Hair transplant surgeon, Robert M. Bernstein M.D,. joins the blogosphere to discuss hair transplantation and help dispel the myths about hair loss and its treatment.

The Hair Transplant Blog serves as a clearinghouse for important concerns of both men and women suffering from hair loss.

Dr. Bernstein: Anatomically, follicular unit transplantation is the end of the line. The next step would be hair cloning, which is still quite a way off. The way you get the most amount of hair into the smallest wound — and ensure that it’s going to look natural — is by using a follicular unit transplant. We can create swirls, add sideburns…

The beauty of follicular transplantation is that the hair will take on the old wave that the original hair had.

The Discovery Channel interviewed Dr. Bernstein for a piece on hair transplant repair. Below is an excerpt from the interview:

Dr. Bernstein: When I first saw Ken in 1995. He still had the traditional plugs, and I would say on a scale of one to ten, he was maybe a seven, with ten being the worst. We performed a procedure called follicular unit transplantation where hair is transplanted in exactly the way it grows in nature, which are little tiny groups of one to four hairs.

Ken Gold: After the first surgery I was just ecstatic because I was actually able to look at myself in the mirror.

Watch the full interview.

“The diagnosis and treatment for men and women is very different,” said Dr. Robert M. Bernstein [...] Women usually have a diffuse type of hair loss with thinning all over while men keep a permanent zone on the back and sides. [...] “A medical evaluation is extremely important to rule out underlying medical conditions,” said Bernstein.

The following is a portion of “An Idea Whose Time Has Come,” an editorial written by O’Tar T. Norwood, MD — founder of the Norwood Classification System for Hair Loss — and published in the May/June 1997 issue of “Hair Transplant Forum International”:

I just returned from visiting Dr. Bob Bernstein in New York, and was impressed with his operation and even more impressed with his thoughts, observations, and insights into hair transplant surgery. He applies scientific methods to his work, is academically honest, and has an almost eerie instinctive knowledge of hair transplant surgery. Of course he has Dr. Bill Rassman to work with, but it is still remarkable. Dr. Bernstein is best known for introducing follicular transplantation to hair transplant surgery, an idea Bob Limmer has been pushing for ten years with the use of the binocular microscope, but no one would listen to him. Dr. Limmer, however, never used the term follicular transplantation. Using the microscope, you automatically dissect the follicular units. It can’t be avoided if done properly.