Low-cost FUE in medical tourism countries consequences

Alopecia causes psychological distress and stress

Auto-transplantation with simple techniques

Hair restoration with hair stem cell transplantation

However, today it is possible to perform hair restoration with what is the best technique available today, the one that multiplies the hair and performs in vivo cloning on the patient by multiplying the hair taken from the donor area.

It thus regenerates itself by providing a capital of follicular donor units always renewed. Given the pharmacological treatments that slow down the fall with the use of drugs such as minoxidil and finasteride, they cause very unpleasant side effects. In addition, they are a kind of medicine for the hair, so when you stop applying them, unfortunately, the fall is accentuated, and the backlash effect is felt.

Low-cost medical tourism

Today, many people feel attracted to hair transplant procedures with FUE modalities at extremely low costs in foreign countries with significant limitations both hygienic and technical. The FUE technique is a technique that unfortunately has strong limitations. It consists of taking whole follicular units from the occipital zone, i.e. those that are not sensitive to dihydrotestosterone, (which therefore do not fall) and transplanting them into thinned or bald areas. This does not imply rejection, the hair will grow and can be cut by the hairdresser and will be like the others.

However, this technique is severely limited by the ability of the donor area to provide what the patient needs. It is therefore necessary to alert patients to the risks of a FUE transplant. In addition, if it is performed in low-cost countries, the patient will lack information about the possibilities of the intervention, because there is no pre-visit that advises the patient on his possibilities. The centres where reckless patients go are often unqualified and do not have medical or nursing staff. And because they operate outside the European Union, they are difficult to prosecute if something goes wrong.

Serious consequences of poorly performed FUE transplants

The most serious thing is that transplants of absolutely immense dimensions are proposed and carried out, which absolutely compromises the possibility of carrying out other transplants and irreparably damages the areas. Patients sometimes risk their lives. Often, extremely large punches are used that make the graft visible and also create frontal lines absolutely unsuitable for Western physiognomy. The biggest risk represented by FUE is that it is a simple technique and therefore within the reach of people who do not have the skills of a doctor and who practice this technique with a minimum of skills. This technique is gone on the road and you risk being operated by absolutely incompetent hands.

ISHRS Association for the Defense of Patients Undergoing Hair Transplantation

Today, to counter this phenomenon, a global association of surgeons dedicated to hair restoration, ISHRS, has taken the initiative to conduct a global information campaign. It is necessary to observe with caution the photos published on the net, because very often these photos are retouched and only serve to encourage patients to perform interventions that they will regret later.

The consequences of FUE appear about two years after surgery: hair can continue to fall out because the follicular units were taken too close to each other, disfiguring the donor area. Implantation of too many follicular units causes fibrosis and, in some cases, even necrosis. The advice is to turn to specialized and quality clinics.

Don’t be lured by low costs

The financial aspect that we know is a problem, but it is better to do nothing than to be murdered by inexpensive interventions that are really negative both as a result and as an influence on the patient who, thus damaged, suffers even more than if he had not had the transplant. Instead, the HST stem cell transplant technique is the best technique that exists on the market today: the samples are not very numerous because you do not want to damage the donor area and this allows the donor area to regenerate.