Aaaahhhhhhh Orlando, Florida. Home of Disney World for those who love Mickey Mouse, Epcot Center for global cultural lovers and Universal Studios for those chasing after outright fun. But did you know that Orlando, Florida is also home to numerous “hair transplant surgeons?” Those quote marks weren’t placed there by mistake. As a matter of fact, Orlando is full of clinics whose doctors peddle hair transplant procedures to uninformed patients searching for the right provider.
From pediatricians, to internal medicine doctors, Orlando is the mecca of so called “hair specialists.” But after a closer look…are they really? After 18 years in the industry, I have learned how easy it is in the hair transplant industry to offer this service and call yourself a specialist. The two most important attributes a real “hair transplant specialist” must have is first to dedicate themselves to hair transplant exclusively and second to be a real, educated and trained board certified surgeon.
First, being an exclusive hair transplant specialist gives you the training, education and repetitive know-how to guide patients correctly and deliver superior, natural results. A plastic surgeon that is involved in numerous services cannot have enough time or dedication to be called a hair transplant specialist. It would be impossible for them to perform enough hair transplant surgeries, plus attend hair restoration conferences in order to qualify to be a hair specialist. This would reduce their time in offering and training in other plastic surgery services… not many would want to do that.
The second factor is being a trained and schooled board certified surgeon. I have learned that this term “surgeon’ can be used very loosely in the medical industry. Is a doctor that performs dermatologic skin procedures qualified to call himself or herself a surgeon? Does a doctor that went to medical school to learn to be a pediatrician have the right to call him or herself a surgeon because they “learned” to do hair transplant procedures, but is not an actual board certified surgeon?
So how do patients decipher this confusion in order to select a real hair transplant surgeon? First step is to read the doctor’s bio you are considering. If you read through their entire Bio and there’s no mention of hair transplant training, no membership and attendance to The International Society of Hair Restoration Surgery (ISHRS) nor years of experience in hair transplantation, then it’s a sure bet you’re not dealing with a specialist. Second, when you visit their website and they offer a plethora of cosmetic surgeries, you have to ask yourself how in the world can they be a hair restoration specialist when they are involved in so many cosmetic procedures. Third, if they don’t offer many before and after hair restoration pictures OR they use patient pictures given to them by hair restoration equipment companies (you can tell which ones by visiting several non specialist websites and they have the exact same before and after pictures), it’s a sure bet they aren’t specialists either. Believe me, if you are a specialist, you don’t need to use other’s pictures in order to promote them as yours to showcase yourself as being experienced.
If, after filtering the above steps you are left with a few possible hair specialist candidates, then confirming them as legitimate surgeons will serve as the key to finding a real hair transplant surgeon. Are any of these remaining options actual board certified surgeons? A doctor calling him or herself a surgeon just because they perform a procedure doesn’t medically qualify them to be called a surgeon. A doctor that has gone to medical school to be a surgeon and has qualified to become a board certified surgeon…is an actual surgeon.
Therefore, if you implement the above-mentioned filtering methods, you will realize there actually aren’t many hair restoration surgeons available in Orlando, Florida as presumed above. The best recommendation would be to take your time and research your options correctly. Hair restoration has come a long way and patients who select their hair specialists correctly are receiving excellent results. But you will only make the right selection by putting in the time and right selection process in order to find the best hair specialist for you.