Going bald is one of the most common insecurities yet is seldomly discussed. Sadly, it seems to be socially acceptable to point out a man's baldness because it is considered commonplace. But most people struggle with their hair loss and would do anything to get it back.
Hair Loss Treatment Solutions that Really Work:
Non-Surgical Treatments
Today, some prescription hair loss treatment options can actually stop hair loss or even reverse it. Non-surgical medications however, have not been proven to restore hair in frontal areas. Only hair restoration surgery has been successful in restoring hair in the frontal hairline once it has been lost.
Hair Transplant Surgery
Hair transplant surgery when done right, can now produce results that are so natural that even hair stylists cannot detect them. But it is critical to choose the right hair restoration physician, since the skill, talent, and experience of surgeons vary widely, as do their results. Patient members of the Hair Transplant Network have and continue to revolutionize the hair transplant industry by demanding only the best results. Here, real patients collectively evaluate surgeons and have a voice on our hair loss forum.
Hair Transplant Network
The Hair Transplant Network is an online consumer advocacy community created by and for hair transplant patients to critique various hair transplant procedures and the physicians providing them. The community advocates high quality follicular unit hair transplantation and those physicians who perform it with a high degree of success.
The physicians who are recommended on this community are reviewed by the website’s publisher, Patrick Hennessey and Associate Publisher Bill (Falceros), and by members of its hair loss discussion forum community. Currently over fifty hair restoration physicians worldwide are recommended on the Hair Transplant Network.
History
The Hair Transplant Network was founded in 1999 by Patrick Hennessey after he had undergone three follicular unit hair transplant sessions with Dr. Ron Shapiro in Minnesota during 1997 and 1998. During this period the follicular unit hair transplant procedure was relatively new and was performed by only a small minority of hair transplant physicians.
After attending various international hair transplant conferences as a guest of Dr. Ron Shapiro, Patrick Hennessey was able to identify the small minority of hair transplant physicians who were providing their patients with the relatively new follicular unit procedure. This small group of physicians worldwide were then presented on the Hair Transplant Network.
The follicular unit hair transplant procedure offered patients many advantages over the standard “mini micro” hair transplant procedure performed by the majority of hair transplant surgeons.
Primary benefits of follicular unit grafting for patients
- Natural appearance after only one surgical session since the hair follicles are transplanted in grafts containing only naturally occurring follicular units that contain from one to four hairs.
- Minimally invasive graft incisions result in less trauma and faster healing as well as less pitting or cobble stoning in the recipient area.
- Mega sessions of thousands of refined follicular unit grafts, rather than hundreds of mini/micro grafts, provide patients with both natural refinement and high levels of density. These larger mega sessions also enable patients to restore their hair with fewer surgical sessions.
Online Web Communities fuel the adoption of Follicular Unit Hair Transplantation
Despite these significant advantages the hair transplant medical community was resistant to embrace these large sessions of follicular unit grafting since it required more skill, staff, equipment and time than performing the standard mini/micrografting procedure.
However, hair loss sufferers researching hair transplantation on the Hair Transplant Network and its discussion forum and other online resources enthusiastically embraced follicular unit grafting and its patient friendly benefits. This strong patient demand led other progressive physicians to provide this more challenging procedure in their clinics.
Early in the 21st century follicular unit hair transplantation became acknowledged as the “Gold Standard” within the hair restoration profession.
Patient demand continues to drive the evolution of hair restoration surgery
In the past few years a minority of hair transplant physicians have taken the follicular unit procedure to an even higher level of refinement by creating even smaller incisions for the follicular unit grafts, thus enabling them to be placed closer together in even higher densities. In addition surgical session sizes have increased from mega sessions of 1,500 to super mega sessions that can exceed 4,000 and 5,000 grafts in appropriate patients.
This newest procedure “Ultra Refined Follicular Unit Hair Transplantation” enables many patients to achieve cosmetic density in a given area after only one surgical session.
Once again this procedure is easier on the patient but even more demanding on the physician and staff. Given the high technical and logistical demands of performing super mega sessions of all microscopically dissected follicular units, only a small minority of hair transplant clinics have the capability to successfully perform very large session of ultra refined grafting.
However, many of the physicians who have risen to the challenge of providing Ultra Refined Follicular Unit Hair Transplantation are recognized and presented on the Hair Transplant Network and the Coalition Hair Loss Learning Center. Those ethical physicians who have a proven track record of successfully providing this procedure are eligible for membership in the Coalition of Independent Hair Restoration Physicians.
How physicians are chosen for recommendation
Given that the skill and technique of hair transplant surgeons vary widely, as do their results, the Hair Transplant Network is dedicated to finding and recommending only those physicians who perform state of the art hair transplantation with proven results.
The publishers of the Hair Transplant Network, Patrick Hennessey and Bill (Falceros), reviews physicians for potential recommendation on the site based on the below selection criteria. Many of the physicians recommended have been visited by Patrick to ensure that their actual surgical techniques meet the sites demanding recommendation criteria.
Input from actual patients in private emails and in online forum posting has also been valuable in determining the actual care provided by various hair transplant physicians. Since its inception 1999 hair transplant physicians have been added and removed from recommendation on the Hair Transplant Network based on their success in performing the follicular unit procedure.
Each hair transplant physician recommended on this site has been carefully reviewed based on the following criteria:
A demonstrated proficiency and commitment to performing high quality follicular unit hair transplantation using grafts that are microscopically prepared.
Dedication to doing follicular unit hair transplantation exclusively or at least as the main specialty of the clinic.
Excellent patient results demonstrating a high level of artistry and naturalness throughout, as well as excellent growth rates.
A reputation for high ethics and quality amongst colleagues and former patients.
Extensive experience performing hair transplantation.
Medical training, depth of background, board certifications, honors and credentials are also considered.
Excellent value - as determined by quality and pricing taken together.
Mastery and control of the orientation and direction of the transplanted grafts to achieve a completely natural appearance.
Members of the Coalition of Independent Hair Restoration Physician are required to meet the following additional criteria:
A demonstrated capability to successfully perform large sessions of ultra refined follicular unit grafting using tiny incisions and grafts that are microscopically prepared.
The ability to dense pack tiny follicular unit grafts in a given area when appropriate.
