Dr. Armani promoted by Spencer Kobren and the IAHRS?

[Guest Baldie3000]

I see that Dr. Armani is promoted by the IAHRS group. Their website says it's the "only group that recognizes that all surgeons are not equal in their skill and technique." The "ONLY" group? I thought the Coalition tested its doctors too? Am I wrong?

 

Funny there was also a blog about hair transplant cons that had all kinds of info about Kobren and the IAHRS being dishonest and not really being a legal non profit. I've posted a link to it here before when I was doing some research. But I see that the blog has been taken down. Maybe the guy running the site got threatened by Spencer Kobren or his attorney?

 

This guy's blog still gets shown in the Google search listings but when you click on it you only get a blank page

 

EXPOSING HAIR TRANSPLANT FRAUDS, CONS AND LIARS: SPENCER KOBREN ... SPENCER KOBREN IS NOT A GENUINE CONSUMER PATIENT ADVOCATE. HE IS A HUSTLER WHO ...

hairtransplantcons.blogspot.com/2008/03/spencer-kobren-and-farrel-mannes-agenda.html - 51k - Cached - Similar pages

 

So much for free speech.

 

~Baldie3000

[Guest Baldie3000]

I see that Dr. Armani is promoted by the IAHRS group. Their website says it's the "only group that recognizes that all surgeons are not equal in their skill and technique." The "ONLY" group? I thought the Coalition tested its doctors too? Am I wrong?

 

Funny there was also a blog about hair transplant cons that had all kinds of info about Kobren and the IAHRS being dishonest and not really being a legal non profit. I've posted a link to it here before when I was doing some research. But I see that the blog has been taken down. Maybe the guy running the site got threatened by Spencer Kobren or his attorney?

 

This guy's blog still gets shown in the Google search listings but when you click on it you only get a blank page

 

EXPOSING HAIR TRANSPLANT FRAUDS, CONS AND LIARS: SPENCER KOBREN ... SPENCER KOBREN IS NOT A GENUINE CONSUMER PATIENT ADVOCATE. HE IS A HUSTLER WHO ...

hairtransplantcons.blogspot.com/2008/03/spencer-kobren-and-farrel-mannes-agenda.html - 51k - Cached - Similar pages

 

So much for free speech.

 

~Baldie3000

[MrJobi]

I think at the end of the day it is our own repsonsibility to research and discover which resources are legit or not.. There is so many people out to capitialize on customers these days, not only in hair transplantation. With this in mind, don't trust a single souce rather find several sources which point in the right direction.. it's your head !

[Pat - Community Publisher]

Baldie,

 

 

Do you recall the scene in the Wizard of Oz when the curtain was pulled back to reveal a man pulling levers to produce a big smoke filled facade? In the hair loss world that man would be Spencer Kobren in my opinion.

 

When you visit the IAHRS.org site or his American Hair Loss Association you get the impression that they are large non profit organizations run by the doctors themselves. But in reality it is Spencer Kobren behind the curtain collecting checks and pulling levers.

 

It has been insulting to visit doctors' offices around North America to observe their surgeries ( click here, to see some of these visits) and find brochures for the IAHRS at the front desk that state "The International Alliance of Hair Restoration Surgeons is the first and only organization comprised of selectively screened, skilled and ethical hair transplant surgeons . . . "

 

The irony is that while I'm visiting these hair transplant clinics to assure that the members of the Coalition of Independent Hair Restoration Physicians are actually screened for quality, Spencer Kobren has typically not visited these clinics, yet claims that his club, the IAHRS, is the ONLY group that screens physicians.

 

In fact, Kobren's screening process seems to largely involve monitoring this forum and who is added to our list of recommended physicians and then calling them to solicit them to join the IAHRS. "Screened" indeed.

 

I have yet to research and add a doctor on our community who was not solicited aggressively by Spencer Kobren.

 

I guess it wouldn't be so bad if he only solicited doctors who were actually good enough to be recommended on the Hair Transplant Network. But unfortunately he accepts money to promote several clinics that were either rejected or removed from our community at one time or another.

 

In my opinion, Spencer Kobren is clever and slick and talks a good game but lacks in any real substance or integrity.

 

And since I expect you will be reading this Spencer, I suggest you make the following change to your slick IAHRS brochure to make it less deceptive -

 

Change "The International Alliance of Hair Restoration Surgeons is the first and only organization comprised of selectively screened, skilled and ethical hair transplant surgeons . . . "

 

TO -

 

"The International Alliance of Hair Restoration Surgeons is a pseudo non profit organization comprised of physicians who Spencer Kobren solicited mostly after reading about them on the Hair Transplant Network. While Spencer Kobren has never visited the vast majority of these clinics he did stay at a Holiday Inn last night . . . "

 

Spencer, feel free to respond to my suggestions by replying to this topic.

 

P.S. Spencer Kobren discontinued his own discussion forum years ago and I haven't seen him post on any forum in years. Perhaps he decided he didn't want he or his physicians to be subjected to the reality checks that forums like this provide.

[Bill - Seemiller]

Baldie3000,

 

I've never spoken to Spencer Kobren personally and whether or not he has his own set of standards when soliciting physicians, I don't know.

 

However, I too have recently become aware of his false claims that he has the "ONLY" organization that pre-screens surgeons, and frankly, it's insulting. Spencer's claim to this affect isn't only highly misleading, it's a blatant lie.

 

Personally, I could care less how he promotes his services if it was done honestly and ethically. But trying to garner doctor support while discounting us is atrocious.

 

In my relatively short time as the Associate Publisher, I've spoken to a few physicians who were solicited shortly after they became recommended on the Hair Transplant Network, and one who was brutally attacked publicly when he decided not to support Spencer's organizations (the IAHRS and the AHLA) after he was solicited.

 

On the surface, Spencer appears to be doing the same thing we are however,

 

1. Spencer doesn't travel around the world visiting clinics to assure physician quality like Pat.

 

2. Spencer disabled his hair loss forum, eliminating all transparency and physician accountability

 

3. Spencer's promotion of his organizations are misleading

 

As MrJobi said above, ultimately it is your responsibility to do your own research and select a surgeon based on proven consistency. But at the Hair Transplant Network, we work hard to assure that the physicians we recommend continue to meet our high level of recommendation standards. Our recommendation process is also transparent, giving our patient members the opportunity to offer their input on all potential recommendations. See how we recommend hair transplant surgeons.

 

Best wishes,

 

Bill

[Guest Baldie3000]

Pat, Mrjobi, and Bill, thanks for replying! I KNEW something was fishy about what I read on the IAHRS website. Besides, how can Spencer Kobren promote Dr. Armani when there are so many unanswered question and given that he would rather sue a hair transplant site than address them?

 

So far out of all the forums I've joined, this one seems to be the fairest. I was banned from hair loss help with no explanation. Though I'm guessing it's because I posted the same link to the blog that's no longer there. Oddly enough, it was even BEFORE I knew that FARREL ran hair loss help. I guess he didn't want any negative comments about him. So my post was removed and I couldn't login the next day

 

Then, I tried spreading the word about Armani on the PB hair site and couldn't even believe how hostile some of them were toward this site. Some of them were nice though. But then somebody removed my entire thread and didn't have the courtesty to explain why!

 

Once again - so much for free speech!!!

 

~Baldie3000