World Hair Transplant Repair Day is On the Way – Get the Details
The first thing patients should know about a hair transplant is that it needs to be performed by an experienced and board-certified surgeon who has a proven history of high-quality results that restore the hairline and give a person a more youthful look. Unfortunately, there are a number of patients who have been victims of unlicensed individuals who have operated on their scalp. These unlicensed individuals might lack the proper training and they might not even be a licensed doctor or authorized to perform hair transplant surgery. In an effort to assist the large number of patients who have been operated on by an unlicensed individual (in a fraudulent manner or they were simply unaware of the lack of medical credentials on the part of the person), the International Society of Hair Restoration Surgery (ISHRS) is hosting its second annual “World Hair Transplant Repair Day” on November 11th of this year.
Worldwide Event to Repair Hair Transplants
This event, which will take place across the globe, is part of the “Fight The FIGHT” global consumer awareness campaign of the International Society of Hair Restoration Surgery. The “FIGHT” in “Fight The Fight” is an acronym that stands for Fight the Fraudulent, Illicit, and Global Hair Transplants. This campaign was created and designed to educate, as well as help, those who have been victims of a hair transplant performed by someone who was not authorized to perform the surgery or was lacking in the skills necessary to provide the desired natural results.
Anyone who was a victim of this practice is invited to reach out on an individual basis to volunteer physicians who are participating in the event. These victims can reach out through the website of the campaign, located at HairRepairDay.org, for an opportunity to receive a restorative hair restoration procedure free of charge (pro bono) from one of the participating doctors listed on the website.
In a statement released to the press, Nilofer Farjo, MBChB FISHRS, president of the ISHRS, said, “The ISHRS is committed to raising awareness of this widespread problem of unqualified technicians illegally performing hair transplant procedures, oftentimes resulting in irreparable damage to unsuspecting patients.” Farjo added, “Consequences of this unscrupulous practice include permanent scarring, infection, visible donor scarring, poor growth, thin patches of hair or bald spots, and hair depletion from over-harvested donor area – all of which can be difficult, and in some cases impossible, to correct.”
Hair Restoration Surgery and Misleading “Experts”
According to the ISHRS, there are many clinics across the globe that promote themselves as experts in hair restoration. By making the claim that they are experts when it comes to restoring the hairline, they are able to get new patients through the promise of cheaper prices. Plus, the advertising they utilize is filled with misleading information. There are also many cases when a physician is not even present in the medical operating room to perform the surgery.
Patients who are interested in having a hair transplant should know that the number of hair transplant surgeries that have been performed has increased in the past several years along with the growth of fraudulent clinics who want to take advantage of the number of patients looking to correct their hair loss in a permanent manner.
In a recent market survey conducted by the ISHRS, there was a total of 51% of ISHRS members who reported the existence of Black Market hair transplant clinics in the cities where they are located. It was also reported that, as of 2021, there was a total of 5.4% of hair restoration patients who were looking to have a treatment to repair the results of a previous surgery that occurred in an office where the physician did not perform the surgery. This statistic was an increase over the 4.2% that was reported in 2019.
Hair Transplants – What to Ask a Qualified Surgeon
If a hair transplant is performed by a surgeon who is qualified and board-certified, the procedure is an excellent option to address the issue of hair loss on the scalp of a patient. In order to ensure patients are able to get the information they need from their surgeon of choice; they should take the time (in advance) to write down any questions they have for the surgeon. Having the questions written in advance means a patient will not accidentally forget to ask something that might be on their mind about the process. Plus, it gives the person wanting to have a hair transplant the chance to ask the doctor (in-person) if he/she will be the one that performs the surgery.
Patients should also ask to see “before and after” photos of previous patients who have been treated by the surgeon of choice. The viewing of the photos will give a better idea about the type of results that can be expected after the doctor performs the hair restoration procedure.
To emphasize the importance of chatting with the preferred surgeon and making sure the physician of choice will be the one performing the surgery, Ricardo Mejia, MD, chair of the ISHRS Communications and Public Education Committee, said, “The best advice to avoid being a victim of a physician that chooses to let someone less qualified and unlicensed do your surgery is to ask questions and insist the doctor be the one to perform the surgery. Do your homework and don’t settle for less.”
