Clinic O'Porto (Dr Bruno Pinto) or Clinic LHR (Dr Augusto Guerreiro)

[NeonDemon]

Hi everyone,

In the past month, I have done extensive research (as one should) when it comes to potential clinics and doctors, eventually narrowing it down to two Portuguese clinics (since this is my home country, despite the fact I live somewhere else in Europe, currently): Clinic O'Porto with Dr. Pinto and Clinic LHR with Dr. Augusto.

Both seem to show good results on their respective social media pages or websites, however, I was more inclined to go with clinic LHR because of the waiting time with Dr. Pinto (1 year for physical evaluation + 4-6 months on average until surgery).
However, I am now at a crossroads due to a particular situation:

After an initial evaluation by Dr Pinto, in which he looked at my set of pictures and the form that I sent back, he recommended taking Finasteride oral 1mg and Minoxidil also oral 2.5mg per day, for a full year, before a physical evaluation. This is because Dr Pinto claimed I have aggressive alopecia for my age (32) and that we should stabilize first before considering a transplant.
On the other hand, Dr Augusto said he does not understand why the need to take such a long medication time before the transplant and he claims I would not see much difference in my hair even if the medication would have a positive effect. He said I could nontheless take the medication but he thinks it's much more important to take it AFTER the hair transplant.

I am at a loss as to what to do. On one hand, LHR clinic and Dr Augusto seem very caring and principled, with the clinic being extremely patient as I ask numerous questions and go back and forth between clinics. They also could do the surgery late this year already, after I'd take finasteride and topical minoxidil for around 6 months. On the other, Dr Pinto is very renowned in the hair transplant circles and I see really good results on their youtube channel from clinic O'Porto.

What does everyone else recommend? Should I stabilize the alopecia and do the long wait or is it safe to take it for about half a year and to the procedure this year?

Dr Pinto's price is currently sitting at 2,60€/ graft, without a quote on how many I would need, currently, as he wants to do the whole process I mentioned above, first.
Dr Augusto's price is at 5400€ for 4500 grafts, which they said it's the limit for what they do in one session.

Many thanks in advance and I look forward to hearing your opinions and feedback on my case.

[Melvin- Admin]

I have never heard of Dr. Guerriero, Dr. Pinto is an excellent choice. Does Dr. Guerreiro have a lot of reviews in the Spanish forum?

[Ccd99]

In my honest opinion I would go with what Dr Pinto says, it is always a good idea to stabilise your hairloss with meds before a hair transplant intervention. Multiple reasons for this:

• Stop shedding of existing weaker hairs that are DHT sensitive, once stabilised the idea is that you will not lose more hair due to DHT and it means the doctor can plan your hair transplant better, otherwise you risk losing hair behind the hair transplant and have to go for another surgery later in the future (if your donor even allows).
• Improve hair thickness overall (both recipient and donor), this means there will be more coverage through your existing hair and therefore less grafts required.
• Potential to improve hair density in both recipient and donor areas, e.g. regrowth of hair (I admit not everyone sees this kind of regrowth but those that respond well may)

Curious, how come you did not consider Dr Bruno Ferreira in Espinho, Porto? 

[NeonDemon]

11 hours ago, Melvin- Admin said:

I have never heard of Dr. Guerriero, Dr. Pinto is an excellent choice. Does Dr. Guerreiro have a lot of reviews in the Spanish forum?

No, he only has a few reviews on reddit, as well as one actually right on this forum. He's also part of the International Society of Hair Restoration Surgery. He performs the transplants mostly by his own hand and is involved in at least 80% of the procedure itself, which is one of the reasons I considered him. Obviously Dr. Pinto is much more established, but I believe Dr. Guerreiro will be better known in the coming years. His clinic also has results on their own webpage, social media and on the best hair clinics website (not sure if I can post links in this forum, I'm completely new here).

 

 

2 hours ago, Ccd99 said:

In my honest opinion I would go with what Dr Pinto says, it is always a good idea to stabilise your hairloss with meds before a hair transplant intervention. Multiple reasons for this:

• Stop shedding of existing weaker hairs that are DHT sensitive, once stabilised the idea is that you will not lose more hair due to DHT and it means the doctor can plan your hair transplant better, otherwise you risk losing hair behind the hair transplant and have to go for another surgery later in the future (if your donor even allows).
• Improve hair thickness overall (both recipient and donor), this means there will be more coverage through your existing hair and therefore less grafts required.
• Potential to improve hair density in both recipient and donor areas, e.g. regrowth of hair (I admit not everyone sees this kind of regrowth but those that respond well may)

Curious, how come you did not consider Dr Bruno Ferreira in Espinho, Porto? 

The first reason you quoted is something I have seen pop up in two different studies, as well as pretty much everyone else's opinion on why to take the medication a long while before the transplant. It makes me quite confused as to why Dr. Augusto Guerreiro said it wouldn't be necessary...
The other two reasons make complete sense, yes. I've even read that 1 year is the ideal timeframe to notice results from finasteride + minoxodil treatment.

To answer your question; I absolutely did consider Dr. Ferreira. However, he is now charging 4€/graft (as opposed to Dr. Pinto's 2,60€) and the waiting list would be even longer than that of Dr. Pinto, with them having told me it would simply be possible to do an evaluation "somewhere in 2025". I am willing to wait, but maybe not that long as I would like to have a decent head of hair before I am in my late 30s, if realistic.

[ScottishGuy21]

I’m a little alarmed here. Dr Guerreiro seems to be rushing you into the chair. The passage on medication  personally is a big red flag.
 

In order for a hair transplant to be successful long term medication is important. You mention you have aggressive loss at only 32, you really do need to stabilise these losses before any surgery. Dr Pinto is absolutely correct to remain cautious and see how you respond to medication. First and foremost you need to give them time to see if you develop side effects. These can take months to surface. The other big factor to consider is what happens if you don’t respond positively and continues to recess? On the flip side you could be a hyper responder and it would significantly lessen the work you need doing. Without photos or a detailed history of your family patterns it’s hard to tell but maybe consult with a few other surgeons to gauge their plans and see if there’s and outlier to the advice given.

 

I don’t mean to be a voice of doom btw. I had my first transplant at 34 and know exactly how you feel. You want it done asap and to regain confidence . But trust me 1 year is nothing in the grand scheme of things . It’s far far far more important to get it right for your long term prospects.

I’m surprised Dr Pinto is still so cheap comparative to those surgeons operating in Western Europe with similar reputation. €2.60 a graft is a steal.

Edited May 2 by ScottishGuy21

[NeonDemon]

3 minutes ago, ScottishGuy21 said:

I’m a little alarmed here. Dr Guerreiro seems to be rushing you into the chair. The passage on medication  personally is a big red flag.
 

In order for a hair transplant to be successful long term medication is important. You mention you have aggressive loss at only 32, you really do need to stabilise these losses before any surgery. Dr Pinto is absolutely correct to remain cautious and see how you respond to medication. First and foremost you need to give them time to see if you develop side effects. These can take months to surface. The other big factor to consider is what happens if you don’t respond positively and continues to recess? On the flip side you could be a hyper responder and it would significantly lessen the work you need doing. Without photos or a detailed history of your family patterns it’s hard to tell but maybe consult with a few other surgeons to gauge their plans and see if there’s and outlier to the advice given.

 

I don’t mean to be a voice of doom btw. I had my first transplant at 34 and know exactly how you feel. You want it done asap and to regain confidence . But trust me 1 year is nothing in the grand scheme of things . It’s far far far more important to get it right for your long term prospects.

I’m surprised Dr Pinto is still so cheap comparative to those surgeons operating in Western Europe with similar reputation. €2.60 a graft is a steal.

I had an online consultation with Dr. Guerreiro this past monday in which he said medication before the transplant would not be necessary but it could certainly help. Those are his words, as far as I recall. I also became quite surprised at this radical difference in opinion between one doctor and the other. The reasons given to me by Dr. Guerreiro were that he believes the medication would not help me regain my hair nor would it make a huge difference before the transplant when it comes to density, for example. He seemed genuinely confused as to why Dr. Pinto asked me to do the medication for a full year before a physical evaluation and suggested that perhaps, because they have a long waiting list, it would serve as a way to keep me in that list as I waited for the medication to take effect.
I am currently hesitant to post pictures as I am wary of my privacy, however, I have been diagnosed with a Norwood 5 by Dr. Guerreiro. I have nearly no hair on my front, just a tiny patch in the center and my crown's portion is extremely thin, despite having more hair than my front. At least my sides have rather thick hair comparatively speaking, to the extent that, when I wear a beanie, people think I have good hair because I place the sides across my forehead to disguise my hair loss, haha. I was also told my donor area is good and I should have around 8000 grafts in it. When it comes to family history, both my father and grandfather had more hair loss on the crown than the front, with my father having had more hair on his front even in his later years compared to me! Even on my mother's side, my grandfather had decent hair in the front but lacked in the crown area.

I appreciate your honesty and do not consider it to be negative, but rather, realistic and cautious, which is exactly what I was looking for by coming here and asking for people's opinions. So thank you.

It does seem so far that taking the finasteride plus minoxidil for a year is the way to go. My main concern, however, is if my alopecia does not stabilize and in 2025, Dr. Pinto refuses to do the surgery. Then I will feel like I am a year older and back to square one. The patient coordinator for Dr. Pinto did say that it is "very rare" that a patient's alopecia does not stabilize after a full year on the medication. Let's hope I wouldn't be one of those unlucky few...

[mr_peanutbutter]

1 hour ago, NeonDemon said:

No, he only has a few reviews on reddit, as well as one actually right on this forum. He's also part of the International Society of Hair Restoration Surgery. He performs the transplants mostly by his own hand and is involved in at least 80% of the procedure itself, which is one of the reasons I considered him. Obviously Dr. Pinto is much more established, but I believe Dr. Guerreiro will be better known in the coming years. His clinic also has results on their own webpage, social media and on the best hair clinics website (not sure if I can post links in this forum, I'm completely new here).

 

 

The first reason you quoted is something I have seen pop up in two different studies, as well as pretty much everyone else's opinion on why to take the medication a long while before the transplant. It makes me quite confused as to why Dr. Augusto Guerreiro said it wouldn't be necessary...
The other two reasons make complete sense, yes. I've even read that 1 year is the ideal timeframe to notice results from finasteride + minoxodil treatment.

To answer your question; I absolutely did consider Dr. Ferreira. However, he is now charging 4€/graft (as opposed to Dr. Pinto's 2,60€) and the waiting list would be even longer than that of Dr. Pinto, with them having told me it would simply be possible to do an evaluation "somewhere in 2025". I am willing to wait, but maybe not that long as I would like to have a decent head of hair before I am in my late 30s, if realistic.

dr pinto is 2.6 eur per graft? thats a steal, cool. i read somewhere he was close to 4 eur now but this was false then. cool

Edited May 2 by mr_peanutbutter

[Ccd99]

1 hour ago, NeonDemon said:

The first reason you quoted is something I have seen pop up in two different studies, as well as pretty much everyone else's opinion on why to take the medication a long while before the transplant. It makes me quite confused as to why Dr. Augusto Guerreiro said it wouldn't be necessary...
The other two reasons make complete sense, yes. I've even read that 1 year is the ideal timeframe to notice results from finasteride + minoxodil treatment.

To answer your question; I absolutely did consider Dr. Ferreira. However, he is now charging 4€/graft (as opposed to Dr. Pinto's 2,60€) and the waiting list would be even longer than that of Dr. Pinto, with them having told me it would simply be possible to do an evaluation "somewhere in 2025". I am willing to wait, but maybe not that long as I would like to have a decent head of hair before I am in my late 30s, if realistic.

I am not entirely unsure why Dr Guerreiro would suggest that.. seems the contrary of what any reasonable HT doctor would advise. Yes 12 months sounds right, I myself have seen tremendous benefit from using medication, and I am only at the 9 month mark (feel free to take a look at my thread for progress photos if you are interested in what meds can do).

Fair enough, you are right he does charge €4 now - I have my surgery later in September with Dr Ferreira that's why I asked, I know what you mean about the waiting list, I got lucky and grabbed a cancelled consultation slot.

Edited May 2 by Ccd99

[NeonDemon]

52 minutes ago, Ccd99 said:

I am not entirely unsure why Dr Guerreiro would suggest that.. seems the contrary of what any reasonable HT doctor would advise. Yes 12 months sounds right, I myself have seen tremendous benefit from using medication, and I am only at the 9 month mark (feel free to take a look at my thread for progress photos if you are interested in what meds can do).

Fair enough, you are right he does charge €4 now - I have my surgery later in September with Dr Ferreira that's why I asked, I know what you mean about the waiting list, I got lucky and grabbed a cancelled consultation slot.

I did take a look at your progress photos and the difference in density is noticeable after... 4 weeks of finasteride already, was it? Here's hoping I'll experience something similar without side effects.

I'm happy for you to have gotten a cancelled consultation slot; Dr. Ferreira, from what I've seen, is one of the very best you can go with. Quite looking forward to your progress updates, should you make them, of course. Here's hoping all goes well for you!

From what I've gathered from everyone here plus my research, finasteride and minoxidil is definitely the way to go regardless of who I'd pick to do the transplant with. Furthermore, everyone seems to favor Dr. Pinto's opinion and seem quite pragmatic about Dr. Guerreiro's. I suppose the best thing to do is to be patient, take my meds religiously and hope my alopecia gets stabilized to the point that next year, I can perform surgery with Dr. Pinto.
I am simply paranoid that I will be one of those unlucky few whose alopecia won't stabilize or that he'll look at my supposed Norwood 5 and decide not to proceed with surgery... alas I can do nothing more but hope, eh?

[ScottishGuy21]

2 hours ago, NeonDemon said:

I had an online consultation with Dr. Guerreiro this past monday in which he said medication before the transplant would not be necessary but it could certainly help. Those are his words, as far as I recall. I also became quite surprised at this radical difference in opinion between one doctor and the other. The reasons given to me by Dr. Guerreiro were that he believes the medication would not help me regain my hair nor would it make a huge difference before the transplant when it comes to density, for example. He seemed genuinely confused as to why Dr. Pinto asked me to do the medication for a full year before a physical evaluation and suggested that perhaps, because they have a long waiting list, it would serve as a way to keep me in that list as I waited for the medication to take effect.
I am currently hesitant to post pictures as I am wary of my privacy, however, I have been diagnosed with a Norwood 5 by Dr. Guerreiro. I have nearly no hair on my front, just a tiny patch in the center and my crown's portion is extremely thin, despite having more hair than my front. At least my sides have rather thick hair comparatively speaking, to the extent that, when I wear a beanie, people think I have good hair because I place the sides across my forehead to disguise my hair loss, haha. I was also told my donor area is good and I should have around 8000 grafts in it. When it comes to family history, both my father and grandfather had more hair loss on the crown than the front, with my father having had more hair on his front even in his later years compared to me! Even on my mother's side, my grandfather had decent hair in the front but lacked in the crown area.

I appreciate your honesty and do not consider it to be negative, but rather, realistic and cautious, which is exactly what I was looking for by coming here and asking for people's opinions. So thank you.

It does seem so far that taking the finasteride plus minoxidil for a year is the way to go. My main concern, however, is if my alopecia does not stabilize and in 2025, Dr. Pinto refuses to do the surgery. Then I will feel like I am a year older and back to square one. The patient coordinator for Dr. Pinto did say that it is "very rare" that a patient's alopecia does not stabilize after a full year on the medication. Let's hope I wouldn't be one of those unlucky few...

If he thought you weren’t a good candidate like all reputable surgeons he would have said there and then. Encouraging medication may actually save you money if you respond well. I’m guessing he thinks the crown especially may benefit from Minoxidil. Waiting a year will also give you a degree of certainty about the longevity of your transplant. Have either mentioned their approaches? Nw 5s often take more then one sitting.

I was in a very similar situation to yourself if you check my post history, with 8000 grafts available in the donor it will be more than enough to make a radical difference. I know this stage of the process is such a daunting position to be in but you are doing the right thing and doing your research. Good Luck

[NeonDemon]

A new question popped up after I looked at some of the transplant reviews from transplants made by Dr. Pinto, on this forum. It seems as though the maximum amount of grafts was 3500-3600 per procedure and I have not seen any hairlines as bad as mine, which makes me wonder; does Dr Pinto even perform transplants on people with Norwood 5-6 like me? I only saw one video on their official youtube channel with someone with a hairline a tad bit worse than mine. I can link it here if it's allowed.

So, does anyone know if he exclusively operates on patients with, say, Norwood 3-4 or less? I'm just a bit concerned if mine is too far gone for what he prefers to work with, or if it's just paranoia and he does do surgery on people with similar hairlines, usually.

[NeonDemon]

1 minute ago, ScottishGuy21 said:

If he thought you weren’t a good candidate like all reputable surgeons he would have said there and then. Encouraging medication may actually save you money if you respond well. I’m guessing he thinks the crown especially may benefit from Minoxidil. Waiting a year will also give you a degree of certainty about the longevity of your transplant. Have either mentioned their approaches? Nw 5s often take more then one sitting.

I was in a very similar situation to yourself if you check my post history, with 8000 grafts available in the donor it will be more than enough to make a radical difference. I know this stage of the process is such a daunting position to be in but you are doing the right thing and doing your research. Good Luck

If by approaches you mean what the surgical plan would be, then not quite, no. As previously mentioned; Dr Pinto wants to do a physical evaluation in April-May next year after I took the prescribed medication and go from there. Dr. Guerreiro only mentioned 4500 grafts in one sitting, with the possibility to do more should I so want and the donor area permitting.

I did take a look at your post history and found out, we actually have VERY similar hair loss patterns, with you having had a slight bit more hair than me, pre-op, namely in the front and the crown. 
I'm going to be pragmatic and count on 6000-7000 grafts despite being told I have a good donor area. It's always best to underestimate, I think, and maybe be pleasantly surprised.

Here's hoping you're right about him having outright refused if he thought I wasn't a good candidate. However, I feel as though he is uncertain and wants to wait to see if there is any recovery or better hair density with the finasteride + minoxidil combo for a year. Hence why I asked the other question in my last post just after you posted yours.

[Ccd99]

1 hour ago, NeonDemon said:

I did take a look at your progress photos and the difference in density is noticeable after... 4 weeks of finasteride already, was it? Here's hoping I'll experience something similar without side effects.

I'm happy for you to have gotten a cancelled consultation slot; Dr. Ferreira, from what I've seen, is one of the very best you can go with. Quite looking forward to your progress updates, should you make them, of course. Here's hoping all goes well for you!

From what I've gathered from everyone here plus my research, finasteride and minoxidil is definitely the way to go regardless of who I'd pick to do the transplant with. Furthermore, everyone seems to favor Dr. Pinto's opinion and seem quite pragmatic about Dr. Guerreiro's. I suppose the best thing to do is to be patient, take my meds religiously and hope my alopecia gets stabilized to the point that next year, I can perform surgery with Dr. Pinto.
I am simply paranoid that I will be one of those unlucky few whose alopecia won't stabilize or that he'll look at my supposed Norwood 5 and decide not to proceed with surgery... alas I can do nothing more but hope, eh?

It could be there was some early progress, but I honestly couldn't tell until the 3 month mark, that's when I was convinced the medication is working for me. 

Thanks, yes I do plan on creating a progress thread here when the time comes.

Absolutely, finasteride will reduce scalp DHT and hopefully prevent further loss, whilst minoxidil will thicken existing hairs and possibly also regrow hair / turn vellus hairs into terminal hairs.

Statistically speaking finasteride/minoxidil is effective for most people (studies can tell you the exact %), so it is statistically not likely that you will not benefit, I think you should just try it for 3-6 months and monitor for progress, if after 6 months you are continuing to lose hair then you can simply stop the meds. I personally believe a positive mind/outlook helps too! Definitely have hope and remain optimistic!

 

37 minutes ago, NeonDemon said:

A new question popped up after I looked at some of the transplant reviews from transplants made by Dr. Pinto, on this forum. It seems as though the maximum amount of grafts was 3500-3600 per procedure and I have not seen any hairlines as bad as mine, which makes me wonder; does Dr Pinto even perform transplants on people with Norwood 5-6 like me? I only saw one video on their official youtube channel with someone with a hairline a tad bit worse than mine. I can link it here if it's allowed.

So, does anyone know if he exclusively operates on patients with, say, Norwood 3-4 or less? I'm just a bit concerned if mine is too far gone for what he prefers to work with, or if it's just paranoia and he does do surgery on people with similar hairlines, usually.

Dr Ferreira is similar in this regard and will only do upto 3500 grafts per procedure (split over 2 consecutive days), there is a good reason for this and it is to avoid overharvesting and allow them to evaluate progress and yield for the 2nd procedure.

I am positive that Dr Pinto will have no issues taking on a NW5+ patient but it just means you need multiple procedures, so for example you would have your first surgery for 3500 grafts and then say 9 months later your second surgery for whichever amount of grafts are still required.

Edited May 2 by Ccd99

[NorwoodKnight]

On 5/1/2024 at 8:31 PM, NeonDemon said:

Hi everyone,

In the past month, I have done extensive research (as one should) when it comes to potential clinics and doctors, eventually narrowing it down to two Portuguese clinics (since this is my home country, despite the fact I live somewhere else in Europe, currently): Clinic O'Porto with Dr. Pinto and Clinic LHR with Dr. Augusto.

Both seem to show good results on their respective social media pages or websites, however, I was more inclined to go with clinic LHR because of the waiting time with Dr. Pinto (1 year for physical evaluation + 4-6 months on average until surgery).
However, I am now at a crossroads due to a particular situation:

After an initial evaluation by Dr Pinto, in which he looked at my set of pictures and the form that I sent back, he recommended taking Finasteride oral 1mg and Minoxidil also oral 2.5mg per day, for a full year, before a physical evaluation. This is because Dr Pinto claimed I have aggressive alopecia for my age (32) and that we should stabilize first before considering a transplant.
On the other hand, Dr Augusto said he does not understand why the need to take such a long medication time before the transplant and he claims I would not see much difference in my hair even if the medication would have a positive effect. He said I could nontheless take the medication but he thinks it's much more important to take it AFTER the hair transplant.

I am at a loss as to what to do. On one hand, LHR clinic and Dr Augusto seem very caring and principled, with the clinic being extremely patient as I ask numerous questions and go back and forth between clinics. They also could do the surgery late this year already, after I'd take finasteride and topical minoxidil for around 6 months. On the other, Dr Pinto is very renowned in the hair transplant circles and I see really good results on their youtube channel from clinic O'Porto.

What does everyone else recommend? Should I stabilize the alopecia and do the long wait or is it safe to take it for about half a year and to the procedure this year?

Dr Pinto's price is currently sitting at 2,60€/ graft, without a quote on how many I would need, currently, as he wants to do the whole process I mentioned above, first.
Dr Augusto's price is at 5400€ for 4500 grafts, which they said it's the limit for what they do in one session.

Many thanks in advance and I look forward to hearing your opinions and feedback on my case.

I have an appointment with Dr Pinto planned for February 2025 and the current price is certainly not 2.60€ per graft. The standard price is 3.45€ per graft

[Otis james]

8 hours ago, NorwoodKnight said:

I have an appointment with Dr Pinto planned for February 2025 and the current price is certainly not 2.60€ per graft. The standard price is 3.45€ per graft

I paid 3.45, in January. He was doing a thing where, if you could go last minute, it would be 2.95, but don’t think he is still offering that…. 
 

don’t know the other doc but I would massively recommend Pinto. Lovely guy. 

[NorwoodKnight]

52 minutes ago, Otis james said:

I paid 3.45, in January. He was doing a thing where, if you could go last minute, it would be 2.95, but don’t think he is still offering that…. 
 

don’t know the other doc but I would massively recommend Pinto. Lovely guy. 

Yep, if you take the place of another person who cancels last minute in 2024 you can pay 15% less at about 2.95€/graft, but no way his standard price is 2.60€/graft.

[NeonDemon]

7 hours ago, NorwoodKnight said:

Yep, if you take the place of another person who cancels last minute in 2024 you can pay 15% less at about 2.95€/graft, but no way his standard price is 2.60€/graft.

I don't know what to tell you except that I have, right now in my e-mails, a quote from them saying it is, indeed, 2,60€ per graft. They use the words " per follicular unit" in Portuguese but I am very sure that's the equivalent. So much so, that this is a major factor in my decision, considering that everyone said this was a steal. 

With that being said, I took the plunge and called Dr Pinto's clinic today to say I decided to go with them and will get started on finasteride and minoxidil, as Dr Pinto prescribed, as soon as the prescription comes through. Everyone's feedback here was invaluable and I don't feel like I can go wrong with someone who is pretty much unanimously praised in every single forum I've done research in. My physical evaluation is due next year in the first quarter and I truly hope my alopecia will stabilize with the use of medication.

Thank you everyone for your answers and feedback. If everything goes well and I'm greenlit for the transplant, you can expect updates from me next year!

[NorwoodKnight]

16 minutes ago, NeonDemon said:

I don't know what to tell you except that I have, right now in my e-mails, a quote from them saying it is, indeed, 2,60€ per graft. They use the words " per follicular unit" in Portuguese but I am very sure that's the equivalent. So much so, that this is a major factor in my decision, considering that everyone said this was a steal. 

With that being said, I took the plunge and called Dr Pinto's clinic today to say I decided to go with them and will get started on finasteride and minoxidil, as Dr Pinto prescribed, as soon as the prescription comes through. Everyone's feedback here was invaluable and I don't feel like I can go wrong with someone who is pretty much unanimously praised in every single forum I've done research in. My physical evaluation is due next year in the first quarter and I truly hope my alopecia will stabilize with the use of medication.

Thank you everyone for your answers and feedback. If everything goes well and I'm greenlit for the transplant, you can expect updates from me next year!

Would you mind posting a screenshot of the email then?

[NeonDemon]

1 hour ago, NorwoodKnight said:

Would you mind posting a screenshot of the email then?

The only reason I would mind is if this somehow comes back to harm my prospects, such as the clinic not taking kindly to me sharing the e-mail publicly or, hypothetically, you disputing the change in value because you'd then have a screenshot of another patient's quote with a cheaper price per graft, which they would then trace back to me and decide not to do business with me. I must admit, I have no idea if either of these scenarios would happen, obviously, but I don't know if I'd want to risk it to prove... something that I know is true?

@Melvin- Admin What is your stance on this? I've read the rules and there doesn't seem to be anything against this. Would it be fine, perhaps, if I send the e-mail to you while covering my personal details so you'd be so kind as to verify that it's true? 

[NorwoodKnight]

2 minutes ago, NeonDemon said:

The only reason I would mind is if this somehow comes back to harm my prospects, such as the clinic not taking kindly to me sharing the e-mail publicly or, hypothetically, you disputing the change in value because you'd then have a screenshot of another patient's quote with a cheaper price per graft, which they would then trace back to me and decide not to do business with me. I must admit, I have no idea if either of these scenarios would happen, obviously, but I don't know if I'd want to risk it to prove... something that I know is true?

@Melvin- Admin What is your stance on this? I've read the rules and there doesn't seem to be anything against this. Would it be fine, perhaps, if I send the e-mail to you while covering my personal details so you'd be so kind as to verify that it's true? 

I’m just telling you this to warn you about what could be the real price, man. Otherwise if you plan everything based on the 2.60€/graft price you may find an unpleasant surprise when the time to pay comes… if I was you I would just clear my doubts with the patient coordinator Emilio

[NeonDemon]

15 minutes ago, NorwoodKnight said:

I’m just telling you this to warn you about what could be the real price, man. Otherwise if you plan everything based on the 2.60€/graft price you may find an unpleasant surprise when the time to pay comes… if I was you I would just clear my doubts with the patient coordinator Emilio

I appreciate the intention, then.

Edited May 3 by NeonDemon

[Melvin- Admin]

12 minutes ago, NeonDemon said:

The only reason I would mind is if this somehow comes back to harm my prospects, such as the clinic not taking kindly to me sharing the e-mail publicly or, hypothetically, you disputing the change in value because you'd then have a screenshot of another patient's quote with a cheaper price per graft, which they would then trace back to me and decide not to do business with me. I must admit, I have no idea if either of these scenarios would happen, obviously, but I don't know if I'd want to risk it to prove... something that I know is true?

@Melvin- Admin What is your stance on this? I've read the rules and there doesn't seem to be anything against this. Would it be fine, perhaps, if I send the e-mail to you while covering my personal details so you'd be so kind as to verify that it's true? 

I would not share a private conversation here publicly. 

[NorwoodKnight]

6 minutes ago, NeonDemon said:

I appreciate the intention, then. I've re-read the e-mail and this is what they write about the price, translated into English:

"The technique used by Dr. Bruno Pinto Gonçalves is the FUE technique and the price charged here at Clínica O'Porto is €2.60 for each follicular unit. This amount includes: medical and nursing fees, anesthesia, all surgical expenses including meals during surgery, medication and other post-operative products, as well as surgery review consultations. This value will then be multiplied by the number of follicles you will need for your transplant."

I would highly advise you to confirm those statements with the patient coordinator Emilio. As I said this is what I would do… it is a big difference in price 

[NeonDemon]

2 minutes ago, Melvin- Admin said:

I would not share a private conversation here publicly. 

I thought as much. I'm glad I cleared it out with you, first. I'll be revising my last post, then, just to be sure.

 

 

1 minute ago, NorwoodKnight said:

I would highly advise you to confirm those statements with the patient coordinator Emilio. As I said this is what I would do… it is a big difference in price 

This was from a patient coordinator, too. To be honest; even if he would charge me the 3,45€ per graft, I'd still take it. So in the long run, this won't make a difference.
I thank you for your heads up, though and I sincerely hope you have a good appointment and subsequent hair transplant!

[NorwoodKnight]

4 minutes ago, NeonDemon said:

I thought as much. I'm glad I cleared it out with you, first. I'll be revising my last post, then, just to be sure.

 

 

This was from a patient coordinator, too. To be honest; even if he would charge me the 3,45€ per graft, I'd still take it. So in the long run, this won't make a difference.
I thank you for your heads up, though and I sincerely hope you have a good appointment and subsequent hair transplant!

No problem man, thank you! I hope we both will have a satisfactory consultation with Dr Pinto as well