Choosing a Hair Transplant Clinic: What to Check

Before paying for a hair transplant, establish who will operate, where the surgery will happen and who will look after you afterwards. A clinic name, a low price or a convincing set of photographs cannot answer those questions.

If you are comparing clinics in Manchester, bring the same questions to each consultation. Written answers make it easier to compare the treatment being offered.

Check the surgeon and the place where surgery happens

Ask for the operating surgeon’s full name and registration number. Use the GMC register to check the doctor’s current status, then ask about their experience with your type of procedure. Registration alone does not tell you how much hair transplant surgery someone performs.

For surgery in England, check the actual treatment provider and location with the CQC. A consultation office can be different from the operating clinic. Read the available inspection information rather than treating a registration logo as a promise of an outcome.

Ask how your treatment has been planned

A useful assessment looks at the cause and pattern of your loss, the donor area and what may happen to the hair you still have. Ask why the proposed technique and graft estimate suit you, and what coverage is realistic.

Ask who will perform each surgical stage and whether you will meet the operating surgeon before deciding. If the discussion moves straight to a deposit without addressing suitability, ask for the clinical assessment first.

Look carefully at patient photographs

Compare photographs taken at similar angles and with similar lighting and hair length. Look for a stated follow-up period. Ask whether the examples show people with a similar starting position, and whether they were treated by the surgeon you are considering.

A single photograph cannot establish a clinic’s success rate. Ask what the clinic means by any percentage it quotes, which patients were included and how the outcome was measured.

Get the costs and aftercare in writing

Your quotation should identify the procedure and what is included. Ask about follow-up appointments, prescribed medicines, any additional charges, cancellation terms and what happens if further treatment is discussed. Our Manchester cost page is a starting point for that conversation.

Before booking, get a contact route for problems during recovery and ask who can examine you if needed. Do not assume a telephone check and an in-person review are interchangeable.

The CQC’s guidance on choosing cosmetic surgery covers consultations, aftercare, costs and taking time to decide.