Schedule HT With Bosley in Atlanta

[Fleetwood271]

Hi Everyone. I am 48 and have been considering HT for 3 or 4 years. I'm a Class 4 - 5 on the Norwood scale. I live an hour North of Nashville.
I have scheduled a HT with Bosley in Atlanta. They are to do 2000 grafts.

I've read some bad things about Bosley, but I've also seen that they are improving. I still have time to cancel my surgery if I need to do so.

I honestly don't know if I've just got pre-surgery jitters, or if I'm having serious doubts about the whole thing.

I know that Bosely uses techs to place the grafts, instead of the doctor himself doing that. But, is that always a bad thing? I've read that I should choose to have this done where it is done everyday, and not just once a week or once a month. Bosley meets this requirement. Even if techs place the grafts, they are doing so under supervision, right?
I have also read that pitting can be caused by placing the grafts too deep. Is this something that has been known to come from Bosley more than other surgeons? And if I mention that on the day of my HT, would they not be more careful?

One more thing I read that concerns me , is that at least one Dr on this site said that realistically, he and his team cannot place more than 900 grafts in an 8 to 9 hour session. He said if more are needed, that would have to be done a year or so later. Yet, Bosley is saying they will do 2000 in one day. Is this not true? Will they not place that many?

I'd appreciate any thoughts or comments anyone would like to offer.

Thanks!

[mkamph]

i'd cancel it and go with an iahrs recommended surgeon. good luck with whatever direction you choose.

[Fleetwood271]

Can someone tell me why Bosley is such a bad choice? I am new to this whole thing, but just trying to understand.

Are there specific reasons for not going to Bosley? I understand their marketing techniques are kinda pushy. I also understand their consultations are by guys who are basically salesmen. They are not doctors.

But as far as the actual procedure, what is wrong with the way Bosley does it?

Thanks for your comments.

[wilymon]

Originally Posted by Fleetwood271

Can someone tell me why Bosley is such a bad choice? I am new to this whole thing, but just trying to understand.

Are there specific reasons for not going to Bosley? I understand their marketing techniques are kinda pushy. I also understand their consultations are by guys who are basically salesmen. They are not doctors.

But as far as the actual procedure, what is wrong with the way Bosley does it?

Thanks for your comments.

I'm interested to know an answer to this also. What I've always thought is that it's like the difference between going to chain McDonalds restaurant that has a new crew every few months versus a hole-in-the-wall restaurant where the chef has been working there for 2 decades and cares about every customer and every burger he makes is a work of art.

[Deluxe]

I was in your shoes once, when I had set up a consultation with Bosley, but lucky for me, I found this forum. After much research, I realized that I made the best decision by not going to them. The basic reason is that Bosley is more assembly line type of clinic where they push volume over quality. Sure, once in a while they will hit a homerun, but I wouldn't take that chance.

Do your research, and find a doctor who is reputable and has had experience in the industry. The doctor that I chose was an IAHRS member (one of the elite docs) who performed his procedure on me with techs who have been with him for a long, long time. Plus, he implanted majority of the grafts himself. He was by my side the entire time and may have left for maybe 5 min out of the entire 8 hr procedure. I could have gone somewhere that was cheaper, but it may cost you much much more in the long run. I paid a little bit more, but that was worth having peace of mind and knowing that I was in good hands with an ethical and first rate doctor. My doctors name was Dr. Konior.

Do yourself a favor and find a doctor that is recommended on here and consult with a few before you make your final decision.

In my opinion, don't take a chance with Bosley.

[amadeus]

Bosley has a really bad reputation overall. I would strongly encourage you to listen to the members of this forum and go to an IAHRS surgeon if you go through with surgery. There are just too many horror stories from Bosley patients on these boards. I would not take the risk and they are fairly expensive too. I think you might have read the thing about only doing 900 grafts per day wrong. The average surgery is probably over 2000 in one day.