Doctors

[Mahair]

Are there any doctors who will petition for regulations regarding standard of care to be inposed on the hair transplant industry as a whole.As it is known that the effects of having some Doctors take advantage of the fact that it is not are causing many people great harm. The overselling of grafts to the unsuspecting and using outdated proceedures is unethical at the least. Moreover the trust many have in Doctors as a whole is compromised. Someone should stand up and take the initiative to bring this forward. People are being harmed by the unscrupulous methods of your peers.Might there be some amongst you that would be willing to make sure that ethics are not overlooked for the sake of money.

Or at least that no harm is done for the sake of money.Most outsiders are unsuspecting of the Harm they are going to encounter as a result of there being a lack of regulation and presume there best interests are being taken into account only to find they were not.

[Originalwit]

Personally, I am tired of reading your generalized, negative posts. You are creating unsupported fear and apprehension for new readers looking for objective, decision making information. Too, you are doing this without supporting any of your maligning remarks: Post your photos of this alleged hack procedure that has caused you all of this depressing trauma.

 

Your experience is only subjective and anecdotal without objective supporting evidence and a significant pool of similar examples from others.

 

Regulations? Give us an outline of what you're talking about--explaining also how we address the issues of patient subjectivity, expectations and vanity vs. reality concerning aesthetic surgery.

 

I am neither invalidating your situation, nor denying that there exist questionable ethics and protocol in some areas concerning hair transplants. I am saying to present clear, objective evidence and suggestions: Without it, your story is nothing more than a demagogic, emotional rant.

 

f we post objectively here, the market will run substandard, unethical people out of business.

 

The good news for all of you new readers concerning hair transplants is this: Regardless of Mahair's post, there are great hair transplants being done by great doctors--do your research.

 

OriginalWit

[arfy]

Originalwit

I would also be curious to see Mahair's photos, but I disagree with other parts of your post.

 

For example, I don't think it is the responsibility of the patients to think up the solutions to problems in the hair transplant "industry". This fellow does not have to offer contructive solutions, in order to write about his negative experience. The patients have no power right now, except in that we can "vote with our dollars". The doctors are the ones with the power to make changes. If anything is going to change, doctors need to step up and get involved in making changes, rather than turn their heads and pretend they are unaware of glaring problems in their field. Unfortunately, I get the impression that some doctors think that bad results are no big deal, or not enough of a problem to risk rocking the boat.

 

Negative experiences are just as valid as positive ones, and these stories need to be told. It's not enough just to tell new patients to be careful, they need to hear from people who have actually had to try to pick up the pieces, after a doctor has damaged them.<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR> If we post objectively here, the market will run substandard, unethical people out of business.

 

I like this idea, but I don't know if it is really all that realistic. Since a lot of the bad clinics are advertising on TV, they are appealing to people who know nothing about HT. I don't think there is any way for the marketplace to correct itself and eliminate the bad doctors who have the ability to mass-market HT.

 

The only way this could happen was if there were ongoing national news stories warning patients about bad HT.

 

[This message was edited by arfy on October 19, 2003 at 07:55 PM.]

[Originalwit]

Patients do have all the power right now. First--and the most important--we have the power of choice, of saying no to hair transplants. Without customers, businesses close doors. Second, we have the power of litigation. Third, we have the power of analytical thought, research, and knowledge. So--Arfy--what power do you think we lack?

 

I am simply saying this: If we are going to post our experiences here, lets post some evidence. I say blue; what do you see: Dark blue? Light Blue? Royal blue? Navy Blue? See my point? Remove as much subjectivity and emotion out of the equation as we can. Let the jury of people who come in here decide. One mans garbage is another mans gold. Yes, it's difficult, I know.

 

I do agree that all stories need to be told--but responsibly told, not with some empty, emotional, generalizing rant; Wouldn't you agree?

 

Yes, doctors do have a responsibility to raise the bar and I think we see plenty of evidence on this post about top doctors who continuously demonstrate good protocol and ethics, who continually stay on top of the curve for improvement.

 

Do I think this board is the silver bullet that is going to change the hair transplant world? No-not entirely, but it is a major component, considering the increasing percentage of people using the Internet to research before buying.

 

Concerning my HT, this board certainly cost two, well marketed hair mills business. The most compelling influence for me, was Jotronic and Futzy's webpage--along with other before and after photos on other sites--great documentation. Yes, there was a lot of subjectivity concerning their own perception of results, but there was also a high degree of objectivity for me to view, allowing me to arrive at my own conclusions.

 

Arfy, I certainly agree with a lot of your post. I, however, just feel we need to be responsible if our motivation is indeed to help our fellow Norwoods to make a sound decision. I was just tired of reading Mahair's maligning posts with no real proof of what he is talking about.

 

OriginalWit

[NC30]

This is just my two cents but.....

 

I think the subjective and emotional slants to posts are essential to the success of this message board. The large majority of men or women who come to this message board to gain information/knowledge of HT's come for their own subjective/emotional reasons---- they dont like their balding/bald scalps and wish to do something about it. They dont come to a scientific/objective decision an HT will increase the number of hairs on their head and prevent sunburn or skin cancer,etc.....they don't like the way they look and wish to change how they feel.

 

The objective side is certainly important as well, but people searching this message board need to be aware of the potential life shattering outcomes of a poor HT. I agree with a different thread on this board where Mahair needs to gain some perspective and move on, but if he needs this board as an emotional outlet from time to time then he can feel free as far as I'm concerned.

[Originalwit]

I agree--subjectivity and emotion have their place, but it also opens the door to a high degree of inaccuracy. That's why I say post proof too -- letting others decide how it applies to their own subjective opinion.

 

Also, I am not referring to the subjective reason people use to get a HT, everyone has different reasons. I am referring to the ability to gain as much accurate and objective information about a HT as reasonably possible.

 

OriginalWit

[Mahair]

I admit that I did not do the research that I think would have saved me from getting a transplant.I was very active and not on the computer much before this happened. I was not aware that I needed to be so cautious of the feild and went to what I thought to be a qualified physician who would evaluate my hairloss and make the appropriate diagnosis of my situation.I did have recession in my left temple and thinning to the front behind my hairline I was concerned and anxious about it so I thought that I was doing the right thing by seeing a Doctor who specialised in hair about it.I did not know I was going to be sold what couln't possible even duplicate what I already had or had the potential of making it worse and unnatural. Instead I was told that I was a great candidate and would get great results because of that.Also that this was a one time expense that would take care of it and there were no complications or problems. I went on faith that the Doctor knew his business and did as he reccomended.I do not have the equiptment to post pictures and have been struggling to keep myself from falling deeper in debt. I have incured alot of medical bills that I cannot pay and am having a hard time motivating myself to do what I need to just to survive. I still have some hair from where the grafts were placed into and if I had been bald there it would appear that I have some hair but it is what was my own and far less than I had before with bumps and discoloration of my scalp .The grafts that have grown , in front of were my hairline was are pluggy and unatural.I have plucked some of the hairs in desperation in an attempt to make it better but to no avail the hair on the sides of my head is thinning out and my scalp is dry and flaking. I do not mean to go on about this but I am devistated .