Dr. Robert Niedbalski

Dr Robert Niedbalski founded Northwest Hair Restoration in 2009, after several years with a corporate hair restoration business 1. He holds a doctorate in osteopathic medicine from Michigan State University and practised for 15 years as a family physician before specialising in hair loss 1. The clinic says he has diagnosed and treated hair loss for more than 25 years but gives no start year 1. Most surgery takes place at the Tacoma clinic, with consultations and follow-up visits also offered in Seattle and Spokane 2. The Spokane page says procedures are not done there and patients travel to Tacoma for surgery day 3.

The practice offers FUE, FUT, eyebrow and facial hair transplants 4. For FUE it uses the WAW power punch system, which it says leaves 0.7 to 1.0 mm circular incisions 5. The Tacoma page says FUE is done by hand 2. The FUE page says he can harvest up to 3,000 to 4,000 hair follicles in a single day 6. Dr Niedbalski creates the recipient incisions, matching angle and direction to natural growth 5. The surgical staff dissect the strip under microscopes and place the grafts to his design 5. For FUT the clinic describes oral sedation plus local lidocaine injections 5. Candidacy factors named include goals, age and degree of loss, donor hair, general health and bleeding or healing disorders 7.

No prices are published 8. The clinic says the total depends on the extent of hair loss and how many grafts can be placed, with an estimate given after consultation 8. Financing is available through CareCredit and PatientFi 7. The practice does not accept insurance 9.

The consultation is free and can be in person, by Skype or FaceTime, or by phone 7. A patient educator meets patients during the consultation and passes their concerns to Dr Niedbalski 10. The clinic sets out follow-up steps at one week, four weeks, four, six and eight months, and one year 11. It says no surgeon can promise that every graft will survive 8. The FAQ says most patients return to work within two to five days 12.

He appears in the ABHRS diplomate register as Robert Niedbalski, DO 13. The clinic says he has been an ABHRS diplomate since 2002 and is a past president of the board 1. He is an ISHRS Fellow Member 14. His bio also lists the American Osteopathic Board of Family Physicians since 1995 1. It says he has been involved with the ISHRS Fellowship Training Program since 2002 1.