How Do I Know For Sure

[catch22]

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?

[Dr. Glenn Charles]

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.

[catch22]

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?

[hairthere]

I would be less concerned with the actual graft count and more concerned with the actual results. There's really no way to count on your own, so you're just going to have to have faith in your doc. One way to sure up your odds of getting a great result is by choosing a doc that shows countless stunning results....start by finding one on this forum.

[BillyJ]

Well said Hairthere! Catch22 I was a sceptic over a year ago when I first began my research. The key simply is to research thoroughly; you cannot eradicate completely the risk factor but you can substantially mitigate the impact. Ultimately, I had confidence in the surgeon I chose but I still had to wait and see if my faith was justified - i'm happy to say that it was.

 

One last thing, in my opinion, you certainly found the right forum to take things forward.

 

 

Best of luck.

 

Bill

[Garageland]

Both Dr Hasson and Dr Wong encourage you to count the number of recipient incisions they make by clicking a clicker every time they get to 100, helps you track the number of grafts you have had and helps the doctors keep track too.

[hairthere]

Garageland, That's a nice idea, but honestly with 3200 grafts there was no way I was gonna help keep track...I just put my faith in Dr. F, lol!

[EpilepticSceptic]

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!

Edited March 4, 2011 by EpilepticSceptic

[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.

[hairthere]

I think every HT clinic, good or bad, wants their patients to have excellent results. So I don't really know what's to be gained by ripping patients off when it comes to actual graft counts. I suppose they could charge you more money, but that's just unethical and bad business practice. For me personally, I just wanted to lay there, zone out, and not think about what was actually going on back and up there. And if I felt Dr. Feller was the type of person who would rip me off for grafts then I would not entrust him to restore my hair.

[skepticalguy]

the clicker is good for the patient and the doctor, i imagine it would be real easy to lose count at any time in counting out thousands of grafts, a simple interruption, or distraction could leave the doctor not knowing how many incisions he has done thus far, thus not knowing how many incisions have been made at the end of it all, which would make it hard to match up with the amount of grafts.