It has been one week since my procedure and words can’t express how this makes me feel! The procedure itself was pain-free and I quite honestly feel like I have healed up faster than expected! I have a renewed sense of confidence and self esteem! I know for a fact that it shows in just my daily interactions with clients and friends! Everyone close to me can tell that I am a new man! I cannot express enough to someone who is considering having this procedure how life changing it will be! Get off the fence and contact Tedd to set up a free consultation! Dr. McGrath and his staff are amazing and I wouldn’t have gone anywhere else to have this procedure done! Dr. McGrath has over 4,000 procedures completed under his belt and you can definitely see it in the artistry he exhibits! Please feel free to contact me with any questions and I will be happy to share my experience with you!!
The following is a transcript of the video at the bottom of this page of Dr. McGrath discussing Histogen.
I’d like to talk about some very exciting news about the development of a new product out there that may well revolutionize hair restoration surgery or hair thinning and balding as we know it. This is a complex topic, but the name of the compound is called HSC. Maybe some of you have heard about it, maybe not, but if this is new to you, HSC stands for Hair Stimulating Complex and what it is basically is a combined mixture. It’s a liquid composition that’s meant for injectable, direct injectable use into the scalp. It’s basically been developed by growing newborn cells in an embryonic condition and bathing them with specific types of stimulating proteins, in particular a protein called Wnt, in fact, it’s Wnt7a, a very specific type of growth stimulating protein as well as a chemical compound known as follistatin.
Apparently, the company has found in their investigations when this is bathed in this complex at a very low oxygen level, they’re able to really maximize the effects of this compound, and the phase studies that have been done through phase I clinical trials had been really nothing short of remarkable. At the end of one year, the first trial, they found a 73% increase in the growth of hair from baseline. Now that’s amazing. That’s an amazing finding and it’s revolutionary. If this ends up being something that can be used broadly in the markets, it could totally change hair loss as we know with men and women potentially.
So again, the name of the complex is HSC. It’s made by a company called Histogen. Now Histogen has been around since early 2007 and they’re really a cutting edge company that’s developing some amazing new products not just for hair loss, but for other types of stem cell research and tissue regeneration, amazing stuff that they’re doing. I know they have topnotch investigators involved in this. My mentor is involved as one of the lead investigators with this compound, HSC, so I know they have some amazing people involved with this.
So I want to get some information to the basic public about it. It’s something to keep your eye on. There’s a lot of technical complicated reports about it online, but I wanted to try to break it down for you. It’s not available in the States yet and probably won’t be until the very earliest 2014, 2015 maybe. It depends on how things go in some of other where it’s being studied in Asia and other select countries, but it’s an amazing product that I think could revolutionize what we do and I think it’s something that you all want to know about firsthand.
So that’s what’s called, HSC. Do some research on it. If you have any other questions, log on to the site, drop them off. I’ll be happy to address them individually and see, you know, if I can help you get your answers that you’re looking for.
Christine Butterfield – 37 year old female, was diagnosed with a brain tumor and required chemotherapy treatment. Although the treatment was successful she was left with significant permanent hair loss more than 4 years later.
Christine is an artist, musician/singer and was referred to Dr. McGrath by a friend. In her consult form she wrote in that she felt “ugly, ugly” Hate always wearing scarves and wigs. Christine’s first transplant procedure was in April 2011. Her follow up photos were taken immediately post op and 8 months later.
In recent years there has been a tremendous amount of buzz in the hair transplant industry about a procedure known as Follicular Unit Extraction. Commonly referred to as FUE, this is the process of removal of the donor hair that is to be used for the transplant process, literally one graft at a time. The process has gained popularity for several reasons, not the least being the fear that many patients have of the strip excision for harvesting donor hair. Despite the fact that strip excision is the gold standard for the procedure many patients are fearful of potential scarring.
It is very important to understand exactly what the difference is between the two procedures. With any hair transplant procedure you must harvest hair from the donor area in the back of the scalp. How you harvest this hair is the only difference between an FUE vs Strip Excision procedure. The rest of the transplant process is exactly the same. In the FUE process a very specialized tool is used to extract the grafts and the tool that is used is completely up to the surgeon and his or her personal preference. There are several devises on the market that work very well, I for one use a device called the Safescribe Motorized FUE Extractor.
Now why does any of this matter? Why am I going on about boring details of types of surgical instruments and different types of harvest methods for hair transplantation?
Well enter Neograft which is a machine that is used to perform the extraction process for an FUE procedure, but surprise, surprise if you were to perform an internet search on Neograft you would be led to believe that it is a evolutionary new automated procedure for hair transplant surgery.
Nothing could be further from the truth. Neograft is nothing more than the name of a machine that is used for performing FUE graft harvesting, with or without a skilled hair restoration surgeon operating the device..
The Neograft machine has been aggressively marketed to many physician practices across the country with the promise of an easy and profitable method for the non hair transplant trained physician who are trying to increase their bottom line, but yet don’t have the surgical hair restoration experience and training or the know how to put together a successful hair transplant practice.
No worries there though because the company that sells the doctor this very expensive piece of equipment will also provide the doctor with an entire technical crew that will essentially perform the entire transplant procedure for the non hair transplant physician.
As an experienced hair restoration surgeon who has performed a full one year fellowship in hair restoration surgery I am aware of all the detailed skills that goes into a good hair transplant procedure. These are skills that are not acquired in a weekend course and certainly should not be delegated to a non physician staff of traveling hair technicians. Quality hair restoration comes from an experienced team and that team should have an experienced physician leader.
Hair transplantation is a relatively easy but highly work intensive procedure that requires a surgeon with good surgical and aesthetic skills. Each patient is different and brings special needs and cosmetic goals. This is not a procedure that you want performed by an inexperienced team of surgeon and technicians.
As a consumer please don’t be fooled by what seems to be the next best mouse trap. The Neograft machine in the proper hands is a wonderful tool but in the wrong hands it is a bad hair transplant waiting to happen. FUE has its place but should not be marketed as the preferred method for hair transplant for any and all patients and that is exactly what the marketers of the Neograft machine would have you believe.
KLBJ-AM producer Thomas McDonald (Jeff Ward Show) didn’t like his hair loss but he didn’t know there was anything he could do about it. He didn’t want wigs, plugs or lotions, he wanted his own hair.
Then he met Dr. Dan McGrath of McGrath Medical. Dr. McGrath had his own hair transplanted and the results were amazing. Thomas realized there was a natural, permanent procedure to restore his hair.
Thomas was so excited he agreed to go public and invited the KLBJ-AM audience to follow his progress. The pictures above show Thomas before, during and immediately after his procedure. He recently had 2950 follicular unit grafts transplanted during an 8 hour procedure. The grafts where meticulously prepared under microscopes by Dr. McGrath and his team while Thomas relaxed, ate lunch and watched movies.
Thomas recently came in for a 1 month follow up and is healing very well with some fine hairs already growing. He should expect hair to start growing at 3 month and significant hair growth at 6 months after the procedure.
Come back and follow Thomas’ progress here and on Facebook.
myFOXaustin (AUSTIN) – More than 8 months ago, FOX 7′s Foti Kallergis invited you into the operation room to witness a hair-raising procedure called hair transplant surgery.
“I don’t like needles, but here we go,” said Kallergis, as he entered the operation room. Kallergis has been battling the bald since his early 20′s and decided to undergo the procedure to restore his eroding hairline.
“It’s been such an emotional journey for me. Losing your hair, waking up every single morning and seeing hair on your pillow,” said Kallergis.
At the age of 27, Kallergis was bald to the middle of his head. So he sought after Austin Transplant Surgeon Dr. Daniel McGrath.
The surgery began with the harvesting of the donor hair, taken from the back of Kallergis’ head. A local anesthetic was used before a slice of scalp was cut out. The donor scalp was cut up under a microscope. For hours, several assistants dissected the hair follicles strand by strand. In the meantime, Dr. McGrath, poked more than one thousand in the front of Kallergis’ head. The tiny holes are the recipient sites where each follicle was implanted. The entire procedure took about seven hours.
“The reason why I did this in front of the camera is because I want to make sure that guys know that it is okay to talk about it,” said Kallergis. “It’s okay to undergo a cosmetic procedure to do something about it, even if that means putting myself on the line, putting my head on the line. I think it has opened the conversation for all men.”
Days after the surgery, Kallergis’ head looked like a swollen porcupine. The recipient sites scabbed over and eventually fell out. The implanted follicles stay in place and became dormant for weeks.
“There was one point where I didn’t see any growth, and I had a nightmare that something was wrong, and the hair wasn’t going to grow,” said Kallergis.
“It’s normal for the hair to kind of go into a state of dormancy, and during that state of dormancy, the shaft of the hair that we transplanted will just fall out but the follicle stays in,” said Dr. McGrath.
The new hairline began sprouting after about three to four months. The full results of the procedure could be seen after 8 months. But Kallergis said he wanted more thickness along his hairline, so he went in for a second transplant.
“The hair that we used for the transplantation, will never fall out,” said Dr. McGrath.
The cost of the procedure depends on how much hair is transplanted. It ranges from 25-hundred dollars to 10 thousand dollars.
“It’s life changing, that’s the only way to describe it,” said Kallergis.
For comments or questions about this story, e-mail foti.kallergis@foxtv.com
For more information and to schedule a free consultation call 512-474-4247.
News Reporter Foti Kallergi of FOX7 has his first hair transplant procedure with Dr. McGrath.
Read below what motivated Foti.
BALD ISN’T ALWAYS BEAUTIFUL
Not everyone has a head that’s shaped for a clean shave. Before I got my first job in TV, I tried it. And that’s when I noticed that the top of my head comes to a weird point. Luckily, it all grew back before I was hired.
I have to admit, since I’ve gotten into the news business, I’ve notice my hair has been falling out at a faster rate. Call it stress or call it genetics. My twin brother Mario is completely bald now. We are 27 years old.
I had the hair transplant surgery because I felt bad about how I looked…not only in the mirror and but on camera. I’ve become really depressed and obsessed about it.
So why did I decide to get the surgery done in front of the public? One, because it’s hard to hide, but most importantly, I wanted to make men feel like it’s okay to be open about being bald. Men don’t like talking about their thinning hairline or bald heads. They don’t like pointing it out.
I hope we (men and women) can become more open about it. And if the surgery isn’t your calling, then maybe the series can help lead all of us towards acceptance.
It has been one week since my procedure and words can’t express how this makes me feel! The procedure itself was pain-free and I quite honestly feel like I have healed up faster than expected! I have a renewed sense of confidence and self esteem! I know for a fact that it shows in just my daily interactions with clients and friends! Everyone close to me can tell that I am a new man! I cannot express enough to someone who is considering having this procedure how life changing it will be! Get off the fence and contact Tedd to set up a free consultation! Dr. McGrath and his staff are amazing and I wouldn’t have gone anywhere else to have this procedure done! Dr. McGrath has over 4,000 procedures completed under his belt and you can definitely see it in the artistry he exhibits! Please feel free to contact me with any questions and I will be happy to share my experience with you!!
