It had been several years since the motorcycle accident that almost cost K.J. his life. Suffering severe head trauma, he was unconscious in his hospital bed when the doctor told his wife to prepare herself for the worst. But the 40-year-old husband and father fought to live, eventually making a recovery that stunned the doctor who had made the grim prognosis. Now, the only visible sign of his injury was the surgical scar and slightly recessed area where steel plates held a piece of his skull in place. Ready to move forward and make the most of his second chance at life, K.J. wanted to take the final step in healing: restoring his hair.
Although K.J.’s story may seem easy to sum up in one paragraph, his journey was grueling, with setbacks along the way. The injury necessitated removing a heart-shaped piece of skull, which was preserved for future replacement. The plate that was originally placed over the area also had to be removed because of high intracranial pressure – a life-threatening development. After he was out of immediate danger, K.J. underwent physical rehabilitation and wore a protective wrestler’s helmet for six weeks prior to surgery to replace the section of bone.
“It was pretty intense,” K.J. recalled. “For some crazy reason, I’m still here.”
K.J.’s next contact with the medical field was voluntary. Learning about the Orlando Live Surgery Workshop – a conference of hair restoration surgeons sponsored by the International Society of Hair Restoration Surgery (ISHRS) – he submitted his case for consideration. Having attended full of hope, his heart began to sink as surgeon after surgeon declined to treat him.
Until Dr. Marco Barusco, Founder and Chief Medical Officer of Tempus Hair Restoration, reviewed K.J.’s case and examined his scars – then gave K.J. the answer he had long been awaiting: he was a candidate for hair transplant surgery.
What did Dr. Barusco see that the other surgeons had missed? The deciding factor wasn’t so much what they didn’t see, as what they were unable to do.
“(The patient’s) case was difficult, and posed a higher risk of serious complications due to the surgeries he had for his head trauma,” said Dr. Barusco. “Particularly the reconstruction of his skull with a synthetic material, which was placed under the area to be transplanted. This made the procedure of transplanting hair more challenging and risky. Most other doctors don’t have the experience or the facilities to perform this procedure under sterile conditions, and with the pre- and post-operative preparations that were needed to do it safely.”
However, K.J. would have to wait a little longer for the complete restoration of his appearance. Because Dr. Barusco determined the surgery required more controlled conditions than the live surgery workshop provided to minimize the risk of infection, Dr. Barusco performed K.J.’s hair transplant surgery at Tempus Hair’s Port Orange location, which is designed to provide patients with a safe and comfortable surgical experience.
Dr. Barusco chose the Follicular Unit Transplantation (FUT) procedure on K.J., which he determined would achieve the best results. “Due to his various scalp scars, the safe area for donor hair harvesting was limited to the back and right areas of his scalp,” said Dr. Barusco. “An FUT was recommended in order to move more hair in one procedure.”
“I had quite a bit of hair loss,” said K.J. “But I started seeing results about six months after the transplant, with full growth after one year. I could hardly believe it! The scarring is covered, and the growth pattern looks natural. Before, I felt like people saw the scar before they saw me.”
When asked what motivated him to undergo one more surgical procedure after he’d been through so many, K.J. reflected: “I wanted to move on in life. When I see people with scarring, I can relate to what they’ve been through. My life is back to normal. I have my wife and my friends. Once you have hope and the will to survive, you make changes. I work out at the gym five days a week, and lead a healthy lifestyle. I’m in better shape now than when I was 40!”
In fact, K.J. recently returned to Tempus Hair Restoration for the same reason as the vast majority of Dr. Barusco’s other patients who trust themselves to his care – to treat standard, typical hair loss.
“When you start feeling more confident, you want to keep that feeling,” said K.J. “Dr. Barusco is just a phenomenal surgeon. I highly recommend him. He and his staff were very supportive. Dr. Barusco did his research and took his time.”
As remarkable as K.J.’s experience was, he is not the only patient with a challenging situation who Dr. Barusco has successfully treated. In fact, Dr. Barusco created a pre- and post-operative protocol designed to increase safety in these types of procedures. This protocol was published in a scientific journal and in a medical textbook, and today is used by many doctors in the field.
We invite you to visit our Before & After Gallery to see a wide range of inspiring results – then schedule a free, no obligation consultation with Dr. Barusco at one of our locations, or by video conference to learn your options. We look forward to meeting you, and helping you achieve the self-confidence to live your best life!