(Easy to find info on this doctor, using your quote and Google).
From his website:
Bolton Bundles™ also known as multiple follicular units are grafts containing 2-3 follicular units or (4 to 8 hairs). THESE ARE NOT PLUGS, these are SLIT GRAFTS just the same as in micrografts or follicular units and they are NOT used in the frontal hairline. Instead, they are used behind the hairline to boost density up to two to three times!
This seems like a red flag to me… (the bolded part) Conventional wisdom is that the most natural results are from using individual follicular unit grafts, and not larger grafts that contain multiple follicular units, which can look pluggy.
I’ve heard of some doctors using larger grafts like this (Dr Ron Shapiro for example) in very limited ways, in order to build up specific areas of density. I don’t know if this is still the case with Dr Shapiro, who is reportedly one of the best doctors doing strips. But the danger is a pluggy-looking transplant. When transplanting, it’s normal for the graft to naturally contract/compress somewhat, leading to potential problems with larger grafts (a pluggy appearance) in the wrong hands. Larger grafts can contact and be actually more dense than your natural hair. That’s usually not good.
I do think it’s probably smart for doctors to use the procedures that they know the best - it seems like a lot of doctors have jumped on the FUE bandwagon strictly for financial reasons, and don’t necessarily do the best work. However, without knowing the specifics of this doctor’s procedures and how he uses them, it appears that he is using outdated techniques. Conventional wisdom is that the best strip surgeons transitioned to using individual follicular unit grafts (not multiples) over 15 years ago. Most doctors didn’t do it voluntarily, they were convinced because of superior results.
Also, this claim defies logic:
What Doctors Don’t Want You to Know
This ideology and Dr. Bolton’s trail blazing techniques invite a lot of opposition from competition because it means less money for doctors and more hair for the patient. His fervor for unequaled superior results places the Great Hair Transplants method of surgery in a class by himself. Doctors would rather give you less hair so you can have more surgeries and they can get paid multiple times when the reality is: MORE OFTEN THAN NOT, YOU ONLY NEED ONE GREAT HAIR TRANSPLANT!
If there was an easier procedure that gave superior results, every doctor would be doing it. Doctors are not trying to drag out the process, in order to get paid more. Most doctors think the procedures are too tedious, in my opinion.
Also, the doctor claims that his donor scars are “undetectable”. This has been an ongoing claim from the doctors since the earliest days of crude plug grafting (and quite often, it’s not true). If strip scars were as undetectable as claimed, there would be very little need or demand for the FUE procedure in the first place. FUE would only be a fringe minority procedure that only a few patients wanted (and not the fastest growing procedure in the industry). However, just because a doctor does FUE doesn’t mean he is competent. In my own case, I had FUE and BHT with Dr Cole (and wasted $36,000, as virtually none of the grafts grew). Don’t think that just because a doctor does FUE, that he deserves your trust.
This particular doctor may be very good - I wonder about him for reasons mentioned above, but I don’t know for sure. So try to see as many random patients as possible (not just the guys who work in the office - the reason they work there is to show off their good results). Look at their hair up close, and see if there is any evidence of plugginess. The more patients you can meet, the better. Don’t be shy about meeting patients! Also, realize that your results will hinge on your own personal characteristics, as well as the skill of the doctor. Look for patients who have similar patterns of hair loss as you, and similar hair characteristics - hair color, hair shaft diameter (coarseness). In other words, compare apples to apples, in order to know what to expect.
One more thing - when doctors have their own marketing terms for procedures, as this doctor does, that’s often a bad sign. It’s confusing for patients, and unnecessary “razzle dazzle”. The doctors should be educating the patients, not trying to sell them with marketing techniques. This alone isn’t a deal breaker, but it shows where the doctors’ priorities are: profits (and it’s all too common).