Hair Transplant Horror Story – Patient Left with Scars on Scalp after Overseas Hair Restoration
Many patients like to travel overseas to have a hair transplant. They are tempted to practice “medical tourism” which means they go to a country other than their own to receive medical care.
One of the main reasons to not visit another country for a hair transplant is the fact that not all countries have the same medical standards and practices and it is not always easy or economical to travel back to the country where the procedure was performed if there are any issues with the final results.
Plus, patients that travel abroad cannot be certain about the quality of services they will receive once they arrive for their hair restoration procedure. Let’s take a look at the issues recently faced by a 26-year-old British patient.
British Hair Transplant Horror Story
Luke Horsfield was left with a head full of scars and bald spots after a recent hair transplant procedure in Turkey.
Horsfield said he had been feeling “really self-conscious” about this thinning hairline so he made the decision to travel abroad for a hair restoration surgery.
He spent over $1500 in American dollars for a bargain priced six hour surgery at the Clinic Center in Istanbul. The price for the procedure was considered to be a bargain because it was half the price it would have cost him in the United Kingdom.
Horsfield’s happiness at getting the hair transplant did not last long as, months after the surgery, he was not able to see any growth on his scalp and he was left with bald patches and scars on his head. According to Luke, the surgeons at the clinic did not speak English and they also removed too many follicular units from the back of his head during the operation.
The hair transplant procedure Luke had is known as follicular unit extraction (FUE) and it is when hair follicles are removed on an individual basis, by a surgeon, from the back or sides of the scalp of a patient. The hair follicles are then implanted into the balding areas of the scalp.
Because of the damage done to his scalp by the doctors at the clinic in Turkey, Luke says the scars and bald patches would need to be repaired by another clinic.
A Warning for Other Hair Transplant Patients
Even though the website of the clinic promises patients with thinning hair will experience “effective and satisfying outcomes”, this was certainly not the case for Horsfield.
He had the operation in 2018 and told a newspaper that he “did everything they told me to do as aftercare once I had the operation. But after four months, I saw literally no growth. I rang them to ask why it hadn’t grown, but I was told this was normal.”
After another few months, he started to see “a little bit of growth but nor much and after a year it still hadn’t grown. I was left with scars and bald patches.”
Horsfield says his complaints were ignored and, when he asked for a refund, the clinic simply offered him another operation at half the price. Once they did finally offer him a refund, the amount was barely a third of what he had paid for the surgery.
Luke started seeing thinning hair at the age of 21 and thought he had found a great deal with the clinic that he visited in Turkey. He is now urging other men looking to have a hair transplant to more fully research medical clinics and the procedures they offer to their patients.
He told the newspaper, “I had always been really self-conscious about my hair and I hated it being wet or getting blown in the wind. I’d always spend extra time styling it before going out, trying to hide my bald spot. It was affecting my confidence and self-esteem and it was something I’d been wanting to do for a few years.”
Luke looked into various places and prices in the United Kingdom and found the clinic in Turkey that was offering a much lower price. He checked into reviews and found some complimentary ones so he assumed he found a good value for his money.
He later found out that “anyone can post a review and companies can ask for reviews to be taken down, so I feel like I wasn’t getting a full picture.’
Luke posted a review of his operation and treatment by the Clinic Center. After posting the review, he was contacted by the Hair Doctor Clinic in the United Kingdom and they offered to repair the scars and bald spots for free.
Luke had his second hair transplant surgery on March 3rd and is thrilled with the results as he has already noticed signs of growth in his hairline.
Schedule a Hair Restoration Consultation Appointment
At Parsa Mohebi Hair Restoration, we do not perform a hair transplant without first meeting with the patient in-person or during a virtual consultation. It is important to accurately examine the scalp of a person to determine if the person is an ideal candidate for a hair transplant as well as the best procedure to deliver the desired final results. In addition, we set realistic expectations for the patient so the person will not be disappointed by the final results.
