Northwest Hair Restoration

Hair Transplant in Seattle, Tacoma, Washington (WA)

Tag Archives: Dr. Niedbalski

ACell + PRP Injection Therapy for Female Hair Loss

Posted on April 20, 2012 by admin

Hair Transplant specialist and ACell pioneer Dr. Robert Niedbalski consults a female patient with thinning hair and performs ACell + PRP (Platelet Rich Plasma) and performs the ACell + PRP Injection Therapy. Dr. Niedbalski is located in Tacoma, WA and is a Diplomate of the American Society of Hair Restoration Surgeons (ABHRS) and a Member of the International Society of Hair Restoration Surgeons (ISHRS)

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When considering hair restoration – Is FUE the best option for You?

Posted on April 7, 2012 by admin

What is FUE?
Follicular Unit Extraction (FUE) is a specific method used to remove donor hair follicles for transplantation. Individual follicular units are extracted one at a time from the back and sides of the scalp leaving tiny round scars about 1mm around. Follicular Units may be extracted using a variety of incision techniques including manual, power assisted and robotic fully automated.

FUE technique is an alternative to Follicular Unit Transplant, or FUT, where donor hair is removed as a narrow strip of scalp about 10 to 15mm wide, and separated into individual follicular units under a microscope.  FUE and FUT are simply different methods to remove donor hair follicles.   The technique used to place transplant grafts into bald/thinning recipient areas of the scalp is a separate topic, and is not addressed by the method of acquiring the donor hair.  FUE is relatively new to hair restoration surgery, and has proven to be a versatile graft harvesting method and an excellent complement to the FUT strip method.

So how do you decide if FUE is right for you? Consider what matters most for you.  What are your expectations for hair restoration as you consider the FUE method?

Donor scar visibility -
Compared to a linear donor scar, the “mosaic” of dot scars created by FUE are preferred by patients who:
•    Prefer short hair styles.
•    Notice scalp showing through their hair even with a longer style.
•    Are at risk for thickened donor scars due to excessive scalp tightness or laxity.

More conspicuous immediately after surgery -
The entire donor area needs to be shaved for most FUE procedures. If your hair is not already trimmed high and tight, you will be explaining your new hairstyle to a lot of people.

Scalp comfort -
Multiple small round FUE incisions are spread out over a larger portion of the donor scalp compared to a single strip incision, so FUE patients experience:
•    Less pain in the donor scalp
•    Faster healing and no sutures or staples to remove
•    Return to physical activity more quickly.

Added Value -
Scar management – FUE is an excellent method to disguise scar tissue that can’t be simply excised. Using FUE, bald scar tissue can be removed and replaced with hair bearing grafts.

Expanded donor hair supply – patients with excessive donor scars, scalp tightness, and/or patchy donor density have very limited options with traditional strip harvesting. FUE accesses areas that FUT can’t including upper and lower fringe of the donor scalp, beard and body hair for patients who have a shortage of donor hair

Fine hair can be harvested from the nape of the neck or temporal scalp for eyebrow and eyelash restoration.

Limitations of FUE

Hair Type - FUE is not as successful for patients with tightly curled hair because the curved “root” of the follicle is easily transected during extraction.

Graft quality - FUE often strips fat and other connective tissue from the lower portions of the follicle making the grafts more susceptible to damage from dehydration and physical injury during placement into the recipient sites.

Graft quantity -  damaged graft rates are significantly higher for FUE compared to grafts prepared under a microscope with FUT.   With the FUE method, the average number of hairs per graft is reduced due to difficulty removing the entire follicular unit.

Convenience - the number of grafts placed during a single FUE transplant session is limited due to the additional time required to precisely remove each individual graft. Larger sessions over 1500 grafts may need to be performed over consecutive days.

Financial - FUE is usually more expensive than FUT.

At Northwest Hair Restoration we asked our patients what would satisfy their hair restoration expectations and then compiled their responses into a single document. Having a list of the most common expectations can help you focus on what matters most to you. Ideally, seek out a surgeon who is experienced with both donor harvesting techniques.

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Hair Restoration More Popular Thanks to More Non-Invasive Techniques

Posted on November 5, 2011 by admin

Here at Northwest Hair Restoration, we have seen an increase in the popularity of hair restoration procedures over the last couple of years. Local increases in hair restoration seem to mirror a national increase that shows surgical hair restoration procedures jumping 11 percent in 2010 compared to results from an International Society of Hair Restoration Surgeons (ISHRS) practice census in 2008. Dr. Robert Niedbalski, hair transplant surgeon and medical director of Northwest Hair Restoration, attributes the increase in hair restoration procedures at his practice to the medical breakthroughs in the field that allow for more impressive results in a shorter period of time.

Dr. Niedbalski is the only doctor in the Pacific Northwest to offer non-invasive ACell – platelet-rich plasma (PRP) injections to regenerate hair in men and women in the early to moderate stages of hair loss. This hair regeneration technique was discovered by Dr. Gary Hitzig, who Dr. Niedbalski collaborated with to offer to his patients in the Seattle – Tacoma, WA area.

Using the FDA-approved ACell wound healing powder MatriStem® MicroMatrix™ and a blood serum combination, Dr. Niedbalski is able to activate stem cells present in scalp tissue and significantly increase the rate of hair re-growth. The breakthrough hair restoration technique has in some cases dramatically multiplied the number of hair follicles in an area that has previously stopped growing hair. Dr. Niedbalski expects similar results when used to restore eyebrows.

“In some cases, surgery may not be needed to regenerate hair, which was something unheard of just a couple of year’s ago.” said Dr. Niedbalski. “Within six months after undergoing a hair transplant or ACell-PRP injections, many of our patients tell us that they look years younger and have more confidence,” said Dr. Niedbalski.

According to the 2011 ISHRS practice census, males are still the predominate patients of hair restoration surgery (86 percent), although female patients have increased 24 percent since 2004 to 14 percent. The majority of patients fall between the ages of 30-49 years old.

 

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ACell Matristem Update

Posted on September 1, 2011 by admin

Since I began offering ACell Hair Cloning Therapy at Northwest Hair Restoration in 2010, I have been tweaking the “recipe” in an effort to continually improve the results.  This is an update on these changes, and how I expect them to impact your hair restoration treatment.

ACell MatriStem (ACell for short) is an advanced treatment for genetic hair loss. When injected into the scalp, ACell activates stem cells present in the scalp tissues, which in turn, direct the duplication of hair follicles and other scalp tissues while decreasing scar formation.  Acell can be used in conjunction with Follicular Unit Hair Transplant surgery or as a stand-alone procedure.  http://hairreplacementsurgeon.com/procedures/acell-matristem-with-prp-platelet-rich-plasma-for-hair-multiplication/

ACell is combined with PRP

The most significant change I have made in how ACell is applied to treat my hair loss patients is that I am now mixing the ACell powder in PRP (Platelet Rich Plasma), instead of saline. PRP is derived from a small sample of the patient’s blood by a special processing method. PRP is rich in growth factors, stem cells and other “goodies” that greatly potentiate the tissue regenerative properties that make ACell such a powerful tool in the treatment of hair loss.

Smaller particle size

ACell powder is now available in a smaller particle size, which means it can now be more thoroughly dissolved before injecting.  Until now, one of the challenges in preparing ACell powder for injection was utilizing all of the product in the vial. The larger particle size of the product didn’t dissolve well and tended to cling to the sides of the vial and the stopper. I have found the smaller sized ACell particles dissolve much more easily and completely, making the preparation faster and maximizing all of the product.

Fewer Complications

Although ACell injections into the scalp have not been prone to any serious complications such as allergic reaction or infection, some swelling and scalp soreness is common for a few days after the procedure – even if you have not had a hair transplant at the same time. With the introduction of a smaller particle size of ACell powder, the injections can now be done with a significantly smaller needle.  Patients now have had much less swelling and little to no post injection discomfort.

Recent results

 The following photos are representative of the results we have seen in patients who have been treated with ACell/PRP:

  • Female Pattern Hair Loss: One month post injection ACell/PRP, without hair transplantation and no medication, topical products or laser therapy.  These photos are 50X magnification of her hairline in the temple area. Notice the increase in the number and color intensity of hairs in the 1 month post treatment photo on the right (red arrows).

  • Donor Scar:  4 months post ACell/PRP injection with follicular unit hair transplant using strip harvesting method:

New Applications

 I have had some success in treating non-hereditary types of hair loss such as Alopecia Areata and Scarring Alopecia with ACell/PRP injection therapy.

Eyebrow Study

I am conducting a case study on the use of ACell as a non-surgical treatment for eyebrow hair loss.  Patients who participate in the study will receive a free ACell/PRP injection for their eyebrows. To see if you qualify for this study please contact Northwest Hair Restoration @ 253-572-2949.

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