My list is based just on seeing patient weblogs. I think different docs have different strengths.

Best doc for absolutely natural resultsin my opinion is Dr. Feller #1 and H&W #2 and Rahal #3. I have seen fantastic results from feller especially on NW3-4 patients.
Best doc for transforming NW5 + patientsin my opinion is #1 H&W, #2 Feller, #3 Rahal, Alexander.
Best Doc for hairline design and density #1 Rahal, #2 Armani (strip) - This is a very important consideration and these 2 docs seem to either focus more or have greater artistic skill at providing a hairline design that frames the face nicely. If you are a NW2-3, I would choose Rahal or Armani. If you are young or are likely to experience further hairloss take caution with Armani as he may not be a good choice when you are trying to manage/conserve your donor hair supply. Also, I think Armani only does FUE now, so Rahal is a clear #1 in this category.
Best doc for crownis H&W in my opinion.
Best docs for scarI have studied patient pictures for the above doctors and cannot discern a difference among the size of scar. They all great when it comes to scars and the scar depends a lot on the individual patient.

WOW NW4,

Now thats doing your research! Great info!

I agree NW4 that all doctors have different strengths and most of what you wrote .
I also love Alexanders hairlines ,butI havent seen many nw5 patients from him or Rahal, compared to all the others listed .
One thing I would like to add is when you talk about hairlines Shapiro should always be listed or lurking somewhere around the top. Hes been asked by his peers to run the hairline workshop for ten years. Check this out .I saw SO many pictures when I was there I dont even remember any of these.

This is a fun thread!!!! Some of the choices and explanations here are interesting, but the names being mentioned are all great which shows how much people are thinking and researching their options---it really puts a smile on my face

Obviously, my choice is pretty clear---but for those of you who do not know my list was narrowed down to 3 docs: Dr. Shapiro, Dr. Wong,(willing to travel to) and Dr. Konier locally.

I don't like to "rank" docs per se b/c there are different measuring sticks and different patient needs/wants.

However, there are doctors like Dr. Rose who deserve a mention as well. They don't always get mentioned because they do not promote themselves online, but they deliver top results.

There can only be so many "Top" docs--but there is a list of docs who deliver consistant results and have an overwhelming base of happy patients.

It makes me happy to see people debating docs without negativity, which is the proper way, imo.

Take Care,
Jason

I agree - great post!

Here's mine after doing my research and having had a procedure and after continuing to see new photos.

I struggle with who is 'top' as I agree very much with NW4 that it depends on what you are going for. Since I was looking for hairline work and hiding old Bosley 'work', while also correcting the Bosley scar, the following is my top list. Plus, since I know I want to go back for (a) further thickening of my hairline, (b) scar revision / correction and (c) temple work (need some 'triangles'!!, the following remains my top candidates (the top 3 are honestly tied):

1. Shapiro - very natural results, seems to do great work with minimal grafts.

1. Rahal - his density simply blows me away. I haven't seen any scar work, though, to comment on that. I think he does some FUE so I wouldn't mind some work on my old scar that is too low to correct otherwise.

1. Feller - also very impressive and his work on Spex makes me drool! It's so natural and thick and impressive. Also, since he does FUE work, he could correct my old scar.

4. H&W - What can I say about this state of the art operation? I think they are the masters at moving the most grafts and creating amazing crowns, so that is why I rank them slightly below the others for my particular needs.

5. Alexander - just flat out continues to impress me. Great temple work and hairline work - very natural. I suppose the only reason he ranks at number 5 is because I still would need to see more work to move the ranking up.

Just off the list: Armani - if only he did Strip still, I'd be extremely tempted! But the FUE results I've seen have not blown me away in the same manner.

PGP,

I agree about the Shapiro hairlines, they are definitely and consistently superb.

.

If only you could combine thier talents!

Those are some very nice hairlines by Shapiro. I agree that he is up there on the top shelf with the other docs mentioned.

NW4, you contradict yourself when you say.....

quote:

I have seen fantastic results from feller especially on NW3-4 patients.

with this.........
Best Doc for hairline design and density #1 Rahal, #2 Armani (strip) - This is a very important consideration and these 2 docs seem to either focus more or have greater artistic skill at providing a hairline design that frames the face nicely. If you are a NW2-3, I would choose Rahal or Armani.

depending on needs:

rahal
alexander
H&W
feller
cooley

I really enjoyed reading this thread. At first I thought "oh, no....this could turn into the OK Corral", but there been some great responses and interesting reasoning as to placement of particular Docs!

In the case of HT's.............size matters. Some people get HT's being NW3, some are NW6-7. Obviously, the strategy with each is unique in that the potential for restoration varies from one candidate to the next depending on age, loss, quality of donor...etc.

Here are my picks:

• Dr. Wong - of course I may be partial , but I picked Dr. Wong for my 2nd HT (and upcoming 3rd) initially for his crownwork but also his artistry. I'm sticking with him for my hairline work as well as I believe he's at the top.
• Dr. Hasson - again, I like Dr. Hasson's artistry, and, in the case of anyone with the donor and need for a large session, I think he's awesome.
• Dr. Ron Shaprio - I really, really like his quality of work from start to finish, hairlines especially hairline artistry.
• Dr. Rahal - I like the quality of his work and the results I've seen.
• Dr. Feller - Also continue to be a fan of his work.

I also continue to like the work I see from Dr. Alexander, Dr. Paul Shapiro and Dr. Cooley so for me it's really tough to leave each out of my top 5 as I would sit in the chair with any of them. That's why ranking is so tough!!

I really appreciate any Doctor who's clinic, or prior HT patients, are willing to post a variety of their work on the forum.

quote:

NW4, you contradict yourself when you say.....

quote:
I have seen fantastic results from feller especially on NW3-4 patients.

I am not sure where the contradiction is? I like Rahal a lot for a NW2-3 and Feller for a NW3-4. Yes, there is some overlap there. Does this make sense? But it depends on the individual situation and both docs are so good, that you could basically flip a coin and be safe. I personally am leaning towards going with Rahal because I have deep temporal recession like Bill Murray, but no diffuse thinning, so I think Rahal can densepack a good hairline for me like he has for patients on this forum like MP96, chicksdigguyswithhair, frontaltool and others.

Hands down there only needs to be a #1.
Dr. Shapiro from Florida just based on the catchy jingle on his website.
And he looks really weird too.

Groovy Jingle - Click here

Bye hair ,I didnt know we changed the subject to top 5 hacks ,but I have to admit I saw his website a couple months back and listened to that jingle at least 5 times in a row. I think thats how he lures his victims. There a subliminal messages in that little jingle
BE CAREFUL. Before you know it youll be on a plane to Flordia.

I always enjoy reading these threads and this one was particularly interesting as members are doing more than just listing doctors. Instead, each of you are providing your reasons for your "top 5" pick.

For those members and guests reading this thread, I think an important message to take out of this is, choosing a "top 5" in many ways, is highly subjective.

At the same time however, it's not so subjective where one can compare a surgeon still using outdated techniques such as "minigrafts" with those using ultra refined follicular unit hair transplantation. There are clear objective differences and educating yourself before hand will help you narrow down your choices to be able to subjectively select your top 5 favorites.

Falc

I feel as though I need to make a couple of changes to my top 5. Now that Alexander is posting more Im amazed at his hairlines and what he is able to do with minimal grafts. He's cracked my top 5. Keep up the good work doc!

Hey guys.
I agree...fun thread to read.
It's always interesting to see how others are thinking...especially in a subject that is so important in all of our lives right now.

There is one thing that jumps out at me when looking through this thread.
In most of the top five choices...it's almost always the docs that show there work the most on the forum.
I hope my doc show his results more often.

I'm not at all trying to be a bone-head here.
It was just something that jumped out at me.
I agree with ALL you guys.
There's not one doc that any of you have mentioned that I don't consider to be awesome.

My list :
I agree with all the docs you mentioned.
Of course I'm inserting my doc (Epstein into my little list)

As usual...thanks guys.
This forum and all you guys have been a big help in my journey.

MH

I think it is important to look at patient photo albums that are posted by the patients themselves in addition to what the doctors or doctors' representatives post. The Doctors are wisely going to post their best work. A good tool to use for research is looking at patient web-logs. They are usually submitted by the patient and are often un-solicited, so they are a better depiction of reality.
I think a lot of the Doctors listed above have achieved success from good online promotion, but also from word of mouth on these forums that comes as a result of quality, consistent work.

Also when I consideed my top 5 I factored in patient complaints ,and resolutions. Pictures dont always tell the full story.