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Darren James
There is a guest in the studio and we're talking something I didn't even know existed. It's beard transplants - or replacement of facial hair. Dr. Peter Paraskevas, good afternoon to you.

Dr Peter
Good afternoon, Darren. Thanks for having me.

Darren James
Dr. Peter Paras - or just Dr. Peter. You were confused because I was talking to The Doc - Dennis, we call him "The Doc" - and he was over your shoulder and I was talking to him and I said "hi, Doc, how are you?", and I wasn't talking to you but don't know him. Got very confusing! Anyway, thanks for coming in.

Dr Peter
Thank you. Thanks for having me.

Darren James
Tell me about beard transplants. What what sort of gentlemen require them and need them and want them?

Dr Peter
Well, it's usually patients who have had some sort of deficiency through their beard area whether scarring from birth or whether it's acne, or some sort of burns and what they're trying to do is fill in the areas of deficiency. That's the usual reason but we do get the occasional vain patient that's okay to be vain in today's day and age--

Darren James
Exactly!

Dr Peter
--who come in and want to actually replace the hair and fill it in and get more of a full beard. So there are two different types of patients who we see.

Darren James
How do you do that? How do you get facial hair to grow as a matter of in the old days I tell you I've known a couple of - I'm going to name them because they won't mind and one of them sadly moved on to the other side, he's ridden on ahead - Harry Beitzel, the footy commentator. He was one of the first ever that I knew that had one. He had a headlock a rice patty. He won't mind me saying that if he was listening from above.

Dr Peter
They named a patch of grass after him at Victoria Golf Club, didn't they?

Darren James
I think they did! Another mate of mine: Russell Morris - "oo-mow-ma-mow-mow, the real thing" - he had a sort of a job done that sort of didn't really work. Well, it started a long time ago; how's it changed over the years?

Dr Peter
If you go back 30 years, you'll you'll find that a lot of the patients who used to have hair transplants, basically had "revision surgery" - where they pull a bit of scalp over the other part of the head. And if you take a guess, someone like Donald Trump probably would have been a guy who's had that.

So that's a "scar revision" where they move the hair over - move the scalp over. Yeah. And that moved over to "strip surgery", when you take a strip of hair from the back of the scalp and cut it out. So it's full-on surgery--

Darren James
*laughs*

*laughs* Like grass!

Dr Peter
Like a patch of grass? Yeah. And there you go - you've got some hair, you get that cut up under a microscope, and you can then just implant it one by one and it regrows. And then the final thing - which is the most recent, and probably the most successful in terms of a good balance between patient outcome, patient satisfaction, and then also the doctor's expectations - is what we refer to as "F.U.E. - Follicular Unit Extraction". So basically what that is, and it's not the same as stand by strand that you probably would have heard of - this is follicle by follicle. So rather than take the big strip of hair from the back, you'll take an individual follicle one at a time.

Darren James
One hair at a time? That's going to take days!

Dr Peter
Well, if you're good, and you've got the right skills, you've got the right team and you've got the right technology, you can knock off about 1,500 follicles within about three or four hours, maybe 2000, and then have the afternoon to actually implant that hair back into the scalp.

Darren James
So where is it over the lunchtime break? Sitting in a petrie dish?

Dr Peter
Well it's sitting in a storage solution. What you want to do is actually preserve the hair follicle - you think of any traditional transplant, think a kidney transplant, you need to make sure that kidney's actually healthy. And then when you take it out you actually keep it in a healthy solution so it doesn't die and doesn't get damaged - and then you implant it. It's the same thing with a hair follicle - once you've taken it out, have it out for a short period of time, have it in some good storage solution, have it nice and chilled, and then you're ready to implant it. And once you do that, then you're pretty much looking at a 95-99% success rate - they take quite well.

Darren James
So that's good, isn't it?

Dr Peter
Very good.

Darren James
And there's no scarring after it?

Dr Peter
Depends who does it. So if you do strip surgery, you get that really horrible tell-tale scar at the back of the scalp and you'll see people with that, unfortunately. The other day I was walking down at the airport and I just caught a glimpse of one, and I thought "oops".

Darren James
For a surgeon to have that opinion of someone's back of his head - to think "yeah, you've got that wrong".

Dr Peter
Yeah, you've got that wrong. So F.U.E. - or the follicle by follicle - is the best way to actually preserve the scalp not damage it to the point where you can actually see scars. You're not going to see these little pin point holes, particularly if you're growing your hair to one or two.

Darren James
Yeah, that's right.

Darren James
Peter, good afternoon.

Caller - Peter
Yeah. Hi Darren. And Other Peter. So, question: for hair transplant or hair rejuvenation, the drugs minoxidil and roxo-something it's called - are they worthy? Are they successful?

Dr Peter
Well, the drugs that are available are either blockers or stimulators. So with with the stimulators, you're referring to minoxidil and that's that's a drug that can actually help stimulate hair growth. The blockers such as finasteride, so finasteride will come as generically as finasteride but as a trade name, you'll probably would have heard of it as Propecia, or Proscar, but Propecia is the one milligram dose that we give to patients with hair loss. And what that does is it blocks the the hormone that attacks hair follicles and miniaturises them. So yes, absolutely. You'd see your doctor and have a trial on Propecia and also some minoxidil to see whether or not that could slow down the progression of your hair loss.

Darren James
Brett, good afternoon.

Caller - Brett
Hello Darren and Peter. I'm just wondering - my hair's a little bit thin where the flat top is, but everything else is alright. And one thing that annoyed me is I've got a hairy back - I was wondering if you could use hair off there to put on your eyebrows.

Dr Peter
I'm going to assume that's a serious question...

Darren James
It is! You were being serious weren't you, Brett?

Caller - Brett
Yeah!

Dr Peter
Alright, okay. So what we do is we take hair that has a very long growth cycle - like about seven to eight years - and it comes from the back of your head. Okay? Off your back, the growth cycle's going to be very, very short - so it's a pointless exercise trying to grab hair from your back and put it up somewhere else. They just won't take very well.

Darren James
There you go - end of story there for you, Brett.

Darren James
And finally Jenny - good afternoon.

Caller - Jenny
Hello, yes. You talking about the drug minoxidil. 1986 was when the Queen Victoria Hospital did the trial of that - I think we had about fifty patients and I worked with the specialist when we did that trial on that drug.

Dr Peter
Wow, that's fantastic! It's made such a difference to a lot of patients. We get it in powder form or solution form, but it's also given orally to women who are losing hair through the change of menopause. And so they'll take some spironolactone, some minoxidil - it really helps. It's a wonderful drug - thanks for that.

Darren James
You're a good man, doctor. But MelbourneHairTransplant.com.au is where you work - you're a good man, you're not only qualified in the area, but you've done psychology. You've done the whole package, haven't you?

Dr Peter
Going through, I wasn't sure what I was going to do in the beginning. So I did six months of psychiatry, I did got my diploma in obstetrics, gynecology, I wanted to be an obstetrician. I thought "no, that's not for me". Then emergency, then I got into General Practice. I tried that for a couple of years. It was wonderful, but I needed some more of a challenge and it's about that time I got into phlebology that was my first - about 2003.

Darren James
The only thing that worries me, though: you've come down in a tram down St Kilda Rd in your scrubs and the last time I saw a bloke like you in scrubs was Eric Bana playing Dirty John on Netflix and it's just a bit of a worry looking at you! You know what I'm saying? If anyone sees a man in scrubs going up Collins St on his way back, it's NOT Dirty John! I'd love to talk again one day and thanks for coming down Collins St to chat today.

Dr Peter
*laughs* Thanks for having me.

Paras Hair Transplant (part of Paras Clinic) fully complies with legislation regarding the privacy of patient information, in accordance with the Privacy Amendment (Private Sector) Act 2000. Legislation developed by the Privacy Commissioner can be accessed through the office of the Federal Privacy Commissioner's website. Melbourne Hair Transplant is committed to preserving the confidentiality of all medical treatment and subsequent personal records of our patients.

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Paras Hair Transplant is part of Paras Clinic. It diagnoses’ and treats hair loss in men and women. The clinic specialises in FUE hair transplant, we also offer eyebrow transplant, facial hair transplant, and we are the exclusive Australian stockist for Hair Cycle products.

Paras Clinic also encompasses Vein Health Medical Clinic and Sculpture Clinic.

Vein Health Medical Clinic provides advanced medical solutions for the treatment of varicose veins and chronic venous disease without the pain and scarring side effects of traditional surgery. This includes the latest in medical adhesives like VenaSeal, plus endovenous laser ablation (EVLA), ultrasound-guided sclerotherapy, and radiofrequency ablation.

The Sculpture Clinic offers advanced medical and cosmetic treatments including laser and VASER liposuction, facial contouring, and more to give our clients the look they want.

We have all heard of hair transplants, but do you know about facial hair transplants?

Talking beard transplants on 3AW

Who may benefit from a facial hair transplant?

Patients whose facial hair is patchy, sparse, or thinning, or for whom hair is missing altogether; those who wish to even out the appearance of stubble, or perhaps grow a beard or moustache.

Growth in beards, goatees, and moustaches can be affected by:

Genetics
Laser hair removal
Electrolysis
Surgery
Acne scars
Burns or scars from injury

We perform facial hair transplant surgery through the Follicular Unit Extraction (FUE) method. Donor hair is extracted from the back and sides of the scalp; individually one graft at a time. For beard or moustache transplants the doctor will use both single and double follicle grafts. This though is determined by the current thickness of the existing beard/moustache facial hair and also the elasticity of the skin.

Once the grafts have been removed from the donor area, the incisions will then be made in the recipient area. The incisions are very small (made with a 21 to 25 gage needle) and are made in the same angle following the pattern of the existing beard/moustache hair.

The single or double follicle grafts are then implanted one at a time. The procedure can take up to 8 hours depending on the size of the recipient area.

How does the new hair grow?

The transplanted hair will grow like your other facial hair, you will be able to trim it and shave it or even leave it long.

Post-FUE Facial Hair Transplant Surgery

We ask that you allow between 7 to 14 days of downtime, with no strenuous activity. For the first 7 days we do not want you to wet or shave your face, (recipient area); this area will be red, swollen, and will scab up around each follicle. The scabs will eventually dry up, become itchy, and fall off. The donor area will fully heal within the first 5 days post-surgery.

The transplanted hairs will fall out at around the 4 to 6 - week mark; the follicles will start to re-grow at 12 weeks and continue to grow for a lifetime.

Before FUE beard transplant 6 months after beard transplant

Before FUE hair transplant 12-months after hair transplant

On the day of FUE hair transplant 18-months after hair transplant

To learn more about our facial hair transplants, call us on 1300 281 339 or email us at the Paras hair transplant clinic.

How much does FUE hair transplant cost?

Price is important but so is high standards of medical practice, so make sure you are well informed before making your decision. As a consumer/potential patient you need to be aware and understand that FUE surgery is not performed in the same way at all hair transplant practices.

Curious? Read on...

Why pay for a consultation?

During the consultation, the patient receives a thorough explanation and assessment of the viability of hair restoration options from the doctor. We discuss...

Patient history

Patient hair loss, if the patient has seen other doctors, how long he/she has been losing their hair, if the patient has been taking medication, and an explanation of FUE (follicular unit extraction) hair transplant surgery.

Patient goals

We discuss what the patient is wanting to achieve (we are realistic with the patient about their goals). We assess if the patient is suitable for surgery. A patient is not always a suitable candidate for surgery. Age, the condition of the scalp, (scarring), the density of the donor area, the quality of grafts, and hair loss to date are all factors in determining the suitability of the patient for hair transplant surgery. If the patient is suitable we will then discuss FUE hair transplant surgery in detail. FUE is the only hair restoration surgery we perform at Paras Hair Transplant Clinic.

We discuss the advantages of the FUE technique over FUG/FUT surgery.

FUG/FUT (donor strip surgery) will leave all patients with a long linear scar across the back of the head. So, what happens during FUG/FUT surgery? The surgeon excises a long strip of donor skin/follicles. It is the technicians rather than the doctor who is responsible for dissecting the grafts under the microscope and implanting them into the recipient area. The alternative FUE (Follicular Unit Extraction) technique has the surgeon extract and implant the follicles individually, resulting in less scarring and faster recovery.

What happens if a patient is not suitable for hair transplant surgery?

We discuss all other treatments that are available to the patient. Such as:

Platelet Rich Plasma (PRP)
Prescribed Medications
Hair Cycle Products

What if you are suitable for hair transplant surgery using the FUE method?

We assess the patient’s donor area and determine the amount of donor hair that they have. We assess the recipient area and do the same. This is measured and calculated in a precise mathematical way; giving the patient the best possible outcome/result. Density measurements and photos are taken of the patient.

What is FUE hair transplant surgery?

During your consultation, we will also discuss in detail how FUE is performed. FUE surgery is performed under local anaesthetic. The patient is fully awake and sitting upright throughout the whole procedure.

How experienced is the doctor?

We discuss the doctor’s experience to date, their role in detail, and how involved is the practitioner in surgery. We go into great detail answering questions like Who extracts the follicles one at a time? From where? How are they extracted? What method is used to extract them? Does this affect the overall density of the hair in the donor area, post-extraction? What instruments does the doctor use? What difference do the instruments make in the extraction and implantation? Who makes the incisions when implanting? How are the incisions made? What are they made with? Who implants the grafts/follicles into the recipient area?

Technician's experience

We discuss the technician's experience and what they do in surgery.

FUE surgery pre-operative and post-operative instructions

Patients receive detailed instructions about how much downtime the patient needs post-surgery, what the patient can do and not do post-surgery, and for how long.

Follow up

We follow-up with patients several times up to 18 months post-surgery, until the patient's grafts reach their full growth potential, and explain how we are different to other clinics.

Quote

Patients receive a detailed quote at the end of the consultation which is valid for 3 months.

Interstate Patients

We understand that some patients may prefer to travel for procedures like this and want to make it as easy for you as possible. We start by providing the initial consultation online. When you travel to Melbourne for your transplant, we'll organise the airport transfers for you and if you need a convenient place to stay, we recommend the Hotel Sofitel. All under one roof, Paras Hair Transplant Clinic is located in the same building as the Sofitel Hotel, for easy and discreet access.