Your last few sentences perfectly sum it up. Yes, it will be done at no extra cost to me. It really is about the patient.
Bob
Time for an update....
Is it really about the patient?
Is this quality customer care and customer service?
December 2022. After trying to book in for the top-up procedure, I was told that I needed to go to the new clinic for a review/consultation. About a month later, I managed to see Dr Arshad at the clinic, who basically looked at my hair/scalp and agreed to get me into the clinic at some point.
March 2023.. After numerous attempts to engage Sommiya on WhatsApp, we are talking almost three months, due to being on leave (familiar response for some on here), etc; I finally got a phone call from her.
During this phone call, I was told my previous surgery with Dr Arshad hadn't worked so well because of scar tissue from the surgery before that. Not only that, Sommiya told me my surface area was big (basically, saying I had a big head) and, because of this, the grafts had to cover a bigger area; quite an excuse and insult. Interestingly, I don't remember that being suggested as an issue at my very first preoperative consultation with Dr Arshad and Sommiya.
Now, I could kind of understand the argument of scar tissue; however, I also had virgin scalp that had never been operated on, namely the crown and the new hairline Dr Arshad attempted to create. Both of these areas, post surgery with Dr Arshad, are incredibly sparse. Not only that, I have seen hundreds of patients who have received grafts in previously operated areas, with very successful outcomes.
Sommiya then went on to suggest any further surgery possibly wouldn't yield a good outcome because of some SMP I had recently received (May 2022). She further argued that the combination of SMP and scar tissue would make any top-up procedure very difficult to achieve a good result, that it was risky. Furthermore, because of this, if they were to operate and it didn't achieve the desired result, they wouldn't want me to post about it on any platform. None of this was stated or even hinted at by Dr Arshad during our one-to-one consultation in January 2023.
Despite all of this and desperate to get my head sorted, I argued that I still wanted the top-up procedure and agreed to refrain from posting about any post-op outcome.
At the end of March 2023, we agreed I'd receive the top-up procedure on 6th November 2023. That date has now passed. Due to the job I do, I had to book my leave in quite early so, I booked three weeks off work for recovery. As of 20/03/2023, I haven't received any communication from anyone at the clinic. Nothing has changed; my phone number and email address is exactly the same.
As the procedure date drew ever closer, I began to realise that something was amiss. However, I believed the clinic would honour their offer to perform the top-up procedure and contact was obviously a little late in arriving. By Saturday evening 04/11/2023, I realised I wasn't going to be contacted and the procedure wasn't going ahead. I'm still yet to hear from the clinic. I'm now left with three weeks leave, in the middle of winter, that I can't change
I feel I've been completely hoodwinked into the things I've written in my previous positive posts regarding the clinic. I should have stuck with what I originally wrote in my posts about the previous procedure and not excused the awful outcome I received. However, reading about and seeing so many dreadful results on here and other forums, coupled with the disgraceful way I've been spoken to and treated, I can't continue with my silence.
Something is badly wrong at the clinic. But, what shocks me more than anything is, the utter lack of morals and ethics; this is peoples' lives we are talking about. People don't get hair transplants because they are happy with their appearance.
The lack of responsibility, care and empathy, is beyond anything I've ever encountered. Whilst they are earning a million plus per year, we are left with devastating outcomes; of which, for some of us, will be permanent.
Despite being very critical of my previous surgery with another surgeon and promising me an 'amazing' outcome; I've been left with minimal donor hair, cobblestoning, a sparse hairline that doesn't physically connect with my previous hairline and doesn't match the density of it, and a very sparse crown and vertex.
£12 grand out of pocket and nothing but ignorance and issues for the privilege. Where else can people constantly get away with this level of service and performance, without recompense?
If anything, I badly need my hairline sorting out. Even when shaved to a zero, you can still see the lack of density and disconnect between the previous surgeries. Any suggestions will be most welcome.
All the best to those who have received desired results and excellent postoperative care. My sincerest and deepest sympathies for those who have been left scarred, physically and mentally.