You’ve heard of a turnkey business, but what about turnkey hair restoration? This troubling trend in the cosmetic surgery industry promises to make it easy for existing medical practices to offer hair transplant procedures. Unfortunately, these turnkey solutions put patients at a higher risk for complications. Keep reading to learn why.
The “Turnkey” Approach
A turnkey business is one that is ready to use and that exists in a condition that allows for immediate operation. When it comes to turnkey hair restoration solutions, technicians promote ready-to-use follicular unit extraction (FUE) technology to surgeons looking to expand their offerings, promising high returns without much additional effort from the doctor.
These procedures aren’t approved by the International Society of Hair Restoration Surgery (ISHRS), largely because they’re often performed by technicians with no formal surgical training or official affiliation with a practice where patients have the surgery.
Lack of Expertise
The FUE devices used in turnkey hair restoration make use of automated processes to, in theory, allow technicians to perform hair transplants with little or no help from a qualified surgeon.
These technicians know how to operate and sell the devices, but they aren’t board-certified doctors. If you’re considering a transplant, it’s essential to make sure a certified surgeon with the proper education, training, and experience, like Dr. Epstein, will be performing the procedure to achieve the best results.
Problematic for Patients’ Safety
You wouldn’t get a haircut or a tattoo from someone without training, so why would you let a technician with no surgical training operate on your head? This lack of expertise is likely to increase the risk of:
- Poor or dissatisfactory results
- Scarring
- Uneven or incorrect hairlines
- Little or no hair growth
- Transplanted hair growing in the wrong direction
- Infections
- Underestimation of grafts needed or used
- Over-harvesting of donor areas
The procedure may also be illegal in your state. Graft extraction is a form of tissue harvesting and is usually classified as surgery. Performing surgery without a medical license is grounds for legal action, including fines, penalties or even jail time.
Questions to Ask Before Booking a Procedure
To ensure that you work with a surgeon that is qualified to perform the hair transplantation procedure, ask these questions during your consultation:
- Are you a board-certified doctor? Will you be performing the surgery, or will a technician
- Which university did you receive your medical degree from?
- How many years of experience do you have in the hair transplantation field?
- How many hair transplantation procedures have you performed?
- Do you have before-and-after pictures I can look at for the procedure I’m interested in?
If you feel uncomfortable with any of the answers you receive, keep looking until you find a doctor that you feel comfortable with.
If you’re just beginning your search, consider Dr. Jeffrey Epstein.
Dr. Epstein is triple-board certified and known around the world for his hair transplantation procedures. He has performed over 13,000 hair transplants and has worked with patients from all 50 United States and over 80 countries. Learn more about Dr. Epstein today.