Is it dangerous? You bet – and way more common than you’d think
Black market hair transplant surgery is on the rise. Think you’re safe choosing a clinic or surgeon just because they’re in the USA? Think again. Image by Freepik.
When someone says ‘black market’, does your imagination conjure up an unnamed warehouse filled with fake designer goods? Or perhaps if you were a teen in the 90s it’s a hastily assembled table on the sidewalk hocking bootlegged CDs and DVDs?
Regardless, a hair transplant probably isn’t at the top of your list of illicitly sold and bought wares. Even if your imagination did go straight to surgery, BBLs, silicone lip injections, fillers of questionable origin, hotel liposuction – those are the kinds of surgeries that the medical black market should be plagued by. Hair just seems tame by comparison.
What is a black market hair transplant clinic?
Officially speaking, it’s defined as a rogue clinic staffed by technicians and/or non-doctors. They’re illegal, dangerous, and not isolated to places like Turkey or Mexico. Especially if you’re considering a hair transplant (or any plastic surgery), you should be aware that these clinics operate across the USA.
The doctors that are sometimes floating around these places aren’t performing surgery. They’re there to convince patients they’re in safe hands (they aren’t). And black market services aren’t isolated to cosmetic/plastic surgery – cosmetic dentistry has recently been in the news with black market ‘veneer techs’.
In my humble opinion, the current definition of what makes a black market clinic doesn’t go far enough.
At my clinic, highly qualified technicians work with me while I perform surgery. As the operating surgeon (one trained and experienced in hair transplants) I’m responsible for generating good aesthetic results safely and consistently. Most clinics out there don’t work this way.
Some hair transplant clinics have an experienced hair transplant surgeon on staff who makes the markings then disappears. Other clinics are only staffed by technicians (black market). These are the most dangerous.
Marketing is a science and advertisers know it. Bright colors, surprised expressions, a ticking ‘offer expiring soon’ clock – they all chip away at our impulse control. Image by KamranAydinov for Freepik.
It’s easy for me to sit here and caution people away from black market clinics, but like travelling overseas for hair transplant surgery (which I also don’t recommend), the big draw is cost, followed closely by availability.
When people really want something – as in now, right now – it can be hard to wait, and that goes for anything, not just surgery. Clever ads, social media scrolling, a strong desire to change, and a seeming bargain make for potent click-through lures. It can take a lot of willpower to resist when so many ‘deals’ are on offer.
The results look great, the clinic looks clean…
Unfortunately, those cheap options often end up costing people an absolute fortune in the long run.
What are the risks?
One of the biggest risks of a black market hair transplant is the anesthesia. I think a lot of people get a false sense of safety with hair transplant surgery because they’re performed under local anesthesia – they’re just too long a surgery for general sedation. However, while it’s true that you’re awake for a hair transplant procedure, the numbing agent most frequently used is lidocaine and it does carry a significant risk of toxicity when used incorrectly.
Lidocaine blocks specific sodium (Na+) channels which results in nerves at the treatment site being unable to send pain signals to the brain, effectively ‘numbing’ the local area. Lidocaine also stops muscles from contracting (helpful in a surgery), and epinephrine is included in the anesthesia mix to downregulate blood flow and control bleeding (also helpful during surgery). When used and monitored properly, lidocaine does an admirable job keeping patients comfortable during what can be a marathon operation.
Hands down the biggest risk with a black market hair transplant surgery is a mistake made with the lidocaine based local anesthesia. Image by Freepik.
‘Properly administered and monitored’ is the catch. Because of the way lidocaine works on nerves, if too much enters the bloodstream it can depress the central nervous system. Seizures, respiratory depression, heart irregularity, coma, muscle tremors… not what you signed up for from a hair transplant. Worse, lidocaine toxicity can be difficult to predict. There are guidelines for dosing, but individual chemistry and biology can influence what makes a toxic amount.
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Now, for context, a surgeon and surgical team (like mine) are trained to watch out for lidocaine toxicity. We can administer counteragents and lower the dose long before things get dangerous. In an experienced hair transplant surgeon’s hands the surgery is quite safe and the chances of lidocaine being an issue are small. But in a black-market outfit? It could be fatal.
In an operating room there are strict standards for maintaining a clean environment. Equipment is sterilized in a special machine called an autoclave that heats reusable tools to high temperatures under pressure. They’re expensive, need to be maintained, and can be tricky to run. For equipment and tools that are single use only? A new, sterile package is opened every time. Image by wayhomestudio for Freepik.
Then there’s sterilization. Effectively killing potential pathogens requires proper sterilization. In black market clinics, they may not know how to use the sterilization equipment correctly or, worse, just don’t care. Unfortunately, the kinds of infections you contract from improperly sterilized equipment include things like Hepatitis C and HIV, two infections that can take years to emerge.
And it does happen. A recent CDC investigation linked 3 cases of HIV to vampire facials performed in New Mexico. Definitely not what you expect from a hair transplant – or any cosmetic treatment.
Your health is precious, don’t put it at risk chasing a bargain.
Third, and finally, I want to talk about poor aesthetic outcomes. A lot of considerations go into selecting the right candidates for a hair transplant surgery – discussing medical therapy, designing and agreeing on a hair line, even choosing the right surgical techniques. There’s also post operative care which a black market clinic won’t include. Imagine a few months down the road when you discover that the hairs aren’t well placed and in the wrong direction? That can be hard and costly to salvage. What if something bothers the patient afterwards? A good surgeon helps you manage the results after the surgery is done and the proverbial check has cleared.
How to know if the clinic you’re considering is illegal?
One of the unifying features of many botched black market surgeries is that the patients often afterwards mention having a ‘funny feeling’ or a ‘sense of foreboding’ when they arrived at the clinic. Things just didn’t feel quite right. Why do so many still proceed? Often, they’ve already handed over money and paid for the surgery in full.
Technicians are an essential part of a good hair transplant surgery. They can make a surgery go smoothly and help take a good aesthetic outcome to great. However, that doesn’t mean they should be doing hair transplants on their own… Image by Freepik.
If you’re considering a hair transplant and want to avoid unscrupulous clinics, consider coming to see me. If that’s not possible, take a look at some of the wonderful surgeons on my Beauty Experts page. Each and every one knows their stuff.
Don’t try to get a hair transplant as cheaply as possible. If budget is a major constraint, explore starting medical therapy.
I can’t stress enough how effective medical hair therapy is in helping create good outcomes. It preserves the hair you have and encourages miniaturized hairs to mature. When medically appropriate, it’s a wonderful tool in my box to ensure we build a good base for the transplant. Visit Feel Confident to explore if it’s right for you.
Consider saving up until you can comfortably afford a reputable and trusted doctor who will give you and your surgery the diligence and care you deserve. Research the procedure (subscribing to my mailing list, watching my videos, and reading this blog are all great steps in that direction) so you know what to expect. Don’t wait until you’re being ushered through a hotel lobby and wondering ‘does this look right?’.
Being prepared and knowing the warning signs – that’s confident!
