Your welcome Trep. It is the extractions where most of the talent and experience come into play with FUE. One of the primary concerns for any FUE patient is the "transection" rates which in layman's terms is destruction of the follicule(s) during the extraction process. EVERY hair transplant procedure has some level of transection whether it is FUT or FUE. Don't be fooled by ANY doctor(s) who will tell you he/she has a zero transection rate. That's not possible, not with today's technology as good as it has been progressing.
Most if not all FUE surgeons will inform you that there is an "acquired feel" that has to be mastered when the extractions are being done. And that is also why most FUE surgeons utilize a 1mm punch to try and avoid transection as much as possible. There are even some using smaller punches such as .75 and even smaller for single hair extractions. Many have the opinion if anything smaller than 1mm is utilized, expect transection to go much higher. Yet several claim they have used smaller ones with success. But where are the pics on the yields of FUE? Why is there such a lack of clinical data publishing each Doctor's "yields"? There are far more pics showcasing the before and immediate post-op stages, but where are the ones displaying the yields? I am not implying that there are no pics of yields, just far and few between. Remember, FUE is relatively new technology being practiced. New outside of Australia.
Dr. Ray Woods is the most experienced in FUE by far. He is the founder of FUE. I refer to him as the grandfather of FUE. He has done more FUE repair work that anyone else I know and probably has the most FUE repair examples or references. So would I go to Dr. Rogers in the UK? NO. No offense intended however he is not in the same league as Drs Woods and Campbell, that's my opinion for whatever its worth.
You asked my opinion on Dr. Poswal in India. Actually, I discontinued my association with him several months ago because I eventually found him to be very unresponsive when dealing with him as an independent patient advocate. And the interesting thing about it is that he initially approached me, it was not me approaching him, and he was my second sponsoring physician. I will say that he is quite different in an open forum like the one he heavily advertises in (Hairsite). But who would bite the hand of a new patient?
It may sound like there is some bad blood between us? Not at all. :lol: I will give him this. IMO, he has provided more clinical feedback to the hairloss community on an on-going basis than any other hair transplant surgeon I know of today. He offers to teach his techniques to other docs and freely shares his methods. I also believe he is an up and coming FUE surgeon though and may be doing more BHTs than anyone else I am aware of. And I do believe that he is truly documenting yields on BHTs. Do I think he is a good FUE surgeon? Yes I do, based on examples of his work.
But if you are looking for the most experienced in FUE, including having done many repair cases just like yours, it's Dr. Woods hands down. The only drawback to Woods? His price. But remember, he does not use techs, "places" all of his grafts and believe he still limits his caseload to one patient per day, not exceeding 600 gratfs per day. Again I stand to be corrected. The placement of grafts is not the complex part, something you asked about earlier. Creating the recipient incisions however takes a very high level of talent and experience to achieve the best possible aesthetic result. I have seen more than a few patients "in person" of Dr. Woods right here in the US and the yields were indeed there not to mention very natural results. I have not had the benefit of seeing any of Dr. Poswal's patients in person, only pics.
But here's the bottom line. ANY repair situation calls for competent experience and proven results. The repair patient is in a class by himself because there are not as many options as someone starting on their first hair transplant. And there are many differing issues within each case such as lack of donor, inadequate elasticity, scarring, past scalp reductions, lack of good blood supply in the recipient area, etc. They can be very complex, and require alot of attention and detail. Many repair patients unfortunately have some real limitations and DESERVE the sole undivided attention of the surgeon and the highest utmost level of patient care including post-op exams and follow-ups. There is a psychological impact on the patient that can be and many times is life-long. These are real folks with real feelings and real needs.
So a good competent, ETHICAL surgeon can potentially facilitate the most meaningful positive impact, and help to give the patient a renewed sense of hope and self-esteem. And that's absolutely invaluable :!:
