Deciding between Drs. Hasson/Wong and Dr. Reed

[CalJudoka]

Hi all. I've finally decided to take the plunge and pursue a HT. I think I've read everything on this site and looked at every case study for every recommended doc and have narrowed it down to Hasson/Wong and Dr. Reed in La Jolla. I picked these two practices because of their patient cases/results. More people seem to recommend Hasson/Wong... but in looking at the photos, Reed seems to get superior results with fewer grafts. I'm not really worried about the money. I will go to whoever has the best outcome.

 

Any advice???? Bill, I've read tons of your posts and respect the advice you've given others. I would love you to weigh in if possible. Thanks all.

 

BTW, I'm 36 and thinning on front and top. I think it is a II on the Norwood scale.

[hairshare]

Hey CalJudoka, I can't speak for Dr. Reed but as a patient of Dr. Wong, I can't recommend H&W highly enough. I would be biased but in terms of my own results but I would recommend H&W over anyone in a heartbeat. Those are my 2 cents. Cheers and good luck!

[Bill - Seemiller]

Caljudoka,

 

Welcome to our community.

 

Coalition members Dr. Hasson, Dr. Wong, and Dr. Reed are all excellent considerations. Just understand that each and every surgeon has their own unique approach to restoration.

 

I'd advise you to consult with each of them, view patient and clinic posted results online, and talk with some of their patients which will ultimately help you decide on a surgeon.

 

Selecting a physicians amongst an elite group is very personal and will take some time and research on your part.

 

Best wishes in selecting a quality surgeon to help you meet your hair restoration goals,

 

Bill

[CalJudoka]

Thank you for the responses. I am going to go ahead and give the consults a try and see what they have to say.

 

Specifically though... does anyone have an opinion as to the results in regards to number of grafts. When looking through the case studies, it seems that Reed gets fantastic results with 2 to 3 thousand grafts. Results that appear to me as a layman, to be comparable to the 4 and 5 thousand grafts cases of Hasson/Wong.

 

Thank you again everyone for your input.

[thanatopsis_awry]

Cal,

 

I myself have never held the perception that it takes Drs Hasson and Wong 4k to do what Dr. Reed can do with 2, but if you can post/link a case that you have in mind I'd give my precise feedback, as I'm sure others would.

 

It might be that the cases you are referencing of H+W are of higher density, due to the sheer number of grafts, and that from pics a case from Dr. Reed (e.g.) is able to produce a comparable looking result through the oft mentioned "illusion of density". How much you value true-density vs. perceived-density and the grafts it takes to achieve both is something you'd have to decide for yourself.

 

If I had to guess, I would say this might be the root of the discrepency you are wondering; hair charachteristics, and comparable before and after pics (lighting, angle, etc.) could also be a factor when evaluating a result.

[Drew35]

Originally posted by CalJudoka:

Thank you for the responses. I am going to go ahead and give the consults a try and see what they have to say.

 

Specifically though... does anyone have an opinion as to the results in regards to number of grafts. When looking through the case studies, it seems that Reed gets fantastic results with 2 to 3 thousand grafts. Results that appear to me as a layman, to be comparable to the 4 and 5 thousand grafts cases of Hasson/Wong.

 

Thank you again everyone for your input.

 

 

I am glad you are doing your research and are looking at the photos for both clinics. However, I disagree with your assessment.

 

 

 

Please post the photos that you are speaking about that you are using to making your assessment.

 

I believe you are not comparing apples to apples.

[mgoldberg]

Drew - Looks like you had a ton of grafts. You should update your site with another month of progress. Exciting!!

[CalJudoka]

Hi guys and thank you again for the info. Here is a link to a case of Dr. Reeds that seems to mimic my situation. My hair loss is not at this stage yet but will be in 1 to 2 years. This case has 2578 grafts.

 

http://www.hairtransplantnetwo...tientID=1782&DrID=65

 

This patient below is Dr. Hasson's work. It has 4500 grafts. Not quite twice as many. His work on the patients crown looks a bit better to me but 2000 grafts better?

 

Is that twice as good. Obviously all these guys are fantastic surgeons. I just want to get the most bang for my buck. If I can get 700 more grafts from Dr. Reed than from Hasson/Wong, aren't I ultimately going to be better off going that route?

 

Please educate me if you think I am missing some pertinent info.

[Bill - Seemiller]

CalJudoka,

 

I hope you understand that achieving dense and natural looking results isn't just about the numbers. As I mentioned in another thread recently, I think many members truly underestimate how hair characteristics and placement can strongly influence the appearance of density.

 

I strongly recommend reading Coalition member Dr. Arocha's article on How Hair Characteristics Impact Hair Transplant Results which does a great job in explaining how patient's with thicker hair can easily get away with a smaller number of grafts and achieve the same illusion of fullness.

 

Best wishes,

 

Bill

[CalJudoka]

Thanks for the info. I submitted for an online consult yesterday to both practices. About how long does it take for them to get back to you generally?

[Bill - Seemiller]

CalJudoka,

 

Did you use our online consult form? Generally speaking, it may take a few business days for someone to get back to you. If for whatever reason, you aren't hearing from a clinic in that time, I'd suggest giving them a call and letting them know you've filled out an online consult with the Hair Transplant Network and are waiting to hear back from someone. This will most likely expedite things.

 

I hope this helps.

 

Bill

[Sparse]

CalJudoka,

 

I'd suggest that you look not just at the pics on each surgeon's website, but also at the high definition videos of HT patient results: they provide a much more accurate indicator of each HTs effect, inasmuch as they will reveal the quality of work from all angles, expose any weak "illusions" of density, etc. That was an important criterion for me in my search for an HT surgeon.

 

Oh, wait, never mind: you'll only find such videos on the H&W site. Hmmm . . .

 

It's also informative to look at the documentation patients have provided over the years on their own blogs. You can search by HT surgeon at the following: http://www.hairtransplantnetwo...by_doctor.asp?DrID=0

 

While you will find few (if any) well-documented cases of jaw-dropping pre-post transformation under Dr. Reed's tab, there are many such cases on H&W patient blogs. I'm just saying . . .

[CalJudoka]

I appreciate the feedback and will certainly look at the HD videos.

 

Thanks

[Forrest Gump]

CalJudoka, I would have a tough time choosing between Drs. Reed, Hasson, or Wong. All three of them turn out excellent results.

 

I personally chose a doctor who I felt can turn out the "ideal" hairline that I was looking for. Look at each of these doctors' results and then see whose style you like the most. Since "liking' a certain style is a highly subjective decision, different people will prefer different doctors.

 

You have done the right thing by consulting with these doctors. Once you hear back from them, it might be easier to make a decision.

[Dr. Paul Shapiro]

CalJudoka

Both Dr. Reed and Dr..Hasson and Dr. Wong are excellent surgeons. Another suggestion is for you to request to speak to actual patients that have had surgeries in the clinics you are considering for your surgery. There is a good possibility there are patients in your area that may be amenable to you visiting them so you can see what the results look like in person.

I did write a thread on why sometimes we seem to get as good results using less grafts in some cases. It might be beneficial for you to read this thread.

http://hair-restoration-info.c...66060861/m/615103223

I hope this is helpful.

Dr. Paul

[CalJudoka]

Thank you all for the suggestions.

 

For some reason I only received an email back from Dr. Wong. Dr. Reed's office still hasn't contacted me 7 days later. I guess I will give them a call and see if they got my info.

[Jotronic]

Caljudoka,

 

Your interest in our clinic is really appreciated. We're always happy to see patients doing their research and including us on their short list of potential hair restoration destinations.

 

I think you have received some good suggestions on how to move forward but a few items of importance have been overlooked in my opinion. Dr. Paul Shapiro, et al, made solid suggestions of seeing patients in person. There is NO OTHER way to judge results with as much effectiveness. If you would like to meet some of our patients, or at the very least speak to some patients on the phone, please contact me at our office.

 

One point that has not been expounded upon is that of hair characteristics or more specifically, hair shaft diameter. When looking at hair transplant results one can see a result of say 2500 grafts and an alternate result of 3500 grafts and not see much of a discernible difference because of this very important characteristic. Coarse thick hair can give a much greater amount of coverage than thin or fine hair.

 

Another issue to consider is that of flash photography. You can read more about this issue on the following link but to summarize flash photography can and does (I've proven this issue) give the illusion of more hair than one would normally see in reality once they actually meet a patient face to face.

 

Here is the link describing the negative effects of flash photography...

 

Why Not to Use Flash For HT Photos

 

At Hasson & Wong we have endeavored over the past several years to avoid this misleading practice when we take photos of patients. What this means for you is that what you see in our photos is much closer to what you will see if you were to meet the same patient in person. In addition we have the largest video gallery of patient results in the industry and we are, to date, the ONLY clinic to do so with with a high definition video camera. When we shoot these videos we do not have the patient sitting five feet away from the camera either. We zoom in and take close up video of the grafts so you can see the exit point in the recipient scalp. We do this to alleviate any concerns of plugginess or recipient scarring and to show that the results look completely natural under extremely close inspection. This is to emulate what you would see if you were to perform a comb-through on the patient yourself. We go to this trouble because we are proud of our results and wish for you to see what our results really look like as much as is possible. One additional point regarding our HD video gallery; I have been updating this and other forums on a weekly basis with a new video every single Friday since early March of this year. The link is here... H&W High Definition Video Fridays This is further proof that we are trying to show as many of our results as is possible. It has been very difficult to keep up this pace but we are always calling past patients to see if they are willing to get in front of the camera. Considering that most of our patients are from outside of Canada one can see how this is a continuously daunting task but the sheer numbers and consistency of our updates with a new video hopefully shows further evidence of our consistency and dedication to getting our results to you and others doing their research.

 

Many times when speaking to patients the question about necessary graft estimates comes up and the issue is in regard to how we may recommend a higher number of grafts than the next clinic. This is because one of our goals is to establish the density and/or coverage that the patient wants in as few sessions as possible. "Dewayne", the patient of another clinic had this to say about the differences in graft estimates between our clinic and others. His comments well represents our approach.

 

"Thank you all for the comments. I look and feel much better for sure. The one piece of advice I'd give, after nine months, is to get what you want from the start. I now wish I'd taken Jotronic's advice and went for 4,000 grafts. At the time, I had three surgeons recommend 2,500 grafts after seeing my pics and one, Hassan, recommend 4,000. If you check my posts back last February, you'd see that I couldn't understand the difference in recommendations. So, my opinion is two-fold: Because of the online/phone consult, the three doctors didn't fully appreciate my level of thinning; OR, if given a choice most clinics prefer a 2,500 graft session as it's more like a normal day."

 

Smaller sessions are fine for many patients and we perform such small sessions all the time but even our smaller sessions usually wind up being larger than the next clinic if they were to work on the same area. For instance, if a patient requires hairline work we may move 1500 grafts where another clinic would move 800 grafts. This is because we are trying to establish the proper density the first time thus reducing the chance that a second session in the same area is required by the patient to get the result they originally wanted. This defines what we coined as the "one pass result". Obviously this is not always the case but we try to make it so whenever we can.

 

So, CalJudoka, I hope that at least some of what I have said here makes sense to you. If you have any questions about our facilities, techniques etc. please do not hesitate to ask.

[Drew35]

Originally posted by Jotronic:

Caljudoka,

 

Your interest in our clinic is really appreciated. We're always happy to see patients doing their research and including us on their short list of potential hair restoration destinations.

 

I think you have received some good suggestions on how to move forward but a few items of importance have been overlooked in my opinion. Dr. Paul Shapiro, et al, made solid suggestions of seeing patients in person. There is NO OTHER way to judge results with as much effectiveness. If you would like to meet some of our patients, or at the very least speak to some patients on the phone, please contact me at our office.

 

One point that has not been expounded upon is that of hair characteristics or more specifically, hair shaft diameter. When looking at hair transplant results one can see a result of say 2500 grafts and an alternate result of 3500 grafts and not see much of a discernible difference because of this very important characteristic. Coarse thick hair can give a much greater amount of coverage than thin or fine hair.

 

Another issue to consider is that of flash photography. You can read more about this issue on the following link but to summarize flash photography can and does (I've proven this issue) give the illusion of more hair than one would normally see in reality once they actually meet a patient face to face.

 

Here is the link describing the negative effects of flash photography...

 

Why Not to Use Flash For HT Photos

 

At Hasson & Wong we have endeavored over the past several years to avoid this misleading practice when we take photos of patients. What this means for you is that what you see in our photos is much closer to what you will see if you were to meet the same patient in person. In addition we have the largest video gallery of patient results in the industry and we are, to date, the ONLY clinic to do so with with a high definition video camera. When we shoot these videos we do not have the patient sitting five feet away from the camera either. We zoom in and take close up video of the grafts so you can see the exit point in the recipient scalp. We do this to alleviate any concerns of plugginess or recipient scarring and to show that the results look completely natural under extremely close inspection. This is to emulate what you would see if you were to perform a comb-through on the patient yourself. We go to this trouble because we are proud of our results and wish for you to see what our results really look like as much as is possible. One additional point regarding our HD video gallery; I have been updating this and other forums on a weekly basis with a new video every single Friday since early March of this year. The link is here... H&W High Definition Video Fridays This is further proof that we are trying to show as many of our results as is possible. It has been very difficult to keep up this pace but we are always calling past patients to see if they are willing to get in front of the camera. Considering that most of our patients are from outside of Canada one can see how this is a continuously daunting task but the sheer numbers and consistency of our updates with a new video hopefully shows further evidence of our consistency and dedication to getting our results to you and others doing their research.

 

Many times when speaking to patients the question about necessary graft estimates comes up and the issue is in regard to how we may recommend a higher number of grafts than the next clinic. This is because one of our goals is to establish the density and/or coverage that the patient wants in as few sessions as possible. "Dewayne", the patient of another clinic had this to say about the differences in graft estimates between our clinic and others. His comments well represents our approach.

 

"Thank you all for the comments. I look and feel much better for sure. The one piece of advice I'd give, after nine months, is to get what you want from the start. I now wish I'd taken Jotronic's advice and went for 4,000 grafts. At the time, I had three surgeons recommend 2,500 grafts after seeing my pics and one, Hassan, recommend 4,000. If you check my posts back last February, you'd see that I couldn't understand the difference in recommendations. So, my opinion is two-fold: Because of the online/phone consult, the three doctors didn't fully appreciate my level of thinning; OR, if given a choice most clinics prefer a 2,500 graft session as it's more like a normal day."

 

Smaller sessions are fine for many patients and we perform such small sessions all the time but even our smaller sessions usually wind up being larger than the next clinic if they were to work on the same area. For instance, if a patient requires hairline work we may move 1500 grafts where another clinic would move 800 grafts. This is because we are trying to establish the proper density the first time thus reducing the chance that a second session in the same area is required by the patient to get the result they originally wanted. This defines what we coined as the "one pass result". Obviously this is not always the case but we try to make it so whenever we can.

 

So, CalJudoka, I hope that at least some of what I have said here makes sense to you. If you have any questions about our facilities, techniques etc. please do not hesitate to ask.

 

 

Wow Joe! What a fantastic response.

 

Thanks for taking the time to do that.

 

 

Your HD Videos are amazing!