BHR Clinic - Be Wary of Unprofessional “Cheap" Hair Transplantation Clinics!

[Raphael84]

 

Hair Transplant costs, the hidden dangers! We all have a budget, but what should you look out for when searching for FUE surgery? Often with “cheap deals”, you pay far more, not only per hour, but for life. Let me explain why…

Let’s face it, in the modern world of sleek marketing, celeb endorsements and good looking models, this for some is the only level of research they need to do for what is their life changing hair transplantation surgery. Why waste time when others have researched for you and their five star and four line reviews are more than enough to catch you and reel you in. With their glowing teeth and their gelled hair that looks like a scene from Grease, (the movie), not the country, the set is ready, all that is needed now is your part to complete the dream. The price is good so why pay more?

In the good old days, you had to leave home to get robbed, now it happens from the safety of your office, your home or anywhere that you are connected. The web that gives us so much, and it gives us a lot of good, is also a fertile ground for grooming the unsuspecting victim.

Like many today, time is precious and money is an important factor, so these become the USP or the “unique selling points” for many hair transplantation clinics. Flashy presentations, often on sites and media accounts that are live and then down very frequently, huge marketing budgets, (ironically the larger the  campaign the smaller the doctor), and medical professionals who really have no depth or pedigree to show.

Aside from the presentation, comes the deal, the price, the clinch…all you can eat, a marketing tool for restaurants in the 90s, has become a tool for modern hair transplantation, they just changed a few words to “all the grafts you need”, and often for a set price or a very cheap price per graft. The focus is on this and less so on the qualifications, recognition, awards, peer review, pedigree and depth of posting history of cases and education to recognised forums.

Attracted by this wonderful price and often less than half of what you would expect to pay in a truly bonafide reputable clinic, it seems to be low risk and high benefit. Okay, the stage has been set, now let’s see some of the problems that come. Firstly the number of patients per daythat are being operated on. When most of the top will do one or at most two patients per day, and averaging 8 hours per surgery, these are doing multiple and even I have heard of 8/9 daily!Yes, you read that correctly, a few more and you have a football team!

Surgery, this will usually last 3/4 hours for 3000 to 4,000 FUE, and this is an important aspect, the surgery is tech centric not doctor centric, so in essence you have multiple technicians punching the grafts, three at a time is not uncommon, and the same crew placing with implanter pens. So, the whole process is super-fast, the hair implantation happens simultaneously with the sites being cut, and like a quick fit fitter, you are in and out before you know it.

The donor is often over harvested, the hair angles, depth, direction and density, rather than being dictated by the doctor are at the mercy of the technicians, most of whom have little to no medical experience of qualifications. In fact, it is shocking but some are part time taxi drivers and illegals in the country with no experience in what is essentially a very complex and life changing surgery. If your tech is left handed you may have different hair orientations placed as opposed to right handed, and trust me I have seen the results of this.

To make matters worse, your hourly rate was in all probability more for this than it would have been with a doctor centric, renowned clinic, that due to the doctor punching all of the grafts and cutting all of the sites, you need far more time. So, in essence, your cheap deal per hour is not so cheap financially.The real cost however is far more, the grafts are precious, the donor often is beyond repair and the result is worse than being bald! The cost is emotional, both socially and professionally. I have met many who have left well paid jobs due to this and take anything where they can live under a hat!

If things go really wrong then your actual physical health can be at harm, with too many injections and risk of toxicity to even scalp necrosis! At times the last thing to worry about is the end hair transplant result that can be pluggy, lack density and frankly be anything but natural.

Take home message, remember a hair transplant is for life, work out the cost difference it will be per year and ask yourself…is it worth it? In short a good surgery is priceless, a poor one is even more costly.

Article written be Stephen
stephen@bhrclinic.com

To see the original article, please visit - 
https://bhrclinic.com/2021/08/04/hair-transplant-costs-the-hidden-dangers-we-all-have-a-budget-but-what-should-you-look-out-for-when-searching-for-fue-surgery-often-with-cheap-deals-you-pay-far-more-not-only-p/

Edited August 18, 2021 by Raphael84

[Britanium]

If only people could read this before it’s too late. So many times people arrive on the forum after the damage has been done. And then have to pay even more for a repair. False economy going cheap/tech driven procedure. Just more likely for a failed transplant/poor work and over harvested donor area. Or as we often see a totally exaggerated graft count. 

[sl]

Yes, and quality of life, work , social impact is without cost and as said here, the irony is they pay more per hour in a 3/4 hours 4k FUE that we or others would do over two days...and they have tech only and a good number of them and I have heard of 8/9 patients daily, it is a conveyor belt. Forums help but this will never be eradicated and I have seen UK outfits similar spring up.

[Britanium]

6 minutes ago, sl said:

Yes, and quality of life, work , social impact is without cost and as said here, the irony is they pay more per hour in a 3/4 hours 4k FUE that we or others would do over two days...and they have tech only and a good number of them and I have heard of 8/9 patients daily, it is a conveyor belt. Forums help but this will never be eradicated and I have seen UK outfits similar spring up.

Cheap UK clinics are popping up at a alarming rate. Just the last week I have seen 3 being heavily advertised, as low as £1999 😢 

Some clinics in Turkey run up to 15 patients per day ! 

Edited August 17, 2021 by JohnAC71

[Britanium]

Your right, forums definitely help but people won’t always follow our advice here either. 😕 so many people want the cheapest option or ask about some random no name Dr/Clinic.. 

[sl]

Wow,that is a football team with subs on the bench..

[Raphael84]

On 8/17/2021 at 1:21 PM, JohnAC71 said:

Your right, forums definitely help but people won’t always follow our advice here either. 😕 so many people want the cheapest option or ask about some random no name Dr/Clinic..

This is the reality of it John unfortunately. Even if some research is done, as with many factors of our lives, we prefer to attach ourselves to opportunities/opinions that suit/support our own narrative. As a young patient with insecurities regarding their hair and a smaller budget, having a clinic with a social media presence tell them exactly what they want to hear for 2-3k is far more comforting than an advisor explaining 10k for a quality surgeon if such pricing is not an option for them.
Patience is tough to comprehend for the younger individual and at 24 they can't look past their 30s. Many feel that they need to act now. When things dont work out as they anticipated, patience and budget become far more stretched than the right decision first time would have demanded.

Edited August 18, 2021 by Raphael84

[rob7331]

As a person who started researching HTs in their mid 20s (I'm almost 30 now) I'm shocked at the amount of bad information out there from guys I've spoken to in real life. It's expected to only have surface-level understanding when starting out in your research, but some of the clinics I've had guys brazenly recommend are just... abysmal. Like, bad bad. Oftentimes also at 2x the price you'd pay internationally. This is a (mostly) permanent surgery for goodness sake.

If only there was a way for the Google algorithm to load Hair Restoration Network as a first hit, for when newbies are beginning their research. I know it would've helped me greatly. Big thanks to Melvin and all the amazing people who are always contributing to this forum.

Edited August 19, 2021 by rob7331

[Moe N]

The integrity of surgeons to not promise a false dream and rather taking the time to educate patients is so important. Thanks Melvin for the interview, and thanks BHR Clinic for another educational Bitesize with Bisanga video. 👍

[deeznuts]

Lol. You have to post that somewhere like Reddit. When I first started doing my research, I came across reddit and that was my first step. Over there, you got guys paying 2k, 2.5k for a hair transplant. It's almost mindboggling too how they'll spend more money on a business class ticket to Turkey than they'll actually spend on the transplant itself. I saw one guy over there do that. I'm a big fan of Dr. Rassman over there though since he always tries to steer guys in the right direction so as to not mess up their life. 5k, 8k, 10k... None of it is worth playing Russian roulette with your hair. During your life, 10k is just a drop in the bucket. You'll have spent/wasted 10k on much dumber things and not even remember it. The other month, I spent like 15 bucks on a Nashville hot chicken place in Toronto and gave myself hemorrhoids. 

 

 

[sl]

6 hours ago, deeznuts said:

The other month, I spent like 15 bucks on a Nashville hot chicken place in Toronto and gave myself hemorrhoids. 

Quote of the month winner for sure and a great illustration for cheap surgery! Melvin let's have a quote of the month competition as this is up there...