Hair Restoration: A Sophisticated Art Form

Hair restoration is truly an exciting and dynamic field that continues to fascinate and amaze. It has been nearly 20 years since Facial Plastic Surgery Clinics of North America published its first volume that was devoted exclusively to hair restoration. Numerous developments in medical and surgical treatment options at the time of that publication quickly advanced the specialty beyond the notorious “plug”-based restoration methods that predominated the hair restoration discipline for so many years beginning over a half century ago. The introduction of restoration protocols with the exclusive use of follicular unit grafts, which began around the time Facial Plastic Surgery Clinics of North America released “Hair Restoration Surgery” in 1994, initiated a period that produced consistent and predictable results of such naturalness as to be undetectable by even the most critical observer. The dramatic aesthetic leap forward at that time from the “plug” era gave one pause to believe that we reached the final frontier with respect to the evolution of hair restoration. However, the pause was very short lived and the specialty area of hair restoration has since continued to evolve at a breakneck speed.

An exclusive group of the world’s premiere hair restoration experts has been assembled for this edition of the Facial Plastic Surgery Clinics of North America to provide the reader a thoroughly comprehensive, state-of-the-art review of hair restoration. This edition includes expert discussions on core topics relating to diagnostic pearls, medical therapy, hairline design, comprehensive surgical management schemes for male and female patients, and graft survival strategies. Several novel topics are also presented here that highlight the great strides that have most recently emerged in this specialty area. Innovative topics presented within include (1) a new and innovative ancillary treatment option—SMP (scalp micropigmentation), which offers great hope to patients with limited donor graft reserves; (2) new insights into the evolutionary progression of hairline maturation; (3) FUE (follicular unit extraction)—one of the most dynamic areas in hair restoration that has advanced surgical treatment options via the use of microscopic dissection to harvest individual follicular unit grafts from both scalp and body donor sites; and (4) the latest technological advancement in surgical management—robotic hair restoration. Finally, a cutting-edge discussion on follicular regeneration and neogenesis rounds out this compilation to highlight the future of things to come for this specialty area.

Surgical hair restoration has evolved into a sophisticated art form that consistently brings great joy to patients and treating physicians. The numerous dynamic changes in the field have been stimulating and thought-provoking and we feel extremely fortunate to have found a niche specialty that provides such extraordinary satisfaction. We extend our most sincere and heartfelt gratitude to the founding icons, who set the foundation for what has become an incredibly vibrant specialty area. Finally, we are extremely grateful to our distinguished authors for their time and expertise in creating this notably outstanding edition of Facial Plastic Surgery Clinics of North America .

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