POSTED UNDER Hair Transplant Reviews
2nd FUT Hair Transplant, 44yr Old Male, Norwood Class 2. Mexico, MX
UPDATED FROM Darin
7 years post
7 years later, documentation of how bad the incision and scarring is
DarinOctober 1, 2023
$3,000
I recently went back in for a FUE transplant given the less than expected number of grafts from the Tijuana procedure. Even after 7 years the scar from their FUT transplant is wide and long and incredibly noticeable requiring special care when getting haircuts to minimize visibility. The scar from my first transplant, in contrast, is a pencil thin line that is completely unnoticeable. This was their level of attention to detail.
UPDATED FROM Darin
2 months post
Pos-Op issues with Neopel, inability to address issues collaboratively significantly changes review ratings
DarinJune 2, 2016
From my prior post, I have been attempting to resolve a couple of significant issues with Neopel regarding my procedure for the past month. After numerous communications with Neopel it has become obvious that my documented issues and concerns are not going to be addressed. While the initial procedure went fairly well, it is also of relevance how a clinic addresses issues after the procedure is completed. In this case, Neopel did this very poorly.
The issue stems from 2 main problems: 1) The hair transplant / graft count being lower than agreed upon / promised 2) The area of the donor strip in a completely different area than my prior scar, now leaving me with two scars
First, the now second scar. In my very first email to Neopel I indicated that I wanted the new donor area to be over the original scar area. I wanted the new closure technique to present a single less visible scar. Again, this was in my very first communication with Neopel. When I realized after the surgery that Dr Hernandez had ignored that and cut a new donor scar I was extremely upset. I had specifically requested this from the beginning and was never told that a second scar would be made. The initial response from Neopel was that Dr Hernandez discussed this with me in the pre-op meeting just prior to surgery. First, she did not. This would certainly have raised red flags given this was one of my two key concerns. Second, for the sake of argument, let's say that conversation did actually take place. Why would the first time that be discussed is right before my surgery when I'm in Tijuana and not the couple of months prior before I made the trip?
Second, in that same initial email and numerous after it I continually clarified / documented via email my expectation of the number of hair / graft transplants I expected within the procedure. We even measured the donor area to get a solid estimate of the donor hairs available. As I was comparing the amount of hair volume I could get from other clinics using that same procedure for a given dollar amount I wanted to ensure the most hair volume for my money. Post procedure I was given the hair transplants and the amount of grafts counted during the procedure. Neopel's own counts were even under the counts they had provided to me earlier and we had agreed to.
The bottom line from these two issues is that I paid more for less hair than originally agreed, and also have a second incision scar. This to me was an unacceptable result and I discussed with them how this could be made right, how they could honor their original, documented commitments to me.
I gave them the option of a monetary discount from the procedure price to make up for the shortcomings, or to provide a revision surgery (free of charge) to effectively join the donor strip scars into one and then use that hair to supplement the transplant hair graft counts. I even agreed to wait until October to make the decision on the revision surgery, but I wanted to ensure that I would be the one to make the decision on that surgery, not Neopel. My preference would be to get this corrected now while I already have the visible donor and transplant areas vs redoing the whole process 6 months from now, but was willing to make that concession.
Neopel responded that they do not provide monetary refunds, which left only the potential of a revision surgery. All the discussions this past month have attempted to reach that agreement with a very clear set of expectations to ensure no additional issues for this second procedure. Consistently the response from Neopel is simply to "wait" and review the success of the procedure in 6 months (no commitment from them to correct the issue). In 6 months I will still have 2 donor scars. In 6 months I will still have paid more per hair / graft than originally agreed to. What I was asking of Neopel is simply what I had originally agreed to with them when I provided payment. To this point they have been unresponsive to addressing those concerns.
As a result, and the inability of convincing Neopel to honor their commitments, I have decreased the review ratings accordingly.
The issue stems from 2 main problems: 1) The hair transplant / graft count being lower than agreed upon / promised 2) The area of the donor strip in a completely different area than my prior scar, now leaving me with two scars
First, the now second scar. In my very first email to Neopel I indicated that I wanted the new donor area to be over the original scar area. I wanted the new closure technique to present a single less visible scar. Again, this was in my very first communication with Neopel. When I realized after the surgery that Dr Hernandez had ignored that and cut a new donor scar I was extremely upset. I had specifically requested this from the beginning and was never told that a second scar would be made. The initial response from Neopel was that Dr Hernandez discussed this with me in the pre-op meeting just prior to surgery. First, she did not. This would certainly have raised red flags given this was one of my two key concerns. Second, for the sake of argument, let's say that conversation did actually take place. Why would the first time that be discussed is right before my surgery when I'm in Tijuana and not the couple of months prior before I made the trip?
Second, in that same initial email and numerous after it I continually clarified / documented via email my expectation of the number of hair / graft transplants I expected within the procedure. We even measured the donor area to get a solid estimate of the donor hairs available. As I was comparing the amount of hair volume I could get from other clinics using that same procedure for a given dollar amount I wanted to ensure the most hair volume for my money. Post procedure I was given the hair transplants and the amount of grafts counted during the procedure. Neopel's own counts were even under the counts they had provided to me earlier and we had agreed to.
The bottom line from these two issues is that I paid more for less hair than originally agreed, and also have a second incision scar. This to me was an unacceptable result and I discussed with them how this could be made right, how they could honor their original, documented commitments to me.
I gave them the option of a monetary discount from the procedure price to make up for the shortcomings, or to provide a revision surgery (free of charge) to effectively join the donor strip scars into one and then use that hair to supplement the transplant hair graft counts. I even agreed to wait until October to make the decision on the revision surgery, but I wanted to ensure that I would be the one to make the decision on that surgery, not Neopel. My preference would be to get this corrected now while I already have the visible donor and transplant areas vs redoing the whole process 6 months from now, but was willing to make that concession.
Neopel responded that they do not provide monetary refunds, which left only the potential of a revision surgery. All the discussions this past month have attempted to reach that agreement with a very clear set of expectations to ensure no additional issues for this second procedure. Consistently the response from Neopel is simply to "wait" and review the success of the procedure in 6 months (no commitment from them to correct the issue). In 6 months I will still have 2 donor scars. In 6 months I will still have paid more per hair / graft than originally agreed to. What I was asking of Neopel is simply what I had originally agreed to with them when I provided payment. To this point they have been unresponsive to addressing those concerns.
As a result, and the inability of convincing Neopel to honor their commitments, I have decreased the review ratings accordingly.
Replies (5)
DavidSocial
June 25, 2016
Darin: Sorry to hear about your bad experience. And thanks for the warning. What kind of stitches did the two Dr's use. Your first scar looked great. Did the second Dr use dissolving stitches? I'm guessing that was the case since you never mentioned having them removed.
Darin
June 26, 2016
Yes, they are the disposable type
June 29, 2016
That is too bad. I'm sure you can find a doctor in the US to repair this, but it will probably cost a bit more. My research is that US docs are the best, but expensive. Turkey is out due to violence. India may be the most economical.
March 2, 2017
I just went to her 2 months ago. I question the number of grafts myself, but I don't know for sure. Most importantly How is the new hair?
March 2, 2017
I paid much more for an FUE in the US. US doctors will not cause the same problems. I do hear that Turkey docs are very professional for much less cost.
July 25, 2018
any updates on this.. did you get a partial refund or did they at least provide you with a second transplant session. Also how did the new grafts grow in? We’re you happy with the results?
July 25, 2018
No partial refund, no offered followup surgery to correct the incision site or provide the promised amount of grafts, no acknowledgement or acceptance of wrong doing.
July 25, 2018
Marginal, which was why I was contracting Neopel for the 2000-2300 grafts originally promised. What I received was roughly 18% to 29% less than that expectation, which is a significant decrease in volume and therefore density.
UPDATED FROM Darin
20 days post
Post Op 20 Day Pictures
DarinMay 6, 2016
I'm a bit frustrated at this point. In the original post I mentioned that the graft / hair count was less than what was agreed upon by the doctor's office, which makes me concerned about the final density. At the 20 day mark, based on my experiences from my first FUT, I am not where I expected to be at this point:
1) New incision area was not done over the existing scar to hide it as requested: My original procedure had a standard closure and there was a faint line that still remained after all these years. I had requested the new incision / closure to cover / clean up that area. I can now see the new incision is *above* the prior incision. Now I have two incision lines on the back of my head.
2) The donor area was shaved so short that even after 3 weeks there is still not enough hair growth to cover it, and it is very visible. At this point I can no longer wear a hat to cover it, and by this time with my prior procedure it was camouflaged enough that I could return to work with minimum notice.
3) The transplant area is still redder in tone than the surrounding areas, which also makes it apparent that something was done in that area. Again, in my prior procedure by this time the skin tone was matching the surrounding area.
I have contacted the doctor's office with my concerns, we will see what they say.
In general:
- Most of the transplanted hair has fallen out by this point (expected)
- Significant scabbing at the donor incision area. Massaging helps to some degree but the dried out scabs are especially noticeable with the short shaving in that area.
- Scalp numbness is still there, but better than at the 10 day mark.
Currently I am not expecting any significant change until the 3 month post op mark ( little over 2 months from now) when the new hair grows in. I will post again at that point.
1) New incision area was not done over the existing scar to hide it as requested: My original procedure had a standard closure and there was a faint line that still remained after all these years. I had requested the new incision / closure to cover / clean up that area. I can now see the new incision is *above* the prior incision. Now I have two incision lines on the back of my head.
2) The donor area was shaved so short that even after 3 weeks there is still not enough hair growth to cover it, and it is very visible. At this point I can no longer wear a hat to cover it, and by this time with my prior procedure it was camouflaged enough that I could return to work with minimum notice.
3) The transplant area is still redder in tone than the surrounding areas, which also makes it apparent that something was done in that area. Again, in my prior procedure by this time the skin tone was matching the surrounding area.
I have contacted the doctor's office with my concerns, we will see what they say.
In general:
- Most of the transplanted hair has fallen out by this point (expected)
- Significant scabbing at the donor incision area. Massaging helps to some degree but the dried out scabs are especially noticeable with the short shaving in that area.
- Scalp numbness is still there, but better than at the 10 day mark.
Currently I am not expecting any significant change until the 3 month post op mark ( little over 2 months from now) when the new hair grows in. I will post again at that point.
Replies (0)