2000 FUE Grafts with Dr. Vories Mount Pleasant, SC 9 February 2022

[Balding Bad]

Wow, surprised to see OP is happy with his results with the caveat that his hairline is covered with his curls. No offense OP, but I would be livid if this was the final results for me...

[Clark]

Thanks for all the honest feedback and support! 

A little over 18 month update. I still need to see a dermatologist for the skin issues, this will be an out of pocket cost and I have been putting this off. 

Just to clarify, I'm happy with the density (I had a lot of hair before) and when my hair is curly in its natural state. However, when its slicked back and my hairline is exposed I'm not happy.

 

Styled:

 

 

 

 

Various Angles slicked back WET:

 

 

Dry slicked back:

 

Dry slicked back bad lower lighting: 

 

 

 

 

[Clark]

@harryforreal @stephcurry30 @A_4_Archan @Chrisno @AndrocXII

[Gatsby]

You have a massive head of curls. The problem is that doubles have been placed in the hairline. This can be fixed or with your hair curled forward it can't be seen.

[AndrocXII]

Thank you for posting additional, current photos @Clark. Overall, I think the growth looks good, a little more variation in the hairline may have looked better and more natural, but Im not sure I would think twice about it if I didn't already know you had a HT. I would say the same thing about the doubles in the hairline as well. Your right side seems to have singles, no folliculitis issues and good density. Your left side, as you've noted didnt seem to fare as well. I also see what everyone is saying about the double grafts in the front. If the goal was just to put hair where there wasn't hair before, then this would be considered a success. I feel the goal of these procedures should be more than just that singular outcome, especially with the price we are paying. The goal should be hair restoration; to restore the hair and hairline to its more natural state before recession/loss. Growth and naturalness are the two intrinsic goals of this procedure, one of which was not met in the opinion of most responders to this post. As others have noted, the fix is straightforward; however, the fact that a fix could be considered by some as necessary is a huge issue - especially for a Dr. on the recommended list. Thanks you for sharing your procedure and journey!   

[harryforreal]

13 hours ago, Clark said:

"I still need to see a dermatologist for the skin issues, this will be an out of pocket cost and I have been putting this off."

 V-Beam laser treatment for the redness will get rid of the redness completely after several treatments.  For bumpy skin texture consider micro-needling, possibly Genius Radio Frequency micro-needling, but first give regular micro-needling a try.  Both procedures should only be done under the care of a medical doctor specializing in such procedures.

In Charleston for V-Beam laser I recommend Dermatologist Dr. Todd Schlesinger:  https://dermandlaser.com/providers/todd-schlesinger/

In Charleston for micro-needling and Genius RF, I recommend Dr. Christy Cone: https://www.aesthetispa.com

I realize you don't live in Charleston, but I'm simply providing these doctors as a point of reference where you can learn about the procedures through their websites.

 

13 hours ago, Clark said:

"Just to clarify, I'm happy with the density (I had a lot of hair before) and when my hair is curly in its natural state. However, when its slicked back and my hairline is exposed I'm not happy."

Yeah, I don't understand how/why so many double grafts are in the hairline.  If intentional, I don't understand the aesthetic approach.  If accidental, I don't understand why or how.

Dr. Cooley once told me in a repair consultation for doubles and triples in the hair line that 1) he makes slits along the hairline and 2) then afterwards places the grafts into the slit.  I then asked him how could he be sure that a graft wasn't a 2 or 3 hair graft accidentally going into a sing graft slot, and he responded that multi-hair grafts don't normally fit into a single graft slit (that's in addition to using a microscope to separate single, double, and triple hair grafts).

When I look at all the folliculitis and redness and such of your skin, I have to wonder if in the case of Dr. Vories if the technician put the wrong size graft into the wrong size implanter pen - basically forcing a multi-hair graft into a single-hair graft slot created by the implanter pen - as if the skin were negatively reacting to this inappropriately sized graft forcefully shoved into the skin rather than placed gently in based on the size of the graft.  But I'm no medical expert; I'm just trying to figure out why this seems to be an issue even after years of Dr. Vories being in practice.

 

 

[stephcurry30]

20 hours ago, Clark said:

@harryforreal @stephcurry30 @A_4_Archan @Chrisno @AndrocXII

I would be very cautious and have some serious questions about the damage done to the scalp. Not sure why the red is so irritated and would get a second option. Thie doctor did a poor job with placing multi hair grafts at the hairline. 

 

@Melvin- Moderator any update or statement from the clinic?

[Clark]

Thanks everyone for your comments  and for spreading awareness. I’m in contact with Dr. Vories now. Hopefully  we can come to a resolution. 

[stephcurry30]

10 hours ago, Clark said:

Thanks everyone for your comments  and for spreading awareness. I’m in contact with Dr. Vories now. Hopefully  we can come to a resolution. 

Anything short of a full refund would not be acceptable. Stand your ground OP. This is AWFUL WORK. 

[Melvin- Admin]

Dear Community,

I can appreciate the concern, and I share the same concerns. I have been in contact with the clinic, and Dr. Vories agrees this work isn’t reflective of his skill. I have asked the surgeon to post a reply in this thread. He is working with the patient to reach a resolution, he’s standing by the patient and offering full support.

[Michael Vories, MD]

Although it is not typical for our results, this is not the first time we have received feedback about inadvertent multiple hair grafts in the hairline. For this reason at the beginning of this year we changed our procedure that for all hairline cases we separate out 300 of the finer single hair grafts to go into the anterior hairline. Of course for all patients previous to this who have noticed multiple hair grafts in the hairline we offer to front the hairline with single hair grafts at no charge to the patient. This is an example of how being part of this forum has changed our practice for the better.

[stephcurry30]

3 hours ago, Michael Vories, MD said:

Although it is not typical for our results, this is not the first time we have received feedback about inadvertent multiple hair grafts in the hairline. For this reason at the beginning of this year we changed our procedure that for all hairline cases we separate out 300 of the finer single hair grafts to go into the anterior hairline. Of course for all patients previous to this who have noticed multiple hair grafts in the hairline we offer to front the hairline with single hair grafts at no charge to the patient. This is an example of how being part of this forum has changed our practice for the better.

I appreciate the response but after your change at the beginning of the year why has this error popped up again? What additional measures are you going to do to avoid having this issue occur in the future? Having admitted to having this issue been constantly pop up in your practice do you still think your work deserves to be on the recommended list of surgeons? 

Also can you add any insight on the damaged/infected/red scalp skin? His scalp seemed to be perfect before surgery but after 11 isn't it concerning that it's still infected? 

I appreciate and value how you will be standing by your work and the patient offering a solution. That is admirable! Thank yoU!

 

Edited August 31, 2023 by stephcurry30

[Michael Vories, MD]

His procedure was in Feb 2022, before we made the change. The redness is most likely due to ingrown hairs, which are more common with many multiple hair grafts.

[BaldReaper]

23 hours ago, Michael Vories, MD said:

Although it is not typical for our results, this is not the first time we have received feedback about inadvertent multiple hair grafts in the hairline. For this reason at the beginning of this year we changed our procedure that for all hairline cases we separate out 300 of the finer single hair grafts to go into the anterior hairline. Of course for all patients previous to this who have noticed multiple hair grafts in the hairline we offer to front the hairline with single hair grafts at no charge to the patient. This is an example of how being part of this forum has changed our practice for the better.

So, if I get it right, before the beginning of this year separating single grafts for the hairline was not part of the process? 
You just implanted any type of graft on the hairline? Wow

[Michael Vories, MD]

We have always tried to implant singles in the hairline- it is the process that has changed. Because we use implanter pens, in the past we used the red (0.8mm) pens for singles and the blue (1.0mm) for multiples. This way I knew while I was implanting which pens had singles. The problem with this plan is that with the speed we implant it is easy for the technicians to not see clearly which grafts were true singles and which grafts may have telogen hairs that looked like singles but were actually multiple hair grafts. By forcing them to separate out 300 of the finest caliber true singles on each hairline case we are much more confident that only true singles with low caliber are going into the hairline.

[stephcurry30]

4 minutes ago, Michael Vories, MD said:

We have always tried to implant singles in the hairline- it is the process that has changed. Because we use implanter pens, in the past we used the red (0.8mm) pens for singles and the blue (1.0mm) for multiples. This way I knew while I was implanting which pens had singles. The problem with this plan is that with the speed we implant it is easy for the technicians to not see clearly which grafts were true singles and which grafts may have telogen hairs that looked like singles but were actually multiple hair grafts. By forcing them to separate out 300 of the finest caliber true singles on each hairline case we are much more confident that only true singles with low caliber are going into the hairline.

Any comment on the red scalp/infected scalp? What caused this and how can you fix this for this patient?

[Melvin- Admin]

20 hours ago, Michael Vories, MD said:

His procedure was in Feb 2022, before we made the change. The redness is most likely due to ingrown hairs, which are more common with many multiple hair grafts.

 

Just now, stephcurry30 said:

Any comment on the red scalp/infected scalp? What caused this and how can you fix this for this patient?

He posted his response ^

[stephcurry30]

4 minutes ago, Melvin- Moderator said:

 

He posted his response ^

Yep I seen it but wanted to see how it can be fixed? I just want the patient here to have a successful result and make sure he'll get accommodated. 

[BaldReaper]

1 hour ago, Michael Vories, MD said:

We have always tried to implant singles in the hairline- it is the process that has changed. Because we use implanter pens, in the past we used the red (0.8mm) pens for singles and the blue (1.0mm) for multiples. This way I knew while I was implanting which pens had singles. The problem with this plan is that with the speed we implant it is easy for the technicians to not see clearly which grafts were true singles and which grafts may have telogen hairs that looked like singles but were actually multiple hair grafts. By forcing them to separate out 300 of the finest caliber true singles on each hairline case we are much more confident that only true singles with low caliber are going into the hairline.

So the reason that multiples can be found in this patient’s hairline is that its possible to miss some multis that are on telogen face and appear as singles.

According to your website 6-8% of the hairs are in the telogen phase.

 

So lets assume that the assistants missed every single telogen phase hair and 8% of the single grafts that you implanted in the front were actually multigrafts.
 

Now lets look at the patient’s photos in the comment above, what we can see there is that about 95% of the follicles on the hairline are multis.

 

How would you explain the remaining 87% of the multigrafts?

[Michael Vories, MD]

I agree with you that telogen hair was not the sole reason for multiples in the hairline. I admit that mistakes were made, which is the reason we changed the procedure.

[stephcurry30]

10 minutes ago, Michael Vories, MD said:

I agree with you that telogen hair was not the sole reason for multiples in the hairline. I admit that mistakes were made, which is the reason we changed the procedure.

What other further changes have been made so this doesn't happen again? And what mistakes have led to this patient having 95% multi hair grafts at the hairline? 

You mentioned the change of the use of implanter pens but what else caused this patient to have 95% multi's at the hairline and what specific changes have been made to avoid this happening again? 

[Melvin- Admin]

Dear Community,

After deliberating with @Pat - Community Publisher, we have concluded that we will need to suspend Dr. Vories' membership. We're not saying that Dr. Vories is a bad surgeon, but we need to verify a track record of consistent natural results. If Dr. Vories can demonstrate through genuine patient reviews that he performs ultra-refined, follicular unit grafting with refined singles in the frontal hairline, we will consider lifting the suspension. We appreciate everyone's input and concerns. We would also like to thank Dr. Vories for showing a willingness to admit his mistake and make improvements. We trust that this will ultimately be a good thing for his practice and his patients.

[GhostCryptid13]

I was planning on doing a transplant with Dr. Vories (I haven’t had a consultation or anything, it’s just he’s in my price range and I can’t go outside the US) and the only think I need is a hairline transplant and some odd hairs in my forelock for density so if I go through with it I’d let y’all know how it all turns out. 
 

However, now with his recommendation revoked I am apprehensive about going through with it. 

[DCWV]

I'll be having a HT with Dr. Vories in February 2024. I will gladly give a honest review and update to the network about my experience. 

[GhostCryptid13]

13 minutes ago, DCWV said:

I'll be having a HT with Dr. Vories in February 2024. I will gladly give a honest review and update to the network about my experience. 

Where do you need a transplant? And thank you that would be very appreciated.