HT quote

[Hawthorne]

Hi, I'm new to this great site - have been lurking for a few months. I have a question about a quote I've been given by a doctor for a HT of 1300 grafts (strip method). I've been quoted $8500. Does that sound reasonable? I did use the search feature to see what's been said about cost before, but since most of the discussions I saw were in 2006, I thought maybe costs have changed since then. Thanks for your help.

[the B spot]

It does not sound reasonable for strip surgery.... at least compared to Shapiro Medical.

 

1300 grafts would be 6500.00-- which is about the same for all the top strip clinics.

 

Who did you receive your quote from?

 

BTW-- there is nothing wrong with paying more than other clinics charge, but ONLY IF you have done extensive research and determined a particular doctor is the BEST choice for you-- after that price should be secondary.

 

I think if you start checking the top clinics, you will find it hard to justify spending extra money when world class results can be had for much less.

 

Good Luck!

Jason

[Hawthorne]

The quote is from Dr. Griffin in Atlanta. He's a coalition member. I did do a good amount of research on procedures and doctors. I haven't found anything but good comments about Dr. Griffin's work. Perhaps he is worth the premium. I'm a little concerned if his rate is a lot higher than other doctors with equally good reputations, though.

[hairthere]

Never heard of him. He might be a fine doc, but honestly there are only a handful of ht surgeons considered to be doing the best work. Top docs, imo, are: feller, alexander, h&w, armani, shapiro, rahal, wolf, cole. anyone else is a bit of a gamble. Most reasonably priced of these top docs are probably feller and rahal. and you will get far more grafts for your money than griffin quoted you....

[hairthere]

P.S. If you're unsure if that's a reasonable price quote, then you NEED to do a heck of a lot more research into HTs. Please do not make any hasty decisions. Best of Luck!

[NervousNelly]

Hawthorne,

 

You have had some good advice. Yes, Dr. Griffin is a Coalition physician and I believe that if you go there you'll be happy with results. Personally however, I have not seen enough of his work to endorse him to anyone. In my opinion, these docs might be a Coalition physician but they are doing themselves an injustice if they don't post results themselves or try to recommend to their patients to do so. Here he is a Coalition doc and a frequent poster like myself will not recommend you see him.

 

The dollar amount is too high. It is worth your while to definitely travel at that discrepancy in money. Do yourself a favor and at the very least do online consults with Dr. Feller, Rahal, H&W, Alexander, True, Shapiro to name a few. I have a Coalition clinic 45 minutes from my home and I travelled. I'm sorry, but it's my head and appearance and I'm not going to someone who is good. I went to whom I thought was among the best. Some of the other docs could be secret gems that do demand a premium. I'll let others figure that out. I want someone proven and where results are readily accessible.

[Bill - Seemiller]

Hawthorne,

 

Though price should be your last consideration when choosing a hair transplant physician, certainly cost is to be considered once you are narrowing it down between a number of excellent hair restoration physicians.

 

Dr. Griffin does high quality work but admittedly his quote for 1300 grafts is a bit higher than the average.

 

You may also want to consider consulting with some other somewhat local coalition physicians as well for comparison:

 

Dr. Charles of FL

Dr. Epstein of FL

Dr. Rose of FL

Dr. Nusbam of FL

Dr. Cooley of NC

 

Best wishes,

 

Bill

[wylie]

Originally posted by hairthere:

Never heard of him. He might be a fine doc, but honestly there are only a handful of ht surgeons considered to be doing the best work. Top docs, imo, are: feller, alexander, h&w, armani, shapiro, rahal, wolf, cole. anyone else is a bit of a gamble. ....

 

That is open to debate, indeed, there are many other fine surgeons not included that are not a "gamble" and one you included who could perhaps be considered a "gamble", based on his practices on young guys.

 

As far as the price, you should ask the doctor if the rate changes for his prices after a certain amount of grafts have been done, it seems like I read somewhere that is what happens with certain clinics.

 

$8500.00 is a bit more than some may charge, but what is most important is finding the right surgeon who you feel will do the best work for you, and if that is this doctor, I'd personally rather pay the extra for him in that case.

 

Just make sure you get lots of other opinions and discuss this with lots of other doctors.

[Hawthorne]

Thanks for the advice everyone. This site is a real blessing. Dr. Griffin's prices could reflect supply and demand in the Atlanta area. There's quite a lot of money in Atlanta and not a lot of quality HT doctors. I will ask him why his prices are higher than others and will get more opinions. I was hoping to have the work done next month, but I can see I am being too hasty. It would be great to have the work done locally, but convenience probably shouldn't be a factor.

[hairthere]

hawthorne/wylie, as i stated, that's just my opinion on who top docs are. i'm sure others will disagree.

 

also, try and see as many patients in person as you can. people do travel far and wide for a good ht (many guys fly to the states or canada from europe because of lack of good docs there). also, many docs will pay for half your airfare plus some time in the hotel. oh, and you'll also find that some docs are flexible on their pricing, so don't be afraid to haggle.

[Al - Moderator]

You can try telling Dr. Griffin something like this:

 

There are a few other really good doctors farther away that will do 1300 grafts for $6500. I'd rather have it done locally for convenience, but a $2000 difference is a lot. If you can split the difference and do it for $7500 then it's worth it for me to stay near my house.

 

You never know. He may give you a nice discount to get you as a patient rather than lose you to someone else. It all depends on how much business he has.

 

You can also ask if they have a short notice discount. What happens then is if someone cancels at the last minute they call you up and tell you they have an opening available tomorrow because someone cancelled. You get a big discount for coming in on short notice. Otherwise they would have made $0 on that day. Some places do that and some don't. The drawback is don't really know when your appointment is until a day to a week or 2 ahead of time.