All he wanted was to get rid of his glasses. Instead, he got back his hair.

 

Victor Loh was researching Lasik surgery in Thailand when he found out that clinics there offered hair transplant procedures as well.

 

The 25-year-old senior technician started suffering from premature balding when he was 18. His hair at the forehead and crown thinned out so much, there was only a thin tuft left. He had tried Minoxidil lotion and Propecia pills, both clinically proven hair restorers, but as a polytechnic student then, had to stop because they were too expensive.

 

When he learned in February this year that he could get hair transplants of 2,000 grafts done in Bangkok for only S$7,120 with accommodation thrown in, he was thrilled. Most patients get between 1,000 and 2,000 grafts for their bald patches. Severe cases may need more than one transplant. The fact that he could pay by monthly instalments over 2 years was the deal clincher.

 

Without even informing his family, he left for the Thai capital, spending three days sightseeing and a day in surgery.

 

It’s been six months since, but Loh is stilled buoyed by his self-confidence restored the day he got back his hair.

 

“I looked like I was in my late 30s when I was 21. Now I look younger,” he says. “Even my female friends have taken notice.”

 

What has also caught the eye of many is the cost of such treatments in Thailand.

 

A hair transplant procedure there typically costs about $3,000 to $8,000, depending on the number of grafts done. Charges in Singapore range from S$4,000 to S$12,000.

 

Because of this, medical tour agencies expect demand to grow.

 

Health Aesthetics, for one, offers a package in Bangkok, where he has a tie-up with an American-trained surgeon.

 

Dr Chow U-Jin, founder of Health Aesthetics, says it has had more than 50 hair transplant enquiries over the past six months, mostly from men aged between 25 to 40 years. A year ago, it received fewer than 10 calls.

 

To date, six patients have gone to Bangkok. He says there would have been more, but appointments with the Thai doctor are filled tilled this November.

 

“These people usually do not have a severe balding problem, but to them, the procedure is more for prevention then cure,” he adds.

 

Though there are no statistics on the demand for hair transplants, about one million foreign patients are reported by the Bangkok Post to have sought medical services in Thailand.

 

Dr Monique Goh, managing director of Meditour, says anonymity is a selling point for Singaporeans.

 

She explains:”It is a face thing. Baldness can be an embarrassing issue. Most of our clients do not want others to know they have gone for hair transplants, so they go overseas to have the procedure done.”

 

In hair transplants, doctors take small strips of hair from the back and sides of the head and then trim them into grafts – before planting them individually into the bald patches.

 

The effect is natural and permanent. But because the amount of hair available for “harvest” is limited, the procedure cannot be used to treat large areas of baldness. Also, the surgery will leave a scar on the back of the scalp, so people may have to opt instead for longer coiffures. The surgery is done under local anaesthesia and can be completed within three to eight hours, depending on the number of grafts done.

 

According to the tour agencies, patients spend at least three days in Thailand: sightseeing on one day, surgery on the second and post-procedural checks on the third.

 

Meditour offers eight-day tour packages to Pattaya starting at S$3,547. The client spends the first two days on his surgery, and goes sightseeing after that. He then sees the doctor at the end of the week for a review before returning to Singapore.

 

At Health Aesthetics, a three-day package costs between S$5,000 to S$7,000.

 

The quotes from both companies exclude airfare.

Learn more about Hair Transplant here.