A Whole Lot of Eyebrow Transplant Questions

Dear Doctor:

I have thin patches in my eyebrows and want them treated, preferably by means of an eyebrow transplant. Dr Rassman is one of my three short-listed doctors and I have several questions, which I would be extremely grateful if they could be answered.

Many thanks in advance

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Questions re FUE/FUT, yield etc.
1. Does the doctor recommend FUE or FUT for the eyebrow and why?

2. How does Dr Rassman avoid shock loss when implanting grafts amongst existing eyebrows?

3. How does he optimise yield of transplanted grafts?

4. What determines which follicles Dr Rassman selects for an eyebrow transplant?

5. What is unique about Dr Rassman’s approach for eyebrows as compared to similar leading transplant doctors?

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Questions re physical apperance of eyebrow

6. What is to prevent the hair turning grey later on, with age etc.?

7. How can you properly trim eyebrow hairs if they are growing horizontally?-with a simple nail scissor this would not be possible.

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Questions re preparation for operation:

8. How can you ensure the recipient area is in a healthy state to accept transplanted hairs? Should creams be used to ‘disinfect’ the area?

9. What factors would make an eyebrow transplant unsuitable for a patient?

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Side effects:

10 . Can having an eyebrow transplant affect the muscles around the brow, leading to future risk of a descending brow?

11. Is it risky operating on an eyebrow from the perspective of harming arteries etc. close to the eye? Can this harm the eyes? Have any patients experienced this?

12. In what percentage of cases, is the patient dissatisfied with his results?

13. Many of Dr Rassman’s patients travel from abroad and so can only avail themselves of an online transplant prior to the op. Upon closer inspection on the day or the day before the operation it may transpire that the patient is not a ‘good’ candidate for a transplant. Does the doctor in these cases advise against going through with a transplant? How many times this year, for example, has the doctor turned down a patient on the day or the day before an operation?

14. What controls does the doctor put in place to measure the performance of the various technicians?

15. Does the doctor, have a feedback system with a standard feedback form for post-op patients?

Now that is some due diligence! Below are the answers to your questions.

1. Either FUE or FUT will be fine. The key is to prepare one-hair grafts and put them at the correct angle, lying flat so that they do not stick up.
2. I have never seen shock loss of the existing eyebrow hair when doing an eyebrow hair transplant. The transplanted hair often fall out and then regrow in 3-5 months.
3. There is no yield problem with experienced surgeons like me. I would expect close to 100% growth from the grafts.
4. The doctor and team look for one-hair grafts and makes sure that they are trimmed correctly. If the grafts are taken by FUE, preferably one-hair grafts are removed, but it it is taken by strip surgery, then the team may have to reduce a two-hair graft into two one-hair grafts to keep the process delicate.
5. I have a great deal of experience doing eyebrow transplants, as do a handful of other experienced hair transplant surgeons.
6. Eyebrows will turn gray with age if those particular hairs are genetically programmed to turn gray, and other than dyeing them, the color is what nature gives you.
7. I would advise you to get a good set of iris scissors to trim the eyebrows, as they do grow long. Twice or three times a week may be needed to keep them the length you desire.
8. I suggest the use of Hibiclens soap for antibacterial application. As this is toxic to the eyes, it must be handled carefully with the eyes closed when applied.
9. Unrealistic expectations.
10. Not when done properly.
11. No such problems have ever been seen in my patients.
12. I do not remember any dissatisfied patient.
13. About twice a year we turn down a patient who has flown in a long distance, mostly because of unrealistic expectations.
14. Careful quality control is exercised in every case.
15. All of my patients have full 24/7 access to me (or Dr. Pak). We encourage feedback such as this post.

For more information on eyebrow transplants see:

1. Female Eyebrow Restoration After Cancer Surgery
2. Eyebrow transplant – Patient BG
3. Baldingblog search results – “eyebrow”

Do not hesitate to call my office @ 800-NEW-HAIR to setup a phone consultation with me if you’re not local.