Alan J. Bauman M.D.'s personal notes--www.BaumanBlog.com

Prostate Cancer Prevention with Finasteride, the baldness drug

A study of over 18,000 men completed in 2003 confirms that men taking finasteride can reduce their risk of experiencing prostate cancer.  Finasteride is used to treat prostate enlargment as well as male pattern hair loss (Propecia).  Many patients experiencing hair loss initially may be reluctant to commit to the long-term treatment with finasteride because of fears of unknown effects of the drug on the body over time.   This study gives physicians and patients an added degree of confidence that the medication is not just effective in shrinking prostates and stopping hair loss, but also that it has some good positive long-term effects on the body (such as reducing the incidence of prostate cancer).   Initial fears that finasteride enhanced the appearance of high-grade prostate cancers have not been confirmed with subsequent studies. 

For more information, check the story in USA Today or in the medical literature below. 

 

The effect of finasteride on the prostate gland in men with elevated serum prostate-specific antigen levels. [Br J Cancer. 1998]

ReviewThe rationale for inhibiting 5alpha-reductase isoenzymes in the prevention and treatment of prostate cancer. [J Urol. 2008]

ReviewChemoprevention using dutasteride: the REDUCE trial. [Curr Opin Urol. 2005]

ReviewFive-alpha-reductase Inhibitors for prostate cancer prevention. [Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2008]

ReviewA review of phase III clinical trials of prostate cancer chemoprevention. [Ann R Coll Surg Engl. 2007]

Hair Transplantation in Ethnic Populations

Hair loss in ethnic populations, such as those of African descent can be treated successfully with hair transplantation. This procedure was performed with 1340 follicular-unit micrografts using a linear trichophytic harvest technique by Dr. Alan Bauman at Bauman Medical Group in Boca Raton, FL. Results are shown approximately 7 months after his procedure. Additional improvement in coverage can be expected up to 12 months post-operatively. For more information on hair transplantation in ethnic populations, visit www.baumanmedical.com

FDA-approved Latisse(TM) from Allergan grows lashes--VIDEO

While lecturing on Cosmetic and Reconstructive Eyelash Transplantation in Phoenix, AZ at the American Society of Cosmetic Surgery's Annual Meeting, Dr. Bauman was interviewed by ABC-15 on the latest non-surgical eyelash growth treatment, FDA-approved LATISSE.  The segment aired on Sonoran Living Live.  Click to watch below.

Constructing the Undetectable Hair Transplant

It is every patient’s goal is to have their hair restored in a way that is safe, comfortable but most importantly, undetectable.   Whether you are concealing your hair restoration procedure from your clients, co-workers, friends or family, there are a few key components to your ‘stealth surgery’ that cannot be ignored.   The two main areas of ‘stealth -surgery’ have to do with the process (the hair transplant procedure and your post-hair transplant recovery or 'downtime') as well as the naturalness of the final result.

How a surgeon handles your Donor Area--where the grafts are harvested--impacts both your recovery time in addition to how well your procedure remains 'hidden' from a casual observer, or even your hairstylist.

To minimize a 'tell-tale' scar in the donor area, there are two approaches.  For patients who are undergoing a traditional linear harvest, where follicles are harvested 'en bloc' or all at one time, a linear trichophytic closure can be used.   Linear-Tricho or Trichophytic closures are a sophisticated microsurgical technique stemming from plastic surgery which (in a pretty slick way, actually) allows hair to grow through the resulting linear scar.

Another option would be the Follicular-Unit Extraction or F.U.E. (FUE) approach.  With FUE, hair follicles are harvested individually, without a scalpel or stitches.  The tiny (~0.8mm) round incisions which are left after the follicles are removed contract significantly within one day and, once healed,  leave no visible signs of a hair transplant when viewed at a social distance--even with short hair.

These are some photos of FUE donor areas

For more info on FUE hair transplant procedures that require no scalpel, no stitches and fast recovery, visit www.baumanmedical.com or email doctorb@baumanmedical.com

To be continued...

Zerona Slideshow of Photos

Zerona is the latest breakthrough in fat-reduction.  Patients lose inches of unwanted fat without the interruption, pain, discomfort, recovery or risks of surgery.   Laser therapy has been scientifically and clinically proven to safely and effectively help patients lose inches in just two weeks.  Bauman Medical Group is one of the first medical practices worldwide to receive the Zerona laser from Erchonia Medical (TX).  Learn more about Zerona at www.bocalipo.com

Correction of previous entry regarding Crown Entertainment

Please consider this entry as an official correction of the entry regarding Crown Entertainment posted originally on January 20, 2009. 

On 12/15/2008 our offices were contacted by Jason Kusell 561-819-0877 by phone, who identified himself as working for a TV show entitled "Best of South Florida" to my staff, stating he was a journalist seeking an interview.  He requested time for a phone interview with Dr. Bauman under the premise that our medical practice had been one of several local businesses 'selected' to potentially be featured on the local "Best of South Florida" television show.

Not unusual, as we are often contacted by journalists seeking interviews. However, after making the initial appointment, a staff member called Jason back to confirm that this was NOT a solicitation and that NO FEES were required to be involved with the program.  Jason assured my staff member that there would absolutely be NO FEE to be involved.

At the time of the "interview" which lasted approximately 20 minutes and included a variety of legitimate questions regarding our practice, Jason then informed (at the end of the 'interview') that there would be an 'affiliate fee' in order to participate and be featured.   After further research, "Best of South Florida" is produced by Crown Entertainment (www.crown-tv.com) AKA/DBA Discover Entertainment Group located on 4723 W Atlantic Ave #A20, Delray Beach, FL 33445 561-819-0877.

We apologize for any inconvenience this has caused.

Alopecia Totalis / Alopecia Universalis are not candidates for hair transplants (including eyelash or eyebrow)

Unfortunately, patients suffering from Alopecia Universalis or Totalis patients are not good candidates for hair transplantation (eyelash, scalp, or other) for two reasons:  1) lack of permanent donor hair follicles and 2) active skin disease which kills follicles.    Eventually, AU/AT leave no donor hair for transplantation—and—even if there is some weak hair that is transplantable, those follicles are susceptible to the progression of the condition wherever they are placed in the skin.   In the autoimmune conditions AU and AT your body fights against the follicles, weakening and then eventually killing them.     In agricultural terms, in AU/AT “the problem is the soil, not the plant.”

 

If we transplanted hair into an area where the condition killed off the follicles, the new follicles would then become affected too.   This is unlike hereditary hair loss in which follicles located in the back of the scalp (the donor area) are essentially immune to the hair loss process.  In hereditary hair loss there is no active ‘disease’ in the skin of the recipient area which would affect them.   In male pattern hair loss “the problem is the plant, not the soil”—see the difference?

 

There is no medical treatment or cure for AU or AT, so I suggest visiting www.alopeciareata.org for support.  Artificial hair, false lashes, makeup or tattoos are among the limited options available.

 

Six Sigma "Quality-Control" in Hair Transplantation

Recently, I participated in a training seminar from the International Society of Hair Restoration Surgery which set out to explain and how Six Sigma strategies can be successfully applied to hair transplantation.

Six Sigma is a business management strategy, originally developed by Motorola, that today enjoys widespread application in many sectors of industry.

Six Sigma seeks to identify and remove the causes of defects and errors in manufacturing and business processes. It uses a set of quality management methods, including statistical methods, and creates a special infrastructure of people within the organization ("Black Belts" etc.) who are experts in these methods. Each Six Sigma project carried out within an organization follows a defined sequence of steps and has quantified targets...                   www.wikipedia.org

The application of Six Sigma principles to a hair transplant procedure (which contains literally thousands of steps) is not a simple one.  However, like those of us at Bauman Medical who strive hard every day to provide the most comfortable, efficient and natural results for our patients, many will automatically have a innate 'sixth sense' about what areas of our process and procedures are 'critical to quality'.  Passionate about our persuit of quality in all areas of patient care, we are all looking forward to diving into the process of six sigma and look forward to passing along information about our findings along to our colleagues, and those who will ultimately benefit from them the most, our patients.