I feel like happyman2021, for being a non surgeon or a non medical person, sure has a lot to say about how a surgeon should go about evaluating his patient. Apparently hanging out on the forum, and having a few hair surgeries makes one an "expert."
I think it is completely fair for a surgeon to ask for an inperson consultation. These same patients that bitch about this (pre op in person consult), will be the same ones that bitch post operatively if their surgery doesn't produce the results.
"Good surgeons know how to operate, better ones when to operate, and the best when not to operate."