Should We Remove Dr. Diep?

[Melvin- Admin]

Dear Community, 

It has come to my attention that there have been some questionable cases and issues against Dr. Diep. Pat and I have been investigating this behind the scenes. I don't want to inject any of my opinions into this, I want the community to examine his full body of work, weighing the newer cases obviously with more weight and make a decision. Pat and I will respect whatever decision the community votes.

Reddits mod @Wallaby_Upstairs has made various allegations against me and Pat, which can be found here along with my response.

Here are some threads spanning back to 2014. I have not included posts with one before and after, or posts without updates, as those independent reviews hold little relevance in examining a surgeons portfolio.

 

 

 

 

 

[Pbaird98]

I think he should be removed as he clearly isn't performing to a decent level anymore, and doesn't appear to have been in the last couple of years in particular. 

[HappyMan2021]

I objectively believe it is in the best interests of future patients, the HRN website, and furthering the hair transplant industry at large, that Dr. Diep be removed from the recommended docs list. 

[Rmp]

It seems like he may have at one point been a solid surgeon, but by all available evidence seems to have declined in quality of work. Plus some of the anecdotes regarding his ethics and hiring practices are a little concerning.

Seems like it would be a good idea to put him at least on hiatus as a recommended surgeon. I don’t think it’s ethical on the websites part to appear to endorse a surgeon who’s a bit of a crapshoot - it’s hardly the first time a once reputable clinic has taken a turn like this (looking at you ASMED).

[E39]

I vote no. I had my procedure with Dr Diep back in 2015. I’m very happy with it and it looks just as good today as it did when it grew in fully. This forum is fair and transparent imo. I’m a member of other kinds of forums, and I’ve seen coverups (banning members, removing threads)  of behavior up to and including felonies. That doesn’t happen here. Ppl are allowed to say what they have to say. I have had other medical issues. My surgeon (not ht related) made a good point years ago. He said ppl who have had bad results, or believe so, stay on forums much longer and post more to hammer home their opinions. I don’t blame them and they certainly have every right to do so. This may help explain why not many members “defend” Dr Diep. Ppl with good results are more likely to happily move on with life and post less or check out the forums occasionally or not at all. 

[g8n2h9k3u7]

Well, you should keep in mind that the reputation of Dr. Diep is not the only thing on the line here. The reputation of HRN, or at least the reputation of its list of approved surgeons, is on the line as well. After all, if Diep remains on the list when he doesn't deserve to belong there, then the list loses all meaning.

Essentially: are you willing to risk sacrificing the reputation of HRN to save the reputation of Diep?

[FluffyPanda]

I voted yes. To me, the recommended list should be for those that provide consistently high-level quality HTs, especially with a list that would have many of us travel. I remember going through the list and considered him when I was first looking at a HT, but I've seen far too many cases from his with less-than-stellar quality and am happy I went elsewhere.  I remember being surprised back then he was on the list with how many questionable cases I saw. While I think everyone should do as much research as possible on finding a HT surgeon who is right for them, the recommended list needs an update if we constantly are pointing people to it as a starting point. Just my $0.02.

[Skyb]

Dr Diep has not only performed two of my procedures I have a final booked in March. I have referred 4 friends/co workers and they all praise him on their results. He has over 20 years of time on tissue and thousands of testimonies online. I trust he has the best intentions on his patients. I also believe some of the post on here are coming from competitors of other clinics. I Vote NO. 

Edited December 17, 2022 by Skyb

[asterix0]

It is difficult to say.

On the one hand, he can achieve good density because he uses a larger punch size. So if you are a lower Norwood and on meds, or have a low chance to lose everything based on your family history, chances are you can be more liberal with your graft reserves and get pretty good overall coverage.

I wanted to give him a fair chance and looked at almost all of his own, recent YouTube videos he posted on his channel. I can assume that these are some of the better results he's had, and therefor chosen to post them.

From what I can see, the density overall of his patients is pretty good. You will have some styling options to work with at the end of the day.

However, I do not like his hairline designs. Look at the videos yourself to see if you would be happy with such a hairline on your own head. For his male cases, they appear too often to be rounded, and pluggy at the front. It looks like he does not achieve this fine gradually shift from the singles to the more dense grafts behind the hairline. 

To me, Dr. Konior is the gold standard for natural looking hairlines.

Also, the lighting in his videos is not a good portrayal. The light is not direct to the hair, and is not overhead, which we all know is the true test of density. Even when I was balding, and badly, in certain lighting I could pass for much better hair, and I knew exactly what lighting conditions to avoid, and which to look for when I was taking pictures. 

We also do not get direct hairline exposure in some patients, so we don't really know how the result truly looks like.

Also, we do not get to see the donor area close up enough, and the image quality is not great.

Overall, my conclusion is I would only recommend Dr. Diep in the following scenarios:

1) For whatever reason (work/family) you are restricted to the California area and have enough disposable income that you dont mind his prices.

2) You can live with being limited to styling options after your surgery.

3) Your main concern is density, because chances are it will be pretty good.

If I was running the site, I would re-instate him back on the recommended list if he can fix his hairline decisions and if he figures out how to preserve yield while moving to a lower punch size.

 

Edited December 17, 2022 by asterix0

[baldlivesmatter]

I was tagged in the original post so i'll add my two cents.

First of all, attacking @Melvin- Moderatorpersonally was way out of line. I've been on this forum for many years (even before I had an official account) and I have always seen Melvin (f.k.a HTsoon) doing his best to help and support others--even before he was a mod. It's important to remember that Melvin is not some greedy, corporate fat cat shilling for Dr. Diep to make a few bucks. He's a husband, father, and most importantly a former NW6 who has been in the trenches fighting the Norwood reaper with us. We are all in a much better and more informed position because of Melvin's work on this forum. Regarding adding the word "repair" to my most recent thread, there is a long (and uninteresting) story regarding why the word "repair" wasn't added but it was ultimately my decision. Don't PM me about it, I won't respond.

Second, my Diep experience was a mixed bag. On one hand, I objectively got very good growth and coverage in the recipient area using a relatively small number of grafts for the area. I have been complimented on my hair many times in real life; it can look fantastic when styled correctly. On the other hand, objectively, he did a very bad job with my donor area. Anyone that I have shown my immediate post-op donor area picture to has recoiled in horror. The right side of my head is noticeably thinner four years after that transplant compared to the left side which was operated on a mere month ago. I reached out to the clinic shortly after my surgery and was told "it shock loss it grow back one year". Well, it did not in fact "grow back one year" and when I reached back out to the clinic they responded that Dr. Diep said that a hair transplant of 500 grafts could fix the area. No apology, no discount. Additionally, the recipient area had good growth, but the angles are not right--the transplanted hair is perpendicular to my scalp, whereas the native hair lies more parallel. I can style around this when my hair is longer, but at shorter lengths it is definitely exposed. Additionally, a lot of heavier/pluggier grafts were planted in the hairline--which lead to an unnatural look. I get no cosmetic surgery will be 100% natural, but for a $15k price tag and compared to other doctors in this price range this is unacceptable.

Ultimately, my recommendation would be to put Diep on some sort of probation where he's removed from the recommended list until he's demonstrated a revision in his practices. He's undeniably a very talented surgeon and with a few revisions I believe he could produce consistent home run results. Some of those revisions would include:

• Perform only one surgery per day: Hair transplants are extremely labor intensive. Performing one surgery per day allows for the doctor to fully focus on the patient rather than rushing two surgeries as well as their consultations and other commitments. This revision is IMO the most important and Dr. Diep's willingness to sacrifice money for better results would indicate he does in fact care about his patients' outcomes rather than just raking in more money. It's not like doing one $15k surgery per day will result in him being on food stamps.
• Don't put the patient completely unconscious during surgery: Other top clinics don't do this. The patient should be able to communicate with the doctor during the procedure.
• Don't deviate from generally accepted hair transplant practices without discussion with the patient beforehand. In my case this was extracting grafts from only one side of my donor, rather than homogenously. Stuff like this shouldn't be a surprise to the patient when they regain consciousness.
• Don't plant grafts in rows. It looks unnatural.
• Hire and retain experienced technicians. The technicians play a large role in the success or failure of a transplant. This is not an area to cut corners on.

 

[Pbaird98]

5 minutes ago, baldlivesmatter said:

I was tagged in the original post so i'll add my two cents.

First of all, attacking @Melvin- Moderatorpersonally was way out of line. I've been on this forum for many years (even before I had an official account) and I have always seen Melvin (f.k.a HTsoon) doing his best to help and support others--even before he was a mod. It's important to remember that Melvin is not some greedy, corporate fat cat shilling for Dr. Diep to make a few bucks. He's a husband, father, and most importantly a former NW6 who has been in the trenches fighting the Norwood reaper with us. We are all in a much better and more informed position because of Melvin's work on this forum. Regarding adding the word "repair" to my most recent thread, there is a long (and uninteresting) story regarding why the word "repair" wasn't added but it was ultimately my decision. Don't PM me about it, I won't respond.

Second, my Diep experience was a mixed bag. On one hand, I objectively got very good growth and coverage in the recipient area using a relatively small number of grafts for the area. I have been complimented on my hair many times in real life; it can look fantastic when styled correctly. On the other hand, objectively, he did a very bad job with my donor area. Anyone that I have shown my immediate post-op donor area picture to has recoiled in horror. The right side of my head is noticeably thinner four years after that transplant compared to the left side which was operated on a mere month ago. I reached out to the clinic shortly after my surgery and was told "it shock loss it grow back one year". Well, it did not in fact "grow back one year" and when I reached back out to the clinic they responded that Dr. Diep said that a hair transplant of 500 grafts could fix the area. No apology, no discount. Additionally, the recipient area had good growth, but the angles are not right--the transplanted hair is perpendicular to my scalp, whereas the native hair lies more parallel. I can style around this when my hair is longer, but at shorter lengths it is definitely exposed. Additionally, a lot of heavier/pluggier grafts were planted in the hairline--which lead to an unnatural look. I get no cosmetic surgery will be 100% natural, but for a $15k price tag and compared to other doctors in this price range this is unacceptable.

Ultimately, my recommendation would be to put Diep on some sort of probation where he's removed from the recommended list until he's demonstrated a revision in his practices. He's undeniably a very talented surgeon and with a few revisions I believe he could produce consistent home run results. Some of those revisions would include:

• Perform only one surgery per day: Hair transplants are extremely labor intensive. Performing one surgery per day allows for the doctor to fully focus on the patient rather than rushing two surgeries as well as their consultations and other commitments. This revision is IMO the most important and Dr. Diep's willingness to sacrifice money for better results would indicate he does in fact care about his patients' outcomes rather than just raking in more money. It's not like doing one $15k surgery per day will result in him being on food stamps.
• Don't put the patient completely unconscious during surgery: Other top clinics don't do this. The patient should be able to communicate with the doctor during the procedure.
• Don't deviate from generally accepted hair transplant practices without discussion with the patient beforehand. In my case this was extracting grafts from only one side of my donor, rather than homogenously. Stuff like this shouldn't be a surprise to the patient when they regain consciousness.
• Don't plant grafts in rows. It looks unnatural.
• Hire and retain experienced technicians. The technicians play a large role in the success or failure of a transplant. This is not an area to cut corners on.

 

Excellent, well thought and very well balanced view, really puts things into perspective.. 

[ray35]

Pretty stand up process with this thread. I was reading that previous thread thinking a soultion could be the same as adding a surgeon  same process in the removal, good move. I'll need to do more of a dive on this to vote. My inclination would be to vote yes because of the obvious but since I've been around I(not long) 've not seen Diep mentioned much except these recent concerning issues, itll be curious to see what folks who have had soild results might say. But gotta say well handled. 

[mister_25]

I believe that Dr Diep, has put money first over craft. His recent results have been below what the community finds acceptable and his ethics and care in question. He is in no way close to other surgeons/clinics who hone their craft to a high level and provide the best care along with having the ethics that are required by the community. There are too many behaviours, practices and occurrences that we all condemn that are found in Diep.

[BDK081522]

I voted emphatically yes. His practice has been putting out some of the most egregious results of any clinic on this forum for the last 4 years. Donors have been destroyed by larger than needed punches, one sided harvesting, linear line FUE scarring, and lastly some of the worst FUT scars that have ever been produced. His implantation technique leaves chunky grafts placed in cornrows, angles that are too perpendicular to the skin, and very odd temple closures that sometimes show low yield. I have personally experienced many of these shortcomings after receiving a 2024 graft FUE from him in 2017. I was still very naive in my understanding of hair restoration at the time of my choosing him as my surgeon. Like many others I saw his YouTube videos and a few results here that looked dense. I had no appreciation of donor management or naturalness of the hairline. I can honestly say I made a mistake by choosing him. I flew across the country, paid a ton of money, only to have an experience of never remembering him doing any work on me, a mangled donor where absolutely no planning was done, and a recipient area that had bad angles and chunky grafts. These are all technique and surgical related issues. I think what is even worse is his recent lack of ethics that have been demonstrated on a few occasions here. The latest of which is doing a terrible FUE/FUT combo case on a 21 year old with slight recession leaving him with a horrible FUT scar for only 550 grafts. Just why would this ever be suggested in 2022 with how good FUE has become. His whole practice seems like it is driven by revenue rather than patient satisfaction. From the front office to the young inexperienced techs that seem to do the bulk of the heavy lifting. Everything should be questioned at this point. He does not meet the standards of what this highly regarded forum represents and as such, in my opinion, should be removed from the recommended list. 

[HairRun]

Although I am confused by Dr Diep being on the list, Melvin been great for me. He hooked me up with a free consultation with Dr Mwamba, and offered to speak to Dr Diep directly about my issues getting my medical pictures. I also I must apologize to @baldlivesmatter , Melvin was being nice when he said the community pressured him, it wasn't the community it was just me. I think I put my own biases upon him and I didn't realize what I was doing until Melvin pointed it out. 

I didn't read the entire drama and can't comment on it, all I can do is speak from my own experiences, and as a person who had a procedure with Dr Diep in 2010, there were many things that did not seem right about him. 

I voted yes. You can read my post history for more details. But a quick summary off the top of my head, 

-He played grafts lower than what we agreed upon at the end. 

-The yield, angles, placement, and graft selection was not good. He took grafts too high 

-I don't know what the final yield was, but I wouldn't be surprised if it was like 300-400 out of the 1360 grafts implanted. This is judging from the 200 that was removed from my corners. The rest were implanted into the middle but I never noticed an increase in density there. 

-Like many other people, my scar is too wide. 

-Dr Diep's technique was criticized by most of the doctors on the official list, including live in instagram with Dr Mwamba. One doctor who is elite coalition status had been troubled by Dr Diep for quite some time, had much to say about him, seemed to had repaired a number of his patients, and is very concerned about his associations with certain organizations. I would be happy to provide his name to @Melvin- Moderator if he would like to reach out. 

-About 200 of my grafts had to be removed and placed behind further back. 

-I believe he used a tool that had multiple points on it to create several incisions sites at one time. At the time I thought it was neat time efficient technique. Now I know this is not normal . 

-I've been trying to get my pictures from him for over a year so I know exactly where grafts were planted, so my future hair transplants can be planned out. They stopped responding to my follow ups. Dr Gabel said that this was illegal. 

-Morning of my procedure he presented me with a new contract. He said that if my strip resulted in more grafts than agreed upon, I can pay to have those implanted. I thought this meant he would throw them away if I didn't pay for them. Ended up with 360 extra grafts, and also grafts lower than I wanted. I wonder if he did that on purpose. I had to have grafts removed from that area. 

-The techs did seem inexperienced. They looked very young. Morning of my procedure when they were washing my hair I passed out because the angle at which they placed my head caused me to lose circulation to my head. 

-The anesthesia step was not anywhere as detailed as at Dr Shapiro. With Dr Diep, my head was numb for about a year post op, which is normal, but with Dr Shapiro, 3.5 months out and I have regained 90-95% percent of the feeling. 

 

 

 

 

[WhereIsMyMind]

2 hours ago, E39 said:

I vote no. I had my procedure with Dr Diep back in 2015. I’m very happy with it and it looks just as good today as it did when it grew in fully. This forum is fair and transparent imo. I’m a member of other kinds of forums, and I’ve seen coverups (banning members, removing threads)  of behavior up to and including felonies. That doesn’t happen here. Ppl are allowed to say what they have to say. I have had other medical issues. My surgeon (not ht related) made a good point years ago. He said ppl who have had bad results, or believe so, stay on forums much longer and post more to hammer home their opinions. I don’t blame them and they certainly have every right to do so. This may help explain why not many members “defend” Dr Diep. Ppl with good results are more likely to happily move on with life and post less or check out the forums occasionally or not at all. 

A n=1 sample isn't ever a valid justification for anything.

We have enough sample proving that he is not trustable enough to commit to him. No one wants to play russian roulette with their one-in-a-lifetime proccedure.

[Melvin- Admin]

3 hours ago, baldlivesmatter said:

I was tagged in the original post so i'll add my two cents.

First of all, attacking @Melvin- Moderatorpersonally was way out of line. I've been on this forum for many years (even before I had an official account) and I have always seen Melvin (f.k.a HTsoon) doing his best to help and support others--even before he was a mod. It's important to remember that Melvin is not some greedy, corporate fat cat shilling for Dr. Diep to make a few bucks. He's a husband, father, and most importantly a former NW6 who has been in the trenches fighting the Norwood reaper with us. We are all in a much better and more informed position because of Melvin's work on this forum. Regarding adding the word "repair" to my most recent thread, there is a long (and uninteresting) story regarding why the word "repair" wasn't added but it was ultimately my decision. Don't PM me about it, I won't respond.

Second, my Diep experience was a mixed bag. On one hand, I objectively got very good growth and coverage in the recipient area using a relatively small number of grafts for the area. I have been complimented on my hair many times in real life; it can look fantastic when styled correctly. On the other hand, objectively, he did a very bad job with my donor area. Anyone that I have shown my immediate post-op donor area picture to has recoiled in horror. The right side of my head is noticeably thinner four years after that transplant compared to the left side which was operated on a mere month ago. I reached out to the clinic shortly after my surgery and was told "it shock loss it grow back one year". Well, it did not in fact "grow back one year" and when I reached back out to the clinic they responded that Dr. Diep said that a hair transplant of 500 grafts could fix the area. No apology, no discount. Additionally, the recipient area had good growth, but the angles are not right--the transplanted hair is perpendicular to my scalp, whereas the native hair lies more parallel. I can style around this when my hair is longer, but at shorter lengths it is definitely exposed. Additionally, a lot of heavier/pluggier grafts were planted in the hairline--which lead to an unnatural look. I get no cosmetic surgery will be 100% natural, but for a $15k price tag and compared to other doctors in this price range this is unacceptable.

Ultimately, my recommendation would be to put Diep on some sort of probation where he's removed from the recommended list until he's demonstrated a revision in his practices. He's undeniably a very talented surgeon and with a few revisions I believe he could produce consistent home run results. Some of those revisions would include:

• Perform only one surgery per day: Hair transplants are extremely labor intensive. Performing one surgery per day allows for the doctor to fully focus on the patient rather than rushing two surgeries as well as their consultations and other commitments. This revision is IMO the most important and Dr. Diep's willingness to sacrifice money for better results would indicate he does in fact care about his patients' outcomes rather than just raking in more money. It's not like doing one $15k surgery per day will result in him being on food stamps.
• Don't put the patient completely unconscious during surgery: Other top clinics don't do this. The patient should be able to communicate with the doctor during the procedure.
• Don't deviate from generally accepted hair transplant practices without discussion with the patient beforehand. In my case this was extracting grafts from only one side of my donor, rather than homogenously. Stuff like this shouldn't be a surprise to the patient when they regain consciousness.
• Don't plant grafts in rows. It looks unnatural.
• Hire and retain experienced technicians. The technicians play a large role in the success or failure of a transplant. This is not an area to cut corners on.

 

Thank you so much for this fair and balanced post, from an actual patient 🙏

[Fue3361]

3 hours ago, baldlivesmatter said:

 

• Perform only one surgery per day: Hair transplants are extremely labor intensive. Performing one surgery per day allows for the doctor to fully focus on the patient rather than rushing two surgeries as well as their consultations and other commitments. This revision is IMO the most important and Dr. Diep's willingness to sacrifice money for better results would indicate he does in fact care about his patients' outcomes rather than just raking in more money. It's not like doing one $15k surgery per day will result in him being on food stamps.
• Don't put the patient completely unconscious during surgery: Other top clinics don't do this. The patient should be able to communicate with the doctor during the procedure.
• Don't deviate from generally accepted hair transplant practices without discussion with the patient beforehand. In my case this was extracting grafts from only one side of my donor, rather than homogenously. Stuff like this shouldn't be a surprise to the patient when they regain consciousness.
• Don't plant grafts in rows. It looks unnatural.
• Hire and retain experienced technicians. The technicians play a large role in the success or failure of a transplant. This is not an area to cut corners on.

 

Agree with this list except the not putting patient to sleep.  My surgeon (Dr. Thiago Bianco Leal) also puts patients to sleep for the entire procedure, and I think this should be the gold standard personally.  Zero stress from having to wait ridiculous hours for surgery to end, you just sit down, then wake up.  Can’t see good reasoning for this not to be done more often, it makes a big difference in quality of life for patient.

Although I will add, I had an anesthesiologist monitoring me the entire time if surgery, and this should also always the case when dealing with being under anesthesia.  

 

 

[TorontoMan]

I don’t wish to vote because I don’t have enough background on it. But did want to say that is a bit crazy that I’ve seen some spectacular results from him over the years, and yet, some of the weirder donor area results I’ve seen have come from him too. 
 

it sounds like he’s a good surgeon who needs to tidy up his business, perhaps hire better. In his YouTube video he seems to care for his patients and a lot of them seem satisfied and grateful. Tough one because he’s knocked some hts out of the park, but it appears something isn’t consistent 

[A Fue Good Men]

6 hours ago, E39 said:

I vote no. I had my procedure with Dr Diep back in 2015. I’m very happy with it and it looks just as good today as it did when it grew in fully. This forum is fair and transparent imo. I’m a member of other kinds of forums, and I’ve seen coverups (banning members, removing threads)  of behavior up to and including felonies. That doesn’t happen here. Ppl are allowed to say what they have to say. I have had other medical issues. My surgeon (not ht related) made a good point years ago. He said ppl who have had bad results, or believe so, stay on forums much longer and post more to hammer home their opinions. I don’t blame them and they certainly have every right to do so. This may help explain why not many members “defend” Dr Diep. Ppl with good results are more likely to happily move on with life and post less or check out the forums occasionally or not at all. 

Let’s ask you this….with all these cases posted, would you go to diep NOW for another procedure?

[HairEnthusiast101]

Anyone else on the recommended we disagree with? I saw some people saying two surgeons

Edited December 17, 2022 by JoDimaggio22

[hotrod999]

2 hours ago, Fue3361 said:

Agree with this list except the not putting patient to sleep.  My surgeon (Dr. Thiago Bianco Leal) also puts patients to sleep for the entire procedure, and I think this should be the gold standard personally.  Zero stress from having to wait ridiculous hours for surgery to end, you just sit down, then wake up.  Can’t see good reasoning for this not to be done more often, it makes a big difference in quality of life for patient.

Although I will add, I had an anesthesiologist monitoring me the entire time if surgery, and this should also always the case when dealing with being under anesthesia.  

 

 

I don’t think general anesthesia being the “golden standard” would be a good thing for the hair transplant industry. It poses unnecessary risk to the patient & would certainly increase the cost greatly (specifically in the US). Perhaps an option for someone who wants it, but gold standard.. I don’t see that ever happening. Imagine hair mills using this if it was the golden standard, that’s a scary thought. 

[Gatsby]

I believe that as a community we have a duty of care to provide sufferers of hair loss with the best education and protection that we can provide against poor surgical ethics and practices that operate and proliferate in this industry . Seeing the recent case on this forum of a 20 year old being operated on in a totally unacceptable and unethical manner, I would like to raise the bar and have the surgeon in question removed. I would also to like to hear this surgeon’s response to our concerns. 

[Matt3210]

Greedy and unethical doctors should be removed forever. They have a lot of human harm on their conscience and they are just bad peoples.

Some people suggest that the bad doctor should try to be good for a while, then he'll come back and everything will be ok?

[AlexMeister21]

Being a two-time Diep patient, spending around 24k in total only to have a huge FUT scar, poor angling of grafts, poor density and graft implementation, and needing to spend another 10k+ to repair my work done by Diep, I believe he should definitely be removed from the recommended list.

Just came across the case of Dr. Diep operating on a 20-year-old, and that is unacceptable, especially given the result. Same problems with unprofessional techs, poor density and implementation, and a wide FUT scar. For a doctor to operate on a patient that young tells me they're only in it for the money.