HI Gurus

I had a HT with epstein in August-07. I sent pics to Epstein and he suggested me to have 2200 grafts.I went to miami all the way and had a HT, initially i wan not happy with the hair line boarder that he planned..especially on right hand side...he told me that if he plants more grafts then everyone will be knowing that i had a HT and i was dumb at that moment. The surgery is over in around 6+ hrs, planted 2100 grafts and money was given back for the rest of the 100 grafts. Now its almost 7 months, i couldnt see any considerable growth on right hand side still...looks ok on left hand side.Even if i see considerable growth on right side, still i looks like a bald head person. I was amazed at couple of guys post op co pics and now i realized that i have done a big mistake by contacting Epstein.

Couple of guys now suggesting me 2 have HT (actually they dont know that i had a HT), you can understand based on this. I was so disappointed with the outcome...i m basically from india and its a huge amount for me.lot of guys in the forum suggeting us to wait 12 months for complete cover....my question is : even after 7 months..nothing has shown up on right hand side...if it is like that even after 12 months...i am the unlucky person on the earth...what to do? Suggest me guys..i m taking propecia on every other day.

Thanks

I'd like to see some pictures. What level of balding did you have or do you have on the NW scale?

dbk,

7 months is definitely too soon to have the final results; there is definitely more maturing/thickening of the new hairs plus maybe some more to sprout; however, at 7 months you should have an "idea" what the results are going to be and also have a cosmetic improvement. Dr. Epstein is a coalition doc who performs sound work and has a good rep from what I understand; are you on propecia, to halt further loss? If you are not on propecia, you could be losing native hair; also, we will need pics to observe; also your age, NW level etc..

dbk20032002,

I agree with what other members have already told you. 7 months is still way too early to conclude the final result. Your right side may be slow to grow and the additional hair maturation that will come in the next several months may make a world of difference. I know it did in my case.

Have you expressed your concerns to Dr. Epstein at this point? If not, what is preventing you from doing so?

I have to say however, that if you weren't satisfied with the hairline drawing, that surgery shouldn't have moved ahead. It is up to surgeon and patient to come up with a plan that everyone can contend and be satisfied with. Did you discuss a long term hair restoration? Was the need for more than one surgery discussed?

Do you have any before, immediately postoperative, after pictures you can share with us? This will help give us a better idea as to your particular situation, including your original level of hair loss.

Falc

7 months is nothing. It is like judging the outcome of a football game at halftime. wait 14 months before you make a FINAL decision.. There is such a big change from 7 months on.

Rarely do I have anything very useful to contribute on this website, but this I can say from experience.

7 months is indeed too soon to make those kind of sweeping assessments on this type of surgery.

Mrjb is absolutely correct. At this point it's like judging the outcome of a football game at halftime.

Patience buddy. The best is yet to come.

DBK20032002,

Before you make any final conclusions check "wanthairs" past posts or PM him.

He also was a bit concerned about growth around 6/7 months...then an explosion of growth occured at around 8 months.
He is now fighting off girls and all that good stuff.

By the way "wanthairs" also used Dr.Epstein...as I did.

Hang in there,

MH

I must say- here I have not been on this site for almost 2 months, and I happen to click on this link.

First of all, to my knowledge, I have not been contacted by any patient telling me of their dissatisfaction, so I am not even sure who dbk20032002t is.

Second, it is apparent that this patient's donor density was quite low and/or his goals were relatively limited- not only did I only recommend or agree to a rather conservative graft count of 2200, but I was only able to transplant 2100 or so grafts. This patient received a reimbursement for the lower graft count (anyone who knows me as a doctor knows that I typically give 100 or more grafts at no charge).

Third, with a planned procedure of 2200 grafts, there is a definite limit on how much lowering of the hairline can be achieved (and considering that I got less than this graft number, it is a good thing the hairline was designed as such), yet this patient claims that I "didn't listen to him"- which once again, anyone who is familiar with me knows that I establish an honest communication line with every patient of mine, and have more than once cancelled an out-of-town patient's procedure after meeting him if I felt that I could not do a good job which includes meeting his expectations.

Fourth, for some patients, at just 7 months growth can be at just 40 to 50% of expected.

All those points being made, I hope that this patient contacts me directly, so that I can have the opportunity to : know who he is, reassure him, provide him with some feedback, and lastly, assure him that if he does not have the full growth that he should realistically expect that I will replace those grafts that do not grow at no charge.
This forum is an invaluable asset to the online community suffering from hair loss, but should NOT be a substitute for the doctor-patient confidential relationship. This confidentialty also limits me from adequately responding to his comments, once I find out who is the patient.
Anyone who visits my website can read the literally hundreds and hundreds of letters I have received from happy patients, as anyone who spends time on this site can communicate with just a small sampling of my many patients, who complement me and my staff for our professionalism, caring, and top work. I have spent 14 plus years building this reputation, that has come with placing my patients' interests first, and never compromising in the work I perform.
I love what I do, and want to do the best for every one of my patients. Therefore, I hope that dbk20032002 will contact me directly.

Thank you.
Jeffrey Epstein, MD, FACS
www.foundhair.com
Miami and NYC

dbk....

Looking back through some of your old posts its very clear that you done very little research .
(You were scared post op when your grafts started shedding thinking they wouldn't grow back)
Also, you're very young (19 i believe)
It seems you're angry that dr epstein didn't give you a youthful teenage hairline but thats a completely inadvisable approach.
You've only got a limited donor supply of grafts to use for a lifetime of balding and as you've started balding so young the likelihood is that you'll reach a norwood 5/6 class before you're 30.
Like everyone has said, 7 months is to early to judge. Give it another couple of months.

best of luck

For the record, most people getting a HT will need another. I thought 2 might be ok for me but 3 was the magic number due to my low sessions. It depends on so many factors, Norwood, laxity, size of the head, hair quality and even more. You could have the ideal situation but if your expectations are too high you will always be dissappointed. Reaerch is not always to determine the right doctor, rather calculating a game plan for success.

Dr. Epstein,

Thank you for your contribution on this thread. It appears that you have found it before I had a chance to contact you to give your input.

Dbk,

All members are welcome to share their concerns and experiences on our open discussion forum but it is also important to share your concerns with your phsyician as well in order for him to provide you with optimal care.

Please contact Dr. Epstein so that he can help you and obtain the necessary permission he needs from you to discuss your case publicly if desired.

Nevertheless, I believe 7 months is still way too early to evaluate the overall result. I encourage you to talk with Dr. Epstein and continue to wait for the final result which will be evident by about the 1 year mark.

Cheers,

Falc

One morning you wake up, and you start to see the growth. Actually, it's probably the darkening of hair that's been growing for a bit, but the sudden awareness is encouraging.
At least, that is the way it's been for me, and I'm a little over 6 months away from my surgery. Patience!

to everyone out there I just had an Ht done with Dr. Epstein on feb 7th 2008. If you look up my name you will see that I was very concerned about the number of grafts and the size of the donor scar a day or 2 before the procedure with my last min post questions. Dr. Epstein gave me an estimate of 2300 grafts since my donor lax was a bit tight.He is a conservative Doctor and looks out for his patients best interest as his top priority. Dr. Epstein in my case pulled out 2953 grafts with a tremendous beautiful donar scar line. Just look at my weblog with all my post op pics. To boot he gave me the 653 grafts for free. I have never seen on this site that many grafts givin out for free from posts. He is a man of integrity and to the man who posted this please call him and tell him your emotions. He is the type of man who cares about your feelings and he wants you to be happy and if you call him he will make you happy. I call Dr. Epstein coach, because he is a coach and a 5 star doctor in his field. Thanks Dr. Epstein your the best!!!! Dennis from Boston

Dennis,

Maybe it's me...but can't find the pics.

Congrads on the surgery.


MH

Dennis,

I'm pleased to see that you created a hair loss weblog. I hope you'll update it with your hair transplant experience and hair transplant photos.

Cheers,

Falc

Thanks guys I got the pics up on the photo album finally

I appreciate all the dispensing of valuable information from members of the HTN community, some of whom are my patients.
The patient did contact me, to first apologize, and second, to let me know who he was. While I will not disclose any personal information, there are some facts which I can share. I have over 10 email correspondences between him and I from before his procedure, in which I made very clear that, because of his relatively young age (in his early 20s) and the high risk of further hair loss, that I was recommending, if he was going to have a procedure at all (which I did spend a lot of time talking about all the negatives to having a procedure at such a young age) a very conservative course in which I would be filling in the density of the frontal region without any lowering of his hairline. This could not have been more clear, and he fully understood this all through the time of his procedure.

He is also not even 7 months out from his procedure. Having said that, I am most happy that I have established the same rapport that I had with him pre-procedure. There is no more important element than the doctor-patient relationship.

Jeff Epstein, MD, FACS
www.foundhair.com

quote:

There is no more important element than the doctor-patient relationship

I wholeheartedly agree. Public discussion forums are great and certainly the patient has every right to express his/her concerns and questions here to receive advice and encouragement. But nobody here can provide what the surgeon can which is why selecting a quality physician is key. Quality in this case refers not only to the skill of the physician but overall patient care.

Thanks for always taking care of your patients Dr. Epstein.

Falc

This is where indian people are different . their expectations are very high from HT. They expect to have full volume and a lower hairline .

if you see Dr.Ahmad's HT galleries, you will see men in mid 40s going for a very lower hairline . I think thats the nature of indian/pakistani people. They like to have lower hairlines no matter what their age is