Geneva, IL – An estimated 168,155 hair transplant procedures were performed worldwide last year; 87,987 in the U.S., according to a recent international survey conducted by the International Society of Hair Restoration Surgery (ISHRS). These were among the findings of the ISHRS 2005 Practice Census. The ISHRS is a non-profit voluntary medical association of hair restoration physicians and surgical …
From infancy to old age, everyone loses hair every day as hair follicles go through their normal cyclic activity of anagen (growth phase), catagen (shedding phase) and telogen (resting phase). (See About Hair Loss for more information about The Hair Growth Cycle). A full anagen-catagen-telogen cycle can take years to complete. Each follicle goes through the complete cycle 10 to 20 times over …
Finasteride (brand name Propecia®) is an orally administered medication for male pattern hair loss (MPHL). It is the only specific MPHL treatment approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for prescription by a physician. Several years of investigation and use by more than a million patients show that finasteride has long-term effectiveness and safety in treating MPHL in men …
Older men with hair loss can be confident that age, in itself, does not exclude them from having hair transplantation. Men are seldom “too old” to consider hair transplantation as a treatment for hair loss. Men 50 years old and older can usually expect excellent results from first-time hair transplantation. Excellent results are common in men aged 70 and older …
Science is rapidly advancing our understanding of the causes of hair loss. The successful treatment of hair loss is being rapidly advanced by physician hair restoration specialists who use scientific knowledge to create innovative approaches to hair restoration. As scientific knowledge advances, it becomes clear that the causes of hair loss are complex and may vary in multiple ways from …
The goal of hair transplantation is to give you, the patient, completely natural-appearing hair growth that expresses your unique individuality. Advances in hair transplantation techniques, procedures, and technology make this goal achievable for most patients today. When hair transplantation was first developed in mid-Twentieth Century, the goal was “coverage” using plug-graft technology and techniques of the day. Patients were pleased …
Definition of the Donor Site When hair-bearing tissue is withdrawn from one area of the scalp for transplantation to an area that is hairless due to male-pattern hair loss (MPHL), the withdrawal is made from the donor site-an area unaffected by the genetics of MPHL. The donor site in the balding male is hair-bearing scalp tissue that runs from an …
Surgical hair restoration is a permanent solution for male or female pattern baldness (androgenetic alopecia). Often patients require a second procedure or series of hair replacement procedures for the following reasons: Patients may have their personal reasons for seeking a second hair restoration procedure. It is imperative to discuss these reasons, in full, with a hair restoration surgeon to be …
What do treatment for severe acne, daily aspirin to prevent heart attack, and heavy smoking or drinking have to do with hair restoration surgery? They are all risk factors that have the potential to affect the successful outcome of hair transplantation or other form of hair restoration surgery. Here are some examples: Acne and hair loss are both …
NEW YORK (August 2, 2004)– Seven years ago, a then 4-year old Mitchel was trying to help out his father by refueling the lawn mower. He was attempting to fill its tank when he accidentally spilled some fuel onto the hot exhaust. Instantly, the gas ignited. The flames leaped onto the canister he was carrying and from there set Mitchel’s …
Several recent television reality programs took cosmetic surgery “makeover” as their theme. A typical story line was to present a person who’s real or self-perceived cosmetic imperfections are corrected by cosmetic surgery. “Makeover” programs have a positive effect when they reinforce the idea that no one has to live with cosmetic imperfections that surgical or medical treatment can correct. Hair …
In Shakespeare’s play “The Comedy of Errors”, characters make the rueful observation that Father Time is unkind to men, causing them to lose hair as they age. And, other than wearing a wig (“the lost hair of another man”) there isn’t much a man can do about it. “There’s no time for a man to recover his hair who goes …
NEW YORK (October 16, 2003)– Look at the pictures on ancient Greek vases or at the sculpted busts of eminent ancient Romans and you can see that baldness is not a new experience in human history. We recognize Socrates and Julius Caesar as men with typical male-pattern hair loss. We can presume that they were representative of men of their …
NEW YORK (October 16, 2003)– Beard whiskers, carefully removed, may offer an inexhaustible supply of hair for transplantation to the scalp. With proper removal technique, the continued growth of beard hair at the removal site is not compromised. This “auto-cloning” of beard hairs may be particularly effective for balding men who have little scalp hair left for transplantation, and for …
NEW YORK (October 16, 2003)– Men who had hair transplants 20 or more years ago were likely to have their transplants “noticed” by friends, colleagues and strangers. Far from being undetectable, the characteristic appearance of hair transplants was often described as “pluggy”, “like tufts in a toothbrush”, or “like rows of corn in a field”. The characteristic appearance of …
NEW YORK (October 16, 2003)– While lasers are best known as high-energy beams of coherent light that can cut through a variety of materials including human tissue, low-energy laser light has been found to be capable of modulating beneficial biologic effects in human, animal and plant cells. The biomodulating effects of low-level laser light on human cells has been adapted …