Dr. Norman Orentreich
The history of Hair Transplant initiated in Japan in 1930. The first physician to present hair follicle transplant was the surgeon Sasagawa. Contemporary hair transplant was initiated in the 50s by Dr. Orentreich. The second attempt to transplant hair took place in 1939 by the Japanese dermatologist Dr. Okuda with a truly revolutionary for the time method. He proposed self-transplant to utilize small implants. Further on, in the years 1943 and 1953 similar research is carried on by Japanese scientist Tamura and Fujita. In 1959 Dr. Orentreich indulges in the study of hair transplant taken from the parietal site of the scalp. This first attempt took place in 1952. In 1959 he publishes a research entitled “Autografts in Alopecias and other Selected Dermatological Conditions.”
Studies showed that transplanted hair retained their genetic resistance to hair loss and continued to grow for life. This formed the center of the theory of Donor Dominance, from which contemporary hair transplant flourished and can be described in short as follows: Follicles of an area of temporary hair growth retain and transfer their genetic identity to the area of thinning and continue to grow unhindered. In the 60s and the 70s the grafts used were of quite large caliber, composed of 20-30 hair follicles and consequently the results were not natural. In the 50s the magnitude of the grafts decreases (12-20 hair follicles) the results though still not being satisfactory. The innovative techniques of mini and micro grafts, which developed from 1981 to 1984, provided natural results of high aesthetic value. With the application of Follicular Unit Transplantation (FUT), which reproduces the natural way of hair expression and can provide natural aesthetic results in the 90s, we arrived at contemporary hair transplant. Bernstein and Rassman in 1995 introduce the term “Follicular Unit” maintaining that hair transplant should be performed only with the transfer of hair follicles since hair follicles are the natural way hair grows.
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