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Having attended the annual International Society of Hair Restoration Surgery (ISHRS) meetings over the past ten years, while publishing the Hair Transplant Network, I now seem to know or be known by almost all of the prominent hair transplant physicians.

Those who have become famous online for doing outstanding work typically greet me warmly, while others who I have chosen not to recommend often stiffen up and scowl when they encounter me.  One hair restoration physician last week even took me aside in the hallway and threatened to sue me for having his recommendation discontinued.

But, like it or not, most physicians have come to realize that our patient based community and our open forum are here to stay and that we will continue to say when the “emperor has no clothing” even if it may be awkward or embarrassing. As the publisher of this community, I will continue to critique various techniques, treatments and those who perform them, while keeping an eye out for top-notch hair transplant physicians and clinics. I know the active members of this community will also continue to do the same.

In this report I’d like to share highlights from the 15th annual ISHRS scientific meeting that was held in Las Vegas from September 26th to the 30th.

I will focus on what may be of most interest to hair loss sufferers and patients such as presentations on the potential dangers of Dutasteride (Avodart), new advances such as hair multiplication (follicular cell implantation), the effectiveness of low light laser therapy (LLLT) in treating hair loss, the pros and cons of FUE (follicular unit extraction) and other topics.

Technorati Tags: Hair Restoration Surgery, hair transplant, hair restoration physician, hair transplant physicians, hair loss, Dutasteride, Avodart, hair multiplication, follicular cell implantation, low light laser therapy, LLLT, FUE, follicular unit extraction

Despite the many claims of a “cure” for baldness, to date there are only a few viable methods hair restoration. 

The first one is through hair loss medication such as finasteride marketed as Propecia and minoxodil marketed as Rogaine – the two FDA approved medical treatments for hair loss.  The second is through hair transplantation – a surgical procedure where hair is removed from the donor “safe zone” (the sides and back of the head where hairs are not vulnerable to Dihydrotestosterone (DHT) – the hormone responsible for the loss of genetically predisposed hairs) and then transplanted into recipient incisions in the balding areas made by a hair transplant doctor.

Though some options are more viable than others depending on the hair loss sufferer, none of them offer a “perfect” means of hair restoration.  Hair loss medication MIGHT restore some hair but is generally better at combating future hair loss.  Hair Transplantation may give a patient a cosmetically pleasing look and the illusion of density – one can never restore a full head of hair.

But what about the future of hair restoration?  Will there ever be a hair loss cure? 

Hair loss is being researched from two different perspectives as far as I can tell.

The first perspective is finding and curing the cause of hair loss by attacking it at the core.  WNTs proteins and the signaling pathway is one such possibility in discovering the root “cause” of hair loss in order to find a cure.

Technorati Tags: baldness, hair restoration, hair loss medication, finasteride, Propecia, minoxodil, Rogaine, FDA, hair transplantation, Dihydrotestosterone, DHT, hair transplant doctor, hair loss, hair loss cure, WNTs, signaling pathway

Can you transplant hair that’s not from your own head and put it in
your balding areas?

If people could donate their hair follicles to another person for a hair transplant I can just imagine the strange scenarios that would come about. But unfortunately (or fortunately) only hair from an identical twin could be successfully transplanted without being rejected. But since hair loss is genetic I can’t imagine the identical twin would want to give up their hair.

I use to tease my younger brother who has ridiculously thick hair that he should donate some for my next hair transplant. But he was never willing. Eventually he found out that this would not work and I was no longer able to tease him about it. What a shame.

Pat - Publisher of the Hair Transplant Network, the Coalition Hair Loss Learning Center, and the Hair Loss Q & A Blog. To share ideas with other hair loss sufferers visit our Hair Restoration Discussion Forum.

Technorati Tags: balding, hair transplant, hair loss

Meeting Report by Pat Hennessey – Publisher of the Hair Transplant Network and the Coalition Hair Loss Learning Center

Each year the International Society of Hair Restoration Surgery (ISHRS) hosts a four day meeting that is attended by ISHRS members from around the world. I have attended several of these international meeting as both a guest and as a member of the press. The highlights that I thought would be of interest to hair loss sufferers are presented in this report.

This years annual ISHRS meeting was held in San Diego, California from October 18th to the 22nd. Over four hundred hair restoration physicians from around the world attended this international meeting along with over 100 medical technicians and staff members. It was impressive to see so many hair transplant physicians sharing and debating the fine points of hair restoration. I found it interesting that many of the issues that have been discussed on our forum over the past couple of years were the hot topics at the meeting. These topics included - optimal session and graft sizes, ultra dense “super” mega sessions vs traditional density mega sessions, sub follicular unit grafting vs follicular unit grafting, growth rates, hair multiplication, FUE, and trichophytic closure techniques.

Technorati Tags: Hair Restoration Surgery, hair loss, hair transplant, hair restoration, ISHRS, hair restoration physicians, hair transplant physicians