How to become a hair transplant surgeon?

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Do you have to go through plastics or derm or something else? Is there a fellowship for this training?

Originally Posted by badasshairday

Do you have to go through plastics or derm or something else? Is there a fellowship for this training?

Good question. Me and a bunch of guys were discussing this last year on SDN...

This will be lengthy so be ready. Last year I actually emailed a bunch of HT surgeons in the Northeast and even flew to LA to meet a few. Here's the skinny:

HT surgery is NOT a formal recognized fellowship. It's more of an apprenticeship. There are guys out there who will train you (most will pay you the equivalent of a residents salary ~$40K/yr...but not all will) for about a year (sometimes 2). If you're good (and they have the need), some of them will actually hire you otherwise you set up your own shop (usually within a certain distance AWAY from where you trained so you don't ruin their business).

The money in HT surgery can be AMAZING. Average cost can be anywhere from ~$5K-$30K+ per surgery depending on the amount of hair transplanted and the reputation of the surgeon. I met Plastic surgeons, Dermatologists, CT surgeons, general surgeons, Orthopaedic surgeon etc and have seen during my online research PM&R, FP, Urologist, and even a RADIOLOGIST who switchted to HT surgery! These procedures are straight cash so once you've built up a reputation you can make an absolute killing. You do the math.

I scrubbed in on one of the cases in LA with a ex-CT surgeon. They take a graft from the back of your head usually, chop it up into Follicular Hair Units and implant them on the top/front of your head. The bulk of the work is done by the techs. The doc comes in at the end and just does the implantation. It's honestly the easiest surgical procedure I've ever seen. I kid you not.

I was seriously considering HT surgery at one point. My plan was to do a year of internship (prelim or TY), take Step 3 and then start my fellowship. Do that for a year and then hopefully join the practice where I trained.

But after talking in depth with HT surgeons I realized there's a lot of "shadiness" in that field. Docs doing procedures they have no business doing just to make a quick buck. And of course as a newbie (although this is true for medicine in general) you can really get shafted if you sign a contract without reading the fine print. I also heard that Bosley and a few of the other HT factories don't really train you well as a HT surgeon. In short, every HT surgeon I met talked smack about "the others." Big turn off for me.

That and the fact that I was in love with ophtho made me not pursue HT surgery.

If you're really serious, do your homework. The best thing to do is meet with these guys face to face and ask them questions. Scrub in on a case if you can.

Go here for more info on HT surgeons:

http://www.ishrs.org/

The best, most successful and nicest HT surgeon I met was Craig Ziering, DO (Dermatologist). I met him at his Beverly Hills office although he has multiple offices (Beverly Hills, Newport Beach, Vegas, Chicago, etc) and takes 1-2 fellows usually every other year:

http://www.zieringmedical.com/

G'luck!

Thanks for the reply.

Can they transplant hair from my back to my head?

Originally Posted by toofache32

Can they transplant hair from my back to my head?

If I can JUST figure that out I'd be a multi-millionare...

so which residency do you have to apply to and then do the fellowship in?

Don't ever do something for the money. Do it because you love it. If you happen to make good money doing it, that's just the cherry on top. BB