A DUBLIN firm's £875 surgical procedure to treat balding men has been described in court by a dermatologist as a "a scam, a con and a complete nonsense".
D? Gillian Murphy was giving evidence in a Dublin Circuit Court case in which a man is suing a Dublin hair replant company and a Co Cork doctor for up to £30,000 in damages.
Mr Michael Hickey (34), a" prison officer, told the court that his hair began falling out "in lumps" after undergoing the procedure. He said two incisions were made in his scalp under local anaesthetic by a doctor who had then "rooted around" with a stainless steel instrument. He said his pillow was carpeted with hair each morning afterwards.
Dr Murphy said the procedure would achieve nothing more than leaving two small scars on Mr Hickey's scalp. "Balding is a sign of maleness," she told the court. "Male pattern baldness is a hormonal problem. If you are castrated, you do not get bald."
Mr Hickey said that in 1994 he became conscious of hair loss and contacted Hair Replant Ireland in Drumcondra. He paid £875 for a surgical procedure, which involved stimulating blood circulation at the roots of dormant or dead hair follicles.
He had been assured, he said, that in 75 per cent of cases hair loss was halted by the treatment, and in 50 per cent of cases it promoted hair regrowth. His hair was now "thin and brittle", however, and from having had "a fringe" at the time of treatment, he was now receding at the temples and thinning on top.
The hair replant company owner, Mr Michael O'Byrne, said he had been 32 years in the business and had never been sued."I have sold the procedure to up to 300 people, and about 25 per cent felt it had not worked for them," he said.
Dr Conor Kiely, of West Beach, Cobb, who performed the operation on Mr Hickey's head, told the court he had studied the procedure in Britain, where a high success rate had been quoted.
Mr O'Byrne has lodged a full defence against alleged breach of contract.
Judge Raymond Groarke reserved his judgment until today.
