What are the essential questions to ask during a HT consultation?

[Kiwi Guy]

Hey guys,

I have my first in-office HT consultation coming up with a reputable surgeon in a few weeks while I'm in the U.S for work and I'm just wondering what is the general consensus of the best and most helpful questions to ask while in these consults?

I'm going to do an in-depth and thorough step by step account of my journey with all of this starting from the consultations so hopefully it can help others going through it. If it wasn't for a lot of the people on this forum doing something similar I wouldn't have the knowledge I do now so paying it forward only seems right.

[DrTBarghouthi]

Hi KIwi Guy,

Interesting topic. I think your consultation should establish two main things:

1. A good understanding of your hairloss problem including your options for medical treatments, surgical hair restoration, number of grafts that you may need, the different pros and cons of medical maintenance therapy, a good scalp and hair analysis etc. So basically this is the part related to your condition, its diagnosis and your options going forward. Ofcourse you will need to get answers about the details of each procedure, what the scars look like, how long it takes etc, possible hairline designs.....

2. A good understanding of your surgeon:

this will lead to questions such as: his or her experience doing hair transplants, what aspects of the procedure do they actively participate in? , how experienced is the team?, how many years have they been doing this?, do they do FUT only or FUE only or both? , do they use implanters or forceps?, what kind of extraction tools do they use?: manual or motorized, sharp or blunt? You probably need to know if they do one or multiple cases a day? how much do they charge? and you definitely need to see befores and afters similar to your case. I'm sure there is always something missing or something that comes up, but going through everything in both points 1 and 2 should get you through a one hour consultation easily. 

[Melvin- Admin]

Will the surgeon be responsible for harvesting the donor hair whether it's the removal of a donor strip for Follicular Unit Strip Surgery (FUSS) or the extraction of follicular unit grafts through Follicular Unit Excision (formerly known as Follicular Unit Extraction FUE)?

How many technicians will be involved in the procedure and what are their credentials and experience?

Will the surgeon be creating the micro-incision recipient sites that will determine the angle, depth and overall density of the procedure?

[Sean]

Lots of great questions to ask mentioned above.  

Another good one is, can I see what consent forms folks need to sign prior to surgery?  What will you offer if there is less  growth or unnatural result or failure?  

 

[SM985]

Not sure if this has been asked, but how many surgeries they do per day? 

[paddyirishman]

Prior to your consultation realise what your own expectation of a HT will provide in regard to coverage and density . 

Would you be satisfied with moderate coverage or do you really want high density coverage?

Determine at the consultation how much doner hair you have ...how many safe grafts you have for the area you want covered and of course keeping an open mind on your future hair loss.  Its all about supply and demand.

If you want high density coverage you could use up most of your grafts in a small area that you want covered.   If you are satisfied with moderate coverage which would be adequate to cover the area you want covered usually the frontal third, you have more grafts for other areas or more importantly future hair loss. 

Make sure your Doctor has a great reputation and is really well known and have a long term personal plan put in place for you.

..............ALL THE BEST..

 

..................Paddy..........

 

.

[Kiwi Guy]

Really appreciate it guys, I'm quite nervous I might miss out some vastly important question hence the topic lol

[Lennney]

On ‎5‎/‎9‎/‎2019 at 5:57 AM, DrTBarghouthi said:

2. A good understanding of your surgeon:

this will lead to questions such as: his or her experience doing hair transplants, what aspects of the procedure do they actively participate in? , how experienced is the team?, how many years have they been doing this?, do they do FUT only or FUE only or both? , do they use implanters or forceps?, what kind of extraction tools do they use?: manual or motorized, sharp or blunt? You probably need to know if they do one or multiple cases a day? how much do they charge? and you definitely need to see befores and afters similar to your case. I'm sure there is always something missing or something that comes up, but going through everything in both points 1 and 2 should get you through a one hour consultation easily. 

I know you, @DrTBarghouthi, had provided excellent advice in another thread about docs who use "patented" techniques (such as DHT and Sapphire cut blades) use it as a marketing tool for the unaware. I completely agree with that interpretation.

Having said that, I don't think it's super important the "how" of a surgeon's method (motorized/manual or implanters/forceps) but rather the "who". You want the "who" to be the best. The doc and the team the doc uses (and their experience) are the most important factors. I also think seeing a diverse portfolio of patients as well as a "time" portfolio which shows that the doc isn't coasting or regressing. When you look up reviews online for any products, you always want to look at the "recent reviews", because those will most closely tell what you'll soon receive.

Everything else on that list is perfect, with the addition of @paddyirishman 's comment about expectations. That is extraordinarily important. Some docs have a heavier hand in density, while others are more cautious. Both have pros and cons. What matters is the "fit" of you and the doc. I like to think of HT docs as artists (perhaps tattoo artists if it helps you relate), you should go to an artist whose style you like, and ask them for one of "their" works. You may get unexpected results if you go to an artist and demand a "style" they're not known for. You want the artist to be stoked to work on you (perform work for you), not reluctant.

[DrTBarghouthi]

I do agree with you @Lennney that the actual technicalities are not a determining factor and perhaps shouldn’t be asked. I guess I put the list based on what I encounter daily and these came up along as some people who researched would usually ask about these. I don’t mind them asking about the broad differences in technology as it does show some level of research and knowledge of the procedure so I do answer and discuss why I use this over that. I think people generally have an innate tendency to question, show off their knowledge and are simply curious at times regarding techniques. 

The questions I mind would be the too “markety” ones such as specific device names etc as you rightly mentioned. 

[Lennney]

3 minutes ago, DrTBarghouthi said:

I do agree with you @Lennney that the actual technicalities are not a determining factor and perhaps shouldn’t be asked. I guess I put the list based on what I encounter daily and these came up along as some people who researched would usually ask about these. I don’t mind them asking about the broad differences in technology as it does show some level of research and knowledge of the procedure so I do answer and discuss why I use this over that. I think people generally have an innate tendency to question, show off their knowledge and are simply curious at times regarding techniques. 

The questions I mind would be the too “markety” ones such as specific device names etc as you rightly mentioned. 

Exactly! People ask probing questions about your methods when they want you to defend your methods against some advertised method. It's embarrassing for all parties and unproductive. 

I think all people are curious and want to understand what happens. I just think it's odd that people ask, say, "why do you do motorized and not manual extractions" but don't really understand the difference nor the end effect. I always think: why even ask if the answer is irrelevant? 

Obviously the doc has success with their method, and honestly they're not going to change it spontaneously! It comes across as elitist/ confrontational.

Generic advice to use in all facets of life: Ask knowledgeable people to explain their process, rather than defend a position. You'll learn and empower the one answering. 

[Gabreille Nelson Mukhia]

On 5/9/2019 at 10:15 AM, Kiwi Guy said:

Hey guys,

I have my first in-office HT consultation coming up with a reputable surgeon in a few weeks while I'm in the U.S for work and I'm just wondering what is the general consensus of the best and most helpful questions to ask while in these consults?

I'm going to do an in-depth and thorough step by step account of my journey with all of this starting from the consultations so hopefully it can help others going through it. If it wasn't for a lot of the people on this forum doing something similar I wouldn't have the knowledge I do now so paying it forward only seems right.

The questions that you would want to ask are completely subjective of what concerns you the most. There are generic questions regarding the techniques, cost, instrumentation, past results and the doctors that everyone has in mind. 

What you should most of all focus on is what you expect, what you can get and what can the doctor deliver in your case. You should be crystal clear of your expectations first. You should sit down and make a list of all the questions that you might have and the issues that concern you as an individual. Research will help add onto those.

Also, forums like these would provide you valuable insight into the different factors of hair transplantation.

Remember that the most important part of this whole process is you. And everything should be customized according to your particular case.