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Is it a good idea to ask a surgeon about his qualifications and experience during a consultation?

R

reddwarf

member
Will they take offence if i ask about their surgical qualifications/credentials and experience. The thought of a dentist or someone with similar insufficient training operating on my head scares the shit out of me. Do I need to make sure they are members of any specific groups or associations?
 
L

Ltothe_B

member
YES YES YES! I can’t stress this enough! You want to ask as many questions as possible along with doing research on the clinic and the doctor. If they get offended then it shows that something may be fishy. Any good surgeon would be proud to tell you about their credentials.You also need to look at their results!
 
sl

sl

BHR Clinic Patient Advisor
Openess and transparency is important and today one can research well online a prospective doctor and clinic, their medical registration, qualifications, membership to associations, and above all the results that they obtain as stated here. Another important aspect is to be able to meet with ex-patients in person and most clinics should be able to provide this. If they are offended, then go elsewhere because you are making an important decision and one that merits research and that you are satisfied before proceeding. All the best in that and hope this forum is also a help.
 
Pete from Farjo

Pete from Farjo

Valued member
I can only echo what's already been said. A reputable surgeon will not take offence at these questions. You're paying a large sum of money to a relative stranger so it's only sensible to find out as much as you can about their credentials, reliability and ability to perform to the standard they claim.
 
JoeTillman

JoeTillman

Valued member
I'll respectfully disagree with Pete, in that reputable doctors will in fact have their egos bruised (and have) if you come to their office and question their qualifications. I know this may seem somewhat antagonistic but when you reach a certain level of expertise and skill, not to mention reputation, many will compare such situations to asking Michael Jordan what his qualifications are for joining the NBA.

As stated above, the qualifications and third party validations are usually easily seen on the clinic website and in the "about us" or "about the doctor" sections. I think instead of asking about the doctor's qualifications, you should be asking about the qualifications of the staff members that will be working on you. In many clinics, they'll be doing the majority of the surgery and this is what you need to be aware of. How much surgery is the doctor actually performing, and how much is performed by unnamed techs?
 
DrTBarghouthi

DrTBarghouthi

member
While it may sometimes feel awkward talking about your credentials and experience to clients, it certainly is his or her right to ask and research the person they're potentially trusting. I personally don't mind it, Some clients have the surgeon and his or her CV well researched before even booking the consultation, while some use the consultation to gather as much information as possible. There is no right or wrong in my opinion. When I put myself in their shoes, it certainly makes it understandable being asked about my training and experience etc.
 
R

reddwarf

member
Thanks for all the answers it has helped a lot. How do clinics let you see actual patient results in person then? Do they have patients they use regularly like models or do they just ask random past patients if they mind?
 
JoeTillman

JoeTillman

Valued member
A lot of clinics will ask patients during their final follow up review if they will be open to having their contact info sent out to prospective new patients for references. They'll have to sign a form acknowledging their affirmation of this. I'll say this, if a clinic says that they can't give you a patient's info due to confidentiality reasons then they are stonewalling because every clinic ahs the ability to ask their former patients to meet new ones.
 
Dr. A s Clinic

Dr. A s Clinic

Valued member
Agreed Joe,
While medical degrees/affiliations maybe listed on their website, beware of those with minimal pictures on their site and all experienced clinics do have a list of volunteer patient willing to pay.
If they bring up the confidentiality clause ... RUN away as fast as you can.
 
bullitnut

bullitnut

4 awesome repairs with SMG
Inexperienced clinics usually only have a few results on their websites as mentioned above. Be careful with these as clinics like this tend to steal their results from other clinics and pass them off as their own.....another good reason why asking to meet post patients is a good idea dude.
 
Bigmac

Bigmac

Administrator
Staff member
There is so much fake information around today. Fake testimonials, credentials,images etc, which can easily deceive the unwary.
As everyone else has said, a clinic has no reason not to have patients who are willing to share their results,unless they are a new clinic.

You have to do research yourself, it is easy to put your trust in someone but the reality is, a lot will abuse this trust.

When a doctor says, I was trained by a well know doctor or similar, don't be afraid to follow up on this by contacting the said doctor if you have any doubts.

I've seen many times doctors who make these claims when all they actual did was visit the clinic to observe.

Ask away any other questions on here. There are many members who are very knowledgeable, like myself we have been around a very long time in this industry and want what's best for you, the patient.
 
Prohairclinic

Prohairclinic

Prohairclinic FUE and SMP
I agree with all of the above.
Experienced clinics will be able to provide contact information in order to get in touch with real patients.

In fact, every patient we treat will be asked if he/she can be contacted by future clients.

We also try to use own picture material on our website and as little as possible 'stock" pictures.

Also, we ask for reviews. We have a new review system in place and without any reviews, it is kinda pointless.


I want to point out that hair transplantation is a team sport.
The final outcome is not the effort of a single person.

Ask the qualifications of the staff members that will be working on you, and more importantly how much experience they have.

bart
 
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