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Incompetent doctor — stay away from!!
My Hair Transplant Experience with E. Antonio Mangubat of Seattle, Washington, USA
I am a former patient of E. Antonio Mangubat (M) of Seattle, Washington, USA and my advice is whatever you do, DO NOT go to M for any hair transplant procedures! I have described below in detail my horrible experience with Mangubat (M). I’m not a doctor, but below are my recommendations (based on my experience) for treating hairloss.
I know readers of this forum are very concerned and feel down about losing your hair. I felt the same way starting at 18 when it began for me. However, you don’t have to go through my horrible experience with my hair transplant “doctor” (described below)! Not to mention forking over your hard-earned savings to him!
Very Important: The before/after photos that many Hair Transplant surgeons show you are VERY MISLEADING because:
- Many doctors only show their best top 5% patients, and don’t show you the average result or, as in my case, the bad results.
- The photos are typically low resolution, so may not clearly show the hairline or may be in low light, thereby concealing the thin density and unnatural look of the transplants.
I was also in my 20s when I signed up as M’s patient. He suggested that I get 3-4 transplant sessions and 1-2 Scalp reduction surgeries (called “Brandy” procedures after Dr. Dominic Brandy http://www.brandymd.com/). The worst decision I ever made in my life was to follow M’s advice and have these procedures done. M left me SCARRED and DISFIGURED!
BTW, Dr Brandy was sued in part for performing the “Brandy” scalp reduction procedure:
http://community.seattletimes.nwsource.com/archive/?date=19960915&slug=2349352
http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=PG&p_theme=pg&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=0EADFA0E15FC891D&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&s_trackval=GooglePM)
I know this sounds unreal, but anyone who has a consult with M should ask him about the “Brandy” scalp reduction procedure and ask to see before/after photos of Brandy procedures. If he dismisses your request (says you don’t need a Brandy) and refuses to show photos, ask yourself why is M refusing to show his own work? Is he hiding something? If you get to see the photos, look closely (even though he’ll show small Polaroid pics) and you’ll notice a thick straight or horseshoe-shaped scar ¼ - ½ inch from 1 temple to the crown and back to the other temple with no hair growing there. Beware that M may show you “after” photos with the surrounding hair combed over the scars.
This is nothing less than totally misleading and a LIE because it doesn’t show the true result which is 1-2 scars 6-8 inches long and ¼ - ½ inch thick in the middle of your head from the temples to the crown! M left me with such a horrible scar and I’ve undergone
numerous reconstructive surgeries, spending over $20K, to reduce the scars.
Although M may not recommend a Brandy surgery on you, I mention this procedure for this reason: what does the Doctor care about most: your welfare and your well-being OR the money he’ll make from you? In my case, without a doubt M only cared about the money! Otherwise he would have stopped himself from doing what he did to me, particularly the 2 Brandy procedures. He didn’t know what he was doing and he didn’t
care! So in my opinion, he’s definitely NOT a doctor to be in the care of!
You should also ask M (or your hair transplant doctor) about the scar in the back of your head (the donor area) after any hair transplant procedure. M told me about all my scars that they will eventually “blend” with the surrounding skin and look much less prominent. That was a COMPLETE LIE! The scars will be with you for life with no hairs growing in that area ever.
I did a few quick searches and found M in his own words praising the “benefits” of scalp reduction surgery (see below). This kind of surgery (the Brandy procedure) is what left me totally scarred and disfigured! So much for the “benefits”!
M’s own words speak volumes on his incompetence and the fact that he’s clueless and oblivious to the harm he’s done to many like me. Here are the links:
http://www.regrowth.com/hairloss-conferences/american_society_hair_restoration_surgery/1998/ashrs_monday.cfm
The Rise and Fall of Scalp Flaps, Reductions and Lifts
[Tony Mangubat of Seattle, WA is one of the leading doctors performing scalp reductions. "I've noticed in the Seattle area over the last two years a fall in the area of scalp reductions... I was a little disappointed in it, and I was almost upset until I started looking at it in a more objective way... the answer to this question becomes very clear." Dr. Mangubat outlined his feelings on reductions and why he thinks the number of doctors performing the procedure has decreased. "We want fast results, we want a home run.. Managed care has caused an influx of newcomers. The fact is I make more income off of hair transplants than scalp lifting, so from a financial point of view maybe it's not such a bad idea..." The fall has been precipitated by an influx of newcomers due to doctors who are earning less due to managed care and HMOs. "These are all victims of our new managed care society," said Dr. Mangubat. Doctors coming in have been resistent to learning reductions, flaps, and lifts due to the steeper learning curve, greater risks, and marketing against reductions. The number of doctors performing are remaining steady, but the number of doctors coming into transplants are growing, so the overall percentage are lower.]
If I could do it over again, I would have NEVER trusted M and NEVER let M lay a hand on me. Instead, I would have just accepted my baldness and not done any hair transplants; I would have shaved my head while we wait for a cure.
Unfortunately, M left me with huge scars on my head and so I can’t just shave my head. Instead I’m forced to wear concealers to hide the ugly scars on my head. Anyone considering M does not have to go through what I’ve been through. So I strongly recommend that YOU STAY AWAY FROM MANGUBAT!
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Incompetent doctor — stay away from!!Our Commitment
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I too also had the Brandy hair lift by brandy, he did three and transplants and destroyed my scalp leaving me bald with scars all over my head, it has been 20 years almost and 20 years of pure hell, i pray he cant hurt anyone again and hope a cure is in the future...
This is Dr. Tony Mangubat. I understand your frustration and concerns and I’d like to find a solution.
Please understand that the procedure you received was the state of the art 15 years ago and that hair restoration procedures were not as refined when compared to the newest developments today. I hope that you can understand that the paper you cited was edited and taken out of context. Note the numerous ”…..” in the body of the text. Today I only recommend scalp reduction in extreme reconstruction cases (see links below).
The actual paper is much longer. It was presented over 10 years ago in Feb 1998 and its core assertion was that reduction techniques were difficult to learn, hair transplantation has improved, and most importantly, fewer patients and their doctors were demanding a full head of hair; thus fewer reductions were needed. This trend was evolving at the time but in essence, it was OK to be partially bald as long as it looked natural and the front hair line was created to frame the face. This is the current teachings today and I am one of its greatest proponents.
Although reductions have been largely abandoned because of the significant advances in hair transplantation, the procedure plays an extremely valuable role in many scalp repairs. Look at these examples performed for Operation Restore, a pro bono program for the ill or injured:
http://www.ishrs.org/pr-PressRelease_HumaneStoryVersion_08-02-04_WEB_FINAL.htm
http://www.ishrs.org/hair-loss-patient7.htm
I have always considered myself a conscientious surgeon that is always concerned my patient’s welfare. I am always willing to do what I can to make things right so that both my patients and I can have results we can be proud of.
Sadly, without seeing you again, neither of us will have the opportunity to remedy the situation. Since I do not know your identity, I will have to rely on you to take the first step to contact me. Find my contact information at http://www.southcentercosmetic.com/. Call, write, or email, and send photos of your concerns so we can have a meaningful discussion.
I hope to hear from you soon.
E. Antonio Mangubat, MD