I almost think small hair loss sufferers are at a disadvantage

[Mikey1970]

Feel free to pull me up on this but please consider!

 

If a Norwood 6 walks into a surgeons office both the Dr & The Patient know its going to be a big job & therefore big $$$$$. All being well if the Patient has gone to a competent Dr the result from this scenario should be all upside as long as the Patient has realistic expectations.

 

Now consider someone that is really hurting from minor hairloss fronts up at a Dr's office. Trust me, the pain from minor hairloss can still be intense. The way I see it the Dr may not be interested because there isn't enough $$$ in the job, or worse still, the Dr performs unnecessary excessive work on the Patient that could lead to an increased chance of shock loss or accelerated permanent hair loss.

 

I would hate to think that some Dr's perform surgery on a Patient with a good head of hair, but some hair loss and string them with future procedures in mind. I am sure the veterans of this site would know all too well that poor surgical techniques can lead to almost certain permanent hair loss. I would like to think that the majority of competent & ethical Dr's would charge a reasonable minimum fee but take every Patient's feelings seriously and undertake surgery with the intentions on the best outcome for the Patient. Or perhaps the person with minor hair loss just has to come to the conclusion that the risks outweigh the potential rewards?

 

Obviously I have been hurt with something along these lines happening to me. It makes it very hard to not be skeptical, cynical & find trust in HT Dr's if you are suffering from minor hair loss. I think it is a real dilemma.

[thisguy1]

Not going to trivialize minor hair loss but this is a "first world problem" I'd love to have!!! Lot less out of pocket cost for surgery, lot less stares over the years, lot less wearing of hats, lots less everything for people with minor hair loss.

 

I believe a good ethical doctor will do good and fair work if you are NW2, NW4, or NW6. Just like a bad doctor with poor ethics will do a bad job on any of those 3 candidates.

 

So I disagree with your premise. Doctors who are self motivated, driven, perfectionists, will want to do a great job on even a 400 graft hair count IMO - that's just how those people are wired. Just like you read certain sports greats are driven even in practice and push their teammates - they want to win period. Same for all professions.

[Mikey1970]

Thanks for replying.

 

I hope I can find one of those doc's you are talking about.

 

Cheers.

[thisguy1]

I see you are in Bahrain on your profile - do you plan to travel to Europe/Turkey to get surgery? There are a few good surgeons often talked about here - probably a good idea to do an online consult with people often done reviews on.

[Melvin- Admin]

I can see where your coming from mikey, this is coming from a guy who was Norwood 6 by 30, I remember I first noticed my hairloss at 21, it was very slight and I freaked out I got depressed, it was hard to sleep and eat, I would tell my friends and they thought I was crazy, I still had beautiful thick black hair, well in 8 years it all disappeared and then they realized I was right, but the reason why hairloss is so traumatic when it's minor is the fear of it getting worse, once you reach a point where your scalp is visible even in the dark that feelings gone, so when you have surgery at Norwood 5+ level you can only get better not worse.

 

Shock loss is what kept me from having surgery in my early 20's I was terrified of looking worse. I'm glad I didn't do it too, cause it could've been a disaster, if your hairloss is minor, my suggestion is to be clever with your hairstyle, do what you can to conceal your hairloss, why spend money and anguish on something that could be fixed with a hairstyle? Assuming your hairloss is very minor of course.

[MrGio-WHTCClinic]

Much of what happens in consultations are based on what the hair loss sufferer believes. Results from surgery have limitations. The surgery is meant to create an illusion of coverage. The smaller cases still mush involve trust between the doctor and patient. The line of communication between both must be clearly established even after a patient does due diligence.

[Louisjams]

Great comment and great thread. I think that a lot of the best results I have seen have been in NW4-6 pts.IMHO, I think a lot of people who get HT for early or minor hair loss maybe should have waited until things were more advanced.

 

I see a lot of hairline and temple restorations in young males with early hair loss on these boards and they always make me worry about how this sets the pt up for potential troubles down the road as they continue to lose hair behind the new grafts. Also, you only have so much donor hair and maybe your temples is not the place to use it. Lots of men end up NW5-6, and if that is the case you are gonna need those grafts for the top of your head and a mature hairline creation down the road.

[harryforreal]

Doctors who are self motivated, driven, perfectionists, will want to do a great job on even a 400 graft hair count IMO - that's just how those people are wired.

 

Yeah, hahaha....just like bankers on wall street who want to make the world a better place with loans?

 

I'm sure there are ethical doctors out there, but I'm quite sure there are less than ethical doctors out there, like any profession.

[California]

Hi Mikey1970,

 

With the right amount of research, due diligence and planning, the small hair loss sufferers should not be at a disadvantage. As we all know, an HT procedure has to be taken extremely seriously since there is almost no room for error.

 

For any hair loss suffer, this Forum would a good "starting point". HT Surgeons recommended by this Forum do go through a strenuous recommendation process, are at the top of their game and are generally held accountable by the members and the Forum Admins. That said, it is each and every Patient's responsibility to research as much as possible. There are just no short cuts there.

 

In my opinion, a small hair loss suffer should not jump the gun on HT but instead explore and exhaust other options first such as medication etc. Also, for younger Patients, using the finite and precious donor scalp grafts should be done only after a careful consideration. That is where BHT comes in. If a Patient needs a 500 graft procedure and gets 400 of those grafts from the body donor (beard, chest), then he/she would be able to "save" the scalp donor to combat future hair loss.

 

I wish you all the best.

 

Best regards,

California