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Hair Loss Treatment Options


While many men are fine with hair loss, for others baldness demands a remedy, which they seek in a variety of ways.
Over the years, the number of treatments that have been claimed to cure baldness has been exceeded, perhaps, only by the number of jokes about the condition. But since baldness — as unappealing a prospect as it may be for many men — is not an illness, procedures and drugs to treat it may not get the scrutiny given those for genuine medical conditions.
Things have gotten better, so there’s some of the older techniques and older treatments … and there are newer ones, so it’s a work in progress.  But while treatments have come along that have not worked well, there are things available for men who are losing or have lost their hair and would like to cover their pates. There are a variety of medical and surgical options, as well as things that are completely noninvasive.
Male pattern baldness is typically associated with the conversion of testosterone to dihydrotestosterone (DHT). Over time, the presence of this hormone has been linked to the thinning or “miniaturization” of hairs. The new hair that grows grows thinner and less pigmented.
For most men, noticeable hair loss begins in their 20s or 30s, but some see it even younger. Male pattern baldness tends to start later, affecting, to some degree, 20 percent of men by the time they reach the age of 20. But for most of these men, there are a lot of options to stop, reverse or delay hair loss. Here are a number of treatment options that have been tried and the pros and cons of trying them out.

Follicular Unit Transplant


Performed in two different ways, follicular unit transplantation remains the best surgical option for men seeking to counter their hair loss.  Hair transplant is the gold standard. It’s 100 percent. The body doesn’t reject its own hair.
FUT performed by Dr. Mark Bishara is a method of hair restoration surgery in which hair is transplanted only as natural, individual follicular units. This ensures that patients will achieve the most natural results and also allows Dr. Bishara to transplant the maximum amount of hair into a small area. These follicular units consist of up to four individual hairs in each follicle.
During the FUT procedure, the hair is trimmed short and then the scalp is numbed with a local anesthetic before being removed through a vibration distraction technique. The removed follicles are then stripped to their most natural state and then placed in the recipient area. Sutures are placed in the donor area, which are usually hidden by the patient’s hair. The healing process begins immediately after the procedure, and patients are usually able to resume normal hair care after a week. Hair growth typically begins about three months after the FUT procedure.
Rogaine
Surgery may be fine for some, but others prefer pharmaceutical treatments to the knife. The decision to pursue actual surgery … is not something everyone wants to do.  Many patients begin with medications.

One of those pharmaceutical interventions is the topical application of minoxidil, a foam known to many by the brand name of Rogaine. It’s probably not going to work that well for people who have already lost a lot of their hair,  but for those early on in the process, minoxidil works great.

Hair Plugs

In this process, which is no longer widely used, a small, circular cone of scalp –was removed from the back of the head and placed in a hole put in the front. It’s really not done much anywhere anymore. While follicles are able to blend into the scalp and look natural, plugs never did because of their size — they were 30 times larger than the follicles transplanted now. The size made the plug look completely unnatural, something that can be gotten around — when done properly — with the modern follicle transplant.

Propecia


Propecia is a great medication [for hair loss]. It works about 85 percent of the time, at least to prevent further hair loss.
Originally designed to treat enlarged prostate, Propecia, known scientifically as finasteride, can be taken orally on a daily basis to counter hair loss. It has been shown to be highly effective, but it is not perfect. It works best when the patient is younger and the hair loss is early on. It doesn’t grow hair on a bald scalp; it only reverses the miniaturization process. Propecia has really remarkable results.

Flap Hair Restoration

The hair flap, also known as flap rotation, has not been done in a while. The hair flap involved isolating a flap of skin from the back of the head — where the hair was still growing — and rotating it to the front, maintaining the blood flow through the artery attached to the skin. The problem with the flap is it’s much too dense and you’re using up too much hair in a small area. The procedure had other drawbacks- It’s very unnatural looking and the hair is in the wrong direction.

Low Level Laser Technology (LLLT)

The low- level laser therapy treatment is also known as “The Cold Laser”. The laser light generated by low-powered (cold) lasers has recently come into use as a non-surgical hair restoration treatment for patten hair loss.
LaserCap | Low Level Laser Technology (LLLT)The LaserCap® using Low Level Laser Technology (LLLT) can help men and women of all ages who suffer from hair loss by emitting pulses of laser light energy to the scalp to stimulate the hair follicles and improve blood circulation in the area, encouraging hair growth once again. Recently, the FDA has announced its approval of Low Level Laser Technology for use in the promotion of hair growth for men, with approval for women anticipated soon as well. Dr. Bishara fully endorses the results of this advanced technology and is proud to offer LLLT in his office through treatment with the LaserCap.

Stem Cells

Needless to say, stem cells aren’t used as a hair loss treatment now, but hopes are high that we’ll have an endless supply of hair 20 years from now.  Doctors had differing opinions — ranging from five to 20 years — on how soon stem cells would be available. But the consensus was that hair treatments would change.
Fortunately, there are several treatments available to help promote hair growth or restore hair loss. These treatments are minimally invasive and affordable, and allow patients to enjoy a renewed confidence as thick, full and beautiful hair is restored. Hair loss treatment includes topical and/or oral medications, laser comb therapy, and transplantation.
Dr. Mark Bishara is proud to offer a wide range of comprehensive hair restoration procedures. Combined with his extensive experience and advanced skills, these procedures are often highly effective. The best treatment option for each patient depends on the location and extent of hair loss. Dr. Bishara will take the time to evaluate each patient, discuss his/her individual goals and together develop a personalized treatment plan using one of his many successful hair loss treatment options.  Please call us for more information at (817) 473-2120 or visit our website at www.MarkBisharaMD.com.
 
 
 
 

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Robotic Hair Transplants

The ARTAS® Experience

Deciding to have a hair transplant procedure is an important, life-changing decision for any man. It’s important that you understand the details of how the ARTAS® Robotic Procedure will work, what you can expect during the procedure, and when you’ll expect to see results.
The process starts with a thorough, detailed consultation with Dr. Mark Bishara. He will ask about your hair loss history, and how you’d like your hair to look. He will examine your hair loss, and assess the amount of donor hair that you have available for transplant. From there, you’ll learn whether you’re a candidate for the ARTAS Robotic Procedure and what treatment options may be available to you.

Day of Procedure

ARTAS Robotic Procedures start in the morning and usually end in the afternoon. You’ll wear comfortable clothes to the procedure, and possibly a loose-fitting hat for your ride home. Many patients choose to listen to music or watch a movie during the procedure.

During the Procedure

During the ARTAS Robotic Procedure, you’ll be seated and the physician and team will do everything they can to ensure your comfort. A local anesthetic will be used, but you’ll be awake and alert during the procedure. There will be time for breaks during the procedure, so you can have lunch or take care of personal issues.

The ARTASTM System is the first and only advanced Robotic technology which is FDA-approved using computer assisted image guided system for follicular unit extraction (FUE) for natural and consistent results.  Dr. Bishara is now using the ARTAS System in both his Mansfield and Southlake locations.
“When men reach a certain age, male pattern baldness becomes more visible due to genetic sensitivity. Now with ARTAS™ System, they can get the procedures done within hours, without having to undergo long hours of surgery. The procedure is convenient and patients will regain confidence when they see consistent results within six months”, said Dr. Mark A Bishara, M.D.

Old fashioned “hair plugs” results in unnatural-looking hair once implanted. However, with the ARTASTM system, a robotic arm which is controlled digitally, identifies the area on the head that is suitable to be dissected.  It then extracts the hair follicles from there; hence resulting in more natural-looking hair. The ARTAS™ System with its Robotic technology also delivers their patients with a speedy and precise result when they undergo the treatment.
Please contact our office to find out more about ARTAS Robotic Hair Transplant:  at (817) 473-2120 or visit our website at www.MarkBisharaMD.com.

Before and After Pictures of the ARTAS Robotic Hair Transplant:  More information, pictures and testimonials are available on our website

 
 

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Hair Replacement- The Next Generation


Today’s options for hair growth have gone through a major evolution since 1952 when hair transplantation surgery was first pioneered.
Hair transplant surgery has changed completely — from large to small grafts. The large-graft technique used to be state-of-the-art back then. Treatments have shifted from unnatural-looking transplants to sophisticated new drugs and improvements in hair transplant surgery, like Robotic Hair Transplants- to the future of cloning individual hair cells. The future of hair restoration looks even brighter than the present.
According to estimates form the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), 40 million men and 20 million women experience hair loss.
To perform a hair transplant, Dr. Mark Bishara obtain skin grafts with hair follicles from places on the scalp that are still growing hair (typically the back or side of the head) and transplant them into the balding areas where it will continue to grow. Today, surgeons use smaller grafts which contain anywhere from one to five hair follicles per graft; this helps give the scalp a more natural appearance. By contrast the larger grafts had 15-20 hair follicles; they looked artificial with the appearance of rows of hairs. These are known as hair plugs.

For the very latest technology in hair restoration, Dr. Bishara is now using the ARTAS System.This physician-controlled, state-of-the-art system enables the harvesting of hair follicles during hair restoration procedures. It offers numerous beneficial features, including an image-guided robotic arm, special imaging technologies, small dermal punches and a computer interface. The ARTAS System is capable of identifying and harvesting individual follicular units to implement the FUE technique. The device, guided by cameras and 3-D imaging software, can perform the dissection of hair follicles individually at a rate of up to 1,000 per hour.
FUE offers less discomfort and a faster return to normal daily activities than traditional, more invasive methods of hair restoration. Performed in Dr. Bishara’s office, FUE with ARTAS moves healthy, functioning follicles to the areas of the patient’s scalp most impacted by baldness for more dramatic results. The implanted hairs develop their own blood supply, begin to grow and new hairs are seen a few months after the procedure has taken place. New hair continues to grow over the course of a full year, making the change in the patient’s appearance gradually noticeable to others. Healing time is short, and there is no resultant linear scar as happens with other methods of hair restoration. The only evidence is tiny, white scars left in the donor area, which are the same as those produced by manual FUE.
In the case of hair transplantation, going from large grafts of hair to small grafts was what made this procedure so much more natural and because of this, more people doing better transplants today.

The Evolution Continues

Hair transplantations have continued to evolve into smaller and smaller grafts and the next step will be to add a cell-based transplant where you can inject hair seeds into the balding area that can grow into a brand new follicle (cloning). Within five years, we should be able to augment and add this to the follicle-based transplant. Cloning has certainly become possible in other areas, so it is very possible that there will come a time when hair can be cloned. If hair cloning can work that would give us the best ability to restore hair. It would deliver the best results, physically and cosmetically.
Dr. Mark Bishara is proud to offer a wide range of comprehensive hair restoration procedures. Combined with his extensive experience and advanced skills, these procedures are often highly effective. The best treatment option for each patient depends on the location and extent of hair loss. Dr. Bishara will take the time to evaluate each patient, discuss his/her individual goals and together develop a personalized treatment plan using one of his many successful hair loss treatment options.  Please call our office at (817) 473-2120 or visit our website for more information at www.MarkBisharaMD.com.
 

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What Happens When My Hair Surgery Leaves an Unsightly Scar?

If you have previously undergone a hair transplant and are unsatisfied with your results, we can help you achieve the results you had hoped for through hair restoration revision surgery with the ARTAS System. Unsuccessful, unfavorable outcomes from hair transplant surgery often occur because of technical errors, poor planning on the part of the doctor, and unforeseeable complications.  For the very latest technology in hair restoration, Dr. Mark Bishara is now using the ARTAS System. This interactive, computer assisted equipment employs image guidance to enhance the quality of hair follicle harvesting. ARTAS is the first hair transplant robot to improve the most challenging aspects of Follicular Unit Extraction (FUE).

Technical Errors and Complications

If your scalp has a plugged, tightened, cobblestone, or ridged appearance, we can dramatically improve your results using the ARTAS system. Technical errors generally occur when a specialist uses sub-standard transplantation techniques. When hair follicles are placed at incorrect angles or inappropriate depths, the newly transplanted hair will grow in the wrong directions and each transplant will look unnatural and pitted.

Poor Doctor Planning

In some cases, an underqualified, inexperienced doctor can be to blame for an unsatisfying result following hair loss surgery. If your surgeon isn’t properly prepared for surgery, not only can he or she damage your healthy hair follicles, but he or she can prematurely deplete your supply of available, transplantable donor hair prior to the completion of treatment. Planning of the positioning of the hairline using donor hair is a precautionary step that must be carefully performed at the beginning of the surgical process. During this stage, your doctor should anticipate future hair loss and allocate available hair follicles to be placed in the appropriate areas.

Benefits of Hair Restoration Revision Surgery

During hair restoration revision surgery, we can:

  • Improve the aesthetic of your scalp, hairline, and hair
  • Improve botched hair
  • Conceal scaring that was a result of a former surgery
  • Create a single linear scar that masks multiple incisions that were previously made during your former surgery
  • Extract existing follicles that were miss-placed by your former surgeon
  • Implant new, healthy hair follicles
  • Alleviate the discomfort of a tightened scalp and scar tissue

This physician-controlled, state-of-the-art ARTAS system enables the harvesting of hair follicles during hair restoration procedures. It offers numerous beneficial features, including an image-guided robotic arm, special imaging technologies, small dermal punches and a computer interface. The ARTAS System is capable of identifying and harvesting individual follicular units to implement the FUE technique. The device, guided by cameras and 3-D imaging software, can perform the dissection of hair follicles individually at a rate of up to 1,000 per hour.  We have an ARTAS robot in each of our offices in Mansfield and Southlake.  The procedure is done in office and requires no downtime- most patients are back to work the next day.

Contact Dr. Mark Bishara’s Office for Hair Restoration

We ensure you will have a quality, satisfying experience when you receive treatment. Whether you are in need of hair restoration revision surgery or subsequent restoration procedures, our team is here to help you achieve the results you are looking for and natural hair your want. Don’t let an unsatisfying outcome keep you from looking and feeling your best. Contact us today at (817) 473-2120!
www.MarkBisharaMD.com
 

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Hair Transplant Scars- Scar Revision by Dr. Mark Bishara, MD in Mansfield & Southlake

Fixing and Repairing Hair Transplant Scars

Hair transplant procedures that use follicular units exclusively leave no visible scarring in the recipient area. In Follicular Unit Transplantation (FUT), there is a single thin line in the donor area where the strip was removed. In Follicular Unit Extraction (FUE) there are multiple tiny round, white scars in the donor area, one for each extracted follicular unit. Generallythese scars are undetectable and are of no cosmetic consequence to the patient.
When older methods of hair restoration surgery are used, current techniques are performed improperly or, less commonly, when a patient is a poor healer, scarring may be excessive and may present a cosmetic problem. The scarring may be due to the plug itself (which invariably leaves a round white scar), it may be caused by the elevation or depression of grafts (seen with some slit and minigrafting techniques), or it may be due to a stretched or thickened donor scar.
Scarring in the recipient area can be eliminated by keeping recipient sites very small. Sites such as those used in FUT and FUE, will not leave any visible marks. Scarring in the donor area can be minimized by meticulous closures, where the wound edges are perfectly approximated and are under little or no tension. Using an inert material to close the wound, such as stainless steel staples, also helps to minimize the destruction of hair follicles and the incidence of hair transplant scarring.
When significant scarring does result, a number of techniques are available to reduce it. The two most effective methods are scar revision (excising or changing the direction of a hair transplant scar) and camouflage (a technique where hair is transplanted directly into the scar). In addition, thickened scars may be flattened with cortisone injections, depressed scars may be raised with dermal fillers and an irregular surface may be made smoother with dermabrasion or laser treatments.
The method for fixing hair transplant scars must be tailored to the specific situation, since each hair transplant repair patient has unique problems which influence the approach. Perhaps the most significant issue is the amount of remaining donor hair reserves. The following examples illustrate a number of common techniques used to improve scarring.
For some instead of just covering it up their scar, they just want to get rid of the problem entirely, that is why they opt for scar revision surgery. In this procedure, the scar is removed and the scalp is pulled back together. There will still be some scarring but it will be much smaller than the original.
Follicular Unit Extraction (FUE) is a great method of concealing hair transplant scars. This time, the donor grafts are taken from the beard or chest hair and then implanted on the scar and given time to grow. Those with a high hair density in other areas of the body are considered to be the best candidates for this treatment. Usually 50% to 90% of the grafts grow in scars, making the scarred areas of the scalp much less visible.

Before your hair transplant surgery, discuss hair transplant scar treatments available to your surgeon. Your hair transplant surgeon can help minimize scarring by using a certain closure technique.  If you have more questions about fixing hair transplant scars or to find out more about what can be done for thinning hair, please don’s hesitate to contact us at (817) 473-2120 or visit our website at www.markbisharamd.com.

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