Choosing a hair Transplant – Surgeon

The choice of the surgeon to trust on for an hair transplant is not simple. On the web new clinics appear every day, beauty salons, and miracle institutions offering hair transplantation, sometimes at great bargain prices.

Bellicapelli Forum for a long time has been committed to thoroughly study the various alternatives available to potential patients and to select the clinics that guarantee quality and consistency of the results.

The first advice that we would like to give to all readers is: do not lean on the choice of a surgeon based solely on the price of the intervention.

A famous saying goes, “Spend like a rich and save like a pauper.”

Hair transplantation is a cosmetic surgical operation and as such, not turning to capable professionals means taking serious risks and sometimes even undergoing permanent damage.

The path of a “repair” case is long and winding, and only a few people manage to remedy a total damage caused by an operation performed by an incompetent surgeon.

CHOOSING THE SURGEON – “Google isn’t everything”

Another tip is to not to rely on the search engines ranking regarding the surgeon whose website appears among the first ones when we are typing “hair transplant” on Google, Bing, Yahoo etc,.

Some clinics often pay several thousand Euros to experts in SEO to be able to appear on the first search page.

The choice must be made after you have informed yourself thoroughly on the forum about the limits and the possibilities of hair transplantation, possible pharmacological alternatives and more specifically on the clinic and the doctor that interests you. The choice of the surgeon in hair transplantation is paramount. The best surgeon in the world does not exist, but only the one best suited to your needs and to your aesthetic taste.

Once you have made the choice of the surgeon, we recommend you the following questions you could make during the initial consultation:

Often, one of the most underrated steps made by patients on the choice of the surgeon for their surgery is that of pre-surgery consulting, live or online, directly with the surgeon and/or with the surgeon’s consultant.

CHOOSING THE SURGEON – “Important questions during the consultation”

It is important that the potential patient expresses all his doubts here I leave you hoping this to be a pleasant experience, on a number of useful questions you may make to the surgeon or to the to the surgeon’s consultant:

1. What kind of surgeries are you performing? Strip, FUE or both? For how long have been you performing them? How many patients have you treated?

2. If the surgeon performs strip what type of suture does he use? Does he use stitches with thread or staples? Can you show me photos of sutures ?

3. What kind of blades and instruments are used to make incisions in the recipient area? Does he use custom made blades whose size corresponds to that of the follicular unit? (This question is very important regarding the incision, if it is too deep or the wrong size it can cause pitting, the famous small holes in the receiving area, or ridging which is an unpleasant bulge in the recipient area.)

4. Since how long ago is he dedicated to hair transplant? Does he only performs this type of surgery? What are the professional awards he has received?

5. How many technicians work with the clinic? What stages of the hair transplant does he leave to technicians?

6. Since how long ago the technicians are working at the clinic?

7. Am I a good candidate for a transplant? (Ask for additional information on your characteristics)

8. How many grafts can be taken from my donor area?

9. How many follicular units are needed to achieve my goals? In the future will I need another surgery?

10. What will be the average density of the grafts?

11. What is the laxity of my scalp? How can I improve it?

12. Discuss deeply your priorities (hairline, temples, mid scalp, crown in terms of coverage and density.)

13. Ask the doctor how many follicular units does he plan to use in your intervention.

14. Ask your doctor if your expectations are realistic and if they can be met, taking into account the characteristics of your hair.

15. It is very important to ask if you can be put in contact with patients who started from a situation similar to yours, ask at least if there are clear photos which show all phases of the surgery.

16. Ask for explanations on the price, on the cost for follicular units and any costs of medicines and post-operative care. The clinics have different policies and it is always good to be informed about everything before proceeding

17. Ask if there are special rates or discounts if you book at last minute? What trip refunds does he offer? How long is the waiting list? How early should I book a date?

18. How long will it take to recover? How many days do I have to be off work?

19. Ask which drug therapy can be useful to support your case.

20. When it comes to strip ask the surgeon if the grafts are dissected under a microscope.

21. If it is FUE ask what are the transection rates of the surgery, what kind of punch is used to extract, whether it is manual or motorized, who are involved in the extractions (the surgeon or the technicians)

22. Make sure they provide you with clear information and pre- and post-operative instructions

23. Do not allow yourself to be pushed to book a date for any motive, you have to trust the clinic you choose and you deserve accurate and detailed information, in the end it is your head that is in the game and it’s still a surgery.

For everything else you can consult BELLICAPELLI FORUM