case #3:

 

 

 

Case #4:

 

 

Case #5:

 

At the very least, whether these are actual patient accounts or not, I think we can all agree that these reviews are clearly done for the purpose of promoting the clinic. It's subjective how you view those actions, but I find it manipulative.

Edited October 13, 2022 by AlexMeister21

[civic]

31 minutes ago, AlexMeister21 said:

I don't get why someone would go through the extra effort of asking someone else to take a photo of them while they hold a piece of paper to cover their face if they could easily obscure their face by angling a selfie photo, unless this person doesn't know how to crop photos or doesn't know how to take a selfie. Googling the user's username, I see they posted a review on Realself on the same date that this topic was created. Then I saw other several other Realself reviews that were also topics posted on these forums, most of them all on the same date and some of them with exact verbatim.

 

Case #1:

 

 

Case #2:

 

 

Case #3:

 

 

 

Case #4:

 

 

Case #5:

 

At the very least, whether these are actual patient accounts or not, I think we can all agree that these reviews are clearly done for the purpose of promoting the clinic. It's subjective how you view those actions, but I find it manipulative.

Isn't he booked like 7 month out? Which implies he has many clients, I think someome mentioned before that wait for ht with him is not quick, i am surprised he would do that ? 

[HappyMan2021]

2 minutes ago, civic said:

Isn't he booked like 7 month out? Which implies he has many clients, I think someome mentioned before that wait for ht with him is not quick, i am surprised he would do that ?

My guess on why he's so popular is he has a really good marketing team, and also he operates out of California. So there are many looks-obsessed guys out there, the market has a ton of money, and - just like anywhere in the world - most people are painfully naive about good vs bad HT doctors

[civic]

1 minute ago, HappyMan2021 said:

My guess on why he's so popular is he has a really good marketing team, and also he operates out of California. So there are many looks-obsessed guys out there, the market has a ton of money, and - just like anywhere in the world - most people are painfully naive about good vs bad HT doctors

I see.  Seems pepole have comcern if this person is actualy a patient of his. Which is why i brought up a point that he is a popular doc with long wait & thus i would be realy surprised if this review is not by actual patient.

[AlexMeister21]

47 minutes ago, civic said:

I see.  Seems pepole have comcern if this person is actualy a patient of his. Which is why i brought up a point that he is a popular doc with long wait & thus i would be realy surprised if this review is not by actual patient.

It very well could be the actual patient leaving a review. It's just strange how so many of these patients have the same patterns. Perhaps they were incentivized to do so. Interesting thing is we've seen some posts on here from people who have had good results from Diep, and they are obviously real, but all of those obviously real patients do not have the pattern of mainly posting clinic photos, posting on here and then leaving a review on Realself the same day, or ever, or writing very generic statements in regards to their experience.

Edited October 13, 2022 by AlexMeister21

[Melvin- Admin]

1 hour ago, AlexMeister21 said:

It very well could be the actual patient leaving a review. It's just strange how so many of these patients have the same patterns. Perhaps they were incentivized to do so. Interesting thing is we've seen some posts on here from people who have had good results from Diep, and they are obviously real, but all of those obviously real patients do not have the pattern of mainly posting clinic photos, posting on here and then leaving a review on Realself the same day, or ever, or writing very generic statements in regards to their experience.

They’re not incentivized to post, were you given any incentives? I certainly was not. At the end of Dr. Dieps email he asks for his patients to post a review on here, real self and yelp, but you don’t get anything for doing it. As I said, I’ve spoken to several posters who posted a review and left and thought they were helping the doctor out. 

[WS2020]

2 hours ago, AlexMeister21 said:

It very well could be the actual patient leaving a review. It's just strange how so many of these patients have the same patterns. Perhaps they were incentivized to do so. Interesting thing is we've seen some posts on here from people who have had good results from Diep, and they are obviously real, but all of those obviously real patients do not have the pattern of mainly posting clinic photos, posting on here and then leaving a review on Realself the same day, or ever, or writing very generic statements in regards to their experience.

I am a real Dr Diep patient and I get nothing from anyone or anywhere to post my experiences here.

Overall, I am satisfy with my HT result after almost two years from the date of the surgery. Is it perfect? Absolutely not. However, my wife likes it enough and asks me to go back to do more.

I know Dr. Diep does ask his patients to write good reviews on different websites if their results are good. However, it is all voluntary and it is up to us to do it or not. Frankly, all small business owners should do it and it is just a good marketing practice. Not sure why you are kind of offended by it.

[Nelly]

On 10/12/2022 at 2:06 PM, RTC said:

Same happens with Dr Mani Mittal, a UK doctor on these forums. Every single review he has is posted a year later and laced with superlatives throughout.

I am really disappointed to read this. I always knew of keyboard warriors but as above. Dr Mani has asked me if I would be happy to post on the forum. And so I did. As have many of his patients. I’m not sure why there is so much animosity towards good doctors who offer high quality service to their patients. Comments like this is what puts others off coming onto forums and posting in the first place. 

[Nelly]

5 minutes ago, Nelly said:

I am really disappointed to read this. I always knew of keyboard warriors but as above. Dr Mani has asked me if I would be happy to post on the forum. And so I did. As have many of his patients. I’m not sure why there is so much animosity towards good doctors who offer high quality service to their patients. Comments like this is what puts others off coming onto forums and posting in the first place. 

And as above I have not been incentivised, I’m just a happy patient and enjoy the fruits of having a fuller head of hair and the confidence it’s given me. 

[Melvin- Admin]

18 minutes ago, Nelly said:

I am really disappointed to read this. I always knew of keyboard warriors but as above. Dr Mani has asked me if I would be happy to post on the forum. And so I did. As have many of his patients. I’m not sure why there is so much animosity towards good doctors who offer high quality service to their patients. Comments like this is what puts others off coming onto forums and posting in the first place. 

I do not want you to be discouraged. I agree comments like these are not inviting. I would encourage you to post more, become involved. Post monthly updates, that would certainly shut anyone up. Becoming a part of the community is a wonderful thing and can help others out there. There’s nothing wrong with doctors asking their patients to post here. Giving them incentives is a different thing. I look forward to seeing you interact more.

[Gramatik]

We cant really judge the result with this bad quality and dark photo. If he is indeed a real patient he should upload pictures from months 1-12 or at least upload many photos with his current situation in exterior light, under the sun.

Edited October 13, 2022 by Gramatik

[RTC]

4 hours ago, Nelly said:

I am really disappointed to read this. I always knew of keyboard warriors but as above. Dr Mani has asked me if I would be happy to post on the forum. And so I did. As have many of his patients. I’m not sure why there is so much animosity towards good doctors who offer high quality service to their patients. Comments like this is what puts others off coming onto forums and posting in the first place. 

Until a doctor has organic reviews, with people actually posting their journeys, that raises suspicion for me