
18/06/2025
Posted • .official Who should perform hair transplant surgery in the UK?
Only GMC-registered and licensed doctors should perform Hair Transplant Surgery (HTS) in the UK.
This includes:
- Making skin incisions to harvest hair via Strip FUT
- Making recipient site incisions with a blade, needle, sharp implanter, or other device
- Making donor site incisions for FUE
⚠️ Even when using robotic-assisted technology for FUE, a GMC-licensed doctor must be present and in control of the device at all times. Running the robot must not be delegated to a non-doctor.
These rules are outlined in:
- The Cosmetic Practice Standards Authority (CPSA) standard for HTS (page 14)
- The guidance reflects the position of the International Society of Hair Restoration Surgery (ISHRS)
What can non-doctors do?
- Assist the doctor
- Extract FUE grafts after a doctor has made the incision
- Process and implant grafts using tools that do not cut the skin (like blunt implanters or forceps)