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This insightful article was written by well respected  hair restoration forum  member “Janna” who is also the lead hair transplant technician for Shapiro Medical Group  of  who is a well respected member of the Coalition of Independent Hair Restoration Physicians.

Two types of incisions one great hair restoration result at nine months.

A while ago Pat Hennessy, the Publisher of the Hair Transplant Network, the Hair Loss Learning Center, and the Hair Loss Q&A  Blog  inquired about hair transplant photos where Dr. Jerry Wong and Dr. Ron Shapiro were asked to perform a live hair transplant surgery demonstration at the 2006 ISHRS (International Society of  Hair Restoration Surgeons)  Live Surgery Workshop. Pat asked if I could aid in getting some postoperative  hair transplant photos  of this particular hair transplant patient. The main objective of the live hair transplant procedure was to showcase a side by side demonstration of sagital and coronal (lateral) incisions while dense packing the hairline. The demonstration went extremely well, so well in fact that both hair transplant surgeons  were asked repeat this educational demonstration again at the 2007 European Conference in Paris last May.

How do I choose a hair transplant doctor?

This is probably one of the most important questions to answer once you determine that you are most likely a good candidate for a hair transplant. Of course, it is the hair transplant doctor who should ultimately determine whether or not you are a good candidate and the best course of action.   However, how do you select a hair transplant doctor that you can trust?

The key to anything is research and education.   Make educated and informed decisions based on knowledge and experience rather than gut and emotion. So how do you start your research…that is indeed a good question.

The internet is your best source of information that you can find and use, but be careful in your searches.   Not everything you read is true.   So first…here a few cautions:

Be careful of marketing tactics  and scams  that are obvious to some and not to others. Marketing tactics and scams  include:

1. Over generalizations on very specific items
2. Over-use of glowing positive words like “natural”, “easy”, “satisfaction” and “guaranteed”.
3. Before/after photos that are:
             a. Small and/or blurry
             b. Taken from different angles
             c. Taken in different lighting or surroundings (Camera flash plays an important role in trick photography…results can look better or worse depending on angling and use of the flash)

Many people ask about hair transplantation on our hair restoration discussion forum and the best way to go about it.     Before anyone can advise them, however, it’s important that they consider the answers to the following standard questions:

1. Age: How old are you? Age can be a determining factor as to whether or not you are a good candidate for a hair transplant. Typically, the younger one is, the riskier it is to jump into surgery. Hair loss is unpredictable and donor supply is limited. Young people should proceed with caution when considering a hair transplant. I recommend that the younger folks read “Am I too young for a hair transplant“.

2.   Norwood Scale and Graft Calculation: What level are you on the Norwood scale of hair loss? The Norwood scale will give a person a good idea as to how many grafts they would need in the event that they are a good candidate for an HT. Take your calculated Norwood level and multiple it by 1000 (conservative) to 1500 (liberal) grafts and that will determine approximately how many grafts are needed to achieve “decent” coverage and density of your balding regions. You might want to consider using our animated graft calculator .   Additional animations can be found  here.

On Saturday, June 24th 2006 dedicated physicians from across North America came together at Dr. Jerry Cooley’s clinic in Charlotte North Carolina to exchange ideas about hair transplantation, while watching Dr. Jerry Cooley and his staff perform a state of the art Ultra Refined Follicular Unit Hair Transplantation.

This surgical workshop was sponsored by the Coalition of Independent Hair Restoration Physicians to enable physicians to learn more about Ultra Refined Follicular Unit Hair Transplantation while sharing ideas and pointers.

The “Gold Standard” for hair restoration surgery has risen to an ultra refined level. The Coalition is focused on advancing this optimal procedure not only by educating the public but also members of the hair restoration profession. All members of the Coalition have demonstrated mastery at performing the new Ultra Refined Follicular Unit Hair Transplantation with excellent results.
This free event was limited to ten attendees to maintain an intimate scale. Some of these physicians are recommended on the Hair Transplant Network and/or are members of the Coalition. All of them share a common interest in striving to provide truly cutting edge ultra refined surgical procedures to their patients.

Workshop Attendees:

Dr. Jerry Cooley (Coalition Member) and Host
Dr. Bob Haber (Coalition Member)
Dr. Ted Katz (Hair Transplant Network Sponsor)
Dr. Ken Buchwach (Hair Transplant Network Sponsor)
Dr. Bill Parsley (Hair Transplant Network Sponsor)
Dr. James Vogel (Hair Transplant Network Sponsor)
Dr. Ron Shapiro (Coalition Member)
Dr. Ray Konior (Coalition Member)
Dr. Bill Reed (Invited Guest)

On Saturday, February 4th dedicated physicians from across North America came together at the Charles Medical Group clinic in Boca Raton, Florida to exchange ideas about hair transplantion.

This surgical workshop was sponsored by the Coalition of Independent Hair Restoration Physicians to enable physicians to learn more about Ultra Refined Follicular Unit Transplantation, while sharing ideas and pointers.

The “Gold Standard” for hair restoration surgery has risen to an ultra refined level. The Coalition is focused on advancing this optimal procedure not only by educating the public but also members of the hair restoration profession. All members of the Coalition have demonstrated mastery at performing the new Ultra Refined Follicular Unit Hair Transplantation with excellent results.

This free event was limited to a dozen attendees to maintain an intimate scale. Some of these physicians are recommended on the Hair Transplant Network and/or are members of the Coalition. All of them share a common interest in striving to provide truly cutting edge ultra refined surgical procedures to their patients.

Workshop Attendees:

Dr. Glenn Charles of Boca Raton – Host of the event
Dr. Bernie Nusbaum of Miami and an assistant
Dr. Raymond Konior of Chicago (Coalition Member) and his lead Tech Jola
Dr. Vito Quatela of Rochester, NY and two of his technical assistants
Dr. Alan Bauman of Boca Raton
Dr. Ricardo Mejia of Jupiter, Florida
Dr. Joseph Williams of Las Vegas (Coalition Member)
Dr. Mark Baxa of Charlotte and NYC
Dr. Tony Mollura of NYC
Dr. Jack Fisher of Nashville
Dr. Chris Gencheff of Madison, Wisconsin

On October 8th some of the true masters of Ultra Refined Follicular Unit Hair Transplantation came together at the Shapiro Medical Group clinic in Minnesota to exchange ideas and techniques. During the live surgery, performed by Dr. Ron Shapiro, they discussed technical issues such as how to:

• Remove a safe size donor strip, while keeping the transection of follicles to an absolute minimum. (Dr. Robert Haber’s new “donor spreader”, which virtually eliminates transaction in the donor area was demonstrated.)

• Close and suture the donor area under minimal tension to minimize scarring of the donor area.

• Create an overlapping ledge along the suture to make the donor scar virtually undetectable.

• Use high powered magnification during the creation of graft incisions to avoid transecting existing hair follicles (even tiny vellus hairs) in the recipient area.

• Use ultra tiny instruments that create minimally invasive incisions as small as 0.6 mm.

• Create incisions that are orientated (laterally and or sagitally) to achieve perfectly angled and directed hair that grows in completely natural directions.

• Carefully place microscopically trimmed follicular unit grafts into ultra tiny incisions in tight patterns, while assuring optimal grow rates.

The level of discussion and demonstration was cutting edge and gave top physicians a chance to compare notes and ideas with others at their level. Attendees later attended a dinner in downtown Minneapolis where the discussion and exchange of ideas could be continued.

View more photos of the Coalition Surgical Workshop hosted by Shapiro Medical Group.