Hasson & Wong Surgery patient Sept2011
Hi there:
Firstly, my name is Matthew. I'm very new to this and have never posted anything like this on these websites so I would ask that you bear with me as I explain my story.
I've noticed a few different names being used for the procedure that Hasson & Wong uses for hair restoration but after having done the surgery in September of 2011 and now with some experience behind me, it is important to note that the surgery is called "scalp reduction surgery" which they cut a large area of the back of your scalp and remove hair follicles which are transplanted around your thinning or balding areas. I'm 44 now and have been losing my hair for over 12 or more years I would guess. Surprisingly, I used to have so much hair before that I never even gave this a thought but unfortunately, I'm not the shaved head type of guy...although some people do look good that way.
Anyways, I've tried many things from Rogaine to pills including Propecia (which does seem to work a bit) and even Laser Hair Treatment with Biothera Clinics in Vancouver. That put me back about $1000. It's really difficult to tell what your results are to be honest as you see yourself everyday but the best way to tell is by what others say or notice about you. I honestly don't know if that therapy really worked but a few people did notice some improvement in my hair. Typical for a guy which is my receding hairline and some thinning or balding areas in the back.
I finally decided to go through with Hasson & Wong after many years of putting it off...mostly due to the financial aspect of this. I went in for a free consultation a few years ago just to find out more about it and was given a quote which quickly made me forget about this option for the time being. They charge now for the consultation and apply it to your surgery when you go ahead with it although there are many coupons in the phone book, etc which state "free consultation" for this clinic and I advised them of this over the phone which they had no problem scheduling me for the free consultation without any issues or showing them the coupon.
I went in and was still unsure of how this was going to work exactly as they really never explained anything. I wonder whether or not their success and need to sustain their lifestyle played a role in this? Their office is nice and really upscale and I had heard about these doctors beforehand so there wasn't any issue about the safety or validity of their claim. I was told that they would be able to get about 2300 grafts and could use that to transplant some on the front, fill in the top and some on the back (where most of my hair loss was)
The surgery cost was about $11,000 and if you ask me whether or not I am happy with the result, I would have to say that I'm "ok" with it! Do I think it was worth it? Not a chance! After having been called in for a cancellation and given some brief instructions for the date of the surgery, I went in to see Dr. Wong. I really got the impression that he was doing things for what HE thought was best and not what I wanted. He didn't go over any of the details for the planned 9 hour surgery at all...took some pictures and shaved some of my hair. I don't get it...why not just shave it all? I looked like a punk rocker! I tried to explain that I wanted some of my receding hairline to be filled in as well too in which I'm not even sure he took note of this?
During the surgery, I really felt no pain but could see feel some blood dripping down the back of my head when they were cutting a piece of the scalp away. Dr. Wong only did some of the surgery and the rest was left to his assistants who were working on my head while I was laying on my back in this very uncomfortable dentist like chair. I kept wondering why they were only filling in the top and not much in the front or the back (where most of my hair loss was!!!) but I couldn't really see anything and this was all very new to me. I guess I figured they knew what they were doing. I was given a choice of a lunch which was a burger but didn't get to eat it until like over an hour after it got there! Ever eat a cold burger?
Well, needless to say I managed to get out of there with a bunch of staples in my head and had to go back like 10 days later to have them removed! It was so uncomfortable having these things in my head as you could feel them sticking out and couldn't even lie on your side. I never received a call from their office to see how I was doing but went back in to get them removed finally and was so relieved. I think this was actually the worst part of the whole thing to be honest.
After the surgery and staples being removed, I NEVER heard from anyone in this office again until late July in which they asked how things were. I told them that my hair had grown back of course (from being shaved) and that it was a bit fuller on the top but that I wished there was more in the back. They asked if I wanted to come in for a follow-up so I accepted. All the doctors had to say was...everything looks great! See! I told them I wasn't too happy about the back and their response was that it was due to the number of grafts they had to work with initially. Well, it seems to me that the back of my hair was where most of my hair loss was in the first place and if they really listened to what YOU (the patient) wanted, it would have been a lot better! They looked at my scalp and did some stretching exercises and it was determined that they could get another 1400 grafts if I wanted to go ahead with ANOTHER surgery and another $5000! I was so appalled by this as it really seems like they have become all about the MONEY here and not about the people who they've made their livelihood from!
I do understand this is a business of course but you should expect a lot for $11,000. If you ask me whether or not I would consider this surgery again, perhaps, but never at this clinic. I really felt that there was not a lot of respect given to you nor was there any real concern for the patient. I had more care and follow-up from Biothera clinics in which I just spent $1,000 and from a doctor which I had a Blepharoplasty done for $4,500 by far! I don't feel that I got what I paid for and like I said, they never really explained things in detail for you or really took the time to listen! Now they want more money to do more surgery to fill in the back of my head when this could have been done with some of the 2300 grafts beforehand? There wasn't the need to just fill in the top of my head! I understood if they didn't have enough to do the front receding hairline but give me a break!
I would choose another clinic to perform this surgery if I ever choose to do it again...period!
Sorry for any typos or grammatical errors as I didn't proofread this!
Matthew
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Originally Posted by mattie123
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