Is the Flap a “Cure for Baldness”?

There is a post out of the UK that says there is a cure for Baldness called the Fleming-Mayer Flap. Please see the link and give me back your comments. See “An end to baldness – for those who can stomach it“

The original procedure was actually ‘invented’ by Dr. Jose Juri in South America. It was widely performed around the world with, at times, terrible consequences. Dr. Juri has been quoted by doctors I know as believing that this invention was a terrible mistake and I believe he apologized for the damage his procedure did to the many victims that the radical surgery produced.

As there is no cure for baldness, certainly a radical scalp moving procedure has many opportunities for problems. Worse, it can not cover all of the balding area, for that would take God’s hands, and not this technique.

• A banana-shaped piece of hair-bearing skin is marked out on the side of the head
• Incisions are made and the flap is loosened, always remaining attached to the head in order to maintain the blood supply
• The bald area is cut out of the patient’s scalp and removed
• The flap is twisted, flipped over the top of the head and sewn into place where the bald patch was. Surrounding skin is stretched lower down to compensate

I would not recommend this procedure for many people with ordinary male pattern balding. Even if their balding pattern does not look too bad at the time they have the procedure, as they get older, the flap will make them look freakish and I have treated many patients for deformities resulting from this type of surgery as they continued with an advancing balding pattern. The article you sent is very misleading; the flap is not a cure for baldness.

For more information about the flap procedure, please visit:

• Flap info at NHI
• Juri Flap illustrations from Dr. Kabaker
• Fleming/Mayer Flap information