The Woods Technique of Follicular Relocation - single hair follicle transplant micro-surgery

Aug 2 2004

The doctors who first researched, developed and perfected single hair follicle transplant micro-surgery announced today that they are bringing their remarkable technique to the United States. And they are backing it up with a published "Declaration of Patient's Rights."

Cosmetic dermatologists Ray Woods, M.D., and Angela Woods-Campbell, M.D., are the creators of The Woods Technique of Follicular Relocation, a method of extracting single hair follicles and implanting them into the scalps of male and female hair loss sufferers. Unlike other hair transplant techniques that can be painful and cause unsightly scars and hair patterns, the Woods Technique is minimally invasive, painless and leads to hair restoration that looks and feels completely natural.

"Many patients come to us after being traumatized by other hair transplant procedures," said Dr. Woods. "Our procedure does not require scalpels and stitches. Nor does it lead to abnormal blood and tissue loss or the doll-like hair patterns of other methods. Plus, we have a much higher success rate than other techniques."

With the Woods Technique, physicians transplant only the hair follicle itself, not the excess tissue attached to it that other techniques generate. By not forcing the transplant site to nourish unnecessary non-follicular tissue taken from the donor area, the newly implanted follicle has a higher "take rate" and lower risk of "shock fallout."

Woods and Woods-Campbell have been perfecting their technique since 1989 in their Sydney, Australia clinic. More than 2,000 procedures have been performed on both men and women -- 500 on patients from the United States -- who as a result have fuller, more natural looking hair lines. "Our goal now is to train as many doctors as we can in the United States in our technique," said Dr. Campbell. "We receive many more inquiries from hair loss patients in the U.S. than we can handle. Plus, these people should not have to bear the travel costs to our clinic when there are so many competent physicians available right here."

Nor should patients have to bear unfair legal disclaimers, intravenous sedation and surgical procedures performed by medical assistants, according to Dr. Woods-Campbell. Through a 10-point Declaration of Patient's Rights that emphasizes physician training, donor site protection, intra-operative monitoring and more, Woods and Woods-Campbell intend to "establish a standard by which all doctors in the industry abide," she added.

To facilitate the training for doctors in the United States, Drs. Woods and Woods-Campbell have established an association with Dr. Sanusi Umar from University of California at Los Angeles. Dr. Umar is a private practice dermatologist and a faculty member of the King/Drew-UCLA Dermatology Residency Program.

Physicians and patients interested in learning more about the Woods Technique should call 1-877-378-6787 or visit http://www.thewoodstechnique.com .

According to U.S. Food and Drug Administration figures, approximately 40 million men in the United States experience some form of hair loss. According to the American Society of Plastic Surgeons, approximately 28,000 men underwent invasive hair transplant surgery.

"The Woods Technique makes it possible for the vast majority of these people to undergo a safe, minimally invasive procedure that will result in a natural-looking scar-free hair restoration," said Dr. Woods-Campbell.