Cutting-Edge Surgical, Medical & Bio-Enhancement Technologies
There are a number of cutting edge treatment options to help patients with hair loss. It is important for a clinic to be experienced in all options so they can offer patients the best treatment plan for them. Sometimes a single therapy is enough. At other times, multiple different modalities can be used. But the goals stay the same – stimulate hair growth and restore natural hair in men and women.
Whether your type of hair loss is genetic like male and female pattern hair loss (androgenetic alopecia), autoimmune (alopecia areata) or due to wearing tight hairstyles (traction alopecia), SMG offers a variety of treatment options including surgical, medical, and bioenhancement technologies to treat hair loss and facilitate hair regrowth.
SURGICAL FOLLICULAR UNIT TRANSPLANTATION (FUE & FUT) – Hair restoration surgery has undergone a revolution in the last 20 years. When surgeons first performed hair transplants, large punch grafts were used to transplant hair from the traditional safe donor zone into the area or areas of hair loss. This led to the “pluggy” and unnatural appearance that most people associate with older hair transplant procedures. The desire to improve naturalness, as well as density and coverage, eventually led to the use of progressively smaller grafts.
A revolutionary advancement occurred when physicians found that hair grows in tiny, naturally occurring groupings of one to three hairs. These units are called “follicular units”. Physicians began to use microscopic magnification to produce small follicular unit grafts that kept these natural groupings intact. This was a huge breakthrough because physicians now had grafts that perfectly mimicked nature.
For the first time, physicians could replace hair and create results so natural, they were virtually undetectable, even under close examination. Follicular Unit Transplantation or the exclusive use of 1-3 hair follicular unit (FU) grafts became the state of the art technique used in hair restoration surgery.
- FUE (Follicular Unit Extraction) — With FUE, each graft is extracted individually from the donor area by a micro punch.
- Strip FUT (Follicular Unit Strip Surgery)— With strip FUT, healthy hair follicles are removed from the donor area in a single strip and divided into individual grafts under a high-powered microscope. It is understood that the simple acronym “FUT” (without the term “strip”) refers to the strip method of follicular unit transplantation. Some physicians are beginning to use the acronym FUSS (Follicular Unit Strip Surgery) to more accurately refer to this procedure.
The difference between these two techniques is the method of donor harvesting and creating grafts. The rest of the procedure, which includes making recipient sites and placing the grafts, remains the same. At SMG, we are world leaders in both techniques and will work with the patient to choose the technique that will work best for them.
SCALP MICROPIGMENTATION (SMP) — Specialized pigments can be used to make thinning hair appear fuller or create a shaved look on men who are not candidates for surgery. “Tricopigmentation”, a temporary form of SMP that was developed in Milan, Italy is the most popular SMP style treatment worldwide and Shapiro Medical Group has been performing Tricopigmentation longer than any other provider in the United States.
We have also collaborated with many of the world’s top companies and trained in various permanent forms of scalp micropigmentation so that today, Shapiro Medical Group is one of the few clinics in the world that has mastered both the temporary and longer-lasting “permanent” methods of scalp micropigmentation.
REGENERATIVE & BIO-ENHANCEMENT THERAPIES — The newest development in the hair transplant field, these therapies include the use of Platelet Rich Plasma (PRP), Acell Bio Matrix, and Liposomal ATP that use natural growth factors, stem cells, and other bioactive agents to maximize the growth, yield, and density of hair transplant procedures. The addition of stem cells to these therapies is also being explored.
MEDICAL THERAPIES — To obtain maximum density now and in the future, it is important to use adjunctive medical therapy to preserve existing native hair. Medical therapy may bring back some lost hair, but just as important, it is slowing down or stopping future loss. The use of medical therapy can affect surgical planning in a number of ways. Sometimes the response is so good that patients decide they don’t need surgery. Other times, it improves the situation so a smaller, less aggressive procedure is needed. Even if medical therapy is only minimally effective, a small amount of regrowth can significantly improve the appearance of density in transplanted areas.
Medical therapies include Low-Level Laser Therapy (LLLT) Therapy and improved formulations of oral or topical Rogaine (Minoxidil) and Propecia (Finasteride).
PLAN YOUR HAIR RESTORATION AT SHAPIRO MEDICAL GROUP
Shapiro Medical Group has long been recognized as a leader in the hair restoration field. Our recognition began over 20 years ago due to our innovative approach to hairline design and our desire to push the industry forward through original thinking, creativity and passion.
Hair transplant procedures today are better than ever but there is still more work to do. That is why Shapiro Medical Group is committed to pushing the boundaries of discovery to make hair transplant procedures the best they can possibly be. This is only possible with research and collaboration with other experts in the field and working on new techniques and approaches in a transparent and open fashion.
All of the doctors at Shapiro Medical Group share this ideology which is why they are invited to travel the world every year by leading hair transplant procedure institutions for the purpose of not only learning but teaching as well. As you can see, Shapiro Medical Group is not only a leader in hair transplant procedures, but in hair transplant research as well.
