Hair Transplant Podcast

Having the ability to correct punch misalignment, on the fly, which would overcome angulation issues during the dissection of hair grafts, would be an incredible advancement in the field of surgical hair restoration. Essentially "dummy proofing" the dissection and extraction process, allowing practitioners to remove intact, non-transected or damaged hair hair follicles every time would be a game changer. IAHRS accepted member Sanusi Umar, M.D. discusses his new FUE punch and how he believes it will help to overcome many of the issues being seen with more traditional punches.

As more device makers and novice physicians enter the field, the average hair transplant result has declined tremendously. Consumers need to do their research in ways that will take much more time and effort than most fully understand. While the art of hair transplant surgery has come a long way, the industry is imploding and sadly taken many unsuspecting patients with it.

The hair transplant industry has hit an all time low and as more inexperienced “surgeons” purchase what is being sold to them as a simple turnkey device to offer hair transplant surgery to their patents, they may unwittingly be doing more harm than good, to both their patients and their practices. Take a listen to this compelling “Undercover Tech” segment discussing the truth of this disturbing and dangerous trend. 

IAHRS accepted member Paul Rose. MD, JD has the quiet reputation for being one of the most talented and ethical hair transplant surgeons and a true patient advocate in the field. In this segment he discusses his take away from Spencer Kobren’s lecture on "The Patient’s Perspective.”

While suffering in silence is not unusual for many men dealing with male pattern baldness, the concept of opening up about such a socially taboo subject for British men is almost unfathomable in their culture. Listen as one of UK caller describes how his hair loss traumatized him and how this extremely common condition is not so common to discuss even amongst “friends.”

When it comes to researching a hair transplant surgeon, prospective patients should not be lulled into the false sense of security that a "Harvard trained," board certified plastic surgeon is in any way more skilled or more ethical, than an internist with no surgical residency. Hair transplant surgery is an extremely specialized, difficult and elegant form of cosmetic surgery that takes incredible commitment to learn how to perform to state of the art standards. In this game, where you were “educated” is less important than how you were educated, and understanding the nuances of proper patient selection as well as how to “first do no harm.”

While device manufactures are trying to convince physicians as well as customers that they are producing the most state of the art devices to to perform modern day hair transplant surgery, the truth is that not all tools work well on all patients and in all practices. A true state of the art hair transplant has less to do with the tools being used and more to do with those who are using the tools.

Spencer Kobren and Spencer (Spex) Stevenson speak with a UK caller about how devastating it was for him to first realize he was losing his hair. While society does not “allow” men to discuss how hair loss effects their lives and even seems tolerant of public “bald shaming,” many dealing with hair loss are emotionally struggling in ways those not affected by it can fully understand.

Is it really in the prospective hair transplant patient’s best interest for website owners to allow anonymous forum posters the freedom to criticize and even defame clinics that they never had surgery with? With some forum moderators contributing to this type of misguided and unprofessional online character assassination, others maintain a firm stance against directing the narrative in order ensure that a fair and level discussion about clinical complaints takes place. If you are currently researching hair transplant surgery this is a segment you should watch.

Long gone are the days of the Better Business Bureau and the repercussions of being “reported” to the triple B. Today, consumers can bypass everything and make specific and direct complaints that can be seen by tens of thousands of people in a matter of hours. The problem is that we don’t know who is making a legitimate complaint and who is just trying to stir up trouble for their competitor. Jeff calls the show to share his perspective as a legitimate repair patient.