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.
