ISHRS 15th Annual Scientific Meeting,
Las Vegas, September 2007
The annual scientific meeting of
the International society of hair restoration surgery took
place in Las Vegas between September 26th and 30th. Many
new technical refinements were presented:
Robotics and machines in hair transplantation
Several new machines to facilitate hair transplantation
were demonstrated. There was also the presentation of a
robotic system for extracting follicular units from the
rear of the head, and inserting them elsewhere on the head.
Much work remains to be done before these machines are in
common use. It seems possible that part of hair restoration
procedure could be automated in the next five years.
Hair cloning
The current state of hair cloning was shown. This procedure
would allow the growing of unlimited amounts of hair from
a small biopsy obtained from the scalp. The hairs would
still need to be implanted, similar to the current techniques
for implantation. The group working on cloning believes
that cloning of hairs will be available to patients within
five years.
Follicular
unit extraction FUE
Several techniques to facilitate follicular unit extraction
were shown. This approach is growing in popularity. Several
groups expressed concern about decreased growth rates of
transplanted hair using FUE. The consensus was that this
technique should be reserved for patients with specific
indications.
Trichophytic
closure
This approach to closure of the donor scar is growing in
popularity. Preliminary results of one study demonstrated
that the scar appeared thinner when the lower edge was excised
for trichophytic closure.
Eyebrow transplantation
Several techniques for eyebrow transplantation were demonstrated.
Eyebrow transplantation for correction of scars or over
plucking or for cosmetic improvement is now well established.
Eyelash transplantation
Several refinements for eyelash transplantation were demonstrated.
Eyelash transplantation for repair of scars, congenital
absence, or over plucking is well accepted. Eyelash transplantation
is becoming more readily accepted for cosmetic improvement.
