Avoid the Scam – Unethical Graft Counting!
This week I met with two patients who reported having large transplant sessions, both with extremely disappointing tales I want to share.
Patient 1: The first patient reported two surgical sessions totaling 4800 grafts both done in Los Angeles. He had a very low hair density and a moderately tight scalp based upon what I measured, so I doubted that he had that many grafts transplanted. He also felt that the doctor did not give him the number of grafts that he paid for. Is it a case of a doctor ripping off a patient? Could be, but unfortunately I can’t say with 100% certainty. I’m fairly sure, based upon my counting of the grafts…
Patient 2: The second patient was just 1 week out of surgery and so the grafts were all clearly evident. I counted them and estimated that there were less than 1000 present, yet the doctor said there were 3000 grafts (about 2000 that were purchased and another 1000 that were above the number sold on the morning of the surgery). In this case, I’m much more certain about the patient being ripped off, because I could count the results relatively soon after the surgery.
—
My complaint:
I am seeing more and more cases where the hair transplant doctors are not delivering upon the contracted graft numbers. These doctors are an embarrassment to the medical profession. What they are doing is not only immoral, but illegal (fraud is a criminal problem), and if the patients take the appropriate action, the state medical board should be notified and the doctors prosecuted. Hopefully these doctors will lose their medical licenses if they are swindling patients. It seems that many patients are shopping for the best price (which is reasonable), but that assumes that what they are buying is really what the doctor can deliver. When fraud comes into play, the patient becomes a victim. With these scams, prices may be quoted as low as $1-2/graft, but when the accounting is in, the actual prices may be many times based upon what the patient actually received. Keep that in mind when you’re looking at the doctor with the bargain bin pricing. I still don’t understand why anyone would have cosmetic surgery based solely upon the cheapest price. Would you travel to Tijuana for dental work because it’s cheaper?
Avoid the scam:
How do you tell if your doctor is giving you what you purchased? First, get to understand the scam. Second, learn about graft auditing and how it is done. Third, ask the doctor to allow you to have a friend or family member at the surgery to audit his graft counting process. This is an accounting issue and your observer needs to be educated on what to look for. For all of you wanting to understand the process better, come visit us on an Open House day when we allow visitors in the surgery theater. The auditing process we employ should be similar to the one that the doctor you may be considering. It is not unusual for some of our patients to bring in family members to observe the surgery. Although none have asked for auditing rights, we generally show off our auditing process while we educate the visitors.
Further reading:
That’s scary! I have a related question – do you think these Doctors “waste” grafts or do they cut thin strip containing less number of grafts to begin with? i.e., cut 3000 grafts from “donor” area and put only 1000 grafts on balding areas to save labor cost? or, Do they cut a strip with ~1000 grafts and put 1000 on head.
If it’s the later, at least the patients will have the grafts for a later surgery. If the later, the doctors are worse than Bernie Madoff!
Having been through 3 surgeries, one good way to approximately estimate how many grafts were implanted was to count (a) number of hours and (b) number of technicians putting those grafts on your head. For 1640 grafts HT — it took 2 techs@NHI about 5 hours (excl lunch break); for 1850 grafts HT — it took 3 techs about 6 hours; for 1400 grafts HT — it was about 4 hours for 2 techs. I don’t know if these are somewhat standard.