My experience at Hair Restoration Institute was extraordinarily professional and comfortable and just an overall positive experience. Dr. Reece and the team, including Nate my point of contact, made me feel like they genuinely cared about my well being, were great listeners and were very detail oriented. And the tone of the office is warm and fun. I'm only one week into recovery but everything is going well and they have checked up on my numerous times. I was an "out of towner" client, but that did not effect their level of attention. They went above and beyond in the plan for my implants and what they charged reasonable in comparison to many other places I looked into. I highly recommend them.
Dr Reese and his team did an excellent job. He was very dedicated to maximizing my results and his team was committed to doing the best job possible. Really positive experience. His 20+ years experience showed.
After working with Dr. Reese I was surprised to see very few reviews online. The experience with his team met, or exceeded, every one of my expectations. This was my first experience with hair restoration, and starting with the consultation he made me feel very comfortable with getting the FUT and FUE combination procedure for the results I was looking for. The day of the surgery everything moved along very efficiently, and Dr. Reese was there the entire time either working hands-on, or monitoring everything from the extraction, follicle separations of the FUT, and finally the placement of the grafts. The whole process took around 8 hours for 2,343 grafts. My procedure was just a few weeks ago so the hair has not started growing back yet; there were just a few follicles that I pulled out accidentally out following the procedure so my expectations are that the final results will be just as good as the work performed. If this is your first hair transplant, or going back years later for a fill, I definitely recommend getting a consultation from Dr. Reese before making any decisions.
Thank you for your question and photography to review. Most likely many of the previously transplanted follicles will have to be removed and "recycled" in a separate procedure to correct the angle and direction of hair growth. It is unfortunate that this type of unnecessary complication is on the rise. Many prospective patients are considering having procedures performed at hair transplant "mills" based on price alone as their primary decision-making factor. They wrongly assume that their result will be equivalent irrespective of who is performing their procedure, so price becomes the primary factor in where they have their procedure performed. At these hair transplant "mills" they find that the physician plays little to no role in their actual procedure. How could the doctor be involved in your procedure when the clinic is performing 5 or more hair transplant procedures simultaneously? These patients find that their procedures are performed completely by "technicians". And these technicians do not have the experience or skillset needed to eliminate these types of complications that you are suffering with. For years I have informed patients, "A poorly performed procedure will be the most expensive procedure you can have", because of the costs involved in having one or more corrective procedures. The issue of purely technician performed hair transplants with a phantom "doctor" or "medical director" who knows little to nothing about hair restoration surgery is a huge concern with the ISHRS and the ABHRS. My recommendation is that it's fine to be cost conscious, but it is even more important for your hair restoration professional to either be a Fellow of the International Society of Hair Restoration Surgery, or a Diplomate of the American Board of Hair Restoration Surgery, or both. Best regards, Robert J. Reese, DO, FISHRS. Past-President: ABHRS.
Thanks for your question and submitting photos for review. Your medical workup appears to be complete except that you did not report that scalp biopsy had been performed, nor did you provide a family history of hair loss. The area behind your right ear has the appearance of alopecia areata, (AA). AA is autoimmune condition that is usually self limited and the area(s) affected typically regrow hair over time. Therefore, AA is not something that one would recommend transplant on. Traditionally, steroid injections have been used to treat AA, but some reports are suggesting promising results with the use of Platelet Rich Plasma, (PRP). The remaining photos have the appearance of more of a genetic type of thinning. A review of your family history of hair loss, combined with a scalp biopsy should aid in differentiating between AA and androgenetic alopecia. Also, your thinning could be related to your need for colectomy. The stress on your body to undergo this type of procedure, including anesthesia, can show up months later with hair shedding. Was colectomy required for inflammatory bowel disease, ulcerative colitis, or hereditary polyposis, (potential autoimmune disorder)? If scalp biopsy proves androgenetic alopecia, you would be a candidate to consider the use of minoxidil, low level laser therapy, and/or PRP. Best regards, Robert J. Reese, DO, FISHRS. Past-President: ABHRS.
Thanks for your question. I recommend that patients place a small hand towel, ("wash rag"), over their transplanted scalp as they enter the shower. Let the warm shower water pour onto the hand towel to avoid direct shower water pressure contact with the transplanted follicles, yet allow for softening the crusts on the scalp. Shampoo or conditioner can be placed directly onto the hand towel. "Press and pat" the hand towel with your flat hands for shampoo and/or conditioner. When completed, "press and pat" the scalp with a towel. Avoid scratching the transplanted scalp when shampooing, applying conditioner, or towel drying your hair, ("comb your hair, don't rake your scalp for styling"), for the first 3 or 4 days post transplant. After that the transplanted follicles have sufficiently "glued" themselves into place and you can resume your traditional shampooing technique. Best regards, Robert J. Reese, DO, FISHRS. Past-President: ABHRS.
While this may not be common, and it is showing improvement in your postoperative day #4 photo, there are always individual variances in healing characteristics. I suspect that your reported donor scalp changes will be self limited and heal just fine. Best regards, Robert J. Reese, DO, FISHRS. Past-President: ABHRS.
Thank you for your question, and for submitting good photography. Unfortunately, this is likely your final result. Assuming that the technical aspects of your procedure were performed properly, (donor harvesting, and placing of follicles in the recipient scalp), you could have experienced what Richard Shiell, MD, (a great hair transplant surgeon, and an even better human being), described as the "X-Factor". X-Factor is when, despite performing a technically sound hair transplant procedure, the patients result was very disappointing. All of us, and I mean all of us, have experienced disappointing patient results. Fortunately, they are rare. If a hair restoration specialist informs you that this type of result has never happened to one of their patients, they either have little experience, or they simply aren't being truthful. Buyer beware. Your hair transplant surgeon should be more than willing to assist you in performing another procedure at little to no cost. Best regards, Robert J. Reese, DO, FISHRS. Past-President: ABHRS.
