A NOTE ABOUT THE REFERENCE MATERIAL USED ON THIS WEBSITE

I quote heavily from Dr. O’Tar Norwoods's medical textbook “HAIR TRANSPLANT SURGERY” in the "Consultation" section of the website, as well as in other areas of the website.

The Norwood textbook was written in 1973. When researching, I specifically looked for the established medical textbooks that were written BEFORE the time I underwent my surgery.

I could have easily quoted from more modern textbooks, which also would have made the same points. SO WHY NOT QUOTE FROM A MORE MODERN TEXT?

Because in recent correspondance with Dr. Puig, he claims that he gave me “ACCEPTABLE CARE BASED ON THE MEDICAL KNOWLEDGE OF THAT TIME PERIOD.”

Well, I am sorry to say THAT IS NOT TRUE. The Cleveland Hair Clinic and Dr. Puig contradicted or blatantly disregarded several key issues already established, regarding the responsible and ethical practice of Hair Transplantation. I quote from this textbook to show that the medical treatment and business ethics I was subjected to were contrary to the established knowledge and conventional wisdom of that time period. When I quote from this textbook, I am citing a well-established surgeon with many more years of experience than Dr. Puig. In fact Dr. Norwood's textbook was published in the same year that Dr. Puig was graduating from medical school.

The quotes I pull from Dr. Norwood's textbook are not so much technique-related, but have to do more with the ethical practice of medicine. These issues were well-established by the time I was a patient of Dr. Puig's:

• Why doctors should be upfront with patients during the initial interview, and tell them that hair transplants have definite limitations.
• How doctors should pick appropriate candidates for surgery, and which patients should be turned away.
• The importance of doctors planning for the patient's future, and how hair loss is progressive.
• How doctors can estimate the amount of surgery that will be required, and the importance of not underestimating that amount in discussions with the patient.

I am pointing out what Dr. Norwood wrote, in order to contrast his writings against the MISCONDUCT of Dr. Puig and the Cleveland Hair Clinic. My terrible terrible experience at Dr. Puig's clinic was not due to the "limited medical knowledge of that time", but actually from the UNETHICAL AND INCOMPETENT ACTIONS of an UNSCRUPULOUS CLINIC on an INNAPPROPRIATE SURGICAL CANDIDATE.

There is almost a 10-year gap between when this book was published, and the time I was undergoing surgery with Dr. Puig. Some of you might assume that there were great advancements made during that time, possibly making Dr. Norwood's textbook irrelevant. Unfortunately, THAT IS NOT TRUE. The major advancement made during that time was that surgeons stopped punching out the big plug grafts with hand tools, and adopted power tools to speed up the process. These were actually modified power drills and dremels that doctors began to use on their patients' scalps. The use of power tools is not relevant to Dr. Norwood's textbook, or how that textbook contrasts established medical knowledge against the ethical misconduct of Dr. Puig and Cleveland Hair Clinic.

It has been said that the vast majority of advancements and innovations in the hair transplant field have only come about in the past five or ten years. Unless you realize that this field is almost FIFTY YEARS OLD, you will not understand how disgraceful that lack of progress actually is. Hair transplant surgeons were too busy ringing up sales to care much about scientific progress.

See the section of the website “30 YEARS OF PLUGS AND PUNCH GRAFTS” for an overview of the dismal history of commercial hair transplantation in the 20th Century.

Note: Any statements I make on this website are my opinion.