Hi: I have been reading this forum for about a year now and the information has been VERY useful.
I am a Class 2. I have decided to add a few hairs to my hairline and made an appointment to see Dr. Edmond Griffin in Atlanta. I asked one of the Dr. Griffins' assistants what was the average cost for the surgery and here's what I was quoted...
Surgery Type: Extra Small - 500 Grafts - $4,500.00 Small - 700 Grafts - $5,700.00 Medium - 900 Grafts - $6,500.00
My questions are for those who had the procedure done ...
1. Are these prices reasonable? 2. Did anyone here got their procedure done by Dr. Griffing? 3. How many grafts did you received and what was the cost? 4. Should I get another doctors opinion?
I agree, those figures seem extraordinarily high, almost incorrect. The top docs are nearly half those prices. I have about 1900, somewhere in the 8000 range.
Posts: 145 | Location: St. Louis, MO | Registered: January 13, 2003
Sounds super outrageous to me. I went to MHR for my first consult , they quoted me the same price range for the same amoount of grafts as you talk about.
I had my HT by Dr Deyarman in San Diego. 2000+ @ $7000. It seems the norm is around $3 per single graft.
Gentleman, thank you for responding. I have been reading this and other forums on a daly basis and have learned a lot about HTs, but did not know much about the cost involved.
Since I got quoted those high prices, I have decided to take a serious looks at the FUE approach. The quotes I have receive from two top doctors in Florida and Georgia are in the $7-$8 range per graft - 500 grafts minimum. I will probably do two 500 grafts sessions since you do not need to have the back of your head sliced with the FUE procedure.
Markcia with all due respect your quote"Be aware FUE is still a newer procedure and does have a higher fall-out rate then the strip. This is to broad of a statement. I will repeat and I have had both strip procedures and Fue. All strip procedures and doctors are not the same.In strip they still use several different techniques to preform the surgery.You mean to tell me that Dr. X because he performs strip get's the same results as Dr. Y??? NO. And the same with Fue. I have gone to the doctor that has the most experience and plenty of consistent results to back this up.Yes there are now plenty of other doctors doing there version of Fue but one has to go see former patients and be able to decide this if he is consistent or not. I had little to no growth with my first strips why??? I believe it is due to poor tecnique. Now with Woods I had excellent yield this I believe is due to his hands on experience doing the procedure himeself and taking his time to insure the best possible yield.So Do I think all strip is not going to give great results? Of course not. In the hands of skilled surgeons (like we have here on the site.)As I said in a previous thread this rambling on Fue from these docs is not warranted nothing against them but they just do not have all the facts. I am nothing more than a consumer that did my homework went out to many consultations from the internet "Top Docs" and got what I was seeking a great transplant.
Posts: 147 | Location: New York | Registered: October 17, 2002
If you're really a true Class 2, you should probably hold off on surgery for now. I would not get a linear scar for that small number of grafts (strip excision).
FUE does work however it is not very common and only a few doctors do it. There is still a lot of misinformation about it, out there.
In general, a Norwood class 2 is advised to hold off on surgery, and use preventative medicine instead.
I had a visit with Dr. Griffin yesterday. He is one of the "highly Recommended" doctors by this site. The staff was very nice. I spent 1/2 hour talking with a lady named Bess. Bess was very professional - and very pleasant to the eyes; she took pictures of my hairline and donor area; took notes and answered some of my questions while we waited for Dr. Griffin.
Dr. Griffin an I talked for about 40 minutes. He showed me photos of results from people that had the same type of hair and the same degree of hairloss as me. He answered all my questions and concerns. I left his office much better informed than when I went in.
Now I have to make a decision as to what method is better for me. Strip or FUE? I am about 70% sold on the FUE method. One thing that has convinced me to go with the FUE method is the donor area. I am not ready to have the back of my head sliced from ear to ear. I saw a video of a recent strip surgery that left me with little desire to go with that method.
I will be traveling to Alpharetta, GA for a consultation with a doctor who especialized on the FUE method next week. I will keep you posted.
