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 HAIR
TRANSPLANTS AND TREATMENTS FOR BALDNESS OR THINNING HAIR
Contact Our Cosmetic Surgeons Los Angeles Area Office.
One of the most distressing changes that occur in certain
genetically prone individuals is thinning of the hair, which
may progress to baldness. The effect is a prematurely aged
appearance, and a loss of self-esteem and self-image that
can be profound. Supposed treatments and cures for the problem
have been offered for hundreds of years, and were a principal
reason for "snake oil" salesmen in the past. Even today, newer
treatments are being offered on a regular basis, but none
has been shown to truly restore hair, or effectively prevent
progressive thinning and baldness.
In the past, the only surgical option was hair plugs, which
left multiple bald spots in the back of the head where they
were harvested, and small round hair islands in the front
of the scalp where they were placed. The result was very artificial,
and few plastic surgeons did hair transplants. With the development
of microsurgery techniques by plastic surgeons, attention
was turned to the problems of hair loss, or alopecia as it
is known medically. A dramatic improvement in the nature of
hair restoration occurred with the development of the microfollicular
hair graft, and for the first time a truly natural hairline
and hair density could be achieved. Hair grows in follicles,
containing either one, two, or three hairs per follicle, and
under the microscope these individual follicles can be divided
and individually transplanted. Rather than taking round plugs
from the back of the hair, a strip of hair-bearing skin is
now excised, and closed directly with a fine line scar that
is virtually invisible. The strip of hair-bearing skin is
then cut into the individual follicles under the microscope,
and inserted in the direction of normal hair growth in the
hairline and crown areas, giving a very natural result.
A number of plastic surgeons, including Dr. McGuire, have
contributed to the development of these techniques, as well
as bringing aesthetic principals to the challenges of normal
hair restoration. Unlike the large "assembly line" hair transplant
centers that advertise heavily on television and in magazines,
Dr. McGuire does the surgery himself, which gives a far superior
scar in the donor area, as well as a more aesthetic result
overall.
There are other options available for patients with more extensive
balding, where there may not be enough donor hair to fill
the area of hair loss. Again, the modern techniques of scalp
reduction and scalp flaps can treat problems that previously
had no solution, while still providing a natural appearance
and minimal scarring. Treatments are available for both men
and women with alopecia problems, and during your extensive
consultation with Dr. McGuire, the various options available
and appropriate for your individual problem will be reviewed.
These alternative options for treating alopecia are only available
through a plastic surgeon like Dr. McGuire.
Over the last several years, Dr. McGuire has also been using
the Oxy-MistŪ treatments following hair transplants to increase
the survival of the grafts. This is the same treatment that
he uses following laser resurfacing or peels, and has shown
a significant benefit in hair transplant patients as well.
He is one of the few surgeons using the Oxy-MistŪ treatments
following hair transplants, but his results show the benefit.
HAIR REPLACEMENT
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