Whats the Percentage of Good HT Results?

[deanro]

Hello everyone. This is a subjective question with no precise figure but I'd like to get a ballpark figure as an answer. What do you guys feel is the percentage of successful ht results? By successful I mean a result that isnt a failure and that looks good to the eye. Again, I know the answer isnt accurate but I'd like to base it on your years of observations from what youve seen online or personal experiences.

 

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[makehairgreatagain]

There's too many variables to say this IMO. All that matters is if the patient is happy at the end of the day.

[Gatsby]

Unfortunately we will never know. This is because of two reasons mainly. Firstly many people who feel that they have had a failed hair transplant never go public and will hide it as much as is possible. This was me after my first two botched procedures for many years. Secondly, many people feel that they have a 'botched' procedure when to others it looks perfectly natural. It's such a subjective perception to the individual.

[Al - Moderator]

Even if you could get an overall average it doesn't really do any good. All of the cheap, bad clinics will be pulling the average down. If next year a lot more people go to cheap clinics then the average will drop. Does that mean the higher quality clinics are doing a bad job? No. Of course not. The best ones may have actually improved, but you won't know it by looking at the lower overall average. The American major league baseball batting average for 2019 was 248, but there are going to be some under 200 hitters and a few 300 hitters. You want to sign the 300 hitters to your team.

The better thing to do is try to compare the successful percentage of transplants of one clinic vs another clinic. Then you'll start seeing who is good and who isn't. That's what matters.

 

Edited March 28, 2021 by BeHappy

[Melvin- Admin]

https://www.hairtransplantnetwork.com/what-is-success-rate-hair-transplant/3461

[deanro]

14 hours ago, makehairgreatagain said:

There's too many variables to say this IMO. All that matters is if the patient is happy at the end of the day.

Yes thats true.

 

12 hours ago, Gatsby said:

Unfortunately we will never know. This is because of two reasons mainly. Firstly many people who feel that they have had a failed hair transplant never go public and will hide it as much as is possible. This was me after my first two botched procedures for many years. Secondly, many people feel that they have a 'botched' procedure when to others it looks perfectly natural. It's such a subjective perception to the individual.

Very good answer! That does seem likely the issue here in addition to the successful hts that are not published which may undercut the number of successes.

 

9 hours ago, BeHappy said:

Even if you could get an overall average it doesn't really do any good. All of the cheap, bad clinics will be pulling the average down. If next year a lot more people go to cheap clinics then the average will drop. Does that mean the higher quality clinics are doing a bad job? No. Of course not. The best ones may have actually improved, but you won't know it by looking at the lower overall average. The American major league baseball batting average for 2019 was 248, but there are going to be some under 200 hitters and a few 300 hitters. You want to sign the 300 hitters to your team.

The better thing to do is try to compare the successful percentage of transplants of one clinic vs another clinic. Then you'll start seeing who is good and who isn't.

 

Excellent response. Never had taken into consideration that the poor quality clinics may dilute the average of successful hts.

I'm actually strongly considering Couto, Baubac, H&W and Freitas as prime candidates. I'm just a bit scared because I dont want to end up with a botched ht. But after reading your analogy of baseball batting average where getting only the best hitters with a 300 batting average is the best way to go I think my aforementioned choices are comparable to those heavy hitters.

Edited March 28, 2021 by deanro

[Raphael84]

On 3/28/2021 at 11:16 AM, BeHappy said:

Even if you could get an overall average it doesn't really do any good. All of the cheap, bad clinics will be pulling the average down. If next year a lot more people go to cheap clinics then the average will drop. Does that mean the higher quality clinics are doing a bad job? No. Of course not. The best ones may have actually improved, but you won't know it by looking at the lower overall average. The American major league baseball batting average for 2019 was 248, but there are going to be some under 200 hitters and a few 300 hitters. You want to sign the 300 hitters to your team.

The better thing to do is try to compare the successful percentage of transplants of one clinic vs another clinic. Then you'll start seeing who is good and who isn't. That's what matters.

 

Exactly! Well said.
Not all FUE is performed equally. Quite the opposite.

The very best and most ethical surgeons are achieving positive results in a very high percentage of their patients. The key word here is ethical. Assessing and evaluating candidacy thoroughly and accurately. Explaining that surgery is not the right approach, even if that means on the morning of surgery if that is the first time that the doctor has met the patient and assessed their characteristics. Patients with inflammatory concerns, non favourable donor density and/or non favourable hair groupings (depending on age/loss etc), levels of miniaturisation and even unrealistic expectations. 
By proceeding with surgery on patients that are poor candidates, the risk of unsatisfactory results is logically higher. Despite being in the field of "cosmetic/aesthetic" surgery, we are talking about doctors, not restauranteurs. The patient needs to be told the truth always, not what they want to hear. This can be tough for doctors as individuals can arrive who are experiencing negative emotional effects due to their hair loss, and are putting all of their hopes on surgery, and to tell them that they are not candidates can have tough consequences for the individual. But it is a doctors duty to be honest and truthful, and as hard as it may be for that individual, poor growth after such emotional and financial investment is worse than explaining surgery is not an option.

This is where ethics and education must take priority over the clinics schedule. The irony is, in doing so, the doctor will have a high success right, earn his reputation and as a result, have a busier/full schedule. 

Having said this, we should not confuse poor candidates for challenging repair cases. They are two different things. I am not suggesting clinics pick the easy frontal loss cases, as there are many of us with greater extents of loss, and many individuals who have had poor surgery elsewhere and require quality repair surgery with a trusted doctor, but a poor candidate, is a poor candidate, and they require that time to be educated.

[Dr. Neil Verma]

I agree with above.  Can expect excellent results if the patient selection is done well.  Its important to only do hair transplant on those that are candidates.  Its also important to explain to patients that even if they want a low hairline or full coverage neither may be options so expectations can be adequately met with an excellent result for density and hairline. 

[Gatsby]

The clinic (that is one of the best to go to) and cherry picks the best candidates (exceptional donor, etc) who have been educated thoroughly on all the risks as well as having realistic expectations will always do well. Once you start to accept young patients who have not been screened both by their current/future hair loss and psychologically (BDD, unrealistic expectations, false promises and heavy marketing) then the success rate begins to enter negative numbers. Also patients who are only solely focused on price will almost always result in failure.

[Britanium]

2 hours ago, Gatsby said:

The clinic (that is one of the best to go to) and cherry picks the best candidates (exceptional donor, etc) who have been educated thoroughly on all the risks as well as having realistic expectations will always do well. Once you start to accept young patients who have not been screened both by their current/future hair loss and psychologically (BDD, unrealistic expectations, false promises and heavy marketing) then the success rate begins to enter negative numbers. Also patients who are only solely focused on price will almost always result in failure.

Wise words @Gatsby 👌