 The
following is an account of my experiences
over the last 22 years. I am not a doctor
and I am not promoting hair transplantation
as all my efforts were concerned with correcting
the unsightly condition of seven previous
and hair transplant surgeries. I am not affiliated
with any physician or represent any company
or organization with regard to hair related
matters and receive no compensation from anyone.
I have gone too great effort and personal
expense to seek an acceptable corrective surgical
result. It is my opinion that corrective hair
transplant surgery should be considered a
specialty within the hair transplant process.
It is also my opinion that hair transplanting
a virgin head is a much easier process when
compared to correcting a botched hair transplant
and this is not an easy task for any doctor!
I
had my first three hair transplant surgeries
in 1979 via the "Black & Decker"
punch graft method over a five-month period.
Needless to say, the end result was something
less than the image of the pictures in the
color brochure with glowing testimonials
and a picture of the medical director in
a three-piece suit sitting behind his hardwood
desk. I won't get into a rant about the
many registered letters of complaint and
phone calls that were never responded to.
It would be 15 years before I put my faith
in another physician in the hopes of correcting
a wall of plugs protruding from my frontal
hairline.
In
1994, I approached another clinic that advertised
they performed hair transplant surgery for
an evaluation of my condition. I was informed
that I had sufficient donor area and that
a series of surgeries would correct the
condition. Throughout the 15 years, I would
visit other doctors, not related to hair
transplantation surgery, in the hope of
getting some insight to my condition and
had no luck in doing so. There was one surgery
performed from the doctor at this clinic
and I never returned. I would later find
out that this particular doctor was responsible
for many disfiguring hair transplant surgeries.
The
next year, in 1995, I had an evaluation
from another doctor that said he could help
me and that he performs corrective surgery
on an ongoing basis and has been performing
hair transplant surgery for many years.
Once again I put my faith in another physician
and submitted to a series of three corrective
surgeries with this doctor. The results
of the corrective surgery are evident in
my before pictures.
 In
1998, at 50 years old I retired from my
business and decided I would try a different
approach to acquiring a corrective surgery
other than putting my faith in another physician
involved in standard hair transplant surgery.
I now had the time and financial resources
to acquire a capable physician and a true
corrective surgery, if available. Anger
is a great motivator! I listened to radio
advertising from two of the previous physicians
responsible for my hair transplant surgery
proclaiming they were expert/specialist
and the "new technology" in hair
transplantation is superior. The clinic
responsible for my first three plug hair
transplants advertised "you have seen
people with bad hair transplants and we
would not do that to you!" After 20
years I walked into this clinic and had
a chat with the head honcho. Nothing is
worse for a hair transplant doctors business
when there is someone like me in the waiting
room verbalizing and frightening the prospects
waiting for an evaluation. I told the doctor
and manager I would do some advertising
of my own. And I did!
I
took out advertising in the Boston Globe
in Massachusetts and the Providence Journal
Bulletin in Rhode Island and advertised
for "Bad Hair Transplant"
recipients in the hope of making contact
with someone that had the bad hair transplant
and was able to locate a physician capable
of repair. At the same time with the same
advertising, I offered free information
to anyone looking into the hair transplant
process. The responses I received from prior
hair transplant recipients were nothing
but horror stories. Not one person could
give me any insight to a physician concerning
a corrective method. In fact, it seems that
many people, including myself, have been
playing musical chairs, a better term is
Russian roulette, with the same doctors
responsible for other people's bad hair
transplants.
Had
the internet been available even seven years
ago, to the extent it is today, things might
have been different. The various forums
on the internet have provided the good,
the bad and the ugly with regard to information.
The internet is a tool and I have learned
to read between the lines to source out
viable information. I would visit many doctors
over the next two years and I was interviewing
them as much as they were evaluation me.
There are doctors of note that have satisfied
clients concerning corrective surgery. The
prognosis with regard to my situation came
down to a ravaged donor area and not enough
elasticity for suturing the donor site.
Every evaluation ended with "something
could be done to improve the condition."
I received proposals that ranged from a
single surgery to a series of four surgeries.
More confused than ever, I still surfed
the net and participated in forums and voiced
my opinions concerning hair transplants.
There are proponents of hair transplants
and there are people satisfied with the
surgery and I wish them well. However, the
people that responded to my advertising
and the people emailing me were recipients
of a botched hair transplant and have been
living with the adverse effects from a surgery
that was supposed to improve your life.
I
first heard of Dr. Woods in Australia the
summer of last year and that his approach
was different. I kept his name and a printout
of his website among the many doctors in
my file. I emailed my "before"
pictures to Dr. Woods. I was contacted and
informed that the removal of the plugs could
be achieved with a series of 4 or 5 surgeries
over a ten day period. The elasticity concern
in the donor area was not an issue as there
is no suturing and the hair follicles are
removed within the entire donor area with
a minimum of surrounding tissue removed.
I am intrigued but I'm not ready to hop
on a plane just yet! I kept surfing and
getting feedback from people, especially
from Australia, and once again decided to
put my faith in another doctor.
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