Joe Tillman Goes Undercover in Turkey - Video

[JoeTillman]

Last year, after my first visit to Turkey, I regretted the lost opportunity to try and get into one of the ultra low cost "technician" clinics that you see on every Google search for hair transplant information. I had been fascinated by the "mill" type of stories I was hearing where these clinics process ten to twenty patients EVERY DAY. Combined with the fact that there are 500 or more clinics in Turkey alone the implications based on math alone are staggering.

Then I found myself in Turkey only one month later and I took the opportunity to plan a consultation. I found a clinic I had heard of through some friends in Italy and started a dialogue to arrange a visit. The two videos below document what I found and show the environment I was in during my consultation.

Part I

Part II

[Karch]

Hi Joe,

I haven't been back in the forum for a while and have just noticed that Dr K from Turkey is no longer affiliated with you - l have booked a surgery with him for Oct this year.

Is there a particular reason why he is no longer affiliated with you?

[JoeTillman]

Hi Joe,

I haven't been back in the forum for a while and have just noticed that Dr K from Turkey is no longer affiliated with you - l have booked a surgery with him for Oct this year.

Is there a particular reason why he is no longer affiliated with you?

Hi Karch,

You are correct, we are no longer affiliated but the reasons why have nothing to do with his ethics or skill. There is no reason for concern. I still consider Dr. K to be a doctor with good ethics and skill.

[Delphi]

That is some scary shit! I've heard you and Spencer talking about this on TBT and it's crazy that people would be so stupid to go through mills like that. Spencer was talking about this starting to be the trend here in the U.S., which I'm assuming must be illegal. Am I right?

[Oyster]

I'm aware the operation isn't a one-man show but this is so unfair!! How can they still exist? Or do they?

It's becoming hard for us to distinguish the good and bad ones.

[Delphi]

I'm aware the operation isn't a one-man show but this is so unfair!! How can they still exist? Or do they?

It's becoming hard for us to distinguish the good and bad ones.

I think the biggest problem is that people, especially younger men are just looking for a bargain. A good hair transplant is very expensive, if you can’t afford one then you just have to save your money until you can. If this were another type of surgery, like hand surgery or knee surgery do you think people would be flocking to Turkey for medical care? It’s just stupid.

[JoeTillman]

That is some scary shit! I've heard you and Spencer talking about this on TBT and it's crazy that people would be so stupid to go through mills like that. Spencer was talking about this starting to be the trend here in the U.S., which I'm assuming must be illegal. Am I right?

I think that there is a psychological issue playing here, one that is influenced by the marketing. From beginning to end the story was that the doctor is supervising everything and this message is being pushed to people that don't think through the process that a doctor might need to do some of the surgery himself. Again, the doctor "is supervising everything" and you heard the patient himself talk about how the doctor is very concerned about the quality. That is the hook and not once did these poor guys think that what they were getting had a very high chance of not being remotely what they were told it would be. I mean, why would they? They haven't researched and they don't realize that 4500 grafts, extracted and placed, in six hours is ludicrous.

This model is coming to North America and is actually already here. One clinic justifies the use of technicians by saying they are registered nurses (they're not) and is carefully pushing this forward. You may have heard me say on air that we are experiencing the "dumbing down of the internet". I fear that the process is nearly complete.

[Delphi]

I think that there is a psychological issue playing here, one that is influenced by the marketing. From beginning to end the story was that the doctor is supervising everything and this message is being pushed to people that don't think through the process that a doctor might need to do some of the surgery himself. Again, the doctor "is supervising everything" and you heard the patient himself talk about how the doctor is very concerned about the quality. That is the hook and not once did these poor guys think that what they were getting had a very high chance of not being remotely what they were told it would be. I mean, why would they? They haven't researched and they don't realize that 4500 grafts, extracted and placed, in six hours is ludicrous.

This model is coming to North America and is actually already here. One clinic justifies the use of technicians by saying they are registered nurses (they're not) and is carefully pushing this forward. You may have heard me say on air that we are experiencing the "dumbing down of the internet". I fear that the process is nearly complete.

So if the clinic is claiming that their technicians are registered nurses and they aren't, could't the doctor lose his license?

[JoeTillman]

So if the clinic is claiming that their technicians are registered nurses and they aren't, could't the doctor lose his license?

Hi Delphi,

That is a very good question. I'm working on a project, one of many actually, that may shed light on this. Stay tuned!

[Nicole007]

These video's blow my mind! Great, Great Job!