Dr. Rosanelli

[Guest sac95816]

Rosanelli's web site suggests that he performs 50 procedures and month and has been performing HT for the last 19 years.

 

Has anyone ever had a procedure with him? Why is there so little information about his work?

Also, he advertises that he's "Board Certified" to perform HT. Does this have any value at all?

 

Thanks.

[Guest sac95816]

Rosanelli's web site suggests that he performs 50 procedures and month and has been performing HT for the last 19 years.

 

Has anyone ever had a procedure with him? Why is there so little information about his work?

Also, he advertises that he's "Board Certified" to perform HT. Does this have any value at all?

 

Thanks.

[Mahair]

There is No Hairtransplant Board. He may have only taken a weekend course, taken a simple test or merely joined a group. Advertising Board Certified in Hair Transplants is a red flag.Stay here and do ton of research you only have one head and one shot to do it right. I took a look at his site.He is doing mini-micro grafts in small sessions,very old school.Unless your a Sinatra fan keep looking.

[Guest sac95816]

I've continued to research Thomas Rosanelli and found the following:

 

(1) He's licensed in both Ca and Ha.

 

(2) No record of complaint could be found

(3) No Administrative action

(4) No indication of lawsuits.

(5) Some of the older literature mentions him as one of the first to use the FU HT.

(6) His staff has assured me that his website needs to be updated and that some methods, such as use of a dilater haven't been used in 10 years.

 

***Area of concern: He still uses micro grafts. He employs a microscope and appears to implant one to two folicles in each recipient site. This sounds a lot like FU but maybe not. Also, he seems to use stereo microscopes. ****

 

Hope this information helps anyone else interested in Bay Area HT. Should not that he's seems pretty flexible on financial arrangments, including payments. I'm meeting him next week and will post an update.

[arfy]

In general (not referring to Dr Rosanelli):

 

As far as the No Complaints, No Lawsuits thing goes... You can't rely on that. Just because there are no complaints on a doctors record, doesn't mean no complaints have been filed. Same with lawsuits... if a doctor settled a lawsuit (or defended a lawsuit successfully, which many do... even when they have damaged the patient they can still win) then that will not appear on a doctor's record.

 

A doctor can also move from state to state, and his record does not follow him. His records may not show anything, if he practices in multiple locations (different counties).

 

As an example, I tried looking up the history of complaints in NY state against Dr Gary Hitzig. I don't think it is controversial to say that Hitzig has one of the worst reputations in the business. He was being sued by over 100 patients at one point. There was a big article in the NY Daily News about how Hitzig hired an off-duty Brooklyn Department of Santitation worker, to help perform some of the surgery. This doctor is a basic nightmare and should not be allowed to do hair transplants any more, in my opinion.

 

Well when I tried calling the local medical boards (as a test) they had absolutely nothing on Hitzig. No negative information in his record. Now how many people are going to call every single county in NY state, then do the same for Pennsylvannia and New Jersey (other states where Hitzig has worked)?

 

I think doing some research is a smart move, however my point is that it's no guarantee that your intended doctor hasn't been sued or reprimanded.

 

When you meet with Dr Rosanelli, ask him if he uses microscopes ONLY, to dissect the donor strip (there should be a table with at least 2 or 3 of them). Ask how long he has been using microscopes only, in his clinic. How long has he been doing the all-FU transplant (if he does do it). Try to meet several of his patients in person (NOT just the guys who work in his office... of course they look good, that's why he hired them).

 

Basically do a ton of research, and ask lots of questions. It helps to meet with several doctors and get multiple opinions too. See which doctors make the most sense.

 

One question I suggest asking: what would be your long term strategy for me?

 

See which doctors have the most sensible approach and long term plan. If you are going to have long term success, smart planning is crucial.

 

As far as Micrografts go... technically speaking, the 'gold standard' FU graft is a Micrograft, that has been well-trimmed under a stereo microscope. What you want to avoid is the "mixed graft" approach (also known as Varigrafting, Micro-Mini, etc etc). What you want to avoid is transplanting grafts that contain multiple Follicular groupings. These grafts are usually too big, and they can look pluggy. A few doctors use the Minigraft (multi-FU graft) in small numbers, on certain patients... maybe 80% single FU grafts and 20% multi-unit grafts. Do NOT mistake this approach for what the big franchises do (mostly larger grfats, with single FUs only in the front). In general the all-FU transplant is the best. You can read about it here.

[Guest]

Correction to Mahair's previous post. There is such an entity which board certifies hair transplant doctors. It is called The American Board of Hair Restoration Surgery- the ABHRS. After checking the directory of diplomates I found Dr. Rosanelli listed as a practicing physician in the state of California.

[Mahair]

The ABHRS is not a ligitamate board of medicine.It is not recognized by the AMA. It was created after the FTC was about to do an audit. There is no disipline administered nor do they sanction doctors.It involves a written test and several doctors claim to be board certified when they become members.Its function has thus far been to mislead the public and allow non-certified doctors to claim *Board Certified* when they are not.

[SorleyBoy]

Originally posted by sac95816:

Rosanelli's web site suggests that he performs 50 procedures and month and has been performing HT for the last 19 years.

 

Never brilliant at maths - but if he works 5 days a week - by my reckoning the bold doc would have to perform over 2 procedures a day . . . So, either: -

a) He never sleeps.

b) the procedures are extremely small.

c) he has an army of technicians doing most of the work on 2 - 3 patients a day

. . . and I think the (disturbing?) implications of this latter scenario have been well discussed on this forum.

 

SorleyBoy

[Guest sac95816]

when i spoke with Dr. Rosanelli last week, he informed me that he performs two surgeries a day and that my procedure would take 5 hours. That's a 10 hour day. If anyone else is curious about Rosanelli, one of his more favorable practices is actually reading and responding to emails. His email address is listed on his website.

 

Thanks again for the comments!!

[SorleyBoy]

sac

 

. . . Yes, as was suggested earlier by arfy & co. - I see now from the doc's web-site that he does this anachronistic mix of Mini & micro-grafts

 

For the minor procedures the prices seem exhorbitant for what I can only assume will be very little density: -

 

. . . "For very small sessions of micro and Minigrafts, the cost is $13.00 a graft this would be for sessions under 200 grafts. Next in price would be an intermediate session. This would cover from about mid ear to the front and would range approximately 200-300 grafts. The cost is $2600.00 per session. The next level would be a major session which would extend farther back into the crown and include the front. The cost for this is $3600.00 per session. If the area is very wide and requires more than 600 grafts, the additional grafts are charged at $4.00 per graft".

 

OUCH !!