What are the risks of going overseas for a hair transplant?

Doctor's Answers 1

While I acknowledge that Turkey and India (as well as some other countries) do offer more affordable hair transplantation rates, do be aware that hair restoration surgery is, after all, a surgical procedure.

All surgical procedures have risks involved - the common ones quoted are: bleeding, infection, prolonged healing time. If the procedure is performed under deep sedation, which is usually not the case, there could be an anaesthetic risk involved too - including heart and lung complications.

Another point to note is that while hair restoration has a quoted success rate of >90%, there are sometimes patients who do not achieve this success rate due to a myriad of confounding factors - poor post-operative care, poor technique, poor candidate selection etc. In which case, having the hair transplantation procedure done overseas may leave you with few avenues of recourse.

I implore you to consult the doctor performing the procedure for you and ask the following questions:

1. Who will be the person performing the procedure? Is it a doctor or technician?

2. What will the follow-up procedure be like? (In our centre, we follow up our patients at day 1 and day 7 post-operatively to ensure that the donor and recipient areas are healing well; then again at 1 month for growth factor infusions, and regular 3 month follow-ups by myself up to the 1 year mark)

3. What avenues are possible for recourse if there is a grossly unsatisfactory result?

I hope this helps.

Warmest regards,

Dr Joshua Chong

Similar Questions

How time sensitive is starting treatment for male pattern baldness?

From your description, it does sound like you may have telogen effluvium. In telogen effluvium, there is increased hair loss due to a preceding stressful event, such as high fever, crash dieting and emotional stress. The surgery in June may be a triggering event. By definition, hair fall is considered abnormal if there is loss of over 100 strands of hair a day. This condition is usually self limiting and the hair fall usually last for 2 – 4 months . The new hairs will eventually grow out.

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Answered By

Dr Colin Theng

Dermatologist

What is the cause and treatment for male hair loss? How much does hair transplantation cost in Singapore?

It does indeed sound like male pattern hair loss, due to male hormone (testosterone). And unfortunately you’re right – finasteride works by blocking testosterone, which results in all the side effects like erectile dysfunction etc. I’d recommend starting with a topical shampoo called Minoxidil – that has minimal side effects, although hair regrowth tend to be thinner. Hair transplant is indeed a lot cheaper in Thailand, but you have to be aware that follow-up care will not be possible. I recently had a friend come to me to check out his scalp after the op in Thailand.

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