Raphael84
Valued member
With the growth and popularity/demand of hair restoration surgery today, all clinics will receive enquiries and interest from all over the world.
Whilst it is great that we as patients now have many options to consider, it is also important to understand that when assessing individuals based on pictures and/or video, there is only a certain amount of accuracy that can be known.
With the ever increasing demand of surgery and also as the boundaries have been pushed and what can now be achieved with hair restoration surgery being more impressive and dynamic than ever, individuals with all extents of hair loss are searching for viable options and as they conduct their search and perform their due diligence, they contact several clinics.
As we know, not all hair restoration surgery is performed to the same quality and all clinics will have their own approaches and thoroughness in terms of consultation and attaining empirical data etc.
With that being said, some patients based on their photos may require a thorough in-person consultation with the doctor under magnification so that data can be attained such as donor density, hair groupings, hair calibre and texture, potential levels of miniaturisation, an understanding of hair status and stability and potential progressive loss.
Whilst this may seem like a considerable inconvenience based on location and the need to travel etc. it is important to understand that not all individuals are good or even acceptable candidates for surgery and an in person consultation is always in the best interests of the patient.
With the state of the art FotoFinder technology that we utilise in the clinic, consultation is able to be much more thorough and also allows an assessment of any skin irregularities. This is even more important for repair patients or those with "non virgin" scalp as it can highlight any pitting, ridging, tenting, cobblestoning etc and oftentimes the patient may not even be aware of this.
In the case of BHR and my own experience, several individuals ask why Dr. Bisanga has requested an in person consultation when clinic "x" have not. Whilst I can not speak for another clinic and their protocols and assessment, I wanted to share with you correspondence that I sent to a very nice individual, who requires consultation as we were discussing this exact point. I will copy below the explanation to add further consideration whilst editing/removing any personal details -
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I do understand your frustrations.
To better explain the necessity of consultation for patients that present a specific pattern of loss, many believe that FUE is simply FUE. Removing hair from the donor and placing in the recipient. The reality is that there is much more to consider and to understand before being able to accurately recommend surgery for an individual.
Just this week, a 38 year old male visited the clinic for consultation. From his photos, he essentially had a full head of hair with favourable hair calibre, very slight temple recession which was arguable if a transplant was even necessary. The individual had been committed to medication for the past 7 years.
Upon inspection and assessment under magnification, it could be seen that his donor presented 30% miniaturisation on average, with other areas actually showing higher than this.
This was not at all expected and could not have been known from photos or videos and without magnification.
If surgery had been scheduled on this patient as it may have been with other clinics, then yield and growth would have been questionable and also the longevity of any growth as his donor was in decline. This would not have been the right decision for the patient.
I explain this story just because it was this week, but this is more common than you would imagine.
As a patient myself, I can completely empathise with the desire for surgery but also the anxiety of travelling for surgery, surgery day/s and then the need for patience post surgery. Fortunately in my case, growth was excellent and early, but if growth is not as expected, the further anxiety and disappointment would have been very complicated and difficult to manage.
Not all individuals are good candidates for hair transplant surgery. One very important factor (of which there are several) as to why Dr. Bisanga is able to achieve consistently excellent results is due to thorough assessment and ensuring that an individual is an acceptable candidate to proceed with surgery.
It is due to such consistently excellent results that you are considering Dr. Bisanga for surgery, and so therefore it is important that such protocols are followed.
Every day we receive individuals for consultation who are essentially a repair surgery. Not all of these individuals are repair due to visiting low quality cheap clinics and in many cases, this is because they were not good candidates to begin with and surgery may not have been the best option for them.
Any decision to request consultation with an individual is always for the patients' best interest. It is not a business or financial decision, but a medical decision to better inform both the patient and the doctor and allow a more accurate understanding of current status and candidacy.
However inconvenient it is to need a consultation prior to surgery, when travelling such long distances, I can assure you that the inconvenience of arriving to the clinic and having paid for surgery, paid for travel and hotels, arranged time off work etc to find that you may not be a candidate would be a far worse and more stressful situation. One which the clinic will try to avoid at all costs/measures.
Any such requirement for consultation is genuinely always in the patient´s best interests.
----
Below is a video explaining the importance and process of a thorough hair restoration consultation.
Whilst it is great that we as patients now have many options to consider, it is also important to understand that when assessing individuals based on pictures and/or video, there is only a certain amount of accuracy that can be known.
With the ever increasing demand of surgery and also as the boundaries have been pushed and what can now be achieved with hair restoration surgery being more impressive and dynamic than ever, individuals with all extents of hair loss are searching for viable options and as they conduct their search and perform their due diligence, they contact several clinics.
As we know, not all hair restoration surgery is performed to the same quality and all clinics will have their own approaches and thoroughness in terms of consultation and attaining empirical data etc.
With that being said, some patients based on their photos may require a thorough in-person consultation with the doctor under magnification so that data can be attained such as donor density, hair groupings, hair calibre and texture, potential levels of miniaturisation, an understanding of hair status and stability and potential progressive loss.
Whilst this may seem like a considerable inconvenience based on location and the need to travel etc. it is important to understand that not all individuals are good or even acceptable candidates for surgery and an in person consultation is always in the best interests of the patient.
With the state of the art FotoFinder technology that we utilise in the clinic, consultation is able to be much more thorough and also allows an assessment of any skin irregularities. This is even more important for repair patients or those with "non virgin" scalp as it can highlight any pitting, ridging, tenting, cobblestoning etc and oftentimes the patient may not even be aware of this.
In the case of BHR and my own experience, several individuals ask why Dr. Bisanga has requested an in person consultation when clinic "x" have not. Whilst I can not speak for another clinic and their protocols and assessment, I wanted to share with you correspondence that I sent to a very nice individual, who requires consultation as we were discussing this exact point. I will copy below the explanation to add further consideration whilst editing/removing any personal details -
----
I do understand your frustrations.
To better explain the necessity of consultation for patients that present a specific pattern of loss, many believe that FUE is simply FUE. Removing hair from the donor and placing in the recipient. The reality is that there is much more to consider and to understand before being able to accurately recommend surgery for an individual.
Just this week, a 38 year old male visited the clinic for consultation. From his photos, he essentially had a full head of hair with favourable hair calibre, very slight temple recession which was arguable if a transplant was even necessary. The individual had been committed to medication for the past 7 years.
Upon inspection and assessment under magnification, it could be seen that his donor presented 30% miniaturisation on average, with other areas actually showing higher than this.
This was not at all expected and could not have been known from photos or videos and without magnification.
If surgery had been scheduled on this patient as it may have been with other clinics, then yield and growth would have been questionable and also the longevity of any growth as his donor was in decline. This would not have been the right decision for the patient.
I explain this story just because it was this week, but this is more common than you would imagine.
As a patient myself, I can completely empathise with the desire for surgery but also the anxiety of travelling for surgery, surgery day/s and then the need for patience post surgery. Fortunately in my case, growth was excellent and early, but if growth is not as expected, the further anxiety and disappointment would have been very complicated and difficult to manage.
Not all individuals are good candidates for hair transplant surgery. One very important factor (of which there are several) as to why Dr. Bisanga is able to achieve consistently excellent results is due to thorough assessment and ensuring that an individual is an acceptable candidate to proceed with surgery.
It is due to such consistently excellent results that you are considering Dr. Bisanga for surgery, and so therefore it is important that such protocols are followed.
Every day we receive individuals for consultation who are essentially a repair surgery. Not all of these individuals are repair due to visiting low quality cheap clinics and in many cases, this is because they were not good candidates to begin with and surgery may not have been the best option for them.
Any decision to request consultation with an individual is always for the patients' best interest. It is not a business or financial decision, but a medical decision to better inform both the patient and the doctor and allow a more accurate understanding of current status and candidacy.
However inconvenient it is to need a consultation prior to surgery, when travelling such long distances, I can assure you that the inconvenience of arriving to the clinic and having paid for surgery, paid for travel and hotels, arranged time off work etc to find that you may not be a candidate would be a far worse and more stressful situation. One which the clinic will try to avoid at all costs/measures.
Any such requirement for consultation is genuinely always in the patient´s best interests.
----
Below is a video explaining the importance and process of a thorough hair restoration consultation.
