Design the Patient Wants

A Good Design Is the Design the Patient Wants.

After performing surgeries for a long time, doctors develop their own standards: this height looks natural, this curve is pretty, this hairline suits this face. Of course that experience matters. But I learned that a design a doctor thinks is good is not always the design the patient wants.

A design that satisfies only the doctor may end up requiring a second surgery.

We Ask for the Reason Behind the Desired Shape, Not Just the Shape.

At first, patients' requests may sound unfamiliar. But if we listen a little more, each request contains a reason they have been uncomfortable for a long time. There is the place they noticed every morning when looking in the mirror, the area they covered with hair whenever taking photos, the reason they had to always part their hair in the same direction for life.

So we first try to understand why the patient wants that design. Once we know the reason we empathize, and if we empathize the design changes.

That Does Not Mean We Do Exactly What the Patient Wants.

Hearing what the patient wants and doing the surgery exactly as requested are slightly different matters. A hairline that is too narrow can look unnatural, and sometimes you must consider the current state of hair loss and how it may change in the future. There are times when desired density and naturalness are difficult to achieve because of hair thickness and limited occipital donor supply. In such cases we do not simply say it's impossible; we explain why it is difficult and look for other options that can best address the patient's concerns.

I believe good design is finding a meeting point where the patient's wishes and the physician's knowledge do not force one side to give up but come together.

We Always Learn from Our Patients.

Many parts of what I now consider an important design were not known to me at first. The designs discovered through deliberation with patients who wanted something different than my initial idea often feel less awkward than expected and become valuable experiences that elevate my perspective on design. After surgery, hearing patients' feedback about what became more comfortable and what still bothers them gradually reveals new insights.

What may be a matter of millimeters for a physician can be a big difference for someone tying their hair every day. If we genuinely empathize with that difference, we begin to think of new designs to solve it. And in that way hairline design evolves bit by bit. The best design is the design the patient wants.

That is why, even now, we continue to learn from our patients.