I recently heard that you demonstrated your devices at the annual ISHRS meeting in Anchorage, Alaska. Can you tell us who is interested in these devices.

Dr. Patrick Mwamba visited us recently to evaluate the surrounded punches and the PCID. We demonstrated the ease of extraction and the low transection rate with the PCID. We demonstrated chest hair, scalp hair, and beard hair removal. Dr. Mwamba was very impressed with the extraction rates and ease of extraction with these devices. Dr. Cole also demonstrated the new battery powered Cole Isolation Device (BCID) to Dr. Mwamba.

when you have an hair transplant do have to take any drugs i.e propecia?

No, medications are not required for you to have a hair transplant. Many patients do not want to take medications. This is why they have a transplant instead. Hair loss is a life long process, however. The rationale for taking medications in addition to a hair transplant is that they help to slow the progression of hair loss. This can help reduce the need for future hair transplants to replace the hair you loose over time.

In addition, medications can help you have a fuller head of hair than might be possible through hair transplants alone. Like it or not, the donor area supply is limited. There is only so much we can do for any single individual. Medications can help fill the void should your hair loss out tax the amount of donor hair that you have to transplant to the areas of loss or thinning.

I am moved to India and I was thinking of using the Finpecia manufactured by Cipla which seems to be same as propecia. But I need your advice regarding this. Finpecia is easily available in India rather than shipping the propecia from US. Can you please suggest weather it is safe to switch to Finpecia or not?

Unless Merck has sold the licensing rights to another company to make the exact same thing as Propecia, this is not the same as Propecia.  There are many companies in India that make knock off drugs that are supposed to be the same thing, but you really have no idea what you are taking.

Merck is not likely to allow another company to copy their brand anymore than Microsoft would allow another company to make a knock off version of Windows.  Keep looking for Propecia.  You can buy generic Proscar if you can find a brand that is the real thing.  This is 5 mg of finasteride so you just break the tiny pills into 4 equal pieces and take 1/4 pill each day. This will really reduce your cost.  You might be better off brining that in from a reilable source such as the USA.  The laws here really are intended to protect both the manufacturer and, more importantly, the consumer.

 

my stepdaughter is age 15. when she was in her toddler years she had surgery to remove deposits on her eyelid. the doctor also removed the eyelash root. will she qualify for this kind of procedure?

It is possible to transplant hair to the eyelids to create eye lashes. The only issue is that the donor source of hair will maintain characteristics similar to the donor source. In other words, if you transplant hair from the back of the scalp to the eyelash, the hair will grow longer than the existing eyelashes. She will need to trim them. Usually, but perhaps not always, the hair growth rate will slow down after a year or so

when transplanted from the scalp to other parts of the body, but it will still grow longer than the existing eyelashes and she will need to trim them periodically for the rest ofher life to match the other eye lashes.

Since it has been some time, then you have probably already given them time to re-grow. The next question would be how much of the eyelid is affected. If it is a large area, then it will require more grafts. Also, many women choose to have more than one procedure to transplant eyelashes to achieve enough of them.

It is a simple procedure, but it will result in some temporary bruising and swelling. The primary risk is of ingrown hairs, but this is not highly likely. In that she is still in school, you might want to wait until she has a break so that she can heal properly prior to returning to school.

The fact that she had prior surgery on her eyelid means there may be some scar tissue that could affect the direction of growth of the eye lashes. For this reason, you might want to try a few grafts first to insure that the growth is appropriate and in the proper orientation.

I would like to know a little more information regarding the fatty deposits that were removed when you have an opportunity.

If I can be of further assistance, please don’t hesitate to contact me.

I am a 38 year old woman experiencing generalized hair loss. What can I do about it and am I a candidate for hair transplant surgery.

There are many causes of hair loss in women. The first thing to do is have this worked up properly by your physician in Hong Kong. Hair loss in women is common after child birth because the hair becomes thicker during pregnancy. After pregnancy the hair will thin. Your situation sounds worse than this. Generalized hair loss is a common problem in women. In order to be a candidate for hair transplant surgery, you first need to have a donor supply. This means hair on the back and sides of your scalp. If you don’t have the donor area, you can’t have a hair transplant.

Again, the first thing you need to do is properly work up your hair loss to insure that it is female pattern loss and not due to some other cause. Those other causes include metabolic diseases such as thyroid disease and adrenal disease. You should have a TSH and T4 done to evaluate your thyroid. Both hypothyroidism and hyperthyroidism can cause hair loss. Make sure you are not producing too much male hormone. You should have a dihydroepiandrosterone or DHEA done. Also check your FSH and LH along with a free testosterone level. Then rule out syphylis with an RPR. Rheumatoid diseases can cause hair loss. Common ones are Lupus and Rheumatoid Arthritis. Do you have a skin rash or any joint pain? Finally, you should have a biopsy of your scalp done to make sure you do not have some other skin condition that is causing your hair loss. You should have two 4 mm punch biopsies done in the area of hair loss. It is of no value to take it where you are not loosing your hair. One biopsy should be read in vertical section and one in horizontal section by a pathologist experienced in reading biopsies related to hair diseases.

My office will send you an entire list of lab tests that I recommend for women experiencing hair loss.

I would say that over 95% of these work ups are negative and the diagnosis is female pattern hair loss. The reason you do these tests is to see if you have a treatable condition. Also, it is important to recognize that hair loss due to other conditions such as female pattern loss often do not respond to hair transplant surgery.

If you do not have a physician who can perform these tests for you, let me know. Female pattern loss does seem to have a common appearance. Usually, the frontal hair line remains in place while you begin to thin behind this. The crown area is usually affected later in the course of the hair loss. When you loose hair on the back and the sides, you really are not a very good candidate for the hair transplant. Loss is women can be frustrating in that it is progressive. You know that the donor area is finite. You only have so much hair in your donor area and the loss up top is progressive. Eventually, the amount of hair you have in your donor area may not be able to keep up with your hair loss.

Obviously, at age 38 it is important for you to have your hair so a hair transplant makes sense provided you are a suitable candidate. Regarding the graft count, you should be aware that a maximum of 800 to 1000 grafts up top in a single procedure is the most I would recommend in a woman. This is because higher densities are more likely to cause shock loss. This means that you could experience temporary loss that makes your appearance much worse. Eventually over several months the hair returns and your grafts grow, but I have found that women do not tolerate this temporary severe loss state well. It can be very depressing. Therefore, I recommend you have smaller sessions at a time to minimize the risk of shedding.

As far as physicians in your area, Dr. Tyng Tan is an affiliate physician with us. She is located in Singapore. Let me know if you have any more questions.