Dr Ken Anderson, Atlanta Hair Restoration Review of My Experience

[theclones2]

I am a 57 year old male with norwood class 5 male pattern baldness. I just finished my procedure on Friday, October 16, 2015 and wanted to share my experience with others considering a hair restoration procedure as to the process and what to expect. I began researching hair restoration options this past spring. As I looked for a qualified surgeon finding ones credentials was difficult at best. As I am a health care provider (periodontist) myself I wanted a surgeon who only performed hair restoration procedures. I know how important it is to have a surgeon who does only one thing every day, it increases your odds of having a better result/outcome. Would you want an internist or general surgeon doing your acl repair? I think not. I found Dr. Ken Anderson, MD online practicing in Atlanta. He is a Board Certified Plastic Surgeon and only performs hair restoration procedures, both strip and artas methods.

His web site has a lot of information on it and after looking it over I made initial contact with them via their web link. I received an email the next day from Kirstin to schedule a consultation with Dr. Anderson. I replied and indicated that I would be coming from out of town and asked if I could forward pictures for a consult over the phone. She got back to me with the views they needed and upon receiving them set up a consultation via go to meeting .com I first talked to Sara to go over some basic information after which Dr. Anderson got on the phone and talked to me for 30 minutes going over my photos on the computer, pointing out what he could do with REALISTIC EXPECTATIONS. He was cordial, professional, thorough and answered all of my questions. Although he does ARTAS he told me I could get a few more viable grafts via the strip method so thats what I opted for but the choice was mine. He never made me fell like I was taking up his time. By the way the consult ended about 7 pm his time. That was in August and I made an appointment for the procedure for October 16.

I arrived at 7:30 am where i filled out some consent forms and met with Dr Anderson to go over my case once more and to answer any questions or concerns I had. My blood was drawn so that PRP (platlette rich plasma) could be used prior to placing the grafts on the top of my head. PRP is used in my field as well and is a cutting edge adjunct that helps wounds to heal faster and attracts growth factors to the wound as well.

At 9 am Dr. Anderson numbed the back of my head with local anesthetic while using a vibrator on my scalp next to the injections to minimize their discomfort. The injections were virtually painless, hardly felt them and I was only sedated with 5 mg of valium 40 minutes before which is not much. The strip, about 3/8 inch wide and from just behind one ear to the other behind my head was taken and the wound was sutured NOT stapled! My wife can barely see the suture line and its only been a few days. Harvesting the strip and suturing took about 1 -1.5 hours. I then had a break while technicians under microscopes disscedted out the 2400-2500 follicles. That took 1.5 to 2 hours during which time I texted my family to give an update.

Around noon I had lunch and then Dr. Anderson was ready to start the top. He numbed it just like the back with the vibrator technique, MINIMAL DISCOMFORT, have had much worse injections. I was given some more valium about 15 mg and one vicodin and he proceeded to prepare the recipent sites. After injecting the PRP and preparing the sites the technicians placed the follicles one by one in their new homes. Single strand follicles in the front with 2-3 follicle strands behind. He said that gives the hair line a more natural look. By 4:30-5 pm I was finished with the procedure. I was able to talk to
Dr. Anderson and his technicians during the whole procedure. Totally PAINLESS!

Today is Monday October 20,2015 and I have not taken any pain medication since i left the office, NOT ONE! I was given an antibiotic to take for 10 days, antibiotic ointment for she donor area,a medrol dose pack as well as alleve (anti-inflammatory). In addition, He supplied me with some ATP nutrient spray to apply to the grafts to help with healing and grafts taking. So far the grafts appear to be taking and my wife can see the hairs growing longer every where. She says I look like a Chia Pet, that a good thing. Dr Anderson's staff said the way he does the procedure with te PRP and nuruient spray they are finding a lot of the grafts continue to gorw and dont all fall out and then regrow. So far, its early, this is my experience.

His staff was great. Lets face it, its a big decision to do this kind of elective procedure. I thought the price was more than fair, so far worth every penny! One of his staff called me Sunday afternoon to see how I was doing and talked to me for 10 minutes answering any and all questions which weren't many, very pleasant. Had a couple of more queations today and they promptly responded. You will not fine better customer service from a medical provider. I have been a practicing Periodontist for over 30 years and Dr. Anderson is one of only a few providers who have treated me as I try to treat my patients.

He told me 75% of his patients elect to have a second procedure to augment what they got from the first one. I would not hesitiate to do that if I feel I need that.

In closing, more importantly, with all the horror stories out there you only want to do this once. And you want a surgeon who only does this, not some internist or MD who took a weekend warrior course to learn how to do hair transplantation. Dr anderson is head of the Hair restoration division at Emory. Dr. Anderson told me about 1/3 of his patients come from outside Atlanta, that says a lot.

I know this was a long review but I wanted it to be as detailed as I could so prospective clients know what their getting into, at least with Dr. Anderson.

Do your own research but make sure you check Dr. Anderson out for consideration. I think you will be hard pressed to find a more qualified hair restoration surgeon out there. Hair restoration is not cheap and you get what you pay for. Choose wisely, I know I did and have no regrets.

[Ken Anderson, MD, FISHRS, ABHRS]

It's always nice to receive feedback from my patients. This review was left by a man who is a practicing Periodontist with 30 years experience, and the opinions of those in the medical field are especially valuable as they have an enhanced understanding of the entire process.