Cooley's practice is not all that local, due to his quality and reputation, he has clients fly in from all over. I came from Florida, and I know of others as far away as California.

I am very pleased and did not go through the horror show warned of by Aquarius. I did not find Ailene or anyone at Cooley's office to push me to do the procedure. Frankly, I got the impression that they were plenty busy.

Hey Warren,

Congratulations on your decision. Speaking as a recent patient of Dr Cooley, I can say with confidence that you will be in good hands. His surgical team is every bit as dedicated as he is and I am sure you'll have a very positive experience.

I look forward to hearing from you in September!

I was pointing out Aq's rant and how unfair I thought it was, indeed.

Yes, Dr. C may have people from everywhere, but he is local to me. Only a 20 minute drive.

I did spend a few years being pitched and closed by different businesses. I knew what to expect, and how many FUs were going to be needed to get what I want. I simply picked them based on the conversations I had with a few folks here and my own research.

Did I over-react? Maybe. But, trolls are everywhere. And Aq may not be one, but also, you can't tell tone on a message board. I can only read what is typed, and he was extremely dismissive of any good thing I mentioned.

Sometimes it is better not to say anything at all but I feel compelled to address this issue. I am not offended by the comments but feel that I should explain my mission. I believe this site is such an asset for anyone exploring their options and all opinions are valued.

I am employed by Dr.Jerry Cooley but I am not a consultant. I am his personal assistant and I have a backround in nursing. My job is not to convince anyone to have a hair transplant surgery. My job is to educate and make certain they have all the information I can give them to make an informed decision. I am not paid a commission and I truly care about my patients. I don't always tell them what they want to hear. First and formost is the key fact in all of this, a transplant does nothing to stop hair loss. That is why it is essential that all options both medical and surgical are explored.

I am sorry that your experience was not a positive one. I know many reputable surgeons who "fix" or "repair" substandard or older work. You can explore this through the ISHRS site or here just doing a search.

I challenge you to call and make an appointment with me for a consultation. I do not know who you are so there is not anyway I can make a connection. You can even chose to do this via email or phone. After this conversation I would truly like you to post your experience. I never try to sway you toward surgery. In some instances I sound like a broken record because I stress the downside of this surgery. As Hairbank already said, this is not the right decision for everyone. One of Dr. Cooley's phrases that I borrow is, "a transplant can be one of two things, the best or the worst decision of your life". "The good thing about a transplant is it is permanent, the bad thing is it is permanent."

I am currently serving as the Chair for the ISHRS Assistants Program. Many, physicians, assistants, consultants as well as patients know me. My objective is not to sway someone to do surgery. My obective is to help them understand the process, obligation to medical treatment and a realistic overview of what having a transplant using the techniques we use means.

Warm Regards,
Ailene Russell, NCMA

Aquarius....

Sorry to hear your experience was terrible. IS it possible for you to tell us who your doctor was and about some of the procedure ?

Thanks

Ailene -
I must appologize for my flip generalization. When Warren eluded to everything sounding so good that a Tony award was in order I popped off. It was just too familiar . Not considering where he went.
I was so quick to wave a red flag I didn't even spell your name right.
I am well aware that there are no smoke and mirrors in an ethical clinic with a great Dr. like Dr. Cooley.
But when you have been burned by actors/ charletans you get a jaunticed view.
I like the best or worst comment . I am sure that this is a consideration before you guys go forward. On the other hand , as you know , there is much more of the latter. Bad doctors/clinics (overselling/ lying)knowing full well that nothing good will come of surgical intervention (especially theirs) other than a fat paycheck. This is not way back when but here and now.
- Aquarius

No harm done and no offense taken. I just felt I needed to clarify that we are very careful about setting expectations and realistic understanding of hair transplantation.

I understand your concern and in the years I have been involved in this specialty I have seen a lot of questionable practices. Unfortunately the vocabulary for ultra fine follicular units has been adopted by most but the actual practice of the technique does not seem to be strictly adhered to. I can't tell you about other clinics but I can tell you about us.

We use every piece of information to put together the best surgery on a very individual basis. Dr. Cooley truly cares about the outcome and it shows in his attention to detail. I care about the education and medical treatment of our patients.

I am more than willing to share any information or answer any questions about our practice and the techniques we use.

Thanks for responding.

Ailene

Hi Ailene! Glad to see you posting here.

Anyway, would like to clarify a closure technique you are using--

Do you trim the upper edge (ala Marzola) during your Trico closures or the lower edge (Frechet/Rose)?

If you do use the upper, can you explain your reasoning and the results you have achieved?

I would guess that the greater preponderance choose to trim the lower edge, but your scar results are just as good as others, so I would like some information as to the direction of the hair through the scar, width used between sutures/staples, maximum width of incision so far, etc....

Thanks Again Ailene!!!!
J

Hello B Spot,

I get on here on a rare occasion! It generally is too crazy for me to have a minute to browse!

To try to answer your questions:

I have seen Dr. Cooley do both superior and inferior tricho closures. Sometimes is depends on if the patient has had prior surgery and if there is scar tissue to deal with. Generally we like the superior trim best. If you look at the results of both the direction of the hair it seems better in the superior closure. ( Just our opinion). It is not a right or wrong here. I tell everyone that if you line up 10 docs and give them the same patient you will get 10 different answers. They may be close but......

He has also used both suture and staple closures but if you ask my opinion, ( I am the one who gets the feedback), I will tell you sutures that have to be removed every time. The kind that dissolve are not as predictable and staples are more uncomfortable. They are faster for the surgeon and faster to remove. The distance between sutures is less than stables and on occasion he has done both to insure the closure. With sutures alone they are generally about 2mm or less and Stable 1/2 a cm.

The width of an incision will be determined by the laxity of the scalp and the number of follicles the patient has per cm2 in their donor bank. If they have a lower count we sometimes have to go a little wider than Dr. Cooley normally likes but he will not go beyond what he feels is reasonable for a good tight closure. Usually not more than 1cm but occassionally you will have a patient with excellant laxity and can take a little above this. It is more of a challenge with larger procedures.

Does this help?

Regards,
Ailene

Thanks Ailene, that helps out quite a bit.

I appreciate your willingness to share your procedures us.

I hope that when you get a chance, you can post some of your scar results, both upper and lower, so we can see the impressive results Dr. Cooley achieves.

Thanks Again,
J

Sorry to say I am what I term as electronically challenged....... I have some good photo's and when I can get Cooley to scan them (don't know how)I will be more than happy to share. Give me a few weeks and remind me!

By the way, if anyone want to contact me personally that is fine. My email is ailenerussell@yahoo.com.

Regards!

quote:

By the way, if anyone want to contact me personally that is fine. My email is ailenerussell@yahoo.com.

Ailene, you looking for a date or something? :P Just kidding!

The last few posts have been educational. Thanks for posting. If you need photo help of some kind, I'll be happy to help you. Of course, I doubt I'd be able to scan them for you unless you want to mail them to me!

Falc

No date but if you are ever at a conference look me up and we will exchange notes! If I can get the photo's scanned I will take you up on the instruction!

Thanks for the offer.

Glad you feel I was able to contribute.

Ailene