There is probably not a single doctor in the world that has performed more eyebrow restoration procedures over the past 15 years than Dr. Epstein.
Dr. Epstein discusses how he is able to explain natural results in his eyebrow transplants
Dr. Epstein performs on average three of these procedures every week in his Miami and NYC offices on patients, many of whom travel in from throughout the world.
His work has been featured in numerous media reports and he also is frequently the featured speaker at meetings on his technique where his expertise is sought after from doctors throughout the world.
Transplantation to the eyebrows, also known as eyebrow restoration is a procedure designed to restore growing hair to eyebrows that are overly thin, scarred, or completely missing.
*Each patient is unique and individual results may vary.
The absence of hair can be due to genetics, prior electrolysis or laser hair removal, overplucking, thyroid or other hormonal abnormalities, or trauma due to surgery, burns or other types of accidents. Some patients seek to have restored full, thick eyebrows, others a subtle thickening, while others to have a scar made less visible.
Hi Dr. Epstein,
I had an eyebrow transplant in early September and just wanted to let you know I am so excited about the results!
I’ll admit I was a bit worried that it wasn’t going to grow in properly but they are doing great! Such a difference .. thanks again for a wonderful job!
– Brenda
Donor Hairs for Eyebrow Transplantation
The donor hairs come from the scalp which, when transplanted into the eyebrows, continue to grow for a lifetime and therefore need to be trimmed typically once a month.
To provide a natural appearance, the hairs are transplanted primarily one and occasionally two at a time, the natural way eyebrow hairs grow.
This is a very delicate procedure, requiring perfect placement of these hairs into tiny (half-millimeter) incisions that are angled at just the right direction and positioned to mimic natural growth.
The use of all-microscopically dissected grafts allows their placement into the smallest possible incisions so as to minimize scarring and damage to already existing hairs.
These grafts are obtained by one of two techniques, both those in which Dr. Epstein has extensive experience: FUE (follicular unit extraction) whereby each graft is removed one at a time; and FUG (follicular unit grafting) where the grafts are all dissected under microscopes from a single donor “strip” in the back of the head.
FUG is more popular particularly in women, but for any patient who either wants to avoid the making of an incision on the scalp, the FUE technique is performed. With our E-Fue System, as well as the WAW System, used by Dr. Epstein, grafts are harvested with the smallest possible punches and have a less than 4% transection rate.
Procedure & Results
A procedure performed by Dr. Epstein typically involves the placement of 50 to as many as 400 grafts into each eyebrow, depending upon the existing amount of hair and the desired size and density.
Performed usually under a mild oral sedative, the two to five-hour procedure is essentially painless, as is the recovery period.
For the first four days after the procedure, tiny crusts are around each transplanted hair. By five days, other than some occasional mild pinkness which fades out by the first week, most patients are able to return to normal activities without any sign of having had a procedure.
If FUG was performed, sutures that are placed in the donor area are dissolvable so there is no need to return to the office for removal. If FUE was performed, there are no sutures at all. The transplanted hairs fall out at around two to three weeks, and then start to regrow at four months, where they will continue to grow for a lifetime.
Learn More
There are few risks with the procedure, and most are those associated with standard hair transplants. If FUG was performed, the donor site incision, usually one to two inches long, typically heals as a 2 mm wide incision, easily concealable with existing hair in the area. With FUE, there is no linear donor site incision scar. Occasionally a few hairs grow in less than the ideal direction- these few hairs can be plucked out if desired or sometimes trained to grow in just the right direction.
Dr. Epstein performs more than 150 of these eyebrow transplant procedures annually, and his work in this area has been featured in such publications as the NY Post and Elle magazine.
Related Procedures: Facial Hair, Body Hair Transplant
He is also frequently the featured speaker at the International Society of Hair Restoration Surgery meetings on his techniques and he is sought after by doctors from throughout the world who want to learn more about his area of expertise.
Read his latest article in Plastic Surgery Practice Magazine.
Related Articles
- Foundation for Hair Restoration on NBC 6 for June 10, 2004
- Surgery changing faces, starting with the eyebrows
- Eyebrow Transplants Changing The Way You Look
- Dr. Epstein appears on Japanese TV to discuss eyebrow transplants
- Eyebrow Transplantation article
Why choose Dr. Epstein
- Dr. Epstein first attended Swarthmore College, then moved on to medical training at the University of Vermont College of Medicine.
- Trained in head and neck surgery/ear, nose, and throat at the University of Miami/Jackson Memorial Hospital, earning a fellowship from the American Academy of Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery during this time.
- Then trained in the San Francisco Bay area and was awarded the Jack Anderson Memorial Award for achieving the highest score in the nation on his board exams.
- Has been recognized for many years as one of the Best Surgeons in America, and he has been continuously listed for years in Castle Connelly’s Top Doctor Guide, an unbiased rating of doctors in many different specialties.
- Founder and Director of the Foundation for Hair Restoration and Plastic Surgery.
- Unusual for his field, Dr. Epstein holds triple board certifications in the fields of hair restoration, facial plastic surgery, and otolaryngology (head and neck surgery), and is a Fellow of the International Society of Hair Restoration Surgery.
- He is an Assistant Clinical Professor at the University of Miami, a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons, and was previously the President of the Florida Society of Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery.
- To give back to the community, Dr. Epstein provides pro bono reconstructive surgery to children, veterans, and other people in need.