Hair Transplant Turkey: What can go wrong

Turkey is quickly becoming one of the most popular destinations in the world for surgery with the main driving force being the lower cost of hair transplantation.

Medical tourism has always been a popular solution with people travelling to a number of different countries to source medical treatment, however, in recent years the boost in Turkey has been extremely high. It’s really easy for people to get tunnel vision when they look at hair transplantation and focus only on price, but it’s important to think about the issues and what can go wrong if you opt to travel to Turkey.

A lack of regulation

Although not as invasive as some, hair transplantation is still a form of surgery and ensuring you go to a reputable and regulated clinic is extremely important as it could have a detrimental effect if something isn’t right.

During a hair transplant, you’ll be given a local anaesthetic and be awake during the procedure and at a reputable clinic, an experienced doctor will perform the surgery by transplanting hair follicles from one area of the scalp to another with great care and precision.

In the UK, medical facilities are fully regulated by professional bodies such as the Care Quality Commission (CQC) or registered officially as a professional clinics. In many other countries, including Turkey, there isn’t a professional body which can make it difficult to find out all of the information you need about a clinic which in the UK would help you decide if a clinic is reputable or not.

There have been cases in Turkish clinics where hair transplants are performed by nurses or technicians rather than experienced doctors. With the biggest problem being that these clinics ignore regulations in order to accommodate more patients, many patients have had a consultation with a doctor and are sold the idea that the same doctor would be the one performing the transplant only to find this isn’t the case and someone under qualified will do the work.

The best hair transplant technology

Another huge factor to consider when you look into medical tourism is the type of technology used in other parts of the world. Some cheaper clinics might use outdated or lower quality methods of hair restoration.

Older methods of hair transplantation such as FUT hair transplantation can be less effective as well as lead to visible scarring.

Consider the long term results

It’s really important to consider the long term results of a hair transplant, it’s easy to see someone who went to a clinic last year and the results look amazing and think they’re a good clinic. This isn’t always the case.

A good hair transplant clinic will plan a hair transplant in full, meaning they ensure enough coverage is planned for future hair loss so that if the non-transplanted hair continues to recede over time you’ll still have some coverage.

Some men will need to have a second hair transplant in their lifetime which makes it very important for a clinic to ensure there is enough donor hair in the donor area. If a clinic uses too much of your donor hair for the first transplant you might not be able to fix any issues or have a second transplant. You can see some more information here on the importance of future-proofing a hair transplant.

Is medical tourism a bad option?

Not always. It’s important to bear in mind that not every clinic in Turkey or another country will take an irresponsible approach to hair transplantation. However, it’s important to consider what could happen if you end up at a bad clinic. Here are some tips from us on finding a good hair transplant clinic.

If you are considering hair transplantation please contact us today for a no-obligation consultation where we can discuss your treatment plan and costs.

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