Author Topic: Thinking of a Hair Transplant?  (Read 12873 times)

Offline Tyler

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Thinking of a Hair Transplant?
« on: November 30, 2006, 03:46:09 PM »
This is an article that I found on BaldingBlog.com which is run by Dr. William Rassman, Medical Director and Founder of the New Hair Institute.  This article proves some of the limitations that hair transplants have right now and the life you may have to lead if you end up getting a bad transplant.

Someone wrote in asking this question:

Quote
I saw Bruce Willis on the David Letterman show the other day and he told everyone that he was bald and happy. That could put you out of business so don’t buy your new Mercedes yet doc. What do you think of the balding trend? Is bald beautiful?

And the response to this question was:

Quote
I have followed Bruce Willis’ hair loss over the years from his thinning during the TV series Moonlighting, to the present day shaved head look he sports. A while back, I did notice what I thought were hair transplants placed in the front of his head, showing a less than artistic straight line of hair (suggesting a poor hair transplant), but if my initial guess was correct, there would be some signs of it on the front (recipient area) and in the back of the head (donor area). Judging by photos I’ve seen, I can not stand by my original assumption. I do not think Bruce Willis ever had transplant work done. It is interesting that my daughter met him at a party in the mid-90s and engaged him on the balding issue and my transplant services. He commented that he would remember the connection when the time came, so with that knowledge, I have followed his balding over the years waiting for him to come to my office and join others in that line of work that have come my way.

It must be clear to anyone considering hair transplants, that the option to shave the head as Bruce Willis does may be lost if you have the procedure, as some scarring may be present at the donor site (even with the FUE technique). I have seen many patients that had a small-session transplant, which was inadequate to cover the bald area, because less hair is moved to produce the fullness that a reasonable person might expect. Small, delicate follicular units will mimic the normal hair and to get that, the doctors performing the surgery must be adhering to the standards of Follicular Unit Transplantation. Anyone with even a good hair transplant that uses strip harvesting would have a noticable scar if the head was shaved, even if it were 1mm in size. For the unfortunate person who had unsightly or poorly planned hair transplants, they may have no choice other than to live under a hat or a hair piece most of the time.

Some men shave their head as a way to accommodate their balding. This is a style that has more recently been accepted by the ‘hip’ young men today. We see many ways these men deal with their balding/thinning at our monthly Open House events, where a significant number of men who have to deal with balding come to learn more about the hair restoration process. Many men shave or clip their hair short, or are wearing baseball hats or hair systems. Unlike the average guy, Bruce Willis could get away with wearing a baseball hat to the Oscars because of who he is, but I would not recommend interviewing for a high powered job with a baseball hat on your head. With a poorly done or incomplete hair transplant, an interviewer might spend too much time looking at the hairline rather than in the eyes of the interviewee.

Society has stereotypes and a bald head is stereotypically a ‘hard’ look, the man’s man look. In the past, Hollywood actors have gone clearly bald (Yul Brynner, Telly Savalas), and they were tough character actors. Bruce Willis now joins that pack, but if he had transplants, unlike those bald men who could elect to let their hair grow in and not shave their head, Bruce Willis may not have that choice. His options may be limited if he wanted both hair and the opportunity to keep shaving his head.

Now to comment on your last inference, I am not buying a new Mercedes and I fully expect to keep driving my Toyota minivan, which seems to get me from here to there just fine. If it is short hair you want, don’t worry about my car payments as I have accounted for those choices already.

So, if you end up having a transplant and you don't like it, too bad.  You'll have to spend the rest of your life either wearing a baseball cap or a hair piece.  Or deal with the scarring on your bald head.

What do you think about this?


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Offline K J

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Re: Thinking of a Hair Transplant?
« Reply #1 on: November 30, 2006, 05:08:22 PM »
Hi Tyler KJ here,

In order to advize you  on a hair transplant I would need to see a picture of what you looked like with hair.

Kelsey

Offline Tyler

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Re: Thinking of a Hair Transplant?
« Reply #2 on: November 30, 2006, 05:21:53 PM »
Hi Tyler KJ here,

In order to advize you  on a hair transplant I would need to see a picture of what you looked like with hair.

Kelsey

Thanks KJ, but I'm not thinking about getting a hair transplant, but was curious to know what other's thoughts were on that article.
People are not limited by the circumstance that they are born in. They are limited by the size of their dreams. Show them that their dreams can have no limits and in turn their accomplishments can be limitless.

Offline Razor X

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Re: Thinking of a Hair Transplant?
« Reply #3 on: November 30, 2006, 06:55:25 PM »
A few months ago,  I was out for a walk on my lunch hour and spotted a shaved head a few yards in front of me.  As I got closer, I could see that the guy had a huge scar running along the back of his head.  I caught up with him when we got to the corner, waiting for the light to change.  That's when I got to see him from the front.  The top of his head looked like somebody had taken an awl and punched it full of holes all over (well, I guess that's what somebody actually did, come to think of it).

Obviously this guy had had a transplant and was unhappy with it and ended up shaving his head in the end.  I give him a lot of credit for being brave enough to expose all those scars, but just seeing them made my blood run cold.  If I had been thinking of getting a transplant (and I was not), this would have been enough to put me off the idea.

Offline Folicle

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Stay away from strip surgery
« Reply #4 on: May 14, 2007, 12:17:25 PM »
Hello!

I'd advice everyone to stay away from strip surgery transplants.

I just had a FUE hair transplant of my own, and I'm very pleased this far. The surgeon really makes all the difference.

Offline Stu

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Re: Thinking of a Hair Transplant?
« Reply #5 on: May 14, 2007, 12:53:04 PM »
This is the ultimate slap in the face by that industry.  Play on people's insecurities, and rob them blind promising them a better life.  Then when they finally wise up that this was a terrible mistake and now want to shave their head, they have this scarring mess on a perfectly good head.  Makes me sick.   :Xo!
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Offline arlsten

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Re: Thinking of a Hair Transplant?
« Reply #6 on: May 09, 2009, 05:11:21 PM »
My advice on HTs based on my experience with E. Antonio Mangubat of Seattle, Washington, USA

I am a former patient of E. Antonio Mangubat (M) of Seattle, Washington, USA and my advice is whatever you do, DO NOT go to M for any hair transplant procedures!!!! I have described below in detail my horrible experience with Mangubat (M). I’m not a doctor, but below are my recommendations (based on my experience) for treating hairloss.

I know readers of this forum are very concerned and feel down about losing your hair. I felt the same way starting at 18 when it began for me. However, you don’t have to go through my horrible experience with my hair transplant “doctor” (described below)! Not to mention forking over your hard-earned savings to him! Regarding treating hair loss, my recommendation (reasons described below also) is Avodart instead of Propecia.

Very Important: The before/after photos that many Hair Transplant surgeons show you are VERY MISLEADING because:
-   Many doctors only show their best top 5% patients, and don’t show you the average result or, as in my case, the bad results.
-   The photos are typically low resolution, so may not clearly show the hairline or may be in low light, thereby concealing the thin density and unnatural look of the transplants.


I was also in my mid 20s when I signed up as M’s patient. He suggested that I get 3-4 transplant sessions and 1-2 Scalp reduction surgeries (called “Brandy” procedures after Dr. Dominic Brandy  http://www.brandymd.com/ ). The worst decision I ever made in my life was to follow M’s advice and have these procedures done. M left me SCARRED and DISFIGURED!!!! BTW, Dr Brandy was sued in part for performing the “Brandy” scalp reduction procedure: http://community.seattletimes.nwsource.com/archive/?date=19960915&slug=2349352

 http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=PG&p_theme=pg&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=0EADFA0E15FC891D&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&s_trackval=GooglePM )

I know this sounds unreal, but anyone who has a consult with M should ask him about the “Brandy” scalp reduction procedure and ask to see before/after photos of Brandy procedures. If he dismisses your request (says you don’t need a Brandy) and refuses to show photos, ask yourself why is M refusing to show his own work? Is he hiding something? If you get to see the photos, look closely (even though he’ll show small Polaroid pics) and you’ll notice a thick straight or horseshoe-shaped scar ¼ - ½ inch from 1 temple to the crown and back to the other temple with no hair growing there. Beware that M may show you “after” photos with the surrounding hair combed over the scars. This is nothing less than totally misleading and a LIE because it doesn’t show the true result which is 1-2 scars 6-8 inches long and ¼ - ½ inch thick in the middle of your head from the temples to the crown!!!! M left me with such a horrible scar and I’ve undergone numerous reconstructive surgeries, spending over $20K, to reduce the scars.

Although M may not recommend a Brandy surgery on you, I mention this procedure for this reason: what does the Doctor care about most: your welfare and your well-being OR the money he’ll make from you?? In my case, without a doubt M only cared about the money! Otherwise he would have stopped himself from doing what he did to me, particularly the 2 Brandy procedures. He didn’t know what he was doing and he didn’t care! So in my opinion, he’s definitely NOT a doctor to be in the care of!

You should also ask M (or your hair transplant doctor) about the scar in the back of your head (the donor area) after any hair transplant procedure. M told me about all my scars that they will eventually “blend” with the surrounding skin and look much less prominent. That was a COMPLETE LIE!!! The scars will be with you for life with no hairs growing in that area ever.

I did a few quick searches and found M in his own words praising the “benefits” of scalp reduction surgery (see below). This kind of surgery (the Brandy procedure) is what left me totally scarred and disfigured!! So much for the “benefits”!!

M’s own words speak volumes on his incompetence and the fact that he’s clueless and oblivious to the harm he’s done to many like me. Here are the links:

http://www.regrowth.com/hairloss-conferences/american_society_hair_restoration_surgery/1998/ashrs_monday.cfm

The Rise and Fall of Scalp Flaps, Reductions and Lifts

[Tony Mangubat of Seattle, WA is one of the leading doctors performing scalp reductions.  "I've noticed in the Seattle area over the last two years a fall in the area of scalp reductions... I was a little disappointed in it, and I was almost upset until I started looking at it in a more objective way... the answer to this question becomes very clear."  Dr.Mangubat outlined his feelings on reductions and why he thinks the number of doctors performing the procedure has decreased.   "We want fast results, we want a home run..   Managed care has caused an influx of newcomers.  The fact is I make more income off of hair transplants than scalp lifting, so from a financial point of view maybe it's not such a bad idea..."  The fall has been precipitated by an influx of newcomers due to doctors who are earning less due to managed care and HMOs.  "These are all victims of our new managed care society," said Dr. Mangubat.  Doctors coming in have been resistent to learning reductions, flaps, and lifts due to the steeper learning curve, greater risks, and marketing against reductions.  The number of doctors performing are remaining steady, but the number of doctors coming into transplants are growing, so the overall percentage are lower.]

Please note that the following is based on my personal experience and not medical advice:
-------
Regarding hair loss, my advice is don’t go for hair transplants. Instead, if you still have quite a bit of hair left, make an appointment with your family physician asap and ask him/her about taking Avodart for stopping hairloss.

Apart from Avodart, the other 2 best known medications, Rogaine(minoxidol) and Propecia, are not as effective as Avodart which stops both kinds of DHT (the hormone that causes hairloss). Minoxidol is a waste of money for most people since it only works for a few people and Propecia is good (because it blocks 1 kind of DHT) but not as good as Avodart. Avodart will most likely not regrow any hair you’ve already lost but it will let you keep the hair you have now. Also, although both Propecia and Avodart have potentially harmful side effects (e.g. reduced sex drive), I have been taking Avodart for the past 2+ years with no side effects.
-------

If I could do it over again, I would have NEVER trusted M and NEVER let M lay a hand on me. Instead, I would have just accepted my baldness and not done any hair transplants; I would have shaved my head while we wait for a cure.

Unfortunately, M left me with huge scars on my head and so I can’t just shave my head. Instead I’m forced to wear concealers to hide the ugly scars on my head. Anyone considering M does not have to go through what I’ve been through. So I strongly recommend that YOU STAY AWAY FROM MANGUBAT!!

Offline Jer

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Re: Thinking of a Hair Transplant?
« Reply #7 on: May 10, 2009, 07:15:40 AM »

I know readers of this forum are very concerned and feel down about losing your hair.


Actually, I believe that first line of your third paragraph is not accurate at all.  The vast majority of us here in fact love being bald and greatly enjoy the whole process of shaving our heads and the feel afterward of a nice smooth head.

Yes, there are some here who have come to the forum that are upset, concerned and even scared over their hair loss however here they find a place of support.  We all here support each other and proudly sport our bald heads.  The concern that does come up among members is mostly from new people to head shaving that worry about reactions of friends and loved ones.  What we do is provide them with the support they need to show and explain to their friends and loved ones just how much they enjoy being bald and how much more comfortable with themselves they are.

What we do here though is support each other no matter what the decision may be.  Once you are a member here you are among friends and though many love our bald heads, if one of us were to decide tomorrow to grow our hair back then we would STILL support them in their decision and would not treat them any differently.

We are not friends here on this forum, we are BROTHERS who will support each other no matter what decisions we make through thick and thin (yes, the pun is intentional  O0 )!!!!!!!

Sincerely,

Jer  :popo

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Re: Thinking of a Hair Transplant?
« Reply #8 on: May 10, 2009, 10:19:51 AM »
Are u sure Arlsten, you are not putting the site owner/moderator at risk with your posts?

I run my own site too and some of your comments, although well-intentioned and semi-misleading, are inflammatory.

Offline Ricktus

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Re: Thinking of a Hair Transplant?
« Reply #9 on: May 10, 2009, 01:54:29 PM »
Well, I have to chip in here with the observation that I have seen quite a few guys with transplants in my day to day life, and there was not one of them where it didn't look obvious, fake, weird etc. The other thing I couldnt help noticing was many of them were still showing signs of hair loss, maybe there was more of a hairline at the front, but there was some serious deforestation going on at the back. They all would have looked better without the transplants in my opinion. I felt quite sorry for them really, and I don't believe having weird looking plugs, unnatural hairlines with mange round the back, or weird hair growing in the wrong direction was the ideal path to confidence for any of them.

The Doctor in the article seems like a decent enough guy (just judging from the article), he's honest about the pitfalls, but there are loads of dodgy practitioners out there praying on male insecurities and leaving guys scarred for life. If any guys out there are thinking of getting transplants and thinking they are the answer, I'd suggest they consider the popular entertainer Elton John. Even in his position where money is no object and he can have the best of the best in surgeons working on restoring his hair, after years of different surgeries he still has to wear a squirrel pelt beanie!

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