About

Fight the FIGHT Awareness Campaign

The International Society of Hair Restoration Surgery (ISHRS) is concerned about the growing risk to patients of unlicensed technicians performing substantial aspects of hair restoration surgery carried out worldwide. The use of unlicensed technicians to perform aspects of hair restoration surgery, which should only be performed by a properly trained and licensed physician, places patients at risk of: (i) misdiagnosis; (ii) failure to diagnose hair disorders and related systemic diseases; and (iii) performance of unnecessary or ill-advised surgery all of which jeopardizes patient safety and outcomes. There may also be a risk that unlicensed technicians may not be covered by malpractice insurance.

Vulnerable patients are lured by cheap prices and false advertising presented with misleading information alongside attractive medical tourism packages to visit clinics that use non medical persons with very little training in aesthetic hair transplantation. This type of surgery is unsafe. It is a serious health risk  often leading to tragic side effects such as permanent scarring, infection that leads to disfiguring results with very little to no recourse for correction.

The ISHRS believes the following aspects of hair restoration surgery should only be performed by a licensed physician:

  • Preoperative diagnostic evaluation and consultation
  • Surgery planning
  • Surgery execution including:
  • Donor hair harvesting
  • Hairline design
  • Recipient site creation
  • Management of other patient medical issues and possible adverse reactions
  • Post-operative care

The distinction between medical tourism, and traveling to another country to a black market clinic, is important.

The black market, however, is a series of rogue clinics staffed by non-doctors (at times, including one doctor to mislead patients) that facilitate illegal practices. Patients around the world are suffering from the unlawful actions of these clinics, including injuries and scarring, over-harvested donor areas or irreparable aesthetic results.

Need to see the distinction? Here are some before and after photos of patients who have come to our members seeking help with corrective surgery, after their experience at a Black Market clinic.

It is our intention to educate potential patients about the need to search for experienced, ethical doctors to perform their surgery.

About the ISHRS

The International Society of Hair Restoration Surgery (ISHRS) is a global non-profit medical association and the leading authority on hair loss treatment and restoration with more than 1,100 members throughout 70 countries worldwide.

The ISHRS supports its members and the work they do. Over a period of decades, ISHRS physician members developed and refined a surgical procedure known as follicular unit transplantation, and follicular unit excision (FUE) which when properly performed is safe and effective at reversing the appearance of hair loss and providing natural-looking results for patients with Androgenetic Alopecia (AGA), aka male pattern baldness or female pattern hair loss. 

Above all, the ISHRS is dedicated to achieving excellence in patient outcomes by promoting the highest standards of medical practice, medical ethics, and research in the medical hair restoration industry.

Through Operation Restore, the ISHRS is providing free surgeries and assistance to victims of risky cosmetic hair surgeries who have been subjected to these unnatural looking results and surgical scars.

Learn more about the licensed ISHRS doctors in your country who are committed to personally perform necessary corrective surgeries to assure you the highest level of patient care, safety and results.

Visit our main website to learn more about our organization at ISHRS.org