Dr Distefano or Dr Leonard in NE?

[hair4good]

Hi Guys,

 

I'm new to this site. It's really opened my eyes!

 

I'm mid 40's in RI and I looked at what others said about Dr Distefano or Dr Leonard here. The posts were 2 years old.

 

Any new updates on these Drs?. I went to Leonard 2 years ago. Paid a lot! Didn't get much hair ( Not sure how many grafts I got because it was called a procedure and I was naive). He did nice work and they were very professional. I am looking at DiStefano, better priced. Any experiences?

 

How do I tell you what type of baldness I have? I have seen your terms. I have a round thin spot on crown and thinning in front.

 

Thank you in advance

[hair4good]

Hi Guys,

 

I'm new to this site. It's really opened my eyes!

 

I'm mid 40's in RI and I looked at what others said about Dr Distefano or Dr Leonard here. The posts were 2 years old.

 

Any new updates on these Drs?. I went to Leonard 2 years ago. Paid a lot! Didn't get much hair ( Not sure how many grafts I got because it was called a procedure and I was naive). He did nice work and they were very professional. I am looking at DiStefano, better priced. Any experiences?

 

How do I tell you what type of baldness I have? I have seen your terms. I have a round thin spot on crown and thinning in front.

 

Thank you in advance

[arfy]

Hi hair4good

We refer to the Norwood Scale of hair loss when talking about what level of hair loss we have. The Norwood scale is not perfect (it doesn't describe every possible pattern) but for a lot of guys it is a good shorthand description.

 

If you go back to the front page, there is a bunch of information and links there. You can find a version of the Norwood Scale in the section called "Online Consultation".

 

There's only a handful of great doctors in the field, in my opinion, and I recommend that guys make the effort to seek the best. A lot of times that means you need to travel, the same way you might travel to see a great heart surgeon.

 

Do yourself a favor and spend some time doing some research and reading. Ask questions as they come up and get as many suggestions and as much feedback as you can. There is a variety of opinions here and there isn't only one right way to get a hair transplant. Then it's up to you to sift through the suggestions as best you can, based on the knowledge you've gathered.

 

I bet you will find that it's well worth a little effort to do this legwork. The more you know, the more likely you are going make good decisions.

[hair4good]

Thanks Arfy...

 

Wow 1500 posts. You must be informed. I would say I'm at 3 vertex thinning slowly. ( although my hole on crown is slightly wider in back and Is covered slightly from Dr. Leonard).

 

I have been thinning since my mid twenties. Never really noticed it until a few years ago when I would see myself on home videos with a white bald spot in the back! However, when I saw Leonard he suggested we should address the thinning front first.

 

Since I've already had 1 double session with Dr. Leonard, I think I will need one mega all micro follicular session of around 1300 - 1700. And that would satify me. Perhaps one third on crown with 3 hairs for density and the other 2/3s in front.

 

I was told at Leonard when he did mine 2 years ago he only did single, double and triple hairs. I just talked to DiStefano's office and the sales guy said they did the same but at a better price. I did not ask about Microscopes, I assumed this was good news.

 

Leonard charged me 7,000 for a session with only 3 techs. He quoted 4,000 on front and 4,000 on crown and wanted me to do it in two visits. I asked if I could do it in one visit and get it over with and he said ok, and that he would do it for 7,000. Most or all of the grafts grew. I have very healthy donor hair.

 

When I saw DiStefano sales guy, he said there was no way I got a mega session. Not with 3 techs and basically he feels they sprinkled a few hundred on crown and a few hundred in front. My family can't believe I paid 7K for such little hair. I will say Leonard did quality work. The hairs look natural and the scar is tiny. Although the hairs are mixed in with my own so they make it look natural. I saw Shapiro's site in FL. His hairlines look awesome. Little baby hairs and jagged. I saw other patients of Leonard and Stefano on their website and the hairline look too straight ( like a H/T). Although my wife thinks they look good. Both Drs are listed on this site.

 

Is it normal for the Sales guy to book your session without seeing the Dr. at one of the satellite offices? At Leonard he came in at the end of the sales pitch and answered all my medical questions. With my consultation at DiStefano, I never actually meet Dr. Stefano since he was not there. My sales guy talked about price and about Leonard mostly, and how much better of a H/T they could give me. I did like the sales guy, but I'm skeptical now.

 

ps. I'm on Propecia for 2 years thru Leonard.

 

[This message was edited by hair4good on February 12, 2004 at 06:00 AM.]

 

[This message was edited by hair4good on February 12, 2004 at 06:00 AM.]

 

[This message was edited by hair4good on February 12, 2004 at 06:02 AM.]

[arfy]

First, be sure that the Dr. Shapiro you are referring to is RON Shapiro. I hear there is a Lawrence Shapiro who is not so good.

 

Dr. Leonard should have a record of how many grafts they did. It should be in your records. If they did not bother to keep track of how many grafts were done, that would be sloppy and a bad sign.

 

You said 1300-1700 will be satisfactory. That is not a huge number of grafts, although it sounds like a lot it may not make a dent (depending on your amount of hair loss). It can take thousands and thousands of grafts to make an impact sometimes, depending on the patient. I am just wondering how you decided on that number? If a consultant said that, disregard their estimate... they usually underestimate (lowball) as a way to get your business.

 

I dislike consultants and prefer not to talk to them, and talk directly to the doctor instead. To be fair, a few clinics that do good work have consultants (Dr. Shapiro does too). Your consultant should not book surgery, make a diagnosis, recommend a number of grafts, or anything else that is the domain of a trained physician... it is illegal for a consultant to play doctor.

 

I haven't heard good things about Dr. Leonard in the past. If you say that your grafts look natural that is good. That should be your main concern. "Density" is secondary and most guys should expect only a light coverage when they are all done, not a big mop of hair. It will still look like you lost some hair, but kept some too.

 

My recommendation is that you look at additional doctors, including doctors who are not in New England. If you want really specific advice (from me or anybody else) it helps to have a photo to refer to. You may want to send your photos around to doctors who do work that you admire, and get their advice. THAT'S how I would shop for a hair transplant, not by picking someone within driving distance. Choose someone who does consistently great work, even if they are located in Timbuktu.

 

PS- Confirm that whatever clinic you pick uses microscopes only... no "loops".

[atw]

which leonard are you posting about.

 

I got botched by Larry Leonard. A dumb asshole who wears a stupid hat on his head.

 

Are we talking about the same person?

[Telephone Man]

I recently went to Dr. Distefano, see my remarks on the board, he takes a strong interest in his patients.

 

To early to see the results (6days) I did not look at Leonard, MHR and Bosley did not like pricing or presentation. Distefano has convenient locations also (RI and Worcester) another reason I went this direction.

 

Good luck.

[hair4good]

Sorry I don't have before pics but I look about the same This is about 2 years after procedure. I think he spinkled about 600 in the front mixed in with my own and 400 in crown. It was not worth 7,000!

[hair4good]

Crown.. looks about the same as before... a few hairs sprinkkled in

[JohnH]

Hair4Good, your crown does not look that bad. I would concentrate on the front. You'll get more bang for the buck that way. Remember, the crown area can become a black hole for grafts. The way that your hair is thinning, you may need more procedures to maintain the hairline/vertex area.

 

Just my opinion. I'm sure Shapiro will do a great job for you.

[hair4good]

Thanks JohnH,

 

You are probably right to a degree. Funny, the reason I went to begin with was because of the crown. Since being on this site I realize that is lower priority.

 

Here is what Matt Zipken recommended. We do think of the crown as a softball. We dived in into thirds. The top third gets about 24 graphs per sq cm. The middle third gets about 10 per square cm, the low third gets about 5 per square cm. Since the crown hair falls down with gravity, we can maximize perceived coverage with less graphs working down. Why have the lower third packed whne it will fall into thick hair.

 

ALso since I started Propecia 2 years ago, I noticed it has slowed , almost stopped.

 

Most of the graphs are going to the front.

[Telephone Man]

I don't know which type he used H4, I did not see a microscope in my operating room and did not learn of the differences between mini-micro and FUI. I guess the result will be in the pictures as time goes on for me.

 

My consultant was Tim, very nice guy, liked his approach, I think all the local clinics talk about each other, he did not spend a lot of time talking about Leonard, MHR and Bosley although I did ask a lot of questions about them.

 

I liked the Doctor himself and felt for the price it was an exceptional deal that is of course seeing the results in the end.

 

Good luck!!!

[arfy]

Dr. Leonard does not use FUs?<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>I discussed the whole follicular Unit idea with Dr. Leonard a few weeks ago (and he is respected in the H/T world), but he kindly disagreed that it was not the way he felt they should be done. He said that if you move hair, you are moving hair. That single units are fine for hairline, but are hard to get density. Also since he does not do FU, he could not tell me what to expect! If Dr. Leonard is not using FUs dissected by microscopes, then he should not be recommended by this website, or by the IAHRS.