Dr. Leonard talks about the NeoGraft hair transplant device and treating female pattern hair loss in Brazil

I just returned from the 4th Brazilian Congress of Hair Restoration held at the prestigious Mater Dei Hospital in Belo Horizontes, BRAZIL.

I presented two lectures to the audience of physicians and surgeons from all over Brazil and from throughout the world. 

The first talk was on my experience with the new NeoGraft automated hair transplant device, which offers hair restoration surgery without utilizing the strip harvest technique.  After I carefully encircle the follicular unit in the anesthetized donor area, the NeoGraft instrument provides suction to remove the follicular units without the need of using forceps to “pluck” or pull the grafts from the scalp.  This provides a more efficient follicular unit extraction (FUE) than manual methods of extraction and allows for less trauma to the grafts.

The second lecture was my approach to treating the female hair loss patient.  With 24 years of experience in treating women with hair loss, I am very comfortable in addressing this most difficult situation for women.  I discussed the points that are critical to address in the hair loss consultation with these patients, including dispelling common myths, validating their concerns, providing an accurate diagnosis, discussing all treatment options from Rogaine Foam to Laser Therapy to Hair Transplantation, along with all of the pros and cons of each therapeutic option.  I also stressed with the audience that it is important as hair loss experts and hair restoration surgeons to carefully and compassionately handle these women who may have been “blown off” by other physicians when they complained about their thinning hair. 

Both presentations were very well received.

Belo Horizontes, which is the capital city of the State on Minas Gerais, is a large city known as the culinary capital of Brazil—and for good reason.  The food is delicious!  One specialty of the region is pão de queijo, which is Brazilian cheese bread (or rather, small buns).  They are made from cassava flour instead of wheat flour and are sold throughout the city in small stores and stands.  They are addictive because they are so light and flavorful.