DrBauman

Actually, if the hair is slightly curly or wavy, this makes for a more natural appearance of the lashes. If you are confused about the importance of lashes to women, ponder the fact that three out of four American women use mascara to enhance their lashes... For more info on eyelash transplantation, you might want to take a look at www.eyelash-transplant.com

I had the pleasure of knowing Dr. Seager personally, as well as through his regular lectures and presentations at the ISHRS conferences, since 1999. I also had the unique opportunity to see his procedure and staff "up-close and in-action" at one of Dr. Dow Stough's workshops in Hot Springs Arkansas in January of 2003. His work, using microscopically-dissected follicular-unit grafts, dating back to the 1990's, contributed greatly to the standards of naturalness and density we routinely see today. The things I remember most vividly about his presentations were the video images of the microscopic dissection of the grafts and his great passion for lecturing about (and, in earlier years, defending) his philosophy and approach to the art of hair transplantation. He was a scholar and a gentleman, and will be certainly be missed. Please pass along our sincerest condolences, Dr. Bauman & Staff Bauman Medical Group Boca Raton, FL

Many thanks to Dr. Ron Shapiro on a beautifully written, detailed summary of the Trichophytic Closure! Excellent quality photos as well. I wanted to add that I was equally impressed by the talks given and papers published by Drs. Rose, Frechet and Marzola last year. Under normal circumstances, I think that most patients have the ability to heal a traditional non-trichophytic donor harvest with a 0-2mm scar. However, in order to camouflage the donor harvests even better for my patients, I have also incorporated the trichophytic donor closure technique with increasing frequency over the recent months. I have to say that I am very enthusiastic about the results I've observed thus far. I have found it particularly useful for those patients with short hair who want the virtually undetectable scarring of an FUE procedure, but also want the 'efficiency' of a large session of strip harvesting. I agree with Dr. Ron Shapiro on the fact that a lower edge modification of the donor harvest seems to be better both intuitively and in practice. The lower edge trichophytic closure is what we demonstrated on several of the cases performed at Live Surgery Workshop this past March. As an observation, I have noticed that some of my patients with a trichophytic closure experience more ingrown hairs in the donor area within the first few weeks after the procedure than those who have had non-trichophytic closures. Also, I've seen that trichophytic closures have slightly more inflammation during the healing process within the first few weeks. In some cases, I have found it necessary to mechanically release trapped or 'ingrown' hairs from within the trichophytic closure during the first few weeks post-operatively. I believe that helping those hairs 'find their way' to the skin so the inflammation can subside is important for the healing process. Regardless of the type of closure, I have observed that many patients seem to heal faster in the the donor (and recipient areas, for that matter) when they use healing treatments such as copper-peptide, low level laser therapy and hyperbaric oxygen treatments in the immediate post-op period. Thanks again to my colleague, Dr. Ron Shapiro, for an excellent summary of the trichophytic closure. Hopefully, we'll have some more improved guidelines from doctors observing their results from this technique as the months go on and more doctors incorporate this technique routinely into their practices. Sincerely, Alan J. Bauman, MD Medical Director Bauman Medical Group -- Boca Raton, Florida

At Pat's request, I'd like to give some background info and my 'take' on the role of laser therapy and hair transplantation. I've had experience with Laser Therapy in my hair restoration practice dating back to 1999. The short version of the story is that I am a "skeptic turned believer." Let me say first that Laser Therapy, in my opinion, is certainly NOT a "miracle cure" for hair loss. However, I've had the opportunity to observe patients using both hand-held laser devices (such as the LaserComb) as well as the in-office "hood" type devices. In my practice, many patients use a variety of therapies (and procedures) to reach their hair restoration goals. Many have used laser therapy alone as well as in conjunction with more commonly prescribed (fda-approved) treatments. I have noted some major benefits of laser therapy in some patients who were experiencing hair loss: 1) improvement in the quality (i.e. thickness and density) of thinning hairs, 2) decreased shedding of hairs, and 3) accelerated wound healing post-operatively in my hair transplant patients. Keep in mind that not all patients experience these results and some see results more than others. I have to say that is has been somewhat difficult to predict what results a particular patient will achieve with Laser Therapy. A general guideline is that "the more hair you have, the better it will work." This also holds true for minoxidil and finasteride (Propecia) by the way. Unfortunately, while the research in the general areas of Laser Therapy is plentiful (2500+ papers to date), there are very few published papers that discuss the use of laser theapy in the hair loss patient. Interestingly, there is a good deal of evidence that points to laser therapy as an wound-healing adjunct. Phototherapy, in general, is a field which is rapidly expanding and gaining in popularity amongst patients and physicians in all areas of Cosmetic Surgery. There are also a number of laser clinics which are in the hands of non-physicians, which sometimes can give the public the wrong impression of the treatment. I will try to answer questions regarding this therapy as they come up and as my time allows. It would also be important for you to know that because of my experience with laser therapy, I have been a paid consultant for a number of medical device manufacturing companies, giving them feedback regarding my work in my clinic with my patients and various devices. Over the years I have had a number of laser hood devices, different models, different manufacturers. Currently I use the Sunetics, Inc. "E Series" laser hood which has over 100 diodes @ 650nm 2-3mW. I have two of these units and I have just ordered another three. I use the laser treatments pre-op and post-op in patients. I also dispense the lasercombs from the office and I teach patients the most effective way to use them. I instruct patients to begin Laser Therapy, either with the hood or comb (carefully!) starting on post-op day #2. I always instruct patients to use the fda-approved treatments as a first-line of defense. However, having a non-chemical, non-invasive option (with no side-effects, I might add) is also helpful. I hope this helps to start to put things into perspective. Sincerely, Dr. B. Alan J. Bauman, MD Medical Director Bauman Medical Group, P.A.