I Am Getting Confusing Advice From Doctors

I have done my research on hair transplant for about nine years now. I have always had thin hair but it seemed to progress durring my early twenties. I am 29 now I ahve never had any proceedure. I have had 4 consultations with Dr. Bernstein who has repeated to me that I am not a good candidate for a proceedure. Dr. Bernstein proscribed propecia to me. I have taken it for 4 years (proscar actually) and it has really slowed my hair loss if not completely halted it for teh last 4 years. I do have thin hair all over and thus not great donor area and it is thinner up top and especialy in front.

Yet I still just want some more hair in the frontal area to just look better if even for a couple of years. I have had numerous consultaions with many other surgeons and I have a scheduled appointment to have it done by another doctor.

After reading many things online and reading your blog I am starting to have doubts.

I know I will never have a strip surgery but I am wondering about the validity to any of these proceedures. there is so much garbage out on the internet. i do not know what to believe anymore or who to believe. i just want someone who knows that i want to look better but at the same time cares about who i am and does not want to suffer. i rather be ripped off but i dont want to be deformed or anything.

I really wanted to have this done by Dr. Bernstein but at the same time he tells me to just cut my hair short and i look fine. Every other Dr. I ahve met has said the same thing about Dr. Bernstein – he is ultra conservative. The doctor who wants to do my surgery this week indicated that he did not undertsand why Dr. Bernstein did not want to perform FIT or FUT on me. He suggested that Dr. Bernstein’s techniques are not very advanced. Another doctor was pushing strip surgery and saw me for about a total of 30 seconds.

I already have been financed for $7,000 for 900 grafts. Not sure if I should do it anymore because I am so confused – yet I really wold like to have more hair in the front.

Please, Please give me some advice. should I go through with this. I was 100% ready and then i started to surf around on the net and suddenly i am worried and paranoid. Some of the doctors seemed very professional and honest about the results especially long term. Other than losing my money are there any cons. I figure I will just shave my head in a couple of years if I lose everything anyway. Is there any way to find out who are the bad doctors out there to help me focus on what to do?

As I have said time and time again, this is a buyer beware business. I have edited out the many doctors you asked about, because my job is not to slander anyone. I left Dr. Bernstein’s name in your questions, because I know him and he is honest and always professional at making decisions that are in the patient’s interest. Remember, Dr. Bernstein did not make any money in this case and will not make any money when he is telling you to hold off on a surgery. He, like myself, is a hair transplant surgeon and when an honest doctor is telling you to hold off, he is going against his short term financial interests. In the long term, being protective to patients is always good business; trust and reputation are things that have no price for us, for a good reputation is really invaluable. It is clear from your question that you are not sure about what to do, so I would always tell someone like you that a good decision today is a good decision tomorrow.

There are a number of websites worth looking at for doctor recommendations, including IAHRS and HairTransplantNetwork.com. Also, please read my previous blog entries for ways to select a doctor, learning about pricing of transplants, and cheap tricks some doctors pull to get you to have a surgery —

• The Truth About Cheap Hair Transplants
• How to Tell if You’ve Found the Right Hair Transplant Doctor