My HT consultation

[Thinning@30]

I recently had a consult with an IAHRS approved doctor. It was very disappointing. I had wanted to do a consult with this doctor because his practice is close to where I live and because his website said he offered FUE with several pictures of FUE patients with what looked like decent results.

During the consult, the doctor tried to sell me a strip procedure, and when I asked about FUE he told that FUE was only for doing very small procedures to hide strip transplant scars. I was shocked. If he had told me that he didn't do FUE or that he thought I was not a good candidate I could understand, but I know FUE is a valid HT method that plenty of surgeons have used with good results. The doctor also tried to convince me that I could get a 2000 graft strip procedure done on a Friday, drive myself home from the clinic, and then return to work the next Monday and no one would be able to tell that I'd had a procedure. This flies in the face of everything I've been told about HTs from HT patients. Every other patient and HT doctor I've spoken said to take the maximum amount of time off from work for the recovery and that I would need to take it easy for at a least a few weeks. The doctor also tried to pressure me to get the procedure done right away. HT and any other cosmetic surgery is something to think long and hard about, not something to do on a whim. I realize these doctors have to make money, and maybe I'm naive, but the whole thing felt disgustingly like a sales pitch rather than an honest consultation with someone who would put my interests as a patient first.

I guess I expected more from an IAHRS approved surgeon. I feel like this doctor took me for an unsophisticated patient and tried to take advantage of that by trying to pressure me into getting a procedure right away, getting the type of procedure I didn't want, and by misleading me about the recovery time. I don't want to say which doctor this was, but I hope anyone considering a HT will choose their surgeon very carefully, and talk to lots of doctors to get plenty of second opinions. After this consult, I can see how some HT doctors give people false expectations about what to expect from the surgery, and how so many HT patients are set up for disappointment.

[fitness-man]

ouch that sucks sorry to hear about your bad experience.
did you do any online consultation with the doctor before hand?

i sent dr. harris my head shots and he gave me his estimate and answered a few questions back and forth which is leading me to get an onsite consultation. more than likely i will walk out of the consultation with an appt to get a ht with him and the robot.

assuming things were close to what was discussed in the email consultation.

[Thinning@30]

I didn't do an online consultation beforehand since the doctor was local.

I don't know much about Dr. Harris or the new FUE robot. My advice to you would be to do in person consults with at least two other HT doctors before you sign up for a procedure. Also, especially since you're considering something that is still very new, you should ask to see photos of actual results, and try to meet with other patients if at all possible.

[Mountinvan]

First of all, how did Dr. Harris and his robot get involved?

Second, I cannot see you driving home from a 2,000 FUT unless you are accustomed to driving on drugs! Good luck with that!

Going back to work on Monday--three days later. Good luck with that. The donor will be sore. You will be coming off drugs. Your hair will not look good. Your head will hurt. Should I go on? Is the Doc serious?

[fitness-man]

First of all, how did Dr. Harris and his robot get involved?

he didn't get involve.. am i not allowed to share my HT consultation experience

[Jotronic]

Actually, driving after a procedure is quite safe if the clinic didn't pump the patient up with drugs. I drove home to Seattle the same day of my first surgery (2406 grafts) which is normally a three hour drive. However this particular day a blizzard just happened to roll in and my drive took six hours and I was no worse for wear from the experience.

How one can return to work is really up to them however as different patients have different ideas of what looks acceptable.

[Thinning@30]

The doc seemed pretty serious. I know some people who have taken months off work following HTs, and all but retired socially until the new hair grew in. Perphaps there are a few fast healers out there, but I think a patient would have to be extremely lucky to get a HT on Friday and then return to work the next Monday with no significant pain, no significant lingering effects of drugs, no visible redness, no visible scabs, no shock loss etc. The idea that no one else would be able detect anything that soon after the procedure when there are still staples and sutures in the head seems absurd.

I'm also still really bothered by what this doc told me about FUE. I know there are docs here that oppose FUE for various medical reasons and others that specialize in strip and prefer to stick what they feel they do well. I understand and respect those opinions. I would also have understood if this doc had told me that based on my goals and hair charecteristics that strip would be a better procedure for me. But to tell me that FUE was only for filling in strip scars when I know that is not true is very upsetting.

[gillenator]

I also went to work "the next day" after my "2nd and 3rd" HTs. And I had strip for all 4 of my procedures. I had enough visible hair to hide the recipient area pretty well except the hairline area still showed some effects from surgery. And I took my pain meds as directed.

Yet I was working inside the clinics at both times. After my fourth HT procedure, my wife drove me back home approximately 1280 miles. It took 2 days of driving. That was no fun but I still did it. When I arrived home, I took it real easy for two days. Again, the pain meds made the difference in my discomfort.

Although I did this, looking back I would have preferred to take several days off, probably no more than 3 days at most. I am not one that can just lay low, sit around and rest. I also did not care what I looked like since I am so involved in the industry. No one ever looked at my hairline wierd nor did anyone ask me anything. The sutures are usually well hidden after a strip. I knew what to expect after seeing soooo many patients go through the same thing. I have never seen anyone needing a month off.

Now, let's say I would have been completely bald, not involved in the industry, I no doubt would have viewed things much differently. Without any existing hair to camoflauge my appearance, I probably would have wanted to wait until the crusts and scabs were at least gone.

I really do understand the deception and your frustration. I hear about it more often than I want. I hear about guys going in for FUE consults and the doctor tries to sway them into strip. Some of it is intentional bait and switch, some is not. Some doctors can see so much miniturization into other areas of the scalp that they can readily see that this patient is going to need more work in the future and why start with FUE when strip is more appropriate for that patient. Some docs do not explain this very well.

And if they try to rush you into surgery right away, that is indeed a bad sign and red flags should go up in anyone's mind. Good for you for leaving and not looking back. Sad to hear this came from an IAHRS surgeon!

You are correct in that FUE is not just for filling in strip scars. Congrats on doing your homework to know better. Some patients get fooled.

Keep searching. You will eventually find the right one and you will know when you do find the right doc.

Best wishes to you friend..

[mattj]

I'm also still really bothered by what this doc told me about FUE. I know there are docs here that oppose FUE for various medical reasons and others that specialize in strip and prefer to stick what they feel they do well. I understand and respect those opinions. I would also have understood if this doc had told me that based on my goals and hair charecteristics that strip would be a better procedure for me. But to tell me that FUE was only for filling in strip scars when I know that is not true is very upsetting.

Well I don't think he was necessarily being untruthful with you. It was his own personal view of what FUE is suitable for, which in a way is the same as opposing FUE for medical reasons, just not quite as limited. It's good that you didn't travel a long way to be disappointed like this.

[Mr. 4000]

if you are getting 2000 grafts and you think you are going to work in two days you are blanking crazy.

You will look like absolute shit. You will be extremely red in the areas of the grafts with little hairs sticking up, with shaved areas, and long hair where the natives hair is located and tons of scabs.

hell, no one will notice a thing, lol..... not to mention 10-15 inches of sutures that will need to be covered up in the back and side of your head by long hair.

some of you people need to be ****ing honest on this board instead of misleading this guy.

Strip is the go to methods of these docs. They love it because you will need another or they can make it that you will need another by coming up short on purpose. It is a money pit that you will always be in debt to, but they will never explain it that way.

Patients like myself have nothing invested, I don't pay my bills by ripping people off or misleading them. So I can be honest.

I started a thread on here that was titled Are you happy with your results of your HT" something like that, and I just don't see many happy campers it is always the opposite, a binch of wishful thinkers that try to convince themselves that they didn't waste their money.

Hell, Spex on here claims to had to have 10 procedures to be satisfied and in another year will probably want or need another procedure. I would love to know where he is getting all his donor but god bless him.

By the way I read everything he typed on this website and my experience was not nearly close to what he said to expect. I respect his expertise and he has a ton of knowledge but that said it didn't help me at all. There was nothing I could do to combat what my doctor did to me.

[Thinning@30]

Well I don't think he was necessarily being untruthful with you. It was his own personal view of what FUE is suitable for, which in a way is the same as opposing FUE for medical reasons, just not quite as limited. It's good that you didn't travel a long way to be disappointed like this.

I should mention that this doctor advertizes FUE on his website, and there are even photos there that are purported to be of FUE patients. If the doctor only performs very small FUE procedures to hide strip scars, then it is dishonest for him to advertize that he performs FUE without that information and for him to represent photos of strip patients as being FUE patients.

In retrospect, I think this was a classic bait-and-switch. Maybe I'm an FUE candidate, maybe I'm not. But I know I'll never get an honest answer from that doctor.

if you are getting 2000 grafts and you think you are going to work in two days you are blanking crazy.

You will look like absolute shit. You will be extremely red in the areas of the grafts with little hairs sticking up, with shaved areas, and long hair where the natives hair is located and tons of scabs.

hell, no one will notice a thing, lol..... not to mention 10-15 inches of sutures that will need to be covered up in the back and side of your head by long hair.

Thank you Mr. 4000. By the way, I read the thread you started on your experience, and I think anyone contemplating a HT should read it. I'm very sorry about what happened to you. I knew this doctor was full of it when he told me I could get the procedure on Friday and return to work Monday with no one suspecting a thing! That was one of so many red flags during my consult. The doctor tried to create a false sense of urgency about getting the HT (you had better sign up now, I book up quickly. If you sign up now, I can give you a discount. If you wait, the price will go up!). What's the rush? If I take the time do more research, will I find all sorts of derogatory information about your practice? Other physicians with better track records? It also struck me as odd that there only seemed to be one other person working the office besides the doctor. Maybe that's not too unusual, but it is at odds with this doc's claim that he's a busy man with a waiting list full of celebrities and VIPs. The clinic itself also seemed kind of dated. Not in a run down kind of way, but hardly the state of the art immaculately clean environment I would expect for a place that does surgery.

I didn't have to pay anything for this consult, but it was a wretched waste of time, not to mention train and cab fare. The doctor seemed completely unscrupulous. I have no intention of signing up for a procedure with this doc, and the whole thing has kind of put me off to HTs altogether. There are just too many scammers out there who overpromise and underdeliver, and I don't think most patients are ultimately satisfied with their results. I just hope Replicel, Histogen, Aderans, or some other company comes up with something that will put an end to this madness.

[Mr. 4000]

I don't think many people realize the thousands of dollars that can be spent just looking for a doctor. Travel, food, time, research, then having to filter through the information which some of it will be misleading.

Thats why people rely on others experience and the internet. That is why I am here. It is also the reason the other site banned me from posting a negative story.

Just be careful, time can be your best friend or your enemy. Don't rush into anything. Do what you are doing and don't trust anyone.

If I was to give advice, it would be experimental FUE (small session at the right price) or nothing. Strip is dangerous and is no solution unless you are a NW 2 or less at a late age.

[Mountinvan]

I respectfully disagree with Strip being dangerous or only appropriate for late stage NW2s or less. This Forum is replete with wonderful strip results for NWs of all stages and of all ages. Spex is the exception, I believe, with the number of procedures he has been through. I would venture that most HT patients have 4 or fewer? Would anybody care to comment?