Choosing the right surgeon - Anastasakis Hair Clinic

Choosing the right surgeon for your own hair transplant is not a simple matter, but it is a quest that will reward you with a perfectly natural and dense result.

Choosing the right surgeon for hair transplantation

If the doctor performs perfectly all the steps of hair transplant, the result will always be natural and dense. When hair transplant surgeries are performed perfectly only then they are successful!

This happens because hair transplant procedures are surgically challenging and only the perfect technique yields satisfactory results.

Any doctor who works just good or even very good will have moderate hair transplant results.

And the most important thing is that hair transplant procedures can undergo minimal changes when something is not right from the start.

At Anastassakis Hair Clinic, we implement specific procedures and excellent teamwork. This brings us to the highest level of technical excellence that guarantees perfect results.

Just as you ever dream about them!

Why is it necessary to find a qualified surgeon?

good and bad choice in hair transplantation

Because Hair Transplant is fully visible and permanent. When hair transplant is successful it will dramatically change your image and the result will last forever because the new hairs are never going to fall.

However, if the surgery is unsuccessful, unnatural or sparse, then the change will be impressively “negative” and will again be permanent.

And one thing you must remember is that the results of a bad hair transplant cannot be hidden and cannot be improved “on their own” over time.

For example unlike a scar on the chest by an open-heart surgery that easily can be hidden under clothes, a bad hair transplant is hidden only if you are constantly wearing a hat or a wig.

Every time someone looks himself in the mirror, he will be reminded of his mistake for not finding the appropriate, qualified doctor.

In addition to not being easy to hide a bad hair transplant result, is very difficult to correct and even more difficult for the patient to forget it since already his lifted spirit and excitement for the new hair has been destroyed.

So, if you do not want to end up wearing a hat or a wig or shaving your head to hide the unnatural hair transplant that has been performed by an inexperienced, unskilled doctor or, worse, a non-expert, there’s only one thing you should do: A serious market research before trusting your head to someone!

And even more important: Do not rush to decide who you will trust!

Why you should not make a rush decision:

Hair transplant is not an emergency surgery, not even a necessary one, though it is presented as that by many prolific or professional salesmen who will urge you to “book” a hair transplant immediately!

Keep in mind that you have as much time as you want to find a qualified surgeon.

Remember that nothing will change if someone conducts research a few extra weeks until they reach a decision that will follow him for a lifetime.

In Hair Transplant, it is not a matter for the doctor to persuade the patient that surgery is needed (which is the case for the necessary surgical procedures to correct a health problem).

In Hair Transplant, the patient must be convinced that he can trust the doctor who performs the hair transplant.

So do your research and take your time!

It will be one of the most important time investments you have made in your life.

The power of choosing a qualified doctor is in your hands!

Dr Anastassakis hair transplantation surgeon in Greece

In almost every medical procedure, the patient feels dependent on the doctor’s “hands” and treats him with awe, as he is “the Authority”. Unfortunately, most patients, especially when they visit a “famous” doctor, react somewhat like this: “Whatever you think is right, I’m in your hands”. And even worse, they are ashamed to ask questions for details and get to know more about the doctor who will operate them.

Just don’t do it!

A person interested in hair transplant should ask a lot of questions and demand the doctor to answer them for such a cosmetic surgery (not necessary for his life or health), like hair transplant. An informed patient can actually talk on “equal terms” with the doctor and disagree or agree with the services and techniques provided.

Dr. Anastassakis hair transplantation details

And do not worry! You do not have to learn the whole book of medicine!

In just a few hours you can learn all the information that will allow you to understand if the doctor you are visiting is qualified, certified, informed and applies all the modern techniques of Hair Transplant or if he is another one who simply declares that he performs hair transplant.

Why does hair transplant differs from other surgical operations?

The moral responsibility of the doctor in hair transplant is enormous.

It is more important from operating a vital organ or removing a malignant tumor for the same patient!

No, it’s not an overstatement.

The surgeon operating a vital organ surgery performs a Necessary Procedure.

The doctor is responsible for the health and / or the patient’s life, but he is operating on a problematic tissue or an organ and he’s trying to repair it with the help of nature. The patient is aware of the possibility of failure ,even if the surgery is performed perfectly and the doctor knows that he was doing the best he could do, even if nature did not “help”.

The surgeon in hair transplant performs an Elective Procedure which means it is not necessary for the life or recovery of the patient’s health, it’s the patient’s choice.

Anastassakis hair clinic staff

In this case, the doctor operates a surgery to a healthy tissue and the patient who trusts him waits after the surgery to be as healthy as before and with a better appearance!

And in the case of hair transplant, when all the steps are performed perfectly, it is certain that the surgery will succeed and the result will be dense and natural.

So, the only factor determining the failure or the success in hair transplant is the doctor!

What are the criteria for selecting a hair transplant doctor?

It is really important to be sure that the doctor you choose meets your criteria.

Before choosing a doctor for your hair transplant, you need to be sure about the following issues:

Doctor’s training and experience,
The way in which he practices his profession,
How comfortable you feel with him.

The smartest and most effective strategy you can use is to write a questionnaire about the hair transplant process, as well as questions about the doctor’s scientific credentials and how up-to-date his knowledge is.

The questionnaire made by the patient can be:

completed when he visits the doctor
or send by post or email if the doctor is in another city or country.

Do not think that this is too much. It is necessary to have such a questionnaire.

As far as the level of how comfortable you feel with the doctor, you will judge whether you are happy or not. In the end you will judge if the doctor has listened carefully to all of your questions and answered them satisfactorily, if he touched all possible approaches and treatments, if he showed willingness to discuss all the choices and If in the end of the initial conversation you had the feeling that you and your doctor had a compatible patient/doctor relationship.

Why should I go through this whole process?

Unfortunately, the hair transplant sector is NOT FULLY LEGALLY REGULATED, worldwide. This means that doctors of every specialty and grade are allowed to do hair transplants.

So everyone can find from hair transplant surgeons who are skilled with decades of experience and official certificates to unqualified doctors who just got out of the Medical School.

Even worse, in many cases hair transplants with the FUE technique are being operated by non-physicians like technicians or hairdressers!

It’s true!

Hair transplant is a surgical procedure and should be performed only by surgeons.

In particular, FUE hair transplant procedures, which are generally expensive and without significant risk of complications, are operated by many inexperienced and unskilled doctors, aiming only the profits.

Of course, it is not bad for a doctor to have profits from his work, as long as he knows how to do it perfectly, to have the knowledge and experience and to have the necessary expertise.

Unfortunately, many do not have these credentials/experience but they are being advertised heavily as “experts” in the Internet and unfortunately perform hair transplant procedures with bad results that can be seen around us. Just remember how many men you have seen, having shaved heads and enormous scars appears on the back of their heads due to failed hair transplants.

Even worse, there are technicians presented by clinics as doctors and perform FUE hair transplant procedures.

In fact, in January 2017, the International Society of Hair Restoration Surgery (ISHRS), published a consumer alert for the possibility of serious complications in hair transplant procedures when performed by non-physicians!

So, since the law cannot protect you, it is your duty to protect yourself from unskilled, unrelated and inexperienced doctors.

“Isn’t it a little too much to ask my doctor so many questions?”

No, not at all.

Unlike other surgeries, in hair transplant, the patient must take an “interview” from the doctor, and not vice versa.

This happens because, unlike most other surgeries, hair transplant is not a Necessary Procedure, but is an Elective Procedure, as we have explained.

On one hand, as we have said, you have to protect yourself from the unskilled, unrelated and inexperienced in the field of hair transplant who are just aiming for the profits.

On the other hand, you need to know the following:

Hair transplant has a history only of 60 years, unlike other surgical specialties with an official history of 2-3 centuries since the General Anesthesia was discovered.
From these 60 years, the hair transplant is performed more and more extensively the past 40 years.
From these 40 years, 30 years have demonstrated moderate to catastrophic results, because of the primitive techniques and tools.
Only the past 15 years, the situation has improved and the last 6-7 years someone can truly speak for successful natural and dense hair transplants.

On the contrary, with other surgical sectors with long history, development and stability through centuries, knowledge on hair transplant is relatively recent, not yet transmitted, assimilated, or applied by all doctors who “declare” they deal with hair transplant.

The patient by himself must find a doctor who applies the latest techniques.

And this can only be achieved with an extensive and thorough market research.

Anastassakis Hair Clinic only uses the latest hair transplant techniques as soon as their safety and effectiveness has been verified, the latest technical equipment plus the staff is constantly trained and updated with the most recent knowledge and techniques.

Why should you have a questionnaire for your doctor?

use a questionnaire for the hair transplantation surgeon

This questionnaire aims to enable the patient to get to know the doctor better and to decide whether or not to trust him.
With this questionnaire, the patient will be able to exclude a large number of surgeons and will be more likely to choose someone suitable for his case.
For doctors who cannot visit the patient due to distance, they may send the questionnaire to each of these doctors separately indicating that they are interested in undergoing a hair transplant surgery.

But take in mind that most of the questionnaires will never be answered.

Here are some reasons:

Some doctors will believe that it has been sent by a competitor who is looking for the doctor’s “weaknesses”.
Some doctors will believe that the questionnaire perhaps has been sent by an unsatisfied patient who is looking for evidence to go legally against them.
Some doctors prefer their patients not to be so informed and careful, and most of the time they do not want to give information, and a verified contract for “sly” reasons.
Some doctors will not answer it because they might just be too busy and will not consider it as a priority.
Some doctors may even consider “insulting”, the questions referring to their level of knowledge and information or questions asking if they have been sued for medical acts, etc.

Do you want one of these doctors to perform your hair transplant?

What to do in case the questionnaire is not answered

All those who do not answer must be immediately excluded because they simply didn’t see it as a priority.

Anyone who has not responded for the reasons below, must be excluded:

has reason to fear competitors (the right professional is not afraid of competition but offers competitive services)
is afraid of his old patients (nobody wants a doctor with frustrated patients who are afraid of them)
prefers future patients to have no opinion or knowledge (no such doctor wants)
considers that a patient’s goodwill “suspicion” of the surgeon’s experience and the expensive and life-long results of his surgery do not deserve the 10 minutes time that the questionnaire requires to be completed (nobody wants a doctor who does not respect his patient’s concerns and does not devote 10 minutes of his time).
is arrogant and he thinks he does not have to prove “nothing to anybody” and his statement only that he knows to perform hair transplants and that “all his clients are satisfied” is enough.

These kind of doctors don’t suit your needs!

On the other hand, doctors who will take the time to respond to you, prove that they respect your concern, that they justify your suspicion and that they have nothing to hide.

Of course, some of the answers may be false.

In this case, the questionnaire completed by the doctor can be conveniently used in the patient’s litigation against him if the patient determines that the doctor is responsible for a bad result after surgery.

You can also use the questionnaire when and if you meet with the doctor to insist on some of the points you consider most important, but you can also see if they are valid.

At Anastassakis Hair Clinic we are pleased to have demanding and up-to-date patients, to answer all their questions and to keep them informed of any matter that concerns them.

Where to find hair transplant surgeons

Main hair transplantation surgeon slider

Firstly begin from doctors performing hair transplant in your city. Pay attention to the choice of the location and the person, also remember that hair transplant is a medical practice and it is only provided in medical premises licensed according to the Law.
It is not too much to look for doctors far from your city or even in another country! If an operation is going to cost 5,000€, what is the difference, if the cost is another 1000€ in travel and accommodation if the result is much better?
With the same criteria, you should not exclude the doctors in your neighborhood, It is not unlikely that a doctor in your area or in your city will prove to be as good as his internationally famous colleagues.
Browse the websites of the world’s two largest scientific organizations, the International Society of Hair Restoration Surgery, www.ishrs.org, and the American Board of Hair Restoration Surgery, www.abhrs.com
Be suspicious of friends who are pushing you to choose a specific doctor, especially if they have never undergone a hair transplant procedure with him nor other doctor (It is very common a hidden professional relationship to underlie with the doctor and your friend may have a profit from the earnings.) Even if they have undergone a procedure with this doctor, see his result very carefully and do not depend on sayings like “he is the best” etc. Have the questionnaire always with you.