Info on Dr. Gil Segev in VA

[Harry West]

Hi,

I just joined the forum. First, a little background: I'm 26 and experiencing the beginnings of hair loss in the temples and crown. I'm currently taking Proscar split into quarters and using the Laser Comb and have been for about two-three months. After one year, I will see if I notice any results, then take it from there (such as consider hair transplant).

Now for my question: Does anybody have any testimonials or experience (good or bad or course) with Dr. Gil Segev of Virginia Surgical Center? Here is their site: http://www.virginiasurgical.com

I went in for a consultation, and if we were to do a transplant, they suggested 1,700 grafts.

Thanks so much in advance, and I look forward to any replies/comments.

[Jkel]

This doctor's website does not paint a good picture. He shows typical deceptive before and after pictures and sells a hair care product line. Doesn't look to kosher to me. You should stick with known hair transplant doctors that are recommended by the IAHRS www.iahrs.org

You should also upload pictures so everyone can give you some advice. It sounds like it is too early for you to have a hair transplant from how you describe yourself.

[HelpROGER]

This is not a place you want to go to have a hair transplant. Take Jkel's advice.

[Harry West]

Thanks for the input. Much appreciated.

[gillenator]

Harry,

I live in the area, and take it from me, you will have to travel.

[hairnow123]

My story:

I had surgery in late July of 2008 (8 1/2 months ago) with Virginia Surgical and Dr. Segev. I am very happy. I attached my picture 15 days after surgery and current picture taken at Easter..Was taken with iphone. Will try to get a close up attached as well, but you can see my hair looks excellent as does my new hot girlfriend:) although cropped her out. as well as most of me..:). I will get some better pictures to post. Any questions let me know. Be happy to share my thoughts with you. Surgery was pretty easy..hardest part is waiting..they say most implanted hair falls out after and then starts to grow back in about 3 months or so....a lot of my implants for me seemed to grow from the start and did not fall out. So for me may be different then others. Last month was real breakthough month 7 as hair got much much thicker and more seemed to grow through. So the areas that seemed lighter seemed to thicken up very well. I got a good hair cut and style and take propecia everyday to now keep what I have. If all stays the same for rest of life I am in good shape with the exception I may get a little more hair on the crown as most of my work was done in the front section and hairlien. Well worth the money. Also, I will blog a picture of where they took the hair from. It was a triachloric suture..god as my witness I search for it all the time and can not find. I will try to have my girlfriend see if she can find and take picture..truly amazing.

[hairnow123]

The Easter picture was not so clear. I just took iphone picture. Keep in mind I have gel in hair etc... Like I said my experience with Virginia Surgical Dr Segev, Chris and the team that worked on me was really good and I am very happy with the result..They used every last bit of available hair from the slither that was taken. Also, they were very fair priced. To me that was important as it allowed me to get the right amount of implants. I did my homework as well I went to 3 other doctors before making my decision so I did my homework. You are never certain before making a decision it was the right one..For myself I am now confident I did and am happy.

[hairnow123]

I meant to add 2 pictures

[the B spot]

You need to consult with other clinics, period.

You want world-class results, not the best local results.

A short drive or plane ride can see you happy with your choice, and getting on with your life.

A poor decision and you spend thousands and years of your life going to top clinics to fix the work.

Pay no attention to the poor before and afters of these type of clinics....look for clear pics that show the ACTUAL hairline and work.

Take Care,
Jason

[Jkel]

I stand by what I said above and agree with the b spot. Something doesn't look Kosher and he is not in the IAHRS or mentioned on other websites. I believe that most people who really do their homework would know to go to a recommended doctor and not an unknown. I’m also suspect of the mention of his “hot girlfriend.” I hope hairnow123 is really happy with his results but I would never go to this doctor based on the doctors own website.

[hairnow123]

I apologize in advance if it appears I have taken this personal to some extent as I am a well educated patient trying to share my real experience. Look anyone can call me by phone and I am happy to speak with them and share my story. I am a real patient who actually went through the process including viewing message boards, visiting a few doctors and doing my homework. The person asked about Dr. Segev and Virginia Surgical. They can take advice from a representative of another hair place "Shapiro" who says they need to travel...(oh to where? maybe where Shapiro is located:). I mean come on...or a website critic? or a real patient who actually has had service from the placed being asked about. Again, if anyone wants to speak to me personally about my experience they can talk to me by phone and I will be happy to share my experience. Lastly, "girlfriend" comment maybe went over the top..but it is true and I am happy with my looks much more now since surgery and hair growing in. It makes a difference. I wanted to lighten up my writing I thought it was funny. Plus it is true. Didn't think it would take such a serious critical analysis. Since Virginia Surgical did a good job for me I wanted to respond strongly to statements by competitors and other unidentified travel specialist that were in contradiction to my experience I saw on the this message board. Lastly, regarding IAHRS I am sure is a fine organization..but it appears there are only 2 doctors listed in Virginia and about 40 or so nationwide..So these are the only 40 doctors in the country to go to and all other of the tens of thousands of other doctors are no good. This too also is crazy. Lastly, I am not telling anyone to go anywhere. I am just telling you how I feel with the experience I actually had. Best regards and god bless all.

[bigmac]

Hairnow123
Glad you`ve had a good experience.
It would be great if you could do a personal blog on here and document your experience with pictures.
Take care bm.

[hairnow123]

Hi Big Mac,

Thanks for your interest in personal blog. This weekend when I have time I will try to do. I will be able to describe in reflection my thoughts chronologically etc..and I may have some pictures that were taken only on a casual purpose, but I did not document each month as I really should have. I regret that. I did post my most recent pictures in this thread. I took those myself in bathroom yesterday with the exception of the one that was taken Easter. The one thing I can add I think is helpful is that in begging even though hair grows at least for me. The biggest cosmetic benefit appeared last month. A little past 6 months. Before was good as hair grew well, but cosmetically a little after six months really was almost like night and day. Thanks.

[the B spot]

Hairnow--- you raised a thread that was weeks old to plug your doc, yet you say you have no interest? From a personal standpoint, I am happy your happy--but guess what? We cannot even see your results well enough to comment, nor can we see any results of note based on the website.

Your comment about thousands of doctors and there being only about 40 or so that are good? That is about fairly accurate. I hope the list continues to grow.

You either do great work and we hear/see it for ourselves; OR, other doctors whose opinions we trust, hear/see it for themselves and the work is so good they tell others.

Also, if you actually knew what you were speaking about, you would notice that Gillenator stated the SAME thing and he is an independent patient advocate.

If you notice, I never said to come to Shapiro Medical, although, quite frankly, that would be a great option. I do find it funny you chose to sarcastically reference myself and ignore the other "non-attached" comments.

So, YES, Harry West needs to travel. Even if it hurts your feelings.

My personal recommendation is Dr. Jerry Cooley in North Carolina--probably close enough for a ling drive--- produces world-class results with clear before and after pics--also does FUE and Strip.
Take Care,
Jason

[hairnow123]

Look I hope this doesn't go on forever. I am sure you are a descent person. This should not be a personal thing I don't really understand this attack. Are you not allowed to share positive experiences with hair transplant doctor if not on your exclusive list which has NO doctors in all of Washington DC, Virginia, or Maryland? What kind of board is this? You are welcome to call me anytime to discuss. I am a patient and was sharing my experience with the doctor the person listed. It seemed relevant. I revise my earlier thread..according to you there is not one doctor in all of DC, Virginia, or Maryland who can do a good hair transplant. My experience proves this wrong as does reasonable common sense. Ironically, the only good doctors are those who spend there free hours blogging, have bloggers, and are web savvy..all other doctors are no good. This is correct? This in my humble opinion is crazy. I mentioned the doctor you work for since it seemed possible perhaps you had an ax to grind. I work for no doctor. I am a patient who had hair transplant surgery and responded fairly to a question about the doctor I got my surgery from. I just speculated in response to your attack on me. I just was grateful to VS for the service they provided me and wanted to share my experience with the person who asked. Again, I am not telling anyone to go anywhere. I was just sharing my actual experience.

[the B spot]

Hairnow--I am a 3 time HT patient and while I am certainly not the be all, end all in this industry, I have a good idea of what most people should look for.

As one bald brother to another, trust me when I say, "I am happy for your result." Nothing warms my heart more than a satisfied HT patient---I hear so many horror stories, it is nice to hear a good result.

Again though, I believe in GREAT results, not just good ones. Also, I do not represent just any old clinic---if you spent much time doing research you would know that SMG is one of the top clinics in the world--not just for our outstanding work, but for our ethics and for Dr. Ron Shapiro's contributions to the field of hair transplantation.

I guess if your not aware of me, or how SMG operates, I could have come on a little strong....for that I apologize.

If you do some research around the boards, you will see that I am about the only representative that consistently recommends other clinics to patients in the effort to make sure they choose a great clinic.

For example, Dr. Lindsay operates in McLean Virginia---I happen to think his work is pretty good. He trained with Dr. Feller--however, at this time, I am more comfortable sending people to Jerry Cooley who I KNOW, 100% does fantastic work and does not put patients at risk. To people like myself, Gillenator, Spencer and many others this is no game and doctor recommendations do not come lightly and new doctor recommendations are earned.

It is nothing personal mate, hope you hang around and help others out on threads--perhaps you could get Dr. Segev to contact Spencer and have him check your doc out--- that way we get an unbiased look and if he makes the cut great! If not, at least we know.

I have no hard feelings toward you, I wish you well and I offer my apologies again, if you think I came on too strong.

Take Care,
Jason

[Harry West]

Jason,

You recommend Dr. Jerry Cooley in North Carolina. Do you have any thoughts or knowledge on Dr. Mark Baxa in Charlotte, NC?

Many thanks.

[the B spot]

Harry-- Here is what I think---I think you have gotten some great opinions and advice on this thread(and a little something extra!).

Dr. Cooley and D. Baxa are in the same city--- set up a consult with both and drive down and meet with them. At that point in time, you will have enough information to make a proper decision, regardless of which doctor you choose.

Should you continue on and consult with both doctors and subsequently have a procedure, I would hope that you come back and share your experiences with this forum.

Take Care,
Jason

[gillenator]

hairnow123,

No offense but the pics you put up are not a good example of your doc's work because it does not really show much except that you have some hair. Do you have any that show your before situation so we have an idea exactly where the grafts were placed? I mean we don't know if or where your hairline had any reconstruction. I clicked on your thumbnail but it is blurry and does not show a clear up close shot of your hairline. Did you by chance take the pics with your phone?

Surely your doc had pics done of you just before entering the OR and then immediately after showing where the grafts are situated. Without that, it's very difficult to assess anything. Gel prevents the eye to see the angulation of the grown out hair as it lays on one's head when it's dry and especially when you are under 12 months post-op like you are. Again, no offense but I am always leary of anyone who shows a post-op pic with their hair gelled.

You stated you did alot of research and I am assuming you mean online. If so, which online communities and forums did you surf? I mean it's very odd that you did not know who bspot is and Shapiro Medical.

BTW, I live in this area, and have been researching and following this field for 29 years now. I am very well aware of the HT doctors and clinics in this area including VS. You are the first patient of Dr. Segev and VSC that I have seen in any forum although I have seen several patients that had some work done there. I did make a recommendation on this thread already but if you are happy, that's what counts I guess.

[gillenator]

I apologize, I missed the pics right after surgery so now I have an idea where the grafts went although the pics are still blurry.

Do you have any digital quality of your hairline up close and dry?

[hairnow123]

Hi Jason,

Sorry for delay response. I have been busy working. I appreciate your understanding and yeah we are on the same team..although "one bald brother to another" FORMER BALD BROTHER BRO..:) :) I am just being light hearted for the record. I appreciate your concern and looking out for people. I just truly had a good experience with my surgery at Virginia Surgical and wanted to share giving recognition to those who helped me at VSC. Again, no hard feelings here. Also, per Gillenator's request I am attaching day 1 pictures to see what I was like on day one after surgery and what the area VSC worked. I have some more pictures I will search for. Sorry they are not professional pictures but they should descent enough to get the jist. I put it next to my final after picture which I posted already. You will see big improvement and why I am happy.

[gillenator]

Hairnow123,

Thanks for the pic right after surgery. Yes it is still blurry but looking at it without enlarging it shows enough to get the idea of where they placed your grafts.

The bottom line is that you are happy and that's what counts along with the yield of course. Congrats man. You should have more coming too!

Keep us in the loop.

[coorsdk]

Hey man,

I had my initial consultation at VSC recently and am strongly considering having work done there shortly -- I was hoping I could get your e-mail so I could ask you some questions and get some feedback from you.

Please let me know how I can reach you.

Your results look great to me, and I agree with you that there are surely doctors that are not on whatever list this shmohawk is talking about -- doctors that have been in this field performing these procedures for 20+ years.

Anyway give me a holla, I'm interested to discuss with you.

[Jkel]

Like I wrote last year, something is not Kosher here. Being on the IAHRS is very important and everybody know this. Many doctors have been around for 20 years and most are not a part of these lists for a reason. People have to be crazy not to take a close look at who is looked at favorably on the internet, the IAHRS and on this site. These recommendations make it easy to see who the best doctors are. What the heck is a smohawk anyway?

[Winston]

I agree 100% with Jkel.

[gillenator]

Hey man,

I had my initial consultation at VSC recently and am strongly considering having work done there shortly -- I was hoping I could get your e-mail so I could ask you some questions and get some feedback from you.

Please let me know how I can reach you.

Your results look great to me, and I agree with you that there are surely doctors that are not on whatever list this shmohawk is talking about -- doctors that have been in this field performing these procedures for 20+ years.

Anyway give me a holla, I'm interested to discuss with you.


coorsdk,

If you do have work done by VSC, let me know how your results turn out. I live in Northern Virginia (Wash DC) area and yet do not hear much about them.

[tbtadmin]

Dr. William Lindsey is currently the only IAHRS recommended physician in your area. He is located in McLean, VA.

http://www.iahrs.org/DisplayProfile.asp?ID=%C8%EB&sID=%A7%9A

[Nodensity]

I had 2 HTs with Dr Gil Segev (virginiasurgical.com). They suggested that I have 2 sessions. After the first surgery, the transplanted area has many empty spots, and the hairline looks very terrible. I came back, and they said the density issue would be fixed on the 2nd HT, and I believed them.

After the 2nd HT, I was a little suspicious about the number of grafts they charged me for. So I had my friend spend a few hours counting new grafts. I turned out that I was right. It was short about 800+ grafts. And worse, after the 2nd HT, the density doesn't improve.

Why did I go there? Because it was cheap ($3/graft). Now I really regret it. I should have gone to more well-known surgeons such as Hasson & Wong. And for the same amount of money, I can have more density as the patients I see on this website.

The bottom line: Stay away from Dr Gil Segev (virginiasurgical.com)

[gillenator]

Thanks for the feedback and wish you the best next time.

[Jkel]

People have to realize by now that these sites and list of good doctors exist for a very good reason. Why would anyone go to a doctor who is not well received on the internet?

[gillenator]

People have to realize by now that these sites and list of good doctors exist for a very good reason. Why would anyone go to a doctor who is not well received on the internet?

I have found that one of the main reasons patients go to "no name" HT doctors is because they are lured by the cheap prices being offered. No Name doctors usually advertise in their local newspapers with display ads and other local media with deals that are extremely cheap compared to the top docs.

[RHINO3]

I had a 1500 graft session at VSC 13 months ago and am not all that pleased with the results. The new hair is still immature and wispy, and isn't very dense. There's not much of a difference in my overall appearance. They want to do a 2nd HT and I'm conflicted about giving them another chance. I did consult with a local doctor who is recommended by the IAHRS, and he said it was unclear if my first HT was poorly done or not -- he said it's possible there are other factors, such as my physiology, stress levels, or possible damage during the first few days post-op.

One thing that confuses me on these forums is the fact that the doctors reputation and expertise is used to gauge the likelihood of a good HT -- but isn't just the donor scar a good way to gauge the skill of the doctor, and the success of the HT is actually more a reflection of the staff? My understanding is that all HT docs come in to take a strip from the donor area and the staff actually makes the transplant. Is it just assumed that the most skilled/experienced staff are only with doctors approved by the IAHRS? I'm not insinuating that they're not -- I'm a rookie here -- I'm just trying to collect as much info as possible before taking next steps, and it seems like the doctors get all the credit or blame but never actually perform the transplant. Isn't it possible that a doctor just starting in HT's could have experienced and skilled staff?

Thanks...

[gillenator]

I had a 1500 graft session at VSC 13 months ago and am not all that pleased with the results. The new hair is still immature and wispy, and isn't very dense. There's not much of a difference in my overall appearance. They want to do a 2nd HT and I'm conflicted about giving them another chance. I did consult with a local doctor who is recommended by the ISHRS, and he said it was unclear if my first HT was poorly done or not -- he said it's possible there are other factors, such as my physiology, stress levels, or possible damage during the first few days post-op.

One thing that confuses me on these forums is the fact that the doctors reputation and expertise is used to gauge the likelihood of a good HT -- but isn't just the donor scar a good way to gauge the skill of the doctor, and the success of the HT is actually more a reflection of the staff? My understanding is that all HT docs come in to take a strip from the donor area and the staff actually makes the transplant. Is it just assumed that the most skilled/experienced staff are only with doctors approved by the ISHRS? I'm not insinuating that they're not -- I'm a rookie here -- I'm just trying to collect as much info as possible before taking next steps, and it seems like the doctors get all the credit or blame but never actually perform the transplant. Isn't it possible that a doctor just starting in HT's could have experienced and skilled staff?

Thanks...

Rhino,

You ask some very good questions and also bring up some very credible issues. My advice to you is to stay away from VSC simply because of some things that their patients have said in these forums. I live in the area and have not heard good things.

I cannot comment on their docs because I do not know them or their backgrounds. Nor do we know anything about their techs.

Yes it's true that the surgeon in most cases takes out the strip. Legally, the licensed physician is the only one who is allowed to do it. They must be competent in closing the area after strip excision so that the linear scar comes out as thin as possible.

In addition it is also the surgeon in most cases that creates the recipient incision sites that the grafts are placed in. This takes a fair amount of skill, talent, and expertise because of the acute angulations that are needed to create a natural appearing hairline.

But whenever I hear from patients who are complaining about lack of yield, poor regrowth, etc usually has to do with how the strip was dissected by the techs. If the techs are inexperienced, do not dissect using microscopes, alot of damage can be done to the grafts and they do not grow or a smaller percent of them grow.

So the doc may take the strip out and close the area sufficiently, but if the techs are new or substandard, you can still get a poor result.

The more incompentent clinic/docs usually will inform the patient that they simply need more work done which is the worst thing you could do, go back for more of the same.

You will note that the best docs have been around for a long time, belong to communities like this one, and do not have patient complaints.

Feel free to contact me for recommendations in getting your situation resolved.

[RHINO3]

Thanks, Gillenator. I sent you a personal message with some questions -- hope to hear from you soon.

[gillenator]

Thanks, Gillenator. I sent you a personal message with some questions -- hope to hear from you soon.

Rhino3,

Have not received anything from you yet. Did you try sending me an e-mail?

Hope you are well.

[RHINO3]

Gillenator, I wrote on your profile page, but I'll send an email this time. Thanks.

[MichaelM]

Hi, I'm new to this forum. Since I had my work done 9 months ago, I naturally wanted to see what others may be saying.

I'll try to be concise. I always do a LOT of research before spending money and this was no different. The Virginia Surgical Ctr. price was quite competitive, to the low end in fact. Now that I have had 2500 grafts in place for the better part of a year, I think they are way Under Priced.

They did an amazing job on the scar. I cant even feel it or see it with a mirror. Some kind of overlap thing where natural hair grows back through it. I was pretty skeptical when they described it, but it's true.

The hair at the grafts is about 80% grown in (my guess) and it looks great. What particularly surprised me was that no one...not even my mother, knew that I had the work done. I started routinely wearing a hat about a month before the work and for several weeks after during healing. After a few weeks, you couldn't tell that anything had been done. Now I get occassional comments like, Did you color your hair? or Is your hair growing back? (I credit my Laser Comb ;)

Now that I see actual results, I am very pleased at how natural my hair looks. Nothing like some of the horror stories you see even with celebrities who are supposed to go to the biggest name doctors in the business.

Virginia Surgical Center (Virginia Beach, VA) completely outperformed my highest expectations. It's a shame that I'm not telling people that I had it done, because I would like to support this excellent business and professional staff. I hope that by sharing my experience here I can help others who may we considering hair transplantation. If I were to do it all over again, I would only choose Virginia Surgical!

[Jkel]

Hi, I'm new to this forum. Since I had my work done 9 months ago, I naturally wanted to see what others may be saying.

I'll try to be concise. I always do a LOT of research before spending money and this was no different. The Virginia Surgical Ctr. price was quite competitive, to the low end in fact. Now that I have had 2500 grafts in place for the better part of a year, I think they are way Under Priced.

They did an amazing job on the scar. I cant even feel it or see it with a mirror. Some kind of overlap thing where natural hair grows back through it. I was pretty skeptical when they described it, but it's true.

The hair at the grafts is about 80% grown in (my guess) and it looks great. What particularly surprised me was that no one...not even my mother, knew that I had the work done. I started routinely wearing a hat about a month before the work and for several weeks after during healing. After a few weeks, you couldn't tell that anything had been done. Now I get occassional comments like, Did you color your hair? or Is your hair growing back? (I credit my Laser Comb ;)

Now that I see actual results, I am very pleased at how natural my hair looks. Nothing like some of the horror stories you see even with celebrities who are supposed to go to the biggest name doctors in the business.

Virginia Surgical Center (Virginia Beach, VA) completely outperformed my highest expectations. It's a shame that I'm not telling people that I had it done, because I would like to support this excellent business and professional staff. I hope that by sharing my experience here I can help others who may we considering hair transplantation. If I were to do it all over again, I would only choose Virginia Surgical!

Wow, if this isn’t spam I don’t know what is? I always get a big kick out of these phony testimonials. Real people don’t post like this buddy, it’s like a commercial for Vagina Surgical Center (Virgina Beach, VA) lol:).

[MichaelM]

Wow, if this isn’t spam I don’t know what is? I always get a big kick out of these phony testimonials. Real people don’t post like this buddy, it’s like a commercial for Vagina Surgical Center (Virgina Beach, VA) lol:).

Having spent my last 6 years as a copywriter (prior to acting), I can see why you might think that, Jkl. But you're wrong this time. I really like the place, got better results than I expected, and want to let other people who may be as conflicted as i was, know about them. Why is it only "not spam" if you dis a place, lol

I'm not going to blog about it, because I don't want to have it be common knowledge that I had this done. But, this ain't spam, nor is it paid for, nor am I in any way affiliated with VSC or any medical professional, service, or product.

[gillenator]

Having spent my last 6 years as a copywriter (prior to acting), I can see why you might think that, Jkl. But you're wrong this time. I really like the place, got better results than I expected, and want to let other people who may be as conflicted as i was, know about them. Why is it only "not spam" if you dis a place, lol

I'm not going to blog about it, because I don't want to have it be common knowledge that I had this done. But, this ain't spam, nor is it paid for, nor am I in any way affiliated with VSC or any medical professional, service, or product.

Well then, where are the pics to support your story like most credible testimonials do? It's odd that you suddenly appear 9 months after your procedure? It almost sounds like you just had it done and no pics?

You also just joined right this community right? People who have done reserach as long as you stated would have a much older join date for the amount of research done.

I tend to agree with Jkel's observations but not accusing you. Just my observations. And I have never seen a positive post about VSC anywhere online before.