FOURTH ANNUAL "WORLD HAIR TRANSPLANT REPAIR DAY" AIMS TO EDUCATE, ASSIST VICTIMS OF FRAUDULENT, ILLICIT HAIR TRANSPLANT CLINICS

Participating ISHRS physician members offer eligible candidates free corrective surgeries

CHICAGO, June 26, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Imagine dealing with hair loss and thinning for years, trying to camouflage sparse areas of your scalp and becoming increasingly desperate for help. You decide to finally act and get a hair transplant, only to unknowingly stumble upon a fraudulent, illicit hair transplant clinic luring patients in with low prices, accommodations, travel, and even tour packages, coupled with misleading information. In this instance, you find yourself – like countless others – a victim of a fraudulent, illicit hair transplant clinic. 

Now in its fourth year, the International Society of Hair Restoration Surgery (ISHRS) is hosting its annual "World Hair Transplant Repair Day" on November 11, 2024. This worldwide event is part of the ISHRS's Fight the FIGHT (an acronym for Fight the Fraudulent, Illicit, and Global Hair Transplants) global consumer awareness campaign designed to educate and help people who have been victims of this widespread practice.

These victims have little recourse for the permanent damage done by unlicensed individuals who either lack the training or are not authorized to perform surgery even under the direct supervision of a licensed physician. The ISHRS encourages them to reach out individually to participating volunteer ISHRS physicians through the campaign's website, HairTransplantRepairDay.org, for a chance to receive a pro bono corrective hair transplant procedure. Since its launch in 2020, the number of ISHRS participating physician members has grown to dozens of members around the world.

"The ISHRS is committed to educating the public on the dangers of black-market hair transplants, as our members have seen countless cases of hair loss patients completely devastated by their results in the hands of unqualified, unlicensed professionals," said Bradley Wolf, MD, FISHRS, president of the ISHRS. "When performed by a qualified physician trained in the science and art of hair restoration surgery, a hair transplant offers natural-looking, permanent results that are virtually undetectable. Nothing else even comes close."

Dr. Wolf explained that the number of fraudulent, illicit hair transplant clinics around the world has increased over the years and remains a popular form of medical tourism. According to results of a 2022 member survey conducted by the ISHRS, 51% of ISHRS members reported Black Market hair transplant clinics in their cities. In 2021, 5.4% of hair restoration patients sought treatment to repair previous surgery from offices where the physician did not perform the surgery, up from 4.2% in 2019.

As part of the ISHRS's commitment to educating the public about the real dangers of these black-market hair transplant clinics, the Fight the FIGHT website offers numerous educational materials in 10 languages, including patient educational live streams from various countries in different languages that patients can access as archived replays to educate themselves on how to avoid being a victim of a black-market hair transplant. In addition, numerous patient case studies document victims' real-world experience in the hands of fraudulent, illicit hair transplant clinics and the lasting ramifications of their deforming surgeries.

Results of hair transplants performed illegally can include permanent visible scarring, infection, thin patches of hair, bald spots, and over-harvested donor areas that can be very difficult to correct. In cases where damage can be fixed, patients will often require more than one corrective procedure.

"While there is no easy fix for the type of extensive repairs we are seeing in patients who have been victims of black-market hair transplant clinics, we encourage everyone who is considering hair restoration surgery to consult the Fight the FIGHT website for resources including what to consider before choosing a surgeon and an explanation of the multi-step corrective procedures that are required if you find yourself a victim of an unscrupulous procedure," said Shady El-Maghraby, MD, MSc, FISHRS, chair of the ISHRS Fight the FIGHT Subcommittee. "Our goal with the Fight the FIGHT campaign is to reach patients in need of repair who otherwise have no recourse in getting a corrective surgery from the original clinic, offering them the hope that they desperately need."

One ISHRS member from Belgium describes a recent devastating experience of trying to repair a botched beard transplant from a black market clinic who ultimately took his own life. "A young 24-year-old patient of mine committed suicide in the prime of his life. He was seduced by the promise of finally having a beautiful beard. Especially as the prices offered are so attractive. The decision was made – he would go to Turkey for the operation he'd been dreaming of. Unfortunately, like thousands of others before him, he realized that the 'operators' were not only unqualified, but the surgery was not even performed by a doctor – resulting in a depletion of his donor area. Sadly, he is another victim of the black market," said Jean Devroye, MD, FISHRS.

The ISHRS is committed to patient safety and continually strives for the best outcomes for all patients, offering members superior education and training to improve their techniques. To help ensure patients have the information needed to make informed decisions about who performs their hair restoration surgery, the ISHRS urges potential patients to ask the following questions, as well as questions regarding costs, risks and short- and long-term benefits and planning:

• Who will evaluate my hair loss and recommend a course of treatment? What is their education, training, licensure, and experience in treating hair loss?
• Who will be performing my surgery, what role will they play, and what is their education, training, licensure, and experience performing hair restoration surgery?
• Other than the licensed physician, will anyone who is not licensed by the state (or country) be making incisions or cutting my scalp to obtain grafts during my surgery? If so, please identify this person, explain his or her specific role and why this person is legally permitted to perform surgery without a license.
• Is everyone involved in my surgery covered by malpractice insurance?

For more information or to take part in this worldwide educational campaign and event, contact [email protected] and visit www.HairTransplantRepairDay.org.

#HairTransplantRepairDay

About the ISHRS
The International Society of Hair Restoration Surgery (ISHRS) is a global non-profit medical association and the leading authority on hair loss treatment and restoration with 1,000 members throughout 70 countries worldwide. Above all, the ISHRS is dedicated to achieving excellence in patient outcomes by promoting the highest standards of medical practice, medical ethics, and research in the medical hair restoration industry. The ISHRS also provides continuing medical education to physicians specializing in hair transplant surgery and is committed to delivering the latest information on medical and surgical treatments to consumers suffering from hair loss, and most commonly from androgenetic alopecia – male pattern baldness and female pattern hair loss. It was founded in 1993 as the first international society to promote continuing quality improvement and education for professionals in the field of hair restoration surgery. For more information and to locate a physician, visit ISHRS.org. 

About the Survey
Conducted by Relevant Research, Inc., of Chicago, IL, USA, the ISHRS 2022 Practice Census is a compilation of information provided solely by participating physicians. The information published in this survey was developed from actual historical information and does not include any projected information. The margin of error for the sample is within plus or minus 6.1 percent at the 95 percent confidence level. For a full reprint of the ISHRS 2022 Practice Census Report, visit Hair Restoration Statistics. 

SOURCE International Society of Hair Restoration Surgery