The Daily Mail: The Bald Truth About Bargain Hair Transplants

Dr Roshan Vara was recently featured in The Daily Mail’s piece about hair transplants – particularly carried out abroad. You can read the full article here:

– Read Article-

The Daily Mail were looking to write an article about hair transplants being carried out abroad and the pitfalls that patients find themselves in when they opt for cheaper surgery particularly in places like Turkey, India and Iran.

Dr Vara worked alongside the journalist to explain how hair transplant consultations should be carried out and the decisions that needed to be made in order for surgery to be safe and of high quality.

What did the journalist find?

The journalist made a trip to Turkey and explored how 2 clinics went about counselling patients when it came to having a hair transplant. His trip was interesting and he found the following things concerning:

1. He felt he was being misled around surgery guaranteeing results, it being painless and leaving no scars
2. Heavy handed sales techniques, insisting him to have surgery
3. Poor surgical planning with the potential to over-harvest the donor area
4. The use of meaningless terms referring to surgery such as GOLD and Sapphire techniques
5. Little involvement of a Doctor/ Surgeon being involved in Surgery

All the above are commonly seen in clinics that are operating in the Black Market sector and abroad- particularly in locations like Turkey. They are points of concern as patients can ultimately be harmed physically and psychologically with profound scarring and poor, permanent results.

What should going to a hair transplant be like?

In our clinic we believe in honest, transparent advice when it comes to hair transplantation. With regards to each of the points above:

1. No surgical result can be guaranteed. Surgery involves a degree of pain but should be minimal/ none once you have been anaesthetised. All surgery involves the creation of scars, it is down to the skill of the Surgeon to ensure these are not visible after you have healed following surgery
2. No patient should be pressurised into having surgery. Everyone should be given time to think and reflect on undergoing the procedure
3. Over-harvesting the donor area can be disastrous as it is visible to the naked eye. In our clinic we take pride in devising a safe surgical plan which involves a holistic approach to hair loss management and planning future hair transplants if required
4. Sapphire and GOLD techniques for surgery are meaningless marketing statements. In our clinic we stick to proven and clinically trialled methods of surgery
5. All our hair transplants are carried out by a fully qualified and GMC registered Surgeon operating within a CQC-licensed practice

Are you looking to have a hair transplant?

If you are looking to have a hair transplant and you are still wondering about when you can go back to work feel free to see us in clinic. Our Surgeons would be happy to go through your treatment options and explain when would be the best time for you to go back to work. Book your appointment today.