Category: Other

I’m only going to put up a few blog posts today, as I am sure many of my readers from the US are preparing their BBQ or are out of town for the July 4th holiday long weekend. I’ll be back at full speed on Wednesday.

I think that you can be bald and sexy. Don’t you agree?

I do not believe that only hairy men (that is, men with hair on their heads) are sexy. For example, most people would agree that Patrick Stewart, Evan Handler, Michael Jordan, Bruce Willis, and Tyson Beckford reflect some very sexy and handsom men. For others, balding does little to enhance facial features on men like Jason Alexander, Phil Collins, Larry David, Michael Bolton (circa 1997). Could it be that with hair, these men would look sexy? Well, I would rather not answer that question. Look at my picture on the right and even with 1600 hair transplants done a few years ago, I am not in Sean Connery’s class of good looking men.

Dr. Rassman, I’m the poster of “I Want to Sue My Dermatologist” and I think you misinterpreted a few things in the post. First off, I’m already 18 and have already been taking propecia for 2 and a half months, and yet the problem seems to be getting worse. I would also like to mentione that when I saw my first dermatologist, I was 15 years old and walked in to the office looking for a treatment, not a diagnosis. I was very aware that I was losing my hair and wanted to stop it from progressing, however this first dermatologist denied that I was actually balding, thus my reason for wanting to sue would be an incorrect diagnosis. You yourself said that you would prescribe propecia to someone who was balding under age 18, which my (initial) dermatologist did not do.

Now I am 18, and the (new) doctor I saw 2 and a half months ago indeed confirmed that I was balding, thus prescribing propecia. I know it can take months to have an effect, but it has already gotten much worse than it was even as little as 2 weeks ago. I want to sue my initial dermatologist under the grounds of mis-diagnosis (thus causing severe psychological damage) in order to pay for a hair transplant, so I won’t need to walk around walk around like this any longer.
As far as needing a final hair loss pattern, I already have that- my brother… my 22 year old brother. His situation is nearly identical to mine and his hairline along with thinning on the top are the same that I am experiencing.

Now for the anxiety/depression. I have had a history of therapists that have done nothing, prescriptions that were effective as sugar pills, and all that jazz. Problem is, I’m a science-type person. My brain can’t go a second without making a qualitative analysis of my condition. What do I mean by this? I mean to say that any attempt to “make my problem better” doesn’t work at “making my problem better” because I’m still losing my hair. There is no such thing as coping, but rather deceit, tomfoolery, a jedi mind-trick. The only way I will get out of this is to get what I want. End of story.

What I ask of you is to inform me whether or not I honesty could win a lawsuit on this to afford my transplant, because I don’t really know the law when it comes to medical issues.

The basic grounds for a successful lawsuit against a doctor must show:

1. Damage as a result of the doctors action (inaction is much more difficult and in your case in particular it would be an uphill battle)
2. Not meeting the standard of care (it might be successfully argued that the experience in genetic hair loss for the 15 year old is NOT prescribing Propecia and this may be a reasonable standard for most doctors).

Doctors generally prevail most of the time in any malpractice action unless there would be deforming or life threatening situations caused by the doctor’s action.

To take a trial before a jury, you would have to get the jury’s sympathy and understanding. They would have to look at you (at the 15 year old young man you were) and ask if you were their child, what would they have done. It would take a masterful lawyer’s argument to prevail in such a situation, so to answer your question in a nicely bullet-pointed way –

1. I do not think that you would find any lawyer willing to take this case on with a contingency fee
2. You would probably not win
3. And if you did win, the damages would be very small

As far is your continued hair loss, wait this out for a few months and hopefully you will see some benefits of taking Propecia at this time.

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We are constantly bombarded with news releases that bring the modern techniques in medical and surgical treatments for hair loss to the forefront. Here is another such release, important for its review of today’s standard of care.

• Parade Magazine – Hold on to Your Hair

Paid advertisements (not an endorsement):

Dear Dr. Rassman.

Sorry if I’m bombarding you with a lot of questions recently.

I recently met with a hair restoration surgeon here in my city. Let me tell you quickly about how my meeting went, and my impressions:

1. Uses FUT.
2. Doesn’t use the Norwood scale. (uh-oh)
3. Just ran hands on back of my head and said I had good healthy hair. (First red flag. Even I can do that.)
4. Recommended 2500 grafts. (Second red flag.)
5. Scalp mapping= Useless.
6. Got me to speak with a consultant.
7. Not much regard for developing a master plan. (Third and final red flag.)

In regards to recession, I’m a class 2. If all my thinning hair were to fall off, I’d be a class 3 or 3A. My grandfather on mother’s side was a 5/6. One uncle is a mild 3, other is a 5. My dad barely had a mature hairline. He died with lots of hair. No loss on any of my uncles on his side.

Taking all of this into consideration, I have decided to make a trip to California and meet you or one of your specialists. I don’t want to blow my money and my donor hair lowering my hairline to what it was four years ago, if 10 years down the road I’m going to have the top and crown all bare.

I’ll be calling you soon to see if I can send you some pics of my current condition. 2500 grafts seems excessive to me, after seeing what you do with only 1500-1800 on types 4 or 5. (Or your type 3 patient who only had 860 grafts and looks like a 17-year old now)

Please post this on your blog, Doctor, so others may be aware of the danger of making a bad decision based on impulse. Bad hair transplants, just as the good ones, will stay with you forever.

Thanks for your time, and hope to visit your office soon.

Mapping out your scalp for miniaturization is critical for someone like you. Based on what you’ve described, you may be a Class 2 on the Norwood pattern scale on your way to a thinning, more advanced pattern that will reflect long term hair loss (thinning in the Class 6 pattern, possibly leading to balding in that same pattern). The thinning pattern can often be treated with Propecia, preventing further balding and avoiding any hair transplants.

Please send me photographs and then we will talk prior to planning a trip to California to see me. Once I view the photos and talk to you, possibly coming to Los Angeles will get us to the bottom of your diagnosis and Master Plan.