DR RAHAL - AS GOOD AS HE SEEMS?

[do comb in]

Hi

 

I am new. I can only find 'good things' about Dr Rahal. Any body know different?

[lost my swagger]

look long enough you will find both good and bad about every single "top" doc out there... but the dr your asking about is highly rearded on here.

 

 

people like to throw this line out alot when a top doc has a poor result..."nobody bats a thousand"... and just like that 'dr x' is off the hook and we all forgive and move on, and wait for more cherry picked results that we use to convince ourselves this procedure is a great idea for us. but only as long as he is a dr we all like.. its a cute process, really

[Mr. GQ]

if anybody belongs in the upper echelon or the "medal spot" for the most consistent and best looking HT, that would be Rahal no question in my mind.

as a matter effect i'd put him on the gold medal podium if it was up to me. the only minus or negative thing that i can point to his clinic is that he is not "incorporating" FUE. FUE adoption to his clinic without a doubt would make him KING in many peoples eyes. i'm not just saying that because i'm Canadian but because i used my eyes and spent lots of countless hours researching.

 

my 2 cents.

[Bill - Seemiller]

Swagger,

 

You're getting more and more skeptical of hair transplants and what they can accomplish for people as time goes on.

 

Nobody is writing off the possible risks that go along with surgery, but you appear to be writing off the benefits altogether.

 

Many have had their lives changed for the better with today's hair transplants and I'm one of them. Every doctor has cases with less than optimal growth or other problems.

 

As I've said a hundred times - hair transplants are not about perfection, it's about informed consent and risk management.

 

Do Comb In,

 

Dr. Rahal has a stellar reputation and has proven to do excellent work. Like any surgical procedure, there are risks that go along with hair transplants. So be sure to do your research on the procedure to learn about the benefits, limitations and risks of the procedure.

 

Best wishes,

 

Bill

[Cant decide]

LMS - With all due respect, you really bum me out. While you do provide some sound advice in your posts, it seems like you are so down on the whole thing. Please don't lecture about realistic expectations and cherry picked results, I know all that. Just wondering what your story is that you are so negative on it.

 

Every time I am feeling good about things and ready to take a step forward, I read one of your posts and its two steps back. This obviously means I am not ready so that's my own problem but I have to tell you, you really get me down....

[aska]

Honestly, i don't know what LMS is doing on a hair transplant forum. All he can do is say that it's dangerous, it may go the wrong way, doctors can't be trusted. Come on man, if you don't like any doctor, and you think it may be all the time the wrong way what you want doctors to do???

To just post bad results?. There are plenity of web blogs on this site showing both, good and bad results. I really don't get your mind LMS.

 

As for Rahal, i can tell. He's as good as it can be.

[SpaceBetween]

LMS - I have to agree with the other posters. I mean you pop up on almost every post and have something negative to say, and I've seen you on other forums too.

 

It's great that you are trying to warn people of the risks and all, but if you are this against HT, why do you waste your time being on the forums so much?

[kaounis]

Sorry guys, but I have to agree with LMS...Being the recipient of 2 HT myself,(happy with the results so far), I have to admit that it is not an exact science, and I think we all know that..Hair loss forums, like this one, need posters like LMS to help other un-informed newbies in making the right decision. To many young guys get bam boozled, from seeing "great" results on the net, but they don't realise that pictures can be deceiving, (along with some un-ethical clinics). Posters like LMS, help balance the scale....I'm not saying that HT's are "bad" or they don't "work", but they are deffinatly not for everyone!...Back to Dr. Rahal. I have met him and talked with him, I have seen some of his patient's, ( without Dr. R knowing about it), and I have to say he is quite a great person, ethical, passionate, and very professional...But if your in this buisiness long enough, you are bound to have some un-happy patient's...That's life...Sometimes it's because patients have high expectations, healing, or the Dr. just had a bad day...IT'S NOT AN EXACT SCIENCE....

 

Just a thought from the peanut gallery...

[SpaceBetween]

very good points, kaounis

[Ron J]

Originally posted by lost my swagger:

look long enough you will find both good and bad about every single "top" doc out there...

 

 

people like to throw this line out alot when a top doc has a poor result..."nobody bats a thousand"... and just like that 'dr x' is off the hook and we all forgive and move on, and wait for more cherry picked results that we use to convince ourselves this procedure is a great idea for us. but only as long as he is a dr we all like.. its a cute process, really

 

I agree w/some of what you say, but strongly disagree w/your reasoning and the general conclusion you reach. It's true, the false analogy "nobody bats a 1,000" is a vacuous platitude IF ---this is a big if--- someone is left w/an atrocious result. When people treat a surgeon as though he merely missed a ball, that was for all intensive purposes intended to go past him by the thrower, I believe they do the SKILLED surgeons in the ht field an injustice, all the while the patient is left w/a monstrosity on his head. If a patient is truly left looking worse than he was pre-op and depleted of precious finite donor hair, than IMO that's tantamount to Barry Bonds waiting for the ball to be caught swiftly in the catchers mitt, then taking his bat over his head and cracking the umpires skull open w/it.

 

It is also true that "results will 100% vary"; how could they not, when we each have singularly unique hair w/which the dr. is working (?). It would be tantamount to allowing Picasso to paint the portraits of three women: one modest, one OBESE pig, and one gorgeous and sumptuous as sin. Wouldn't the three portraits "vary" although they were painted by one and the same master of the arts? Where you seem to go astray w/your reasoning (and which consequently I believe is precisely why people are complaining that your "so negative" on every thread) is that you conclude that the "not bat 1,000" results FROM *excellent* surgeons is somehow not an improvement from their previous state -AND- that these same dr.'s "cherry pick" the results to show. If you do enough research on here you will find that there are a select number of dr.'s who have NEVER left a patient looking worse off than when he came to them -AND- have always gotten what appeared to be a significantly high yield. You'll also find posters who used the forum long before their ht, then went balls out showing monthly updates. In such instances, it's clear there's no cherry picking going on.

[Mane Attraction]

Originally posted by Mr. GQ:

...the only minus or negative thing that i can point to his clinic is that he is not "incorporating" FUE. FUE adoption to his clinic without a doubt would make him KING in many peoples eyes. i'm not just saying that because i'm Canadian but because i used my eyes and spent lots of countless hours researching.

 

my 2 cents.

 

Actually, Dr. Rahal does do FUE. I was surprised to see this mentioned in his promotional booklets, as I was also under the impression that he only did strip surgery. So I decided to inquire about it. He mentioned that he only does FUE for smaller cases. I'm not sure how many grafts exactly, but I'm guessing 1500 or less.

[hairthere]

rahal used to do fue then he stopped. not sure if he has resumed it.

[Mr. GQ]

Actually, Dr. Rahal does do FUE. I was surprised to see this mentioned in his promotional booklets, as I was also under the impression that he only did strip surgery. So I decided to inquire about it. He mentioned that he only does FUE for smaller cases. I'm not sure how many grafts exactly, but I'm guessing 1500 or less.

AND

hairthere:

rahal used to do fue then he stopped. not sure if he has resumed it.

 

this is all news to me and i'm really baffeled by all this situation

when did he start to offer fue and are there any documented cases?

if he stopped offering fue i wanna know why he stopped.

so anybody with any more info on this please chime in.

 

Bill do you know anything about it?????

[Speegs]

His customer service certainly needs an upgrade, i applied for an on-line consultation over a week ago and didn't get one after being told to email questions and pictures. I called the clinic and left a message and haven't been called back or emailed so I've pretty much lost interest.

[Eman]

Speegs- sometimes emails may go to their spam account or maybe it didn't go through.

 

Not sure why there hasn't been a return call. They are probably super busy, not that that is an excuse. Maybe try calling again (if there is still any interest); that is what I would do if I was really interested in speaking with Dr. Rahal.

[Rahal Hair Transplant]

Speegs,

 

Sorry we haven't been in touch. For some reason I did not receive your messages??

 

Please email your details and photos directly to my email address: adrian@rahalhairtransplant.com and I would be happy to get Dr. Rahal's recommendations for your case.

 

I'm also available toll free at 1-877-712-4247. I always try to return any phone messages the same day, so if I'm not available, please leave your details and I will call you back promptly.

 

Have a good weekend!!

[Drew35]

Originally posted by Ron J:

I agree w/some of what you say, but strongly disagree w/your reasoning and the general conclusion you reach. It's true, the false analogy "nobody bats a 1,000" is a vacuous platitude IF ---this is a big if--- someone is left w/an atrocious result. When people treat a surgeon as though he merely missed a ball, that was for all intensive purposes intended to go past him by the thrower, I believe they do the SKILLED surgeons in the ht field an injustice, all the while the patient is left w/a monstrosity on his head. If a patient is truly left looking worse than he was pre-op and depleted of precious finite donor hair, than IMO that's tantamount to Barry Bonds waiting for the ball to be caught swiftly in the catchers mitt, then taking his bat over his head and cracking the umpires skull open w/it.

 

It is also true that "results will 100% vary"; how could they not, when we each have singularly unique hair w/which the dr. is working (?). It would be tantamount to allowing Picasso to paint the portraits of three women: one modest, one OBESE pig, and one gorgeous and sumptuous as sin. Wouldn't the three portraits "vary" although they were painted by one and the same master of the arts? Where you seem to go astray w/your reasoning (and which consequently I believe is precisely why people are complaining that your "so negative" on every thread) is that you conclude that the "not bat 1,000" results FROM *excellent* surgeons is somehow not an improvement from their previous state -AND- that these same dr.'s "cherry pick" the results to show. If you do enough research on here you will find that there are a select number of dr.'s who have NEVER left a patient looking worse off than when he came to them -AND- have always gotten what appeared to be a significantly high yield. You'll also find posters who used the forum long before their ht, then went balls out showing monthly updates. In such instances, it's clear there's no cherry picking going on.

 

 

 

Great post Ron!

 

I enjoy reading them.

 

Thanks!

[lost my swagger]

(and which consequently I believe is precisely why people are complaining that your "so negative" on every thread) is that you conclude that the "not bat 1,000" results FROM *excellent* surgeons is somehow not an improvement from their previous state -AND- that these same dr.'s "cherry pick" the results to show. If you do enough research on here you will find that there are a select number of dr.'s who have NEVER left a patient looking worse off than when he came to them -AND- have always gotten what appeared to be a significantly high yield.

 

 

Ron, i understand what you are saying but let me just say a few things..

 

pick a dr and i can show you patients who were left worse off, i can show you an unhappy patient.. trust me ive done PLENTY of research..the difference is a dr like rahal, feller, hasson, wong, have these mishaps far, far less often..this is why they are "recommended", and probably rightfully so

 

now ron, you point out that there are patients who document there own cases for us and clearly there is no cherry picking in those cases.. i fully agree with you.. but apparently we see different things in that section....

 

i see a HUGE difference in the two sections of this forum in which drs post results and the one in which patients post....

 

to me its almost like one (DRs) is doing their best to create this fantasy land by picking best case scenario and IDEAL cases, taking shots in IDEAL settings and then saying "hey, look what i can do for you"..... there is OBV cherry picking and selling going on in the 'dr results forum' but of course there would be thats its purpose.to HIGHLIGHT the DR..

 

now when i take a look at the patients results section, i see a much more(athough still watered down) REAL representation of hair transplants.. you will find the select group YOU are speaking of that got a very nice result, but you will also see that some results are not so great, you will see shots that a guy took in his car with the sun roof opened showing a more accurate idea of what MANY transplants ACTUALLY look like in everyday situations... you hear from un happy patients time to time.....

 

with that being said, i think both sections serve a purpose, but personally i tend to pay more attention to the patient section..

 

ron ive looked at just about every posted result in both sections for 3 years now, as well as listened to what the patients themselves had to say about their experience, i doubt that MORE in depth research by my part would change my perspective, sadly, im not sure Bill spends as much time on these forums as i do.....

 

and again, much of what i say goes back to my belief that people are viewing this forum all the time who know NOTHING of transplants but are looking into them... i truly hope these people stick around long enough to read the patient section heavily, rather than quickly being sold on what the drs try to pitch on a daily basis

[SpaceBetween]

Swagger - Do you plan to get another HT?

[kaounis]

I don't know if LMS is "planning" on getting another HT or not....What I do know is that sometimes you "have" to get a 2nd or 3rd HT to "fix",refine or touch up the first...Like I said in another post, it's like seeding a lawn...It grows in patchy and thin...but eventually it does fill in...but even then, there will be some "bald", "thin" patches which will require "re-seeding"....

 

Just a thought from the peanut gallery....

[TheEmperor]

Originally posted by aska:

Honestly, i don't know what LMS is doing on a hair transplant forum.

 

He probably is bald/balding and doesnt have the money for a HT, so he hangs out here, stirs the pot as much as he can get away with. That is his only way to be involved.

[kaounis]

That's not nice Emperor...We all have our demons..Besides, this is a "public" forum, as long as we refrain from "slander" or defamation without proof, anyone has the right to say what they want!!You don't have like or beleive what LMS has to say, but you do have to respect him, along with all the other posters...

 

Just a thought from the peanut gallery

[lost my swagger]

Originally posted by SpaceBetween:

Swagger - Do you plan to get another HT?

 

space-- kaounis, pretty much hit it on the head a couple posts back... i feel as though the decision to get future procedures was already made for me the second i jumped into my first, uninformed, transplant.. right now im relying heavily on meds to hold my native hair..on top of that my grafted hairline is very low density and requires particular styling and well placed dermmatch to look ok... i do not want to be using dermmath my entire life but using more grafts up front to fix this, will mean less for the rest of my head.. right now im just hoping i can benefit from something like PRP, or something better comes along.. im 25. ten years from now ive no idea how my loss will progress. but as it does i WILL be left with a VERY VERY unnatural, and thin few thousand hairs up front. and have FEW options... shave and reveal a nasty scar and mild (but noticable) pitting/scarring up front,,, or i try to tap out whatever grafts i have left and get as much coverage as possible, all while praying i dont go full blown NW7, all while continuing to be a slave to my hairloss and meds

 

the emp-- i dont know you, one thing i do know is ive never gone out of my way to say anything hurtful to you..

[kaounis]

Hairloss is never fun...but obviously, the younger you are the harder it is...I'm not gonna sit here and tell you things like, concentrate on girls, working out, enjoying life, etc...Because you have probably already heard all that stuff LMS...What I will tell you is not to rush into anymore HT anytime soon...I think this whole HT buisiness has affected your perseption and your self image. Back away for a while and look at things from the "outside" in...I bet you will realise it's not as bad as you thought!.......WE ARE OUR OWN WORST ENEMY...

 

 

Just a thought from the peanut gallery...

[lost my swagger]

thanks kao-- im not doing anything surgically anytime soon.. im fortunate to have the options i have. guys like john36 are who we should feel for.. i dont hate my life, and while i know tuff unknown decisions await me im quite far from destroyed about it.. just trying to give an accurate description of my situaton, i hope im not comming off like to much of a 'victim' because im not a 'poor me' kinda guy, it is what it is, and everybody here has to deal with s*** in their lives.