How to choose a hair transplant surgeon: 7 checks before you pay a deposit

Every clinic will tell you it is the right choice. These seven checks let you decide for yourself, with the UK surgical bodies' own guidance as the yardstick. Ask them anywhere, including here.

1. Who will actually operate?

Check 1: the GMC number. Ask for the operating surgeon's name and GMC number, then look it up on the GMC register. It takes a minute and tells you whether the person is a registered doctor with a licence to practise.

Check 2: who makes the incisions and who places the grafts. A hair transplant has three surgical steps: extraction, recipient incisions and placement. The BAHRS consumer guidance says to ask who performs each one and who supervises. If the answer is vague, that is the answer.

How it works at Fix My Hair. Fix My Hair arranges and coordinates your care. Your surgery is surgeon-led, carried out by an independent GMC-registered surgeon at a CQC-registered partner clinic. You meet your surgeon at consultation, before you pay anything, and you are told who will perform your procedure and what the surgical team does on the day.

2. Where does the surgery happen?

Check 3: the registered location. In England, surgery must take place at a location registered with the Care Quality Commission. Ask for the address and the CQC location ID, then search it on the CQC website. A consultation office in one city is not the same as a surgical facility.

Fix My Hair publishes its partner clinics, with addresses and CQC location IDs, on the partner clinics page. Liverpool surgery takes place at Pall Mall Medical Pall Mall Liverpool, 5 St Paul's Square, Liverpool L3 9SJ (CQC location 1-1375777417).

3. Whose results are you looking at?

Check 4: the surgeon's own patients. Photos should be of the operating surgeon's own patients, not a group gallery. Ask for the graft count, how many months after surgery the photo was taken, and whether the patient consented to its use. No clinic can promise you a result, and results vary from person to person, so the point of a gallery is to judge the work, not to predict yours.

The Fix My Hair results page shows graft counts and months after surgery with each case.

4. What exactly is in the quote?

Check 5: a written quote with the graft range. Ask for the estimated graft range in writing, what the price includes (consultation, surgery day, aftercare, follow-up visits) and what costs extra. A per-graft price can move on the day, so ask what happens if the count changes.

Fix My Hair prices by procedure size: £3,500 up to 3,000 grafts, £5,700 over 3,000 grafts, agreed in writing after your free consultation. Blood tests are arranged when clinically needed. Full details are on the pricing page.

5. Aftercare, complications and time to decide

Check 6: who you call at 10pm. Ask who you contact if something worries you out of hours, how a complication is managed, and how a complaint is handled. The joint BAAPS, BAHRS and Turkish society guidelines list out-of-hours care and a clear complaints route as minimum standards. At Fix My Hair you have twelve months of coordinated support, with check-ups at 3, 6 and 12 months, and a team you can reach 7 days a week, 10:00 to 20:00.

Check 7: take two weeks. The same guidelines recommend a cooling-off period of at least two weeks between consultation and surgery. A clinic that pushes you to pay today is telling you something. Fix My Hair does not ask for a deposit at consultation; take the written quote home and decide in your own time.

Prefer to talk? WhatsApp us or call 07575 570528. Open 7 days, 10:00 to 20:00.

Common questions

Do I need to see the surgeon before I pay? Yes. The BAAPS and BAHRS guidelines say you should meet the operating doctor before committing. At Fix My Hair you meet your surgeon at the free consultation, before any payment.

How do I check a surgeon is registered? Search the name or GMC number on the GMC online register. It shows whether the doctor holds a licence to practise and any conditions on their registration.

How do I check where the surgery happens? Ask for the address and CQC location ID, then search it on the Care Quality Commission website. The clinic's page shows its registration and latest inspection report.

Is a fixed price better than a per-graft price? Neither is automatically better, but a fixed price agreed in writing cannot rise on the day. With a per-graft price, ask what happens if the count changes during surgery.

How long should I take to decide? The UK and Turkish surgical bodies recommend at least two weeks between your consultation and surgery. Take the written quote home and use that time.

Can I bring a quote from another clinic? Yes. Bring it to your free consultation and it will be read line by line with you, including what it leaves out.