Greetings,
Here is a new patient testimonial and informational video I put together.
I hope you enjoy.
All the best,
Marc Dauer, M.D.
Posts
Greetings,
I have been performing eyebrow transplants for over 10 years and was one of the first physicians to focus on this aspect of hair transplantation. The creative component to eyebrow transplants is very different than transplanting hair on the scalp. In many cases we need to fit hundred of hair follicles into a very tiny space, all with a very particular angle and orientation and all to create a completely natural shape which is very visible on the face. It is for this reason that the best eyebrow transplant results typically come from physicians that are performing many of these cases and have a very high artistic component to their work.
More often recently I am getting inquiries from men asking for eyebrow transplants. In the past it was traditionally women who inquired about this procedure, but as more people find out about it, men are opting for the procedure as well. In this particular case the male patient had very weak eyebrows from birth and had an eyebrow tattoo performed to create the illusion of eyebrows. Most people are very dissatisfied with eyebrow tattoos and this patient was no exception. He did not like the shape of the tattoo (he felt the arch was too feminine) and it was very unnatural looking overall. He presented to me to create a more masculine shape (flatter) and to create natural looking eyebrows over the existing tattoo. The results below are shown 6 months after the patient received his eyebrow transplant. He should see a little more growth over the next 3-6 months, but he is already very happy with the current results.
All the best,
Marc Dauer, M.D.
Eyebrow Transplant over pre existing tattoo in male patient.
Greetings,
Hair transplants and hair restoration procedures are known to be more common with men. The inquiries for the Hair Transplant procedure have grown due to the fact that more women are starting to experience hair loss. Women are losing hair due to several different reasons, such as high stress levels, iron deficiency, and genetics. This article states that it is a condition that affects six million women in Britain. I am very curious to see what the number is in the USA. Today’s procedure is very different than the hair transplant procedures of yesteryear. Today an amazing natural hair transplant comes through the hands of a few very talented and creative doctors. It is artistry combined with technology that lead to a completely natural result. A link to the article is below.
Greetings,
Typically the information I give patients is that at around the 6 month post hair transplant procedure time period they should see 50-60% of the transplanted hair growing and that by 12 months post procedure they should see most of the growth. From 12-18 months the hair thickens in caliber thus increasing the cosmetic density.
I have recently been seeing patients who are showing more significant growth at 6-7 months post hair transplant than I typically see and I wanted to post these photos for you to see. Nothing specific was changed for these cases so I am assuming they are just fast growers, but I will continue to keep you updated to see if this is a trend that continues.
All the best,
Marc Dauer, M.D.
Hair Transplant Photo
Hair Transplant Photo
Greetings,
Today I want to highlight an article I came across from the UK. A well known athlete Phil Tufnell underwent a hair transplant recently and discussed his experience with the British press. More and more celebrities are discussing their hair transplant experiences allowing people to know that hair transplants are very common amongst the celebrity crowd. In most cases the public never knows if the celebrity has underwent a hair transplant procedure as most tend to keep the information to themselves, and of course we as physicians guard the privacy of our patients extremely closely. Privacy is of the utmost concern in most of these cases. However, when the occasional celebrity decides to go public with their experience it helps to give people a feeling of confidence in the procedure. If someone who makes their living based on their looks is comfortable undergoing a hair transplant, than certainly the average person should feel comfortable that in the “right” hands they can have completely natural results with a hair transplant procedure. I have provided a link to the original article below.
All the best,
Marc Dauer, M.D.
http://www.mirror.co.uk/tv/tv-news/phil-tufnell-hair-transplant-isnt-3062284
Greetings,
Today I want to discuss the tool I use in performing Follicular Unit Extraction otherwise known as FUE. Every person’s scalp is different and therefore it is important that we do not approach what we do as Hair Transplant surgeons as a one size fits all approach. Along those lines, I recently started using a sharp tip punch with serrated edges as an option for my FUE cases. Prior this the only punch I had found that produced good results was a blunt tip punch. I will still continue to use the blunt tip as an option in some cases that do not respond well to a sharp tip punch, but I can truly say that these special sharp tip punches with serrated edges allowed me to harvest FUE grafts that are completely on par with strip harvested and dissected grafts, which continue to be the gold standard by which all hair transplant grafts are measured by. In the photo below you can see the perfectly intact FUE grafts and the large hair grouping that are present in these grafts harvested with a 1mm sharp serrated punch. In one side you can see the single hair grafts that were dissected out of the larger grafts in order to restore the patient’s hairline. In the other corner you can see the total of transected grafts which amounted to under 50 grafts. Based on this case of 1656 grafts harvested total the transection rate was approximately 3% which is incredibly low for any sort of FUE case, manual or automated. If you look closely at the grafts you can also see the amazing consistency of the grafts which you do not see with FUE grafts obtained with automated machines. I have showed this photo to a number of highly respected hair transplant surgeons and they have stated that these FUE grafts look just like dissected strip grafts which is the biggest compliment one can give to an FUE graft.
In summary, every individuals scalp and anatomy are different and it is imperative that we as Hair Transplant surgeons have many useful tools at our disposal in order to give each and every patient the best result possible.
All the best,
Marc Dauer, MD
These are FUE grafts harvested with a serrated sharp tip. The natural intact groupings are seen in the bottom right and top left corners, the single hair grafts in the top right corner, and the transected grafts in the bottom left corner.
Greetings,
It is inspiring to see when doctors think out of the box when it comes to doing research. Especially with all the new methods that exist today.
An example of this is a female researcher in New York who has alopecia. She has collaborated with other researchers in England and Pakistan. Researchers have found in studies that papillae cells, (cells at the base of hair follicles that give rise to the follicle”) might increase or stimulate hair growth. There is much more research to be done on this theory,however the initial results appear promising.
www.newtimes.com/2013/10/22/science/new-technique-holds-promise-for-hair-loss.html
Greetings,
After an article a few weeks ago that was picked up by multiple press publications about facial hair transplantation there has been a great deal of press focus on this topic. I have been performing facial hair transplantation for many years now. The donor hair to be transplanted on the face can be harvested either from the scalp via FUT or from the neck beard using FUE. I prefer to use the neck beard hair whenever possible as it provides the exact same character hair as opposed to scalp hair which is different from beard hair. This procedure can be very useful for cosmetic purposes to augment ones beard, goatee, or sideburns, or even reconstructive purposes in cases when one has a scar in the beard region and wishes to cover the scar with hair in order to minimize its appearance. When transplanting into scar tissue the growth rate is not the same as with healthy tissue, but there is still good growth, and it just may require more sessions to accomplish the patient’s goals.
I have attached a photo of a patient of mine who I transplanted hair into a mustache scar with excellent results. I have also attached a link to the ABC news article on beard transplantation below.
All the best,
Marc Dauer, M.D.
http://abcnews.go.com/Health/beards-hair-raising-transplants-rise-ny-doctors/story?id=22682089
Here is a patient with a scar in his mustache who received transplanted hair grafts to cover the scar and enhance his mustache.
Greetings,
There are many precautions that I advise my patients of post hair transplant procedures, and I give all my patients thorough instructions outlining these in detail. One precaution that is not as obvious but just as important is to watch your head getting in and out of cars and around other objects that are around your height. Because of the fact that your scalp is typically numb for a period of days to weeks after the procedure, there is some difficulty gauging the exact location of your scalp in relation to other objects. For this reason it is very common to hit your head by mistake and this can cause minor irritation to the transplanted grafts or major irritation if hit hard. It is very important to be extremely careful getting in and out of cars, in and out of the shower, and any other place that you can possibly hit your head. Keeping your head safe post hair transplant will keep your grafts safe and will lead to great growth of your new hair.
All the best,
Marc Dauer, MD
Greetings,
Today I will discuss the use of PRP in patients with genetic hair loss. Many physicians have been offering this to their patients, either alone, or in combination with a hair transplant procedure. In the most recent issue of the ISHRS Forum newsletter there is an interesting article that describes some of the different approaches that physicians are using to implement PRP into their Hair Restoration practices. What I found very interesting was some of the points of general agreement among Hair Transplant surgeons.
1) Ideal candidates for PRP are patients with thinning but not complete balding areas
2) Patient satisfaction after PRP injections may be between 70%-90% though no randomized clinical studies have been done and approximately 20% will be disappointed with their results.
3) Peak improvement after PRP would be seen at 2-6 months after injection and treatment must be continued to achieve long lasting results.
My opinion on these numbers is that I don’t feel given the very high price tag of the treatment that there are high enough satisfaction numbers to warrant this treatment. Additionally the absence of hard data from randomized clinic trials leads me to believe that satisfaction numbers may even be lower and exact effects cannot be scientifically documented. Finally, we also don’t know about any possible long term negative side effects from the injections of PRP which may exist.
Until we have the hard scientific evidence I believe PRP injections into the scalp should not be considered not as a primary therapy for patients with genetic hair loss. It is important that we continue to research this treatment in a scientific manner and proceed cautiously before recommending this to our patients.
All the best,
Marc Dauer, M.D.