Does anyone have any thoughts or inside information on whether the cost of FUE might come down a little bit in the future. Last time I researched it was about $10/graft.

1500 grafts on anyone is goiIng to make a very modest difference at best. $15k is so much money to spend on such a small change in appearance.

I'm certainly not knocking the doctors for charging that because I know it's very labor intensive and requires great skill. Just hoping it will get more affordable....

It already has. SMG placed their FUE at $6 per graft (with a travel discount of $500 I believe), Dr. Devroye is $7.25 (with the exchange rate), Dr. Feriduni is $5.77 (same), Bisanga is around that price (same), Dr. Wolf is $7, Dr. Umar is $6. If the dollar would ever get stronger than the Euro, FUE in Europe would be cheaper than strip surgery in the US.

The days of $10 per graft FUE are on their way out. With top notch clinics offering the same surgery for 40% less, the clinics still charging those exorbitant fees will either have to adjust their prices accordingly, or lose business.

You gotta love SMG for putting the patient ahead of the bottom line. We all know that they could have set their FUE price much higher than $6, but didn't so that they could offer more patients, more options. That's admirable.

Thanks TC - that's great news. Much easier to justify going that route with those prices.

SMG looks like they do great work too. I don't know if they have many FUE patients who are 1+ years out but I will be following them closely to see how they turn out.

Their price will increase when they have results.

So your basically saying the people paying $6 are guinea pigs and if they turn out okay then SMG will raise the price?

Wonder if they are being told they are guinea pigs and part of an experiment?

I have no idea what the reasoning behind SMG's pricing is tied to, or the bigger question which is do they intend to raise it once they become more cemented with FUE results. Either way, I think calling SMG FUE patients "guinea pigs" would be very extreme; though it nonetheless makes sense for SMG to not price their FUE at some outrageous number since they have yet to prove themselves to be in some unrivaled class of FUE practitioners, mainly because they're relatively new to FUE.

My personal feeling is that even if/when SMG has every proof in the world of their FUE excellence that they still wouldn't raise prices much (if at all).

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*A Follicles Dying Wish To Clinics*

1 top-down, 1 portrait, 1 side-shot, 1 hairline....4 photos. No flash.

Follicles have asked for centuries, in ten languages, as many times so as to confuse a mathematician.

Enough is enough! Give me documentation or give me death!

As a quick bit of history, back in the middle of 2007 when I started really delving into FUE, one of the goals I set was affordable pricing for the procedure. In speaking to many, many patients the general consensus is 5-7 dollars a graft is:
#1 Fair #2 Affordable when compared to strip costs.

When Dr. Shapiro, Matt, Janna, and I talked about what types of patients we generally felt would desire an FUE approach, they would be hairline/frontal zone patients and generally need 2500 grafts or less to accomplish their goals.

In that vein, if you take a person who needs 2000 grafts.
Strip would cost 9000.00
FUE would cost 11,500.00

In this instance the cost differential allows a patient to choose the method they desire, without placing the emphasis on cost alone.

I want to say that there are no plans to raise our FUE cost in the near future. I also want to point out that Dr. Ron is in HIGH demand for his hairline work and has been in high demand for 10+ years. If he wanted to engage in gouging patients, he could have done so at any point in time. Something to consider.

Obviously, economics will eventually force cost augmentation as the cost of labor/supplies/etc.. rises, but we feel the current cost is a proper representation of a fair price now in the foreseeable future.

I'm going to let the guinea pig comment go because I think people are perhaps confusing us with some other clinic. Irresponsibility is a fault easily remedied with proper research.

Take Care,
Jason

Edit--wanted to point out that even if we had to raise our costs, just like our strip costs, it would be reasonable and nothing outrageous. Dr. Ron has always maintained a fair cost to value over 15+ years.

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Go Cubs!

6721 transplanted grafts
13,906 hairs
Performed by Dr. Ron Shapiro

Dr. Ron Shapiro and Dr. Paul Shapiro are members of the Coalition of Independent Hair Restoration Physicians.

Very interesting B.

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2008 Dr. G – presumably 1,000 grafts / 2,142 hairs
2009 Dr. Paul Shapiro – 2,348 grafts / 4,258 hairs
2011 Dr. Paul Shapiro – 1,999 grafts / 3,624 hairs

My Hair Transplant Journey with Shapiro Medical Group

Jason, I suspected that you guys wouldn't insta-hike up prices just for when your FUE reaches peak notoriety, and it's great too know you have no intention of doing so. With Ron Shapiro's credentials and SMG's track record, over the backdrop of the dogma/stigma being "FUE is always super expensive", you certainly could have priced your FUE much higher and I don't think *anyone* would have batted an eye.

__________________
-----------

*A Follicles Dying Wish To Clinics*

1 top-down, 1 portrait, 1 side-shot, 1 hairline....4 photos. No flash.

Follicles have asked for centuries, in ten languages, as many times so as to confuse a mathematician.

Enough is enough! Give me documentation or give me death!

And the thing is is that with lower prices, you'll be getting more business. So patient-friendly pricing can in turn help the bottom line. It's smart and effective biz.

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2008 Dr. G – presumably 1,000 grafts / 2,142 hairs
2009 Dr. Paul Shapiro – 2,348 grafts / 4,258 hairs
2011 Dr. Paul Shapiro – 1,999 grafts / 3,624 hairs

My Hair Transplant Journey with Shapiro Medical Group