If ACell Can Regrow a Thumb, Why Can’t it Work for Hair?
Hello Dr. Rassman and Dr. Pak, Thank you for having this blog. I was wondering if Acell can grow (or re-grow) a new thumb, why can’t it grow (re-grow) a hair follicle? What if a 1mm punch was used to remove a section of the scalp and then the punched area was packed with Acell to see if a follicle will form?
I wish I had good news to report, but we know from our own studies using ACell powder and sheets in the wounds, that no significant amount of hair (less than 3%) was grown from the plucked hairs moved into the transplant area from the back of the head. I consider that this is not a supportable technique in our hands and I question the results of other doctors who report successful studies. This process is not rocket science that has technical barriers to entry that are for a doctor with my experience.
We were excited about the potential for ACell in hair transplantation following last year’s ISHRS meeting in Boston, but we haven’t been able to replicate anything close to the results from those original reports.
For those that want more information on ACell use in hair transplantation see these past posts:
Well i wonder for how long this Acell Banner will be put on your website then
What a joke. How do you know it’s not ‘rocket science’ if you never even contacted Dr. Cooley to learn the procedure. He has been fully willing to discuss it with other doctors, but too many are too proud to pick up the phone. Dr. Cooley himself says it’s more complicated and nuanced than one would think, but rather than speak to the pioneer directly, you question the legitimacy of his own results. Way to go, doc.
Fair enough – I retract and apologize for that particular part of my statement. However, Dr. Cooley continues to produce plucking results that rival the growth of FUE – certainly he must be doing something different. And I maintain that it is inappropriate to call his results into question given Cooley’s sterling reputation.
I think Dr. Rassman may be missing something very important that is right under his nose here.
Dr. Rassman, you state that even in your own research, 3% of the hair of the plucked hair transplants actually grew back. Obviously, this is a small percentage, but is it not miraculous in and of itself? It means that something is happening! Something is there! At least in that 3% of instances.
This is a very important finding and warrants closer study. What was it about that 3% of instances that made the hair grow back? Within these limited instances, you may very well have accomplished autocloning, unless you argue that the hair would have grown back there anyways, without the plucked hair transplant.
If I wave my pen at that tree outside my window and say “turn into a chicken!” and the tree only turns into a chicken 3% of the time…well, then we’ve got something…
We may have something but unfortunately no matter how pessimistic and harsh it may sound we are very far away from hair multiplication!
Um, Andrew, please see Dr. Cooley – he’s regularly and consistently and successfully multiplying hairs. Not all doctors have the same knowledge/skill/enthusiasm.
Andrew, I agree with your healthy sense of skepticism but I disagree with your conclusion.
While I like to be optimistic about things, we cannot say with certainty whether we are very close to or very far from achieving practical workable hair multiplication.
Either way, we simply don’t know.
I don’t believe anything anymore.
So many press releases on cures for hair loss but it never goes any further than that. Hair loss Sucks!!