How to choose a surgeon

[Brido]

While this is an amazing resource I’m a little overwhelmed at the amount of information! Based in Ireland but willing to travel within Europe. Not keen on travelling too far as it is surgery and I’d like to keep things as simple and easy as possible. So far considering Dr Nel in Ireland, and outside of that, De Freitas and Bisanga. I would hazard a guess that 3000 grafts would be needed. Blonde hair, strong donor area. If I wasn’t budget conscious I would definitely go with Bisanga but I’m estimating that could cost €20k which I don’t have.  Would I be right in thinking De Freitas would do a really great job for around half that? Any input on all 3 doctors would be great (or any other doctor worth exploring). Thank you so much. 

[Melvin- Admin]

I don’t have any experience with Dr. Nel, Dr. De Freitas and Dr. Bisanga have amazing reviews here. Though, for your hair type, Bisanga might be better. He absolutely nails fine blonde hair transplants. @Maa @capillus incrementum just off the top of my head.

[FixMyHair213]

dr munib, dr mwamba, dr couto, these are a few names which come to mind within Europe. 

[Brido]

6 hours ago, Melvin- Moderator said:

I don’t have any experience with Dr. Nel, Dr. De Freitas and Dr. Bisanga have amazing reviews here. Though, for your hair type, Bisanga might be better. He absolutely nails fine blonde hair transplants. @Maa @capillus incrementum just off the top of my head.

Dr Nel seems to be the best in Ireland from what I hear but I would imagine Bisanga to be in a different league. I just don’t know if I could afford him but I guess I won’t know unless I get in touch and find out. That’s one thing I’ve noticed about De Freitas, I’ve not seen one ‘before’ example yet that looks anywhere remotely like me. I have a strong back and sides, light brown/blonde but my crown is very sparse. Similar colour to @Maa for sure. 

[Big Rome]

Dr Bruno Pinto & DR Ferreira in Portugal also 👊🏼

[A_4_Archan]

If you can't afford dr bisanga than imo you can consider dr de freitas ,dr bruno pinto and dr ferreira....

[Brido]

I’ll get in touch and see what price I get. I have no idea how many grafts are needed. I was looking at pics here to see what 3000,4000 grafts etc actually looks like. Trying to figure out who looks most like me😅 Hoping he’s affordable to me as I’m very nervous about the whole thing but if I could afford him at least I’d know I was in the best possible hands. 

[ScottishGuy21]

Research, research and research. 
 

Look at surgeons tackling similar cases to yours that you’d be happy with and make a note.
 

Contact them and see what plans they come back with. Every clinic will have different methods so once you’ve had feedback pool the best handful (more often than not you’ll have a good gut feeling about a few) .

Review again and factor in your variables. Surgeon skill level , Reputation, Distance, travel logistics , amount of cases online for said surgeon, cost (This should never be the deciding factor though, it’s worth saving up for a high class Dr and delaying surgery rather than just going with the cheapest option available).

I was in your position a few years ago and know how much stress the process can be. But you’ve found an invaluable resource here with years of cases and feedback on which will make things a little less daunting! Good Luck

Edited April 6, 2023 by ScottishGuy21

[duckling]

54 minutes ago, Brido said:

I’ll get in touch and see what price I get. I have no idea how many grafts are needed. I was looking at pics here to see what 3000,4000 grafts etc actually looks like. Trying to figure out who looks most like me😅 Hoping he’s affordable to me as I’m very nervous about the whole thing but if I could afford him at least I’d know I was in the best possible hands. 

For the travel part i will say incase you think a surgeon is good, try to think of it as a trip+surgery instead of trip for a sugery. (Don't know how it sounded 😄 ).

Haha i do the same by searching for people who have same hair like me .Figure out what norwood you are and then search. It will definitely save you lot of time. Then try to get as much information you can from posts of people having similar grade. Make a note of all the clinics you saw performing those cases(which match your hair type and grade) . On youtube search their channel and see if their results are consistent and how many cases they perform similar to yours . Get in touch with them and get a qoute. After first clinic you will lose the fear of asking. Be shameless and ask them to show you more cases which they haven't posted online or help in getting in touch with their patients(if they don't mind helping). Ask the patients how their growth has been after years of the desired result which you saw on youtube and what approach they would have taken different to the one they have taken already ( if any pointers they can give like spacing out surgeries for different portions of scalp coverage or related to meds or the clinic itself etc). 

Donor assessment you can get done from any surgeon near you. Just go for normal consultation and ask the surgeon to check with magnification. Definitely this number will change with surgeon and their skill of what they can extract without making it look depleted but estimate cannot vary by huge margin. 

During consultation ask them what their plan regarding donor management for future surgery is. This will let you know who cares about you and who cares about extracting a certain graft number.

If you have not been on any meds then they should recommend you meds that you have to take for atleast a year before your surgery. This way you will know how you responded to meds which is needed to keep your existing hair. (No transplant can give excellent density without your existing hair helping). And this will drastically change the grafts you need to extract and change the initial plan for good.

Take your time and use all resouces.good luck !

[Rahal Hair Transplant]

@Brido,

I know you are limiting yourself to surgeons in Europe, but I wanted to chime in I generally speaking with my thoughts on how to select the best surgeon for you - since that’s ultimately what this topic is about.  While I certainly understand that cost and location are often considered important  factors, I am a firm believer that these factors should be some of the last things to consider since hair transplant surgery is a lifelong investment.  After all, getting it done, right, the first time far outweighs the inconvenience of travel and even paying a little bit more for surgery.  

Now, it’s true, that the vast majority of us are on a budget, and thus, we have to be reasonable in terms of cost. But on the other hand, location is more about convenience than anything else.  Now don’t get me wrong, there are some really good doctors in Europe and I’m not saying that you absolutely have to travel outside of the continent in order to obtain desirable results.   On the other hand, I personally think it’s far better to evaluate surgeons based on their proven track record of producing outstanding results (which can be found by viewing results posted by patients and the clinic on this forum and other websites) and then, once you narrow your selection down to 3 to 5 surgeons you are most impressed with, you can begin considering factors like cost and location.

Below, I’ve presented steps that I strongly recommend those considering hair transplant surgery follow.  These will help to ensure that you select the best surgeon for you.

Rahal Hair Transplant

How to Select an outstanding hair transplant surgeon. 

1.  Start by looking at the surgeons recommended by this community, in particular the Coalition of Independent Hair Restoration Physicians.  Surgeons recommended by this community have met a demanding set of standards and are approved based on meeting those high standards.  Many online hair surgeon memberships don’t have any criteria other than to pay a membership fee.  Furthermore, physician members of the coalition have met an even higher and more demanding set of standards and have proven to be amongst the best of the best in the profession.

2. Now even amongst a list of outstanding surgeons, not all surgeons are created equally. Therefore, while it’s tempting to select a surgeon based on price or location, try to avoid this as many individuals travel great distances to undergo surgery with an elite surgeon they are most impressed with. Thus choose a surgeon based on their proven ability to produce outstanding results rather than because of cost or location.

3. Narrow your selection down to 3 to 5 surgeons you are most impressed with.  You can do this by using this discussion forum and others to view examples of patient results posted by both the clinic and their patients.  Speak with and meet with real patients in person if possible. If not, video chat works pretty well.

4. Come up with a list of consult questions to ask each surgeon/clinic you are considering. I’ve created several different posts on this forum with good questions to ask doctors.  If you need help coming up with a list of good questions, please let me know.

5. Consult with each doctor you are considering and ultimately, choose the surgeon you feel can best meet your goals.

I hope this helps  

Rahal Hair Transplant 

Edited April 6, 2023 by Rahal Hair Transplant