Welcome to the Foundation for Hair Restoration's BLOG. As Founder and Director of the Foundation for Hair Restoration, and one of the top hair transplant surgeons, I feel a responsibility to educate those experiencing hair loss on the common sense, intelligent approach to surgical hair restoration. After more than 14 years of specializing exclusively in surgical hair restoration, my track record of having literally thousands and thousands of happy patients speaks for itself.
As an American Board Certified Facial Plastic Surgeon and American Board Hair Restoration Surgeon, I attempt to apply aesthetic plastic surgery principles to surgical hair restoration, allowing for the most aesthetic, natural appearing results. All of the other Foundation for Hair Restoration Surgeons are also highly skilled and trained to achieve similar results. And with the microscopic technique of follicular unit grafting, for the first time, it is in fact possible to attain restorations that, even with the hair cut short, look completely natural.
I am proud of the top notch devoted doctors, technicians and staff affiliated with The Foundation for Hair Restoration. We are pleased to invite all of our visitors to learn from the questions of others who find themselves with a similar concern: hair thinning or loss issues and other hair related concerns.
Will Rogaine re-grow the hair I have lost?
Posted January 20, 2010 7:31 AM in Reparative Procedures
Will Rogaine re-grow the hair I have lost?
Rogaine works mainly to stop or slow down the progression of loss. In some cases it can help re-grow a bit of hair, but rarely will a drastic improvement be seen. Results only last as long as you keep taking it.
Posted by Jeffrey S. Epstein, MD, FACS
Add Comment | Permalink
Hair Transplants or Scar Revision? Body Hair Transplants and Seborrheic Dermatitis Questions.
Posted August 12, 2009 2:06 PM in Reparative Procedures
Hi,
I had a head injury as a child and for several decades hair doesn't grow there. I have 2 scars both about 1/4 inch wide and 6 to 7 inches long at the back of my head. Which would be more cost effective and best results; a scar reduction or hair implants? I've gone to 2 dermatologist that told me there's nothing to help my problem.
I also have Seborrheic dermatitis on the side/back of my head that broke out into zits and left small scarring where hair doesn't grow, It's not noticeable when my hair is long, but i like short hair. With the larger scar problem, can the smaller tiny scars be fixed at the same time?
I have to shave my face everyday, but I can't grow a goatee/mustache it's not dense enough and looks silly. Can hair from upper legs be used as a donor site?
I also see an office in Scottsdale which is closer to me, Are hair restoration performed at this office or ony the Florida/New York offices? Obviously a picture would help you answer my questions, but I appreciate a general response first.
Dear J- Given the likelihood of the scar widening after excision, I would recommend hair transplants into the scar, where likely 300 to 350 grafts into each scar would be indicated. At the same time, the smaller scars from the scalp condition could be filled in.
For the face, in general leg hair would not grow very well, so once again, I’d recommend scalp hair for these areas.
Finally, the FHRPS has offices in south Florida, NYC, and Scottsdale- so you could have your procedure wherever is most convenient.
Thank you for answering my question... at the same time I have some hair around my neck and facial cheek that I don't need...can we harvest those hair follicles to the mustache/goatee area without scarring on my face?
So with about 700 grafts to my major scars, I can have a short hair without knowing I had a scar?
And lastly if it's in Arizona...do realize you Dr. Epstein perform these procedures at this location...I wasn't sure you travel to the other offices to perform the procedures.
You're welcome J. In general, scalp hair is the most reliable and an excellent match for beard restoration. If it is the incision that is of concern, then the grafts can be obtained by the FUE technique. However, if you strongly wish to use beard hairs, we can try them but often they are not of sufficient quality.
With your question about "without knowing I had a scar"- to which scar are you referring?
Posted by Jeffrey S. Epstein, MD, FACS
Add Comment | Permalink
Reparative Procedure- Endoscopic Removal of Scar Tissue to Repair Ridging in the Hairline
Posted July 06, 2009 12:57 PM in Reparative Procedures
I visited Dr Epstein a couple years ago regarding a repair procedure. I have significant ridging in the hairline and at the time Dr Epstein had mentioned a surgical procedure to address the ridging problem. He said at that time it was very new/experimental. I was wondering if this procedure has been further advanced or pursued, and if it is a viable option. I have tried a series kenalog injections with Dr XX - went up to kenalog 40 cc - but with no reduction in the ridging. Thanks in advance.
The procedure you are inquiring about is the endoscopic removal of the scar tissue causing the ridging. Essentially this is done through 2 relatively small incisions, then under endoscopic guidance I am able to remove a moderate to significant amount of the scar tissue from below. On the patients I have performed this on, all but one have had a significant reduction in scar tissue, while the fourth has an improvement but it is not quite enough and we are contemplating doing it again for me to get more aggressive with the removal.
This procedure has relatively few risks, and has a reasonable chance of reducing the ridging by 40 to 50%. Once the ridging is removed, you may benefit from routine injections of Kenalog for the first 6 months or so to prevent the scarring from recurring.
It would be a pleasure to consider you for this procedure.
Posted by Jeffrey S. Epstein, MD, FACS
Add Comment | Permalink
If I get more than 1 hair procedure, will I have two donor site scars?
Posted October 29, 2008 4:10 PM in Reparative Procedures
If I get more than 1 hair procedure, will I have two donor site scars?
No, in most cases, Dr. Epstein can simply excise the existing scar and the site heals to as fine line scar, as before. So there will only be one scar even after multiple procedures.
Posted by Jeffrey S. Epstein, MD, FACS
Add Comment | Permalink
26 year old desiring a hair transplant procedure
Posted October 29, 2008 4:08 PM in Reparative Procedures
I would like to know a rough estimate for a transplant procedure done on the crown of a stage 2 or 3. My donor area is thick with heavy groupings of 3's and 4's.I recently went to a hair club facility and was not impressed with how they try to push topical treatments at you for what I feel is an unreasonable amount of money. I would rather get a transplant and know there will be a definate result in the apperance of my hair. I am 26 years old. Thank you for your time.
An important consideration for you to consider is that, as a 26 year old, you are only going to continue losing more and more hair in the crown region, which will therefore require more and more work to keep up with it. I do recommend Propecia, as it has a 70% chance of slowing down or stopping altogether the progression of hair loss in the crown, but this must be taken every day or every other day until a better medication becomes available.
I suggest you email some photos for me to evaluate.
Posted by Jeffrey S. Epstein, MD, FACS
Add Comment | Permalink
How to get a procedure performed on a patient from dubai- do you perform service in dubai and uae?
Posted October 29, 2008 4:06 PM in Reparative Procedures
How to get a procedure performed on a patient from Dubai - Do You performed service Dubai and UAE?
I am sorry but I only perform procedures in Miami and New York City. I have a number of patients from the Middle East, including at least 2 from UAE who have traveled here to have me perform their procedure. You can send some photos for me to evaluate.
Posted by Jeffrey S. Epstein, MD, FACS
Add Comment | Permalink
Patient with prior unaethetic work. seeks to have reparative procedure
Posted October 29, 2008 3:57 PM in Reparative Procedures
I have already had 2 transplants using hair from back and sides of head and am unhappy with my results. Even the hair on the sides where donor hairs are have been thinned out, partially because of low thyroid function and partially because of the 2 previous transplants. Even the donor area in the back has limited donor hairs as the scalp is tight and the donor hairs have been harvested 2x. Thank you.
I am sure that your research has shown you that I have extensive experience in reparative procedures. It is usually possible, even in cases such as yours, to obtain at least enough donor hairs- say 800 to 1200 or so grafts- to create a moderate to significant improvement in appearance. This is because the grafts can be strategically placed so that they provide the cosmetic improvement that makes the biggest difference.
Posted by Jeffrey S. Epstein, MD, FACS
Add Comment | Permalink
Reparative procedure on a patient from japan. hae prior “plug” grafts
Posted October 29, 2008 3:55 PM in Reparative Procedures
I have had 5 prior hair transplants of 20-300 grafts/session and I have uneven density and a very poor hairline. I hope to fill in the density and have a better hairline. Attached are two photos. My main hope is (i) a bit more natural hairline; (ii) filling in the uneven parts behind the hairline; and (iii) a bit more density over the top as I have lost more hair with age. My scars are not so bad in the back but over my left ear a strip graft was taken and seems to have stretched a little bit.
My main concern with a new procedure is losing what hair I do have as a result of surgery. In my past experience with XXXXX, when they used the punch graft method there was a lot of collateral hair loss, but with the recent use of a scalpel blade to make an insertion to put in the new hair, I did not have collateral hair loss that I recall.
If possible I would also like to discuss repair of my donor sites. I live in Japan now but may visit Florida around the end of the year. Thank you.
I see a lot of potential for significantly improving the appearance- a more natural hairline, increasing the density of the frontal and midscalp region. There should be little if any shock hair loss, due to the techniques we use- which involve making incisions 0.6 to 0.9 mm in size that minimize trauma to existing hairs.
Posted by Jeffrey S. Epstein, MD, FACS
Add Comment | Permalink
Who will be a candidate for hair cloning?
Posted October 29, 2008 12:09 PM in Reparative Procedures
The reality is, most individuals can be successfully transplanted using their own existing hairs, in sufficient quantities, to create significant improvement in the treatment of hair loss. The average male patient presents with over 8000 donor grafts total (over 16,000 hairs)- a significant number that can allow for two procedures of 2600-plus grafts, then subsequent smaller procedures.
However, given the amount of reparative work I perform, I do see individuals who, because of excessive scarring and/or inefficient transplanting techniques, have a serious deficiency of an adequate amount of hair for transplanting. While these individuals can be helped even with conservative procedures, they strike me as those who would benefit most from cloning techniques of the future that could provide much larger- potentially unlimited- numbers of donor hairs or cells to initiate the growth of new hairs.
Posted by Jeffrey S. Epstein, MD, FACS
Add Comment | Permalink