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Bad Strip Scars versus Trichophytic Closure Strip Scar

Greetings,

I recently saw a patient in consultation who had received 3 previous hair transplants from another physician and wanted to be evaluated for an additional procedure from me.

On examination of his donor area I was surprised to  find 3 separate strip scars. One for each procedure, stacked on top of each other. The effect was significant scarring in the donor area and an inability to harvest another strip scar secondary to the extensive scarring from the previous procedures.

For reference I have also attached a photo of one of my patient’s who had 2 strip procedures, but only one scar. This is because whenever I go back for additional procedures on a patient, I always attempt to harvest the new strip to include the old strip scar. In essence instead of creating train track multiple stacked scars, I keep the scar as a singular scar, thus minimizing the overall scarring to the donor region. In addition, I also performed a trichophytic closure in my patient, which allows the hair to grow through the scar, thus further concealing the scar.

It is imperative to treat the donor region with as much care as the recipient region. Donor hair is finite, and proper care and attention must be given to ensure that we can minimize donor scarring and maximize donor harvesting over the patient’s lifetime.

All the best,

Marc Dauer, M.D.

This is a photo of a patient who had multiple strip hair transplant procedures.

This is a photo of a patient who had multiple strip hair transplant procedures.

 

Hair transplant strip scar with trichophytic closure.

Hair transplant strip scar with trichophytic closure.

/by Los Angeles Hair Transplant Specialist

Patient Letter Of Gratitude

Greetings,

Here is a letter I just received from a patient of mine who decided not to proceed with his hair transplant procedure.

I hope you enjoy reading.

All the best,

Marc Dauer, M.D.

Dr. Dauer:

This letter is a bit different than those you receive from patients who have undergone procedures. I have read testimonials given by others on your website and fully appreciate their words. While I think they are of great value, my experience with you, I think, adds to their comments as to your professionalism, dedication to your craft and concern for your patients. It is said that people show their true character under adverse circumstances. If so, I believe the following serves as an excellent example of the kind of doctor and person you are.

Before visiting you, I had been to a well-known clinic as well as a renowned plastic surgeon to consider my options. Frankly, at our initial contact, you were so engaging, it kind of caught me off guard. It became obvious from that meeting you were going to be the guy! During my consult, you couldn’t have been more personable or informative. There was no sales pitch or pressure put upon me. You freely gave of your time and encouraged me to ask questions (of which I had many). You made it clear that it was a personal determination and your goal was to educate me, answer my questions and provide me with whatever information was available so that I could make an intelligent decision. You thoughtfully and thoroughly described the procedures and what I might expect from them. I couldn’t have asked for a better explanation of what was involved. You also created a comfort level that made me feel as if I was talking to a nonjudgmental friend, someone whom I could confide and trust in what was, for me, a very difficult choice.

My procedure was scheduled for Monday morning. That Sunday night, for personal reasons, I came to the conclusion that this wasn’t the right time for me to undergo a transplant. I dreaded the thought of the conversation that would take place the next morning.  I was bitterly conflicted- I couldn’t sleep! I knew that you had arranged your schedule so as to be able to devote the entire day to my procedure and I figured (correctly) that it would be too late for you to call off those who would assist you. When we met, I couldn’t believe your empathy and understanding, most particularly when I spoke of my reservations and apprehensions. You were the consummate professional. Although I know you must have been greatly disappointed, you patiently listened to what I had to say and made it clear that if I was less than completely ready and comfortable with undergoing the procedure, we wouldn’t do it that day. This meant that, in essence, you wound up eating a full day’s work and virtually your entire fee. Your compassion and class was extraordinary! Through no fault of yours, I actually felt as if I was letting you down, not because of any pressure applied upon me (quite the contrary), but rather because your were so gracious about it- that goes for your staff as well, who couldn’t have been nicer or more congenial, even after I delivered the bad news.

Your kindness and consideration did not go unnoticed. I consider myself lucky to have found you. I can’t imagine anyone having handled this situation at significant personal expense, with any greater compassion and understanding. Hopefully, the time will come when I’ll be ready to go forward, make the move and have the opportunity to comment upon your skills much like others have done.

You put your patient’s concerns and best interests above personal financial benefit and convenience. I felt the very least I could do was memorialize how grateful I am for the way you handled the situation and give others the benefit of my thoughts. If they are looking for someone to perform hair restoration who truly cares about his or her patients, they couldn’t find a better doctor and, just as importantly, a better person.

Sincerely,

Stu Glovin

/by Los Angeles Hair Transplant Specialist

Pre Hair Transplant Procedure Anxiety

Greetings,

Today I want to talk about something that everyone experiences to some extent. Pre-hair transplant procedure anxiety. I have undergone 3 procedures myself, and know exactly what to expect, and yet I still experienced some degree of anxiety prior to each procedure. Everyone is different and comes into this procedure with a different perspective. Some are more excited and less nervous and some are the other way around. I am very sensitive to this in my interactions with my patients. I will always do everything in my power to re-assure the patient and let them know that they are in great hands. I will also give my patients as much information as possible regarding what to expect throughout the procedure and post procedure time period. In addition, unlike many other clinics that perform hair restoration procedures, we are not trying to “sell” our services. That means starting with myself, who performs each and every consultation without the assistance of a “patient advisor”, “counselor” or “sales person”, my job is to educate the prospective patient, answer their questions, and give them realistic expectations as to what they can look forward to if they decide to undergo the procedure.  In no way and at no time will I or anyone in my practice pressure the prospective patient into moving forward with the procedure if they are not comfortable with it. I would prefer that a patient not move forward if they are not completely comfortable with all the aspects that it entails. Again, I can educate, help to alleviate irrational fears, and provide moral support throughout the process. I can also attest to the fact that almost every single patient of mine tells me a year after their procedure that their only regret is not having the procedure performed sooner and enjoying the results for longer. But at the end of the day, the prospective patient needs to be psychologically ready to move forward.

The video below is of a patient of mine who considered canceling his procedure on the day of his procedure, and he describes the day in detail and his subsequent decision to undergo the procedure.

I hope you enjoy watching.

All the best,

Marc Dauer, M.D.

/by Los Angeles Hair Transplant Specialist

New Hair Transplant Testimonial By Physician Patient

Greetings,

Here is a new hair transplant testimonial by a patient of mine who happens to be an Emergency Room physician. It is interesting to hear the perspective of a physician who has undergone the procedure himself.

I hope you enjoy watching.

All the best,

Marc Dauer, M.D.

/by Los Angeles Hair Transplant Specialist

New Hair Transplant Video Testimonial

Greetings,

I recently had the pleasure of seeing one of my patients who is just over 1 year after his first hair transplant procedure. He is thrilled with his results and shares his experience in the video below.

I hope you enjoy watching.

All the best,

Marc Dauer, M.D.

/by Los Angeles Hair Transplant Specialist

New Hair Transplant Video Testimonial

Greetings,

Here is a new hair transplant video testimonial by actor Grainger Hines.

Grainger describes his experience undergoing the Hair Transplant procedure and how it has changed his life.

I hope you enjoy watching.

All the best,

Marc Dauer, M.D.

/by Los Angeles Hair Transplant Specialist

Female Hairline Lowering

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Greetings,

Here is a a female patient of mine who has a genetically high hairline and thinning of hair in the existing hairline. I slightly lowered the hairline and increased the density in the existing hairline. Female patients have a very different hairlines than male patients and it is imperative that this is taken into account when creating the recipient sites for the transplanted hairs. The photo below shows the patient pre operatively and then 2 weeks post procedure. Some of the transplanted grafts have already shed, which is normal. They will begin to grow back at about 12 weeks. From the “after” photo you can see the very specific angle and orientation of the transplanted grafts to match exactly the existing hair that that when the hairs grow out they are all flowing in the same directions as the native hair. The goal is that you should not be able to tell any difference between the transplanted hair and the native hair.

All the best,

Marc Dauer, M.D.

This is photos of a female patient who received a hair transplant to lower the hairline.

This is photos of a female patient who received a hair transplant to lower the hairline.

/by Los Angeles Hair Transplant Specialist

Hair Restoration Surgery- Great Expectations

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Greetings,

Today I want to discuss how I as Hair Restoration surgeon manage my patient’s expectations to give them the most realistic idea of what to expect from their hair transplant procedure. Most patient’s today spent time online, from minutes to hundreds of hours, studying hair transplant photo results. This creates varying expectations amongst people.

My role as a Hair Restoration Surgeon is to understand the prospective patient’s expectations and give them feedback as to what they can expect realistically in terms of results from a hair transplant procedure.

The first thing I do is explain the procedure in depth and show them before and after photos of patient’s of mine who have had a similar hair type and balding pattern. This gives an idea of what to expect. I always encourage my prospective patients to spend time on my website looking at the more than 500 before and after patient photos and more than 100 videos of patient’s discussing their experience undergoing the procedure and their results shown on video. I feel that looking at both the photos and the videos give patients a realistic expectation as what to expect and the wide variety of results that are possible. The key factors are hair type, color, skin to hair color contrast, curly versus straight, and most importantly, how much hair will the person eventually lose over time.

Since it takes 6-7 months to see any appreciable results from the hair restoration procedure it is important to stress the growth timeline to the patient so that they understand exactly what to expect and are prepared for the time after the procedure before the new hair grows in. This can be a difficult time for some people and preparing properly is a very important thing to do before undergoing the procedure.

Finally, I tell every prospective patient that they will undergo this procedure more than once. This is for two reasons. Firstly, the transplanted hair will not fall out but the native hair will continue to fall and the person will want to keep up with continuing hair loss by transplanting more follicles. Secondly, almost every patient sees their results and wants to add to them by creating more density. Who wouldn’t want to add more density to their hair if they could?

All the best,

Marc Dauer, M.D.

/by Los Angeles Hair Transplant Specialist

Natural Hairline Design in Hair Transplant Procedures

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Greetings,

There are many different variables that come into play when creating a completely natural hairline through hair transplant surgery. The most important is the artistic capability of the hair transplant surgeon. Below is a photos of a patient of mine showing his hairline design immediately post procedure and a close up photo of the transplanted hairline 1 year later. The result is a completely natural hairline that appears natural even when pulled back.

All the best,

Marc Dauer, M.D.

Close up hair transplant hairline photo

Close up hair transplant hairline photo

/by Los Angeles Hair Transplant Specialist

Follicular Unit Extraction- FUE Grafts- Are They Are The Same?

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Greetings,

Today I will discuss the grafts from FUE and how they can differ. Firstly there is the size of the tool used to extract the grafts. Even though many tools claim to be a certain size some are measured from the internal diameter and some from the outside diameter. This may not see like that much difference but an extra .1mm of punch size can leave significantly more pinpoint scarring in the donor region. Many of the automated systems including the ARTAS robotic system tend to use larger punch sizes (1mm and even larger) which can leave significantly more scarring in the donor region. I use a sharp tip that measures .9mm from the outer diameter. For very course curly hair types I also have sizes that go up to 1.05mm when necessary and when extraction body or beard hair I also have tips as small as .8mm. The .9mm is an excellent “work horse” tip that allows for beautiful graft extractions in experienced hands. I have a photo of the grafts from my FUE patient yesterday and as you can see they are all intact and most are multi hair follicular units which is another advantage of FUE in that it allows you to choose the larger follicular units and leave the smaller ones behind.

Not all FUE hair transplant surgeons are created equal and it is of utmost importance that you see good examples of your surgeons FUE results and grafts prior to proceeding with this type of procedure.

All the best,

Marc Dauer, M.D.

FUE grafts extracted with a 0.9mm punch tool.

FUE grafts extracted with a 0.9mm punch tool.

 

/by Los Angeles Hair Transplant Specialist