Germany’s medical and hospital landscape and the speciality of hair transplantation

Hair transplantation is now one of the best known cosmetic surgery options for men and women suffering from Hair loss. However, due to the increasing demand for hair transplants, many new clinics are entering the market.

In the article “Hair transplant doctors & clinics: 5 reasons why it is so important to choose an expert hair surgeon” I already explicitly addressed the importance of the experience of the practitioner. However, with new providers, you will find many questionable clinics or doctors who are not properly trained. This can lead to risky or dangerous procedures with high risks. You can find out what the current market situation in Germany looks like and other important information here!

The number of clinics offering hair surgery is growing rapidly, making it difficult to choose a reliable and experienced specialist and increasing the risk of choosing an untrained doctor!

Many potential clients shy away from travelling far for reasons of cost and time, which is why there is always a search for a suitable provider and, above all, for the most reputable clinic that not only attracts clients from the region (referral agencies) but also carries out the treatment within the country.

The belief in the best hair transplant clinics and doctors in Germany

Most patients believe that there are no top doctors or clinics of the highest standard outside Germany to find specialists for Hair Transplantation. General opinion: In Germany, doctors for hair transplantation are very well trained and have enough know-how as well as experience. This is certainly the case in other specialties, especially if the specialization is taught at universities and courses are available for training. However, many people who are interested in hair transplantation are not aware that expertise in hair transplantation can be found mainly internationally!

A specialist title is not a licence to transplant hair, nor is it a guarantee of expertise, experience, competence and top quality. There is no university-level training, not even in further training as a plastic surgeon or other disciplines.

Haarverpflanzungen sind weder im Ausbildungskatalog noch – was noch wichtiger ist – in den Operationskatalogen der Fachärzte für ästhetische und plastische Chirurgie oder der Dermatologen als Facharzt enthalten. Auch Dr. med. Frank Neidel aus Deutschland äußert er in einem Artikel, dass der Name eines Facharztes keine offene Einladung oder Zulassung für Haartransplantationen oder andere kosmetische Eingriffe ist. Es gibt keine Berufsbezeichnung speziell für chirurgische Eingriffe an den Haaren, ein Facharzttitel ist also keine Garantie für die notwendige Expertise und höchste Qualität.

Hair transplants are neither included in the training catalogue nor – more importantly – in the surgery catalogues of specialists in aesthetic and plastic surgery or dermatologists as a specialist. Dr Frank Neidel, MD, from Germany, also states in an article that the name of a specialist is not an open invitation or licence to perform hair transplants or other cosmetic procedures. There is no professional title specifically for surgical hair procedures, so a specialist title is no guarantee of the necessary expertise and highest quality.

International associations and training centres focusing on hair surgery

For this reason, a number of international associations have emerged over time that specialise in hair surgery, such as ISHRS, ESHRS, FUE-Europe or the Worldfueinstitute. They organise congresses where both established and experienced surgeons pass on their knowledge to other doctors through lectures. In addition to advanced training for experienced hair surgeons, there are also courses for beginners. Furthermore, there are private institutions that offer training on hair transplantation, such as the training centre in Ankara, Turkey.

What do these things have to do with each other? The level of difficulty of hair transplants is lower than that of tattoos, but the number of botched HTs is rapidly increasing.

I remember a conversation with a doctor whose aim was to perform hair transplants “in between” other surgical procedures. According to his explanation, he had not yet performed a single hair surgery procedure, but was sure that he would soon be able to offer hair transplants, since in his opinion – and he was not dissuaded from this even by numerous objections on my part – own hair transplantation is just on a par with tattooing.

However, cases of surgical errors are increasing dramatically. How does all this fit together?

The reasons are obvious:

• Only rarely are they specialists or true “hair doctors”. Many of them are not specifically trained in hair surgery. They offer a range of other cosmetic surgery procedures.
• Lack of understanding As a reminder, the subject of hair surgery is not taught in any school, nor in any further training for plastic surgeons!Fehlende Erfahrung
• Lack of ability to attend congresses, training or education, etc.
• Overestimation of the medical conditions

The dangers of self-assessment in the medical field A simple specialist title is no guarantee of an excellent result!

Overestimating oneself is not uncommon in medicine, as Aerztezeitung.de reports. Doctor Frank Neidel expresses that overestimation is one of the main enemies of doctors, and under certain circumstances it can disfigure or even kill someone.

It is only natural that doctors and clinics include hair-related operations in their range of services and would like to profit from the boom in hair surgery.

Compared to other surgical procedures, hair surgery, as mentioned earlier, has a top ranking. It is not just that hair transplantation is not taught in any institution, not even in the training of plastic surgeons or in the training for other subjects and only requires hair surgery techniques, which are a great knowledge and expertise. The idea that transplantation is easier than tattooing can be a misconception that can lead to patient mutilation, as is evident here.

Of course, confident doctors think that they are the best doctor and so they will achieve top-notch results in the blink of an eye and without experience. However, everyone should be aware of their responsibility and those who do not have the appropriate knowledge and experience are better off avoiding the risks and referring patients to an experienced hair surgeon.

Low growth rate and damage to the donor hair: A hair transplant is an irreparable procedure!

This must be explained in detail: An individual hair transplant is only ever carried out and produces an excellent result if there is enough donor hair in the hair ring or in the donor region. Since a hair transplant is a “redistribution” of the hair strands, a donor area cannot be harvested indefinitely.

Each patient has a certain number of donor hairs/grafts available (so-called donor reserve). This must be handled as carefully as possible. If donor hairs or grafts are damaged during transplantation and do not spread (poor growth rate), they are lost forever and are no longer continuous. An autologous hair transplant is a permanent procedure! In this respect, autologous hair transplantation occupies a special position. In the case of the breast, for example, implants could be replaced, but in the case of a hair transplant, the damaged donor hairs/grafts (due to a low growth rate or damaged donor hairs/grafts during harvesting) are lost forever, which can have lifelong effects!

Transplantation of hair in Germany and two failures that had a negative experience, including poor hair growth, unpleasant results and scarring.

Read the following article about people who suffered from hair loss, underwent surgical treatment in Germany and had a disastrous, bad experience that was fortunately remedied by Andreas Krämer’s cooperation clinics:

Field report Case F from southern Germany

In the case of F, the patient underwent hair surgery in Germany for hereditary hair loss. The procedure was performed defectively and improperly, resulting in poor hair growth, scars and a hairline that was not natural, for which the patient was awarded 15,000 euros in damages. According to lawyer Christoph Bomke from Berlin, the main points were:

• No information that the FUE technique was described in 2005 as a new, simple and virtually scar-free procedure that can achieve natural results.
• Insufficient information about the fact that the doctor has neither formal training in hair surgery nor sufficient experience in this field.
• Insufficient information about the fact that with finasteride, the drug prescribed for hair loss, the process of hair loss can be stopped with a probability of over 90 percent.

After the surgery and after a consultation with Andreas Krämer about the best way to correct the poor results, the patient decided to have a corrective surgery with Dr. Özgur Öztan – Hairlineclinic and the results brought immense satisfaction for the patient from Germany!

The case and experience of Marco from Germany – Successful repairoperation by Dr. Heitmann, known through a TV report from Swiss television, including update after 10 years.

Marco previously had a hair transplant that was poorly performed in Germany with the FUT method (strip method) and with which he was not satisfied. After talking to Andreas Kramer about his hair loss as well as the operation he had already had and the best way to correct the poor result, he decided to have an improvement with intermittent FUE hair transplantation by doctor Lars Heitmann in Zurich, Switzerland.

The consultation with Andreas Krämer, as well as the repairoperation with Dr. Heitmann and also Marco’s result, were completely accompanied by the Swiss television station SRF from the beginning. The report was divided into two parts, part 1 “consultation and operation” and part 2 “result”.

You are welcome to watch the TV programmes from back then, read more information about the Marco case and watch a video update by Andreas Krämer, who met Marco again in November 2021, 10 years after the repairoperation and TV reportage.

► To the article “Repairfall Marco from Germany – Hair Transplantation TV Report Swiss Television and 10 Year Update”.

Recommendation on further important selection criteria for clinics and doctors for hair transplantation

The search for the best doctors/clinics for hair transplantation usually starts with visiting the websites of different clinics, especially those that offer the services and are able to estimate the potential costs. What does the clinic’s appearance look like? Can one find out who performs the hair transplant? Can one find out what the surgeon’s professional background is? What methods are used and what equipment or instruments are used? Are there examples of cases of other patients? The greatest possible transparency is an indication of seriousness. Unfortunately, many providers fail to make transparent the factors that are most important for potential clients.

Reputation of the clinic and transparency about the upcoming operation

Often clinics or providers do not openly disclose which surgeons are performing the treatment or which doctors are working in the clinic. It is quite common to find information about a team that performs transplants. But the name and the doctor who performed the transplant are rarely mentioned. On the one hand, this does not provide transparency, and on the other hand, it deprives prospective patients of the opportunity to find out about the surgeon before the procedure. A hair transplantation is an operation that one does not undergo in the case of a medical emergency, but rather an operation that one consciously decides on and for which reputation as well as the reputation of the doctor or the hospital must be taken into account at a minimum cost. Detailed preparation for hair transplantation and comprehensive information about the doctor and hospital performing the procedure is essential for one’s own benefit.

Decisive are the public biography of further education as well as the acquired certifications that distinguish doctors for their (preferably exceptional) skills in the field of hair transplantation. In addition, for virtually every reputable hair transplant doctor, patient cases are available on the internet that attest to the doctor’s excellent reputation. If none of this information is made available, the question arises as to what the lack of transparency is due to.

Hair surgery is a high quality procedure

In addition to the quality characteristics discussed (reputation as well as reputation), other indicators can also provide information. Insufficient documentation of patient cases on the internet could be an indicator of poor quality features. In addition, the field of hair surgery is offered by numerous clinics “among many other services”. These are usually clinics that have specialised in cosmetic surgery. Which doctor (presumably trained as a cosmetic surgeon) is responsible for hair transplantation? Do you have evidence-based knowledge about the qualifications of hair surgeons? Where can case reports from patients be found? When looking for a reliable, trustworthy and competent hair surgeon to perform your hair transplant, there are several questions to be answered.

Advice on the most effective and highest quality treatment does not depend on where you live. For an established hair surgeon with sufficient experience and proven results, travel costs do not matter.

If there are still no answers and documented patient cases (if available) are not convincing, interested parties should not fail to contact renowned, experienced and competent hair surgeons who are known for their exceptional skills.

To enjoy a moment of pure pleasure, it is not uncommon to travel thousands of kilometres to reach the destination of one’s dreams. However, must the choice of doctor/clinic depend solely on the cost of the hair transplant and the distance of the clinic?

Perhaps this comparison and recommendation can help to reflect on the importance of distance to the location of a specialist who has proven to provide the best treatment with sufficient knowledge and experience.

Der Beitrag Hair transplantation: The top clinics and doctors only in Germany? erschien zuerst auf Hair Transplant Consultation minimize Risks.