A top hair transplant surgeon in the UK is warning people of the risks and dangers involved when having the procedure done abroad – and says if it’s cheap, then it’s probably “too good to be true”.
Dr Matee Rajput often makes the headlines due to his incredible hair transformations with high profile celebrity clients.
The surgeon, who works in both Manchester and London, has treated the likes of Gareth Gates, Joe Swash and a number of Love Island stars, including Jake Cornish.
Now, he’s warning Brits against going abroad to have this done for “cheap” due to the high-risk dangers involved.
“I see quite a lot of patients in my UK clinics who have had complications from cheaper procedures carried out abroad in places such as Turkey,” Dr Matee, who works at the KSL Clinic, told What’s The Jam.
“In recent years, travelling abroad for surgical procedures like hair transplants has become much more common, mainly due to cheaper costs.
“But we do also often hear quite a lot of horror stories from botched surgeries carried out by foreign clinics – mainly poor and unnatural cosmetic outcomes that the patient is then unhappy with.
“The benefits of having a hair transplant procedure in the UK, in my opinion, do outweigh opting to travel abroad for the treatment.
“In the UK, clinics work with the same surgeons and surgical teams, so when you’re seeing results from surgeons’ work in the UK, you know you’re having your treatment done by that same team.
“Whereas abroad, you might end up with a different surgeon or technician team managing your procedure.
“Also abroad, there are less regulations surrounding medical treatments, including how many patients a surgeon can oversee in one day – and your treatment might end up being completed by the technicians team rather than the actual surgeon you’ve seen online.
“I always advise my clients that when paying for private surgical procedures like hair transplants, you get what you pay for – and if the deal sounds too good to be true, it probably is.”
According to Smile Hair Clinic, the average cost of the procedure in Turkey ranges from £1,700 up to £5,500 – with Dr Matee’s costing an estimated £6,000 – depending on the number of grafts and areas needed.And while more expensive, the results for his clients make it all worth it.
In a clip posted on Instagram, which has racked up 657,000 views and over 5,000 likes, he reveals the process being carried on Love Island’s Jack Fincham.
He begins with showing the star’s hairline, which is already starting to grow new hair follicles.
Dr Matee then extracts blood from his arm, before injecting the separated plasma multiple times into Jack’s scalp.
The dating show star ends the video with saying: “It’s looking absolutely the b*****ks”.
Dr Matee, who has extensive medical training from Harvard Medical School and Kings College London, has also expressed the importance of researching each surgeon and practice.
Especially with hair transplants, where needles are involved. He added: “It’s really important that you go to clinics that have experience in these kind of procedures and are registered and CQC compliant.
“PRP [platelet-rich plasma] is a very common form of treatment for hair loss – we carry out these daily at my clinics in the UK.
“Essentially, [this] consists of taking blood from the patient and using a centrifuge to separate the blood cells from the blood plasma, with the plasma cells then being reinjected into the patient.
“The plasma, which we like to refer to as liquid gold, has a lot of healing and growth benefits.
“If you are looking to get a PRP treatment or any kind of aesthetic treatments, please go and speak to a health care professional who’s actually qualified to do so.
“You have to actually look at their credentials and ensure they are a registered medical professional.
“Fortunately in UK, we have a Care Quality Commission who make sure that every clinic providing medical treatments such as these types of aesthetic treatments have adequate facilities to do so.
“They should have sterilization systems and policies in place and also clinical waste disposal so that serious incidents don’t happen.
“[In the UK], they will provide aftercare support and be available to you should any complications arise, whereas it’s much more difficult to fly back to a different country if something does go wrong.
“When it comes to your health and wellbeing, why would you want to take increased risks by going abroad when you have all of the safety standards in place within the UK?
“That’s not to say that all abroad clinics are bad – because there are some very reputable clinics in countries like Turkey.
“Please be careful, make sure to do your research and find the best clinic for your procedure.”
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