Taking the Tangles out of Hair Transplant Surgery

Hair Transplant Surgery:  Effective but Expensive?

According to a recent special feature in USA Today, hair transplant surgery, "in which follicles are painstakingly moved in small bunches from the thick hair on the back of the head to the barren acreage on top" is the "most effective current solution for baldness."  Unfortunately for those suffering hair loss, the options for combating the problem are expensive, the cost of hair transplant surgery being beyond the reach of many people.  And "with the exception of trauma or burn victims, virtually none of that spending is covered by health insurance," Steve Friess at USA Today explains.  "A full set of hair-replacement surgeries can cost as much as $10,000; Propecia can cost $50 a month, and Rogaine retails for about $20 a month."  Kim Hughes at the Houston Chronicle reports that even wigs or topes are costly, requiring "maintenance and occasional replacement[s]" that results in a price tag of $250-$350 a month. 

Affordable Medical Tourism in India

Many people avoid unnecessary spending by opting to have their plastic surgery procedures performed abroad.  The cost of hair transplant surgery in a country like India, for example, with highly trained doctors (but a lower cost of living that keep prices down), is significantly less than in the United States.  The Economic Times of India recently ran an article in which it examined the country's plastic surgery boom, reporting that there are over 1,200 plastic surgeons in India and the "number is growing each year by 50" as more and more foreign visitors travel for medical tourism. 

More Women Seek Plastic Surgery for Hair Loss

Diagnosing women with a balding problem "is more challenging because it usually occurs as an overall thinning rather than in the predictable manner that most men experience," reports USA Today.  Right now, 13.8% of all hair transplant patients are women, which is more than the 11.4% that researchers cited in 2004.  Established as popular tourist destinations in their own right, many of the cities in India offer a lot for the female medical tourist in the way of comfort, safety, services, and entertainment.  As hair transplant surgery for women becomes more widely publicized, this could lead to an additional boost in India’s already booming medical tourism industry.