Participating ISHRS physician members offer eligible candidates free corrective surgery
CHICAGO, June 26, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — Imagine dealing with hair loss and thinning for years, trying to camouflage thinning areas of your scalp and becoming increasingly desperate for help. You decide to finally take action and get a hair transplant, only to unknowingly fall into a scam, illegal hair transplant clinic that lures patients with low prices, accommodations, travel, and even tour packages, coupled with misleading information. In this case, you are – like countless others – the victim of a fraudulent, illegal hair transplant clinic.
Video courtesy of International Society for Hair Restoration Surgery (ISHRS) member Maxim Chumak, MD, showing a patient who experienced necrosis as a result of a black market hair transplant performed overseas where there was no doctor. The video follows his subsequent treatment to heal the necrosis and the planned hair transplant restoration surgery.
Now in its fourth year, the International Society of Hair Restoration Surgery (ISHRS) hosts its annual “World Hair Transplant Repair Day” November 11, 2024. This global event is part of ISHRS’ global consumer awareness campaign Fight the FIGHT (an acronym for Fight the Fraudulent, Illicit, and Global Hair Transplants) designed to educate and assist individuals who have been victims of this widespread practice.
These victims have little recourse for permanent damage caused by unlicensed individuals who either lack the training or are not authorized to perform surgery even under the direct supervision of a licensed physician. ISHRS encourages them to contact participating ISHRS physician volunteers individually through the campaign website, HairTransplantRepairDay.org, for a chance to receive a pro bono corrective hair transplant procedure. Since its inception in 2020, the number of physician members participating in ISHRS has grown to dozens of members worldwide.
“ISHRS is committed to educating the public about the dangers of black market hair transplants, as our members have seen countless cases of hair loss patients completely devastated by their results at the hands of unqualified, unlicensed professionals,” he said. . Bradley Wolf, MD, FISHRS, president of ISHRS. “When performed by a skilled practitioner trained in the science and art of hair restoration surgery, a hair transplant delivers natural, permanent results that are virtually undetectable. Nothing else even comes close.”
Dr. Wolff explained that the number of fraudulent, illegal hair transplant clinics around the world has increased over the years and remains a popular form of medical tourism. According to the results of a 2022 member survey conducted by ISHRS, 51% of ISHRS members reported Black Market hair transplant clinics in their cities. In 2021, 5.4% of hair restoration patients sought treatment to restore a previous surgery from an office where the doctor did not perform the procedure, up from 4.2% in 2019.
As part of ISHRS’ commitment to educate the public about the real dangers of these black market hair transplant clinics, the Fight the FIGHT website offers numerous educational materials in 10 languages, including live patient education streams; from different countries in different languages that patients can access as archived replays to educate themselves on how to avoid becoming a victim of black market hair transplants. In addition, numerous patient case studies document the real-life experience of victims at the hands of fraudulent, illegal hair transplant clinics and the lasting consequences of their disfiguring surgeries.
The results of hair transplants performed illegally can include permanent visible scarring, infection, thin patches of hair, bald spots, and overharvested donor areas that can be very difficult to correct. In cases where the damage can be repaired, patients often need more than one corrective procedure.
“While there is no easy solution to the type of extensive repairs we see in patients who have fallen victim to black market hair transplant clinics, we encourage everyone considering hair restoration surgery to consult the Fight the FIGHT website for resources, including review before choosing a surgeon and an explanation of the multi-step corrective procedures required if you are the victim of an unconscious procedure,” said Shady El-Maghraby, MD, MSc, FISHRS, president of ISHRS Fight the FIGHT. Subcommittee. “Our aim with the Fight the FIGHT campaign is to reach patients in need of repair who would otherwise have no chance of getting a corrective surgery from the primary clinic, offering them the hope they so desperately need.”
An ISHRS member from Belgium describes a recent disastrous experience trying to fix a botched beard transplant from a black market clinic who eventually committed suicide. “A young 24-year-old patient of mine took his own life in the prime of his life. He was lured by the promise of finally having a beautiful beard. Especially since the prices on offer are so attractive. The decision was made – he would go to Turkey for the operation he dreamed of. Unfortunately, like thousands of others before him, he realized that not only were the “surgeons” unqualified, but the operation wasn’t even performed by a doctor – resulting in his donor area being used up. Unfortunately, it is another victim of the black market,” he said Jean DevroyMD, FISHRS.
ISHRS is committed to patient safety and continually strives for the best outcomes for all patients by offering members superior education and training to improve their techniques. To ensure that patients have the information necessary to make informed decisions about who will have hair restoration surgery, ISHRS urges potential patients to ask the following questions, as well as questions about cost, risks and short and long term benefits and planning:
- Who will assess my hair loss and recommend a course of treatment? What is their education, training, licensure and experience in treating hair loss?
- Who will perform my surgery, what role will they play, and what is their education, training, licensure, and experience in hair restoration surgery?
- Besides the licensed physician, will someone who is not licensed by the state (or country) make incisions or cut my scalp to obtain grafts during my procedure? If so, identify that person, explain their specific role, and why that person is allowed to perform surgery without a license.
- Is everyone involved in my surgery covered by malpractice insurance?
For more information or to take part in this global education campaign and event, please get in touch [email protected] and visit www.HairTransplantRepairDay.org.
#HairTransplantRepairDay
About ISHRS
The International Society of Hair Restoration Surgery (ISHRS) is a global non-profit medical association and the leading authority on hair loss treatment and restoration with 1,000 members in 70 countries worldwide. Above all, the ISHRS is dedicated to achieving excellence in patient outcomes by promoting the highest standards of medical practice, medical ethics and research in the medical hair restoration industry. ISHRS also provides continuing medical education to physicians specializing in hair transplant surgery and is committed to providing the latest information on medical and surgical treatments to consumers suffering from hair loss and most commonly androgenetic alopecia – male pattern baldness and female pattern baldness. It was founded in 1993 as the first international company to promote continuous quality improvement and professional training in the field of hair restoration surgery. For more information and to locate a doctor, visit ISHRS.org.
About the Research
Conducted by Relevant Research, Inc., of Chicago, IL, USA, the ISHRS 2022 Practice Inventory is a collection of information provided solely by participating physicians. The information published in this survey was developed from actual historical information and does not include any forecasted information. The margin of error for the sample is within plus or minus 6.1 percent at the 95 percent confidence level. For a full reprint of the ISHRS 2022 Census Practice Report, visit Hair Restoration Statistics.
SOURCE International Society of Hair Restoration Surgery
https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/fourth-annual-world-hair-transplant-repair-day-aims-to-educate-assist-victims-of-fraudulent-illicit-hair-transplant-clinics-302183393.html
