In the News – Hair Transplant Patient Branded With Swear Word
Snippet from the article:
Darren Hope, 40, finally found “W****R” on his scalp when he shaved his head.
A surgeon left the two-inch capital letters across the back of his nut by removing tiny hair roots. But the word was hidden by the new locks he implanted.
Read the full article — A hair transplant patient had a swear word branded on his bonce for 19 YEARS without knowing.
Well, that is unfortunate. As if the scars left from the old large plugs weren’t bad enough, he justrealized they removed the plugs to look like a word. If the clinic is long gone and he’s so emotionally scarred by this (or at least upset), I wonder why he took it to the press and allowed his name and photos to appear. Seems it would just generate unwanted attention.
It’s difficult to see the word in the photos, but I think the word is “wanker”. Apologies to UK or AU readers that are offended by that word, but it’s rarely used here in the States.
Absolutely terrible. As if it’s not bad enough that you’re losing your hair right? That doctor should be blacklisted.
Dr. Rassman,
Interesting, but I don’t believe this at all. My skeptical radar started buzzing immediately.
To quote Judge Judy … “if something doesn’t make sense, it probably isn’t true.” This story should not be believed for what it seems to be. Here is some food for thought …
1.)It would have made no sense for the surgeon to have done this. The surgeon had no way of knowing that the patient was going to go 19 years before making the discovery. The patient could easily have discovered it a few months later. What would the doctor have done then? The doctor would have been screwed. The story fails to pass the common sense test.
2.) The strong possibility exists that the entire article is a hoax. The picture could easily have been photo-shopped. Even if the Sun, the paper that contains the article, didn’t fabricate it, they could have picked it up off the wire and printed it thinking it was true. There have been many cases where the mainstream press has ran articles that originated with other papers such as the Weekly World News(a paper that deliberately makes up fake stories)thinking they were true and printing them without verifying them first.
3.) The patient says he cannot sue the doctor because the clinic is out of business. How convenient. Guess what? It doesn’t matter. He can still sue the doctor that worked there and who did the operation. The doctor is the one who holds a license and has ultimate responsibility, not the clinic. He can still sue. He reason sounds like an excuse which raises suspicion.
4.) As much as I am tempted to think that this whole thing is a hoax, for the reasons above, I think the truth lies elsewhere. I cannot see any word on his head. I notice that you implied that you could not either. I don’t believe anyone, unless they know what they are “supposed” to see beforehand, will be able to see the alleged word. This phenomenon is called “pareidolia.” I believe this is a classic example.
Doctor, I have been reading your blog for years. You strike me as being a critical thinker and a very rational person. What do you think of my take?
Just thought of something else …
Since when do round punch-hole grafts from 19 years ago leave scars that form straight, unbroken lines?
I see several unbroken lines in the pic. When you remove a punch graft, tissue has to remain between each graft.
The picture doesn’t even make sense from a surgical perspective.
can’t he take this to court or something? psychological, and emotional scarring… tsk! upsetting.