HORRIBLE HT experience- I feel cheated

[North09]

I want to share my hair transplant journey which I found has been very stressful so far. This site gave me courage to go ahead with HT and I chose one of the recommended surgeons from this site. I won’t discuss the name of surgeon as yet because I want experienced members of this forum to give their opinion about my queries before I discuss the name of the surgeon. I would be grateful for the input of members. This will help lots of future potential HT patients.

I live in London and travelled abroad for the surgery which was done last month. Day before the surgery I had a consultation with the surgeon and he said I will need 3000 grafts (2500 for the hairline and 500 for the crown). I asked the surgeon if he could put more grafts in the crown area. He said because hair loss of my crown is still expanding, if I lose hair around the transplanted area then island of transplanted hair will look bad. It was a valid point so I concurred but really wished I could have fuller crown as well.

 

Next morning on the day of surgery I arrived 7 mins late (for a 10 hours surgery) and surgeon was very rude because of that. Although I said sorry and explained that it was due to weather and traffic (but I was just 7 mins late!!). Anyways, he drew the hairline again and I said I would like it to be bit higher than what he had drawn. He agreed and redrew the hair line, we also discussed that this will save atleast 300-400 grafts which I can use in future in the crown and mid scalp area. So we agreed to go ahead with 2600-2700 grafts.

In the middle of harvesting session surgeon stopped and said now we will count the grafts so that we don’t end up taking more than needed grafts. After some time I asked the staff if they have counted the grafts, I was told that grafts were still being counted. I asked them to let me know when counting has finished. Very shortly surgeon came in and started harvesting again. No one informed me about the grafts count!! Anyways, I had trust on the surgeon. After harvesting was done I reluctantly asked few times about the count when someone finally said graft count is 3026!! This slightly unsettled me. We had agreed on 2600-2700 grafts. I felt that they should have taken my consent before taking extra 300-400 of my non-renewable precious grafts which I thought I would use in the coming years for the crown and mid scalp. I did not say anything because I thought may be surgeon will come and discuss where he wants to put those extra 300-400 grafts but it did not happen. When surgeon came in during the plantation session I asked him where would they put the extra 300-400 grafts and he said in the crown area!! Day before when I asked to put more grafts in the crown area he was dead against the idea!! I was thinking it should have been a shared decision making and he should have taken my consent. It is not a lifesaving surgery where he had to take the emergency decision, It is a cosmetic surgery, it is about my looks and I should decide how I want to look and where those extra grafts should go. I was fully awake and he could have easily discussed with me. Untill I asked he never bothered to even mention where is he going to plant those extra grafts. He shouldn’t have taken those extra grafts in the first place.

After the surgery I noticed on the left temple area there was a gap between the newly planted area and existing hair whereas on the right side planted hair and existing hair were nicely merging. I mentioned this to the surgeon and he said it is not the gap but they have closely shaved the hair, that is why it looks like a gap but the hair not the right side have not been shaved that closely that it why it looks different. I had to agree with surgeon, after all he is the expert. (See the pictures attached)

After surgery I came home (back to London). When swelling on the forehead subsided I realised that my front hairline was very uneven. Hair line on the left side of the midline was convex downwards but on the right it was concave. It really looked wonky. This was upsetting (see the attached pictures).

I was not happy with the attitude of the surgeon in general and also that more than agreed grafts were taken and I was left with wonky hair line. I decided to count the grafts. Got the professional pictures taken with macro lens, increased the contrast of the picture and zoomed in. Grafts looked mega and counting was easy. (see the pictures attached with each graft numbered). To my amazement graft count of the crown was 480 whereas the surgeon said it will be 800-900 ( 500 as initially agreed + extra 300-400 grafts that he took without my consent ). This made me do the counting of front hairline too ( see the pictures attached with the graft numbered). Total count came to 2310 !! whereas I was charged for 3026 grafts. Next day I called the clinic and managed to speak to the technician who planted my grafts. I did not mention that I was unhappy and why I was calling. Among other things I asked her whether they plant each graft individually or do they sometime group them together. She explained thoroughly that each graft can have more than one hair that is why it might look that grafts have been grouped but they plant each graft individually and never group them. This confirmed that what I can see is what has been planted and validated my graft counting.

After few days when my existing hair started growing, the gap between planted and existing hair on the left temple area became very evident. It was not a shaved area. It was what I thought, they did not merge the planted area with existing area and that started looking very awkward (see the pictures attached).

I emailed all my concerns to the surgeon and asked him to answer the queries:

 

1. Incorrect graft count- difference of 716 grafts.

2. Uneven hair line.

3. Gap between existing and planted hair of left temple area.

 

I got following - a very concise reply to a very long email.

“The picture is not centralised.

If you are in ….(deleted)……… please can you come for a review.

It is said that hairlines are not identical twins, they are mere siblings and it is natural to have a bit of symmetry not exceeding 3mm.”

 

 

There was nothing mentioned about all the other concerns I had. After few days I took proper centralised pictures, marked a straight horizontal line on the forehead and divided that line into centimeteres. I measured the distance between the planted hair line and the drawn straight line (see the pictures attached).Equidistance from the midline, planted hairline on the right was 15mm from that straight line and the planted hair line on the left was 5mm. So the difference was 10mm which was more than 3 times the acceptable gap of 3mm as mentioned by the surgeon. I sent the pictures to the surgeon again and asked him to explain this and also answer my other queries. This time I also asked for the partial refund to get this fixed by a local surgeon in London.

 

There has been no reply since, after that I sent another email asking for the reply but still no answer. Then I called his office. I was told that surgeon had left. I just mentioned my first name and she knew my surname (she obviously knew me, seems like my case had been discussed in the clinic). I asked her to pass the message to the surgeon to answer my email and she said she will inform him. It has been almost 10 days now but still no reply. I think my concerns are genuine and ethically surgeon is obliged to answer my queries. Before the surgery I used to get the replies to email within hours but now it has been more than a month, I have sent various emails but there has been no reply. May be he doesn’t have any explanation!! I even said I will be posting my review on the forum but still no reply.

 

I would like the opinion of experts on this forum. Please have a look at the pictures attached and give your opinion. I can see few more on this forum that have been booked with the same surgeon. On this forum, no one in the past have mentioned if they were given any chance to count the grafts or surgeon ever discussed his graft counting method with the patients.

 

This surgeon is relatively a new addition to the recommended physicians list of this forum. Based on this recommendation lots of patients like me are travelling to him and spending their savings to get the surgery done.

 

I hope moderators will give their precious expert opinion to validate this recommendation.

[North09]

In the picture of crown, I have written 700-800, it actually should be 800-900. Before surgery we agreed 500 grafts in the crown area but he harvested 3026 total grafts instead of agreed 2600-2700 i.e. 300-400 grafts more than agreed and he said he will put the extra grafts in the crown area. If he did what he said then graft count of crown should be 800-900 but it is 480 !!

Edited April 6, 2015 by North09

[harin]

Sorry to hear about your experience, I am a newbie but a physician, I did look at your pictures and looks like the anterior hairline design is less than perfect, also there seems to be quite a bit of gap between the hairs on the front row which may lead to slightly pluggy look, but if you do have some donor hairs left then you can see how the hairline develops and go for a refining of front hairline later with a local surgeon.

 

I personally think that there is at least some degree of manipulation with regards to graft counts when it comes to hair transplantation in most cases If not all. Its a easy lure of money.

 

Again this is my 2 cents, I don't have much experience with this, hope things will work out well for you. Good luck to you.

[North09]

Many thanks for your input harin, much appreciated. You said you are a physician, are you HT surgeon? I am medico as well.

 

I did not loose the planted hair, it has been 40 days post op, I have been using Finestride and Minoxidil, may me that kept my transplanted hair intact.I doubt they will shed now. Planted hair have started growing now, I can see there are islands of no hair, I certainly will need another HT to fix this one. Density doesn't look good at all.

 

 

After looking at the pictures I hope more members will write their opinions.

What do they think about the quality of work and my queries? you don't need to be expert to give your opinion but it certainly will help me and many others on this forum who are thinking of travelling abroad to this surgeon and spend their precious savings and time.

Edited April 6, 2015 by North09

[JoeTillman]

North,

 

Your dilemma about not hearing from your doctor is disappointing and is something I hope to see improved upon in the future. Follow up care is something that all patients should ask about before they have surgery and to get as much as possible in writing.

 

Regarding your case, I think at this point you should simply hang on to your documentation and ride it out. The hairline shape and the inconsistencies may wind up adding to the naturalness once the hair has had time to grow and fully mature. No hairline is symmetrical because no face is symmetrical. I'm not making excuses for the doctor because I don't know who it is but this is a fact. Your hairline does seem more asymmetrical than the average transplanted hairline, yes, but the final result may be something that is less troubling once it is matured.

 

The number of grafts placed vs. what were extracted however needs to be addressed and you should call the clinic again to speak to the doctor.

 

The surgery is the easy part, the waiting is the hardest part and you still have a LONG way to go before you can make a final judgement. I'm also sending you a PM.

[1978matt]

Easy to figure out who the doc is from the shape of the hairline. That's the design he normally uses.

 

I think he does multiple procedures a day which obviously means the possibility of some lack of attention to detail.

 

Best to just see what it looks like after 9 months then decide if a touch up is required.

 

As for the other issues, best to take that up with the moderators.

[North09]

@JoeTillman- Many thanks for taking time to write your opinion. This surgeon was very good with pre-op replies, used to get reply within hours but after the surgery there has been no replies to email.I even posted him print outs of my emails via recorded delivery, just to make sure he has seen them. With time it might not look bad but it is unfair to settle with an obvious imperfection and also very unethical to get no reply. And certainly graft count is the concern and so is the density and gap on the left temple area.

 

@1978matt- appreciate your comment. I too am waiting for the MODERATORS to comment on this. I wrote to this surgeon that I will ask moderators to intervene and ask these queries on this forum but I don't think he was bothered because I did not get any reply.

 

I hope to get more replies from other members and certainly would like to know moderators expert opinion.

Edited April 6, 2015 by North09

[2youngforthis]

Well I may as of yet agree with the gap on the temple the hairline I think will be fine. You don't want a straight hairline at your age. Besides. I would wait a little while as in months before you start worrying. If the work is good and dense I think you will be more than happy.

[North09]

@2youngforthis- Thanks for your input. I was not looking for straight hairline but atleast a symmetry. Surgeon said 3mm is acceptable but this difference of 10mm (morer than 3 times compared to what he said). Whether it will good or not in 6 months is not the present concern here but I am unhappy about the fact that these are basics that surgeon would measure before they put the knife on someone (unless they are operating HT factory and run a conveyor belt).

Apart from that there is disagreement on count of graft and no replies after the money has been paid!!

Really want opinion on this unethical practise by a surgeon who has been recommended on this forum. I am not sure whether this will look good in 6 months but certainly as a patient I don't think this is acceptable.

[2youngforthis]

O yeah forgot about that part. I would be more worried if he used the amount of grafts you paid for. If he only used the amount you counted then You have more for more hair later on!! That does suck money wise and once again you won't name the dr.

[Rawkerboi]

If your doctor is least worried about you, then why are you so bothered that you not revealing his name.. ?

There may be some patients, who may be considering that doc.. kindly reveal the name!!

[Sean]

North, hope you get some resolution when this is said and done. One side is elevated. When you comb backwards or stick hair up, it is clear to see there is elevation on one side. Unless you want to restict your hair style to combing sideways with a part. Wish you the best and hope your goals and what was marketed are met. FTC review

[TakingThePlunge]

Dear Community Members,

 

We are aware of who this patient is and also the identity of the physician in question. We were notified by the physician only 15 days after the patient's procedure that he had threatened to use our community to badmouth the doctor if certain actions were not taken.

 

While I can understand and respect a patient's desire to keep the name of their physician private, this patient has violated our Terms of Service by creating an alternate user name in order to do so. This has been confirmed via IP addresses. Thus, this account has been suspended and this discussion locked at this time, pending further information about this case.

 

As those of you who have been around this forum for a long time know, anyone is welcome to share their experiences and valid concerns about any physician, recommended or not. However, using the threat of bad publicity to force a particular outcome is not the purpose of this community and will not be tolerated.

 

I want to be clear that I am not discounting the possibility that this patient has valid concerns. But, claiming that a physician purposely misquoted graft numbers is a serious accusation and one that is not easily substantiated.

 

Given the violation of our Terms of Service and that we have reason at this time to question his motives, we feel that the best course of action is to lock this discussion and encourage the patient and doctor to discuss this matter privately. We can help facilitate that communication but, ultimately, it is up to the patient and clinic to come to an agreement.