My story (long):
7 months ago I had a transplant with Dr Rajan Bhojwani at Refine Surgical in Nottinghamshire, UK.
I decided that I wanted to fill in my hairline, so I Googled "hair transplant near me" and this clinic popped up. They had 5 star reviews on Google and Trustpilot, they had a "Good" CQC rating, they had photos on their Facebook page of Dr Bhojwani standing with Dr Basinga, Dr Farjo and Dr. Shahmalak and others at the 2023 BAHRS conference.
I paid for a consultation with the doctor. He said all the right things - about how he would avoid the "pluggy" look, place singles in the hairline, angle the hairs to create a natural look, manage the donor area for future requirements etc.. All the things I expected to hear. He even showed me some poor results from Turkish clinics to warn me what a bad transplant could look like. He explained about the shedding phase, the hair life cycle, recommended finasteride and minoxidil. Basically, he said all the right things and seemed very genuine. Based on this original consultation, I booked in for the operation with no worries at all, thinking I had got a great doctor.
I paid a fixed price for the day i.e. unlimited grafts for £2,500. He told me that 500 grafts would be enough to cover the area, but ended up putting in c.678. I didn't know at the time how inadequate this would be.
The operation was a lot longer than I expected. I had a "funny turn" in the morning after laying face down for approximately 3 hours for the extractions (the doctor suspected a reaction to the anaesthetic), so I took over an hour for lunch to recover. The implantation stage took approx 7 hours, from around 1.30 to 8.30. The anaesthetic kept wearing off towards the end so it was quite painful at times. The extractions were done by Dr Bhojwani, as were the incisions. Implantation was by the doctor and a technician. After surgery, my wife picked me up and drove me home where I fell straight asleep.
The next morning when I woke up I felt physically fine, but when I looked in the mirror there was heavy scabbing over the grafts and a big gap to my existing hairline that had literally nothing in it. The hairline was not neat, nor defined (I wouldn't even call it a hairline), nor did the rest of the work look dense. I emailed the surgery with my concerns and they told me:
"some grafts would have been feathered in and many grafts aren't always visible as blood does not represent where all the surgery have taken place".
I took him at his word. I didn't know any different.
On day 10, after taking the scabs off, I could see a clearer picture. There were gaps. Lots of gaps. I made a post on Reddit (link removed) and it was brutal. I was hoping for reassurance but got quite the opposite. Every single comment was shocked with the work. One comment asked if I'd had it done in an alleyway. Another asked if I'd done it myself at home. My favourite (worst?) comment was "My brudda in christ please and name and shame the spawn of satan who did this to you". After the first 10 or so comments I couldn't bring myself to read or reply to any more, I just deleted the account. I was really down and just didn't want to hear it.
I emailed the doctor the next day with my concerns. He told me:
"Please don't worry in this early period - if there is a gap it will be covered as it grows as the hair is styled, and as with all our patients - we want you to have the best results, so if you need any adjustments in the future to fill in areas that are deficient we will do this for you without charge."
This improved my mood. I decided to bury my head in the sand and wait it out - maybe it would turn out ok? Maybe this doctor knew something that I (and the Reddit community) didn't? Perhaps it would look ok when it grew in? Either way, there was nothing I could do about it now, other than wait for it to grow and see what it looked like. I convinced myself that even if it was not very dense, or the hairline was lacking, then at least a free top would correct it.
I saw the doctor again at 5 months. I had a little bit of growth coming through, but not much. He again said that it would grow through and that 5 months was still very early.
He said that as I still had redness in the scalp, this indicated that more hair was still to grow through. Again, I took him at his word, buried my head in the sand again and convinced myself it would thicken up. And if not, a free top up would sort me out, right?
I am now at 7 months and the pictures speak for themselves. I cannot bury my head any longer. The density (or rather, lack of) is no longer my biggest concern. I am more concerned about the non-existent hairline, the excessive use of multi grafts, and the poor angulation, all of which have only become apparent to me as it has started growing.
This is not a good result. Far from it. This is an awful result. Everything is wrong.
There were simply nowhere near enough grafts put in for the area covered, so the density is non existent
There is still a gap all around the edge to my old hairline. It is basically 2 triangles of hair stuck on my forehead
I cannot see a new hairline - there are hardly any grafts, and the grafts that are in the hairline that have now grown in are mostly thick hair and multi grafts. (No hair was taken from the sides of my head)
The transplanted areas are still red - I think I may have permanent damage
It is, quite simply, a disaster. The only good thing I can take from this is that he only took ~650 grafts. Everything else is just terrible.
I have now started to reach out to repair clinics.
Unsurprisingly, they all unanimously agree that this work is terrible (one surgeon told me that in 14 years he thought he had seen it all, but this changed his mind). I have to wait a few more months until anyone will take me on as a patient, so at this time I am just booking in for consultations. I have done my research and am hoping to be taken on by one of the following doctors:
Dr Reddy / Dr Mittal / Dr Bisanga / Dr Moussa / Dr Bicer / Dr Turan / Dr Bek / Dr Aygin
I have written to Dr Bhojwani to request my money back for his original surgery. I am awaiting his reply which is due within the next five days.
I am also considering taking legal action, but I am not sure how successful that would be, or if it is even worth the effort. I guess technically I have hair where I didn't before, so one could argue it was successful. It is undoubtedly a poor job, but there is some hair there, so it could technically be classed as a success (if you ignore the fact it grows in the wrong direction, is full of multi grafts and is more scalp than hair!).
I am hoping that a reputable surgeon can just fill in the gaps, but I have been advised by some of the clinics that I have contacted that to repair this will require at least 2 surgery sessions; one to punch out the grafts he has placed, and a second to basically start again. If this is the case with all doctors, then I will be considering trying to reclaim this cost through Dr Bohjwani. I am unsure how realistic this would be.
I am scheduled to meet him again at month 10, but I don't see the point. I suspect he will argue that final results take 12 months. I have not had a reply to my complaint and refund request as yet, but I really don't see any way in which he could claim this to be a good result. Nobody that I have spoken to so far sees anything other than a mess. I am hoping he does the right thing and offers a full refund.
One thing is for certain - there is no way I will be letting him perform another surgery on me.
So, in conclusion, to those who have read this far, my advice to you:
There is no substitute for real verified reviews.
Do not rely on Google / Trustpilot / Facebook.
Ask to see examples of previous work.
Don't make the mistakes I have made, or you will end up worse off a year down the line.
I will update again when I have a repair surgeon booked.
