Indian Journal of Dermatology, Venereology and Leprology Medknow Publications on behalf of The Indian Association of Dermatologists, Venereologists and Leprologists (IADVL) ISSN: 0378-6323 EISSN: 0973-3922 Vol. 70, Num. 4, 2004, pp. 260-261

Indian Journal of Dermatology, Venereology, Leprology, Vol. 70, No. 4, July-August, 2004, pp. 260-261

Get set for the net

Websites on hair transplantation

Gopalani Vinay

Consultant Dermatologist, Thane, Mumbai
Correspondence Address:Thane Skin Centre, 1, Yogesh society, Near Vandana Talkies, Extended Rammaruti Road, Thane (W), Mumbai - 400602 gopalani@vsnl.com

Code Number: dv04091

Rarely concealed by clothing, hair is one of the first characteristics that other people notice about us. Our hair speaks of our social, professional, cultural, and/or religious affiliations, and is an important element of our self-expression.

As early as the 1930′s, Japanese physicians were successfully harvesting and grafting multiple and single hairs into other areas of the body, including the scalp, face, and pubic region. This and many more eye-openers can be sourced from the net.

Hair transplantation is one of the most dynamic topics in the medical literature today and hence plethora of information is present on the net about it. This article will help you wade through the vast sea of information on the net.

For Doctors

1. http://www.emedicine.com/derm/topic529.htm
   
   This article provides a broad overview of the techniques used by many hair transplant surgeons, which serves as a foundation for the dermatologist/cosmetic surgeon. It is meant for beginners interested in basics of hair transplant.
   
   
2. http://www.regrowth.com/hair_transplants.cfm
   
   Regrowth.com is a site that provides individuals suffering from hair loss with the most complete, accurate, and timely information on hair loss prevention, reversal and other solutions. It has, however, links that are valuable to hair care providers as well. This link provides information on follicular unit transplants, Graftcyte, interview with leading trichologists and hair transplant surgeons and articles on hair transplant. A must visit site!
   
   
3. http://www.regrowth.com/hair_loss_treatments/hair_transplants/hair_transplant_videos.cfm
   
   Interested in a first hand look at how the procedure is done? An offshoot of the above site, this page has video clippings of the whole procedure, right from injecting the donor area to the multiple methods by which the recipient sites where the hairs will be placed are created
   A fantastic site if you have a lot of time and good bandwidth. Huge files, but if you have a cable connection, worth it!
   
   
4. http://www.ishrs.org/index.htm
   
   This is the International Society of Hair Restoration Surgery (ISHRS) site. It is a non-profit voluntary organization of almost 700 doctors interested in transplant surgery from all over the world including India. The site has a section where you can register as a transplant-providing physician. The organization conducts regular meetings and seminars all around the world. The details of this are provided online. It also has a section on patient information that has some interesting articles.

For Patients

1. http://www.ehendrick.org/healthy/000602.htm
   
   This is a one-page link to hair transplant. Its brief detailing of the procedure does not confuse an apprehensive patient. It has still graphics detailing the procedure. It can be downloaded and made into a single page handout for the patients.
   
   
2. http://www.hair-loss-central.com/hair_transplant.htm
   
   A 2-minute video is always better than 20000 words. This excellent site has 7 video links that discusses various methods of hair transplant, visit to an operating room and many patient specific information in small 3 - 6 minutes videos. As usual, it is important to have good connection speeds. A similar site http://thebaldtruth.healthology.com/focus_index.asp?f=hairloss&b=thebaldtruth has more than 30 streaming videos on hair related disorders.
   
   
3. http://www.hairtransplantguide.com/index.html
   
   This site is designed as a simple, patient-friendly introduction into the confusing world of hair transplants. According to the site information, this online hair transplant resource teaches men and women the essentials so that they can make the right decision. They have achieved this to a great extent by keeping the content short and relevant.
   
   
4. http://www.hairlosspatientguide.com/index.html
   
   This site as the name suggests provides comprehensive information on hair loss, medical hair therapy and ′nuts and bolts′of hair transplant. This has comprehensive information on hair related issues including transplants, but lack of graphics may make it a bit hard for patients to comprehend.
   
   
5. http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/hairdiseases andhairloss.html
   
   Lastly, this site boasts of an assorted collection of articles on hair loss and hair therapies from Medline. For a patient who needs to know everything about everything, this is where his quest ends.

Copyright 2004 - Indian Journal of Dermatology, Venereology, Leprology