More and more posters hell-bent on going to non-recommended surgeons?

[hsrp10]

just a vent, ignore if you want

 

Just seems to me that there are more and more people here these days who ask for advice and then end up going with a non-recommended surgeon simply for lower price or closer location.

 

I just really don't understand the logic of it and hope the forum can continue to serve the role it was meant to, which is to help guide folks to the better docs out there for the best results possible, and avoid the pitfalls of HT's

[chrisdav]

I couldn't agree more Hrsp10. A recurring theme is large cheap FUE.

[Rootz]

Yeah I've noticed a little swell of posters latley doing this. I also can't relate to the logic. If you're going to make a huge decision like this, why not spend the extra time and possibly money to ensure a good result? Some people come here realizing this, only it's too late... but then you have the ones that are already members and posting about going to X doctor because they saw them on an infomercial or local advertisement and it's like, have you read anything on here?

[Mickey85]

Agreed...

[Spanker]

On a positive note, think of all of the people this forum saved from making a bad mistake. I saved me. I feel great, just got a big promotion, and am generally a very lucky guy. If I would have had the procedure where I was going to, I would have mini plugs in my hairline, be more self conscience than I am, and life would probably not be going as well.

[hsrp10]

Ok glad it's just not me then as I have definitely noticed this trend recently.

That's what I've been seeing indeed Chrisdav, "hey long-time poster/lurker here, guess what guys just had XXXX FUE grafts at Dr. Frankenswein in Godknowswhere for a penny a graft...."

 

As this site has also helped me immensely and am a victim of a failed HT with Bosley, it is something that personally bothers me when I see it.

 

I feel like I failed to help them at times, but we can only try so much and really we can't make people go to a good surgeon if they won't listen to solid advice based on our collective experience.

Anyway hope this is just a fading trend.

[Noodles123]

Also particularly annoying is the sometimes startling ignorance of some of the posts. It seems like a lot of guys, particularly young and naive, do not do ANY research and it shows in the nature of their questions. It seems like a mixture of intellectual laziness and blind trust in the physician.

 

There is a physician who is constantly mentioned on this forum simply because the price for FUE is ridiculously cheap, not because the work is particularly good, or even average as a matter of fact.

[densedream]

Maybe it's because many of us can't afford that costly FUE procedures that most of the recommended doctors here charge. I cant afford a cost that is 6 times what another surgeon charges. A $3,000 procedure turns into a $18,000 possible down payment for a house.

 

I truly believe there are doctors around the world that can give the same results or better at a much lower rate because of location and other economics factors. I have looked at some of the doctors that are in the coalition that are not talked about a lot and their results are not better than what I see from much cheaper doctors that aren't recommended or in the coalition.

 

I do believe that this website has everyones best interest at heart but it is funded through doctors paying to be in the coalition. A doctor could have amazing results and not be in the coalition because they don't want to pay the membership fees.

 

I recently posted pictures about having surgery with Dr. Bhatti or Dr. Demisroy because that is what I can afford, both are not recommended here and both charge affordable prices. I received barely any feedback about my situation. I see other posted pictures and mention a coalition doctor and they get plenty of feedback from respected members and moderators. That bias is not fair to those of us that can not afford to pay first-world prices. We would like advice even if we don't choose a paying recommended surgeon.

 

I am grateful for this forum and I know it has help countless men make informed and educated decisions but we can't dismiss every doctor just because they are not affiliated here. The best we can do is create discussion and offer proof about their abilities.

[JohnGage]

I agree with densedream. A lot of people cannot afford these recommended doctors! So they look for cheaper alternatives. I am sure most FUE patients would prefer Dr. Lorenzo, but how many can afford him? Both Dr. Bhatti and Dr. Demirsoy are a lot cheaper and have shown very good results. Yes most of the recommended doctors here are good. But does a recommendation and/or a higher price automatically guarantee the best outcome? Do your research, there are so many examples on this forum. For someone who can afford it, price should not be the overriding factor when deciding a surgeon. But for others price may be the most important deciding factor... and then there are others who'd just say: Why pay more when there are surgeons out there charging much less and achieving equally good results?

[hsrp10]

There are more and more affordable recommended surgeons out there, the Turkish FUE docs as a first example. And none of us are recommending going to the most expensive surgeon either.

 

Price should never be the first factor in deciding which surgeon to go with, those who have the worst issues post surgery are the ones who go with an unknown surgeon and or the lowest cost surgeon they can find. We see this constantly on this forum and quite often frequently.

[JohnGage]

Lets do a comparison with the recommended "affordable" 2 Turkish docs and 2 docs who are not.

 

For 3000 FUE grafts:

 

Dr. Koray Erdogan: Euro 7,500 (USD 10,202)

Dr. Hakan Doganay: Euro 6,000 (USD 8,161)

 

Dr. Erkan Demirsoy: Euro 3,000 (USD 4,080)

Dr. Tejinder Bhatti: Euro 3,087 (USD 4,200)

 

Dr. Demirsoy and Dr. Bhatti are not the most economical. But they have lots of excellent results all over the web, including this forum. Someone like Dr. Maral would charge just Euro 1800 (USD 2,449) for 4000 - 4500 FUE grafts. That's including airport transfers, hotel stay and breakfast.

 

For some of you who can afford it, I guess it's just not easy to understand what this means and how much of a difference it makes!

Edited May 29, 2014 by JohnGage

[hsrp10]

The surgeons you are mentioning are not considered the best in the world, and I've seen iffy results and graft placement from the majority of the non-recommended ones you mentioned.

This forum is about helping people find the best docs with the best possible results and lessening the risks with HT's.

 

Rushing into a HT just because it's cheap vs. saving a little bit more money and investing in a lifelong decision with an amazing doctor, the latter is always the wiser decision and most of us here will continue to warn patients about choosing a surgeon based solely price alone.

Not a smart decision to go solely based on price

[TommyLucchese]

I'm most surprised by the people who have been around a while and don't listen to advice. I'm sure at one point we all naturally assumed that a doctor with a white coat would be a skilled hair transplant surgeon and that going to the one closest to home would save money.

[Rootz]

I mean if someone really takes the time to contemplate a recommended surgeon against a non recommended surgeon, reads experiences, looks at picture, etc, and decides to go with the non recommended doc for whatever reason... at least they probably made an informed decision. The list of recommended doctors isn't the end all be all list, it's just a good reference IMO.

 

I'm more concerned with those who go with doctor X because... he's the closest and has a cool website. And that's about the extent of their research. I think one of the reasons this happens is people want to fix their hairloss "now"... we all get that impulse sometimes of wanting to do something "now," but it's obviously not always the best instinct.

 

I was on a waiting list for over half a year and flew to the other side of the planet for my HT. Yeah I could have gone to someone nearby sooner and probably even saved some money... but what's waiting half a year when the result is lifelong. I don't see the point in sacrificing the result to save money when we're only talking a few thousand dollars... just save up your money until you're ready. Twenty years from now do you really want to be thinking, "... Not entirely happy with my HT, wonder if I would be happier if I had just saved up for a little longer and gone with the more proven doctor."

[hsrp10]

Yeah I just want to add I'm not trying to be a d#ck harping on people looking for a good value.

 

There have been cases recently here that I have really felt bad about, particularly the young guy with very thick hair (albeit maybe a highish hairline) who apparently got so caught up in the cheap FUE hype that he actually though the surgeon he went with was recommended.

His surgeon should have either turned him away or have given a dense packed hairline lowering procedure (if you want to see an immediate post-op of a dense-packed hairline on a patient with pre-existing thick hair from a coalition doctor check out Spanker's pics for example).

 

This bothered me a lot because (1) I was that same guy twenty years ago who got caught up in all the info-mercial hype from Bosley, and (2) the hype that lured this young guy in was created on this very forum where we actually try to help patients avoid this.

It's cool as a consumer to look for good price, but really hope some are more careful about promoting and hyping certain docs based solely on cost/location.

Peace