Greetings,

Today I will discuss a bad hair transplant procedure result that I recently saw in consultation. The patient was on vacation in Pakistan and responded to an advertisement for an inexpensive hair transplant procedure. The patient subsequently was told that he would receive 2000 grafts (which would equate to about 5000 hairs with typical density) for $500. The patient underwent the procedure and stated that he experienced significant pain during and after the hair transplant procedure. I took the photo below approximately 18 months after his hair transplant procedure in Pakistan. What you see in the photo is very sparse growth of grafts. A patient with no hair in the frontal scalp receiving 2000 grafts should have exponentially more hair growth then you see in the photo. You also see an aggressive hairline design, which means that they placed the hairline lower than it should have been placed in a patient with severe hair loss undergoing a first hair transplant procedure. I always tell my patients undergoing their initial procedure that I would prefer to be more conservative with the hairline and create greater density than getting aggressive with the hairline thus having to spread the same number of grafts over a larger area subsequently getting a lower density result. You can always lower the hairline in successive procedures, but once the hairline is placed too low, you have a problem. There are also 2 hair grafts present in the hairline. This should never be. Only single hair grafts should be placed in the hairline to create a completely natural result. Finally, if you look closely it appears that many of the grafts are emerging from a small crater around them. As if they are not flush with the skin, but coming out of a little hole. This is called “pitting” and occurs when the grafts are placed to deep. This also should not occur in a well done hair transplant procedure.

Unfortunately there are many more unqualified physicians performing hair transplants, or delegating the essential functions of the hair transplant procedure to unqualified personnel, then there are qualified Hair Transplant surgeons performing great work. The consumer needs to beware of these unscrupulous practitioners, both in the US and abroad in order to avoid a result like you see here. This patient can have repair work to fix this, but if it had been performed correctly initially, the corrective work would not be necessary. Unfortunately in this case the damage is already done, but hopefully others can learn from this and not make the same mistake.

Bad Hair Transplant Result

All the best,

Marc Dauer, MD

Greetings,

I decided to commission an animated video which would convey all the basic Hair Transplant Information that anyone interested in Hair Restoration and Hair Transplants should know. It was an enjoyable project for me to create the text copy for the video and I believe it answers many of the basic questions that people interested in Hair Transplants may have. I hope you enjoy this video titled “Hair Restoration and Me”.

All the best,

Marc Dauer, M.D.

Greetings,

Eyebrows are one of the most defining characteristics of the face and frame the facial features. The ability to transplant eyebrows with a completely natural result is the domain of only a few surgeons worldwide. I was one of the first physicians in the world performing eyebrow transplants more than 10 years ago and over the past decade I have added many refinements to my technique that have allowed me to achieve the results demonstrated here. The “after” eyebrow transplant photos are shown with no makeup or pencil.

Here is a video I edited demonstrating the entire process of the eyebrow transplant including photos of the patient 5 days post procedure, and 5 months post procedure. Often times I am asked about all the steps involved in eyebrow transplants as well as what the patient will look like days after the procedure. The patient in the video underwent a single eyebrow transplant procedure and her “after” results are shown 5 months post procedure.

For more information about eyebrow transplants or my approach to eyebrow transplantation please feel free to contact my office or email me photos of your eyebrows, and we can set up a virtual consultation.

All the best,

Marc Dauer, M.D.

Greetings,

Today I will discuss the Hair Transplant Optimal Cosmetic Density procedure. To begin with, I utilize specific elements in my procedures which allow me to create the maximum amount of cosmetic density in a safe manner. To this end I fabricate custom cut blades that I use to create my recipient sites for the new follicles. This allows me to use the smallest blade possible that still accommodates the patient’s follicles, but not too large or too small. The analogy I use is fitting a foot into a perfectly sized shoe. One size does not fit all when it comes to hair follicles. I also inject fluid into the scalp called “tumescence” which expands the skin and allows for more grafts placed per cm, and protects the blood vessels below. The fluid is absorbed overnight and the scalp returns to normal size the next day. These modifications in my technique allow me to create densities of between 30-60 follicles per cm squared. I have included a video of me combing through my patient’s hair to show an example of excellent density achieved.

All the best,

Marc Dauer, M.D.

Greetings,

Today I will discuss the effect of the old hair Transplant “plug” method on the donor region. The old hair transplant plugs have been gone for a number of years, but I still see a number of individuals who had this procedure performed years ago and need corrective work to repair their results. The purpose of this blog entry is to discuss the effect of this procedure on the donor region. The old hair transplant plugs involved taking a punch graft from the donor region and punching the same graft into the area of balding on the scalp. These plugs were harvested using punches ranging in size from 2.0mm-5.0mm. The plugs consisted of between 4-20 hairs per plug. This was in essence the same technique we use today for FUE, however with FUE today most physicians use punches ranging from .8mm-1.1mm. These much smaller size FUE punches allow us to harvest the natural follicular unit, which ranges from 1-5 hairs per follicle. As you can see from the photo, the old plugs cause a tremendous amount of scarring in the donor region and deplete the amount of donor hair that is available for future procedures. In these cases the best course of action to harvest additional donor supply is to find the least harvested region in the permanent donor zone, and perform a strip harvest procedure. In this way, we can remove some of the plug scarring and yet still obtain good donor hair. Below I have included donor photos of the patient who had large plugs and another photo of a patient 7 days after 1600 grafts were harvested via FUE utilizing a .9mm punch tool. The difference is dramatic.

All the best,

Marc Dauer, MD

Donor Site Of Old Technology Punch Plug Extraction

7 Days After 1600 Grafts Harvested via FUE

Greetings,

Today I would like to present the results of an eyebrow transplant I performed on a patient with Ulerythema Ophryogenes. This patient is a young man in his early 20’s who experienced the loss of the outer half of both his eyebrows. He was treated by Dermatology with a variety of topical medications which helped with the redness but did not grow back and of the eyebrow hair. I performed an eyebrow transplant placing approximately 250 grafts in each eyebrow and the results are shown below 12 months after the procedure. The patient is so happy with his results and states that this procedure has changed his life for the better. The lack of eyebrow hair was really affecting his self confidence and since the eyebrow transplant procedure he feels much better and more self confident.

All the best,

Marc Dauer, M.D.

Pre Eyebrow Transplant Procedure

Pre Eyebrow Transplant Procedure

Pre Eyebrow Transplant Procedure

Post Eyebrow Transplant

post eyebrow transplant

post eyebrow transplant

Greetings,

Today I will discuss hairline design in hair transplant procedures. The hairline is one of the most important aspects of the hair transplant procedure as is it the most visible aspect to both everyone looking at the individual from the front, and the individual looking at themselves in the mirror. An unnatural hairline is a giveaway for a bad hair transplant procedure. The goal in a proper hair transplant hairline design is to create a new hairline that looks completely natural and undetectable to the human eye. It cannot look like a good hair transplant. It must look as if nothing has been done and the hair has been there forever. This is the artistic component of the hair transplant procedure. The most important factor in achieving the objective of a natural hairline, is the placement of only single hair grafts in the hairline. Additionally, the hairline must be created in an irregular pattern in order to not to draw any attention to straight lines which do not appear in natural hairlines. Also, the hairline must be created in the proper location (not too low, which can look unnatural as well) and taking into account future hair loss so that enough donor hair is present for future procedures. I always prefer to create a more mature hairline with greater density than a lower hairline that has lower density.

Hairline design is probably the most important aspect of creating a completely natural looking hair transplant. It is a very artistic process and one in which every physician will envision differently. It is of the utmost importance that you choose a physician who is skilled in the art of creating natural hairlines and that you have seen the results to confirm the point.

I will show a few examples of my hairline creations below in order to illustrate the point.

All the best,

Marc Dauer, MD

Greetings,

The question I hear very commonly is if one person’s hair can be transplanted to another. The answer unfortunately is no, unless you have an identical twin. The genetic differences between individuals do not allow transplanting hair from one individual to another. I have spoken with a colleague who has even tried to transplant hair from one individual to another , and none of the transplanted hairs grew. The good news is that extensive research is being performed on ways to clone hair in the lab and we could see hair cloning in practice in perhaps 20-30 years. This will truly revolutionize hair transplant procedures as we will no longer have limitations on a patient’s supply of donor hair, and with unlimited donor hair the options will be limitless. Let’s hope the science can lead us there soon.

All the best,

Marc Dauer, MD

Greetings,

In the past few years more and more celebrities have gone public with their experiences of hair transplant procedures and how they have changed their lives for the better. In the past most famous people were reluctant to talk about their experiences, but as results have improved, more people are willing to discuss their experience with hair transplantation. Just recently A.J. McLean has come forward to show photos of his transformation through a hair transplant procedure and has discussed how it has changed his life. These celebrity “testimonials” will only serve to make more people aware of how amazing this procedure can be when performed properly by the “right” physician.

I personally have performed numerous procedures on well known individuals from all walks of life and I have seen the changes both aesthetically and psychologically. The changes I have seen are remarkable and I feel so lucky to be a part of this field that allows me to be involved in such amazing transformations.

Most importantly, do you due diligence prior to choosing your hair transplant surgeon and choose someone who’s results you are comfortable with, and who’s demeanor you connect with. If you feel comfortable with both of these things, there is a good chance you are choosing the right physician for your hair transplant procedure.

Greetings,

I am often when the best time is to have a hair transplant procedure. There are many different ways to answer this question.

Firstly, I prefer not to operate on patients much younger than 25. My feeling is that in younger patients with severe hair loss, it may be difficult to ascertain the final degree of balding the patient will have, so it is important to proceed in a very conservative manner with younger patients. I also typically recommend a regimen of Propecia and Rogaine in younger patients to slow down the progression of the hair loss.

Some patients come to me and wonder if they have enough hair loss to undergo a procedure. Every case is different, but in general if you can see loss in any region of your scalp there is a good chance that you are a candidate for a hair transplant in that region.

Finally, I am always asked what time of the year is best for a hair transplant. The answer to this is any time of the year is a good time for a hair transplant. The ideal time rarely presents itself, so the best time to have a hair transplant is anytime you are able to carve out a day. For the first 10-12 days after the procedure I do not want my patients engaging in any strenuous activity. Also, for the first 3-4 months after the procedure I prefer that my patients wear a hat when they are in the sun for extended periods of time.

There are many factors that come info play when deciding the best time to have a hair transplant procedure. Most importantly, find the right Doctor that you connect with, and then the timing will work itself out.

All the best,

Marc Dauer, MD