Patient Stories and Testimonials

"I am compelled to share my experience with Dr. Steven Gabel, a true expert in the field of Hair Restoration Surgery."

“As a female with hair loss involving the frontotemporal angles, I felt more and more self-conscious, and pulling my hair back was no longer an option. I investigated options for hair transplantation in the area and I’m so happy I found Dr. Gabel.

As a nurse, I know how important it is for the board-certified doctor to actually be the one doing the procedures. In the other facilities that I researched, the doctors do up to 4 transplants on the same day. This means that there is no Dr. In each operating room over 1/4 of the time.

Dr. Gabel does one transplant each day, he was in the OR working on only me during my transplant. His staff was all top-notch! They took amazing care of me from start to finish. On the morning of the transplant, Dr. Gabel had me draw the hairline I was hoping for on my forehead. He then shared his recommendations. This REALLY impressed me. He could have made more money implanting the area I had drawn, but instead, he helped me make the best decision for the natural look that I was after. In the end, I am so thankful that we adjusted what I thought I wanted. I couldn’t be happier with my hairline.

During the procedure, I was quite comfortable with just Valium and a local anesthetic. The only time I felt a bit uncomfortable was when the local anesthetic was being administered and that was over quickly. The rest of the time I napped, listened to music and talked with Dr.Gabel and his staff. We had breaks as needed and one for lunch.

I went home at about 4:30 pm and regular Tylenol took care of any discomfort I experienced. I went to his office the next morning where they washed my hair and Dr. Gabel came in to make sure everything was healing well. I returned again 3 days after the transplant as well. This was very reassuring and again the staff was amazing. On day 10 I returned to have my sutures removed.

I am currently on Day 18 post-FUT transplant and am thrilled with the results. If you are considering having a transplant in the Portland area, I would definitely choose Dr. Gabel!!!!”

Read More
"I am writing this testimonial to help future patients of Dr. Gabel."

I am overwhelmed by the compassion and professionalism of Dr. Gabel and his team. If you are making a life-changing decision to choose a surgeon for hair restoration surgery, I recommend Dr. Gabel without hesitation. Dr. Gabel is one of the best, if not the best, hair restoration surgeons in the US

Here is my story; I hope it helps you decide to move forward with hair restoration surgery with Dr. Gabel

At 6:30 a.m. on the day of surgery, Dr. Gabel’s staff took me to the observation room and gave me some Valium and antibiotic medication. Dr. Gabel came to see me at around 7 a.m. and did some measurements with the laser tool. Dr. Gabel and his staff then spent about half an hour fine-tuning the hairline. We then went to the photo studio to take detailed pictures.

Dr. Gabel gave one primary instruction before going into the surgery room: over-communicate your pain level. We then went into the surgery room to extract follicles. Dr. Gabel numbed the back of my head and continuously asked about the pain level. It helped me to quantify pain levels as 0 (no pain), 1 (minor pain), 2 (uncomfortable pain), etc. After numbing, Dr. Gabel made holes for implantation at the recipient area and extracted the follicles at the donor area. My pain level never went above 1, and it mainly was zero pain. It took about two hours, and I was on my side and back during this procedure. Every 1 hour, I took a break to use the bathroom; Dr. Gabel’s staff was always there to make me comfortable, take me to the bathroom, and offer snacks! The extraction procedure ended around noon.

I had brought my lunch due to dietary restrictions. Dr. Gabel’s staff was kind enough to transfer my lunch from the lunch box to the actual plate and bowl with real silverware. After several hours in the surgery room, it felt amazing to have my lunch waiting for me in the observation room. I was the only patient in the office, and the entire staff was dedicated to helping me feel comfortable.

Dr. Gabel told me that the implantation procedure was easy, and it was! Once we were back in the surgery room, Dr. Gabel’s staff asked what my favorite music was (Rolling Stones & Pink Floyd!), and they played music for the rest of the afternoon. The afternoon went very smoothly, and it was surprisingly pleasant! I was listening to the music the whole time with zero pain. Occasionally Dr. Gabel would ask if I had any pain — I did not. The implantation procedure was done by 5 p.m.

Dr. Gabel then showed me the result of the implantation. There was zero blood, and I could see my new hairline. It made me very emotional, not because of the fantastic new hairline but the amount of hard work, dedication, and compassion shown by Dr. Gabel and his team.

I left Dr. Gabel’s clinic feeling exceedingly happy about my new hairline and with zero fear. I was anxious about getting into the surgery but came out happy and confident. I had no blood and no pain when I came home. At 6:30 p.m. on the day of surgery, I took my pain meds and didn’t need any pain medication after that. As I write this, I am following detailed post-op instructions to the letter and feeling great. Hot tip: read the documentation provided by Dr. Gabel, and you will have a pleasant experience as well!

Read More
"Absolutely wonderful experience with Dr. Gabel. I am a lady with a masculine hairline, and Dr. Gabel created a hairline that makes me feel like a woman"

For so long I’ve been avoiding going to gyms or being in hot tubs with friends, afraid of windy days because I’ve been hiding my hairline since high school. I finally had enough and scheduled an appointment. He is booked out a little ways because he is truly incredible at what he does. I’ve been on a hair restoration forum for years and any mention of Dr. Gabel is met with “He’s the best on the west side of the country” and “Oh he was trained by (can’t remember the name)!” who is apparently a pioneer or something for hair restoration. I don’t know all the details but Dr. Gabel is personable, professional, and answers his own emails! I can’t say enough good things about this clinic.

I’m not sure if it mentions on his website, but I did a NO shave FUE. This means he didn’t have to shave half my head to pull the follicles, which was EXTREMELY important for me as a lady, because I didn’t know how on earth I would hide that. My MIL is so impressed, she can’t even tell I had anything done! I can’t wait to see the full results in a few months!!!

Read More
"Nothing but good things to say about my experience with Dr. Gabel and his amazing team"

Not only are they meticulous with their work, but they are genuine and have a great sense of humor. They make the day all about you and cater to all your needs. I also want to mention their determination to go above and beyond their call of duty to create a positive experience and quality product for their clients. I have nothing but amazing things to say. I was super nervous and checked into other hair restoration companies, but they seemed robotic and overpriced. If you considered hair restoration, Dr. Gabel and his team are the only ones I’d consider seeing; they are hands down the best.

Read More
"The results look very realistic and even I can’t tell where the transplant begins."

It’s been nearly a year since my FUE procedure with Dr. Gabel and I am blown away at the results. At first, I was hesitant to write a review because I have chosen to keep the fact I had work done private but I can’t recommend Dr. Gabel enough and am so grateful to him and his team for their work of art. I have quite a long history of hair loss. I lost a considerable amount in my early twenties and rushed to try to get a transplant. I was fortunate that Dr. Gabel was one of the first I consulted with, and he urged me to wait to see if my hair loss stabilizes. This was for the best because I actually regrew some hair on the medication I had recently started, and I also wasn’t where I should have been financially as a college student at the time. I believe Dr. Gabel is honest and is out for his patient’s best interests. Now many years later, after stabilizing my hair loss, I had my transplant in mid-August of last year. The results look very realistic and even I can’t tell where the transplant begins, and where my old hairline used to be because it is blended so well. My dermatologist even wanted to know where I had the transplant done. One more thing, I did speak with other places that did hair transplants and they claimed I needed way more grafts than I really did. I really recommend at least consulting with Dr. Gabel because he will patiently answer all of your questions, and you will walk away knowing way more about transplants than before. Overall I highly recommend it. The procedure was long but I was comfortable, the facility was clean, and everyone on his team was very professional.

Read More
"My hair is stabilized and it continues to look better each day"
I wanted to give you an update on how my hair transplant is progressing. I meant to send this earlier but with everything going on it ended up delayed. First, I want to say I am beyond pleased. The hair transplanted is growing in very thick and I am so grateful to you and your team for your great work.
I haven’t had hair like this since my early twenties and it looks very natural. I can’t wait to show you in person once this pandemic subsides. I’ve taken a few photographs. I wanted to get the same haircut for a good before and after but this will have to do. Once again thank you very much and if I ever need more work done I will definitely be coming back. So far the finasteride continues to do its job so for now my hair is stabilized and it continues to look better each day.
Read More
"1,600 Graft FUE Transplant"

23 years old and just received an FUE hair transplant for around 1,600 grafts from Dr. Gabel. I would say that I was most likely a Norwood 2A or 3. I have been doing research for probably the past 4 years online and youtube. I watched a lot of David DiMuzio and Matt Dominance to try and learn what to look for in a surgeon and Dr. Gabel check every box. Since the surgery was for my hairline I knew the cost would be worth it because that would be the most important surgery for my overall wanted look. Things that reassured me that Dr. Gabel was capable was he had all the proper certifications (people can give hair transplants without these certifications), he is proficient in both FUE and FUT strip (so I didn’t feel like he was pushing for the style he more preferred), tried to actually dissuade me from actually getting a hair transplant and instead of using other methods to stop my hair loss (super valid but I wanted a hairline and finasteride or PRP would never be able to do that for me) and finally I didn’t feel like the consultation was a sales pitch like the way Bosley had done to me. Overall the surgery was relatively easy, recovery was wayyyyyyy faster then I thought, and after 10 days I can get away without wearing a hat in public and no one could really tell if I had a hair transplant or not. Not even my friends. I did buzz my hair though ( which I think is best for hiding it because it blends the newly grafted hair with the existing hair.) Overall pretty excited to see the results.

Read More
"1950 Graft FUE with Dr. Gabel"

I am a 37-year-old male who has been experiencing hair loss around the age of 32. I was blessed with a thick head of dark spikey hair that I really enjoyed. I am in good health and eat clean. Over the last five years, my hair had continued to shed and thin. At the time of my procedure, I was a Norwood Class III (3). I started taking Propecia / finasteride two years ago and while I did have some continued shedding for the first year it came to a halt the second year. I had been lurking on hair loss/hair restoration sites for several years – researching, learning, and deciding what would be the best fit for me and my situation. I had even considered getting fitted for and wearing a custom hair system for the front due to my expectations in regards to density – ultimately, it wasn’t the right fit for me and my lifestyle.

Two and a half years ago I started meeting with hair restoration surgeons to explore my options and evaluate their approach and abilities. I travel extensively for work and have had the ability to visit several of the top hair restoration doctors in the U.S. and Canada. After my “doctor discovery” period I can share with you that there are some very impressive HT doctors in North America. I ultimately decided that the right fit for me was Dr. Gabel and his practice Gabel Hair Restoration. I believe any of the doctors I met with would have been very capable. Ultimately I chose Dr. Gabel for several reasons that mattered to me:

1) His expertise and verified documented results: Dr. Gabel knows the science and art of Hair Transplants. He is a thought leader and expert in the field. I visited him 3-4 times over a two year period while evaluating and each time we had in-depth conversations about the techniques, medical advances, pros, con’s and expectations for me and my ideal results. He was always sincere, spent significant time with me, and answered all of my questions. He was a great guide throughout the process – he knew I had seen and was evaluating other doctors and wanted me to do what was best for my situation.

2) He and his team were the right personalities fit for me and my needs. Dr. Gabel is a great dude. He is optimistic and funny and the type of person that gets along with anyone. There are so many unknowns throughout this process that TRUST is critical. The marketing in the HT industry is done very well by most practitioners and we know it thus many of us have a high level of skepticism. Trust is critical. I would advise everyone that is considering this procedure to meet interview their Dr’s several times. In doing so, you will be able to gain an understanding of if they are a good fit for you and your expectations.

3) His team has deep experience and was very kind, funny, helpful, and professional. This is very important in my opinion. The Dr. is a large part of the process but after he does the extractions (which in an FUE is a lot of hard work on their part and your part as a patient) the Dr’s team takes the hairs and preps them for transplant. A LOT can go wrong from extraction to transplant if you don’t have a professional, focused team of CAREER professionals. I believe one of his team had 17 years of experience and the others were between 5 years and 8 years (Added note Dr. Gabel extracted and placed many of the hairs – this is VERY RARE from my research. I appreciated his focus throughout the process.

Read More
"Skill, attention to detail, terrific staff, generosity"

This is my second hair transplant, and my experience is vastly different than the first one. Firstly, Dr. Gabel’s team is extraordinary. I was fascinated by how each member focused on their particular part of the preparation process, and the dedication that each person obviously had, with regard to their role. The process was long, and they were attentive and patient for many hours. Dr. Gabel himself is a perfectionist; he is personally engaged in the entire process; he does not just instruct people and then check back at the end of the day. He also is keen on doing the extra things, the little things, that make the job more likely to have a very successful result. That goes for the team as well: there is much more care regarding protocols during the surgery than anything that I experienced before. The overall atmosphere is one of excellence, but it is also humane. Dr. Gabel’s staff is well-treated and respected, but they are also “on task.” This is a rather rare combination, and it is a testament to the kind of quality that Dr. Gabel is establishing as the bar of his practice. This is only the day after my procedure; my final response will, of course, have to wait for the result as it begins to show up. But all signs point toward the positive. I have been extremely impressed with all that has transpired in this experience.

Read More
"Endorsement from Spencer Kobren, Author of the Bald Truth"

“Dr. Gabel is one of the most talented, well rounded, and ethical hair transplant surgeons in the field. His dedication and compassion for his patients is a direct reflection of who he is as a person. He’s not only one of the best at what he does, he truly cares.”

Spencer Kobren
Founder, American Hair Loss Association
Founder, International Alliance of Hair Restoration Surgeons
Best selling author and host of The Bald Truth

Read More
"Thanks to Dr. Gabel and his staff!"

“Thanks again for your care and the care from your staff yesterday. Your focus and thorough attention to detail put my mind at ease. I experienced minimal discomfort during the procedure and I felt confident that you would address it immediately if I had. My soreness was minimal last night and this morning. Aileen was gentle and thorough when evaluating and cleaning my head. Her instructions were clear and complete. I’m also very encouraged by your enthusiasm for my result, so far. Your passion is reassuring. ”

Read More
"A Gabel Center Endorsement"

I highly recommend Dr. Gabel to perform your hair transplant surgery. My research and experience confirm he is an excellent surgeon, and I believe he is as fine a selection as you can make to perform your transplant procedure.

I recently had him perform a fourth transplant procedure for me, and now I understand why Dr. Gabel is held in such high esteem by his patients and the industry. My first three procedures were performed by another surgeon, and though I was pleased with my end hair results, the recent experience I had with Dr. Gabel was better, and clearly done with unmatched care.

My experience also established everyone in the Gabel Center supporting my process and procedure was also highly engaged, knowledgeable, and diligent. The entire staff made sure I understood what was happening throughout the process to ensure sure my procedure was comfortable and well done.

Perhaps the most important to the reason I am pleased with my decision to use Dr. Gabel was that that I trust his skills and competency. For example, during both our consultation and the surgery, and again based on my previous experience with another surgeon, I quickly knew that he fully grasps and values what he does.

I also observe that he won’t take unnecessary risks to simply do a surgery. For instance, I believe that if he does not think it will be ideal for you to have surgery, he won’t do it. I know this ethical approach was really a big deal to my selection process, so I want to finalize it for you here.

So, if you are considering a hair transplant and it’s doable for you, I recommend you have Dr. Gabel perform it for you. Best to you in all.”

Read More
"More patient stories"

“Doctor Gabel and his staff are outstanding; I went to interview Dr. Gabel for hair restoration and was both relieved and excited to find such great experience in this part of Oregon. I was in an accident several years ago. As a result, I have had other facial surgeries to correct the disastrous effects resulting from the injury including incision lines on my forehead and noticeable incision lines within my hairline. In addition, I wanted to have hair transplants to cover the scars.

The day came and we reviewed that part of the scalp area and process for surgery, and as planned throughout the day, Doctor Gabel and his staff worked diligently on the donor site and the hair implants. It takes about 5 months for the implants to grow; I wore a baseball hat for several weeks.

But wow, you should see my head of natural hair now, all grafted from the back of my head with almost no scarring nor incision line. The area grafted is now fully grown out and I am no longer concerned about the once visible incision lines from the injury. Plus, I have an additional natural looking hairline in front due to Doctor Gabel’s technique of scattering grafts in a more natural format.

In closing, I would highly recommend Doctor Gabel and his trained staff for all of your visual and esthetic concerns with hair-recovery, his natural-looking permanent method using your hair grafts which work!!”

Read More
"Patient stories from a fellow surgeon"

“Being a surgeon myself, I know good work and technique when I see it. Dr. Gabel’s attention to detail is unsurpassed. I felt very comfortable having him perform such a life-changing procedure and would recommend Dr. Gabel to anyone considering surgical hair transplantation.”

Read More
"Patient Stories of Dr. Gabel, the Hero"

“Dr. Gabel is my hero and new best friend. When you find a physician you can trust, who does excellent work and stays abreast of the latest techniques, you stick with him.”

Read More
"Patient Stories of No hassles and great service with Dr. Gabel"

“From my initial consultation with Dr. Gabel, I felt that I was realistically informed of what to expect. No salespeople, no unrealistic photos shown to me – just an honest, calm, no-hassle discussion of my case. Prices are very reasonable compared to other top-quality HT doctors. Dr. Gabel took into account the particulars of my situation and gave me a realistic estimate of 1,200 to 1,500 grafts. In particular, my scalp laxity is not great and the donor density isn’t great either – but the hair I do have is thick and curly so a smaller amount goes a long way relatively speaking.

Dr. Gabel made sure that I understood all of this and didn’t try to promise something unrealistic. He also made sure I understood that since I’m in my early-30’s and there is only a certain amount of donor area that can be used over a lifetime. Keeping this in mind, he didn’t recommend that we try to fill in the crown at this time. To do so would risk creating a “bulls-eye” later in life. I appreciated his honesty and feel like I made an informed decision based on his advice.

During the procedure at his hair restoration Portland office, I felt very well taken care of. I can tell that the doctor and his staff are perfectionists and take pride in their work. The procedure went very smooth and Dr. Gabel was involved from start to finish. The post-op instructions were extremely detailed which I appreciated. I went back for cleaning the day after, and the next few days as well (my advice: only pick a doctor that has you come back to the office the next day for a cleaning – trust me, you’re going to be paranoid that you’re not cleaning it properly so seeing them the next day is extremely helpful).

Over the next several days, the staff promptly answered any questions I had. The one time I needed to ask the doctor a question after hours, his answering service had him on the phone in literally 3 minutes. Dr. Gabel’s hobby is flying planes – and, when it came time for suture removal, he flew to an airport near my home and met me to remove the sutures right there. How’s that for service??

I’m so glad I found Dr. Gabel, based on my experience so far.”

Read More
"Patient Stories from a Transgender: Kindness and comfort abound at the Gabel Center"

“I just had surgery last week, so it is far too early for before and after pictures. Although I am confident that the results will be great, this posting is simply information on my procedure and the process.

First, I am transgender. This posed no issue for Dr. Gabel or the staff, and everybody was very kind. In fact, they were interested in learning more about the transitioning process so that they could make future clients as comfortable as possible.

The process started by having a one-on-one consultation with Dr. Gabel about 6 weeks before the surgery (he was booked out about 6 weeks). The consultation was comfortable and comprehensive with no embarrassment. The office manager provided a written estimate which is based on the number of grafts that are anticipated to be implanted, and as she has 8+ years of experience with Dr. Gabel she was more than capable of answering questions related to the financial side. We then scheduled the surgery date and I made a security deposit to hold the date.

On the day of surgery, I arrived at 6:30 am to find several people busy preparing for the day. We spent about 2 hours signing paperwork (e.g., informed consent), finalizing the hairline design, taking photographs, and taking medication (e.g., valium). Surgery began around 8:30 am and vitals are monitored throughout the day to ensure safety.

My job was simple — don’t move! This sounds easy, but when you are in a chair for 10 or so hours it is difficult to not adjust your position, cough, scratch an itch… If it is necessary to move, you need to give Dr. Gabel and his team a heads-up so that they can stop working before you adjust.

Dr. Gabel and his team harvested the donor site quickly and efficiently. I would guess that this was done by about 9:30 am. The entire team immediately started processing the donor tissue and turning it into 1-, 2- and 3-hair follicles suitable for implantation. Once a few samples were available, Dr. Gabel performed a few test incisions to check the size of the incision vs. my specific hair follicles. Dr. Gabel then made a few minor adjustments to his instruments and was happy that the incision size was appropriate.

For the next hour or so, Dr. Gabel proceeded to make tiny incisions over the entire graft area making sure that (1) he had a high density and (2) that the alignment was appropriate so that the hair has a natural orientation. Nothing difficult or painful, but it was very odd listening to all the tiny incisions being made.

While Dr. Gabel is busy making the incisions, the team is busy preparing the grafts. I was surprised to see that it took 7 people working constantly under a microscope for about 8 hours each to prepare all the grafts.

After the incisions were made, the implantations begin. I have heard that many transplant surgeons delegate the implantations to their assistants, but Dr. Gabel was involved from the beginning to the end. He placed grafts during the entire process and performed quality control by monitoring the graft quality being produced by each team member. To be clear, Dr. Gabel’s is key assistants also help place the grafts (one of whom has been doing this for almost 15 years!). This is necessary when so many grafts are needed.
We took a quick 30-minute lunch break around 12:30 where the staff provided a very nice meal from a local restaurant (you order this during the paperwork phase). The food was good and there were plenty of options to support pretty much any dietary restrictions.

It takes a long time to implant more than 3,000 grafts, so it was a long day in the chair. The staff was not only efficient but also downright pleasant. We talked about anything and everything, which made the day go by much faster than it could have. Plus they have decent music from Pandora or you can listen to your own CDs, etc.

I was so impressed with the entire staff that I am going to bring in lunch for them soon. First time I’ve ever “tipped” a medical group!

So, hopefully, this provides some useful information for people considering Dr. Gabel. I realize that the proof is in the pudding (or in this case in the hairline). In my experience, you tend to get good results when the team enjoys their jobs and cares about the results.”

Read More

Contact Us

  • Our team will be in contact with you shortly via phone call and/or email.

There is no guarantee on hair restoration results. Individual results may vary.
© 2024 Gabel Hair Restoration Center | All Rights Reserved | Privacy Policy | Patient Rights and Responsibilities | HIPAA Privacy Policy | Accessibility Statement | Terms & Conditions