BHT Costs?!!!

[Davis91]

Hi folks,

 

 

Can anyone explain or comment on BHT costs. BHT transplant seems to be one of the quickest growing segments and in addition to folks like Bisanga, Umar, and a few others I noted Shapiro medical is now in the game. What astonishes me are the costs involved. I beleve Janna from Shapiro medical quoted $8 per graft, but I have been quoted by others up to $12 per graft...I have seen others advertized at$10 per graft, etc. etc.

 

It seems there are more questions than not on yield, cosmetic effect, etc.. Take Dr. Umar--some of this patients are in the 10,000-20,000 BHT graft range. Even if a substantial reduction was given, say to $5 per graft, we are talking anywhere from $50,000-$100,000 for this work? Is this correct?

 

 

Is it just the time involved? Or the specialization? We have a situation where the average body hair is a fraction of the diameter of real head hair, dodgy yield, yet high costs. How can BHT be mainstreamed for people to afford it? Thanks.

[moopookoo]

It shd be cheaper than normal fue since yield is lower according to some..or maybe its not yield that is problem with BHT(chest/leg) but some 40-50% of BH is in resting/non growing phase at any time, so it appears that yield is lower,

so basically 20000 BH grafts shd look like 10 000 FUE head grafts

 

I dont know abt beard hair resting phase but many Drs seem to use it these days

 

Why BHt is more expensive is beyond me, i would think its easier to extract Bh since its less denser

[Blake Bloxham]

Davis,

 

It's more expensive, but it's also usually a repair therapy and not a first-line treatment for those with adequate donor supply.

 

Is there a reason why you're researching the procedure? If you have the donor supply, traditional FUE is much more economical and effective.

[HARIRI]

BHT isnt done by many surgeons, it requires extreme talent. So far its more common in Europe, Dr. Lorenzo from Spain does it for EURO 6 per graft, Bisanga does it for EURO 5. In USA maybe only Dr. Umar does it for $8 and Dr. Shapiro lately for same amount as well I guess. Not sure. But I would say the best two for BHT are Bisanga and Umar, they are true believers in it. I find it as the perfect solution for scars. Follow up closely EJ's results, he is a great example of beard hair into scar.

[NEWHAIRPLEASE]

As Blake said, I certainly wouldn't use it for a first line defense!!! I'm sure it has it's place, however, I dont think it comes close to FUT or FUE.

[Jotronic]

If someone is charging "x" dollars for a single BHT graft that cost increases when you factor and average in the number of grafts that survive in the end. For arguments sake, take an 8.00 BHT graft and if you get a 50% yield for your procedure you just paid 16.00 for that same graft. Beard hair does appear to be hardier than other types of BHT so they would give the most beneficial ROI. As always, any type of BHT should be for last resort purposes only.

[moopookoo]

Dr Mwamba uses bh,

HLC in Turkey charges 3 Euros..anyone had HT with these clinics?

[orangehair]

The BHT approach can actually be quite successful, particularly when using beard hair as a resource and the beard zone heals extremely well.....the yield with body hair (chest reference) tends to be a bit more hit or miss. given the nature of body and beard hair, we tend to allocate these hairs for fill in and not hairline edge work. Nape hair beyond the traditional donor area if applicable may be the best of the "BHT" options for hairline. Of course, BHT again is a secondary resource and should be used in selective cases, such as a revision patient whose head donor area is depleted. BHT is very laborious, detailed work and cost per graft is typically in line with standard FUE sessions. OH

[Davis91]

Thanks. I was not looking at BHT as a first line defense, but I do recognize that I need to reserve my donor as much as possible and my HT seems to have left the crown a little bare despite throwing what was a reasonable amount of grafts into it (2700 over 60CM2--wavy hair too). I am reluctant to commit many more grafts to filling it as I believe NW6 may be in the future, and I was thinking about a limited BHT attempt to shrink a 15-20CM2 area just a bit. Also interested in it for scar repair in the future.

 

But while researching, I still can't believe some of the Umar patients have thrown 10,000-20,000 BHT into the fray...the costs....my gosh. I get the special work required to harvest body hair, but the ROI as Joe says....so much cash....!

[moopookoo]

2700 grafts on the crown and still bare? you got 45 grafts per cm2 transplanted, it could be that not all of them are growing, high transection rate

 

20 000 grafts with Umar is abt 140 k, even with some discount its still lot of money and big question apart from price is how many grafts survived

 

There is an interesting theread abr BHT when Dr True was experiminting back in 2006.

 

http://www.hairrestorationnetwork.com/eve/151702-body-hair-transplantation-bht-presentation-dr-bob-true.html

 

 

I thought Dr True has given up on BH but its good to see he is offering it.

 

Orange hair

Any new findings/progress over the last 6 years since you started researching BHT?

What yield do you get with chest /beard hair? Is consistency an issue if patient is 'right' candidate(hairy gorilla)

[Davis91]

Sorry, not bare, but not reasonably dense. It seems the doctor focused the heart of the grafts at the front near the mid scalp and sides near occip. regions, more "shrinking" the corwn total area. May or may not have been the right approach. I saw him recently and he said it looks like most of the grafts grew. Unless he is not telling me the truth, but he is considered a super, super-elite doctor by this forum.

[moopookoo]

You can name the doc, no secrets here

 

2700 grafts over 60 cm2 shd give you gd density IF all grafts grew

[Davis91]

I will be putting up my webthingy/results soon here (around 10 months--at 9 months now) and then the doc will be revealed.