Has anyone ever died from a hair transplant?

[acman1882]

Hey everyone,

 

Long time reader, first time post here. I just wondered if someone can tell me if anyone's ever died or had brain damage etc from a hair transplant? Whenever people talk about the risks of hair transplants, the only ones I hear about are a bad scar, not getting good coverage etc. What are the real risks from a hair transplant? This is surgery ultimately.

 

Thanks.

[lorenzo]

I heard of one case in India. The doctor claimed the patient has underlying issues. Most doctors use the same freezing as a dentist so it is quite safe. I wouldn't want to be knocked out for surgery.

Your odds of dying driving to the clinic are much higher.

[JohnnyBald]

Most doctors use the same freezing as a dentist so it is quite safe.

.

How many people died at a dentist's clinic ?

[acman1882]

Thanks for the replies. Would be great to see the evidence - where would I find records about this sort of thing?

[Shampoo]

I've wondered about staph infection in regard to hair transplants? Especially with FUT and that size wound...has anyone ever heard of someone getting a staph infection via their donor strip?

[Shampoo]

How many people died at a dentist's clinic ?

 

A rough estimate is that one dental patient dies every other day in the United States.

 

Hair transplant deaths can't be anywhere near that kind of number,

in fact I doubt it is one a decade.

 

Source:

 

" A dental patient dies about every other day in America, according

to a first-of-its-kind estimate by The Dallas Morning News"

 

Deadly Dentistry: Elusive Numbers

[California]

Well, since the topic has come up, I did some quick research which yielded that there certainly has been one death reported so far, possibly related to an HT procedure but this did not happen in India.....believe it or not, it happened in Southern California. Found this topic from 2007 on HRN:

 

http://www.hairrestorationnetwork.com/eve/156145-death-cosmetic-surgery-2.html

 

Best regards,

California

[Bill - Seemiller]

California I vaguely remember hearing about this. I lik what Dr. Mejia, recommended by our community had to say. I've pasted it below for everyone's reference...

 

----

 

This case is very interesting. It is difficult to interpret the facts of a case or jump to conclusions without in depth understanding of this persons medical history knowledge and details of the case other than what is reported.

 

"A 52-year-old Southern California man who died during a routine hair transplant procedure was administered three times the normal dosage of lidocaine, a local anesthetic, according to a wrongful-death lawsuit filed by his widow.... Within an hour of going in he was dead."

 

While it APPEARS and is written the patient had an overdose, we really do not know what happened. As I illustrated in my post above, I myself could have been victim to an alleged lawsuit if my patient decided to wait an extra hour or two to have his heart attack.

 

However, let us look at what is reported.

1. The death occured within an hour of arriving at the clinic. From all of you who have had a hair transplant, how many of you recall being anesthetized that quickly. Usually, in my office, we have another consult to review the plan, mark the areas, cut and shave the appropriate areas of hair , take photos. By the time we are ready to go depending on patient questions etc, it could take an extra 30 min to one hour before anesthesia.

 

2. Within the first hour, most hair transplant physicians are anesthetizing only the donor area and removing the donor area.

 

3. Three times the normal dose of lidocaine:... hhmm. Physicians are aware of what the maximum limit is. Generally, it is approx 25 ml of 2% lidocaine with epinephrine or 50 ml of 1% lidocaine with epi or even more volume if you are using diluted tumescent type solutions. Assuming you used a concentrated solution, that would be 75 ml of 2% lidocaine to be administered in the first 1 hour. This is a huge amount especially since the first part of the procedure is to anesthetize the donor area. If this were true, yes there is a case for malpractice. But it does not make sense from a physicians standpoint in the first hour. If it was a long 12-hour megasession, maybe. . Generally most physicians use volumes in the order of 6-12 ml of diluted solutions 1% or less to anesthetize the donor area. Some do use volumes of 50 to 100 ml of saline or salt water to super tumesce the donor area. .If the allegations are correct, a serious error had to have occurred where 2% lidocaine was used instead of saline and they were supertumescing the donor area. This is the only way I can conceivably see this error from occurring and it is hard to imagine. Most physicians have protocols in place to prevent fatal errors.

 

It is unfortunate this happened irrespective of the cause or error. It is important to recognize that any procedure carries risks. Chucky, we do have emergency protocols should a patient have a bad reaction other than just dialing 911. In my office,we do have a "crash cart", automatic defribillator, oxygen and I am trained in Advanced Cardiac Life Support Measures. Most physicians do the same and at our conferences we do review emergency protocols.

 

Ricardo Mejia MD, FAAD

Hair Transplant Network Physician

Jupiter FL

[Dutchie]

The Vancouver streets are littered with bodies from patients who died from hair transplants. It just so happens that most those corpses were found near Hasson & Wong's offices.

 

Coincidence, I think not.

 

I cant prove anything right now, but the evidence is clearly pointing towards H&W.

 

This post might be deleted soon because I fear the mods on this site are in on the whole thing.

 

You've been warned

[gillenator]

I remember reading about the patient from California which was directly related to how he was treated during the procedure.

 

I remember another one I think occurred in India whereby the patient was administered general anesthesia by his request and experienced cardiac arrest during the procedure.

[Shampoo]

I remember another one I think occurred in India whereby the patient was administered general anesthesia by his request and experienced cardiac arrest during the procedure.

 

I am not a doctor....I guess it is done in some major life saving organ replacement type surgeries, but I would think it would not be wise to be under general anesthesia for something as optional as an 8-10 hour hair transplant surgery. Isn't being under general anesthesia that long border on dangerous?

[StaggerLee123]

Yes. Of embarrassment.

[Bill - Seemiller]

Dutchie,

 

I suppose this is some weird attempt to be funny? I'm not sure I understand the humor.

 

I don't know if the joke is about the fact that virtually nobody has ever died from a hair transplant or if the joke was about Hasson and Wong or if the joke is about the moderators. Nonetheless nothing is true about what you said.

 

Bill

[Dutchie]

I was kidding. Of course the Vancouver streets arent littered with bodies, come on now

 

I have never heard of anyone dying from a HT. If they did there must have been some underlying condition. I dont see how you could die from minor surgery like that.

 

Anyways, I have a pretty crazy sense of humor. Not everyone appreciates it.

I'll try to tone it down

[gillenator]

I am not a doctor....I guess it is done in some major life saving organ replacement type surgeries, but I would think it would not be wise to be under general anesthesia for something as optional as an 8-10 hour hair transplant surgery. Isn't being under general anesthesia that long border on dangerous?

 

From what I remember the patient requested general anesthesia for supposedly a strong phobia regarding the sight of blood.

 

Still I agree with you and I also remember reading that there was not a licensed anesthesiologist present for the procedure, vitals were not being tracked properly, etc, etc.

[Shampoo]

I also remember reading that there was not a licensed anesthesiologist present for the procedure, vitals were not being tracked properly, etc, etc.

 

Wow....how recckless is that?

 

BTW...

Question: "Is There a Safe/legal Time Limit for General Anesthesia in an Accredited Outpatient Setting?"

 

Answer: Most sources generally consider 6 hours as the upper safe limit for outpatient surgery, whether it is performed in a hospital or surgery center. After 6 hours, the rate of post-operative complication rises....

 

https://www.realself.com/question/there-safe-legal-time-limit-for-general-anesthesia-in-accredited-outpatient

[gillenator]

In the USA, a licensed anesthesiologist is required whenever general anesthesia is used. Hard to say what the laws are in India, but still, the lack of tracking his vitals among other things is obviously very irresponsible to say the least!...:rolleyes:

[California]

In the USA, a licensed anesthesiologist is required whenever general anesthesia is used. Hard to say what the laws are in India, but still, the lack of tracking his vitals among other things is obviously very irresponsible to say the least!...:rolleyes:

 

Guys, with all due respect, the laws governing medical practices are pretty strict in India. However, there is less accountability as compared to the US as it is easier to file a law suit against the doctor/practice in the US.

 

That said, we have been hearing about this case in India where an HT Patient passed away during the procedure. I have yet to see any documentation to back it up. On the other hand, the case that happened in Sothern California is documented.

 

Best regards,

California

[gillenator]

Oh sure, we all understand how you feel California...:rolleyes:

[California]

My friend,

 

It really is not a question of "how I feel". It is a bigger question of a blanket statement that might create a wrong impression about an entire country. India has a population of 1.2 billion peeople. Hundreds of HT centers. My point is that if a patient did lose his life during an HT procedure, then it has to be documented somewhere. It might have hapoened but I have yet to see the facts backing up this "assumption"

 

Best regards,

California

[gillenator]

Sure I understand. I don't think most people would judge an entire country based on one case. And what I read was not a "blanket statement" but quite a long story that I hardly think was made up.

 

But at the same time what I read did not have legal documentation to the case. And that's not hard to understand being the case was not in the USA where documentation may be more public or more accessible because of the regulations of physicians here.

 

It would be nearly if not absolute impossible for someone in the USA to get the legal documentation in India unless they were the ones involved and had the assistance of legal counsel.

[Paulygon]

I agree with Bill & Dr. Mejia,

The Anesthetic is always a risk. Didn't Kanye West's mom die during cosmetic surgery, in California as a result of general anesthesia in combination with underlying issues heart issues?

 

Anyway, I seem to remember that in my case, my surgeon (Dr Mohebi) only used local anesthesia. That's a big difference... unless I was knocked out for a while and don't remember some of it.. It just seems like I was awake for a lot of the surgery time, watching movies and eating the kabobs they ordered for me.

[Mikey1970]

[Torip]

I heard of a case of death from HT, in a relatively small town in India, from my hair dresser. Apparently the patient got severe infection or something after HT and died from it. I am not sure whether the HT was done by a licensed medical practitioner. From what the hair dresser was saying it didn't appear like a legitimate doctor. Perhaps a nurse or a technician with some expertise in HT.