Francis Ellis FUE Hair Transplant Boston | Barstool Sports Host

Last November, our Newton, Massachusetts office had a little more Barstool Sports energy than usual. Francis Ellis was in the chair for an FUE hair transplant with Dr. Matthew Lopresti, joining a growing list of Barstool personalities who have been public about doing something about their hair loss.

Francis is a stand up comedian, writer and Barstool Sports personality who cohosts the Son of a Boy Dad podcast and has appeared on Netflix’s Tires with Shane Gillis. Before comedy and Barstool, he graduated from Harvard University and played lacrosse there, making his decision to have hair transplant surgery just outside Boston something of a return to familiar territory.

The connection to Leonard Hair Transplant Associates started with another Barstool name. Francis found the practice through Barstool Sports founder Dave Portnoy, who had already undergone hair transplant surgery here. Dave has talked publicly about his hair loss and hair transplants for years, and Francis had seen the results for himself. When Francis decided it was time to address his own thinning hair, he followed a recommendation from someone he already knew and trusted.

“I felt completely relaxed and taken care of by Dr. Lopresti and his team from the moment I began speaking with them, all the way through the recovery process on the other side,” Francis said. “He put me at ease and worked quickly but carefully through what proved to be a relatively painless procedure.”

Francis could have traveled anywhere for hair transplant surgery. Instead, he stayed close to Boston and chose Dr. Lopresti in Newton.

“This isn’t something I’d trust to a paint by numbers quack in Istanbul. Go with Dr. Lopresti. Trust me.”

Dr. Lopresti remembers the day for reasons beyond the surgery. “Francis was a great patient, and we are proud to collaborate with him publicly,” he said. Francis kept the room light, engaged with the team and quickly became a favorite with the staff.

For his hair restoration, Francis chose Follicular Unit Excision, commonly called FUE. During FUE hair transplant surgery, individual follicular units are removed from the donor area, typically at the back and sides of the scalp. Dr. Lopresti then creates recipient sites in the thinning areas being restored, and the harvested grafts are individually placed into those sites. Because FUE removes follicular units individually rather than removing a donor strip, it does not create the linear donor scar associated with FUT.

“It fills in thinning spots without leaving a linear scar, and the results look completely natural,” Dr. Lopresti said.

FUE is not automatically the right hair transplant technique for every patient. Dr. Lopresti evaluates the pattern of hair loss, available donor hair, goals and long term plan before recommending FUE, FUT or another hair restoration option. For Francis, FUE was the approach that made sense.

The procedure may happen in a day, but the result develops over time. Patients typically begin noticing early new hairs around five to six months after hair transplant surgery, with more significant cosmetic change developing around nine to twelve months. Final results generally develop between 16 and 18 months as the transplanted follicles continue producing hair.

Francis also became part of a Barstool Sports connection at Leonard Hair Transplant Associates that started with Dave Portnoy and has continued to grow. Dave Portnoy, Francis Ellis and PFT Commenter have now all undergone hair transplant surgery with the practice. Francis chose FUE with Dr. Matthew Lopresti, while Pardon My Take cohost PFT Commenter later chose FUT with Dr. Lopresti in Newton.

Three Barstool personalities. Different hair. Different personalities. Different procedures. The common thread is that each decided hair loss was bothering him enough to do something about it and was willing to talk publicly about the decision.

That openness matters. Millions of men experience hair loss, but deciding whether to treat it is personal. Francis did not suddenly become a different guy because he had a hair transplant. He is still Francis. He just decided he wanted more hair.

Patients interested in FUE or FUT hair transplant surgery can schedule a complimentary consultation with Dr. Matthew Lopresti. Leonard Hair Transplant Associates offers in person consultations in Massachusetts and Rhode Island as well as Telehealth video consultations for patients throughout the United States. Call 1 800-GET-HAIR to get started.