Dr. Mark DiStefano has been elected to the Board of Directors for the American Board of Hair Restoration Surgery & International Board of Hair Restoration Surgery (ABHRS/IBHRS).

Hair Transplant Treatment

Male pattern baldness can make a man feel vulnerable and insecure, and treatments for hair transplants should be used only after they are thoroughly researched and understood by the buyer. Because of their desire to have their hair back the way it used to be, men can be especially susceptible to fake hair loss treatments, which abound. Let the buyer beware is an important admonition regarding hair.

Types of Hair Loss Treatment

There are a variety of remedies to treat hair loss. Each has advantages and disadvantages. The most advanced treatment involves surgically transplanting the hair.

The surgical approach to hair replacement is more expensive than drugs or hairpieces, but undoubtedly results in the most effective, durable and realistic-looking hair replacement. There are a variety of surgical approaches to treating hair loss. These approaches have advanced over time, producing much improved results, both in terms of healing and natural-looking outcomes. The following are some of the surgical treatments available:

  • Individual graft technique or IGT is only slightly invasive and involves moving one hair graft at a time. Dr. Mark Stefano developed specialized instruments that cut out the entire hair follicle, keeping intact the bulb, dermal papillae, capsule and outer root sheath, thus avoiding damage to the follicle.
  • Follicular unit transplantation or FUT involves transplanting hairs in their naturally occurring follicular units composed of one, two, three, or four hairs in each follicle.
  • Follicular unit extraction or FUE is a more modern approach to FUT. The hair transplant surgeon cuts out a strip of follicular units, and using a microscope to see the individual hairs, divides them into groups of one, two, three or four.
  • Total crown renewal, called the Frechet triple flap. Dr. Stefano is the only hair transplant surgeon in the U.S. doing this procedure, which he learned in Paris from the French surgeon Dr. Patrick Frechet. While this is a more complex procedure than FUE, it leaves the crown of the head with an area as dense as the sides.

Hair replacement refers to using a hairpiece, which can look very natural, but has disadvantages. Types of hair replacements include:

  • A mesh fabric base is constructed to hold the hair replacement, made either of polyester or nylon. These can provide a very lifelike hair appearance, but they do not last long term. They are more expensive than a durable alternative, i.e., polymers. They must be replaced more frequently than polymer hair replacements.
  • Polymers, are made either of silicone or polyurethane, and look like the skin or scalp. They can be much less expensive, are durable, and easy to attach, but they can be extremely hot and uncomfortable. They often look unnatural or artificial.
  • Hairpieces can be semi-permanently attached and should be removed about once every six weeks by a technician or stylist.

Medical remedies can include medications. Be careful to avoid snake oils, the American Hair Loss Association (AHLA) warns. The AHLA cautions consumers to choose only a treatment that has been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the American Hair Loss Association. Currently, two treatments have been clinically proven to be effective and have FDA and AHLA approval. They are:

  • Propecia and Proscar (finasteride). This works because it specifically inhibits an enzyme that converts testosterone to dihydrotestosterone (DHT). Reducing DHT stops the progression of hair loss.
  • Minoxidil has been clinically proven to reduce hair loss, but does not affect the male hormones that cause hair loss. Its results are usually temporary.

For more information about hair loss treatments, contact the Massachusetts hair restoration experts at DiStefano Hair Restoration Center today.