Is There a Downside Going To a Hair Transplant Clinic That Uses Travelling Technician

[tbtadmin]

Posted on Bald Truth Talk Hair Transplant Forums What is the downside of going to a clinic that uses traveling techs? I mean if the techs are REALLY skilled wouldn’t they just be spreading their good tech ways across the various hair transplant clinics they work for? - - - - - - - - - - Traveling [...]

More...

[Steven Gabel, MD]

I agree completely with Dr. Feller.

It is so important to have technicians who know the business and know the physician. When I perform a hair transplant, my staff and I meet prior to the patient entering the procedure room and discuss the case and the goals of the specific procedure. I also explain the surgical plan in detail and any specific things I want accomplished. Since I have my own staff that works for me day in and day out, they know exactly what I am looking for and the case runs very smoothly.

If I had to work with a random staff that changes daily, I would not be able to maintain the high quality of work that I perform. The staff would not know what I am looking for, and quite frankly, I would not trust any new person that has not worked for me and seen my work and the extremely high-standards I require for all my staff.

There are several organizations that rotate the hair technicians from office to office quite frequently - the staff one week could be in Seattle, the following week in Orlando, then a month later they could be working in Los Angeles. This means that the rotating staff works with all sorts of physicians and does not develop any continuity. In my opinion, this situation is less then optimal. Therefore, it is important for prospective patients to ask the physician about their staff - do they rotate or do they have a permanent staff that works everyday with that physician? These are very important questions to ask.

Steve Gabel, M.D.
Gabel Hair Restoration Center
Portland, Oregon
503-693-1118

[blowmeup]

I do really appreciate this topic being brought up because it is something I never would have actually thought about myself. The argument to NOT use traveling techs is quite compelling. The best example that hit this point home for me was this comment:

"How good would the NY Giants be if they created a team of traveling players who hardly know each other just before each game and never practiced together? It would be a disaster. And so it goes with traveling HT techs." well said.

Definitely should be on everyone's top ten list of things to ask your potential surgeon. Thanks.

[Steven Gabel, MD]

In fact, taking your sports example one step further, you hear about players being traded from one team to another; it usually takes months for them to all get into rhythm, if not years of playing together. It is quite evident from watching players who are good and have been playing together for years that they have almost an inate sense of where the other is on the court or field. Again, this is a very important aspect of the procedure and should be asked about.

[the B spot]

Dr. Feller, Dr. Gabel--interesting article.

I think for the most part I agree with both of you. I believe that the technician staff is such an integral part of the hair transplantation process that without dedicated staff, even the most gifted doctors will never fullfill his or her full potential.

When asked the question, "Who is more important, the Doctor or the Technician?" I respond with a football analogy: Put Peyton Manning or Tom Brady behind a poor offensive line, and you have a great QB that is going to have a difficult time getting the job done. You simply must have a great team to produce great results day in day out.

I think asking how long individual members of a particular doctors staff have been working there is a question that should be asked more often by patients doing research on a particular clinic.

Great Article!

Take Care,
Jason

[Steven Gabel, MD]

Jason

I agree.