Dr. Rahal - Anyone Had Bad Experience w/ Him?

[koolx]

i'm thinking about getting an HT from Dr. Rahal. judging from patient's pics, he seems to do excelllent work.

but is there anyone here who had an HT with him and hasnt been completely satisfied with him?

[doinmyheadin]

Marko the guy who waited many years to geta transplant . Finally chose Rahal. Got some kind of infection lost alot of grafts. And was silinced and vanished from these forums. Where are you Marko?

[amadeus]

I doubt there is a single hair transplant surgeon that doesn't have at least one very unhappy patient. Complications can happen to anyone for any reason. Sometimes it might be the surgeon's fault, sometimes it's just bad luck. All hair transplants come with comman risks, like infection, poor growth, poor scaring, tissue death etc. That's just the way that it is. You want to minimize these risks by choosing a clinic with a good reputation, but you will NEVER eliminate the risks.

I've been on the forum for a long time and Rahal is one of the best, but I have seen a couple of unhappy people pop up here and there out of probably thousands of happy people. Thats just the way that it is. It's partly choosing the right surgeon and partly luck.

[koolx]

I doubt there is a single hair transplant surgeon that doesn't have at least one very unhappy patient. Complications can happen to anyone for any reason. Sometimes it might be the surgeon's fault, sometimes it's just bad luck. All hair transplants come with comman risks, like infection, poor growth, poor scaring, tissue death etc. That's just the way that it is. You want to minimize these risks by choosing a clinic with a good reputation, but you will NEVER eliminate the risks.

I've been on the forum for a long time and Rahal is one of the best, but I have seen a couple of unhappy people pop up here and there out of probably thousands of happy people. Thats just the way that it is. It's partly choosing the right surgeon and partly luck.

yeah, i've been researching for not just a good, but a great HT surgeon. so far, rahal keps coming up on top of my list. but i want to make sure there arent any disatisfied customers. its importnant to see good as well as bad reviews. just trying to make the best decision for myself.

i'm not bald. but i'm thinning in front. although it looks like i'm thinning, it doesnt look like i'm in need of a HT. do u think that i'd still make a good candidate for a HT?

[greatjob!]

yeah, i've been researching for not just a good, but a great HT surgeon. so far, rahal keps coming up on top of my list. but i want to make sure there arent any disatisfied customers. its importnant to see good as well as bad reviews. just trying to make the best decision for myself.

i'm not bald. but i'm thinning in front. although it looks like i'm thinning, it doesnt look like i'm in need of a HT. do u think that i'd still make a good candidate for a HT?

I had a transplant with Dr. Rahal back in January. I had previously had a procedure with another surgeon who is highly recommended here and on every other board and I was misled and lied to about expectations, it wasn't a good experience and left me in a spot where I needed to shave down but couldn't because of the scar (I don't want to get into who the doctor was, it would just be a waste of my time).

However my experience with doctor Rahal and his clinic was night and day. I can't speak highly enough about him and his staff, they are definitely top notch. I had 3340 grafts placed into my frontal third and I am very pleased with the results. I still need more work to get me to where I will be completely satisfied, but I am a much more educated patient now and I expected as much. The only downside for me is now the areas I didn't have work done to now stick out and bother more and I'm broke so I'm going to have to knock off a bank to pay for round two, lol.

As far as whether you should proceed with a procedure, that is really going to depend on your age, whether you're on meds, family history (do you think you will progress to a high norwood), and also your expectations from a HT. For most people having a hair transplant is going to end up being a life long journey so you really need to not be too near sighted and plan for the long term. If you have any questions about Rahal or transplants in general I'll help any way I can.

[gillenator]

Regardless of where the patient went, if the result was unsatisfactory for whatever reasons, they simply do not come and share their case. Most of them are too embarrassed or are fearful of the reprise from other posters.

Usually when I hear from someone needing help from a botched procedure, they are individuals who surf these forums but they do not join or post.

Yes even the best HT surgeons have a case now and then that are substandard or their patient had other issues that affected the results.

[koolx]

I

The only downside for me is now the areas I didn't have work done to now stick out and bother more and I'm broke so I'm going to have to knock off a bank to pay for round two, lol.

If you have any questions about Rahal or transplants in general I'll help any way I can.

hey, greatjob.. 2 questions for u.. why didnt rahal cover up the spots that u needed help with?

how much did u pay for ur HT with him?

[greatjob!]

hey, greatjob.. 2 questions for u.. why didnt rahal cover up the spots that u needed help with?

how much did u pay for ur HT with him?

It all comes down to donor availability. I had good laxity, but lower donor density and then I also had the previous scar which takes a big hit out of the available grafts. If I had the ability to get 5000+ grafts we would have taken them and I would have got more coverage. The reality is most people who are higher norwoods need a lot of grafts and unless they have great density and great laxity most people can't extract the huge numbers you see in one session. It doesn't sound though like you will need a terrible amount of grafts that it would be unattainable in one session.

If I remember correct for strip he charges $4/graft for the first 2500 grafts and $3/graft for anything over 2500.

[gillenator]

greatjob,

Was your previous strip scar taken out or was there a separate strip taken above or below the previous scar?

[greatjob!]

greatjob,

Was your previous strip scar taken out or was there a separate strip taken above or below the previous scar?

I decided to have him excise as much as possible while still putting the main focus on extracting as many grafts as possible. I'd say we got about half of the old scar out. The portion of my old scar above my ears was taken pretty low so we didn't get all of that out.

We were aiming for 4000 grafts and only got 3340, so if I would have taken all of the first scar I think it would have been considerably lower. For me I was more concerned with the recipient area. I also scar very well, so I wasn't too worried about the scars.

[gillenator]

Still, you got very close to your goal and the result should be very nice with 3340 grafts!

[greatjob!]

Still, you got very close to your goal and the result should be very nice with 3340 grafts!

Yeah I'm at about 9 months post op now and I'm thrilled with the results, now the problem is I just need to figure out which bank I need to knock off to fund round two, lol

[koolx]

Yeah I'm at about 9 months post op now and I'm thrilled with the results, now the problem is I just need to figure out which bank I need to knock off to fund round two, lol

but $4/graft.. damn thats very steep!! cant rahal give a discount at least being that its so damn expensive?

[win200]

but $4/graft.. damn thats very steep!! cant rahal give a discount at least being that its so damn expensive?

That's not expensive. If you look at the asking prices from top doctors, that's right in line. I had a transplant with a non-IAHRS doctor, and that's basically what I paid.

[gillenator]

You definitely get what you pay for. If you only knew how many guys I have dialogued with over the years who were lured by a cheap price and got whacked.