Posts

Eyebrow Transplant After 4 Days

Greetings,

Here is a patient of mine who received 746 grafts to both eyebrows 4 days prior. There is minimal residual swelling present and some minor crusting, but the overall photos give a very nice idea of what the final result of the eyebrow transplant will look like after the new hair is all grown in. Typically most of the transplanted hairs will fall off after 1-4 weeks. The new follicles leave stem cells in the dermis that will sprout the new eyebrow hair follicles after 12 weeks. The final  result will be visible after about 9 months, but there will be a marked improvement after 6 months.

This patient is thrilled with how her eyebrows look now immediately after the eyebrow transplant procedure, and I will follow up this post with 6-9 month post procedure photos in the future.

All the best.

Marc Dauer, M.D.

Here is a patient pre eyebrow transplant and 4 days after the eyebrow transplant procedure.

Here is a patient pre eyebrow transplant and 4 days after the eyebrow transplant procedure.

/1 Comment/by Los Angeles Hair Transplant Specialist

Bad Hair Transplant Procedure

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

/by Los Angeles Hair Transplant Specialist

Animated Video To Summarize Hair Transplant Information

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.

/1 Comment/by Los Angeles Hair Transplant Specialist

Hair Transplant Optimal Cosmetic Density

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.

/1 Comment/by Los Angeles Hair Transplant Specialist

Old Hair Transplant Plug Effect On Donor Region

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

/by Los Angeles Hair Transplant Specialist

Hair Transplant Hairline Design

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

/by Los Angeles Hair Transplant Specialist

Can One Person’s Hair Be Transplanted To Another?

, ,

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

/by Los Angeles Hair Transplant Specialist

Celebrity Hair Transplants

, ,

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.

/1 Comment/by Los Angeles Hair Transplant Specialist

Donor Density- How It Affects The Hair Transplant

Greetings,

Today I will discuss donor density and how it affects the hair transplant procedure. Donor density is the amount of follicles per cm squared in the donor region. A secondary factor relating to density is the hair count, which is the number of hairs in the donor region. This is determined by finding the average follicular density per cm squared and then the average number of hairs per follicle and multiplying the two numbers. The average scalp has between 60-100 follicular units per cm squared and the average hair count is between 2.3-2.7 hairs per follicle. If the majority of the follicles are 2 hair follicles as opposed to 3 hair follicles then the overall hair count will be less. This is why not only the number of follicles is important, but the average number of hairs per follicle as well. The higher the hair count and follicle count, the greater the donor density. The greater the donor density the more hair that can be moved from the donor region to the areas of thinning. The donor region is an unchangeable area whether we do FUE or FUT to harvest the donor hair in the hair transplant procedure. This is why a high donor density and high donor hair count will lead to the ability to move more donor follicles to the areas of thinning.

I hope this helps to clarify donor density and how it impacts a hair transplant procedure.

All the best,

Marc Dauer, MD

/by Los Angeles Hair Transplant Specialist

What Age To Start Hair Transplants? How Young Is Too Young

Greetings,

Today I will discuss my approach to younger patients that seek out hair transplant procedures. It is very important that he hair transplant surgeon proceeds slowly and carefully in younger patients. It is not uncommon for young men in their early 20’s to approach me seeking hair transplantation. The issue is that in individuals this young it is very hard to accurately determine how severe their hair loss will ultimately be. Thus it is difficult to assess an accurate treatment plan over the long term, which is an essential component of our jobs as hair transplant surgeons. Since every individual only has a finite amount of donor follicles to donate to the areas of balding, we need to have a course of action for not only the amount of hair loss that the patient has at the moment, but the eventual end point of the patients hair loss in the future. This is so we can conserve donor hair for the future for the affected areas that will need it later. Sometimes young men in their early 20s wish to have their hairline restored to the way it was only a few years prior. This is not a good approach as is can result in an unnaturally low hairline later with not enough donor hair to fill in all the areas of baldness behind it.

I prefer to start my younger patients on Propecia and Rogaine which can help restore some hair, and in many cases greatly slow the progression of hair loss, especially in younger individuals. I have these patients follow up with me periodically so that I can assess their continuing degree of loss. In some cases I will perform a procedure in a patient as young as 25, but I will insist on a regimen of Propecia and Rogaine. Also, I create a very conservative hairline in these patients and don’t use too much donor hair, thus conserving donor hair for future procedures.

Hair loss can be psychologically debilitating for many and especially young individuals. As hair transpant surgeons it is our job to approach these patients in the proper manner, so that the right decision can be made as to when and how to proceed with the hair transplant procedure.

All the best,

Marc Dauer, M.D.

/by Los Angeles Hair Transplant Specialist