How To Avoid A Hair Transplant Disaster
If you read the ads on the internet or listen to them on TV, you might think that hair transplant disasters never happen. Hair transplants are quick and easy with no side effects or problems and are absolutely 100% guaranteed.
Not true. Read the hair transplant forums, and you will find people who have experienced a hair transplant disaster. They'll tell you the details and show you the pictures to prove it.
There are two things you can do to minimize your chance of having a hair transplant disaster: You can have realistic expectations, and you can choose a good surgeon.
Realistic Expectations
Many people considering hair transplant have visions of a thick, beautiful head of silky, lustrous hair. Realistically, there is a limit to how much you can accomplish with a hair transplant.
The Bible says that God knows how many hairs are on your head. You won't have any more after your hair transplant; they'll just be redistributed
You also need to have realistic expectations about what will happen after surgery. Some of your hair may fall out. Even some of the hair that isn't transplanted may fall out. You may have bald spots for a while. You could have scars and cysts. It is important to talk to people who have had hair transplants, and to thoroughly understand what happens after surgery. It could be a year or more before your hair is completely normal.
Choosing a Surgeon
Any time you have cosmetic surgery, the surgeon is the most important factor in getting a good outcome. To avoid a hair transplant disaster, choose your surgeon carefully.
DO get referrals from people you know who have had good hair transplants. DO NOT rely on slick advertisements, or the claims of large physician groups. The best people to evaluate a hair transplant surgeon are the people he or she has worked on.
DO insist on meeting with the surgeon who will be doing your hair transplant. Large offices frequently will have a "consultant" meet with patients to explain the procedures, and you won't meet the surgeon until you are on the operating table. Consultants are fine, but insist on talking to the surgeon directly and having him or her answer your questions.
DO ask questions. Ask exactly how the procedure is performed, what kind of procedure is recommended for you, and what results you can expect. Ask about side effects. Ask if future procedures might be needed. Ask how the grafts are obtained (the answer should be either by FUE or microscopically dissected from a strip graft). Ask about guarantees.
DO insist on pictures and referrals. Ask to see at least 10-12 before and after pictures and to talk to at least 5-6 people who have had hair transplants. Ask to talk to people who have similar skin type, coloring and Norwood hair loss staging as you do.
DO ask how the surgeon was trained. Ask if he is certified by any recognized medical specialty boards. (In the US, there is no recognized board of hair restoration surgeons. The American and International Hair Restoration Societies are educational organizations, not nationally recognized specialty organizations). Your surgeon may be board certified as a plastic surgeon or dermatologist.
DO check with your state Board of Medicine to see if there are any complaints or lawsuits pending against the surgeon.
DO google the surgeon and find out if there is more you can learn about him or her. If there have been any lawsuits against him or her, you should find out about it that way. You can also discover other important, but non-medical complaints, such as DUI convictions.
By having realistic expectations, and by carefully selecting a surgeon, you should be able to minimize your chances of a hair transplant disaster.