Unethically Counting Graft Numbers

Last month Dr. Yazdan of Modena Hair Institute returned to appear on Spencer Kobren’s show, The Bald Truth, to discuss the hidden and sinister ways in which some hair transplants cut corners by unethically charging patients for extra grafts which are both unnecessary and harmful to scalp tissue.
If follicular units are divided up into smaller groups, or into individual hairs, the graft numbers will significantly increase (and so will the price of the hair restoration procedure) without any increase in fullness (and probably less fullness due to sub-optimal growth.)
Certain clinics will split four-hair or three-hair grafts into four one-hair grafts or three one-hair grafts in order to charge the patient for more individual grafts. The result is not only a dramatic increase in surgical cost for the patient, but also the newly separated grafts often do not grow as well, as they would need to be spread out over more than the space that a single multi-hair graft would otherwise occupy.
Variations on this technique of graft count manipulation occur ubiquitously, especially at non-specialist clinics or clinics which rely on robotic machinery. If the microscopic dissection (dissection of multi-unit grafts into single grafts) is poor and some of the hair in the follicle is destroyed, the results will be aesthetically disastrous.
To reiterate in plainer language, these clinics both charge clients for extra unnecessary grafts (often resulting in hundreds or thousands of dollars more) and often leave them with poor, non-dense and thin looking hairlines.

Amir Yazdan: ‘Certain clinics will sell more grafts, but then cut up and dissect the grafts for no other purpose except to charge the customer more’

Spencer Kobren: ‘I’m so glad you brought this up. There are also clinics who use a larger punch purely to get more grafts, which can end up decimating the patients donor hair’.

At Modena Hair Institute, Dr. Yazdan will never divide up multi-unit grafts, except when very fine incisions are necessary. His focus is quality, density and a natural-looking hairline. To this effect, Dr. Yazdan has developed very fine surgical blades to prepare and insert multi-follicular units into his hair transplant patients’ scalps. He places the hairs carefully so they aligned with the natural direction of the hair, restoring original density and volume.
