Doctor Frechet Hair restoration techniques

Technique of tissue gain with the « Frechet Extender » or scalp extension.

This technique allows to increase the surface of the skin, doubling the surface of the hair bearing scalp and thus eliminates the bald area.

The extender, invented by Doctor Frechet in 1991, consists of a flexible, thin and flat sheet of biolestic with a row of tiny titanium hooks at each end.

It is manufactured in France and patented worldwide.

It is introduced under the skin, stretched and affixed temporarily. At the same time an ellipse of bald scalp is removed, reducing immediately the surface of the bald area.

It does not produce any deformation of the head and therefore the patient can resume his normal life.

By exerting a gentle and permanent linear traction it stimulates the production of collagen and elastic fibres.

As a result after 6 to 12 weeks, the hair bearing scalp gradually extends and progressively replaces the bald area of the top (vertex) and the back of the head which shrinks and can then be removed at the same time as the extender.

The procedure is performed under local anaesthesia on an outpatient basis and the patient can listen to music or rest.

After the operation, his hair is combed and he leaves the surgery without any bandage.

He leaves with an immediate and visible result: his bald area is smaller.

In most instances the surgery is carried out with little discomfort to the patient.

The patient can resume his normal activities usually after 3 days.

The extender is not apparent to the casual eye as there is no deformation of the head.

This is the only technique which treats effectively and totally the top and back of the scalp.

It should be noted that grafts (transplants) can only treat smaller areas of baldness such as frontal or temporal areas, as there is not a sufficient quantity of hair in the “donor zone”. (The donor zone, typically at the back of the head, contains hairs which are genetically programmed to grow all life long).

In the case of a patient with baldness of the crown, the scalp extension procedure will redistribute 15000 hairs uniformly over the area with a totally natural appearance.

In this way all the capital of hair in the donor zone is left intact and will be used to transplant the frontal bald area, simultaneously or later.

When the extender is being removed, the treatment is completed with the “Frechet Flap” by rotating three small triangles of hairy scalp one under another like a puzzle to produce an attractive rounded shape on the top of the head and allow the hair to grow naturally towards the nape of the neck.

Other uses of the Frechet extender ® :

The Frechet extender is also used for the treatment of burns, scalp tumours, pseudo-pelade, scarring alopecia, giant naevi, etc...

Hair transplantation

The hair transplantation technique is the oldest procedure whereby hair is harvested from the back of the head in the occipital region and is then implanted in the bald or balding areas. After three months the transplanted hair will grow for all the patients’ lifetime.

The various grafts are called micrografts, minigrafts, and follicular units.

A finer form is the microstrip grafts, improved upon in its appearance by Dr Frechet, which offers both a very healthy hair growth with a good density and remains undetectable to the naked eye.

For male patients, we have already noted that the quantity of hair which can be harvested from the donor zone is limited and may only cover relatively small areas of the patient’s scalp such as frontal baldness, temporal areas etc...

For female patients, on the other hand, who typically tend to suffer from diffuse hair loss, larger areas may be treated with transplants to increase the density of the existing hair.

Special care is needed for female patients so that existing healthy hair in thinning areas are not damaged.

Evidently, much depends upon the physicians experience and aesthetic talent in all areas of hair restoration surgery. For example, in the case of man, he must often recreate a natural hairline and temporal peaks which may have receded or completely disappeared by grafting hairs one by one.

Grafting is also used to recreate eyebrows, eyelashes, moustache, pubic hair, sideburns after facelifts and to repair scars.

The invisible scar™.

To avoid any technique of harvesting grafts with a punch, even miniaturized, which leaves a multitude of dotted-like white scars that become larger with time, producing a mottled aspect in the donor area, another very important recent advance invented and used by Doctor Frechet (published in the “French Journal of aesthetic Surgery”, 2005 and in the USA “Dermatologic Surgery”, 2007) is the invisible scar closure technique.

All patients can benefit from this new, innovative procedure which is very appreciated and often undetectable by even the patient’s hairdresser.

This involves creating hair growth directly within the scar, thereby rendering the scar invisible or almost.

It finds its application for the closure of the donor site with excellent results and allows the patients to wear their hair short.

This technique is also used to repair or improve large and unsightly scars.

Conclusion

Male baldness is treated:

• For the frontal third of the head with transplants.
• For the posterior two thirds or the crown by Scalp-Extension and the «Frechet Flap»to eliminate the bald scalp.
• When all of these areas are bald or balding, only the combination of transplants with scalp extension and «Frechet Flap» can treat the entire baldness and produce a full head of hair.

However, the patient may choose to treat only the front or the back if he wishes.

Female baldness is always treated with hair transplants.

Since baldness is a progressive process, the physicians must always think ahead.This explains the reason why grafting new hair to the crown area of the scalp, while it is still balding, is not effective. Only the new grafted hair will remain while the hair all around will fall as time passes creating a non aesthetic aspect.

Only in cases of a very small «stabilized» bald area in men after a certain age, crowns may be grafted