Looking for the right hair transplant surgeon? Finding the best surgeon for your hair transplant is crucial. Trust me from someone who went with a discount guy the first time (and had disastrous results).
While you can find a lot of hair replacement surgeons with an easy Google search - how do you know if they are actually skilled? How do you know that you can trust them to give you the most natural looking hairline and use the most up-to-date surgical methods?
This article will outline what you should be looking for when reviewing different hair transplant doctors. Here are some key questions to ask:
#1 What kind of transplant methods/techniques do they use?
There are really only a couple of different techniques - the FUT (follicular unit transplant - or strip surgery) and the FUE (follicular unit extraction). Different specialists may call these by different names - however they are basically the same thing. The FUT involves taking a strip of donor hair (usually from the back and sides of your head) and then harvesting the hairs from that to transplant into the balding area.
The FUE involves harvesting individual hairs from the donor area and transplanting them. There is no strip of skin taken (and no scar). Plus the recovery time is shorter.
Some doctors use the FUT technique only while others offer FUT as well as FUE. Talk to each doctor about what they offer, what kind of experience they've had with each technique, the benefits of each, which one they recommend for your situation, etc. - as each one has their advantages and disadvantages.
Does the doctor seem up-to-date on the latest methods in the industry? Is the surgeon interested in tailoring the surgery to your unique situation, age, face shape, etc. or do they follow a one-size-fits-all philosophy? Do they have experience with designing natural-looking hair lines? By asking these questions you're going to start to get a picture of just how experiences and skilled the surgeon is.
#2 What kind of hair density can they deliver?
Can they give you the kind of look that you want? And what do they say you can expect?
For example, a skilled surgeon will not promise you the moon or seem to good to be true. They'll give you a realistic view of what you can expect.
Anyone who promises you'll have a full head of hair after the surgery is lying. The truth is that a transplant does not give you a full head of hair. But a skilled surgeon can redistribute the hair (depending on how much donor hair you have and the size of your balding area) to make it look like a full head of hair.
#3 How long has the surgeon been performing transplants?
The more experience the better here. Make sure you feel comfortable with the surgeon, his/her experience and training.
You might also want to check with the local licensing board to make sure your surgeon is fully licensed. You also want to go with someone who does just hair transplants - not transplants and rhinoplasty and tummy tucks, etc. Someone who just does transplants exclusively is more likely to be up to date on the latest methods and have more experience (other things being equal).
#4 Can you talk to former clients or see pictures?
You always want to see a sample of the surgeon's work - and the more pictures, the better.
It also helps to give you a realistic idea of what the surgeon can do for you. Even better is if you can speak to former patients about their experience (however this isn't always possible as many patients prefer to remain anonymous).
If the hair transplant surgeon won't show you pictures or their work, take it as a bad sign and get out of there.
Really, the ideal way to find the best hair transplant surgeon is to take your time and interview as many doctors as you can. Ask yourself if they seem up to date on the latest techniques and if they seem realistic about what they can do for you. The more research you do, the more likely you are to find a good fit in a hair transplant surgeon - and you're more likely to be very happy with the results.
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