Community Q: A Nice Compliment for an HT Doc or a Problem for Researching Patients?

[Dr Blake Bloxham]

A patient recently sent me an email "update" of his results. I generally like to touch base with patients around the 6 month mark, but I didn't hear back from this gentleman until month 9. Nothing unusual, and he touched on this in a very nice message stating:

 

Everything is going well! Sorry for the delay, but I just forgot to follow up because I don't think about my hair any longer. It's become so normal to me, and I've been enjoying focusing on other things like travel.

 

At first, everything sounded great. But I thought about it a little more and wondered: is a good thing for an HT doc to hear or does this actually represent a problem for researching patients?

 

Let me back up a bit and explain:

 

First, here's some details about this patient:

 

He's a diffuse thinner with a strong-ish frontal forelock (and a family history of this) who was looking to rebuild a hairline and fill the entire rest of the scalp around the forelock:

 

 

 

 

 

I decided to do a large FUT session to achieve his goals. Here's the surgical plan:

 

 

 

 

 

And here is he ready for slits (everything hit densely and some slight "reinforcement" in the circled areas):

 

 

 

 

 

And here he is 12 days after his FUT (staple removal) with 4,000 new grafts (all the way from the posterior crown to his new hairline):

 

 

 

 

 

And here are the 9 month update shots he sent me:

 

 

 

 

 

And some imperfect "side-by-sides" for comparison:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

So, the patient is happy, he looks great, he no longer thinks about his hair loss after a successful surgery, and he's out traveling and enjoying life?

 

So what's the problem?

 

Well, one of the complaints I've heard on the boards for years is that we see patients make excellent threads right after surgery and follow-up for a few months, and then they "disappear." While new researching members often "bump" threads and request updates, a lot of these patients don't come back.

 

Now, I believe this is because the same thing happens to them: they have the surgery, it goes well, and they no longer think about hair loss. And if you aren't thinking about your hair loss, why would you remember or take the time to come back to the community and update your thread?

But this poses a problem for patients now researching doctors: they find these threads, the post-op and immediate follow-up "buzz" is good, and then no updates. Patients want to see these successful journeys start to finish, but the updates just aren't there.

 

So my question for the community: is it a good thing that patients obtain good results, forget about the hair loss, and move on? Or does this create a lack of updates and a potential problem for those researching on the forums?

 

Thoughts?? And a big "shout out" to those dedicated members who do stick around and update for sometimes years to help others out!

[hsrp10]

Very good point Blake, it's hard to find people who continue to update their threads after the one year mark.

They all disappear, which is good for the patient because it means they're out there enjoying life.

 

And it's smart too, after you've been restored there's no point to stay on here actively as there are a large number of helpful and friendly people but unfortunately also a small handful of bitter and argumentative people who try to bring you down.

 

The only way I can see to get people to pop in here is to offer some type of incentive.

Maybe give them a free 100 grafts if you're the doctor or the forum could offer some other type of monetary/gift incentive to update at the 2,5,10- year marks.

[TakingThePlunge]

Excellent result! I'm sure that HT changed his life for the better.

[Dr Blake Bloxham]

HS,

 

Not a bad idea.

 

You're a perfect example of someone who "stuck around" too; what made you come back after several procedures and continue helping patients out?

[Dr Blake Bloxham]

Dave,

 

Thank you for the kind words!

[voxman]

Some people are the nurturing and helpful kind, others want to share their procedure, get a few concerns addressed, and then move on.

 

Incentives work.

 

I do think it would be a lot easier to offer a nice gift card to a high end restaurant that 100 fee grafts though.

[Dr Blake Bloxham]

Vox,

 

Very interesting points about the personalities and nature of individuals in general. You're right that some people are naturally more likely to "stick around." But another point for the "provide incentives (?)" category.

 

And I'll ask you the same question I asked HS: you're another member who stayed to help; you even show full face images! What made you want to continue posting and helping out other members?

 

Very curious to see if I can get a better handle on this. It would be great to see if we can pinpoint something increase follow-up through the entire journey.

[voxman]

 

And I'll ask you the same question I asked HS: you're another member who stayed to help; you even show full face images! What made you want to continue posting and helping out other members?

 

 

Cause I'm still waiting for my free gift card!!

 

Actually, I felt it was my responsibility to give back to the community for all the great advice and positive comments while I was just an ugly duckling, and also a chance to speak up for the guys who were looking for a kindred spirit in their quest. I will never be a poster boy for that 17 year old full thick head of hair, but I am absolutely 100% where I want to be and planned to be. And that should be the ultimate goal.

 

I also like exposing the trolls who pretend to be real people in need.

[hsrp10]

what made you come back after several procedures and continue helping patients out?

 

Some of us are just crazier than others.. lol :cool:

 

Seriously though I like to help and give back to the community, and I like the comradery of interacting with others who have gone down the hair restoration path.

Also I wanted to have a small procedure to cut my hair shorter and there is no better source of patient information and experiences out there, plus the power of the PM here is great.

 

Will I continue to stay around this time? I'm not sure, the forum has taken on some new dynamics since I originally joined and honestly feel the lengthy intelligent posts have gotten fewer and fewer.

[Dr Blake Bloxham]

Cause I'm still waiting for my free gift card!!

 

Actually, I felt it was my responsibility to give back to the community for all the great advice and positive comments while I was just an ugly duckling, and also a chance to speak up for the guys who were looking for a kindred spirit in their quest. I will never be a poster boy for that 17 year old full thick head of hair, but I am absolutely 100% where I want to be and planned to be. And that should be the ultimate goal.

 

I also like exposing the trolls who pretend to be real people in need.

 

I definitely think it's the "giving back" mentality that keeps a lot of people coming back. Especially if a member had a rough time during a hard period (like the "ugly duckling") phase and received some good support.

 

I think you bring up a good point too: not only do we need people to "stick around," but it's probably also best to have different types of hair transplant patients come back and continue helping. Like you said, there are probably a lot of guys in your situation looking for precisely the type of restoration you sought. And that is probably different from what the "20 something" prospective patient is looking to read.

 

And I suppose coming back for the "trolls" is an added bonus!

[Dr Blake Bloxham]

 

Seriously though I like to help and give back to the community, and I like the comradery of interacting with others who have gone down the hair restoration path.

Also I wanted to have a small procedure to cut my hair shorter and there is no better source of patient information and experiences out there, plus the power of the PM here is great.

 

Will I continue to stay around this time? I'm not sure, the forum has taken on some new dynamics since I originally joined and honestly feel the lengthy intelligent posts have gotten fewer and fewer.

 

Makes sense!

 

I'm sure many hope you'll stick around!

[matt3480]

I think it depends on what was said before the person disappeared.

 

When I see someone who had bad results after 4-5 months suddenly disappear (especially when they have logged in since).....honestly my first thought is the surgeon got ahold of him and told him to keep quiet (I would hope under the promise that the surgeon will fix any issues the patient still has at a later date).

 

People who had some good initial results and then disappear likely do so because they are living their life and could care less about coming back to discuss past hair problems that are now moot.

 

I feel if someone really has a bad result and is getting screwed by their surgeon.....it's 2017.....you're going to hear about it on some message board somewhere.

 

My hair issues are pretty much gone (hey, you can't ever have too much hair) but I do like to give back to the community. There seems to be a lot of misinformation out there and I feel bad for people who get bad results because they chose to go to the cheapest place or saw some fancy commercial on TV. I try to steer people in the right direction. I'm in Chicago and I see some of these surgeons' (who I am familiar with) ads with celebrity patients, etc. who I would never let touch my head in a million years (and somehow could probably get me in next week for a surgery date). Then you have guys like Konior who don't advertise at all yet are probably a MINIMUM of 12 months booked out and just does an all-world job.

 

Blake, good work on that patient by the way! You seem like you are truly passionate about hair restoration as you've been on this site since way before you actually were a surgeon. The industry needs more doctors like that...and less unqualified doctors who simply look at hair transplantation as another revenue stream for their practice.

Edited January 24, 2017 by matt3480

[Dr Blake Bloxham]

Matt,

 

You're right, we probably shouldn't immediately assume that the patient disappeared because they are happy and no longer thinking about their hair. I'd like to think this is the majority, but I'm sure there are some other circumstances behind why people go "MIA."

 

Sounds like a noble reason to stay here and post. "Giving back" seems to be the motive behind a lot of the reasons why guys stick around, and hopefully this catches on. Navigating any medical/surgical field can be difficult! Always nice to have those with good intentions who have "already been there" helping out.

 

And thank you for the kind words. Definitely passionate about this field and try my best to "stick around" and help as well!