Hair transplant surgery is a very unique field of medicine. There are no formal training programs in hair transplant surgery; and becoming a great hair restoration physician requires a lot of drive and dedication. Unlike other areas of medicine and surgery, hair transplantation is very much about what a doctor does and not where they come from. In the United States, any licensed physician can technically perform hair transplant surgery. This is because a doctor’s original area of training really has very little bearing on their ability to perform a quality hair transplant. Doctors are not taught how to perform a hair transplant during residency training. This means a doctor interested in learning hair transplants must seek out training on their own. But learning how to perform surgical hair restoration is only one aspect of being a great hair transplant surgeon.
A great hair transplant doctor understands every aspect of a hair transplant surgery, and dedicates themselves to mastering each of these specific nuances. A great hair transplant doctor understands that a hair transplant is a carefully orchestrated affair involving many different steps and the participation of many different people. And a successful hair transplant requires each aspect to “go off without a hitch.” A proper hair transplant requires a large, stand-alone, and well-stocked hair transplant facility; it requires sophisticated equipment which must be set up in a special manner and requires continual maintenance; it requires a large staff of highly trained hair transplant technicians – a staff which must be trained by the doctor, continually monitored for quality control, and expanded over time; and it requires a doctor to – on top of performing the surgery itself – monitor and manage all of this and ensure this entire mechanism functions smoothly. A truly dedicated hair transplant doctor owns and operates a clinic like this and performs a large volume of regular procedures with consistent results – which will be posted regularly online.
There is no background or pseudo-related practice which can make up for not having this type of hair transplant clinic. Some will claim that another aspect of their history or some sort of device or new technique compensates for not having this type of clinic, but the consistency of the results begs to differ. As a patient, you should understand what it takes to truly be a “hair transplant doctor,” and highly consider seeing a physician like this for your procedure.
What are the qualifications needed to be a hair transplant doctor?
Hair restoration surgery is a specialty in its own right; however, there is no formal post-graduate residency training or fellowship program to become a hair transplant surgeon. It is not taught in residency or fellowship programs. There is no accredited board certification for a hair transplant surgeon as it is not recognized as a specialty by the American Board of Medical Specialties. In the United States, the only qualification to call oneself a hair transplant physician is a valid and active medical license.
Talented hair transplant physicians come from backgrounds in various medical specialties. A physician’s medical training in a particular field of medicine does not automatically confer the skills or knowledge to be a well-qualified hair transplant surgeon. Since there are no formalized training programs, it takes physicians who are motivated and committed to acquiring the knowledge and learning the skills needed to successfully help patients suffering from hair loss.
Surgical hair restoration is not a skill to be learned by attending a weekend aesthetics course. The ideal way a physician can learn the skills necessary to become a hair transplant surgeon is by working as an apprentice with an established hair transplant physician in their practice. It can take 1 to 2 years for the physician to build a solid foundation of experience and acquire the skills needed to be a high-quality hair transplant surgeon. The type of surgical hair restoration training received is the most important determinant of a great hair transplant surgeon who consistently provides patients excellent results regardless of the specialty track they pursued after medical school.
