Dr. Arocha Q&A

[Melvin- Admin]

Hey guys,

Dr. Arocha has been gracious enough to answer some of our communities questions. Dr. Arocha has had some out of the park results from @Steeeve and had some good PRP success with @Mycroft. 

Now is your chance to pick his brain and ask him anything, he has is ear to the ground and knows about all of the latest hair loss treatments, including exosome therapy etc. 

He performs both FUE and FUT, if you have questions relating to that ask away!

[aaron1234]

Thanks for doing this Melvin and Dr. Arocha!  Dr. A, in your opinion has FUE yield rates improved to the levels seen with FUT?  If so, what factors have contributed to this improvement?  Thanks!

[Melvin- Admin]

Great question Aaron 👍

[ADuckwithNoHair]

Dr. Arocha,

I've seen cases where a patient will go to one clinic, get poor growth, then go to a different clinic for a procedure of the same technique but get good growth. So the physiology of the patient isn't to blame, but outcomes can be wildly different. What aspects of a hair transplant are most critical to ensure good yield for patients?

Edited July 1, 2020 by ADuckwithNoHair

[Mycroft]

Hope all is well down in Houston with everything going on. I've got a couple of things I've been wondering about.

1. As mentioned I have had positive success with non-surgical processes like PRP. There's been a lot of talk about exosomes lately, so I was wondering if you had considered offering this treatment or had any early thoughts on its efficacy compared to PRP+Acell as an adjunct to surgery or a standalone treatment.

2. I know your surgeries typically use unshaved recipient sites. Was this the way you originally learned hair restoration or did you transition to this approach later on?

3. There are several pros and cons for FUT and FUE beyond graft survival rate, such as the higher total graft count using FUT or the non-linear scar for FUE. I know with FUT there are some situations where a doctor can perform a perfect scar closure and the patient follows post-op instructions perfectly only to have their scar stretch due to the uncontrollable factor of the patient's physiology. Are there ever any clues prior to surgery (like a surgical scar from something other than hair restoration) that you may be dealing with these unfavorable characteristics?

[Melvin- Admin]

Great questions guys

[lovinitl9]

his experience with various body hairs

[Steeeve]

Thanks Melvin!

I don’t have any questions but I’m eager to read Dr. Arocha’s responses!

[ArochaAngel4247]

Hi all - I'll have Dr. Arocha jump on this afternoon to answer these! Thanks so much for your thoughtful questions. Looking forward to hearing what Dr. Arocha has to say. 

[ArochaAngel4247]

On 6/30/2020 at 9:41 PM, aaron1234 said:

Thanks for doing this Melvin and Dr. Arocha!  Dr. A, in your opinion has FUE yield rates improved to the levels seen with FUT?  If so, what factors have contributed to this improvement?  Thanks!

Hello aaron1234, 

Dr. Arocha here. Thank you so much for your very thoughtful question. In the initial graft survival study for FUE procedure - it revealed that survival was at about 60%. With refinements and individual enhancement and the development of experience, these FUE yields have increased to within 10% or equal to FUT yields. Let me know if you have any more questions. 

Best, 

Doc

[Melvin- Admin]

33 minutes ago, ArochaAngel4247 said:

Hello aaron1234, 

Dr. Arocha here. Thank you so much for your very thoughtful question. In the initial graft survival study for FUE procedure - it revealed that survival was at about 60%. With refinements and individual enhancement and the development of experience, these FUE yields have increased to within 10% or equal to FUT yields. Let me know if you have any more questions. 

Best, 

Doc

Thank you for answering Dr. Arocha, if you don’t mind filming your responses, we can make a YouTube video and reach a bigger audience who want to know the same information.

[ArochaAngel4247]

36 minutes ago, Melvin-Moderator said:

Thank you for answering Dr. Arocha, if you don’t mind filming your responses, we can make a YouTube video and reach a bigger audience who want to know the same information.

Hi Melvin, 

Absolutely. I'll record Dr. Arocha answering some of these questions a bit later today. 

Kira

[Ian.]

Dr. Arocha,

I am curious about PRP and how it is best utilized. I’m not exactly sure how to best phrase the question so I’ll try a couple of different ways and see if any make sense. Is PRP a time sensitive therapy in that it works best for patient’s in early stages of balding? Can PRP “wake up” follicles that have been inactive for long periods of time?

Personally, I feel like my hair has stabilized with Propecia over the past two years and wonder when an optimal time to consider a PRP treatment might be. Could it be that the longer I wait, the chances I will see a noticeable improvement will diminish?

Thanks,

Ian

 

 

 

[B1gM1ke]

Hello all!  I have my second hair transplant scheduled with Dr. Arocha this month.  First one was a FUT 3000 four years ago and this month will be a FUE.  My first transplant went very well and the results were a big boost to my confidence and appearance so I’m looking forward to my next procedure.  
 

To Dr. Arocha:

I’ve heard that the 2nd hair transplant takes a bit longer to get the full result.  Is this typically the case?  If so, how long will it take for the full result?  Any difference between fut and fue in terms of the timeline?

Also, I will be having grafts implanted in my previous donor scar.  Is there any difference in graft survival rate in this area than the rest of the scalp?

Thanks Doc!
 

 

Edited July 8, 2020 by B1gM1ke

[Melvin- Admin]

Great questions guys, let’s keep em coming.

[Badhairman1]

If im not to late  

Could we have Dr Arochas opinion on FUE donor shock loss, some say it only really affects FUT patients but I feel its more prevalent in FUE cases than is given credit for.

[Curious25]

Hi Dr Arocha, 

1) In your experience, do continuous PRP treatments alone (3x every 4 weeks initial loading - followed by maintenance every 4-6 months) restore and maintain miniaturised follicles for a full 3-5 year anagen cycle? 

2) What, if any differences, have so far been noted by exosome therapy, to suggest it is superior to PRP, and why? 

3) Do you support a certain doctors claims that PRP into a freshly extracted donor region can regrow grafts that have just been extracted for implantation to the recipient? 

Thankyou very much for taking the time out of your schedule to answer some of the communities questions - and thankyou @Melvin-Moderator for facilitating it. It would be great to have some more forum user - doctor interaction. 

 

Edited July 5, 2020 by Curious25

[ArochaAngel4247]

On 6/30/2020 at 9:41 PM, aaron1234 said:

Thanks for doing this Melvin and Dr. Arocha!  Dr. A, in your opinion has FUE yield rates improved to the levels seen with FUT?  If so, what factors have contributed to this improvement?  Thanks!

Thanks aaron1234 for your question! The early studies on fue graft survival revealed a 60% survival rate. Refinements in punches, hand engines, and techniques have improved the survival of the extracted grafts to levels close to that obtained with fut. Of course, it is not a level field with many practitioners starting to practice with little if any training, and much less experience. Many delegate the fue extractions to technicians with practical experience but little medical training. Managing the donor area requires excellent technique, and short and long term planning. This maximizes the outcomes for not only the present procedure but also for the future hence ensuring the best coverage, density, and of course naturalness of the results.

- Doc

[Curious25]

Did we ever get any traction or update on this ? 

@Melvin-Moderator @ArochaAngel4247

[Melvin- Admin]

Unfortunately, Dr. Arocha hasn’t had the time yet. I will follow up with him again and hopefully get this set up for you guys.