Buyer Beware - Newport Beach, CA

I initially went to Dr. Ziering because I completed a request for information on one of these sites. I received a call from a nice gentleman named Carl who gave me some feedback on Dr. Zierings approach. After many months I finally decided to go through with the procedure. My initial consultation was in Los Angeles, but subsequent meetings were in the Newport Beach office. During that consultation the procedure was described as no worse than getting a tooth pulled. I asked about the resiliency of the transplanted hair and was told by Dr. Ziering himself that he could transplant hair on my forehead and it would be there for life. T
The reason I was having the procedure done was that many years ago I was involved in an altercation where I was attacked by a group of guys outside a restaurant in Washington, DC. I had to have brain surgery in which the dr.'s shaved my hairline back an inch from my actual hairline. The incision was done right on my hairline and goes from the middle of my forehead to the temple area. Over time, my hairline as receded slightly and just enough so that the scar is now just in front of my hairline. On one side of my head, at the temporal recession, the hair never quite grew back. As a result, my hairline is quite uneven and I have had to adjust my hairstyle to account for it.
I asked Dr. Ziering and his if they could transplant enough hairs to cover up the scar. The answer was a resounding yes.
On the day of surgery, just before surgery, my consultant walks in with a form authorizing the transplant of an additional 300 -600 follicles if needed....of course they were going to be needed.
The process was not at all what I was expecting. The shots to numb my head were very painful themselves. They gave me shots in the back where my scalp was to be cut for donor hair, and all over the transplant area. On the day of my operation, there was another patient who was also scheduled for transplant. Dr. Ziering poked holes all over the front of my head in addition to my temporal area. However, DR. ZIERING DID NOT PERFORM THE TRANSPLANT. IT WAS HIS ASSISTANTS WHO PLACED DONOR HAIR INTO THE HOLES DR. ZIERING CREATED. HE MAY HAVE SPENT A TOTAL OF AN HOUR WITH ME, MOSTLY TALKING AND CUTTING INTO MY SCALP. I DO NOT KNOW IF HIS ASSISTANTS PAID ANY ATTENTION TO THE DIRECTION IN WHICH THE TRANSPLANTS WERE MADE SINCE THE HAIR THAT DID GROW WENT IN DIFFERENT DIRECTIONS.
Fast forward 3 years later. Much of the hair that Dr. Zierings assistants transplanted has fallen out. In addition, hair that was not transplanted has also fallen out, my guess is due to trauma to that area. I can only assume this since this has not happened on the temporal recession on the other side of my head. I was extremely disappointed in the results and did have a follow up consultation with over a year later. They will not call you for a follow up meeting before a year. My guess, again, is because the statute of limitations is over at that point. At that point you have no real recourse.
When I saw Dr. Ziering about my results, his answer was that it was hard to tell if my results were satisfactory because they did not take very good pre-result photos, but that he was satisfied with the work. I did receive a call a month later from Carl, who said that they would fix the work to my original understanding for half the price per follicle, plus operating room costs (which happens to be in the Newport Beach office). I thought that was simply stupid....why would I go back for more punishment.
I will be getting the work redone with another Dr. In my opinion, Dr. Ziering has a marketing machine which you will pay for in $$$$ and possibly in distress. He may be good for other patients, and I'm sure he has done excellent work. He has a great reputation and seemed like a nice enough guy. Unfortunately in my case, ego is too large to see that the work that was done was poor and not worth what I paid. I will be posting photos in the next few days.