There is a doctor in Australia who is offering to remove some of your blood, centrifuge it and 30 minutes later inject the platelets back into your scalp to make your hair grow. I notice that Bioscor also has offices in N. America as well.

I am thinking of reporting this to the medical board, but I would value your input before doing so. Another rip-off for the gullible.

Platelet-rich plasma (PRP) is used by some surgeons to speed up wound healing, and some hair transplant clinics have been advertising this as a way to speed up the healing along with promoting early growth. One of my patients is a dentist and he said he uses PRP regularly for his oral surgery patients.

I’ll rehash what I’ve written about this treatment in the past: the greatest issue stems from the fact that there are no controlled scientific studies showing PRP does anything of significance. I’m not saying it’s a useless procedure, but until there are proper studies done it does seem a bit gimmicky to me. I’m also not sure what the FDA has to say about the claims made regarding PRP treatments, and the NY Times had an interesting write-up about this earlier in the year — Popular Blood Therapy May Not Work.

As for the Bioscor company in particular, their Australia site advertises PRP treatments, but their US site doesn’t seem to mention anything about them. Maybe that site isn’t updated or they just don’t offer it in the States. However, the US site does talk about how the founder of the company apparently made a name for himself by selling his “all-natural” hair lotion that contains a “secret formula” of Chinese herbs. That’s all the site seems to be promoting. Even the most casual reader of this site should know how I feel about these magic hair potions with secret ingredients. I’m all for protecting trade secrets, but there’s no magical blend of vitamins and minerals that will make your hair regrow.

Hi Doc! I’ve just about made it through all 800+ pages on the Balding Blog and have a couple of questions about scalp reductions. I know you and most hair restoration physicians discredit them, but are there ever cases where one could be performed? Assuming good scalp laxity, how much could be removed without causing the slot deformity in the back? Some physicians still list some form of scalp reduction on their site and I’m wondering what they do these days that won’t cause more problems later.

Scalp reductions are not the “gold standard” in treating male pattern hair loss, because the results are sub-optimal and you end up with a scar along the top of your scalp that will be visible with continued hair loss. Although I hate to use the term “never”, I will say that I can not imagine using scalp reductions on any patient today.

Now with that said, a few of the old timers that have judgments and experience with follicular unit transplantation may find an indication for performing a scalp reduction and it might be reasonable in their hands to do a few. If the scalp reduction is limited to no more than 1-2 surgeries, then the probability of a slot deformity would be minimal and the thinning of the scalp will also be minimized. Reductions also tend to lose their value over time (a term called stretch-back) and the patient would need to understand that risk.

I had 3 scalp reductions in 1992-1993 and my scalp became very thin and easily damaged by sun. I also had a full stretch-back, resulting in a return to the original balding pattern from before the first surgery. The medical-legal risk of scalp reductions to the doctor is not insignificant in today’s litigious society, so few doctors will face the legal risk with complications that were so frequent in the early days. In the 1980s, doctors would do these frequently because the money was good ($2,000-2,500 per procedure) and the skilled doctor would be able to do it in 15-20 minutes. So the attraction to do something so profitable was irresistible for many doctors, bringing out the larcenous side of those who had that tendency. Add to that the need for 3-6 surgeries in most people and that made the money look better and better for the doctor, so much so that they lost their sense of compassion for the patients who had the many, many complications of this procedure.

For more information, including the history of scalp reductions and photos, see here.

Hi
I have read about Body Hair Transplants and I do see that it is not recommended. I was wondering though, would it be a feasible thing to have it used in conjunction with scalp transplants, kind of a topping it up for density?

As you’re familiar with my issues with body hair transplants (BHT) due to differences in growth cycle, length, and character, I won’t get into it again here. For those unfamiliar with my stance, you can read about it here, here, and here.

It is technically possible to do what you’re asking, but whether it adds real value is another story. For the patient who had a depleted donor supply in their scalp from many hair transplant procedures, body hair may have value.

First, you need to be evaluated by a GOOD doctor who cares about you and your results, not just the money he would make. I realize finding a “good” doctor is easier said than done, but do your due diligence. Research this procedure and the surgeons who perform it to form a short list of doctors you want to meet with to hopefully find someone you trust with the patient results you’re looking for. Then get an assessment of your need, and your donor supply will be matched to your goals by that doctor. Only after you have a good education on the matter, should you make decisions like what you are asking me here.

You might detect that I am neutral on the value of body hair transplants when mixed with donor hair, but I would be open to do them if I felt that it had value to you and you were well informed.