In the News – Patient History is Key to Assess Hair Loss

Snippet from the article:

When patients present with hair loss, dermatologists should focus most heavily on patient histories, according to an expert who spoke at the 72nd Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Dermatology.

Many dermatologists perform a cursory exam and order a battery of blood tests, says Leonard Sperling, M.D., chairman and professor of dermatology, Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, Bethesda, Md. Dermatologists often dread these encounters, he adds, because they can burn daylight and often reveal problems that can’t be treated successfully.

Read the rest — Patient history is key when assessing hair loss

Few dermatologists use the modern tools for assessing hair loss (hand microscope to map for miniaturization and the HairCheck device for measuring hair bulk). Most dermatologists don’t like to do hair assessments if they can not tell if a patient is balding or not.

NW7A good example was in a 17 year old that came in to see me last week. I had seen him a year ago at the age of 16 where I did the HairCheck bulk analysis. His family history is significant as his father is a Norwood class 7 patient and two of his three brothers are also balding. One year ago, his bulk analysis showed 55% loss of hair in the front and 30% loss on the top. The crown showed no hair loss. On the visit last week, bulk measurements showed that his hair loss in the front increased to 75% and on the top it increased to 60%. Most significant was his hair loss in the crown, which was 50% of his bulk.

His hair was black, his skin was white, and the hair was medium-coarse, so that to the naked eye he showed only frontal hair loss. I already know that he will probably be a class 7 pattern balding patient like his dad. Without these instruments, I would not have seen any hair loss last year if I had not measured it, but even a year ago, it was evident that he was balding. Last week, we knew what pattern of balding he will probably be developing. He was placed on Propecia 1 year ago, but it did not stop his hair loss. He took the news well and we spent some time discussing a future Master Plan on what he might want to do as his hair loss becomes more evident. Shaving his head once he gets into college might be an option (with or without SMP).

24 year old female with corner hair loss and some hairline early elevation

This is a common finding in some women, although it is more common as women get older. I have treated many of these women with a hair transplant to put back the rounded hairlines typical of the female hairline. You should be look at my an expert to make sure that you don’t have an autoimmune disease like Frontal Fibrosing Alopecia. a diagnosis that is easy to make when your doctor is skilled in the examination of a female hairline


2019-05-10 12:38:4324 year old female with corner hair loss and some hairline early elevation

In the News – Singer Robbie Williams Had a Hair Transplant But Didn’t Need One?

Snippet from the article:

Singer Robbie Williams has revealed he had a hair transplant despite not needing one.

The 39-year-old made the admission while chatting about how living in Los Angeles had rubbed off on him during an interview on The Graham Norton Show, which airs on Friday evening.

He said: ‘I’ve lived in LA for a long time and they say, ‘If you sit in a barber’s shop for long enough you will get a hair cut.’ Well, if you live in Los Angeles for long enough you’re going to get some surgery.

Read the rest — Robbie Williams reveals he had a hair transplant despite not needing it after succumbing to LA lifestyle

Nobody really needs a hair transplant (it is an elective cosmetic procedure), but it looks like his hairline corners were going back a little before the surgery and are now filled in. Either way…


2013-12-02 10:34:33In the News – Singer Robbie Williams Had a Hair Transplant But Didn’t Need One?

27 Year Old Male Has Many Questions About Hair Transplants (From Reddit)

You need to sit down with a good doctor and get an examination that might predict your hair loss pattern. If that can be predicted (I often do this with the HAIRCHECK test), then your course after a single hair transplant might be anticipated. There is never certainty as I use the tools I have to give people the best assessment of their course over time. At our Monthly Open House events we have patients who had one or two hair transplant sessions and did not need anything after. If you come to one of these events, you can meet these patients one-on-one. The older you are when you start, the more predictable the risks, but if you wait, then you will learn to live with balding while you are younger, something most men who see me don’t want to do.

Considering a hair transplant but thinking about long-term commitments post-op from tressless

In the News – The Placebo Effect Works

Snippet from the article:

There’s little doubt that the placebo effect’s real, but it has always been argued that a person feels better because they think the pill is the real deal. But what if it works even when you know it’s a fake?

According to Ted Kaptchuk at Harvard Medical School and his colleagues at least one condition can be calmed by placebo, even when everyone knows it’s just an inert pill. This raises a thorny question: should we start offering sugar pills for ailments without a treatment?

In the latest study, Kaptchuk tested the effect of placebo versus no treatment in 80 people with irritable bowel syndrome. Twice a day, 37 people swallowed an inert pill could not be absorbed by the body. The researchers told participants that it could improve symptoms through the placebo effect.

While 35 per cent of the patients who had not received any treatment reported an improvement, 59 per cent of the placebo group felt better. “The placebo was almost twice as effective as the control,” says Kaptchuk. “That would be a great result if it was seen in a normal clinical trial of a drug.”

Read the full story at Gizmodo — Placebos Can Work Even When You Know They’re Fakes

I am certain that the placebo effect also applies to side effects. If you hear you may get erectile dysfunction from taking a drug, how many people will report the side effect from taking the placebo?

Infected cysts in recipient area one month post hair transplant (photo)

This patient’s recipient area became infected and had this been my patient, I would have drained these infected cysts and place the patient upon antibiotics. I would have cultured the cysts to be sure that the antibiotic I would use is the correct antibiotic. If this infection is not treated quickly., the infection could kill the transplants.


2019-08-18 09:34:24Infected cysts in recipient area one month post hair transplant (photo)