Act against salons offering hair transplants by unqualified technicians: Delhi HC

Expressing concerns over the “mushrooming of salons” where “self-proclaimed technicians” are rendering hair transplantation services while shunning medical ethics and defying protocol, the Delhi high court has asked the Centre and the state government to look into the issue, keep quacks in check and ensure that patients are informed about the risks involved in the process.

“The fact that hair transplantation surgeries are being carried out in salons with the aid of technicians is a matter of great concern since neither they are fully qualified nor can any such procedures be carried out except under supervision of a trained surgeon or dermatologist,” the court said while hearing a plea for a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe into the death of a 35-year-old, allegedly due to negligence during a hair transplant at hair studio in Rohini.

On May 11, justice Anoop Kumar Mendiratta directed the city police commissioner to take action against such establishments.

The court order said that hair transplantation to be performed by qualified dermatologists or trained surgeons with informed consent of the patient and it is critical to evaluate the risk from a medical perspective.

It also said that it is imperative that necessary steps are taken by the authorities to ensure that such practices are checked and people are made aware of the procedure and the medico legal issues.

“Requisite safeguards need to be ensured for safety of the persons who undertake the aforesaid treatment. Also, the public at large needs to be made aware that such hair transplantation procedures/aesthetic surgeries can be fatal at the hands of unqualified professionals, which require strict medical supervision. In case any such medical protocols have not been established for guidance of medical practitioners, the same need to be framed at national level, in view of upcoming aesthetic surgeries and hair transplantation procedures,” the court order said.

In the present case, the deceased man– who paid ₹30,000 for the procedure — developed a painful scalp followed by swelling on the face and shoulders, and subsequently passed away during the course of treatment at a hospital. According to the treatment papers, the cause of death was septic shock with multi-organ failure as part of Stevens-Johnson Syndrome, a rare, serious disorder of the skin and mucous membranes.