quote:

To date Dr. Farjo has not responded to this question, despite receiving a PM from Falceros to answer.

Dr. Feller,

I received a response from Dr. Farjo and he plans on addressing this in the next couple of days.

You are on the forum quite frequently, which is great. But not everyone makes as much time to participate as you. Hopefully some day that will change.

Falc

quote:

Originally posted by Dr. Alan Feller:
Both Balody and Allan fall well within normal donor scalp parameters. In fact, they both have ideal donor characteristics/ His references were for the exceptions, not the rule, and therefore do not apply to either Allan or Balody./ but there must be an obvious reason before doing so. Such obvious reasoning was not provided for Allan or Balody./ That’s what would be required in a courtroom. However, such has not yet been offered in either the case of Balody nor Allan.

dr feller,i feel i must object aswell to you constantly trying to make it sound like dr farjo was responsible for allans terrible scar.
i assume you read the post properly in the beginning and realise allans scar was from another clinic,so why keep writing your posts to make it sound like allan is dr farjos patient?
maybe you should spend a little more time taking the clinics who HAVE actually had loads of complaints made against them to task,and leave the clinic which is turning out quality work, week after week,month after month alone.

quote:

But this ridiculous thread has gone on long enough, and I'll cut to the chase:

Dr. Farjo was simply wrong, but rather than admit he simply used poor judgement and made a mistake, he dug his hole deeper and tried to snow this community. Making mistakes in judgement is ok, we're all human. But, compounding a mistake by trying to prop it up with false and nebulous reasoning is not OK. In my opinion I don't believe this behavior is becoming of a physician, especially one who is the President of a Society of physicians.

Dr. Feller,

I feel that you have crossed the line with this statement. This is a lot like a judge throwing down the gavel before hearing the details of a case.

As a physician, challenging medical practices is certainly appropriate and expected in order to facilitate your own and the education of others. But condemning and accusing your peers of trying to cover their mistakes with "nebulous reasoning" who are working toward the same goal as you is inappropriate and in my opinion not "becoming of a physician".

You are a fountain of knowledge and an asset to this community, and this behavior is not becoming of you.

Dr. Feller and Dr. Farjo,

I think it's time to realize that you both are two of the "good guys" in the industry. You two are both dedicated to performing state of the art hair transplantation and should be working together, not firing cannons at one another. I expect that the mudslinging will go no further and that both of you will keep this on a professional and medical level.

Continued discussion over the appropriate placement of the scar can prove to be beneficial for everyone (physician and patient) involved if it can be respectful.

Best wishes,

Falc

Balody,
I understand your objection. When debates get this involved and threads get this long the basic facts can become distorted. I am happy to make it clear, if it wasn’t already, that Allan was in fact NOT a patient of Dr. Farjo.

I believe the confusion came about due to the uncanny resemblance between Allan’s scar and your own when the photos were placed side by side.

However, it doesn’t matter whether Allan was a patient of Dr. Farjo or not. The fact is that the scar was placed below the nuchal ridge, contrary to textbook surgical procedure, and Dr. Farjo attempted to justify it. Whether he was referring to you as his patient or Allan as the patient of another doctor is inconsequential.

The bottom line is that he was trying to justify the unjustifiable no matter who performed the surgery.

By the way, we are still waiting for his response.

Falceros,
You wrote:
“But condemning and accusing your peers of trying to cover their mistakes with "nebulous reasoning" who are working toward the same goal as you is inappropriate and in my opinion not "becoming of a physician".”

If the shoe fits…

And I wrote "prop up" not "cover" just to be clear. Nevertheless, I have yet to see Dr. Farjo come on here and :
1. Explain how going below the nuchal line is appropriate in non-exceptional cases
2. Explain how an off-topic, self aggrandizing “hit and run” post addresses #1

He threw his hat into the ring and joined the debate. Because of his involvement patients are now NOT sure where the proper position of a strip scar should be in non-exceptional patients. By refusing to address #1 and #2 above he is leaving this community hanging.

I have seen you and Balody speak for, or in place of, Dr. Farjo. Sure, we are all busy, but I think Dr. Farjo could have made some coherent response by now.

As a moderator I would think it would be up to you to end this debate and declare that the textbook should be followed on all non-exceptional cases and that Dr. Farjo’s defense of deviating from the textbook is not only weak, but outright poor medical practice.

Far from MY actions being “unbecoming of a physician”, it is indeed my OBLIGATION as a medical doctor to challenge one of my peers when the information he has offered was patently wrong and unsupportable. If my position was incorrect, then Dr. Farjo could counter me with on-topic responses. And he could do so with a greater frequency than 1 post every 2 weeks. So far he has chosen to take some sort of middle ground where he remains in the debate, yet does not have to participate. This is where a moderator would declare the debate over.

Furthermore, I should think that Balody may want to change his signature which includes the words: “Challenge the unchallenged” as he clearly does not espouse this position when his own doctor is “the challenged”.

Dr. Feller,

I am growing tired of repeating myself so please read this carefully.

I've already made it clear that I agree with the texbook definition of the optimal place to harvest the donor strip is at the occipital bump. We both seem to agree that generally speaking, rare exceptions to this rule exist.

The issue is over Balody's specific case. Only Dr. Farjo can attest to his reasons for a less than optimal placement of his scar. We have not heard an explanation for this yet and I plan on giving him time to reply.

You stating that I have spoken on behalf of Dr. Farjo is unfounded. I am not defending a case where no explanation has been given yet. I've only stated that I believe Dr. Farjo has made a compelling argument for exception cases using the text book. Whether or not Balody falls into an exception case of sorts is what we are all waiting to hear.

Your posts on this thread reak of self-righteousness proclaiming that if Dr. Farjo hasn't responded in what you deem to be an acceptable timeframe, then he must not have an acceptable rebuttal.

I encourage you to administer just a little bit of patience by giving him more than a day or two to respond. Not everyone spends their Friday evenings (especially on Memorial Day Weekend) in front of their computer discussing hair transplant techniques and best practice. Clearly you and I are two of the exceptions

One more thing Dr. Feller: I don't tell you how to do your job so don't tell me how to do mine. Since we have all been awaiting Dr. Farjo's reply on the placement of Balody's scar (some of us more patiently than others), I have no intention to "declare the debate over".

That said, I want you to know I hold you in high esteem and think you're an excellent surgeon. But I feel that you ought to give Dr. Farjo a bit more respect given his equal dedication to performing state of the art hair transplantation.

Best Regards,

Falc

dr feller,
why would i challenge my dr who has given me 2 perfect scars what ever position they are at?
my signature"challenge the UNCHALLENGED"far from unchallenged he seems to go through the mill every other week(mainly from your patients may i add)
you talk about a timeframe in which dr farjo should have responded.you have a patient on another forum who has expressed concern of little or no growth from a proceedure you performed in 05.this post appeared 5 or 6 days ago.why did you not respond to him on said forum?you must know about it as spex posted but then deleted his message.have you responded in private?if not, i suggest you look after your own patients interests before worrying about farjos.if so, then again you smack of double standards when you preach about transparency on these PUBLIC forums.

Falceros,

They celebrate Memorial Day in England the same day we do in the U.S.?

I get your point. But, perhaps there is some confusion here? Balody's PARTICULAR case was never the issue here. At least not for me. I don't even know if Balody's scar IS actually located below the nuchal line or not. I can't tell from the photo I saw- I believe I noted this in an earlier post.

Perhaps Dr. Farjo's omission of the actual position of Balody's scar in his post was taken as an admission of it being located below the nuchal line, but I am not sure of this and have not relied on it during this debate.

If Balody and Dr. Farjo do or don't want to comment exactly on where the scar is located with respect to the bump, it is perfectly alright with me. That's completely up to Balody and what he wants to disclose about himself. I respect his right to privacy, and if he is happy with his own scar position, that's all that matters in the end. Right?

I am not waiting for Dr. Farjo to comment on Balody's scar in particular, and my apologies if that's how you, Balody, and Dr. Farjo read it. I AM waiting for his explanation as to how non-exceptional donor areas may be justifiably stripped BELOW the nuchal line-like what may be clearly seen in Allan's photo. This information may be of importance and would have to be included in the 6th edition of the text.

In terms of treating Dr. Farjo with respect, I return to him the very same amount he has shown to me, Spex, and other viewers of this forum.

I enjoy coming on this site to share information and even mix it up every once in a while. I believe it is educational, challengeing, and even a bit enteraining at times. I also come on here to be seen and enjoy the marketing edge this site (and forum) can afford me. However, for a doctor to enjoy this benefit, he must be willing to pay the price, and that price is transparency and regular participation.

Balody,
You want to take the gloves off? By all means. It's about time some transparency was forced on you.

For just a "concerned patient" you are very dedicated to defending and speaking for your doctor. You are, in fact, a Farjo SHILL so why don't you just put it in your signature? I do not have to prove compensation on your part to demonstrate the truth of this statement. Your agenda is obvious to any reasonably informed person. Your private emailings to a member of this community in concert with Mick and the Farjo clinic is evidence enough of your participation in their enterprise.

Where Spex and I are transparent about our relationship, you and Farjo hide it. I'll bet if I could get ahold of your email register and your telephone bill there would be far too many contacts to Mick and Farjo clinic for you to continue your farce of being "just" a happy patient of Dr. Farjo who likes to post on the internet. You post more than I do!

Too bad you are only one of how many "Farjo supporters"? Two or three max worldwide?
I have more satsified patient posters from the U.K. alone than your doctor does worldwide. And all of them have disclosed their experiences candidly,in great detail, and with many photos. You and your doctor know it, and that's why you dog me and spex constantly.

So you bring up ONE patient of mine I operated on 2.5 years ago who voiced concern over decreased growth in PART of his scalp after multiple surgreies with OTHER doctors in an effort to discredit me? That's the best you can do? That's pretty desperate.

What you don't know yet is that you put your foot in your mouth with respect to that particular patient, as you will see after he visits me in the coming weeks. There is more to his story than was written online.

I don't just jump on the internet to defend myself when a patient has a particular concern. If I did something wrong or made a mistake then I will be the first to admit it, but I have to see and talk to him first BEFORE I can write anything useful on the web. That's why I invited him to the office so I can see what's going on for myself. Until he does I CAN'T comment.

Would your doctor dare to come on here and claim he has NO unsatisfied patients reporting on the internet? I highly doubt it, especially since he had to change his ways of practicing recently to break with his dubious past as mentioned by Falceros on this very site.

In fact, your doctors acceptance into the Coaliton was conditional on his demonstrating a williingness to change his methods of practice. Gee, I wonder why.

Obviously that's why your doctor has so few satisfied patients posting on HTN or anywhere else for that matter. And that's a FACT. So before you even think to criticize me, you should remember the glass house you and your master live in.

You and Dr. Farjo had your chance to compete fairly by showing up at the Manchester meet. That meeting was literally held NEXT DOOR to the Farjo clinic. You were well informed of the place and time well before the meet. Yet NO Farjo patients showed up. NOT ONE! Not even you.

So, Balody, if you are just a "satisfied patient" of Dr. Farjo's and you only go on the internet just to sing his praises, why are you bothing to try and discredit another doctor? That's the action of a shill looking to defame, not a cheerleader looking to support.

The embarassing part of it all is that your doctor hides behind you rather than taking the heat himself.

Dr. Feller,

From Dr. Farjo's response on the previous page, I didn't get the impression that Dr. Farjo was making a case for harvesting the donor strip below the nuchal bump in "non-exceptional cases", but only the exceptional ones. I'm sure when he posts on this thread he will address whether or not my or your interpretation is correct.

I commend you for spending a great amount of time educating patients and sharing your work with us. I'm also in full agreement with you about transparency and accountability. But I think that two dedicated physicians (such as you and Dr. Farjo) can speak to one another with a bit more respect.

Best wishes,

Falc

dr feller,i find your outbursts more and more disturbing.
"dogging you and spex"dont make me laugh!
you and richie brought me into this and you react when i defend myself and my doctor.
i am not a shill and i resent the accusation,i share my experience with any one who asks or with anyone who i think might benefit from a consultation with my dr.surely if i were a shill i would be on every forum especially the uk ones punting for work?thats what shills do isnt it?
as for bringing up the private message thing with hairnutter123, if ever there was a manufactured trap to try and discredit me or the clinic .anyone who had an ounce of sense could see it backfired.all it has done is made me think twice when offering advice.

Balody,

Do you intend to attend the Birmingham meet? As a satisfied patient of Dr. Farjo's, I think this would be beneficial for everyone. Perhaps you can ask "Fallenstar" or anyone else if he is interested in going along.

Hopefully Mick, as the patient coordinator will organize a nice size group to take a long. There is nothing like presenting impressive patient results in person to silence even the harshest critics.

Falc

no falc,i wont be attending.
i dont see why i have to travel somewhere to meet(lets face it mainly feller patients)most of who i have had words with on here to try and prove that im happy with my proceedures.
i have had two ht,s with farjo that were both excellent experiences,if people cant handle that its their problem.
on the other hand if i thought someone was genuinely interested in having surgery in the uk then i would be quite willing to meet them in person to give what experience i have,one to one.

Dr. Feller and Balody,

Is this mud slinging and accusing one another really necessary?

Simply put, Balody is not a paid representative for Dr. Farjo and Dr. Feller is not negligent. I'm not familiar with the case Balody is referring to but I trust that Dr. Feller will attend to his patient's needs as usual. You two are taking some pretty "low blows" at one another because you have both emotionally wounded one another.

Dr. Feller, may I remind you that Pat did visit with and observe and evaluate live surgery at the Farjo clinic and feels that they are doing work that is on par with other leading physicians worldwide. See hightlights and photos from Pat's Visit to the Farjo Clinic.

The Farjo Clinic has put forth a lot of evidence since Pat's visitation and since they've been admitted into the Coalition proving they do perform state of the art hair transplantation and continue to do so.

By your very own admission on this Farjo Patient thread, you said, "Excellent result. Doesn't get better than that. Well done. Good video presentation as well."

It appears that you are making an argument that physicians who don't have as much online visibility as you are inferior. Though we highly encourage more physiciann participation and involvement from their patients, this is a very dangerous argument given that you have more online visibility than everyone. Even Dr. Farjo has some more online visibility than some of our other physicians members of the Coalition. So unless you intend to lump a number of your well respected peers together and call them inferior because many of their satisfied patients aren't posting online, I'd reconsider this argument.

Whereas there are only a handful of Farjo patients regularly posting, Mick continues to present evidence of Dr. Farjo's ultra refined results in the "hair transplant patient photo album" section of the forum.

I do agree (as does Dr. Farjo as stated to me in a private email) with you however, that Mick should have organized a number of patients to attend the Manchester Meet. This would have been a perfect opportunity to show off his quality work to his critics. I strongly encourage the Farjo Clinic to take some patients to attend the Birmingham meeting coming up on June 1st. I hope and trust that they will do this as further evidence that they are producing state of the art work.

All that said, if you have not yet addressed a concerned patient member on another forum who is dissatisfied with poor growth, may I suggest you attend to him since that it is significantly more important than debating over the proper placement of a scar.

Balody, let me also remind you that Dr. Feller has an impeccable track record of consistent results and that no physician bats a 1000.

I still intend on keeping this thread open while awaiting Dr. Farjo's response. In the meantime, try not to kill each other .

Best wishes,

Falc

wow, guys i can't believe the comments on this thread, i thought the whole idea was to use the forum to help people with hair loss problems. i had my HT done by Dr B Farjo in nov 07, i am extremely satisfied with my results. His work is excellent, so much so that i am considering a following session to get the crown done. if i felt Dr Farjo was not up to the right standard, would i consider 2nd HT...i dont think so. Paul (aka Balody) mate, i think its probably not worth getting into such discussions anymore , we all know your results are excellent as well as others who have visited Dr Farjo place. the last thing i would say is that unfortunatley, there seems to be a ulterior motive on themes related to UK surgeons, especially towards Dr Farjo. this has actually put some of us off even posting on this forum :-(
FS.
btw..before anyone says something, i am only a patient of Dr. Farjo's :-)

fs,your totally right.im finished on this.
at the end of the day i have hair on my head which was my goal and i have pencil thin scar which covers with my hair buzzed down relatively short.
it is a shame though because patients ARE probably being put off posting their experiences through fear of being pulled to pieces by the pro u.s. gang.ive seen it happen on numerous occasions on the other forums,someone comes on saying they are happy with their results and get shouted down or accused of shilling until they just dont bother posting anymore.i suppose that is what their aim is,but no one is going to wear me down. call me what you like i aint going no where.

p.s. looked at your 6 mnth pics...marvelous!

You know the best way to diffuse all this is to keep posting quality work. That will do your speaking for you.
Im in US and just posted that Prohair would be my top choice for fue so its not all pro US. Its the terrible track record in the UK that has people suspicious.
You guys can change all that.
All this fighting back and forth is nonsense. This started out as an educated thread from Dr Feller and turned into a immature mudslinging tirade.
It went from productive to unproductive because of egos.
You guys are too good for all of this.

thankyou pgp,you too are right this is ridiculous.
good luck with your fue.

I would like to echo Falc's helpful suggestion and personally invite both balody and Fallenstar to the hair geek meet in Birmingham on the 1st June 08. Guys, it would be great to meet with you and see first hand the excellent work of the Farjo clinic - and what better way of putting to rest all of the negative views that are being expressed on this forum and elsewhere?

I can assure you of a warm welcome and will even stand a round at the bar. Please give it some serious consideration as you both have a valuable contribution to make in dispelling the myth that you cannot get a good HT in the UK.

Cheers

Custard (aka Beachboy)

Falceros –

While I respect your authority as a forum moderator and believe you are acting in good faith in the interest of all HT posters, I would appreciate it if you didn't take it upon yourself to invite selective parties to the Birmingham meet.


These meets are ALL about the patients and their own willingness to freely meet up to share their own e