Tag Archives: orange county hair transplant

FUT Hairline and Crown Restoration – Case Study

Our patient travelled to us from the state of New Mexico sharing that he had done a lot of research on a hair transplant surgery, and wanted to meet with Dr. Amir Yazdan to receive an unbiased surgical recommendation.

Being that Dr. Yazdan regularly performs both FUE and FUT/Strip surgeries he discussed both options with this patient and went over the pros and cons of each hair transplant surgery method.  Ultimately the patient decided to move forward with the FUT/Strip procedure. This method allows Dr. Yazdan to harvest more grafts in one sitting which meant we could address both the patients empty crown area as well as his hairline.

Almost a year later our patient has returned to share his life changing results.

To find out which method is best for you schedule a free surgical consultation with Dr. Yazdan at Modena Hair Institute by emailing info@modenahair.com or call (949) 374-2563

 

30s Male Hair Transplant + Testimonial

A new entry has just been added to Modena’s male hair loss success stories!

Diagnosis: FUE Transplant – Age: 32 – Follicles: 1,988 – Sex: Male

For this patient, we did a complete frontal zone and hairline reconstruction. Every graft was personally harvested by Dr. Amir Yazdan. The patient is in his early 30s, lives in Las Vegas and is an aspiring musician. He came to Modena Hair Institute and Dr. Yazdan  to help enhance his look to help with his career.

The patient wears his hair short so it was essential Dr. Yazdan use a very calibrated small punch during the FUE procedure to minimize scarring and maximize a natural look.

“From my first contact with the Modena Hair Institute I was impressed by the candor, follow-up and professionalism of Dr. Yazdan and the staff. When I arrived for my treatment, I first met with Dr. Yazdan for an hour to discuss my goals and expectations for both the procedure and the long term plan. The plan was to create and maintain a hairline that would look natural 20 years down the line. Dr. Yazdan was confident that my expectations were realistic, he answered any and all questions and I walked out of his office knowing I had made the right choice. On the day of the surgery Dr. Yazdan restored my hairline and my confidence. My hair looks amazing now and I couldn’t be happier.”

Southern California Hair Transplant Clinics – Feat. Spencer Kobren

“I’ll tell you what I like about Dr. Yazdan. He’s able to perform FUE surgery to state-of-the-art standards and is doing it himself, which is a rarity. Here in Southern California, there are so many pop-up turn-key hair transplant clinics doing FUE surgery with very little expertise or experience. Which is shocking considering Southern California is the mecca of plastic surgery and cosmetic surgery.”
Spencer Kobren

Last year Dr. Yazdan was listed as one of the top 20 hair transplant surgeons in the world. At Modena Hair Institute, quality of care, rigorous technical finesse and patient advocacy are the foundation of our work. Our Southern California clinic specializes in state-of-the-art medical and surgical treatments of hair loss for men and women including, but not limited to: receding temples, crowns, overall thinning, balding, sideburns, beards, mustaches and eyebrows.
Hair transplantation is an immensely exacting and technically demanding operation where thousands of microscopic incisions are created and thousands of hair grafts – full of sensitive tissue – are extracted, dissected and transplanted.
We believe that an FUE procedure from a skilled hair surgeon is the most effective, safe and aesthetically mature hair restoration option for patients suffering from pattern baldness and other forms of hair loss. The great caveat to this statement, however, is that the surgeon’s skill, expertise and clinical team must be operating at the highest technical and artistic level to achieve the right outcome. When it works, it results in stunningly beautiful hair growth and is one of the only methods to permanently combat baldness. When an operation is performed badly, the hair will grow in an unnatural direction and there’s a high risk for skin infection and scarring.
An aesthetically and technically successful hair transplant requires extreme hand-eye coordination, artistic finesse, calculated endurance and years of specialized experience.
At Modena Hair Institute in Southern California, Dr. Yazdan utilizes an extremely fine 0.7mm punch for all extractions. This not only reduces the risk for scarring, but reduces the risk of shock loss in surrounding follicles. Once the follicular units have been isolated and the incision made, the extracted hair is inspected closely and prepared for placement, utilizing only the healthiest and most optimal hairs.

Dr. Amir Yazdan, MD, is an internationally renowned hair transplant surgeon, expert guest on Dr. Phil and The Doctors, creator of the GroMD hair restoration product line, ISHRS member, accredited member of the IAHRS and a visceral advocate for patient care. Learn more about Dr. Yazdan or read rave reviews from his patients.

Botched Hair Transplant Repair – Featuring Spex


For the past few weeks, we’ve had the privilege of enjoying the company of Spencer ‘Spex’ Stevenson, who is visiting Southern California to consult with current and potential hair transplant patients on their hair loss experiences.
During one of his many visits to our Newport Beach hair transplant clinic, Spex and his team filmed Dr. Yazdan repairing and revising a patient’s poorly executed hair transplant, clearly performed at a non-specialist practice. The patient under consideration came into our office with a very dispersed and pluggy looking hairline, as a result of excessively large grafts being placed too far apart. The patient’s transplanted area showed gaps and little hair volume.
The patient also displayed numerous instances of ‘pitting’ in the frontal region of the scalp – resulting from grafts which were planted too deep.
Dr. Yazdan’s job was threefold:

  • Add density to the front of the scalp all the way through to the crown
  • Add volume through careful and artistic donor extraction
  • Mask the instances of ‘pitting’ on the frontal region of the scalp

Importance of Choosing the Right Hair Surgeon
The root cause of bad hair transplants is almost always inexperience and non-specialization on the part of the hair transplant surgeon. Follicular unit extraction (FUE) is an extremely delicate procedure that requires a tremendous amount of finesse, dexterity, experience and skill. It is imperative to research and choose a surgeon who only specializes in hair transplantation, and someone who is verified by and affiliated with prestigious hair transplant organizations like the IAHRS and AHLA.
Dr. Yazdan is a member of the International Alliance of Hair Restoration Surgeons (IAHRS) and is the only such member practicing in the Orange County and Las Vegas areas.
Remember that repairing and revising a botched hair transplant is a far more difficult process to undergo than a first-time hair transplant.

Dr. Amir Yazdan, MD, is an internationally renowned hair transplant surgeon, expert guest on Dr. Phil and The Doctors, creator of the GroMD hair restoration product line, ISHRS member, accredited member of the IAHRS and a visceral advocate for patient care. Learn more about Dr. Yazdan or read rave reviews from his patients.

How Much Density Will a Hair Transplant Give Me?

hair graft density
Perhaps the most pressing concern for potential hair transplant patients, besides the safety and permanence of their procedure, is the amount of density they can achieve. Most men and women want to return to the density they had when they were in their late teens or early 20s. While this is usually an impossible ideal, an experienced and highly skilled hair transplant surgeon can add a great amount of density to give a strikingly full appearance.
When considering the question of density, the amount a surgeon can transplant is determined by many factors. Including the hair thickness and quality, donor density, age and family history of hair loss. A conservative approach to follicle extraction is always best as one should preserve the donor site for future sessions as one ages.
The color of the hair is also important in contrast to the color of the scalp. The more contrast, the more hair is required to achieve optical density. Dark hair on a Caucasian scalp is going to appear thinner or sparser than lighter color hair such as blonde, gray, or white. The same is true of lighter color hair on an African-American or darker pigmented scalp.  The quality of the hair is also important for determining density. Hair that is curly or wavy appears to achieve more optical density since it camouflages the skin to a greater extent than straight hair. In the 1970s men would perm their thinning hair to reduce the visual contrast between hair and scalp.
The texture of the hair is one of the most important factors influencing the number of grafts required for a specified area of the scalp. Hair shafts can either be very fine, fine, medium, medium-coarse, or coarse. The difference is in the width of the hair; the wider or thicker the hair, the more optical surface density will be visualized. As follicular unit grafts heal, as in any skin graft, the skin contracts or shrinks to its center. The result of this contraction leads to small gaps between each graft which can be improved during a second surgery to fill in these spaces.
Techniques for density creation vary from surgeon to surgeon. At Modena Hair Institute, Dr. Yazdan utilizes an extremely fine 0.7mm punch and implantation technique that allows for density optimization and a natural looking hairline. This not only reduces the risk for scarring, but reduces the risk of shock loss in surrounding follicles.
Patient Warning
Find a board-certified hair transplant specialist who is highly experienced in adding the kind of density you desire. It is of the utmost importance to conduct thorough research and find an experienced and technically advanced hair restoration specialist to diagnose and treat your specific hair loss situation. A veteran hair transplant physician or surgeon will be able to accurately assess and evaluate your individual hair loss needs and provide the best surgical outcome for you.

Dr. Amir Yazdan, MD, is an internationally renowned hair transplant surgeon, expert guest on Dr. Phil and The Doctors, creator of the GroMD hair restoration product line, ISHRS member, accredited member of the IAHRS and a visceral advocate for patient care. Learn more about Dr. Yazdan or read rave reviews from his patients.

Choosing the Right Hair Transplant Clinic

Choosing the Right Hair Transplant Clinic
The internet is an unparalleled resource for checking surgical reputations and verifying a practice’s skill and success. Medical practices the world over have recognized this shift in patient knowledge capabilities and have sought to give the discerning public unfiltered access to their purported talents, surgical history, and client testimony through their own personal websites and reputable online forums (RealSelf, Bald Truth Talk and others).
FUE and FUT/Strip procedures (the gold standard for hair transplantation) have radically evolved beyond the simple plug and graft techniques prevalent in the 1990s and early 2000s. Yet many clinics, locally and abroad, continue to operate in an outmoded way, putting patients in serious aesthetic and medical jeopardy.
An extensive and detailed scientific study published in the Indian Journal of Dermatology for the National Center for Biotechnology describes the very technical and highly skilled nature of the FUE procedure, and the expert requirements needed to perform the surgery well:
“Lack of due diligence while performing such extractions can lead to subluxation of the grafts into the subdermal layer of scalp. Overtumescence of the scalp donor area, use of blunt punches and trying to ‘core’ out the full thickness grafts can all contribute to this.” (Poswal, et al.)
Although it can be tempting to go for a cheap deal at a general clinic (who often have technicians preforming the surgery), choosing the right clinic comes down to exacting research and scrupulous inquiry.
Asking critically relevant questions of the different hair restoration practices you survey is the first major step towards weeding out superficial offers. The key questions to ask a hair restoration surgeon are:

  • Do you specialize in hair transplant surgery?
  • How many years of specialized experience do you have performing FUE and FUT surgeries?
  • How much actual work is done by you during the hair transplanting process?
  • Are you certified by the American Board of Hair Restoration Surgeons?

The hair transplant surgeon you are considering should be affiliated to a standard-setting organization such as the International Society of Hair Restoration Surgery (IAHRS). Take a look at their qualifications and further training – do they regularly attend seminars? If so, they are more likely to be up to date on the latest medical technology. Going to a clinic that makes clear the role of the surgeon in the procedure – complete presence from start to finish – is paramount.
A good surgeon will also have a range of before and after photographs of patients to demonstrate their work. Be wary of lighting differences that some sites use to make the transplants look better than they are, such as overly bright before photos and dimly lit after photos. Another misleading aspect is when the photographs are not of exactly the same pose or position completely distorting the before and after difference. The best clinics will show extreme close-ups of their artistic hairline work for close scrutiny, so you can get a better idea of the kind of results the clinic might be able to achieve.
Any reputable surgeon will insist on a face to face consultation on a prior date to that of the hair transplant surgery or treatment. An engaged specialist will conduct a thorough review of your medical history, an examination of your current hair loss, a discussion on available options, the pros and cons of each procedure, what results you can expect, and a clear idea of the costs involved.
At Modena Hair Institute, Dr. Amir Yazdan meets with every potential patient for as long as is necessary to ensure total understanding and satisfaction with procedural expectations. As a top RealSelf doctor and only IAHRS member in the Orange County and Las Vegas area, Dr. Yazdan performs and oversees the entire surgery, beginning with pre-op prep and through to post-op care. No assistant or technician is ever allowed to operate on a patient.

Dr. Amir Yazdan, MD, is an internationally renowned hair transplant surgeon, expert guest on Dr. Phil and The Doctors, creator of the GroMD hair restoration product line, ISHRS member, accredited member of the IAHRS and a visceral advocate for patient care. Learn more about Dr. Yazdan or read rave reviews from his patients.

Case Study: Body Hair Transplant and Strip Scar Revision

*This blog is a transcription of a video covering a Modena Hair Institute patient who saw Dr. Yazdan for a body hair transplant and strip scar revision. We’ve included the video below.

Sam has visited Modena Hair Institute in Orange County, California. Before coming to us, he had two strip procedures; one in 2003 and one in 2004, which left him with unacceptable scarring and unfavorable results overall. His scar is uneven, wide, and protrudes from the base of the skull. 

In most scar revision procedures, Dr. Yazdan can excise the previous scar and close it with a unique technique that allows hair to grow through the scar, thus greatly minimizing its appearance. However, after some examination, the doctor determines Sam’s donor zone is very poor, leaving only the option of a FUE, or follicular unit extraction procedure. 

Sam’s strip scar, before revision.

As the patient would like both the scar repaired & some density added to the crown and midsection of the scalp, it’s decided the plan is to extract grafts by FUE from the back of the head, as well as supplementing with grafts from the beard. The grafts will then be placed inside the scar, as well as in the crown and midsection. After local anesthesia, Dr. Yazdan and his team begin the extraction of grafts from both the posterior scalp and beard. 

Because of the unique micropunch used during the procedure, within three to four days after the procedure, there will be no scarring left in any affected areas. This technique allows Dr. Yazdan to perform body hair transplantation with minimal to no residual scarring. After the first phase of the procedure, the 1,029 extracted grafts are processed & examined under microscope while Dr. Yazdan created the graft-receiving zones along the patient’s transplant area. The small diameter of these zones ensures a grouping density that looks as natural as any regular person’s hairline. 

Sam’s strip scar, immediately after the procedure is finished.

During the implantation stage, the team works to carefully and efficiently place the grafts with extreme attention to detail. Even in the middle of this process, improvement can be noticed in the scar area, and it even looks presentable at that point. Bleeding is minimal, and protrusion has become a non-issue in turn. With that, the procedure is complete, the donor and recipient areas are washed, a bandage is applied, and he goes home with a follow-up planned for the next day.

Sam’s story might be very similar to yours, or you might be going through a whole different hair loss experience entirely. Either way, we’re ready to welcome you here at Modena Hair Institute. Visit our website to learn more, and be sure to call or book your consultation today.

Warning Against Medical Tourism and Black-Market Clinics

black market clinics
As a specialist in botched and corrective hair transplants, Dr. Amir Yazdan of Modena Hair Institute has noticed a troubling trend of hair transplant patients who are traveling to countries like Turkey and Bulgaria for ‘low priced’ surgeries. Just this year the International Society of Hair Restoration Surgery (IAHRS) – of which Dr. Yazdan is a dedicated member – has authored an official statement warning against medical tourism and black-market clinics.
“Hair transplant patients are being lured to black market pirate clinics across the world, at an alarming rate. They are promised low prices and guaranteed results. Unfortunately, these ‘clinics’, where surgeries are performed by non-doctors with little or no training, are causing irreparable harm.” – Official IAHRS Statement
The ISHRS found that nearly 80% of its distinguished members have seen a sharp rise in the number of patients coming to their clinics, seeking help after their surgery has gone wrong in the hands of a rogue and often illegal clinic.
Lack of Expertise
In black-market clinics, the surgeries are rarely, if ever, carried out by a qualified specialist. Most often it is a technician with minimal training who will be performing the operation and administering the anesthesia, with zero direct oversight by a certified surgeon. This allows the clinic to offer cheaper prices than if they were using trained and licensed hair transplant surgeons, but, of course, makes it far more dangerous. There have been reports of completely unqualified practitioners carrying out these highly intricate and skilled procedures in places like Turkey, Eygpt, Bulgaria, Brazil and Iran, but there exists such clinics in the West as well.
Lack of Proper Diagnosis
At Modena Hair Institute in California and Las Vegas, we consider the initial consultation process to be the most important part of all of our treatments, as this is where we will be able to work out the best options for our patients. It may be that surgery wouldn’t be suitable for them, in which case we would suggest alternative treatments. However, black market clinics have no interest in providing clinical advice to patients on whether or not they’d be a good candidate for the surgery – as long as they can pay, they will be accepted for a hair transplant. This means that people who aren’t suitable candidates will be wasting money on an operation that won’t actually yield desired results.
Lack of Medical Technique
The quality of the transplants, unsurprisingly, is likely to be extremely poor. Scarring and infections are common, as is ‘over-harvesting’, where too much donor hair is removed, meaning that there won’t be enough hair to use for future surgeries. Worse still, the donor at the back may look like it has chunks missing. Unnatural, disfiguring hairlines and hair growing in the wrong direction as a result of follicles being placed poorly are also common results. The clinics often tend to offer a large number of grafts – usually between 2,000 – 4,000 graft extractions per session – but with no consideration for the patient’s degree of hair loss.
Identifying which clinics overseas and domestically are illegitimate and unethical is difficult to do with a simple internet search. These clinics often fake reviews and testimonies, and pay large marketing sums to promote their services on Google and other prominent platforms. Some key things you can do to verify the legitimacy of a clinic are:

  • An extensive background check on the clinic through review sites like RealSelf
  • An inquiry into the propriety of their certification
  • An inquiry into the level of specialization, experience and results of the clinic

Dr. Amir Yazdan, MD, is an internationally renowned hair transplant surgeon, expert guest on Dr. Phil and The Doctors, creator of the GroMD hair restoration product line, ISHRS member, accredited member of the IAHRS and a visceral advocate for patient care. Learn more about Dr. Yazdan or read rave reviews from his patients.

What is Causing My Hair Loss?

causes of hair loss
Hair loss can happen at any age. At Modena Hair Institute we’ve designed topical and medical hair loss programs for patients in their early 20s, as well as those in their late 50s. While hair loss is universal, its causes and origins may be summarized into three general categories.

Very few lay people understand that hair loss is not a single, simple diagnosis, but that it is actually a common symptom that can be caused by a variety of different conditions. This is one of the reasons why finding the correct diagnosis and treatment for hair loss can be difficult, and why Dr. Amir Yazdan at Modena Hair Institute continue to study every possible underlying cause and treatment option.

By far the most common cause of hair loss in both men and women is Androgenic Alopecia (AGA). Otherwise known as genetic pattern baldness, AGA occurs when the hair follicles have inherited an increased sensitivity to dihydrotestosterone (or DHT). This hormone is a natural by-product of the breakdown of testosterone in the body and is present, in varying degrees, in both men and women. When sensitive hair follicles are exposed to DHT they begin to shrink and their growth cycle shortens. Over time, they produce gradually thinner and thinner hair strands until, eventually, they stop producing hair altogether.

FUE gratfs
A second general type of cause behind hair loss may be termed external influence. While genetic pattern baldness is an internal and physiological concern, things like stress, menopause, environmental disturbances and diet may cause hair loss through external disturbance.

Individual hair follicles on the scalp do not continuously produce hair, but instead go through distinct cycles of growth and shedding. However, a variety of external factors can potentially disrupt these cycles, causing a condition called telogen effluvium where large amounts of hair are shed at once. Anything that causes a physiological shock to the body can potentially cause telogen effluvium, including physical trauma, major surgery, or even crash dieting that starves the body of necessary proteins. In some cases, emotional trauma and stress can prompt changes in eating or sleep patterns that can also result in similar symptoms.

A third general type of cause behind hair loss is auto-immune disease. There are several different auto-immune symptoms that can potentially result in hair loss, but the most common is alopecia areata, a condition similar to rheumatoid arthritis where the body’s immune system attacks the rapidly growing cells at the base of the hair follicles. The inflammation that results interrupts the natural cycle of hair growth and causes hair to shed in small, round, smooth patches on the scalp. In some rare and extreme cases, alopecia areata (AA) may progress to the point that all of the scalp hair is lost, a condition called alopecia totalis, or even to alopecia universalis, the complete loss of all body hair.

As is apparent, diagnosing hair loss can be complicated and there is really no such thing as a ‘one-size-fits-all’ treatment. That’s why, at Modena Hair Institute in California and Nevada, we spend so much time and effort determining the specific underlying cause of a patient’s hair loss. That is the only way we can formulate a personalized hair restoration treatment program that addresses patient’s individual needs.

Dr. Amir Yazdan, MD, is an internationally renowned hair transplant surgeon, expert guest on Dr. Phil and The Doctors, creator of the GroMD hair restoration product line, ISHRS member, accredited member of the IAHRS and a visceral advocate for patient care. Learn more about Dr. Yazdan or read rave reviews from his patients.

Why You Should Visit a Hair Restoration Clinic

hair restoration clinic
If you’ve thought about or are experiencing hair loss, perhaps you’ve wondered how best to proceed. The International Alliance of Hair Restoration Surgeons (IAHRS) is a perfect place to begin your search to find the most qualified hair restoration doctors in your area. The IAHRS does not offer open membership, rather the organization selectively screens skilled and ethical hair transplant surgeons.
But you may be wondering, what can a specialist in hair restoration really help with?
Locate the Source of the Problem
While going to your local hair transplant surgeon to combat your hair loss is a good way to begin treating your symptoms, it may take a while to truly pinpoint what is causing the problem. At Modena Hair Institute, for example, we know which tests can best help show the cause of your hair loss and can personalize your care more quickly.
A Variety of Treatment Options
Another big benefit of going to a hair restoration clinic – instead of a regular dermatologist – is that there are more effective treatment options to choose from. Many suppose that they have to go straight to a surgical option when choosing hair loss restoration treatment. Our Modena offices in Orange County, Beverly Hills and Las Vegas offer a variety of surgical and non-surgical treatment options to provide the best outcomes possible for our patients. We will discuss every option in detail – will you need medical management, PRP therapy, laser therapy, hair transplantation, or something else?
A Small Team of Skilled Specialists
Our clinic is made up of highly skilled and technically savvy hair restoration practitioners. Many larger hair restoration clinics outsource for medical technicians, which usually results in higher turnover rates. At Modena, we limit our staff size in order to maximize skill and technique.
Dr. Amir Yazdan is certified by the International Alliance of Hair Restoration Surgeons, which is one of the only institutions that carefully screens and qualifies surgeons in the field. Call Modena Hair Institute today to schedule a consultation. During your visit, we will discuss your symptoms, any family history of hair loss, and suggest next steps for treatment. Call us today and learn how we can help you achieve results!

Dr. Amir Yazdan, MD, is an internationally renowned hair transplant surgeon, expert guest on Dr. Phil and The Doctors, creator of the GroMD hair restoration product line, ISHRS member, accredited member of the IAHRS and a visceral advocate for patient care. Learn more about Dr. Yazdan or read rave reviews from his patients.