Dr. Leonard 1 of 4 U.S. doctors headed to Beirut conference

Dr. Robert Leonard has always wanted to go to Beirut, and he is finally about to get his wish.

Dr. Leonard, one of the country’s foremost hair transplant surgeons with a Leonard Hair Transplant branch in Cranston, was one of just four American doctors invited to the 12th Annual Congress of the Lebanese Society of Dermatology from April 27-29.

He has been in the field for more than 31 years, and he will take all of that knowledge to Lebanon to present some of the newest developments in the treatment of androgenetic alopecia. Dr. Leonard said that 98 percent of all hair loss is genetic.

“It’s very exciting, I was very happy to be invited,” Dr. Leonard said. “My heritage is Greek, and when I was a kid Beirut was seen as a very exotic city.”

Dr. Leonard’s Greek heritage played a role in his involvement in the hair restoration field. More than three decades ago, his alma mater, the University of New England, asked him and his wife to meet with Dr. Constance Peter Chambers as it sought donations. Dr. Chambers was in the same field, and immediately a connection was made.

“He was a Greek from Greece and the stars were aligned,” Dr. Leonard said of the encounter. “I saw what he did and I liked it. I was at the right place at the right time very early in my career.”

Since Dr. Leonard will be presenting the advances in hair transplanting later this month, he took some time to explain developments and common treatments. He said there are two main forms of hair transplants: The first is the “traditional method” of removing a strip of skin from the back of the head, suturing it and breaking it up into grafts of between one to four hairs.

The second method, known as follicular unit extraction (FUE) is a bit more complicated. This, unlike the traditional way, would require someone to accompany the patient to the office for a ride home.

“We remove these grafts with a tiny punch, and they have one to four hairs, doesn’t matter which we way we pick them out,” Dr. Leonard explained about the procedure. “We make an area on the top [of the head], make it numb, makes hundreds of tiny, little slits into which these grafts are planted. Then the patient goes home.”

Dr. Leonard warned anyone who receives FUE not to get “too attached” to the initial hairs that would grow out of this process, as they would fall out in about two to three weeks. Three to four months will pass before hair begins to grow at a rate of one quarter-inch per month. After six months, Dr. Leonard said it would become “aesthetically noticeable.”

He noted that his office in Cranston is the only one in the Rhode Island and Massachusetts areas to feature an ARTAS robot system. It is the cutting edge in hair transplant surgery, and his office has had its services for about 2 1/2 years.

“The physician would control the robotic arm and it evaluates the donor area in the back of the head to be harvested,” Dr. Leonard said. “It punches it out automatically. Patients are looking for credibility, doctors who have experiences. There are many physicians who dabble, but you don't want to dabble with that type of surgery.”

The issue with some potential hair transplant patients? They are not candidates because they still have too much hair.

“Sometimes they get a sunburn and notice they have thinning there, or some get a wisecrack comment,” Dr. Leonard said. “Some look in the mirror and ask where it goes.”

For those patients, Dr. Leonard listed three FDA-approved practices. Two are relatively well-known: The first is propecia, which is a pill for men that only that works in the bald-spot area, or crown. Rogaine foam works all over the head and is for both men and women.

The third is a laser device called the Capillus272Pro. This innovation, according to its website capillus.com, is composed of 272 “laser diodes” hidden out of sight under a baseball cap. This treatment is to be prescribed by a physician, and Dr. Leonard said it “stimulates the growth of hair and stops further progression.”

Dr. Leonard has used his various methods on a roster of notable personalities and athletes, including Patriots defensive end Rob Ninkovich and CSNNE writer Tom. E Curran. He doesn't have a favorite, though, but he is proud so many are willing to go on record about their hair transplants.

“It’s very exciting to work with the Patriots platers, for example, or actors, but you have patients happy or complimentary enough to tell the world they're your patients,” Dr. Leonard said. “Many men are private about their hair restorations. They can go anywhere in the world, for them to choose to come to us is very humbling and very exciting, too.”

As for this trip to Lebanon, Dr. Leonard isn’t worried about its close proximity to neighbor Syria, which just saw U.S. missile attacks on one of its air bases following a chemical attack that killed dozens. Lebanon also shares a border with Palestine.

“I don't worry about it too, too much, but I’m very cautious about my surroundings,” Dr. Leonard said. “That really doesn't bother me too much. I’m not going to be going to the Syrian border. Beirut is far from both [Syrian and Palestinian] borders.”