Hello, doctor. I do not mean any disrespect in my question, but I do believe it is an important one. I am considering surgical hair transplantation, and I’ve heard that you are one of the better surgeons in Los Angeles. My concern… my question is, how old are you? I ask this for two reasons. (1) Have you passed your surgical peak? (2) Will you be there in a couple of years when I may conisder another procedure?
Thank you. Again, no disrespect intended, but I am looking for a relationship with a physician who is not only qualified but who will be there when I need them.
What crystal ball does anyone of us have? Do you know when you cross the street that you will make it to the other side and not get hit by a car?
I am 63 years young. I have performed surgery on a couple of billionaires this past year and a number of top celebrities, one head of state, many CEOs of large companies, four patients from the TV show Extreme Makeover, construction workers, a bus driver, a grandmother and a mother of 7 kids, and many others who asked similar questions. My health is good, my maternal grandmother lived to 114, my maternal grandfather died at work when he was 102, my father’s grandmother lived to 99, and many uncles and aunts lived into their 80-90s. Like Sean Connery, I like to think that I get better with age. Mr. Connery turned 75 a few months ago, so he’s got many years on me yet.
I received the hair restoration industry’s equivalent to the Acadamy Award for Best Actor, called the Golden Follicle Award in 2004 at age 62, published the FUE technique when I was 59, and am probably one of the few doctors world-wide who does it well today. The FUE technique has to be the most taxing surgery in hair restoration that there is. I wrote chapters in text books and published scientific and other papers in the past 18 months numbering about a half dozen. I can not run the marathon (nor could I when I was 23), bench press some 500 pounds (also not able to do it when I was 23), or sprint the 100 yard dash (no comment is needed here but for that I am clearly out of shape). However, I ski regularly, scuba yearly to depths of 100 feet, ride my bike about 16 miles a day when I am not over-working and can play the piano for hours (my fingers, at least, hold up well). I can work longer hours than any of my staff and can get along on 3 hours of sleep per night if I must. If you get a younger doctor, ask to see patients of his/her which were done this year. I can show off many of my patients (which we do monthly) at our open house events and have done it for 14 years consistently. I tend to take my responsibility seriously, and have often helped my patients through many personal health crisis that were unrelated to their hair transplant. One patient of mine stands out (age 44) when he discovered that he had John Ritter‘s vascular diagnosis (actor known best for his role in “Three’s Company”). Mr. Ritter died just a few days from his 55th birthday from a rupture of his ascending aortic, so I became involved in the diagnoses and open heart surgery decisions that saved my patient’s life from Ritter’s fate. There is no doubt that had this patient not had a hair transplant, his diagnosis would probably have not been made and as his cardiac surgeon told him, he probably would have died in a year or so. If you would like, I can ask this patient for a reference that would back up this claim.
When you get to my age, you appreciate people for their value, hopefully gain wisdom, and with wisdom should come temperament that allows an artist to perform finer work, perfect his art, and refine and hone judgments that generally take years to define (just like Sean Connery has done for acting). I believe that what I bring is judgment and wisdom to my patient’s problem and potential surgery, and provided that my vision holds out and my hands remain as steady as they have for the past 35 years of doing surgery (from war torn Vietnam, to orthopedic, vascular, and general surgery), I fully expect to be doing hair transplants for some time, at least, on a selective basis.
Come meet with me and judge for yourself:
- if you like me
- if you respect me
- if you trust me
- if you think that I will be around for the duration of your needs
Your call, of course. When and if you come, please refer to this blog answer as I would love to connect with you, see the smile on your face and understand your motivation for writing this question to me. At the least, I enjoyed writing this answer, and at the most, maybe we will have things in common. I have made many friends amongst my patients, including many who did not ask traditional questions when they met with me.
