NHI Announces new Transplant Procedure

Article by HairlossTalk.com

HairlossTalk: Can you explain exactly how the hair is obtained without an incision?

Dr. Rassman: We use a very small, sharp punch to take the follicular unit from the donor area. The wounds are left open to close on their own. We will be publishing further details.

HairlossTalk: Could you expound a little on who will and will not be eligible for a procedure like this?

Dr. Rassman: We do a test we call the FOXtm test. The FOX test is a biopsy. Those that are what we call "Fox Positive" are the ideal candidates for the procedure. Once the test results are known, you can come back at any time in the future and have the Follicular Unit Extraction procedure done if you decide that's the route you'd like to take. It is important to acknowledge that the Follicular Unit Extraction procedure limits the numbers of grafts that can be transplanted in a single session, unlike our Fast Track procedure, which can transplant a few thousand grafts in a single session. The good thing, as mentioned before, is that we can keep repeating the procedure with some frequency every few weeks.

HairlossTalk: Could you give me your opinion on Hair Cloning, and Hair Multiplication, and all the talk going on surrounding Dr. Gho and his procedure?

Dr. Rassman: We have had a researcher on staff doing full time research on the technology for almost a year now. At this time nothing looks promising, and I think that all the talk going on is a lot of hype. There is no good practical, clinical research available to assess and no validation for most of the claims at this time. I personally think that certain people like to keep a mystique about the subject, moving in dark circles, and what happens is that everybody starts to think that they're some type of guru, working on some exclusive cure through either cloning or genetics that is just around the corner. They're trying to make an image for themselves and I do not feel that such secrecy benefits the profession, or the consumer for that matter. To me, some play on people's weaknesses and they pull in the more vulnerable patients with promises that are never fulfilled.

HairlossTalk: Would the hype going on surrounding the Dr. Gho from the Netherlands be an example of this?

Dr. Rassman: Yes. The Dr. Gho mystique has been propagated by some sources that are saying a lot of stuff that hasn't been validated, and without validation it's a lot of baloney. However, there are several other doctors who are doing similar things, and aren't worthy of mention either.

HairlossTalk: In defense of Dr. Gho, there is a valid school of thought that says: "Even though Gho and other doctors such as Woods have done little or nothing as far as ethical, standard, medical disclosure of their methods... Even though they've done nothing as far as attendance at seminars, publishing of their work in journals, etc. Maybe these physicians feel they have a corner on the market and they're protecting their trade secrets." What is your take on the opinion that even in light of the Hippocratic Oath, these physicians have the right to withhold information until they're ready to reveal it?

Dr. Rassman: Okay let's take Dr. Woods for example. People go to Australia to get their entire head shaved. I've seen one photograph provided by an Australian doctor of a Woods patient who is 3 to 4 days out of surgery. He had 600 grafts done at the time the photograph was taken. We have been able to accomplish the same goal without having to shave the entire head, and we did it in a way that is socially acceptable and allows people to have a life. If you have to shave the entire head, then you have a period of "downtime" there to deal with. Dr. Woods has people coming to Australia for, I am told, is something in the order of $17,000 to perform a procedure that is not defined and that has no valid justification for it. I don't believe that these people know what they're buying. In California, the physician is required to give the patient a complete disclosure before any surgical procedure is performed. I must ask if that is happening.

HairlossTalk: Woods is a good example of a practice that is currently going on without any standard public information on it. Dr. Gho might be a better example for this question however, as he is yet to begin performing the technique. Would the concept of having the "corner on the market", and an "I've got something new, and I don't want to tell anyone about it because then I won't be the only one doing it" attitude be an acceptable attitude in the field of medicine?

Dr. Rassman: In medicine, we start off by saying, "Above all, do no harm". What assurance is there that the best interests of the patients are being addressed? My point is, just come clean. Talk about your procedure, talk about what you do. If you have a breakthrough, publish it and let the public benefit from the advance. This is what people in the legitimate medical community do.

HairlossTalk: How is NHI contributing to that mentality with their new procedure?

Dr. Rassman: First of all, we have over two dozen publications on Follicular Unit Transplantation, the procedure that has become synonymous with NHI. We published these over a period of 5 years. It is impossible to publish something the very second you have an idea, although that is what the public wants. The kinks need to be work out first and this cannot be accomplished in a public forum. As I mentioned earlier, with follicular unit extraction there have been many kinks, so many in fact that we have been working to solve them for over three years. Only recently have we been able to solve some of the problems with transection. We are presently preparing a paper on the subject. Follicular Unit Extraction will be discussed in a formal peer reviewed publication. Our experience will show patient results and discuss the pitfalls that we have seen, the limitation of the procedure and what doctor's must do to acquire the know-how to do it. Follicular Unit Extraction is going to be handled just like everything else NHI has ever done. It's going to be published for the whole world to see, and scrutinize, and it's going to be very clear as to what it involves.

Read more about Hair Transplants in our Hair Transplants Section.

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