The “Golden Follicle”Awarded to Dr. RassmanThe International Society for Hair Restoration Surgery (ISHRS) has awarded Dr. William Rassman the society’s ‘Nobel Prize’ counterpart, the Golden Follicle Award. The meaning of the award and the acknowledged achievements were best summed up by a hair-loss internet site:

“Hard fought for innovations such as micro-scopically prepared follicular unit grafting are now widely accepted and practiced. So how fitting that the physician who pushed, pulled and fought most tirelessly for the wide adoption of Follicular Unit Hair Trans-plantation was chosen as this years recipient of the Golden Follicle Award. Those who know the history of Follicular Unit Trans-plantation will have no trouble guessing his name – Dr. Bill Rassman.

Myself and all other patients who today benefit from natural follicular unit hair transplantation owe a debt of gratitude to Dr. Rassman, directly or indirectly, for fighting the good fight to overcome inertia and resistance until this procedure became the acknowledged ‘Gold Standard in Hair Transplantation.’ So how fitting that he now wins the Golden Follicle Award.

ABC’s Extreme Makeover Displays NHI’s TalentsThe nationally popular ABC Extreme Makeover show has selected Dr. Rassman to highlight his talents and NHI’s world renowned techniques. So far, three shoots have been completed.

Jerry: Jerry received 2,657 grafts and had remarkable results from his procedure achieving growth in just 3 months! The Extreme Makeover team hopes to air Jerry’s follow-up show as soon as possible. The team loved Jerry’s procedure and the fun we all had, so they aired Jerry’s laughing gas antics on another ABC show.

Before 2,657 grafts After (6 months)See more of Dr. Rassman’sExtreme Makeover patients - Page 5

CONTINUED ON PAGE 4

NHI Presents innerMAN Radio in Los AngelesDr. William Rassman and Eric Black have launched a new and exciting show, innerMAN, on one of the most popular stations in Los Angeles, 97.1FM KLSX. The live call-in show is a forum to talk about men’s issues on a wide range of subjects from sex and

relationships, to politics and careers. Already a hit, the duo has touched a nerve with many men wanting to

discuss their every day lives in an open forum. Check out www.innermanradio.com and listen to the archived shows. Learn about your ‘Inner Man’ every Saturday at 4pm PST.

INSIDE REPAIRING SCARS FOX IMPROVES PATIENT STORY CELEBRITY HAIRLINES

DR. BERNSTEIN’S 2001PLATINUM FOLLICLE AWARD

DR. RASSMAN’S 2004GOLDEN FOLLICLE AWARD

CONTINUED ON PAGE 3

NEW HAIR NEWS2 1-800-NEW-HAIR

Graft Anchoring:Stubborn Hairs One of the most common questions patients ask is: “Doctor, after my hair transplant, how long will it be before my grafts will be secure and won’t fall out?” So how long will it take before sham-pooing, vigorous brushing, inadvertent rubbing and scratching won’t cause your transplants to fall out? In spite of the quick and definitive sounding answers given by the medical profession to date, the answer to this question was actually unknown – at least until now. Dr. Bernstein and his east coast NHI team set out to answer this rather basic question once and for all in a scientific experiment (recently presented at the Annual ISHRS Meeting in Vancouver). They asked volunteer patients to return

My Story by V.Q.

Many years ago, I inquired about a hair transplant to correct a receding hairline which resembled Richard Nixon’s. Lets just say his hairline was not quite the look I wanted. In December 1977, and then in rapid succession in early and late January 1978, I had three hair trans-plant operations, not at NHI. When the transplanted hair grew in, it did so in large clumps with large spaces, the so-called Barbie Doll look. I called the doctor’s office but by then his number was disconnected – he was gone. After several years of combing my hair forward to cover my disfigured hairline, I found another doctor, again not from NHI, who said he could help. He suggested that he fill in the gaps between my plugs, which sounded like a good solution at first. But, after repeated procedures, lots of money, and donor hair loss, I never saw any real improvement. Eventually, I found Dr. Robert Bernstein and my life changed. After 23 years feeling like a walking poster boy for a bad hair transplant, or worse, the punch line for many comedi-ans, I was not too hopeful. Fortunately, my hope was re-born after a complete examination and thorough discussion with Dr. Bernstein that detailed a realis-

tic plan of action. The first step was to remove the worst looking plugs along

the hairline, improve the appearance of the underlying skin and reuse any viable removed hair. After removing these plugs, he performed a procedure called Follicular Unit Transplantation. After a few procedures, I was literally transformed. No longer are people inor-dinately fascinated with my old, abnormal hairline. No longer do people have a difficult time keeping eye contact with me. Those who have known me are in disbelief when they glance up at my hairline and see my results. There is nothing about my appearance that seems unusual now. I’m comfortable in face to face conversations at close range and I no longer shy away from social settings. I guess I can sum it up simply this way: I look normal and I feel great!

With a new application of the FOX™ Procedure (Follicular Unit Extraction), we can now thin out large bulky grafts without having to remove them completely.

Large plugs with proper hair characteristics (location and direction) can now be “skinnied” and extracted hairs can be re-transplanted. Combining this new technique

with plug removal adds increased flexibility in all repair surgery. For example, grafts below the hairline might be removed, while those hidden behind might be just thinned out. Call us if you’ve “still got plugs” and we will see what we can do to help!

Still Got Plugs?

BEFORE

AFTER 2,389 GRAFTS

BEFORE

AFTER 2,389 GRAFTS<

NEW HAIR NEWS3 1-800-NEW-HAIR

Graft Anchoring:Stubborn Hairs(continued from page 2)

Scar Repair With Plastic Surgery

to the office after their procedure, in varying intervals, so that they could pull on a few of their grafts.

Pulling On Just the Hair For the first two days after a proce-dure, pulling on a hair always resulted in a lost graft, and therefore the material responsible for re-growing hair. But by the sixth day, pulling on a hair would no longer dislodge the graft. Pulling on a scab that was only attached to the hair and not the skin surface was no different that pulling on a hair, so these situations were combined in the study.

Graft Anchoring Study What is the important implication of this study? If you can prevent crust formation following a hair transplant, you could shorten the time grafts are at risk of being pulled out. Therefore, if you are able to resume shampooing, brushing and styling more quickly, follicular unit transplantation and follicular unit extraction become more effective. To address this issue, NHI has targeted a few techniques that minimize crust formation, making your hair trans-plant experience more enjoyable.

Over the years, scalp scars have plagued many. There are a number of factors that can contribute to scalp scarring: improper techniques, innate poor healing properties of a particular patient, outdated procedures, or scars from accidents, neurosurgery or plastic surgery. Whatever the cause, these scars can be difficult to camouflage with existing hair, especially if you lead an active lifestyle. Fortunately, there is now a series of options to manage these scars: (1) trans-planting a patient’s own hair into the scarred region, or (2) using a newly devel-oped NHI technique that reduces wound tension (focusing tension on structures deep below the scalp) and therefore scar stretching. In addition, many other approaches for severe scarring and burns are available.. Patient SZ has a history of stretched scars. After three procedures by another medical group, he was unhappy with his donor scarring and told NHI Physician Dr. Kenneth Anderson how his scar negatively affected his confidence. With a concerned wife by his side, Patient SZ

decided to take the next step and had Dr. Anderson use the FOX™ Procedure to transplant follicles directly into the scar. Whether he chose a scar revision or the FOX™ Procedure, the results probably would have been equivalent; a less detect-able scar and a more self-confident patient.

* * * * *

PATIENT SZ: BEFORE 330 GRAFTS

PATIENT SZ: AFTER 330 GRAFTS

So What Is Different About NHI, Doc? by Dr. William R. Rassman

Perspective One: Our newest employee has been in the hair transplant industry for almost 7 years, cutting and placing grafts for many competing practices. After just one month at NHI, she told me that she was amazed at the organization and speed of our clinical team. Even with 1/3rd of the staff size, she found NHI to be significantly more productive. As soon as she arrived, she knew what her skills had to become to fit in with the NHI culture.

Perspective Two: In recent communications with other doctors, I obtained statistical cutting and placing speeds from transplant offices worldwide. Comparatively, NHI’s overall efficiency is higher than most other facilities. Less people working together in a well organized team decreases human graft cutting and placing variability. In addition, technicians with superior skills create fewer errors and reduce surgical time. The lesser the surgical time, the better the results.

Follicular Unit Extraction is a powerful weapon in NHI’s repair arsenal. If you have bothersome scalp scars, please see us for a consultation. Dr. Anderson, a plastic and reconstructive surgeon

at NHI, has a special interest in working with scarred patients to improve their quality of life. While on staff at the University of Michigan Hospitals and at the Ann Arbor Veterans Administration Hospital, Dr. Anderson saw the psychological effects scars can have on patient recovery; even though the patients were “healed” on the inside, they were left unfulfilled and disappointed by their appear-ance on the outside. Now, they can do something about it!

NEW HAIR NEWS4 1-800-NEW-HAIR

A Hair Transplant Doesn’t Need to Be a Pain! A commonly asked question we get is, “Will it hurt?” We have made three advances that significantly alter the way we administer anesthesia and reduce pain. For those who can’t handle any discomfort, we’ve intro-duced a twilight anesthe-sia technique that will put the patient into a light, dreamy state for about one hour. During that hour, local anes-thesia is administered. By the time the patient wakes up any discomfort will have passed. For those who want to maintain an alert state throughout the procedure, we now offer another technique called Vibratory Analgesia. The vibration works by reducing the discomfort of the injec-tion through a well established neuro-

logical mechanism called gaiting . Nerve fibers carry many types of signals; pain and vibrations are two distinct signals. As one increases, the second is subdued.

We can also administer the initial anesthesia directly through

the skin with a spray jet, rather than a needle. By pushing very small quantities

of Xylocaine directly through the skin from a high

pressure spray, the initial anes-thesia is covered, allowing more anesthe-sia to be introduced again through a second application. Conventional shots are postponed until the spray covers the initial pain. At your visit we would be happy to discuss the details of these two techniques and determine which would be the most appropriate for you.

Dr. Rassman has always been willing to point out when the emperor had no clothes even when it made him unpopular with his colleagues. As a hair restoration physician he once again stood up under fire and has finally been awarded the Golden Follicle.”

“Those who say it can’t be done should not stand in the way of those who are doing it every day.” - Dr. Bill Rassman (1994)

Dr. Rassman’s Golden Follicle Award now sits on the shelf with Dr. Bernstein’s 2001 Platinum Follicle Award given for his unique and outstanding contributions in clinical research. In his acceptance speech, Dr. Rassman acknowledged that a ‘paradigm shift’ began in the early 80’s when small grafts were used to camou-flage larger plugs. By the late 80s, many doctors were learning to use more, yet smaller grafts in a single session. In the early 90’s, another shift occurred when Dr. Rassman solidi-fied the Megasession, making small grafts and large sessions the only appro-priate transplant mechanism for unde-tectable results. The “Holy Grail” in hair transplantation was now apparent – every

patient would have a totally natural appearance. Doubters still whispered, but Rassman finally quieted them in 1995 by presenting 23 patients before a packed audience at the Las Vegas ISHRS meeting. Doctors from around the world lined up to view his results, literally stop-ping the entire meeting dead in its tracks. Shortly thereafter, Dr. Rassman and Dr. Bernstein secured Follicular Unit Trans-plantation as the “Gold Standard” by publishing their results in prestigious medical journals. Not content to sit with this new gold standard, Dr. Rassman and Dr. Bernstein set out to achieve a new goal – a strip-free procedure. Taking the early experi-ence of doctors worldwide, they com-bined older thoughts with their own in an understandable, logical framework that complimented existing techniques. Minimally invasive hair transplantation arose, backed by their now famous paper “Follicular Unit Extraction: Minimally Invasive Surgery for Hair Transplanta-tion” that appeared in Dermatologic Surgery in 2002. Congratulations Dr. Rassman for this outstanding achievement!

Golden Follicle Award (continued from page 1)

“What’s new in the treatment of hair loss?” asked Carl during his first NHI consultation. Dr. Rassman turned the question back to Carl and asked him what he pictured to be the ideal hair transplant procedure. Carl thought for a few minutes and responded: “That’s easy! I want minimal pain, no visible scar, and no significant recovery time from the procedure so I can quickly get back to work.” Dr. Rassman replied: “Let’s see if we can accomplish what you are asking.” I want minimal pain...

“With regard to the pain, we now have two options: We can give the local anesthetic while putting you into a short twilight sleep, or keep you fully awake by using a new device that significantly reduces any pain.”

...no visible scar and nosignificant recovery time...

”With the FOX™ Procedure we can take out the grafts one at a time from the donor area with no linear incision and limited recovery pain. The scar for each excised graft will be the size of a pen tip (1mm) and, within a week, your scarring should be un-detectable even with a reasonably short crew cut. Within a day or so, you can go back to work and start your strenuous activi-ties.” Dr. Rassman is extremely excited since now, with another FOX™ Proce-dure instrument breakthrough, the surgery can be performed on most patients.

Follicular UnitExtraction --

The Techniques Continue to Improve

On November 4, 2004, NHI pushed the numerical limits of the FOX™ Proce-dure, bringing our largest case to 2,391 grafts in a single session.

FOX™ Megasession: 2,391 Grafts

NEW HAIR NEWS5 1-800-NEW-HAIR

Hot Topics at the 2004 ISHRS Convention One of the subjects of greatest interest this year was the orientation of trans-planted recipient hairs, that is, the direc-tion transplanted hairs are placed. One year ago a subtle change was introduced; Graft incisions were cut horizontally rather than vertically. It has been believed by many doctors that this orien-tation may result in a fuller appearance. The theory is that with vertical slits, the implanted graft may have the ability to shift up and down within the incision, causing hair direction to vary. With horizontal slits however, the graft may be less likely to shift, creating a fuller, more layered appearance.

This year, Dr. Jenifer Martinick of Australia put together a summary of 12 patients who had both horizontal and vertical incisions during their procedures (one side horizontal while the other side was vertical). After following most of these patients for more than a year, her results focused on patient perception of their fullness. Many patient perceptions changed throughout the study, preferring one method over the other at an early stage, and flip-flopping towards the other preference a few months later. So what does this tell us? The debate is still unsettled. Since the presentation at the 2003

meeting, NHI has adopted the horizon-tal approach to incision formation. In practice the differences between the two approaches are subtle; however, the theoretical advantages to horizontal incisions provide a compelling argument for our switch.

Extreme Makeover (continued from page 1)For further info, please visitwww.newhair.com/extreme

Heather: Heather exemplified classic female pattern baldness (significant thinning behind a healthy hairline) that plagues so many women. This was Extreme Makeover’s first female hair transplant, which gave hope to many women looking for a hair loss solution. Heather’s story was one of hair pieces that haunted and embarrassed her on dates and during intimate moments. While recounting these experiences, tears filled her eyes. After the procedure, she hugged Dr. Rassman and cried in expectation of her results. Heather had 1,620 grafts transplanted.

Marque: Dr. Rassman’s most recent Extreme Makeover patient, Marque, came to NHI hoping to fill in his receding hairline. After NHI’s dense packing of 2,235 grafts, Marque can now continue his career as a musician with more confidence. Marque described his experience at NHI as being the most painless and comfortable during his extensive Extreme Makeover.

VERT

ICAL

INCI

SION

HAIR GRAFT

ANGLE SHIFT

NEW HAIR NEWS6 1-800-NEW-HAIR

The Fabulous Bud E. Luv As the swallow returns to Capistrano, so, too, can hair return to your head. Your hair is a living, loving extension of you. It's a fleet-footed messenger running, flowing, flying out before you, telling

the world who you are. It's saying, "Hello, I got nothing" or "Good

evening ladies and gentlemen, let's swing." The lounge is no

place for whiners. I don't want to hear, "But I was trying to

get a deal." "My friend got it wholesale." Hey! Get off my cloud! Did Sinatra get it wholesale? No. He had style. This is show business.

Fabulous Hair!Fabulous Hair!Fabulous Hair!

Confessions of a Lounge Singer

BEFORE AND AFTER 2 PROCEDURES TOTALLING 2,826 GRAFTS THAT WERE SPREAD OVER HIS ENTIRE HEAD.

BEFORE AFTER

2003 2004

2004

Much has been spoken about the FOX™ Procedure by various clinics, but few have produced actual patient results. Ever since we first published our results in the Journal of Dermatologic Surgery (2002), many clinics have rushed to offer you their version of the procedure, calling it every different name under the sun. Regardless of which name you choose to call the FOX™ Procedure, remember to see results before you commit to any transplantation plan. Jeremy was one of our first FOX™ patients. After two procedures and just 1,195 follicular units, Jeremy’s hairline now fits his 25 year old face. Ask your potential doctor to see his or her work up close and personal. You can read more about the FOX™ Procedure in the “Medical Publications” section of our website at www.newhair.com.

The FOX™ Procedure Spotlight: Jeremy

BEFORE 8/9/02 11 DAYS AFTER 8/20/02 7 ½ MONTHS AFTER 3/28/03

8 MOS. AFTER PROCEDURE #2 12/3/038 MOS. AFTER PROCEDURE #2 12/3/032 MOS. AFTER PROCEDURE #2 6/1/032 MOS. AFTER PROCEDURE #2 6/1/032 MOS. AFTER PROCEDURE #2 6/1/03

Row 1 > 1st Procedure of 694 grafts

Row 2 > 2nd Procedure of 501 grafts

1993

Patient results are often determined by hair shaft thickness, hair character, and hair color. After Extreme Makeover’s Dr. Jon Perlman had his first procedure with NHI, his results perfectly framed his face. However upon close inspection, his hair was not as thick as he wanted due to his poor, but natural, hair characteristics. Dr. Perlman has very fine hair so the bulk of each hair shaft is lower than average. By undergoing a second procedure, his density was doubled; his fine hair no longer contributed to a see-through look. We often see many of our patients, initially satisfied but wanting more hair, receive another transplant.

NEW HAIR NEWS7 1-800-NEW-HAIR

NHI Accredited by AAAHC 9 Years in a Row NHI is pleased to announce that the Accreditation Association for Ambula-tory Health Care (AAAHC) has recently issued a renewed three-year accreditation to NHI, officially recog-nizing us for delivering excellent health care services to our patients. NHI has been accredited for the past 9 years. The AAAHC only accredits organizations that are committed to providing high quality care and services, as reflected in their standards. We are very proud to be one of over 1,300 ambulatory health care organizations (and the only hair transplantation organization) in the country accredited by the AAAHC.

We invited AAAHC to conduct a peer-based survey of our organization in order to help establish a benchmark of uniform standards of care for our organization. We believe that voluntary participation in this nationally recog-

nized process will ensure our continued ability to provide exemplary service to

our community, and will also enable our patients to make more informed choices when seeking treatment. Accreditation by AAAHC is proof of this commitment, and signifies that we have met the rigorous standards of a nationally recognized third party.

What Makes a GoodTransplant Better?

Patient Update: “Dean”... From Freaky to NormalA few newsletters ago we told you a story about Dean (identified as “Eric”), a man that in his own mind considered himself a freak. He had been subjected to a deforming technique at another clinic that left him with the “doll’s head” appear-ance. NHI’s repair techniques gave him a second chance. We documented his transformation into a new man over two years. Now a year later, we want to provide you with an update on Dean. After 3 surgeries at NHI, 2,535 grafts and some help from Propecia, Dean now considers himself normal again. Dean’s full story can be found in the “Corrective Procedures” section of our website, www.newhair.com.

2002

2001

2000 2004AFTER 2,535 GRAFTS

20032002

BEFORE AND AFTER PHOTOSProcedure 1: 1,529 grafts; Procedure 2: 1,361 grafts

AFTER 2nd PROCEDURE

AFTER 1st PROCEDURE

BEFORE

NEW HAIR NEWS8 1-800-NEW-HAIRhairdoc@newhair.com www.newhair.com

Services provided by New Hair Institute Medical Group, A Professional Corporation and New Hair Institute Medical Group of New Jersey, P.C. • Locations nationwide: San Jose, CA; Los Angeles, CA; Fort Lee, NJ; Manhattan, NY • Corporate Headquarters: 9911 West Pico Blvd., Suite 301, Los Angeles, CA 90035

> Sean Penn > Mel Gibson > Muhammad Ali > Leonardo DiCaprio > David Schwimmer > Bob Barker > Alec Baldwin

> Matt Damon > John Travolta > Ed Norton > Pierce Brosnan > Andy Garcia > Denzel Washington > Tony Curtis

Come to an NHI Seminar or Open House and receive a coupon worth $200 off your next procedure. ** Only one discount can be applied towards your surgery. A minimum fee of $3000 must be met after your discount is applied.

Visit www.newhair.com to get a list of upcoming events in your area.

$200DISCOUNT

The answers will be revealed on our website at www.newhair.com on Dec. 1, 2004.

NOT A CELEBRITY ENDORSEMENT. THE ABOVE NAMEDCELEBRITIES ARE NOT PATIENTS OF NEW HAIR INSTITUTE.

HOLLYWOOD

Almost every day, patients ask for celebrity hairlines similar to Andy Garcia, Alec Baldwin, Sean Penn and others.

We’ve compiled a short quiz to test your Hollywood hair knowledge. Match the celebrity name to the hairlines from the list below.