Transplant Curious

[Transplanet]

Hi I'm new to the transplant community. 

I have some questions:

What are questions I should  ask a prospective doctor focusing on transplants?

It seems like there are alot of experiences with transplants from 1-2 years getting the transplant, but are there any people out there who are ten years' out? 
I'm curious if you had to go back to get work done within that time frame.

How do you go about starting to research where to get the transplant done?

[Melvin- Admin]

Registering to this website is a good start to research. I would ask 

1. Whats your involvement in the surgery?

2. How long have your technicians been with you? 

3. What will you do in the event the surgery isn't successful?

[Eugenix Hair Sciences]

8 hours ago, Transplanet said:

What are questions I should  ask a prospective doctor focusing on transplants?

You should ask them everything. All of your doubts. And as Mr Melvin stated, those questions are most important.

8 hours ago, Transplanet said:

It seems like there are alot of experiences with transplants from 1-2 years getting the transplant, but are there any people out there who are ten years' out? 
I'm curious if you had to go back to get work done within that time frame.

If your baldness progresses even after the transplantation procedure and even with the use of finasteride then you will require another procedure in the future.

8 hours ago, Transplanet said:

How do you go about starting to research where to get the transplant done?

You should reach out to multiple doctors regarding your case. You need to seive out many doctors and eventually settle on the one who you think can do justice to your case.

[Gatsby]

6 hours ago, Melvin- Moderator said:

Registering to this website is a good start to research. I would ask 

1. Whats your involvement in the surgery?

2. How long have your technicians been with you? 

3. What will you do in the event the surgery isn't successful?

These are excellent questions. Remember this. You are the one who is paying for a service (not the other way around). You are the one who has to live with the results for the rest of your life (not the surgeon). There is no such thing as a stupid question so if you feel that you are being dismissed by the surgeon then that to me is a flag. The most important aspect to remember is communication. You must have great communication with the person who is going to be performing surgery on you and you need to clearly express what your goals are so there are no surprises. You will most certainly need good communication prior to surgery. But good communication is even more paramount after the surgery. A lot of questions will pop up after you receive an answer to a prior question so take advantage of the think tank of this forum. All the best!

[Ajamilo]

11 hours ago, Melvin- Moderator said:

Registering to this website is a good start to research. I would ask 

1. Whats your involvement in the surgery?

2. How long have your technicians been with you? 

3. What will you do in the event the surgery isn't successful?

Can you make a complete overview with questions about what one should ask clinics?

Edited June 28, 2022 by Ajamilo

[Rahal Hair Transplant]

Transplanet,

Below was a list of questions that our clinic feels is important for prospective patients to ask prior to undergoing FUE surgery.  I've also provided information about each question and what you ultimately should be looking for.

1. Do they specialize (only do) hair transplants?  Doctors who specialize in hair transplantation have more skill and experience which provides their patients with a more natural looking and dense head of hair.

2. Do they only do fue? Vs. strip?  Doctors who only do the occasional FUE procedure or mix it with strip are doing fewer FUE procedures and thus, aren't as experienced.

3. Do they specialize in hairlines? Those who specialize in hairlines can create the most natural looking hairlines.

4. Do they use small punch sizes smaller than 1mm for all types of grafts?  Using larger punches can cause more damage to the donor area, making scarring more visible and can make it so less donor hair is available for transplanting.  Some doctors will argue that larger punches cause less damage to the grafts but doctors with more experience and skill won't cause any damage to the grafts using smaller punches as well.

5. Do they offer every type of fue (manual, motorized)?  Most doctors use the device/tool they are most comfortable with for every FUE procedure.  However, all patients are different and one approach isn't always best for everyone.  It's important to select a physician who adapts their technique and uses various devices depending on the patients needs rather than what's easiest for the doctor.

6. Do they inspect each graft under magnification?  Many surgeons claim to have a transection rate of less than 5%?  But how many of them really evaluate this?  Inspecting each graft under magnification during surgery is the only way a surgeon can truly measure transection rates and the truth is, very few clinics are doing this.  Many who report low transection rates are basing this off of a single experiment from one patient rather than ongoing data analysis based on the average of many patients.  Thus, it's always better to select a surgeon who inspects each graft prior to implantation and actually quantifies transection rates.

7. Do they store the grafts in hypothermosol solution? We use for heart transplant)? Most surgeons use a basic saline (salt and water) solution to store grafts while they are outside of the body.  Hypothermosol is a more advanced solution that preserves hair cells and tissue longer and is the same solution used in more advanced organ transplants such as the heart and liver.

8. Do they use 5x magnification when implanting?  Using magnification while implanting is important in order for the doctor and technicians to adequately see what they are doing.  This reduces the possibility of damage to the follicles.  Most clinics will use some kind of magnification, but using 5X magnification is considered optimal.

6. Do they use a “no touch technique” for implantation? (we use KEEP to implant).   Typically, technicians use forceps to place grafts into recipient sites however, grafts can easily be squeezed or crushed, causing irreparable damage.  "No touch" devices such as the K.E.E.P. (Koray Erdogan Embedding Placer) were developed to eliminate damage during implantation and thus, it's important to consider this when selecting a physician to perform your procedure.

7. Have they performed strip before or have they only ever performed FUE?  Doctors who used to specialize in strip are typically more versatile and understand the need to inspect grafts after extraction, use high magnification during implantation and customize a hair transplant based on an individual's needs rather than using a "one size fits all" approach.

-----

I hope this helps.

Rahal Hair Transplant

 

[Transplanet]

Thank you all so much! These responses are super helpful to a newbie like me!