Medical and Professional Ethics: Spotlight on Cosmetic vs Non-Cosmetic Hair Transplant Surgery
November 2018
in “
Hair transplant forum international
”
TLDR The article suggests that hair transplant surgery may not be purely cosmetic because it treats a disease and calls for clearer guidelines on its classification.
The article "Medical and Professional Ethics: Spotlight on Cosmetic vs Non-Cosmetic Hair Transplant Surgery" from 2018 discussed the classification of hair transplant surgery as a cosmetic or non-cosmetic procedure. The author, Gregory Williams, highlighted the lack of clarity among ISHRS members regarding European regulation on who can perform hair transplant procedures. He also questioned whether hair transplant surgery should be considered cosmetic, given that it is used to treat androgenetic alopecia, a disease. The American Society of Plastic Surgeons lists hair transplant surgery as a cosmetic procedure, but the author argued that androgenetic alopecia is not an inevitable part of aging like wrinkles and sagging skin, thus it should not be considered cosmetic. The author also discussed the implications of this classification, such as the potential for additional costs through taxation and the lack of public funding for what is considered a cosmetic procedure in some countries. The article concluded by suggesting that the ISHRS should issue a position statement on when hair transplant surgery should be considered a cosmetic procedure.
