Billena

This 28-year old patient was most concerned with a natural appearance after surgical hair restoration. He can be seen before and nine months after a 2276 graft session with Dr. Wesley.

His donor scar can also be seen in this video montage.

All available appointments have been filled at this time. However, Dr. Wesley will likely return to the Boston area the following year. Thank you!

This 55 year-old man received 1709 grafts to the frontal third of his scalp. He returned after 11 months to say "hello" to Dr. Wesley and his staff.

In general, salt and pepper hair coloration enables greater coverage with a smaller number of grafts as compared with a different hair color that contrasts sharply with the color of a patient's scalp.

All mid-day and afternoon appointments have already been filled for this date. There is one remaining appointment in the morning schedule. Dr. Wesley's appointment secretary, Loretta, may be reached at 212-249-9393.

I am writing to let you know that Dr. Wesley will be conducting in-person consultations in Boston next month. On Tuesday, June 18th, he will be seeing patients at an office located near Boston Common.

Please note, the physician, not a consultant or a salesperson, will be meeting with you and answering your specific questions directly. In addition to discussing the nature of the procedure (as well as advancements on the horizon), Dr. Wesley will determine whether or not you are a candidate and the size of the session he anticipates you can have.

As spaces are limited, please contact Loretta, the appointment secretary, at 212-249-9393 or email drwesley.office@gmail.com to arrange for a 45-minute consultation.

To view images of Dr. Wesley's various patients, please view here.

This 22-year-old male was bothered by the progressive thinning of his hairline and the frontal portion of his scalp. His surgical hair restoration session with Dr. Wesley included included 2507 grafts incubated in platelet-rich plasma (PRP).

In addition to his surgical session, the portion of his mid scalp that did not receive grafts was treated with PRP injection and stimulation with a 0.5mm micro roller. The patient returned to Dr. Wesley's office at 10 months. Early growth from his transplant can be seen and this patient's response to subcutaneous PRP injection is included in a larger investigation currently being conducted by Dr. Wesley's office.

Since shaved heads of pre-operative patients clearly appear different than the long-hair appearance of post-operative patients, we are submitting (below) the long-hair before/after images of the 2701 graft FUE patient of Dr. Carlos K. Wesley seen in this video:

The distribution of grafts during this two-day FUE session can be seen on operative days 1 and 2 in the first image. The patient returned to our clinic 11 months after his FUE session.

This 34-year-old man received 2116 grafts to the frontal third of his scalp with Dr. Carlos K. Wesley. He returned only 7 months later for evaluation of his early growth.

Here's an update on the progress at 11 months of this 2701-graft FUE patient of Dr. Carlos K. Wesley.

This montage of patients of Dr. Carlos K. Wesley provides examples of how his transplanted hairlines look on male and female patients undergoing both strip harvest (FUT) and follicular unit extraction (FUE).

This 48-yr-old African-American female initially desired improved coverage of her frontal-temporal triangles along the sides of her head. However, based on her family history of thinning over the top of her scalp, she was advised that it was also important to address her midline in anticipation of any future hair loss.

The first image illustrates her slightly below average donor density. With a session of only 917 micro grafts, however, she received ample coverage of a larger area than anticipated. Hair characteristics of African-American patients are desirable for a number of reasons. Firstly, the minimal color contrast between the hair and scalp does not allow the scalp to show through an area of light coverage. Secondly, the curl of each hair enables a greater "shingling effect" resulting in improved scalp coverage.

Perhaps because the summer season is around the corner, a number of patients have come in to our office inquiring about the appearance of a hair transplant after taking a swim, shower, bath, etc.

We present a patient of Dr. Carlos K. Wesley at two separate phases post transplantation. The first 3 images were taken at 2 months after his session to the frontal half of his scalp (you can hardly notice any growth). The last 3 images were taken approximately two years afterwards (when full growth can truly be appreciated). This patient wanted to showcase his "fresh out of the swimming pool" look for others to see.

A 29-year-old male received 2100 grafts to cover the frontal third of his scalp and seen again about 9 months postoperatively.

The grafts were incubated in the patient's platelet rich plasma (PRP) during the procedure prior to transplantation into the recipient area. This adjunct to hair restoration surgery has been suggested to increase the caliber and density of transplanted grafts as well as reduce postoperative erythema (redness) in the recipient area.

We'll be sure and get more of a top down when he returns to the office again. In the meantime, here's an image of his donor scar after the 2632-graft session.

A 40 year-old gentleman had a session that consisted of 2632 grafts spread throughout his relatively bald frontal half. The patient returned 11 months later for follow-up images.

A Publication co-authored by Carlos K. Wesley, M.D. in the peer-reviewed Dermatologic Surgery Journal.

All of the improvements in our field over the past two decades have allowed for a younger patient population to benefit from surgical hair restoration. The great determiner in treating young patients, however, is not what we can do, but what we should do with the limited number of follicular units (FUs) containing "permanent" hair that every patient has. This publication serves as a cautionary tail in order to help clarify the limits of the finite supply of "permanent" donor area hair used in treating young patients. Together with hair transplant pioneer Dr. Walter Unger and his daughter, Dr. Robin Unger, Dr. Carlos K. Wesley conducted a survey of the world's most experienced HT surgeons with nearly 1000 years of combined experience in which they were asked the following:

"Keeping in mind that over the years the hairs closest to the upper, lower, and anterior borders of the fringe will be lost, how many FUs containing very likely permanent hairs can be harvested from a 30-year-old patient who you believe is destined to develop Type V or VI male pattern baldness (MPB) and has either higher than average, average, or below average donor hair density?"

The survey determined that patients with an average hair density and destined to develop Type V MPB were estimated to yield and average of 6,404 FUs, 4,963 FUs with below-average density, and 7,904 FUs with above-average density. When Type VI MPB is anticipated, estimated mean harvest yields are 5,393 FUs with an average density, 4,204 FUs with below-average density, and 6,661 FUs with above-average density.

While not serving as absolute dogma, these findings can serve as useful guideline numbers for patients and physicians alike to help choose appropriate surgical goals.

A 43-yr-old man returns 10 months after completing two sessions totaling 4480 grafts to fill in his frontal half.

With multiple sessions, it is also important to leave a single fine donor scar (as shown at the video's end).

While not every patient is a candidate for this approach, this 46-year-old patient received a smaller, focused session to reinforce his temporal recessions. Using only 1365 grafts to add density specifically to these areas (and partially into surrounding areas of future loss), this patient, and others like him, may save not only donor hair for the future but also the financial cost of a larger session.

Specific criteria should be met to make this focused approach a viable option: adequate donor density, ample density in the areas not being treated, and a prognosis of only moderate MPB (that can be effectively treated in the future, based on donor availability). This focused approach, in which the area of greatest cosmetic importance is addressed, is much more commonly used in female patients (with FPHL) who may not have subsequent thinning to the same degree as some young men.

This 25-year-old patient in this video had tried finasteride 1mg (Propecia) prior to his decision to treat his thinning mid scalp with surgical hair restoration. He stopped Propecia months before his session and has not taken it since.

The pattern (outlined in one of the attached images) includes areas of future loss. Dr. Wesley believes that this approach is essential in young patients so that - as their natural pattern of hair loss progresses - they will continue to have a natural hair distribution.

Dr. Carlos K. Wesley would like to thank all of the members of the Hair Transplant Network for their candid and informative support of all those seeking to learn more about hair restoration. In addition, he would like to thank each of you for helping make 2012 a year in which he earned Coalition member status. Please let us share with you highlights from this past year in terms of both patient results and the various investigations that continue to move forward in our office.

Much more to come in 2013!

Here are design/pattern images of Dr. Wesley's patient in the https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DBw1nC0KZNU.

Our office's next informative montage will likely focus on FUE punch diameter...

To those only a few months post-op, please take comfort in other patients' experiences. Here is another example of the difference in hair growth from the early stage (3 months) to the later stage (12 months). This patient received 2591 grafts throughout the frontal half of his head.

These pre-operative (design) and intra-operative (pattern) images help to better appreciate the difference a successful HT made in this relatively young patient's life.

And, for those who prefer embedded videos, here's a full overview of this patient's progress after 2566 grafts...

These intra-operative images reveal the surgical design used by Dr. Carlos K. Wesley on this patient as well as the resultant donor scar from this FUT, or "strip", harvest.