The Patient's Guide to Hair Restoration - New Hair Institute

any cost is the best test of the ethical standards of the hair restoration doctor.
The doctor should be responsible for setting proper expectations, communicating
fully about the process, and insulating the prospective patient from the
commercial selling process. The doctor should slow down the decision process if
the patient appears to be making an impetuous decision.
Balding is not sudden; it takes time to evolve. Restoring hair should be a
thoughtful process: it is not an emergency. Do not rush forward and make a
mistake by starting something you are not willing or able to complete. Do your
homework. Meet and view patients with results that you feel meet your standard
of quality. Plan your budget carefully. Get to know your doctor and be sure he is
a competent, caring and ethical.
The Aesthetic Aspect
The surgeon must understand the nuances in integrating the various
characteristics of hair, how it grows, its color and contrast to the skin, and the
ethnic attributes of the patient, to blend them in a natural-looking way. The
surgeon must also meet the objectives of the patient. This is not as easy as it
sounds. It requires spending time with each patient, to understand what the
patient wants to achieve. The surgeon should not dictate rules by which the
patient must abide; it is not the doctor who will live with the appearance created
by the surgery for the rest of his or her life. Too many surgeons dictate where the
hairline should be placed or where they place the hair they move, when the
patient's opinions should play a significant role in these decisions.
Most frequently, the hair restoration surgeon is not able to ascertain just
how to balance the long-term process of hair loss with the short-term goals of the
patient. The patient wants to believe that his short-term goal, when met, is
compatible with a normal long-term appearance. Selling short-term goals without
regard to the long-term outcome is irresponsible and one of the most common
problems with this industry. The potential conflict of interest of a less than
honorable doctor may precipitate too much surgery and too much expense to the
patient. It is all too easy to promise and deliver the patient’s short-term needs by
setting him up to look like a freak in the long-term as his hair loss progresses to
its natural inherited conclusion.
Take great care in analyzing the aesthetic capabilities of the surgeon you
choose, as hair transplantation is permanent. A hairline placed too low, will be
too low for the life of the patient and a low hairline cannot be moved higher.
Hair loss is a lifetime process and the hair transplant surgeon starts midprocess
with an uncertain and unpredictable hair loss pattern. It is critical that
any additional hair transplants fit into a "master plan" considering a worst-case
scenario. After the surgeon finishes the restoration, the hair loss of the patient
does not miraculously stop. It continues through its natural course, one that may
be different from what anyone expected. The long-term nature of hair loss means
that the work performed must be intrinsically flexible in its design and capable of
appearing natural in the context of a worst-case hair loss pattern, if that should
develop.
It is important that each procedure stand on its own, as much as possible.
This means that, after having one procedure, the patient should be able to stop if
he wishes. If not, he should be informed of the consequences of further hair loss