NHL Veteran Chris Wagner PRP with ACell Hair Restoration

Walpole, Massachusetts native and former Boston Bruins forward Chris Wagner turned to Dr. Matthew Lopresti after noticing thinning hair for the first time while playing during the 2020 NHL bubble. Known to Bruins fans as the “Mayor of Walpole,” Chris chose PRP with ACell as a non-surgical treatment to help stabilize his hair loss and improve the density of his existing hair.

For someone who had barely thought about hair loss through his twenties, the realization came quickly. It wasn’t the bathroom mirror that caught his attention. It was an overhead photograph taken at practice.

“I never really gave my hair a second thought in my twenties,” Chris said. “It wasn’t until I saw an aerial photo of the team from practice that I noticed my thinning hair.”

Chris had built a reputation in Boston for noticing opportunities and acting on them. The Walpole native brought a physical, relentless style to the Bruins and became a fan favorite, earning NESN’s 7th Player Award in 2019. The annual honor recognizes the Bruins player fans believe exceeded expectations, an appropriate distinction for a local player who carved out an NHL career on work ethic and persistence.

Once Chris saw the thinning on top of his scalp, he approached it with much the same attitude. He didn’t spend much time wondering whether anyone else had noticed. He wanted to know what he could do about it.

That conversation had already started inside the Bruins locker room. His friend and teammate Sean Kuraly had gone to Leonard Hair Transplant Associates for his own hair loss and told Chris about his experience with Dr. Lopresti.

“Sean and I talked about his experience with Dr. Lopresti and he told me what to expect, how easy it was to take that first step and do something about it,” Chris said. “So many people have thinning hair, it’s really not a big deal to talk about it anymore.”

Chris met with Dr. Lopresti at the Newton, Massachusetts office to evaluate his hair loss. His frontal hairline remained intact, but he was experiencing thinning through the top of his scalp, a common pattern of male hair loss. Because Chris still had existing hair in the thinning area, Dr. Lopresti recommended PRP with ACell rather than hair transplant surgery.

PRP with ACell is a non-surgical hair loss treatment that works with existing hair follicles. Platelet-rich plasma prepared from the patient’s own blood is combined with ACell and used to help stabilize progressive hair loss and, in appropriate patients, improve the density and quality of existing hair. The treatment does not create new follicles where they no longer exist, which is one reason addressing thinning while viable follicles remain can matter.

Chris’s experience is also a good example of why hair restoration does not automatically mean hair transplant surgery. Some patients may be candidates for PRP with ACell, finasteride, minoxidil or a combination of non-surgical treatments. Others may benefit from FUE or FUT hair transplant surgery. The right treatment depends on the pattern and progression of the hair loss, how much existing hair remains and the long-term needs of the patient.

For Chris, treatment fit easily into his day. He worked out that morning, arrived around noon and was finished shortly afterward. He described the process as easy and said he felt fine that evening and the following morning, returning to his regular workouts within 48 hours.

“I knew what to expect because Dr. Lopresti explained everything to me and I wasn’t nervous at all,” Chris said.

His willingness to talk openly about hair loss also became part of a larger story among Boston Bruins players. Sean Kuraly and Chris Wagner chose PRP with ACell. Matt Grzelcyk later chose PRP with ACell after noticing early thinning of his own, while Charlie McAvoy underwent FUT hair transplant surgery and Tuukka Rask chose FUE. Different players arrived at Leonard Hair Transplant Associates with different patterns and stages of hair loss, and they did not all leave with the same treatment plan.

Chris was also quick to recommend Dr. Lopresti to others.

“I know a few guys who have gone into Leonard Hair and they’re very happy with the results,” he said. “Hair loss is extremely common and if people want to take the steps to prevent it, they should. Dr. Lopresti is an excellent doctor and there is nothing to be scared of. As soon as I noticed I was starting to thin, I did something about it. There’s no shame in addressing a very common problem.”

That last thought may be the most useful part of Chris Wagner’s story. Hair loss did not have to become severe before it became worth his attention. He noticed thinning, talked to someone he trusted and found out what his options were while he still had existing hair worth protecting.

Leonard Hair Transplant Associates offers PRP with ACell and other hair loss treatments for appropriate men and women in Greater Boston, Massachusetts and throughout New England. A free consultation with Dr. Matthew Lopresti can help determine whether PRP with ACell, medication, FUE, FUT or another approach makes sense based on the patient’s existing hair, pattern of loss and long-term goals.

For the “Mayor of Walpole,” taking action early wasn’t much of a debate. Once Chris saw the problem, he decided he’d rather be ahead of it than watch from behind.