Spencer Kobren speaks with IAHRS founding member, Boca Raton hair transplant surgeon, Dr. Glenn Charles about the the importance of patient selection and the reality that not every hair loss sufferer makes a good candidate for surgical intervention.

Dr. Glenn Charles: I can tell you some of the people that I actually turned down because they weren't good candidates for surgery are people who actually referred patients to me. They had friends who needed the work. People appreciate the honesty. The reality of it is, is that not all people, or all patients that have hair loss are candidates for hair transplants. Some are better candidates for non-surgical. Some don't need hair transplants. Some just don't have enough donor. There's all kind of reasons that could be there that would make a patient not a candidate.

Spencer Kobren: Right.

Dr. Glenn Charles: But you gotta tell them the truth. Unfortunately, I do see patients come to my office that have been to other clinics that have had prior surgery, and when I look at them I clearly ... It's blatantly obvious that they should have never had surgery, but some doctors are not as ethical and not as honest, and they'll do surgery on just about anything, and anybody.

Spencer Kobren: Well some doctors aren't as ethical and honest. Nowadays, some doctors just don't know any better because-

Dr. Glenn Charles: That's another whole story of the whole new topic of they're what they're calling black market clinics.

Spencer Kobren: Yeah, it's the new normal of the hair transplanting industry.

Dr. Glenn Charles: Right, right. There's a lot of reasons why this is happening. I feel that with all the new devices out there and the new options available for the doctors to do this surgery, which they're trying to make it easier for the doctor. Once these companies run out of hair transplant doctors to sell their equipment to they start going to other doctors.

Spencer Kobren: Right.

Dr. Glenn Charles: Doctors are licensed and can physically, legally do the surgery, but don't really have the knowledge to do the surgery.

Spencer Kobren: Right.

Dr. Glenn Charles: That's I think a bigger concern with the doctors here in America. There's something going on at the black market clinics. I think that's more probably in Asia, and Europe, and other foreign countries that, that's happening as far as black market clinics that are illegal clinics.

Spencer Kobren: Absolutely. Well here's the thing. They're trying to make also a distinction that those who are using technicians in certain states are in that category of being black market.

Dr. Glenn Charles: Right, right.

Spencer Kobren: My reality is this, the more control you try to have in anything the more control you lose, so instead of trying to control that aspect of things I think that you have to embrace what's happening. You don't necessarily have to do it in your own practice, but at the very least if there are going to be technicians involved let the consumer understand that, let them know. Make sure that they're well trained.