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Prior to the creation of the International Alliance of Hair Restoration Surgeons (IAHRS), hair transplant physicians had free reign, with no set standards and no organizations to set them. The IAHRS has set the standards for the field, holds physicians accountable for their actions and share's this information with the public. The IAHRS is a safe and objective resource for patients to use when assessing the quality and integrity of hair transplantation surgeons.

www.iahrs.org

Hair Transplant Surgery Coupled With PRP Therapy - Is This The Next Generation of Hair Restoration?

Platelet Rich Plasma, or PRP is blood plasma that has been concentrated to have about 5x the number of platelets found in circulating blood. These concentrated platelets found in PRP contain tremendous amounts of bioactive proteins, which include the growth factors PDGF and VEGF. These growth factors have been shown to initiate accelerated tissue repair, and, according to experts, have also been shown to have positive effects on hair growth.

Still in its experimental stages, PRP therapy for hair loss involves the injection of Platelet Rich Plasma, taken from the patient’s own blood, directly into the balding areas of the scalp. The results of these experiments appear to be the reversal of the miniaturization process in the areas where the PRP was applied. There is also some evidence pointing to accelerated growth of follicular unit grafts when bathed in a PRP solution before implantation during a hair transplant procedure. Read more

A Closer Look At Eyebrow Hair Transplants

Hair transplant surgery is an extremely labor intensive and meticulous form
of cosmetic surgery. A bad hair transplant is visible from a mile away, and
unfortunately there are still many less than optimal results being produced
on a daily basis by under-trained and/or unskilled hair transplant practitioners.

One hair restoration procedure that can be especially challenging is eyebrow transplantation. Various medical conditions can result in eyebrow loss, but probably the most common cause is self-induced. Women who pluck their eyebrows run the significant risk of permanently damaging the hair follicles that are repeatedly plucked, thus causing permanent brow loss. Other causes of eyebrow loss include chemotherapy, trauma from accidents and burn injuries.

Eyebrows are very important to a person’s appearance since they essentially frame, and give symmetry to the face. Loss of eyebrow hair can have a profound effect on a person’s self confidence and general well being. While eyebrow reconstruction technology had been reported as far back as the early nineteenth century, it has taken the evolution of conventional hair transplant surgery to take eyebrow reconstruction to the level the we see today. Read more

Hair Transplant Repair, Can I Be Helped?

Hair transplant surgery is one of the most demanding cosmetic procedures performed today. Unfortunately, many physicians performing hair transplant surgery do not do so to state of the art standards. For various reasons, some physicians who decide to enter the field are either unwilling or unable to  learn how to perform this labor intensive, artistic procedure the right way.

Performing hair transplant surgery well involves several factors. First and foremost, it requires a surgeon to be highly skilled and meticulous. You can not cut corners when it comes to hair transplant surgery and this includes the physician’s staff.  A hair transplant practice must have the infrastructure to accommodate the equipment and staff requirements necessary to perform a procedure that can last between eight to ten hours. Each staff member plays an integral role in the final outcome of each hair transplant procedure and as practice is only a strong as it’s weakest surgical staff member. Read more

Trichophytic Closure: Increasing The Odds of A Less Visible Hair Transplant Scar

All cosmetic surgery leaves scars, there’s no ifs , ands or buts about it. However, a skilled surgeon can greatly reduce the visibility of scars my utilizing specific techniques that either strategically place the scar in a less visible area of the body or camouflage the scar all together.

Hair transplant surgery is unique in that most scars, even the less than optimal ones, can be hidden within the hair, if in fact the patient has a sufficient amount above the scar.

Patients should expect a donor scar to be no more than 1-2mm in width on average. In some cases, even in the best hands, the donor scar can be wider. If a patient’s connective tissues are weak, or if he happens to fall into the hands of an unskilled surgeon the scar left behind can become a serious aesthetic issue. Read more

Pro Bono Hair Transplant Performed By Dr. Jeffrey Epstein On Seven Year Old Burn Victim

Surgeon: Jeffrey S. Epstein, MD
This girl was 9 months old when she suffered the burn caused by hot oil. Her first procedure was when she was 7 years old, involving the placement of the balloon expanders. 7 weeks later she had the balloons removed and half of the burned area was recovered with the stretched out normal scalp. A year later, she had three more balloons inserted which were then inflated over the next 7 weeks- then these balloons were removed and the remainder of her scalp was resurfaced with the stretched portion of scalp. Read more

What Is The Difference Between The Woods Technique and An FUE Hair Transplant? - Part Two

This question was originally answered by Dr. Bradley Wolf on April 8, 2008. Below are Dr. Alan Feller’s comments for this same question.

To date, all FUE is essentially the same. That is, the follicular bundle is first targeted. Then the doctor scores around it with a punch or punch like tool. Then a forcepts is used to grab and pull the graft free of the lower layers of tissue that anchor it in. In theory, that would be it and all would be well. However, reality places certain limitations and obstacles in our way.

No matter which “form” of technique used, the current day FUE practitioner must subject his FUE grafts to THREE major detrimental forces:
1: Torsion (twisting)
2. Compression (Squeezing)
3. Traction (pulling)

If not for these three destructive forces, FUE would have replaced strip surgery as the mainstream method of surgical hair restoration in 2002. Read more