It is completely natural to have some concerns and be scared before the surgery.
Over the years, I have seen many patients being afraid for various reasons.
Surgery aside, even finding the right clinic and surgeon can be stressful on its own as well.
However, thankfully, we have a solution to help you in the research process: ISHRS.
For all patients unsure about which clinic to trust, ISHRS membership and approval are distinctive factors.
In today’s article, I will explain and help you discover the benefits and distinguishers of an ISHRS membership so that you can look for them before you choose your surgeon.
Table of Contents
Let’s first start by understanding ISHRS and its importance:
What is ISHRS?
The International Society of Hair Restoration Surgery (ISHRS) is a global medical organization that is the leading authority for hair loss restoration with transplants and treatment.
The reason why this non-profit organization was founded in 1993 is to spread quality improvement in the field of medical hair restoration surgery and educate its professionals.
With over 1000 members across over 70 countries worldwide, its existence is a guide that all reliable hair transplant clinics follow.
And the example it sets is the reason it is crucial:
Why is ISHRS important?
ISHRS’s importance comes from two things:
1️⃣ It increases the overall quality of the hair restoration field.
Every passing year, new technologies and methods arise in the field of dermatology. ISHRS follows these discoveries and, once found reliable, approves and shares them with medical professionals worldwide. And as prominent doctors value the official approval of the organization’s values, they follow the same developments accordingly.
Alternatively, in this way, ISHRS also increases the service every hair restoration patient receives.
2️⃣ It helps patients achieve reliable and quality methods.
ISHRS holds annual educational conferences for doctors. So, not only does it help educate the doctors and inform them about the latest developments, but it indirectly helps reliable clinics distinguish themselves from sketchy ones.
So, in other words, ISHRS policies can help you dodge fake clinics and hair mills.
You simply have to look for surgeons who are ISHRS members, which is not easy to achieve:
What are the requirements to be ISHRS-approved?
For surgeons applying, ISHRS requires a long list of goals to be reached. However, to summarize, we can categorize them into innovation and honesty.
🔷 The foundation wants its members to have a firm grip on their perception of hair restoration surgery, which means keenly following the new technologies in the field. This is the part where the benefits of an ISHRS member genuinely shine.
🔷 Secondly, it wants the members to be completely transparent with their patients to deserve approval. No misleading language or hidden information about the clinic’s staff or surgery process is tolerated. This part is to help patients find ISHRS members and tell apart the difference.
Before explaining the things to look for to find a member, I want first to explain their benefits:
4 Benefits of an ISHRS Member Hair Transplant Doctor in Turkey
ISHRS members come with 4 benefits that are hard to find in non-member clinics and surgeons:
1 – High quality is guaranteed in their clinic.
ISHRS member clinics follow and apply the latest technologies and methods in surgeries.
As ISHRS regularly holds conferences to keep its members updated and check on them, the clinics approved by the ISHRS are guaranteed to have the most top-notch clinics with modern equipment and high hygiene.
The high-quality standard that ISHRS has will reflect on its members through the clinic’s hygiene, its most influential and developed tools, and its prestigious staff. 🩺
And the best part is these quality medical services are presented at fair prices according to ISHRS member standards:
2 – Quality comes at affordable prices.
Going for the most famous doctors with the most expensive packages is not always a great idea.
That is because high prices do not directly mean high quality, and as ISHRS puts it, the ideal clinic is the one that can create a balance between quality and affordability.
👉 This is where ISHRS members stand out among the fake clinics that boost their prices to appear more luxurious.
If you are researching an ISHRS member surgeon, you will see that they care about charging their patients the exact and consistent prices for their transplants in their clinics.
So, going for these clinics will save you from overpricing and from experiencing different treatments other clinics offer, depending on how much you pay.
Speaking of experiencing reliable treatments, ISHRS member surgeons, unlike others, are always guaranteed to be present in your surgeries:
3 – ISHRS member doctors directly perform the operations.
One negative comment you may see when researching is that low-quality hair transplant clinics tend to have technicians do the surgery without the doctor being present.
Most of the time, these clinics try to hide the fact that the leading doctor’s attention is not guaranteed during the transplant by hiding the details about their surgical team.
⚠️ This is highly dangerous and irresponsible as, without the proper attention of a professional surgeon (preferably a dermatologist), your surgery’s success and the survival of your transplanted hair are extremely low.
That is why ISHRS is strictly against performing surgeries without the doctor and not presenting the surgical team’s information anywhere.
By choosing an ISHRS-approved clinic, you can know who will perform the transplant on you and ensure that the leading doctor will care for your hair’s future.
And lastly, ISHRS membership also means that leading doctors will know what they are doing:
4 – ISHRS member doctors are always up to date.
Ultimately, highly advanced tools, affordable prices, and doctor-performed surgeries all have meaning as long as they share one common ground: A doctor who is up to date with ISHRS educational conferences.
That is the final benefit and purpose of ISHRS approval, the one key point that holds them all.
💡 As ISHRS grants its membership to doctors participating in these annual conferences, its members constantly stay in touch with their field’s latest developments.
So, going for a member doctor instead of the alternative guarantees you will receive the best medical performance possible.
That being said, just to clear any doubts about the potential surgeon you have in your mind, here are the key factors you need to pay attention to spot an ISHRS member:
How Can You Find an ISHRS Member?
As you may have noticed, the benefits mentioned earlier are a good place to start.
*️⃣ However, to recognize them even easier, the best place to check is the clinic’s website.
On the official website and social media accounts of the clinic or the surgeon, there are 4 things you can look for:
A – Is the clinic’s website modern and up to date?
If you find an old website left to rot from the early 2000s model website with an incredibly slow loading time, then it is a clear sign of doubt.
Pay attention to how you can navigate the website; you may even find some articles from years ago. 📅
At that point, you should continue your research with the next candidate.
B – Does it contain all the information you seek, and are they easily accessible?
As I mentioned, a modern and fast website is a good identifier.
The reason for that is that ideally, a modern website is the one that holds the answers to your questions.
🛜 You should look for a website with all the critical information you need, such as background information about its medical practitioners, leading surgeons’ licenses, patient reviews, and much more.
Remember, a renowned professional wouldn’t fear presenting and facing patient reviews directly.
C – Do they make exaggerated claims in their words?
ISHRS directly prohibits misleading language.
Using specific impossible-to-achieve terms and claims such as “no touch,” “no scars,” or “pain-free” is not only giving out false information but also a violation of certain laws in many countries.
If you see any clinic proudly use them, you can be sure that this clinic does NOT hold up their claims.
D – Does the surgical team include the leading surgeon?
Some fake clinics use the fancy trick of giving in-depth knowledge about their surgical team’s background, but they purposefully leave out the leading surgeon.
If you notice that the “About Us” page is filled with technicians but has nothing about the primary doctor, you know this clinic is shady.
As ISHRS explains, doctor inclusion during the surgery is essential and irreplaceable.
👉 Following this example, at UnitedCare, detailed information about the leading surgeon, Dr. Utkan, is transparently presented.
Patients researching the clinic and the ISHRS Associate Member Dr. Utkan will find that at UnitedCare, surgeries are performed by the leading surgeon. Thus, only 1 patient a day is accepted to provide complete and constant attention.
That is amongst the many more key details we pay attention to in our ISHRS-approved services:
At UnitedCare, we begin your hair transplant process by offering you a free one-on-one consultation with our expert doctors to determine your suitability.
💊 If suitable, our holistic approach provides advanced technologies and bio-enhancements to ensure you do not need another surgery.
Once you have decided on a method, we begin the treatment with the utmost attention. 💉
But most importantly, we stay in contact with our patients even long after the surgery, ensuring that your transplant becomes permanent. 🍀
Affordable hair transplant costs, a holistic approach, and experienced dermatologists on-site are here to provide you with the right solution.
Want to learn more about our ISHRS-approved techniques? Click here to start the first step with a free consultation:
Maximize the success rate of your Hair Transplantation with an ISHRS member.
Restore your natural look with a Dermatosurgeon now:
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
How Can I Find the Best Hair Transplant Surgeon in Turkey?
There are many great hair transplant surgeons in Turkey. However, the most reliable method is to look for the key characteristics that ISHRS approves. As the leading authority figure in the field of hair restoration and hair loss treatment, ISHRS has a fundamental guideline about the subject. It suggests patients prioritize surgeons with modern websites and transparent background information. They are a good candidate if they also avoid exaggerated words and false claims and are present during every patient’s hair transplant surgery. If a doctor follows these factors strictly, they will become an ISHRS member, which is a big green flag in reliability.
How Much Does an ISHRS Member Doctor’s Hair Transplant Cost?
By ISHRS standards of ideal pricing range, at Unitedcare, hair transplant prices start from 2600$.
Why Turkish Hair Transplant Surgeons Should Be ISHRS Members?
Turkey is a place famous for medical tourism, with millions of patients coming to visit every year. Naturally, there are many fake clinics and hair mills out there that want to take advantage of that. So, it would be your safest bet to look for a surgeon who is an ISHRS member.
What Kind of a Doctor Does a Hair Transplant in Turkey?
By ISHRS standards, member surgeons in Turkey consist of professional dermatologists and expert plastic surgeons. However, close to 95% of the clinics in Turkey are fake clinics with surgeons who are not ISHRS members, and in these hair mill scenarios, 99% of the time, the surgeries are performed without the leading doctor’s supervision. Ultimately, the doctor you are looking for should at least be an ISHRS member.
