Surgery: only for the weathy??

[thunderball]

Are all of the post surgery forum members in the upper 15% of the income strata?

 

After gobs of research, I fail to see how the working class or the middle class afford hair restoration via surgery. Are there that many rich folk posting here? :confused:

 

Consultations with the Bosley people in New York and a private surgeon in Ontario reveal that my baldness would take appox 4000 grafts at five bucks per. That's a staggeringly amount of $$. :eek: I make ten bucks an hour.

[fightingbaldness]

Your right it is a costly affair. Im also not earning a great amount of money but definately considering a HT by way of getting a loan and financing with credit cards. I would obviously make sure i can keep up with the payments before doing it, but i dont think you can put a price on the happiness , peace of mind and potentially life changing thing a HT can bring you!

[creepingback]

I don't make a lot of money but still financed my hair restoration 3 years ago.. Don't do it!!! if you cant afford to repair, as I cant...Stop! I am sure if I had the money to continued I would be more comfortable with my own results but I cant. I wish I just shaved my head ,even though I don't have the best head for it..I no longer have that choice. Just regrets.

[mahhong]

Unfortunately hair transplant is a relatively costly procedure. Most cosmetic procedures, however, are costly. I don't think hair transplants are ridiculously expensive but I do understand the frustrations people have about the sacrifices they have to make to get one.

 

To put things in perspective, however, you could probably get one or two really good hair transplants from a reputable surgeon for the price of a fairly average car. If you smoke you could probably finance your HT on the savings you made if you quit. I guess it's about priorities and sacrifices. If you really want a HT you have to be comfortable with not having some other pleasures.

 

Whilst I sympathise with creepingback I wouldn't share his total objection to hair transplantation. It's incredibly unlikely you'd need repair work if you spent a little extra cash and went with a reputable coalition surgeon (and discussed your ambitions in detail). It is, however, likely you'd need more than one surgery in the long term to meet your goals, so that needs to be considered. Research and planning are the key to making the most of your money however. You need to find the best surgeon, come up with the best plan and have the most realistic ambitions to realise your hopes.

 

Cost should never be the main factor in your decision but there are coalition doctors who are well recommended that charge rates that may be more favourable to your financial situation. The unfortunate fact of the matter is, though, that HTs are always going to cost money and if you try and find the discounted places then you'll really come to regret it!

 

My advice is to just keep saving and keep researching. Over the next few months you'll probably find some options that seem a little more affordable and you might be able to accumulate some savings. If you can finance the rest on CCs or loans (sensibly) then it just comes down to whether you want to part with the cash.

[thunderball]

Transplants tales bandied about here discuss graphs (sp?) ranging from four to eight bucks per. Say $5.00 per in my case. With me requiring at least four thousand, that's a whopping twenty grand. Name a bank that will loan even half that amount to someone at my income level.

 

Credit cards? Put 15K on a card with 14-17% interest along with a loan for five grand? How long to pay off at ten bucks an hour. Tell me, please!, that the vast majority of those that got surgery didn't pay that way!

My point is this is a forum for the nouveau riche.

[TC17]

If you're making $10 per hour, I don't see how you can afford a hair transplant. Hair transplantation is FAR more expensive than other forms of plastic surgery, and unlike breast augmentation, rhinoplasty, etc., for most people the first surgery is not the last surgery. Only get the surgery if you're certain that you can afford it now, and can afford what may be required in the future.

 

If you can scrimp and save for a number of years then you might be able to consider it, but unless you see a major raise in your future, I'd forget all about hair transplantation.

[phil mascallpen]

My point is this is a forum for the nouveau riche.

 

 

I feel for you thunderball so I'll give you a serious answer. Coming up with 20 grand hardly means you are the nouveau rich. Yes, it's a lot of money. But $10 an hour puts you squarely in the lower income bracket. It's not like you're knocking on the middle class door and this is still out of reach.

 

At $10 an hour after taxes you're not even bringing home 20 grand a year. Find a better job, go back to school, do whatever it takes to improve your economic situation and then, maybe, think about getting an HT. An HT can be a good thing but it can also be a disaster. If you're not financially prepared for more surgery and a lifelong proscar prescription you shouldn't even be considering it.

[wb280]

i totally agree with mahhong while HTs are defn not cheap, they are not incredulously expensive either. I gather that the emotional set back of losing hair outweighs the joy of maybe owning a higher spec car or along the likes of that. Of cos, that is only my opinion!

 

Next, its also abt expectations. Look, hair gone is gone. Unless u r a NW 1 ( in which prob a gd surgeon would advise u to wait anyway ), its v v hard to get back the kind of density u sprout in ur youth. Hence, if u are in a NW 3 and beyond with fine hair ( which is my case ), u can forget about getting that Brad Pitt-look alike hair u dream of. Its just to implant enough to have an illusion that u are not balding, thats all. If u cannot come to terms with that, HT is not the way for u either as u will nvr be satisfied

[Blake Bloxham]

Thunderball,

 

I'm sorry that you feel this forum (and hair transplantation in general) is reserved for only the rich. In my personal opinion, it's actually a fairly affordable procedure when compared to the pricing of normal cosmetic operations (facelifts from world-class surgeons can cost upward of $20,000). The point of the hair loss forums is patient education and creating an environment where individuals can research, share stories, gain support, and make informed hair restoration decisions. If you have any suggestions for making the forums more user friendly, or creating a more welcoming atmosphere, please let me know! Thanks.

[TakingThePlunge]

Thunderball,

 

I'm far from wealthy but I guess being single with no kids helps me divert my funds where I choose. That said, I still haven't paid for either of my hair transplants. They are just digits on a credit card statement.

 

My former fiancee was trying to squeeze a $15,000 ring out of me so after we split I considered myself in the black!

 

About three years ago I had corrective jaw surgery after three years of braces. The combined total for all of that cost more than my transplants although, to be fair, a small portion of that was covered by insurance.

 

Fortunately for me, I've come full circle. My transplants led to me being hired by the Hair Transplant Network which, in turn, is going to help me pay for my transplant!

 

How cool is that?

[mahhong]

Transplants tales bandied about here discuss graphs (sp?) ranging from four to eight bucks per. Say $5.00 per in my case. With me requiring at least four thousand, that's a whopping twenty grand. Name a bank that will loan even half that amount to someone at my income level.

 

Credit cards? Put 15K on a card with 14-17% interest along with a loan for five grand? How long to pay off at ten bucks an hour. Tell me, please!, that the vast majority of those that got surgery didn't pay that way!

My point is this is a forum for the nouveau riche.

 

I think you are getting serious replies. I'm from the UK so, in fairness, I don't know really know how salaries compare between the US and the UK, but $10 an hour would equate to about minimum wage over here, which is the lowest any adult can expect to earn per hour.

 

As somebody suggested, the only thing you can really do is get a better job (and I know it's not that easy, but that's the hard fact unfortunately). But you don't need to be rich to get a HT. $20k, whilst being a lot of money, is not a rich man's amount. A lot of people considered working class or middle class find $20k to buy cars, refurbish houses etc. What I'm saying is that not everybody on this forum is rich, far from it. But if $10 an hour is not enough to consider a transplant then you have to find a way of getting more money somehow. Could you work a second job? Get a new job? Do you have anything to sell?

 

A lot of people finance their HTs by making serious commitments financially in the form of loans, savings and reducing their spending. It's a delusion to imagine everybody on this forum is driving a $50,000 car and spending their weekends at the yacht club. Most people here have just worked hard and resigned themselves to using up their money on a HT. They may be earning more than $10 an hour, but you'll probably find a lot of people are not that much better off than you.

[Dr. William Lindsey]

All luxury items do have a cost. That is only part of what makes them a luxury rather than a staple...

 

But like all luxury items you can kind of tailor your costs. For example, maybe do a little smaller case to deal with the front rather than a megasession...

 

LOTS of studies in the facial plastic world show that if you have to pay for anything, for years, that your satisfaction goes down. My advice is to pay what you can when you are able. If that means delaying things a bit, but have a better financial situation, then delay it until you can afford it better.

 

Lastly, some docs, like me, will occasionally give a discount to take a date that hasn't filled or to be "on call" in case of a cancellation. As I tell patients, NEVER do surgery for a discount; but if you are going to do surgery, and you are flexible on dates...then why not get a discount if possible.

 

Dr. Lindsey McLean VA

[phil mascallpen]

maybe do a little smaller case to deal with the front rather than a megasession...

Dr. Lindsey McLean VA

 

I strongly disagree with this suggestion. One never knows if/when hair-loss will accelerate. Doing a small session (because of economics) will give minimal real change and will only put one at the risk of not having the means to continue if the hair behind the HT recedes.

 

As for the reference that HT is a luxury and not a staple that is one of the best comments on this subject so far Dr. Lindsey.

[Megatron]

firstly, you can find coalition docs in the areas you already searched costing far less than $5 per graft. next, yes HT are very expensive IMO. are they worth it? I guess that's up to the individual to decide. looking back years from now I doubt I'll think much about that $ I spent, but instead enjoy the reflection in the mirror that I see every day (fingers crossed).

[thunderball]

At $10 an hour after taxes you're not even bringing home 20 grand a year. Find a better job, go back to school, do whatever it takes to improve your economic situation and then, maybe, think about getting an HT. An HT can be a good thing but it can also be a disaster. If you're not financially prepared for more surgery t.

 

 

So I went back to school and earned a BA (seven yrs of part-time) Now I make ten an hour, not eight! Ta-da! We've middle aged people with masters degrees doing substitute work at the local school for seventy bucks a day & no benefits.

Just the tab for one of the Big Three I find excessive.:mad: (And I assume they work best on someone in an earlier stage of hair loss...)

What a depressing post! I would drink myself blind if I could afford it.

[thunderball]

The last post had my moniker in the title slot. A newbie mistake...

[thunderball]

I think you are getting serious replies. I'm from the UK so, in fairness, I don't know really know how salaries compare between the US and the UK, but $10 an hour would equate to about minimum wage over here, which is the lowest any adult can expect to earn per hour.

 

But if $10 an hour is not enough to consider a transplant then you have to find a way of getting more money somehow. Could you work a second job? Get a new job? Do you have anything to sell?

 

.

$10/hour converts to appox 8.2 Euros. 'Second job'? Believe me, anyone mired in this Dickensian income strata has long since taken a second job. (Both are not much cop) 'Anything to sell?' Only my bitter anglophobic wit.

[Dr. William Lindsey]

Phil

 

I wanted to address the "do a smaller case" comment. As many readers and people who see me in the office know, I am pretty blunt or upfront or honest (the choice of adjective may vary) about what hair surgery can and can't do for the patient. And I ALWAYS discuss what I think are the 3 mistakes of the consumer: 1. too little hair on too much bald head (a class 7 will not get a class one result but possibly end up like a chia pet unless one particular area is addressed) 2. bad scar contributed to by surgical technique 3. hairline too low--particularly among 25 year olds who want to look 25...but who will look goofy with that same hairline at 45...

 

As long as one plans for the future and doesn't do something that violates planning for future loss or future surgery, I don't have a problem with an educated consumer opting for a smaller case. This example may lend clarity.

 

We had a 35 year old recently who needed 2200-2500 up front and then had a pretty nice patch of existing hair (but which will likely go due to his strong family history) and then he had a tennis ball sized crown area that in my opinion needed at least 1000 and more likely 1500 doubles/triples.

 

So options include: do nothing, medical therapy, camouflage/wigs, and surgery. Surgical options include: small crown case for 6-7k, medium size frontal case for 8k, big combo case of 3500+grafts for 12k

 

He wanted the latter but was concerned about money. I personally was more concerned that he ought to save hair, more than money, to address that middle section that while currently ok, is likely to go at some point. So we ended up doing around 2400 up front. I expect him to be happy with that decision and the eventual result; and I expect him to remember that when he needs additional work whether its next year or in 10 years. Plus, at 35, he is not old but a crown area is not terrible for him.

 

Dr. Lindsey McLean VA

[Sparky]

HT surgery is stupidly expensive, dunno why it costs so much. Probably because bald men are so desperate HT docs can charge what they like.

[Sparky]

No one deserves to make 6k in a day, I dont care how long they were in school for. My repair work has landed me in debt that I can handle, but its a struggle.

[phil mascallpen]

Thanks for the clarification Dr. Lindsey. My only concern was that the OP, who seems to be struggling financially, might take that suggestion only at face value and find himself behind the eight ball after a small surgery.

 

Sparky I agree that some HT clinics take advantage of the desperation of some patients (particularly younger patients where the initial stress of hairloss is great). But the ethical clinics, who sadly are in the minority, do not and in that situation the patient does have to realize that elective cosmetic surgery is, as Dr. Lindsey pointed out, a luxury.

[aw33]

You have 2 choices. You can go back to school, earn a decent degree and then earn more as a result. Or you can save up at your current rate.

 

I don't think it is fair to mention the cost for an HT as being $20k, because the cost depends on the clinic and the degree of loss you have. Some of the best clinics (Rahal/H & W) offer just about 5000 grafts for $20k. 5000 grafts is A LOT of grafts, well-above normal and it usually involves NW4-6 patients. So please don't make it seem as $20k is the norm, because it isn't.

[Sparky]

When I was 1st seeking repair I got quoted $12,000 just to remove 400 grafts and they were mostly singles, so it wasnt going to be much more difficult than basic fue. I think all of the clinics are charging too much, but as they all do it, theres no choice but to pay it.

 

Some of the clinics that are doing 5k grafts in a single session are earning as much for that as you would pay for a good European sports car. If a clinic is doing a $20k op they are earning half of what my wife earns in a year for one days work and shes a scientist with a PHD!

[TC17]

I don't think likening a $20,000 car to a $20,000 hair transplant is at all logical. As Dr. Lindsey said, a hair transplant is a luxury item, whereas a car is, for most people anyway, a necessity.

 

For the person without disposable income, it's an either or choice. Either they put their limited money towards a car, or they put their limited money towards a hair transplant. A hair transplant isn't going to get them to work, it's not going to allow them to go grocery shopping, take the kids to school, travel for leisure, etc. Now if the choice is between a BMW and a Malibu, then you can apply the difference and get the hair transplant.

 

Hair transplantation is very expensive. If you have to take out loans, max out a credit card, or forgo necessities to pay for it, then I don't think it's prudent to undergo one. Also, if paying for one completely depletes your savings, where are you if something happens that requires immediate cash? What if your car breaks down? What if you get sick? What if you get charged with a criminal offense and you have to hire an attorney? (for a felony, you're probably looking at $10k if it goes to trial)

[Blake Bloxham]

Guys,

 

I just wanted to throw in a quick word about costs or how much specific doctors charge:

 

Although there may be some clinics out there who overcharge for the procedure or take advantage of patients, our recommended physicians are ethical transplant surgeons, and, in my opinion, do not partake in these practices. I understand that costs can be significant and I wish any member who is working hard to finance or pay off a hair transplant surgery the best of luck!