My Hair Transplant Nightmare - Adrian’s Story
September 18, 2008 by The Bald Truth
I wish I was one of those happy guys in the after pictures that I see on the internet, but I guess I’m not so lucky. Four years ago I had a hair transplant. I thought that I did my research by ordering a couple of brochures and DVDs from television and by reading the internet boards about hair transplants.
I went to three different hair transplant clinics to have face to face meetings, and I spoke with my family doctor before I made the decision to take the plunge. After a considerable amount of research I decided to go to a very popular clinic (I prefer not to mention the name) in Beverly Hills. I was so excited the day of my surgery. Everyone seemed so professional.
After I changed and was given some pills I was asked to sign a bunch of paper work. I was not told that I would have to sign anything more than I had already signed when I scheduled surgery. At this point I was a little out of it from the relaxation medication so I just kind of signed the papers and figured that there’s no turning back now. I found out later that this was all the stuff that discussed the complications and the fact that there are no guarantees and such.
During the surgery the doctor was only in the room for what seemed like less than a half an hour and the entire process was carried out by nurses. I was sitting there for over four hours and the doctor only came in two times to see how I was doing. When I was finished they handed me some instructions and a baseball cap and sent me on my way. I didn’t feel too good about the experience. I was under the impression that the doctor would be performing the entire surgery, not just a part of it. The nurses who did the work seemed really young. One looked like she was about 20. I tried to just relax and figured that this is the way they do things and that I’ll be fine.
I’m not fine. I knew that I had made a mistake at about the 4 month mark when my hair began to grow back. The hairline was looking very much like a half moon shape. The hair seemed spaced out and did not look natural. When I contacted the clinic they told me to give it time. I gave it 12 months, but the results were very poor.
I lost a lot of my own hair after the surgery and it has never grown back. I am now left with very apparent hair plugs that can not be concealed and I have been very unhappy with my appearance ever since my hair transplant.
The clinic offered to do another surgery to fix me up at half price but I will not be going back to them.
My message to anyone thinking about having a hair transplant is to do more research than I did. I see pictures of happy patients on the internet and I wish I had done my research so I could be one of them. I am now looking to have this mess fixed and plan to go to Dr. Paul McAndrews from the IAHRS. My experience with him was like night and day during my consultation. I can only hope the outcome of my surgery will be as good. For now I am stuck with the looks and the embarrassment of a hair transplant gone very wrong. This has been a terrible ordeal that I hope I can put behind me in time.
Adrian
Adrian:
I read your story and my stomach almost turned inside-out. I had literally the same experience that you had! Check out my story on this site if you’re interested. Briefly …
In 2000, I had a hair transplant of 800 grafts in a popular, big-name clinic in Beverly Hills, thinking I did my research by watching their late-nite infomercials and ordering their fancy DVDs and brochures. Then I went in for a consultation which, in retrospect, felt like a “sales pitch” from a non-physician. On the day of my surgery, almost the same thing happened … I was asked to sign a bunch of foreign paperwork before we could proceed. During the surgery, I saw the doctor maybe 2 or 3 times in a 6-hour span. Most of the surgery was handled by young nurses that I had never met before. They were handling my flesh and blood!
A few months later, since I continued to lose some hair (they didn’t recommend Propecia), the hair transplant results didn’t produce a very cosmestically different result, and the results were not in accordance with the level of naturalness that their consultations and marketing materials led me to believe.
A few years ago, I begun my journey of fixing my below-average results by consulting with Dr. McAndrews — and his consultation was phenomenal! I knew I had found the right doctor, and scheduled a surgery with him. The results have started to come in, and I am very, very pleased. My hairline is softening and I am realizing some nice density (relative to what I had). I have absolutely nothing but good things and admirations to say about my personal experience with Dr. McAndrews. He performed literally 100% of the surgery himself, with slight assistance from his medical staff.
It might be fun or interesting to compare notes sometime on Spencer’s show (if Spencer is cool with it), but, either way, best of luck to you.
A HUGE fan of Dr. McAndrews,
Tee Jay
I had a similar experience. I had a transplant in 1987. What a big mistake that was. I have the old-fashioned hair plugs on both sides near the temple area about 25 on each side. It really sucks. i get the stares and nver go anywhere without a baseball cap. My quesion is can I get the hair plugs removed and the scarring from those plugs be smoothed down by a dermatolgist with dermabond or something like that? Meanwhile, I’ll just wait for hair multiplication to be available.
Hey Steve,
I’m sorry to hear about your situation. I almost climbed into chair around the same time as you did. Actually, a well known New York hair transplant “pioneer” suggest that I should “try a few” hair grafts to see if I liked them:) He was giving me the hard sell and to tell you the truth, if I had the money at the time, I might have gone through with it.
You’re story is all to common, but their is hope. It’s know possible to actually have those old plugs removed and then cut into tiny follicular units to be redistributed somewhere else on the scalp that might be more appropriate. Depending on the extent of your scaring, you can significantly improve the quality of the skin where the original plugs were placed using different skin resurfacing techniques.
I wouldn’t’ put my life on hold waiting for hair multiplication. There are some really good options available today to help to rectify your situation and allow you to take off your hat and go on with your life feeling more comfortable in your own skin.
You can find a list of recommended hair transplant doctors in the resources section of this site or you can check out The International Alliance of Hair Restoration Surgeons http://www.iahrs.org
There is real hope so hang in there.
Spencer Kobren
I know how you feel , in the the late 80’s i had a hair transplant biggest mistake of my life. Wore hats for many years to cover the unatural apperance, now i use a hair system, they are more natural looking these days but are expensive to buy and maintain and drive you mad some of the time.Would like to have another ht but do not have enough hair in the doner area. From the research i’ve done the best hair transplant doctors are dr cole and hasson and wong
Hi Mike,
I always hear Spencer talking about purchasing hair systems online for just a couple of hundred dollars. He says they are even better than the expensive ones. You should ask him who he recommends.
Lack of assertiveness and not trusting your “gut feeling” are the root causes of the example cases above. A question I would ask is “what percentage of the procedure will be physically done by the doctor”. Listen to your gut feeling and if at any point you have concerns you have to speak out. I’d even go so far as to say that I want my whole surgery done by a male doctor. Yes, it is acceptable to discriminate based on gender, age, and experience when it comes to your health. Otherwise, you are putting other’s feelings above your health.