Dangers of a cheap hair transplant
Nov, 20 2019 | By Dr. Sangay Bhutia (Hair Transplant Specialist in Delhi)
One of the best things about modern hair transplant procedures is that they are so affordable. Till a few years ago, it was only celebrities, sports stars, and the more privileged section of the society that had access to these procedures, meaning they could afford to have their luscious hair longer and keep looking young. Whereas those who didn’t have that kind of money had to deal with their baldness and resign to their fate. It is no longer so.
This has resulted in the popularity of hair transplant procedures increasing massively, and clinics mushrooming across cities that offer you the promise of a thick, luscious mane even if you are 60 years old. Most importantly, at a very low cost. Unfortunately, many medical practitioners have taken undue advantage of the situation and opened up shoddy clinics, which offer these services at throwaway prices. However, let’s be honest, who can ever refuse a good deal, it’s only natural to gravitate to the promise of a quick, easy, cheap transplant. Be it shoes, clothes, cosmetics, food, a good deal is always welcome. The sad thing is also that people who are losing hair are often so desperate, and they can be easily lured by these ‘deals’. And certain establishments take advantage of their desperation. But it cannot be said enough that cheap hair transplants are a terrible idea. But before we talk about the dangers of such transplants, let’s first also understand the psychology of a person who is losing hair.
Let’s say you are experiencing hair loss and it is becoming noticeable; suddenly you see that people start making jokes, they are often not ill-intentioned, but they really hurt your feelings, and your sense of self. Hair loss is known to not just hurt people’s opinion of themselves, but also their social, personal, and professional lives. Research says that bald people are perceived as older than they are, or even less attractive to the opposite sex. In short, it can wreak havoc on your mental health. So, it is understandable why one can easily fall for flashy advertisements and the promise of cheap hair transplants.
In fact online search on hair transplants will often take you to on websites which promise ‘cheap and best’ hair transplant procedures. Here is why you should run in the opposite direction if a clinic is offering to give you the cheapest procedure.
The dangers of a cheap hair transplants are real and can potentially be fatal. The most important thing to understand here is that a clinic is cheap because they are cutting corners and not providing you the best service. For all you know the person claiming to be a surgeon or expert might not even have a degree. They are often cosmetic surgeons who are trying their hand at hair transplants. Or worse, their assistants are conducting the actual procedure, or a large part of . In a nutshell, here is a list of what can go wrong:
Serious post-surgery complications, like severe infections, excessive bleeding, excessive swelling, and extreme pain.
Excessive scarring. FUE or Follicular Unit Extraction leaves tiny dot like scars and FUT or Follicular Unit Transplantation leaves a long linear scar, but they both vanish over time and can be camouflaged by expert surgeons. However, a badly-conducted surgery can leave excessive scarring, which will need a corrective procedure to be fixed.
Poor hair growth
Bald Patches because of over-harvesting of donor areas or unevenly distributed grafts over the recipient area. This will also require a corrective procedure.
-> Unnatural hairline
-> Severe damage to the donor area
-> Extreme shedding
Take something like the risk of infection. Usually cheap clinics skimp out on things like cleanliness and hygiene of the clinic and the instruments, which can expose patients to infections and other risks. Some doctors who are not experienced enough tend to over harvest the donor areas, causing bad looking transplants. There are also numerous instances where an inexperienced surgeon is not able to design an aesthetically-pleasing or an age-appropriate hairline, giving an unnatural look to the patient. These are all dangerous outcomes of cheap surgeries. Often patients have to spend money in corrective procedures, which renders the whole exercise of getting a cheap hair transplant useless.
A recent study by the International Society for Hair Restoration Surgery has warned patients against ‘black market pirate clinics’ where people claiming to be surgeons, operate with little or no training. The society was compelled to issue such a warning as cases of fraudulent clinics or botched hair procedures have increased exponentially in the past few years. It said that patients often fall for smart marketing gimmicks without doing a proper research on the clinic or the concerned expert.
So please be warned - in case you are considering a hair restoration procedure; then follow some basic instructions:
-> Do a thorough research on the clinic as well as the expert
-> Seek an appointment and talk to the concerned expert before making a hasty decision
-> Do not cut corners, this concerns your health and wellbeing
And most importantly, don’t be shy in discussing your problem. A lot of patients often make bad decisions only because they have not been properly advised and they are too shy to seek it.
Its okay to make a bad decision sometimes on clothes and shoes, if you are getting a good deal. They can easily be replaced. However, when it concerns your looks and wellbeing, you cannot often undo a bad decision, after all you will end up paying a much higher price for it.
