FIRST OF ALL, WHAT IS HAIR RESTORATION?
Hair restoration (or what is also known as “hair transplantation”) is a procedure in which a physician moves hair from the back or side of the head, where the hair is pre-programmed to not fall out, to the front or top of the head where bald areas usually show.
Hair transplants have become relatively routine procedures that are performed in a doctor’s office under simple local anesthesia. They’ve become even more precise with the introduction of the ARTAS® Robotic system.
There are two main techniques used today for obtaining hair follicles for transplantation – FUT (follicular unit transplantation or Strip method) and FUE (follicular unit excision).
WHY CHOOSE DR. KELEMEN AT HAIR 4 LIFE?
At H4L we have highly trained staff with over 40 years of combined experience in hair transplant. Dr. Kelemen has 19 years of experience, and she can and does perform every step of the surgery hand in hand with the technicians, the medical assistants and the nurses. Dr. Kelemen loves teaching her staff and loves educating the patients. Dr. Kelemen is an excellent communicator and is fluent in four languages. Why H4L? Because this is the clinic where YOU come first, and YOU will receive the best preoperative and postoperative care. We treat everyone like family!
WHAT CAUSES HAIR LOSS?
Male pattern baldness (androgenic alopecia) is responsible for most hair loss. In fact, over 50% of men over 50 will be affected by it. It is usually genetic and not much can be done to prevent it. In a few cases, baldness may be caused by other factors such as diet, stress, hormone imbalances, illness, or certain medicines such as anabolic steroids.
WHAT’S THE SOLUTION?
Despite what the marketers of various miracle creams, shampoos, and gels tell you, these don’t work. There are several medical modalities to help stop and or slow down hair loss but they will not restore any follicles to bald areas. The good news is that the bald area can be restored with hair restoration techniques.
WHO CAN BENEFIT FROM HAIR RESTORATION?
Having a hair restoration procedure is a tremendous boost for a person’s self-confidence. Some who may benefit from it are:
- Women whose hair has become sparse in one area
- Men with male pattern baldness
- Those who have lost hair due to burns or other scalp injuries
You are not a good candidate for the procedure if:
- You’re a woman with hair loss all over the scalp
- You don’t have enough donor area from which hair can be transplanted
- You are someone who develops keloid scarring post-injury
- Your hair loss is due to chemotherapy, scarring alopecia’s or alopecia areata
WHAT MAKES ME A GOOD CANDIDATE FOR ARTAS?
ARTAS robotic hair transplant is recommended to almost all the patients that suffer from androgenetic alopecia. If you have straight hair and are looking to have the length of your hair in the back short, then this procedure is for you. If you are looking for a less invasive procedure, then robotic ARTAS is for you! If you are looking for getting your hair back in a natural way, then this procedure is for you! If you are looking for a fast healing with less post operative pain, then this procedure is for you! We add mild hyperbaric therapy that is proven to help the patient heal faster with less scaring!
The other factor that sets us apart from the rest is our small staff, which ensures uniform results vs offices that employ a large number of assistants that yield varying types of trimmed grafts.
WHY CHOOSE H4L FOR YOUR ROBOTIC ARTAS PROCEDURE?
You should choose H4L for your robotic procedure because this is the clinic in which the staff is certified by ARTAS to perform the procedure; because the staff at H4L has 14 years’ experience with the robot, we are the pioneers with ARTAS. At H4L we use the most up to date software. At H4L Dr. Kelemen is the one that checks each graft as the robot harvests. Then, she is the one that places the grafts along with her assistants. The procedure is done in ONE day compared to other clinics where the surgery is done in two days! Dr. Kelemen’s experience, garnered over 20 years in the hair transplant field, translates in an operational flow that results in less time for the procedure and minimizes the exposure to drugs and anesthesia!
CAN I CONTINUE TO TAKE MY MEDICATIONS IF USING THE HYPERBARIC CHAMBER?
Some medications are not compatible with hyperbaric oxygen therapy. Each drug you are taking will be considered individually in relation to HBO therapy. Any changes in your current medication will be discussed with your referring physician.
CAN I APPLY COSMETICS WHILE USING THE HYPERBARIC CHAMBER?
Cosmetics, hair sprays, nail polish, deodorants, or shaving lotions containing a petroleum or alcohol base are not allowed during hyperbaric oxygen treatments. However, you may apply these products after treatment. Please notify the nurse/technician if you have applied skin products prior to treatment. The staff will answer any questions you may have regarding products that are allowed in the chamber.
WHAT IS REGENERA ACTIVA?
Regenera Activa is the latest FDA approved treatment that enters the market with the promise of being different from frustrating hair growth treatment packages.
It is also a minimally invasive option for patients suffering from androgenetic alopecia(male and female pattern hair loss), who are in their beginning of their hair loss.
This 3 step process uses your own hair grafts that are taken from areas of the scalp that are unaffected by hair loss. The hair grafts are processed by the Regenera Activa system to separate the progenitor cells that are derivatives of the hair stem cells. The fluid obtained by the regenera activa is rich in growth factors, progenitor cells and signaling molecules. This fluid, once injected in the areas of hair loss, will stimulate the existing hairs to become thicker, healthier, fuller and will strengthen the miniaturized hairs.
Overall the procedure takes about 45 minutes.
REGENERA ACTIVA VS INJECTABLES?
When it comes to Regenera Activa vs Injectables, the critical difference lies in their origin of extraction, Blood vs Hair Grafts.
Both treatments use growth factors, but Regenera Activa adds the progenitor hair cells that are more precise target to the hair follicles that other injectables.
WHAT ARE THE SIDE EFFECTS OF PROPECIA?
One percent of patients taking Propecia, or the generic form Finasteride, may experience side effects like impotence, decreased libido, hypotension, abnormal ejaculation, sexual dysfunction, gynecomastia, mental fogginess. At H4L we educate the patient about alternative forms to stop their hair loss, ie laser cap, injectables, Regenera Activa, Rogaine….
CAN BODY HAIR BE TRANSPLANTED TO THE SCALP?
Definitely! Body hair can be successfully transferred to scalp by an experienced physician. At H4L Dr. Kelemen is performing body hair transplant using the FUE method (follicular unit excision method). Our WAW system is very precise and has very low transection rate. Follicular units in body hair are mostly one and two hair grafts. We recommend body hair transplant to patients that need to fill in for more density, for crowns and also for scar camouflage that have exhausted their donor area of their back of their head.
WHO SHOULD NOT HAVE THE FUE PROCEDURE?
The type of patients that we do not recommend FUE procedure are the ones with very limited donor size! At H4L, we offer all three types of FUE: ARTAS Robotic, WAW motorized system and manual. Each of these have its strengths and weakness and Dr. Kelemen firmly believes that there is no one size fits all. Her main goal is to obtain the best grafts without over harvesting the donor area.
Curly hair is the most difficult for FUE! The robot cannot move along the bend of the curl and has a high risk of transaction. The WAW motorized system can be maneuvered by a skilled physician like Dr. Kelemen to extract the grafts intact without damaging any of its structure.
CAN YOU COMBINE INJECTABLES WITH REGENERA ACTIVA?
Yes. Your treatment can be combined with other hair loss treatments like injectables and topical finasteride for a more superior outcome. It is common for patients to reduce their dosage of DHT-blockers after their Regenera Activa treatment.
WHAT IS DIFFERENCE BETWEEN FUE AND FUT?
Follicular unit extraction (FUE). This approach is done by harvesting complete follicular units one at a time from the donor area. FUE is less painful, which may explain why it’s the more commonly performed procedure. Also, there are no stitches and no linear scar, making the patient more comfortable and able to resume their previous activities in less then a week. allows patients to have a shorter hair cut compared to FUT, since there is no visible long linear scar, but tiny circular scars very easy to hide under a short haircut.
Follicular unit transplantation (FUT). With this approach Dr. Kelemen harvests the tissue from the back of the head. Stitches are applied and then are removed 14 days after the procedure. A fine, linear scar will be permanent at the back of the head. The length of hair about 3 cm will be needed to cover the scar. The patient is able to return to previous activities 14 days later, after the sutures are removed.
WHAT IS A HYBRID TREATMENT?
Simply a hybrid treatment/solution means Dr. Kelemen may combine ARTAS with WAW system; or use injectables and Regenera Activa; if a hair transplant does not yield sufficient grafts from the scalp, Dr. Kelemen can extract hair from the body to fill in/or SMP.
