Dr. Alexander:My nightmare experience

[Mr. 4000]

Many on this board have read my posts concerning my HT experience with Dr. Alexander from Phx, Arizona.

I want to document my entire story in hopes to educate those that are considering the HT path.

Help those individuals that think they did their research like I thought I did, to find that doctor you are going to hope does great cosmetic work, and certainly would never put your health at risk.

I researched for over a year, called offices and visited local doctors, but ended up relying on the internet to find a doc that could not only meet my expectation cosmetically but protect my privacy along the way. Both were very important concerns as they are for most.

I will add a post from time to time to continue my story feel free to ask questions, critique, and as always Dr. Alexander you are encouraged to stop by and post your side of my story at anytime.

[KeepTheHair]

THis the first time your posting his name?

[Follicle Death Row]

Very sorry to hear about your bad experience. I wish you all the very best with resolving the situation as best as possible. The thought of a bad FUT terrifies me. I really hope Aderans, Histogen and Replicel can get something out to help you and others sometime around 2014 or shortly after.

I have heard of a doctor from Egypt who has treated young children with alpoecia areata and other hair disorders by taking bone marrow stem cells and injecting them into the scalp. I wish they could at least try this for repair patients who do not wish to undergo another FUT. They believe it may work for MPB sufferers as it is thought to revive the progenitor cells which Kostarelis (apologies if the the spelling is wrong) has shown are still there.

I think a great deal good be learned from trying this and many repair patients would have nothing to lose. It would either work and improve their situation or they would be in the same place as before.

Again I wish you all the very best.

[Mr. 4000]

THis the first time your posting his name?

directly? yes, I have posted his name in my last couple post on other topics

oh and thanks FDR for that information and the kind words

[DAVE52]

I am interested to read your story and see how long this post will remain up

[DepressedByHairLoss]

Follicle Death Row, I heard about the lady in Egypt (Marwa Fawzi) successfully treating various forms of alopecia in children but I didn't know that it was with bone marrow stem cells. That is really encouraging that these bone marrow stem cells were used. I've heard talk about bone marrow stem cells being used to stimulate hair growth. I've talked about this before and I really wish some one would try this. Sometimes I think these doctors get way too stuck with these stupid hair transplants. I also agree with you that I'm terrified of FUT, that's I could never get one; I know I'd regret it. Even FUE causes scarring. I don't think using bone marrow stem cells would cause any head scarring so that's why I'm intrigued.
Mr. 4000, that's really good of you to post what you're posting right now. I wish you the best as well. I really think that a lot more goes wrong with hair transplants than we are led to believe and I've read all of these stories (some on here) of hair transplants gone wrong. That's why I'm interested in all of these new therapies, and why most people don't opt for hair transplants in the first place.

[HelpROGER]

You know I’m on your side man, I’ve been following your situation and posted on the other thread, but I have seen some really impressive hair transplants and think people have good hair transplants from good doctors every day, and in all fairness Dr. Alexander seems to be one of the better doctors out there. I don’t know exactly what happened in your case, but I think it’s fair to say that complications can occur with anything, even botox injections. For me, I’m willing to take a calculated risk when the time is right. I cancelled my surgery with MHR because I found this forum and when I am ready and actually have the funds it will take to complete the job I will be going for it. I personally don’t think it’s fair to people who can benefit from a hair translant to try to turn them off of it because of one isolated experience. That’s just my opinion, nothing personal and I do feel for you, don't get me wrong.

[Follicle Death Row]

Follicle Death Row, I heard about the lady in Egypt (Marwa Fawzi) successfully treating various forms of alopecia in children but I didn't know that it was with bone marrow stem cells. That is really encouraging that these bone marrow stem cells were used. I've heard talk about bone marrow stem cells being used to stimulate hair growth. I've talked about this before and I really wish some one would try this. Sometimes I think these doctors get way too stuck with these stupid hair transplants. I also agree with you that I'm terrified of FUT, that's I could never get one; I know I'd regret it. Even FUE causes scarring. I don't think using bone marrow stem cells would cause any head scarring so that's why I'm intrigued.
Mr. 4000, that's really good of you to post what you're posting right now. I wish you the best as well. I really think that a lot more goes wrong with hair transplants than we are led to believe and I've read all of these stories (some on here) of hair transplants gone wrong. That's why I'm interested in all of these new therapies, and why most people don't opt for hair transplants in the first place.

I was wrong about the bone marrow stem cells. I think I read that in another post somewhere. A quick google shows that what Dr. Fawzai does is in fact akin to what Aderans and Replicel are looking into.

http://www.stem-cells-news.com/1/tag/stem-cells-for-alopecia-areata-dr-marwa-fawzi/

Stem cells are multiplied and cultured from a tiny piece of your own scalp. Sounds exactly like what Aderans and Replicel are doing except Dr. Fawzai has already done it in children with alopecia areata with success. Very interesting. I'd love to see this done on a repair patient pro bono. If nothing else Mr. 4000 you should look into this.

[Mr. 4000]

You know I’m on your side man, I’ve been following your situation and posted on the other thread, but I have seen some really impressive hair transplants and think people have good hair transplants from good doctors every day, and in all fairness Dr. Alexander seems to be one of the better doctors out there. I don’t know exactly what happened in your case, but I think it’s fair to say that complications can occur with anything, even botox injections. For me, I’m willing to take a calculated risk when the time is right. I cancelled my surgery with MHR because I found this forum and when I am ready and actually have the funds it will take to complete the job I will be going for it. I personally don’t think it’s fair to people who can benefit from a hair translant to try to turn them off of it because of one isolated experience. That’s just my opinion, nothing personal and I do feel for you, don't get me wrong.

certainly won't be my intentions but think people will learn a lot from my story, and you certainly shouldn't go by what you are seeing on the internet, it is a marketing tool for Doctors and reps.

[Follicle Death Row]

I think it's very important that people that have had sub par work let us know. I'm pretty sure every clinic's photo gallery doesn't provide an entirely fair representation of the standard of their work. You'd expect that they might be putting up only their above average results. They can definitely be misleading.

It's essential that this forum allows people to see and hear from satisfied and dissatisfied patients alike in order to form a true opinion on what's right for them.

[Mr. 4000]

my early communication with Dr. Alexander was done through a rep named Nicole Johnson. She was a nice on the surface but lied on many occasions. My first impression was that she was not trying to sell my anything but was really promoting something she believed in. SHe was very easy to get in contact with, almost too easy. She responded immediately by email by phone. I had no problem with it at all, I though it was very professional.

In hindsight she told me many lies and maybe more lies then I think to this day. The biggest without a doubt was the promotion of Dr. ALexander being able to to do sessions that would require 4000 graft or better.

Dr. Alexander was quoted almost complaining at the end of my surgery saying that he can't believe that doctors would work this late into the evening on a daily basis. I felt like a burden when I left his office as they wrapped up the paper work at about 6 -6:30 ish.

Another lie which was a deal breaker was that she told me that Dr. ALexander didn't have to shave your head to do a HT. I turned down some great doctors that said they shaved. He stayed on my list because of the lie that Nicole Johnson stated.

Here are a couple emails from her to me:

[I]I will cover more with you tomorrow. in the meantime, I am holding the 22nd, with no obligation.

I would like to go in more detail of our procedure, and why it is truly superior over most. We can absolutely perform a 4000 graft procedure.

I will be in touch tomorrow morning.

Best regards,

Nicole

Nicole Johnson
Patient Coordinator
4444 North 32nd Street, Suite 230
Phoenix, AZ 85018
602-956-8800
(personal cell phone # removed)

This is the classic pressure the client into a decision email looking back....

Dr. Alexander has another patient that would like July 22nd. I told him that you were definitely confirmed for the date, but I do need your deposit today. You are welcome to call or email me with the information. I can be reached at my home office number, which is (personal cell # removed). Sorry about the urgency of needing your deposit, but it is just office policy.I told Dr. Alexander that I was going to get it to him no later than 5:00.

I look forward to hearing from you.

Regards,

Nicole


When I read through the 10 plus emails I saved and probably another 5-6 I deleted along the way it makes me a little ill. She claimed her husband had a HT done which could be true, and she also claimed her father was an HT doctor and that is how she got into the industry. I never met this person to this day.

[DepressedByHairLoss]

I was wrong about the bone marrow stem cells. I think I read that in another post somewhere. A quick google shows that what Dr. Fawzai does is in fact akin to what Aderans and Replicel are looking into.

http://www.stem-cells-news.com/1/tag/stem-cells-for-alopecia-areata-dr-marwa-fawzi/

Stem cells are multiplied and cultured from a tiny piece of your own scalp. Sounds exactly like what Aderans and Replicel are doing except Dr. Fawzai has already done it in children with alopecia areata with success. Very interesting. I'd love to see this done on a repair patient pro bono. If nothing else Mr. 4000 you should look into this.

It is interesting that Dr. Fawzi's treatment worked with remarkable results while as far as I know, Aderans's treatment really hasn't worked well at all. I wish Aderans would try and tap into the process that she's doing. Also, I wish that Ms. Fawzi's treatment would be available abroad. It's already done wonders for others (with no complications) and I think many people such as myself would jump at the chance to try it.

[Mr. 4000]

I spoke with dr. alexander on one occasion for a phone consultation. It was a very uncomfortable phone conversation because in the back of my mind I was contemplating this whole idea or at least questioning myself on what I was getting myself into.

He quoted me in the range of 3000-3500 graft which was actually good news because if he could do a 4000 graft session I should be in good hands. I was told by Nicole Johnson and Dr. Alexander both, that 4000 was possible. One pass was a priority because no matter what anyone tells you recovery from a HT takes forever.

I wanted to book with Dr. Wong, he was my top guy but he was booked and couldn't do unshaved (or wouldn't). Going to Canada was also a huge negative for me with all the security in airports at the time. I spoke with Mike from his office. I remember one thing Mike told me. He felt there is only one doctor in the States that has decent results by his standards and that was Ron Shapiro, he said the rest were not any good and were novice.

This worried me because this guy worked with the best and Shapiro wasn't able to do unshaved at that time. He certainly didn't kno of Dr. ALexander.

Dr. Alexander was pretty dry as far as personality but I didn't care about that, I cared about finding a doctor that could do a one pass, unshaved procedure and was extremely good. That was top priority in my search.

He not the type that would educate the patient on the process at all. I spoke with Matt from Shapiro and he spoke with me for 45 minutes telling me about Dr. Ron's philosophy and how he goes about getting the best look for his patients short and long term. Very nice person and really informative about there practice.

You don't get that from Dr. Alexander. He quoted me the graft count and simply asked if I had any questions and thats it. I just started asking questions because I wanted to get to know him a little better before I got off the phone. So I asked some generic questions.

One question I asked was the experience of his employees and it seems like the industry standard is tell the patient 4 years or more. Well that is exactly what he told me. That is exactly what Nicole Johnson emailed me.

I read every piece of information I possible could on every website I could find. I searched google countless times using different combinations to find any negative information on Dr. Alexander and the rest of the doctors I had in mind. There was nothing negative that I could find but there wasn't a ton of information out there on him either

The people that were hyping Dr. Alexander were on this forum and a couple other forums that I would read, which was a a reason I even found him in the first place.

After a lot of doubt I booked with him. I booked because he met my requirements at the time. A choice that I regret to this day. My HT was in 2009.

This was part of an email from Nicole johnson back in July of 2009:

Dr. Alexander does perform as much as 4000 or more grafts in a single session. Most of our cases average about 2500-3000 grafts. Do keep i n mind that some surgeons that are transplanting in the 4000+ range are splitting hairs. There =2 0is no reason that a surgeon should do this, as you end up with the same hair count, and save the patient money.

I cannot find ONE case where Dr. Alexander ever achieved a session of over 3400 grafts. If you can please let me know. So they both lied to me about that information, but this would be a nice payday for them regardless of the truth.

Next I will get into the actual HT procedure......

[Delphi]

No offence, but why don’t you just write the whole story and post it? What’s with all the drama? You had a bad experience with your doctor, let everyone know about it and be done with it. I understand that you’re upset and I’m glad that we all now know, thanks to that douche from the hair transplant network who your doctor is, but what’s the point in dragging this thing out? Just post the facts. Telling us this person is a liar or that person did such and such is just hearsay. Tell us what happened to you and how you know it was the doctors fault. I don’t mean to be harsh but the way you are going about this is weird.

[Mr. 4000]

No offence, but why don’t you just write the whole story and post it? What’s with all the drama? You had a bad experience with your doctor, let everyone know about it and be done with it. I understand that you’re upset and I’m glad that we all now know, thanks to that douche from the hair transplant network who your doctor is, but what’s the point in dragging this thing out? Just post the facts. Telling us this person is a liar or that person did such and such is just hearsay. Tell us what happened to you and how you know it was the doctors fault. I don’t mean to be harsh but the way you are going about this is weird.

First I hope that I am giving you evidence through posting the emails in these posts so that it is not hearsay. I will post information from my doctor and lawyer information as well. That is kinda the point.

This story is to educated, not on just went on in the chair, but the entire process.

I rather post it in smaller increments instead of just one long post, this allows me to tell all the details. I don't have time to tell this story in one sitting.

There are too many facts and I want those that are considering this invasive procedure to know exactly want they are getting themselves into.

I have spoken to tons of patients and consultants through email and it is amazing how in many cases they have felt the same way as I did.