Looking for recommendations for HT doc in SoCal

[Jeffrey Epstein, MD]

Surfla- The beautiful thing about technology is that it allows the prospective patient to choose amongst doctors from throughout the world. Email, plane travel that makes it possible to have a procedure from a doctor outside of your state and be back at home the very next day, live web consults using a webcam, and websites that allow you to compare different doctors' work- empowers the patient to find the very best doctor for himself/herself.
Studies in medicine have chosen that when it comes to medical procedures/treatments, there is in fact tremendous variability in treatment outcomes, and that patients should have a way to gather this information to find the very best doctor- and you have that ability by sites such as this!
Dr. McAndrews is an excellent surgeon- and a great guy- and of course being local it is an advantage, so I encourage you to strongly consider him. Cost should always be an important consideration, but not the most important, because this is a result you will be "wearing" for the rest of your life- the number of reparative procedures I perform weekly gives testimony to the problems caused by poorly performed transplants. You need to truly find the best surgeon and make sure you get your transplant procedure done right.
Good luck.

[TeeJay73]

Teejay-I am glad you have had a great experience with Dr. McAndrews. I am always heartened to hear positive experiences over the all too many negative ones

However, I think your looking at this the wrong way. There are 2 places in the US that command a noticeably higher cost for services: SoCal and N.Y. ---The reason being EVERYTHING costs more in these 2 locations--higher cost for office space, technicians, insurance, and in general a higher cost of living. This certainly has an effect on the price of cosmetic surgery.

Another point is that if you do proper research and you are considering 3-4 fantastic clinics, why would you consent to pay more when each of the clinics are for all intents and purposes equal? If you want a 2009 Cadillac CTS and you check 2-3 dealerships--do you pay the highest price for the same car? Or do buy the same car at another dealership for less?


Take Care,
Jason

Jason,

I don't believe I necessarily agree with you in this post. But the disagreement is a healthy one, and, one of the beauties of this forum is that it permits healthy debate and differences of opinion amongst its seasoned members. Ultimately this permits the seekers of information (i.e., the hair loss sufferers) the ability to gather as many perspectives as possible, to decide which perspective best suits him/her, before making his/her important and potentially life-changing decision in treating hair loss.

Here is my thinking. First, there are many clinics in Southern California that charge incredibly cheap prices for hair transplant surgery. This can be easily confirmed with Google searching. In fact, not too long ago, I had the privilege of being a guest on The Bald Truth radio show with Spencer Kobren. Outside of his studio, Spencer pointed me to a sign in front of an office building that very brightly illuminated "$2 bucks per graft", or something absurdly "cheap" like that. Not too far from it, there was another sign that advertised 69 cents per hair! Both of these signs belonged to hair transplant clinics that are in the very heart of Los Angeles, where, as you correctly say, the cost of living may be comparably high. But, what one clinic may not get obtain in revenue with low pricing per grafts, they can make up in volume. So, the unsuspecting hair loss sufferers may get cheap prices, and the clinic may get lots of patients due to the cheap prices (hence money), but the results in all likelihood will be poor and insignificant.

To me, this strongly supports the fact that an IAHRS surgeon like Doctor McAndrews, irrespective of location, could command higher pricing for his hair transplant surgeries. His results are PHENOMENAL, he is a true advocate of his patients, he has a record of ZERO complaints, he is directly involved in every step of every surgery, including graft placement, and he is an awesome guy. Sure, if Doctor McAndrews dropped his prices by half, he could make up for it in volume of patients, but with his directly-involved-in-every-step philosophy, he'd have so many patients that he'd probably lose any resemblance of a healthy life-balance. Doctor McAndrews doesn't command higher prices because he practices in Los Angeles, but rather because the prices he commands are directly congruent to the superiority of his services and results and directly in-line with what the market will bear for them.

Second, I can't seem to comprehend how one's cognitive mechanisms and thought processes behind buying a car could be the same as those involved in buying cosmetic surgery. In my humble opinion, they simply cannot be compared. When buying a car, of course I'd go for the lowest price. But when seeking a hair transplant, the first thing that I would personally do is eliminate price as a variable. I'd make perfectly certain that I have more-than-sufficient funds to finance my surgery at whatever clinic gave me the feeling of a "connection"; the kind of bond that can't be purchased or described, but gives me the gut-instinct comfort that the doctor who will lead the charge in a surgery that will physically and permanently alter my appearance to the world will truly care about my outcome and my results. To me, this is priceless.

TeeJay

[the B spot]

teejay---welcome the debate. However, I refuse to consider poor quality clinics in the equation. Hence the buying a car analogy.

You can consent to paying a particular fee for a particular clinic if your satisfied that a particular clinic meets your needs and your research tells you this particular doctor is the ONE for you. Then assuredly there is no reason to even mention price.

However, if everything is equal (ie it is essentially the same car) AFTER all your research, you typically measure cost/convenience/connection with a clinic to make a decision.

So, if your deciding between a convenient SoCal clinic that charges 9.00 per graft, or another clinic that produces the same level of work at roughly half the cost, where do you go?

My point isn't necessarily about price---but price should factor in the equation once all research is completed.

It is about fiscal responsibility more than anything---and it is nice for those who have money to make "cosmetic surgery decisions" without factoring in cost, but from most of the patients I speak with on a daily/weekly basis---cost is a HUGE issue.

The HT client has gotten younger, and therefore cost is an issue.

So again, cost IS important and just because you can afford a particular clinic, it does not lessen the value of another clinic that does amazing work at a substantially lower rate.

It also does nothing to diminish the clinic that charges double the other clinics rates either as long as the work is world class.

Take Care,
Jason