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my UK clinic hairtransplant horror story

bullitnut

bullitnut

4 awesome repairs with SMG
MY HAIRTRANSPLANT HORROR STORY WITH UK CLINIC.











When i was 22 young and nieve i had my first hairtransplant at my local ht clinic, below is a brief account of my own experiences


In around the year 1997 i came across an advert in a mens magazine for a UK clinic and decided after reading this that the place sounded fantastic. It claimed to be state of the art with experienced surgeons from all around the world, they claimed to be leaders in the field of hair restoration and said that they left other clinics behind. Wow i thought ill have a consultation because at this point in time i was struggling to cope with my hair loss, i was only 22 and felt like my whole world was coming to an end and that no one could possibly love me with a bald head. So i telephoned them and arranged a consultation.for the following week.

I arrived for my consultation and was shocked to find that this place was not a state of the art clinic but just three rooms at the rear of an nhs doctors surgery. I was shown into a small room and was told to sit down a gentlemen told me to remove my hat and looked at my hair, which to be honest was thinning a little but looking back it wasn't actually that bad at this stage. It was obvious i was loosing my hair but i still had plenty left, the man said he could help me and said that i was a perfect candidate for a hair transplant he also said that i would soon have a perfect head of hair again.

I was delighted i asked how much this procedure would cost. He replied that because i would need around 1500 grafts throughout my hair to thicken it back up it would be three thousand five hundred pounds. He then said in a rather pushy tone we are very busy so do you want it or what. I was a bit taken aback by this but the thoughts of a perfect head of hair were ringing in my ear so i agreed. He then said he would need a deposit of one thousand five hundred by the end of the week and said he would book me in for the surgery the following week and i had to pay the balance then.

That was it there was no mention of any side effects, no mention of any risks. No mention of aftercare, no mention of the surgeons competence or qualifications, experience etc and certainly no mention of a hideous scar to the back of my head.

The whole consultation was over in about 5 mins, and because i was only 22 young and nieve i just thought this was normal and i was very excited. When the day of the surgery arrived i was asked straight away as soon as i sat down for the money, the man then counted it infront of me he looked in a terrible mood. As soon as he had finished counting though he looked up and smiled and escorted me into a small room where a young lady washed my hair i was then told to sit on a chair in another room that looked like a dental surgery.

I was then asked to sign a consent form and was told not to worry i was then given an injection in my finger to numb my head and was told to relax and that my head would be numb in no time. The surgeon then came in and started to remove hair from the rear of my head to be placed on the top of my head later, this took about five minutes and didn't hurt at all due to the anesthetic.

He then started inserting the grafts into the top of my head and let me tell you this was the worst pain i have ever had in my life. It started out as just an uncomfortable pain, but after an hour or so it was absolutely excruciating i told the Dr it was really painful, but he just laughed and said it wont be long and told me to think about all the hair i would have. I had no choice but to grin and bear it, it was awful and throughout the five hour operation blood just kept on running down my face and neck it was terrifying but he just kept saying don't panic its normal you`ve just got a sensitive scalp.

When the operation was over i was told i had to get up and go sit in a waiting room for a couple of min's, to my suprise the doctor then said goodbye and went home leaving me on my own with two female assistants. They told me that my stitches would dissolve on their own in a few weeks and gave me some co codamol for the pain, at this point i didn't even know i had any stitches. They also gave me a letter with aftercare instructions on it which was about half a page long and consisted of washing instructions etc. After about 10 min's they opened the back door and said goodbye leaving me to drive home dis- orientated and 10 min's after a five hour operation.

Over the next few weeks i struggled with the pain but i was excited and couldn't wait for my new hair to grow. My head looked very sore and was covered in scabs with little hairs popping out. I was told before the surgery that i was paying for 1500 grafts but to be honest i think i only recieved about 250 and over the next six months this was confirmed as only a small number of hairs appeared on my head, and i might add they looked very unnatural a bit like dolls hair. The most concerning thing though to me was that i suffered something called shockloss which i have now found out is common but i was not forewarned or told anything about this prior to my surgery.

Shockloss is where the rest of your normal original hair becomes shocked by the new transplants that are placed next to them and fall out leaving you with only the transplanted hairs left this is usually only temporary but in my case was permenent. So in effect i had payed 3500pounds for 1500 new hairs, recieved around 250 new hairs and lost hundreds of old hair. So i was much worse off after the surgery than before i even had the operation( and a lot poorer too). I was now in a situation where i could not even go outside without wearing a hat and i had no choice but to get another hair transplant to add some more hair to my head because i only had about 250 hairs on the top of my head and my confidence was shattered so i began to save up for round two.

In the year 2000 god knows why i returned to the clinic for another consultation they then said i need another 1500 grafts, but because i had been before they said it would only cost 1500pounds. They also advised me to take finesteride and said they would give me a twelve months supply for nothing in with the price of the surgery, they told me it would stop any further hair loss and gave me enough tablets to last 6months and said i had to come back for the rest when i ran out. I contacted them when i did run out and they refused to give me any.

I had my second surgery later that week which was much the same as the first except this one wasn't painfull which just proves that the first operations anesthetic wasn't administered correctly.

Over the next few months though i experienced terrible headaches on a daily basis, not at all like the first transplant and these headaches didn't start to ease until around 8 months after the procedure. At the same time as the headaches i had feelings of numbness to the back of my head which took months to ease, but even to this day i still have a numb part at the rear off my head on the right which i'm told is probably nerve damage. The growth rate was much the same as the first op and now after paying for 3000 hairs at a cost of 5000pounds i have around 500.

From the year 2000 i have suffered from bouts of mental health problems ie depression anxiety, panick attacks which have been so serious ive been admitted to hospital, ive had bouts of agraphobia and have been on numerous types of anti depressents all because off the treatment and results of this clinic. I have also go two 7cm scars to the back of my head which prevent me from shaving my head and look so ugly i have to keep them covered.

After Doctor got struck off i took a small amount of comfort in the fact that the clinic would be closed.but after reading the hairloss forums on the net i have to my horror found that they are still around and have many dis satisfied patients they sound like they are the same as ever there are loads and loads of posts on from patients that are about how people have been disfigured, and ripped off by the clinic and their surgeons and unscrupulous salesmen .



Please please if you are thinking of going anywhere, imho BEWARE, ask to meet former patients and ask loads of questions because if they are the same as when i went you could potentially be making the biggest mistake of your life, take heed from someone who knows from first hand experience

Before having a ht do some research and check out the many different surgeons on all the hair forums and don €™t let travel be the deciding factor because the results good or bad will last a lifetime. Have a look at Doctors websites and have a look at all the negative comments on the internet simply google the hair clinics name and u will find info. This hopefully will prevent you making the same mistakes i did

Please note though that despite my own bad experiences with this clinic it hasnt put me off hairtransplantation as with a world class clinic and surgeon the results obtainable can be incredible and simply life changing
 
bullitnut

bullitnut

4 awesome repairs with SMG
here are some pics of my hairtransplant results

bullitnut_1_m.jpg
bullitnut_2_m.jpg


DSC00210.jpg


DSC00211.jpg


DSC00212.jpg


DSC00217.jpg









[align=center] [/align]
 
bullitnut

bullitnut

4 awesome repairs with SMG
if you want to look at my story in more detail i have my own website and youtube channel

www.hairlosstips.co.uk

and my youtube channel is bullitnut1

regards bullit
 
Bigmac

Bigmac

Administrator
Staff member
Thanks Bullitnut for the write up.
As i have met you and know you are a genuine patient of this clinic i feel you have every right to document your story here.

bm.
 
bullitnut

bullitnut

4 awesome repairs with SMG
thankyou bm ;)

the only reason i post my results from the norton clinic on all the forums is to allow people to see for themselves geniune results obtained from this clinic, so they can make their OWN mind up regarding whether to go or not.

cheers pal great forum by the way:)
 
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Bigmac

Bigmac

Administrator
Staff member
Glad you like it as there are a few things i will add shortly.
 
Nervousnelly

Nervousnelly

The Coolest Member
Damn Bullit--In the time I have known you, I don't believe that I knew your complete story and haven't actually seen these pics. I really feel for you and what you have been thru.:eek: Not cool. I can't wait to see the new and improved you once all is sorted at SMG and they take care of things for you. Judging from what I see, you will likely never have that full looking head of hair but you will no doubt be looking pretty darn charming once again. Great that you have taken it upon yourself to do all you can to help educate others. You are a good man.

NN
 
bullitnut

bullitnut

4 awesome repairs with SMG
Thankyou nn your a cool guy too, and in the time ive spent on the forums your input and knowledge as helped me and others immensly cheers pal. ps im not particularly bothered about having an elvis mop i just want to look NORMAL again and im super confident smg can achieve this bro:)
 
janna

janna

Valuable Member
Wow, I can't believe how fast your surgery date is approaching, BN. It'll be good to finally meet you in person. We'll do all that we can, but considering your limited donor, our ultimate goal is to provide a natural look so you won't feel you have to wear a hat at all times.
 
bullitnut

bullitnut

4 awesome repairs with SMG
Hey janna
hope you had a great christmas times flown by it will be great to finally meet you guys :)im getting excited now lol
 
S

stevo

Valued member
Hey Bullitnut i dont post as much on the forums much any more but this is the first time i have read your story and i feel for you man. The good thing is that you are going to get yourself sorted at one of the top clinics. All the best with the op mate ;)

Off topic all the best with the new forum Bigmac :)
 
timuk

timuk

My member is cooler than NN's
Hi BN....

Time does fly.... in a blink of an eye you will be back in the Uk waiting for your new hair to grow.. I cant believe that it was nearly a year ago that I had decided to do something about my situation.. it was one of my New Year Resolutions... one that I kept !!

I am looking forward to your journey mate..

Hi NN... glad to see you on this new forum... thought for a moment that I had lost the other half of the Brain :)

Hi Janna... hope you had a great Christmas...

Cheers all
 
bullitnut

bullitnut

4 awesome repairs with SMG
thanks tim your right time does fly and i will keep you all posted with regular updates just as you have great to see you on here mate ;)

bet nn is gutted though he will have to share his brain again now
 
TBF

TBF

Valued member
Bullitnut,with all you have been through i hope SMG get you every last graft/hair possible.

One thing is certain you are in more than capable hands.
 
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bullitnut

bullitnut

4 awesome repairs with SMG
thanks tbf for the support i know they will do their very best and i couldnt be happier all the best for the new year pal
 
TBF

TBF

Valued member
Bullit,reading your story you hit the nail on the head in your last paragraph.

"with a world class clinic and surgeon the results obtainable can be incredible and simply life changing"

with all you have been through,i am sure that in a years time it will have been for you, once SMG fix you up.

Once again all the best and i'm sure it will be a happy new for you.
 
bullitnut

bullitnut

4 awesome repairs with SMG
thanks for the support and kind words tbf happy new year mate:)
 
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bullitnut

bullitnut

4 awesome repairs with SMG
thanks manZ:B, every time i see those pictures it brings back horrible memories of sitting in that chair in wakefield, boy do i wish i could turn back the clocks.

As for a thing of the past it will be great to finally get some closure bm, i'm tons happier already thanks to the wonderful warmhearted guys at SMG and everyone else who helped me even though its still early days yet.............. but in my heart i know i have to stay around on these forums to help people not make the horrible mistakes i did. So sorry guys you are stuck with me )(_::

Thats why forums like this are great as they educate people before they make a decision to have surgery and thats got to be a good thing, keep up the good work dude:)
 
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