Beware: Know your Hair Restoration Surgeon

A weeklong seminar is not adequate training for a hair restoration surgeon. Be sure that your prospective hair restoration surgeon has completed either a residency in Dermatology or Plastic Surgery. Possibly better, would be a fellowship in Hair Restoration Surgery. The American Board of Hair Restoration Surgery (ABHRS) certification is the gold standard for indicating that your surgeon has completed extensive training and has much experience treating patients with hair loss. There are two routes to admission for the written and oral examinations of the ABHRS. One is the experience route; the applicant needs to have been practicing Hair restoration surgery for three years, with a minimum of 150 cases. The other route is through the completion of a fellowship in Hair Restoration Surgery lasting one to two years. After completing the fellowship, the applicant needs to have one year in private practice of Hair Restoration Surgery.

Hair Restoration Surgery requires mastery of technical surgical skills. But it is the surgeon’s artistic skills that truly are responsible for consistent excellent and natural looking results.

Membership in the International Society of Hair Restoration Surgery is an indication that your prospective surgeon is committed to staying current in the field of Hair Restoration Surgery. This medical society does much to foster and advance the continual improvement of Hair Restoration Surgery. The American Society of Hair Restoration Surgery is another society that advances the field through education.