hair transpant Too late to cancel/postpone my transplant surgery?

[CautiousResearcher]

I'm scheduled for an FUT procedure tomorrow (my first ever transplant), but now I'm getting nervous!  I'm wondering if I should have met with more drs/clinics (I met with a few, but maybe should have met with more).  I felt really good about my surgeon, but now I'm having doubts.  I'm supposed to go in first thing tomorrow morning for surgery.  Is it too late for me to cancel?  One reason I'm concerned is that I saw a couple of bad reviews of my surgeon on this site (I only just found this site today).

Please help!  I'm freaking out!

[Al - Moderator]

If you cancel now you will lose any deposit you made. It's normal to be nervous and second guessing yourself, so don't let that stop you from getting it done, however you shouldn't have surgery if you seriously don't feel good about it. What Dr are you going to? The Dr./clinic matters a lot on whether any of us can give you good advice on if you should cancel or not. You will always be able to find some bad reviews of any Dr if you look enough. 

 

 

[TakeAction]

If you're not comfortable with your surgeon I would not go ahead with the procedure. You could try bringing up the negative reviews with your surgeons and seeing if they can explain what may have happened and if their response is satisfactory and it appears they've done things to prevent those situations from happening going forward, then it might make sense.

But you can't really "redo" a bad hair transplant. You can do repairs, which are an incredibly long, stressful, time-consuming and costly process and certainly the outcome will not be the same as if the first procedure went well. You really only get one shot at this so you have to do it right.

[Berba11]

Are you going to name this clinic or not? Impossible to help otherwise. 

[BaldReaper]

who is the Dr?

[londonbased]

He earlier posted the below separate topic with the doctor name. Seems he has run out of doing new posts today so might not be able to respond.

“Has anyone had a hair transplant with Dr. McGrath in Austin?  I would love to hear of your experience.  I just now found this website and created an account (wish I had a long time ago).  I am scheduled for surgery with Dr. McGrath tomorrow but now I'm getting nervous-- I did a lot of research, and spoke with several clinics, but now I wonder if I should have done more research.  I would love to hear anyone's feedback.  Thank you!”

Edited June 23 by londonbased

[Al - Moderator]

Thanks @londonbased. My thoughts on Dr McGrath are that he's probably in the lower mid range level. That means I don't think he's one of the worst and you won't get botched, but he's not going to give you a stellar result either. I wouldn't personally go to him. However this is just my opinion based on limited knowledge of his work and I don't think I've seen anything recent.

[HappyMan2021]

@CautiousResearcher you should trust your gut and cancel the surgery if that is what your instinct is telling you

What is more expensive: losing a few thousand dollars in deposit and some awkward embarrassment with the clinic vs spending $100k over 4 yrs getting repairs, etc.

As the other commenter said, you really do only get 1 shot to get a fantastic result. The repair journey is a horrible process, and you will never be able to fix all that is bad

[CautiousResearcher]

Thank you all for your comments and insights-- and my apologies for the lack of response.  I'm new to The Hair Restoration Network, and the site limited the number of posts/responses I could make.  I was not ignoring you!  So sorry about that.  Then today I was conversing with my surgeon, having cancelled today's procedure and talking with him about that, as well as adjusting travel arrangements (I do not live in Austin).

The surgeon is Dr. McGrath in Austin TX.

He was very, very gracious.  He was kind, patient, and understanding-- and I felt no pressure from him whatsoever to undergo a procedure now or in the future.  I thought this was especially noteworthy under the circumstances.

I now need to do more research-- both about HT in general and on specific surgeons.  I'm looking forward to using this forum and this community as one important tool to do that.

Thank you, @Al - Moderator, @TakeAction, @Berba11, @BaldReaper, @londonbased, and @HappyMan2021 for posting your questions, comments, and insights.  I'm really grateful!

[Berba11]

15 minutes ago, CautiousResearcher said:

Thank you all for your comments and insights-- and my apologies for the lack of response.  I'm new to The Hair Restoration Network, and the site limited the number of posts/responses I could make.  I was not ignoring you!  So sorry about that.  Then today I was conversing with my surgeon, having cancelled today's procedure and talking with him about that, as well as adjusting travel arrangements (I do not live in Austin).

The surgeon is Dr. McGrath in Austin TX.

He was very, very gracious.  He was kind, patient, and understanding-- and I felt no pressure from him whatsoever to undergo a procedure now or in the future.  I thought this was especially noteworthy under the circumstances.

I now need to do more research-- both about HT in general and on specific surgeons.  I'm looking forward to using this forum and this community as one important tool to do that.

Thank you, @Al - Moderator, @TakeAction, @Berba11, @BaldReaper, @londonbased, and @HappyMan2021 for posting your questions, comments, and insights.  I'm really grateful!

I'm pleased to hear that Dr McGrath was understanding and gracious. It's entirely the right decision, in my view, to pull the plug if you suddenly feel very under researched and unsure that you're about to do the right thing.

It's absolutely essential to take your time and not rush. That may or may not lead you back to Dr McGrath in the future, but either way you'll feel more sure about whatever you choose to do next.

[CautiousResearcher]

5 hours ago, Berba11 said:

I'm pleased to hear that Dr McGrath was understanding and gracious. It's entirely the right decision, in my view, to pull the plug if you suddenly feel very under researched and unsure that you're about to do the right thing.

It's absolutely essential to take your time and not rush. That may or may not lead you back to Dr McGrath in the future, but either way you'll feel more sure about whatever you choose to do next.

Thanks for the affirmation, @Berba11.  I feel good about the decision not to have the surgery today.  And by that, I do not mean anything against Dr. McGrath.  I simply mean that I now have time to move forward with my research without feeling rushed.  In addition to these public comments, I was also very, very grateful for one user who private messaged me to tell me of first-hand experience, which I will not share here.  But that user was very generous to be so open and to give me better insight-- which certainly affirmed my inclination to push pause and which also will help me to ask better questions of potential surgeons as I continue this process.  

Thanks again for the encouragement and support!

[CautiousResearcher]

9 hours ago, HappyMan2021 said:

@CautiousResearcher you should trust your gut and cancel the surgery if that is what your instinct is telling you

What is more expensive: losing a few thousand dollars in deposit and some awkward embarrassment with the clinic vs spending $100k over 4 yrs getting repairs, etc.

As the other commenter said, you really do only get 1 shot to get a fantastic result. The repair journey is a horrible process, and you will never be able to fix all that is bad

This is right on.  Though no one wants to lose a deposit, it's far better to lose that money than to rush into a procedure and perhaps regret it... not to mention the high cost (in money and time) of getting repairs if needed.

Thanks for the affirmation and insight.

[CautiousResearcher]

On 6/23/2024 at 2:39 PM, londonbased said:

He earlier posted the below separate topic with the doctor name. Seems he has run out of doing new posts today so might not be able to respond.

“Has anyone had a hair transplant with Dr. McGrath in Austin?  I would love to hear of your experience.  I just now found this website and created an account (wish I had a long time ago).  I am scheduled for surgery with Dr. McGrath tomorrow but now I'm getting nervous-- I did a lot of research, and spoke with several clinics, but now I wonder if I should have done more research.  I would love to hear anyone's feedback.  Thank you!”

Thanks for saving the day @londonbased and letting people know that I had reach my post limit!  

[CautiousResearcher]

On 6/23/2024 at 12:41 PM, TakeAction said:

If you're not comfortable with your surgeon I would not go ahead with the procedure. You could try bringing up the negative reviews with your surgeons and seeing if they can explain what may have happened and if their response is satisfactory and it appears they've done things to prevent those situations from happening going forward, then it might make sense.

But you can't really "redo" a bad hair transplant. You can do repairs, which are an incredibly long, stressful, time-consuming and costly process and certainly the outcome will not be the same as if the first procedure went well. You really only get one shot at this so you have to do it right.

The comment about "really only get one shot at this" is so true.  Would way rather make sure we get it right the first time then rush in and wish I'd asked more questions, done more research, and gone a different direction.

[baddecisions]

You made the right decision. 

Do not have the surgery until you are 100% sure of everything.

[CautiousResearcher]

7 minutes ago, baddecisions said:

You made the right decision. 

Do not have the surgery until you are 100% sure of everything.

thanks for the affirmation, @baddecisions.  Digging into more research and grateful for the openness and experience shared on this forum.

[HappyMan2021]

21 hours ago, CautiousResearcher said:

This is right on.  Though no one wants to lose a deposit, it's far better to lose that money than to rush into a procedure and perhaps regret it... not to mention the high cost (in money and time) of getting repairs if needed.

Thanks for the affirmation and insight.

props for cancelling. 

it is always better to be naturally bald than to be botched. Sometimes you just have to know when to fold em, you made the correct decision. 

[CautiousResearcher]

On 6/25/2024 at 8:37 PM, HappyMan2021 said:

props for cancelling. 

it is always better to be naturally bald than to be botched. Sometimes you just have to know when to fold em, you made the correct decision. 

Thanks @HappyMan2021.  A

i have been voraciously reading on this forum (maybe a little too much 😂) since I found it only 4 or 5 days ago.  And the more I read, the more affirmed I am that I decided to wait. I have absolutely no regrets about cancelling the surgery.  
 

Better for me to continue learning, researching, and hearing from guys like you and others who’ve been at this a long time. 

[CautiousResearcher]

@Al - Moderator, @HappyMan2021, @baddecisions, @BaldReaper, @Berba11, @londonbased, @TakeAction

 

I’ve been reading on HRN a TON and with such a different perspective now.   want to thank you.  Thanks to each of you for responding so quickly on Sunday when I posted on here in a panic, wondering if I should go through with my surgery the next morning.  I was like a frightened baby deer 😂.

Now I am so glad that I came in here, posted, and chose to cancel the procedure— but it was your encouragement that helped me make that decision.  Without that, I might have just chalked up my feelings to normal jitters (rather than some serious reservations I had), and wasted the opportunity to make a more informed choice for my first surgery. 
 

thanks for helping scared little Bambi this past week!

[Al - Moderator]

6 hours ago, CautiousResearcher said:

@Al - Moderator, @HappyMan2021, @baddecisions, @BaldReaper, @Berba11, @londonbased, @TakeAction

 

I’ve been reading on HRN a TON and with such a different perspective now.   want to thank you.  Thanks to each of you for responding so quickly on Sunday when I posted on here in a panic, wondering if I should go through with my surgery the next morning.  I was like a frightened baby deer 😂.

Now I am so glad that I came in here, posted, and chose to cancel the procedure— but it was your encouragement that helped me make that decision.  Without that, I might have just chalked up my feelings to normal jitters (rather than some serious reservations I had), and wasted the opportunity to make a more informed choice for my first surgery. 
 

thanks for helping scared little Bambi this past week!

 

That's what we are here for.