Ramber,

Just as an FYI, Dr. Rassman had promised to offer a discounted rate for members of the Hair Transplant Network forum community based on certain criteria.

Quoted from his doctor profile

"Due to his world renown reputation and high demand for his services, Dr. Rassman fees are higher than those of his NHI associate Dr. Jae Pak, M.D. However, Dr. Rassman is willing to reduce his normal surgical fee of $10 per graft down to $6 per graft for those who are willing to do surgery in his Los Angeles office on a "Standby" basis and be called less than ten days prior to surgery.

For those who would like to schedule surgery with him more than ten days in advance he is willing to reduce his fee down to $8 per graft for surgery in his Los Angeles office. After 2,000 grafts all additional grafts will be charged at half rate. Travel reimbursement credits up to 5% of fees paid will still apply. "

This is why I said "$2400" value. Be sure to refer to the "Coalition Special".

I also do not feel that asking him for a "reasonable" discount is out of the question. I put "reasonable" in quotes because everyone has a different idea as to what that means. In my opinion, it doesn't hurt to ask even that he perform it himself free of charge since he was the overseeing physician in charge of the procedure.

However, in my opinion, be sure to price shop with other elite physicians.

Even if you end up with an extensive discount, other physicians equally as talented charge much less such as $4-$5 per graft and still have an amazing reputation for producing consistent superior results.

Falc

Falc,

Thanks for correcting me about Dr. Rassmans special rate. I wasn't aware of that.

Thanks for your opinion as well. I will definitely do some more research and reading on other doctors. Considering having a small cover up procedure, I was thinking it best to cover it all in a single procedure and do the additional (1200 graft ) at the same time. Less stress on the scalp and donor area etc.. but will have to consider everything else as well.

Thanks again, to all who have posted.

Rambler

Go get a consult from Dr Siporin in West Los Angeles. He did my HT in December and I am very happy with the work he did. I had plugs that were very noticeable from Bosley and Peterson and he worked in and around them to soften them up and make it look more natural. The Doctor has also had a few HT's so he knows what you are going through.

Is Dr. Siporin considered one of the elites on this forum?

I will read through the forum, but who is considered to be of the elites these days in So. California?

Rambler,

I agree with you but feel that they should pay for whatever number of grafts it will take to make things look cosmetically perfect. Are they offering 500 because this won't cost them much and will hide things? Hell they need to rectify this problem and I personally believe that it will take more than 500fu.

I don't think cosmetically perfect is achievable.

In my first consul with Dr. Pak he examined me and then offered to do a procedure of 300 grafts, mostly single units to create a transition in front of the damaged area. He then sent me a follow up letter in which he said

quote:

You have good results from a prior surgery from us. However your frontal hair line consist of 2 and 3 hair grafts which makes it a bit harsh on close examination. Personally I am not pleased with the results and I recommend 200 to 300 single hair grafts to soften up your frontal hairline

These statements are not addressing the very reason I went in for the consultation. Yes, the frontal line could absolutely be fixed, but the pitting absolutely can not and he does not address this. Also in the interview, Dr. Pak would not admit that the pitting is a result from a bad procedure and that I risk the same thing in future procedures. This bother me on several levels.

Hence, another consul with Dr. Rassman. Dr. Rassman also did not contribute the pitting to a bad procedure. In this consul I indicated that if I were to undergo a repair procedure I would like to do an additional procedure for the area behind the area I had done before. I suggested these be done at the same time for obvious reasons. Less stress on the donor area, time restraints, less cost for everyone etc..

During the consul Dr. Rassman told me that he would put about 500 in the "affected" area to do the camouflage. So now I am confused. There is a big difference between 200-300 and 500. Am I to take from the paid portion of the procedure into the area for the cover up? I sure hope not but the fact that he indicated he would use 500 leads me to believe it will take at least that.

Like I said, I would rather be able to fix the problem and go back to a normal thinning scalp instead of having to cover up a bad procedure no matter the cost. Apparently this is not an option. But I do feel that they should own up to the bad procedure and feel that instead of me asking them what it will take to make me happy .. they should be asking me the same question. I am stuck with this for the rest of my life.

Rambler

Take Janna's advice on the punch outs. I had similar "micrografting" in my hairline from a past doctor. My situation was worse than yours. I even had multi-haired grafts in the hairline. From your photos, it looks like your grafts are all single hairs.

I had two procedures with Dr. Ron Shapiro last year which involved punch outs of the old grafts and a strip to densify the frontal half. In my opinion, punch outs are the way to go with bad grafting at the frontal hairline. I think you will get a better result than just camouflaging the area with more grafts. Get a consult with Shapiro Medical Group. TooThin

Rambler,

I emailed Dr. Rassman today requesting his input on this thread so that we can not only obtain a proper understanding of your situation, but so that a resolution can be made to best help you.

Dr. Rassman is a stand-up physician and I trust he will do whatever he can to help you in this situation.

Best wishes,

Falc

TooThin,

Thanks for the advice. Actually most, 80-90% of the grafts in the frontal hairline are 2-3 hairs. There are very few 1 hair graft units there.

I appreciate Janna's suggestion, but there are about 900 grafts, and they are all like this. It isn't like there are just a few.

Would you be willing to post some fotos of your results?

Falc,

Well, I was going to contact Dr. Rassman again personally about this matter. My purpose here was to obtain advice from those with transplant experience and on my options etc...

As I stated before, I agree with you, aside from what has happened to me I do believe he is a stand up guy and surgeon. I have a lot of respect for him on many levels. That is why I went back to him instead of going somewhere else first.

Hi Rambler,

There have been many degrees of poor work that needed repairing. Some take multiple sessions of removing all the plugs that stand out like a sore thumb. But, there are techniques that can repair the unsightly hairs to turn them into positives rather than the negatives you're putting up with currently. Here is one example of repair of someone who had plugs too low, which I posted recently. While the resection is a delicate procedure that is not to be taken lightly, it's just one example of a technique that can transform bad work into something very natural looking. Good luck with your situation.

http://hair-restoration-info.com/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/256...771073453#7771073453

Janna,

It's hard to tell the extent of the plugginess from that particular patient from the photos but it must have been pretty bad if he was wearing a hairpiece. The results, from the photos anyway, look excellent. I sure hope that is not the route I need to take. Thank you for the information, I appreciate your input.

Janna,

My best guess is that Rambler wouldn't have to go through this type of radical surgery however, it is clearly an option. In my opinion, removing the hairline as a strip should be the last possible resort for repair.

Rambler,

I have heard from Dr. Rassman today and he will be contacting you shortly to ask for your permission to discuss your case publicly (without revealing any confidential patient information of course).

I hope that you will allow him to give his professional input on this thread and that he can help you through this situation.

Best wishes,

Falc

Rambler,

I wasn't implying you would need to go through such measures in your situation, but you mentioned having to endure large grafts for the rest of your life. I just wanted to you to know that there are steps you can take to eliminate enough of those unsightly grafts for a more natural look. They may be punch outs, lasering, resectioning, and planting singles in and around the big grafts. Sorry for the confusion.

Falc,
Yes of course I would allow that.

Janna,
I understand. You were just indicating that there are other options that can be considered.

btw, I never mentioned having to endure large grafts. It is the pitting nature of the transplant that I am concerned with.

As long as the pitting is not all over the head, if it's in an area like right at the hairline, they can most likely be removed during the punch outs.

Janna,
Have you ever had to turn away a prospective repair patient because there was nothing you could do for them? What can you do if the person has no donor hair remaining?

There's aways something you can do for repair patients. Simply doing a scar revision or removing punches and recycling some of the bigger plugs can make for a more natural appearance. There are patients who have had previous punch work done at other clinics and by the time they get to us for repair, the donor is very limited, but we have always been able to do something to improve. The repair may not produce as many hairs as we like, but it's still an improvement.

Hello everyone,

In the interest of fairness, I have contacted Dr. Rassman about this particular thread so he could obtain the necessary permissions needed to discuss this patient's case publicly.

At this time, the patient (Rambler) has refused to give that permission.

Rambler, I recognize that you posted on this thread to obtain forum member advice. But given the information presented, it is only fair that Dr. Rassman be allowed to offer his input.

Therefore, I'm requesting that you give Dr. Rassman the necessary permissions that he requires to discuss your case publicly.

Without this permission, I cannot allow this unbalanced discussion to continue.

Please be aware that your identity nor your photos will be used, only the necessary medical information to discuss your situation.

Dr. Rassman has informed me that he will make another attempt to contact you regarding this.

Thanks,

Falc

I took it when Rambler said: "Falc, yes of course I would allow that", he was giving that consent. (?)