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Men's Health: Looking Good

Hair Transplantation for Men: Is it Right For You?

Summary & Participants

Hair transplantation has come a long way in recent years, helping many men recover the losses brought on by male pattern baldness and other causes. But not everyone is an ideal candidate for transplantation. How do you determine if a hair transplant is right for you? Our panel of experts will discuss the factors all doctors and patients should consider.

Medically Reviewed On: July 21, 2009

Webcast Transcript

DAVID R. MARKS, MD: Hi, and welcome to our webcast. I'm Dr. David Marks. What you're about to see on this video is someone regaining a head of hair. Hair transplantation has come a long way in the last few years. But not everyone with hair loss is a candidate. Here to help us figure out who is a candidate for hair transplantation are two doctors.

Dr. Michael Reed. He's Assistant Professor of Clinical Dermatology at NYU Medical Center and he directs their hair transplant program. Thanks for being with us.

MICHAEL L. REED, MD: Thank you.

DAVID R. MARKS, MD: Next to him is Dr. Robert Cattani. He's one of the founders of the American Board of Hair Restoration Surgery and he practices in New York. Welcome.

Let's talk about men. Hair loss is obviously very common in men. But not everyone's a candidate. Who is a good candidate for hair transplantation?

MICHAEL L. REED, MD: Any person who has lost enough hair, they don't have to be bald, enough hair so that on casual observation you can see scalp and not hair, and who has a condition where the hair that is transplanted will live and survive and behave in a proper way at that new site, a condition called donor dominance is a potential candidate for transplantation. Most of these patients are men with male pattern hair loss, hereditary hair loss.

DAVID R. MARKS, MD: What does donor dominance mean?

MICHAEL L. REED, MD: Donor dominance refers to the phenomenon that if genetically blessed hair is going to live forever in the back of the head, or for a lifetime, it will decide it's own fate at the new site. That's the case in male pattern baldness, that's why we can transplant it. You could not transplant a hair into an area where, say, there was infection because the infection would destroy the hair. So the phenomenon of donor dominance must prevail. Since most men who get transplants have male pattern hair loss, that is a donor dominant condition and therefore they can be transplanted with long-term success.

DAVID R. MARKS, MD: Dr. Cattani, just describe what male pattern baldness is.

ROBERT V. CATTANI, MD: If I may just add to what Dr. Reed said first. Dr. Reed so wonderfully outlined the objective criteria of those who would be candidates. Let me add the subjective criteria which I think the audience would like to know. I think it is essential that someone be very bothered by their hair loss to make themselves a good candidate. If they're not bothered, if someone else in their family is bothered, or someone else induces them to secret consultation then they are not a good candidate.

But if they are severely bothered by hair loss and their expectations are realistic, then and only then can they become very good candidates for this. Those are very important factors, David.

DAVID R. MARKS, MD: So in other words, you're talking about someone doing it to please someone else.

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