As a public service to other hair loss sufferers considering saving a few dollars by having the procedure done in Buenos Aires I have decided to post this warning against having any procedures done by Dr. Gustavo Chachir of Buenos Aires, Argentina.

I had 2 procedures done by the arrogant Dr. Chachir with disastrous results. The results of the first operation were simply awful. Chachir didn't create a natural hairline nor use single focular units but rather used unnatural bunches of 5-10 hairs. Thinking he would feel embarassed and perform a better second operation, I returned (like an idiot) and paid for a second procedure. The results of the second procedure were worse than before. The donor area required several months to heal and at one point became so infected that I had to start taking antibiotics.

I recently returned to the USA and went to see a renowned h/t surgeon who told me that the quality of my transplant was very poor, that the reason for the severe donor infection was that the donor area was too low and into the muscle, that the hair line was unnatural and that the procedure was not done with care and medical professionalism. The doctor was able to tell me that my options are now very limited and that I must go for laser therapy to remove a good portion of the front hairline.

Please listen to this story and do not hair anything done by Chachir.

Thank-you for reading this.

Thanks JH for the advice and warning. I had some repairs done by Dr. Bernstein 10 weeks ago that are excellent. My initial bad work was done years ago and the Doctor is now dead and can do no further harm.

JH,

If you don't mind me asking, who did you consult with in the US? Since it sounds like you're in need of a pretty significant repair job, I would recommend consulting with at least three top notch surgeons who have plenty of expertise in performing repair surgeries.

GuitarPlayer

JH,

Sorry to hear about your experience but thank you so much for the post. Hopefully, it will help get the word out about this butcher.

Ditto GuitarPlayer's post...............consult with a few top-notch Doc's before moving forward.

I wanted to write this follow up to my post over a year ago concerning the horrible hair transplant job done on me by Dr. Gustavo Chachir of Barrancas Medical Center of Buenos Aires, Argentina. As I previously posted, his 2 procedures left me infected and horribly scarred. Repairing his work has cost me thousands of dollars and alot of unnecessary stress. I understand that there are agencies which market his services outside of Argentina. I would advise anyone considering a hair transplant in Argentina to demand the name of the surgeon and then demand another clinic if his name or the name of his clinic come up.

About a year ago, I was advised to by New York's Dr. Bernstein (who saw me for free on a Saturday, by the way) to see a dermatologist in order to remove the front inch or so in order to make the hairline more natural. It took awhile and alot of money but 4 laser hair removal sessions and some laser resurfacing later, the result is much better. Still, I will never again be able to comb my hair back.

Two weeks ago, Dr. Bernstein performed a smaller transplant to implant hairs into the wide scar on the back of my head. The difference in these two Doctors was phenomenal! The entire experience with Dr. Bernstein was professional and so incredibly well done. It's hard to believe there are doctors like this man. His staff is equally amazing. I was sutured up with metal sutures and back to doing work later that day. There was very little discomfort. He's a great surgeon and a great guy!

In contrast, my 2 procedures with Dr. Gustavo Chachir were monstrous as I stated.

Last year, Chachir issued a letter saying that I was part of some campaign to dissuade North Americans from seeking any type of medical treatment in Argentina. I offered anyone who wanted my email address and photos to come forward and received some letters of support and some incredibly vitriolic hate mail.

I have nothing against anyone trying to get work done more cheaply in places like Argentina. I would just caution you to do your homework. Perhaps call your embassy of that country and ask who they would recommend for their own staff or whether there is an approved list. Whatever you do...STAY AWAY FROM DR. CHACHIR BECAUSE WHATEVER YOU SAVE IN THE SHORT-TERM WILL ALMOST CERTAINLY COST MUCH, MUCH MORE LATER ON.

You have been warned. Good luck!

Well, as a final follow up to my last posting of my "hairstute" journey...I thought I'd follow up to stress the folly of my first 2 hair transplants with Dr. Chachir.

On June 9, 2008 (just 2 days ago), I had a 2000 graft transplant done by Dr. Carman who works with Dr. Reed in La Jolla, CA. Both of these fine gentlemen met with me 3 times over the last year while I saved up my hard earned money for the repair job. Each met with me for at least 1 hour or more to discuss the likely outcome.
I'd like to stress that each of these two gentlemen spent this time with me not even knowing if I would in fact go through with the procedure.

It's now Wednesday night. The procedure was done Monday over the course of 7 hours. The precision is exact! There is little to no pain in comparison to my h/t with Dr. Chachir and little to no swelling at all this time!!!

My procedure with Dr. Chachir lasted just 2 hours and the whambam-thank you maam left me terribly scarred and infected with a donor site that remained infected for months and a head of hair right out of a barbie catalog.

I cannot stress enough to anyone desiring a hair transplant to do your homework. The money I saved in Argentina was spent double in repair costs and fourfold in grief and personal embarrassment.

God Bless.
J.