"Great experience with Dr. Mwamba and staff"(testimony)

A recent patient of Dr. Mwamba wrote this testimony (below) regarding his experience at WHTC. We appreciate his comments and hope that readers find his account helpful.

"I had an excellent hair transplant experience at Dr. Mwamba’s office and I want to relay this experience to patients who are considering surgery for their hair.

If you’d asked me a few years ago, when I first began losing my hair, if I would opt for surgery, my answer would have probably been no. I’d seen people with bad hair transplants from other doctors and, as I am sure many of you can understand, I would prefer to be balding than to have poor hair transplant results. Unfortunately, there are many people that suffer with bad hair work. Regardless, I began researching hair restoration online, looking for better options. I discovered the various online communities and was heartened to find that there were in fact some credible physicians doing quality surgery. As you can imagine, I was excited to know that, amidst all the hair horror stories, there were also many happy patients with good results. I privately contacted different patients from the online forums, and had the good fortune of meeting some of them face-to-face. I also traveled to a handful of the top-rated clinics – all of which I found online
– for surgery consults. I got a good impression from many of the doctors. Still, I didn’t go forward with any of them. One thing I discovered, particularly by looking at hair transplant patients up close, is that hair surgery (even very good hair surgery) is, generally speaking, flawed when you see it in person. I certainly saw a few great results from some select surgeons. And when I say “great results,” I mean surgical results that, in my estimation, could not be identified by the casual observer as being a hair transplant. But, as a detail-oriented person with a critical eye, I saw some subtle aesthetic problems.

After exhaustive research, I essentially decided against having surgery. Fortunately, I eventually became aware of Dr. Mwamba’s practice. After seeing a small sample of Dr. Mwamba’s results in photographs, I decided to meet him for a consult, which was be to be the first of two. His evaluation was extremely thorough and he was receptive to all of my questions and concerns. One of the main things I remembered about this first encounter was Dr. Mwamba’s hairline design. We discussed my goals and wishes and, with these in mind, Dr. Mwamba proposed a hairline, which he outlined on my forehead with a marker. His vision for the shape of my hairline was artful and it complimented my facial features brilliantly. This may seem like an overenthusiastic reaction to a marker line on my head, but, in my experience, most doctors – even the supposed elite doctors – are not especially gifted with hairline design. And it seems to me that this is usually apparent even in the preliminary consult stages. Dr. Mwamba, on the other hand, demonstrated an intuitive understanding of, for lack of a better phrase, “what looks right.” He recommended 2,000 grafts with the non-invasive FUE method to restore my hairline and frontal area.

Needless to say, I was impressed with the first consult and, in the interim between the first and second consult, I was able to correspond with several of Dr. Mamba’s patients. Every person I talked to said they were very satisfied with their results. One of these individuals had had work done with another well-know doctor and, a year or so later, he had a procedure with Dr. Mwamba. He felt his results from Dr. Mwamba were decidedly better and was pleased with his overall experience. I also had the good fortune of seeing one of Dr. Mwamba’s patients in the flesh. In terms of naturalness, this patient’s surgical result was the closest thing to flawless that I have ever witnessed. The shape of the hairline was right on and the lay of the hair was perfect.

During my second consult, Dr. Mamba and I solidified the plan for the surgery. He also addressed some of my other concerns, like the possibility of shock loss and the issue of concealing evidence of surgery in the immediate post-op period. In short, the second consult went well and I made an appointment with Clara, the office coordinator, shortly thereafter.

As a side note, I found out, during the second consult, that Dr. Mamba does not invest in advertising. His patient base is mostly word-of-mouth. This was good to hear as, clearly, this is a sign a high patient satisfaction.

I traveled to Dr. Mwamba’s clinic for my two-day surgery appointment in the early part of this year. Obviously, going in for surgery is a big or. Honestly, though, I can say that I was not very nervous; I felt pretty certain that I had made the correct choice.

I checked in with the doctor the day before the first day of surgery and we did a final pre-surgery evaluation. Dr. Mwamba was thorough, as always, and that helped to dissolve any small traces of anxiety that I might have had. Dr. Mwamba worked on the final design of my hairline with a surgical marker. He and I both scrutinized every curve until we finally agreed it was perfect. Prior to that meeting, I told Dr. Mwamba that I was willing to have him shave the back and sides of my head, which is a typical practice in FUE surgery. At the last minute, though, I explained that I was worried about having a drastically different haircut as I was expected to return to work ten days post-op. Although the follicle extraction sites would be essentially healed by then, Dr. Mwamba was sensitive to that fact that I didn’t want to draw attention to my hair when I returned to work. Rather than completely buzzing down the back of my head, he pinned my hair up, using
little , and buzzed the hair in three long and narrow patches. This took a long time and I am grateful that Dr. Mwamba patiently prepared the hair. At the end, he held up two mirrors so that I could see what he had accomplished. It was quiet amazing, actually. When the hair was pinned up, I could see that more that half of back of my head was shaved with the buzzer. But, because the shaven rows were separated by rows of long hair, I was able to totally and completely conceal the bare areas. When the hair were removed, the long hair flopped over the shaved patches and it appeared as though my scalp had never been touched. As it turned out, this made going back to work after surgery very easy!

The next day was day 1 of surgery and it went very well. I met Dr. Mwamba’s two assistants and I must say they were, like Dr. Mwamba, extremely kind and gentle. They performed the anesthesia very slowly and I think this was done in an effort to minimize the discomfort. It was in fact relatively painless. The team worked well together, without complaint. Whenever I would come back from a bathroom break the staff would be ready, smiling, and eager to get back to work. This sort of detailed aesthetic surgery takes long hours to perform and, I suppose, fatigue can be a concern. The assistants worked in shifts, taking periodic breaks, and, as a result, never appeared the least bit tired. I must also add that Dr. Mwamba has tremendous stamina and focus. Except for a few short trips to the supply cabinet, Dr. Mwamba was always in the room. Aside from the lunch break, during which all four of us ate together, Dr. Mwamba took his breaks in the surgery room. So, while he might have been resting his arms for a few moments, he was still supervising his techs. This is rare. If you read online accounts from patients at other clinics, you will see that, in most cases, the doctor leaves the room for extended periods while the assistants place the hair grafts. This not a bad thing necessarily, if the assistances are good and the doctor has already prepared the sites for the grafts. I will say, however, that I felt very safe in the surgical chair because Dr. Mwamba was always there and always involved. Dr. Mwamba not only cut the grafts and created the sites – as is standard practice, as far as I can tell – he also placed many if not most of the graphs himself. Again, this is rare. Most other doctors leave the entire graph placing process to the assistance. The assistance worked extremely hard, but I was very grateful for Dr. Mwamba’s undivided attention and total involvement in the surgery. I went home that night wearing a loosely fitting cap that the assistants provided for me. I took off the cap in my hotel bathroom and was happy to see our progress for the day. I am sure the average person would think my immediate post-op scalp looked weird. I have to say, though, that after seeing hundred of immediate post-op photos from other doctors, my head looked good. Patients usually have bloody crusts and the like around where the grafts are placed. In my case, the scalp was relatively clean and smooth. Except for the tinge of the skin and some minor scabbing, the grafts simply looked like stubble.

Day 2 of surgery was much like day 1. Everything went smoothly and the staff worked hard. One of the final stages of the surgery involved placing the single hair grafts along the hairline. Having this area filled in was particularly exciting for me. By the end of the second day I was very tired, but very content. Having watched Dr. Mwamba and his assistants working so diligently and skillfully, I was certain they had done everything humanly possible to perform a world-class hair transplant surgery. When I stood up from the chair for the last time, Dr, Mwamba said, “Hmm, I like your hairline.” I found that to be amusing, as it seemed to sum up his personally: reserved, but confident.

I checked in with Dr. Mwamba and the staff the next day and everything seemed to be in order. In the days following the surgery, I sprayed the grafts regularly with a Biotin spray, as prescribed. Like I stated before, the hair on the back of my head was clipped in such a way that the extraction sites were entirely hidden with the longer surrounding hair. Aside from the occasional itch, the back of my head was out of (the public’s) sight and out of (my) mind. Going into this operation, I did not have a major preference between FUE surgery, which is scalpel-free, and strip surgery, which is more invasive. I was more concerned with the hairline and the overall appearance of the hair. But now, having gone through the surgery, I am very happy that Dr. Mwamba performed the FUE procedure. I think the sutures and the staples associated with strip would have bothered me, as would have the scarring. With Dr. Mwamba’s FUE, everything seems to have healed beautifully.

The only complication I experienced – if one could call it a complication – was some slight inflammation on the right side of my hairline. Dr. Mwamba and I talked over the phone about this issue and he recommend that I apply a specific topical treatment. The inflammation subsided in a matter of days.

I returned to work ten days after the surgery. Fortunately, I am able to wear a hat in my office so nobody had a clue about the operation. I did, however, have several formal business meetings shortly thereafter. The back of my head looked totally normal as a result of the way Dr. Mwamba had buzzed it in discreet sections. I used hair products to style my existing hair in a way that hid the pink tinge of the grafted area. No one was the wiser. Since then the pinkness has subsided drastically.

As far as I can tell, none of my pre-existing natural hair was damaged during the surgery. I think this is a testament to Dr. Mwamba’s skills. The hair in the frontal part of scalp, which is very thin and wispy, was in no way damaged. That is remarkable to me as Dr. Mwamba dense packed over 1,700 grafts in that area.

I am thoroughly satisfied with every aspect of my experience with Dr. Mwamba thus far and I expect great results in the months to come.

I hope prospective patients find this account helpful in their hair transplant research."