Are Hair Transplant Fees Based on the Number of Follicular Unit Grafts or Duration of the Surgery?

This below response from our Hair Loss Social Community and Discussion Forums was written by recommended hair restoration surgeon Dr. Ali Emre Karadeniz.

Say, you are quoted 14K for a two day follicular unit extraction (FUE) between 3000 and 3500 grafts. Then the doc is like we can do this in one day. Should you still expect to pay the same amount for a two day procedure that is done in one day?

I think this is an excellent question. I believe time and graft number are both important. 5000 grafts offered in a single day is not to the patients benefit, however the hair transplant surgeon cannot charge 5 days if this is how long it takes him to do 5000 grafts.

The per graft pricing is the most modern however it does not solve all the problems. Is doing a rushed 4000 grafts in one day more valuable than a carefully done 2500 grafts? I don’t think so. Do all 2500 graft procedures require the same effort by the surgeon? No, sometimes a 2000 graft procedure takes more working hours and effort than a 2500. Is it always to the patient’s benefit to have more grafts done? No.

Patients usually think that paying per follicular unit graft guarantees that they get the value for money, however it may not wok that way. This method of pricing may increase the motivation of the surgeon to do a higher number of grafts, regardless of the patient’s need. Or sometimes, when the case is difficult, it may be to the patient’s benefit that the surgeon slows down and does less grafts. Should he be under pressure to reach the number of grafts so that he doesn’t lose money?

My solution is to charge per graft intervals, taking into consideration if it takes half day, full day or two days to finish it. Once the price is decided and agreement made, I prefer forgetting about numbers for grafts and price. I like to concentrate only on the best possible surgical performance for the patient’s long term benefits.

Dr. Ali Emre Karadeniz

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David (TakingThePlunge)
Editorial Assistant and Forum Co-Moderator for the Hair Transplant Network, the Coalition Hair Loss Learning Center, and the Hair Loss Q & A Blog.