catch22

I don't really understand why people say it's impossible for the patient to know the graft count.

 

When I had my surgery Dr. Hasson handed me this click counter that registers 1 count every time you click it. He had me click it once every 100 incisions. Every time he made an incision I could both hear a crunch as well as feel a distinct pressure; he would count the number out loud as well.

 

I was very awake and very aware of everything going on around me the entire time, and it was great for Dr. Hasson to get me to participate in this way. The only way that I could possibly have been decieved on the # of grafts received would be if he made a bunch of incisions that no grafts were placed within later.

 

I also took hi res close-ups of my recipient area that night at the hotel, and then blew them up on the computer later on at home. I could clearly see that there were no empty holes, all the holes had hairs protruding. Had there been alot of empty holes with no hairs they would have been clearly visible.

 

After experiencing my surgery this way I would not choose to have a HT again with any clinic that does not provide the counter and simply expects you to trust the doctor on graft count!

I think what the doctor did for you is great, which leads me to ask why don't doctors do this for all people, given the price of a clicker?

Not everyone has good computer skills to blow up images.

I still don't like the 'just trust the doctor' answers, but I do appreciate that if I'm to find a good surgeon who I can have faith in to do a good job, will be by talking out my concerns on this forum. Thanks.

It really is hard thing for the patient to know exactly how many grafts they received. Especially if the hairline was done because the single hair follicular unit grafts are usually packed so closely that it would be impossible to count. Also sometimes physicians choose to put more than one follicular unit graft in a single recipient site. You have to trust the doctor and ask them for a break down of follicular unit grafts.

Thank you for your reply.

You say 'you have to trust the doctor' and I understand why you would say this. However, having trusted cosmetic surgery 3 times, with bad results my trust is running thin. Even asking for a breakdown of follicular unit grafts, does not reassure me as a layperson (and skeptic) that I will get what I paid for. I know how they measure and calculate, but how do I know that the amount charged for per graft is what I will get?

I would like to ask a simple question.

When a hair specialist says (for example); "you need 2000 grafts".....given the cost of the grafts, how do we know for sure that 2,000 grafts have been placed and not 1,500?

How do I know for sure?