The consultation checklist

Every comparison on this site ends at the same place: a consultation where the real answers live. This is the question set, printable, in the order that works — roles first, money second, verification third — with the ISHRS red flags to watch for while you listen.

1. Who does what — the questions that decide everything

Who makes the recipient-site incisions on my case — by name?
Who performs the donor extractions — by name?
Who places the grafts — physician, or technicians?
Are the technicians on my case full-time employees or traveling contractors? How long have they worked here?
If I plan to wear my hair short (fade or undercut) — where exactly will you harvest, and will the extraction pattern be visible at that length?
Will the doctor I am consulting with be in the room for my entire procedure?

2. Money — nothing counts until it is in writing

What is the per-graft rate, and what is my evaluated graft count? (Both in writing.)
How many grafts does my donor area hold for my lifetime — and what share of that budget does this plan spend today?
What does the total include — anesthesia, facility, follow-up visits, PRP add-ons?
If financing: what is the total, the term, and the total cost of credit? What happens after any 0% period?
If fewer grafts are placed than estimated, how does the price adjust?

3. Verification — check, don't trust

Which registry can I check your certification in? (ABHRS: abhrs.org; ISHRS: ishrs.org — one letter matters: IAHRS is a different body.)
Is your medical license active in this state, and under which name should I search the state board lookup?
How many hair restoration cases did this specific team perform last year — not brand-wide?
May I see before/after cases done at this location, by the people doing mine?

4. The four core questions, from our methodology

Ask	Why it matters
Will anyone not licensed by the state be making incisions or harvesting grafts during my surgery?	This is the question the ISHRS puts first. Its position is that preoperative evaluation, surgical planning, donor harvesting, hairline design and recipient site creation should be performed by a licensed physician or physician extender. In practice clinics vary widely, and most patients never ask.
Is the physician who will operate on me board certified by the ABHRS?	ABHRS certification is specific to hair restoration and verifiable in a public registry. A surgeon can be an excellent plastic surgeon or dermatologist without holding it — that is not a disqualification, but it is a fact worth knowing, and it is checkable in two minutes rather than taken on trust.
Is the operating physician a current ISHRS member I can find in the society’s directory?	Membership in the International Society of Hair Restoration Surgery signals participation in the specialty’s standards-setting body — and the member directory is public, so the claim can be checked in one click rather than read off a logo.
Who will evaluate my hair loss and recommend treatment, and what is their licensure?	Hair loss has causes that require diagnosis — androgenetic alopecia, telogen effluvium, scarring alopecias and systemic conditions present differently and respond differently. The ISHRS warns that non-physician evaluation risks misdiagnosis, failure to identify hair disorders or underlying disease, and unnecessary procedures. A consultation that is really a sales appointment is a different thing from a medical evaluation.
What is your price per graft, and the estimated total for my case — in writing?	Whether the clinic publishes per-graft rates or total ranges anywhere. Published figures are rare, correlate with consistent pricing, and are the only way a patient can calibrate a quote before a sales conversation.
Is everyone involved in my surgery covered by malpractice insurance?	The fourth of the four ISHRS patient questions. If part of the procedure is performed by someone not covered, the patient carries a risk they were never told about.
Are these photographs of your own patients — and of this surgeon’s work specifically?	Before-and-after photographs should depict the clinic’s own patients, treated by the surgeon who would treat you. The ISHRS lists fraudulent photography among the markers of black-market operations.

5. Red flags while you listen

Warning sign	Why
One flat price to harvest “as many grafts as possible”	Graft count should follow from diagnosis, not from a package. The ISHRS lists this inversion among predatory-pricing patterns.
The advertised surgeon is not the one in the room	The ISHRS calls this the “token doctor” pattern — a physician fronts the marketing while technicians perform substantial parts of the surgery.
Several patients treated simultaneously in one room	Assembly-line operation — the model that makes unlicensed-technician surgery economically attractive.
No one will say who makes the incisions	The first ISHRS patient question exists because delegation of surgery to unlicensed staff is the campaign’s central warning. A practice with nothing to hide answers by name.
Before-and-after photos that are not the clinic’s own patients	Fraudulent photography is an ISHRS-listed black-market marker. Results you are shown should be results this surgeon produced.
Diagnosis by a salesperson instead of a physician	Hair loss has medical causes that present differently. A consultation that is really a sales appointment risks misdiagnosis and unnecessary surgery.

What clinics state about who performs → · The published prices to calibrate against → · Financing calculator →