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New acell photos .. Nov 4, 08

#1

http://www.drrobertjones.com/acell.html

this is actually bit scary.

imagine doing that on whole spot on your back of neck…

#2

Looks like a good skin closure of the wound and maybe some stray follicle regeneration around the edges.

This could be major for scar revisions. It could be world-altering for that issue in theory.

As for the gory open wound situation while it heals, it’s nasty but that’s how Acell has to work.

And the point is - there’s at least some NEW skin there. The point is that the wound was closed WITHOUT having to stretch the upper & lower edges of the original wound all the way together. This could open up the possibility for scar revisions on guys whose scalps have been left too tight for current methods.

I think this whole thing could be managed as long as you did the work in smaller chunks. Like, forget doing a whole strip scar at once. Do it in 3-4 smaller sessions that are each more like the size of the one in the pics.

#3

» http://www.drrobertjones.com/acell.html
»
» this is actually bit scary.
»
» imagine doing that on whole spot on your back of neck…

For Dr. Jones to have done that, he must be confident that either the wound is going to heal nicely because of Acell, or that it could at least be revised to a pre-op state.

#4

exactly at least there is no tension at the wound hey thanks for the updates, i hope this works!!! again i have to commend dr and patient

#5

Honestly this looks better and better the more I look at it.

If that’s really some new follicles around the edges of the (regrown) wound area, then we could really be dealing with a way to “recharge” the extraction holes with FUE work. It might not be 100% original-quality with the follicle regeneration in the holes, but anything would be a huge improvement.

And I’m wondering about the characteristics of the new skin area. Is that scar-type tissue? Non-scarred tissue? Something in between?

If that’s really a non-scarred kind of skin that’s been regenerated in the wound hole, then we could potentially be looking at a way to grow softer FUE-implantable skin on the whole strip scar. Imagine that.

#6

This are 5 Days,only!

Lets hope for hair!

#7

» http://www.drrobertjones.com/acell.html
»
» this is actually bit scary.
»
» imagine doing that on whole spot on your back of neck…

From this patient:

Gave up on everything about 4 years ago, no Rogaine, no propecia, no hair thickeners and no hats, but I still look into the boards every day, just hoping that the cure has been discovered.Hopefully this new procedure will work and we can rid ourselves of these ugly scars for good.

He has stated that he looks into the boards everyday…maybe he comes to this site. I just want to say “Thank You” to this patient. It takes alot of guts to be one of the first to try any new procedure. Also (if you are reading this), thank you for keeping us updated with pics.

Take Care,
Bill

#8

I dont know what new follicles at the edges you guys are seeing? its way to early to see anything to me it just looks like the blood etc soaked into the white acell powder and pads thats why its black .

#9

I’m glad you said this (below) because you are correct. There hasn’t been enough time to make a judgment about this at all. The photos we are seeing were taken on 11/04 two days after the surgery, with the exception of the bottom photo, which was taken just before the surgery.

» I dont know what new follicles at the edges you guys are seeing? its way to
» early to see anything to me it just looks like the blood etc soaked into
» the white acell powder and pads thats why its black .

#10

This is from the Dr. Jones Newsletter that came in today:

Acell Technology Used for Scar Repair

"This past week I performed a hair transplant using Acell technology, the patient is the subject of the most recent blog, available from my site.

I first heard of Acell four months ago, learned it is a product that has been used in Veterinary medicine for years. Acell provides a basement membrane surface which allows for epithelial cell growth, or more simply skin regeneration. It caught my interest because in veterinary use it not only regenerates skin, but regenerates skin with normal hair follicles. Further, Acell has been approved for wound care in humans, and in patients where it has been used, the hair follicles regenerate as well as the skin. Excessive scarring is a problem all hair restoration surgeons encounter. It is always a concern of the patient, that their donor site scar will be unattractive and visible. I immediately wondered what great things this would do to help repair patients old scars and I couldn’t help but imagine that using Acell in the hair transplant procedure would possibly produce an undetectable scar, and perhaps to even regenerate the donor area.

I decided to find a patient with a wide donor scar and to suture in Acell - if the Acell works with a wide donor scar, it will work with any size scar. The question is whether or not the hair will regenerate as it does in animals or as it does in human wound care on other areas of the body. I was fortunate enough to have the company that makes Acell provide me with some samples, and used the same protocol used for wound care, provided to me by the company. As far as I know this is the first time this has been tried in the scar of a hair transplant patient. The hope is that Acell will work and provide a better option for hair transplant patients with excessive scarring.

#11

» This is from the Dr. Jones Newsletter that came in today:
»
» Acell Technology Used for Scar Repair
»
» "This past week I performed a hair transplant using Acell technology, the
» patient is the subject of the most recent blog, available from my site.
»
» I first heard of Acell four months ago, learned it is a product that has
» been used in Veterinary medicine for years. Acell provides a basement
» membrane surface which allows for epithelial cell growth, or more simply
» skin regeneration. It caught my interest because in veterinary use it not
» only regenerates skin, but regenerates skin with normal hair follicles.
» Further, Acell has been approved for wound care in humans, and in patients
» where it has been used, the hair follicles regenerate as well as the skin.
» Excessive scarring is a problem all hair restoration surgeons encounter. It
» is always a concern of the patient, that their donor site scar will be
» unattractive and visible. I immediately wondered what great things this
» would do to help repair patients old scars and I couldn’t help but imagine
» that using Acell in the hair transplant procedure would possibly produce an
» undetectable scar, and perhaps to even regenerate the donor area.
»
» I decided to find a patient with a wide donor scar and to suture in Acell
» - if the Acell works with a wide donor scar, it will work with any size
» scar. The question is whether or not the hair will regenerate as it does in
» animals or as it does in human wound care on other areas of the body. I was
» fortunate enough to have the company that makes Acell provide me with some
» samples, and used the same protocol used for wound care, provided to me by
» the company. As far as I know this is the first time this has been tried in
» the scar of a hair transplant patient. The hope is that Acell will work and
» provide a better option for hair transplant patients with excessive
» scarring.

Very interesting, Thanks for putting it up.

#12

http://www.drrobertjones.com/newsletter/news-2008-11.html

Acell Technology Used for Scar Repair

"This past week I performed a hair transplant using Acell technology, the patient is the subject of the most recent blog, available from my site.

I first heard of Acell four months ago, learned it is a product that has been used in Veterinary medicine for years. Acell provides a basement membrane surface which allows for epithelial cell growth, or more simply skin regeneration. It caught my interest because in veterinary use it not only regenerates skin, but regenerates skin with normal hair follicles. Further, Acell has been approved for wound care in humans, and in patients where it has been used, the hair follicles regenerate as well as the skin. Excessive scarring is a problem all hair restoration surgeons encounter. It is always a concern of the patient, that their donor site scar will be unattractive and visible. I immediately wondered what great things this would do to help repair patients old scars and I couldn’t help but imagine that using Acell in the hair transplant procedure would possibly produce an undetectable scar, and perhaps to even regenerate the donor area.

I decided to find a patient with a wide donor scar and to suture in Acell - if the Acell works with a wide donor scar, it will work with any size scar. The question is whether or not the hair will regenerate as it does in animals or as it does in human wound care on other areas of the body. I was fortunate enough to have the company that makes Acell provide me with some samples, and used the same protocol used for wound care, provided to me by the company. As far as I know this is the first time this has been tried in the scar of a hair transplant patient. The hope is that Acell will work and provide a better option for hair transplant patients with excessive scarring.

I don’t know where he found the information that Acell regenerates hair in wound care on other areas of the body, but, if this is true…I think it’s great news!!

#13

willy, did you take particular notice to the part by Dr. Jones that states that it grew hair in humans???

#14

» willy, did you take particular notice to the part by Dr. Jones that states
» that it grew hair in humans???

Yes, see my post below. I’ve never heard this before…BUT I REALLY HOPE THAT THIS IS TRUE!!!

#15

i accidentally posted something to someone else that i intended to post to you. this is very encouraging, but remember that while Dr. Jones is doing this “test” inside the scar tissue of hair-bearing scalp skin. the borders of the incision area touches hair-bearing scalp skin so this might be a fair test but there is the issue that the area where the hair is dead that hair has been dead a long, long time. since the hair in that depleted donor area has been dead for a long time it may just be too much to ask for it to produce hair again. this “test” may be best done on donor area that has not been harvested yet.

#16

» i accidentally posted something to someone else that i intended to post to
» you. this is very encouraging, but remember that while Dr. Jones is doing
» this “test” inside the scar tissue of hair-bearing scalp skin. the borders
» of the incision area touches hair-bearing scalp skin so this might be a
» fair test but there is the issue that the area where the hair is dead that
» hair has been dead a long, long time. since the hair in that depleted
» donor area has been dead for a long time it may just be too much to ask for
» it to produce hair again. this “test” may be best done on donor area that
» has not been harvested yet.

I am no expert on this issue, but I agree with you. I’ve already wondered about that myself. Hopefully, it doesn’t matter and it will work anyways. If it doesn’t, I would hope Dr. Jones (or one of the other few doctors trying it) would try it in an area that does not include scar tissue to give it a fair chance.

That is why I felt it was soooo important to contact as many doctors as possible about Acell so it will be tried in several different methods. I don’t want results that are false positive to prevent Acell from being used in conjunction with HT (if it truly benefits patients).

#17

i was concerned about that tissue not having grown hair in a long, long time, but you raised the issue about that being scar tissue as well. it does sound like it would be very difficult for any treatment to get hair to grow in SCARtissue that hasn’t grown hair in a long long time. We need to just sit and wait but if Acell does grow hair even in this scarred and long-since dead area then our search for a hairloss cure will be over. otoh, if it doesn’t grow hair in this test then it still might grow hair if we used the Acel in non-scarred donor area IMMEDIATELY after harvestation. Let’s just keep that in mind.

»
» I am no expert on this issue, but I agree with you. I’ve already wondered
» about that myself. Hopefully, it doesn’t matter and it will work anyways.
» If it doesn’t, I would hope Dr. Jones (or one of the other few doctors
» trying it) would try it in an area that does not include scar tissue to
» give it a fair chance.
»
» That is why I felt it was soooo important to contact as many doctors as
» possible about Acell so it will be tried in several different methods. I
» don’t want results that are false positive to prevent Acell from being used
» in conjunction with HT (if it truly benefits patients).

#18

Exactly!

#19

» http://www.drrobertjones.com/acell.html
»
» this is actually bit scary.
»
» imagine doing that on whole spot on your back of neck…

Scary :slight_smile: but anyway, I bet it will grwo back some skin. I dont expect follicles to be there though. That would be a big surprise.

If it does not heal up, then the only explanation imho will be that there was not enough skin left inside the actual wound,and skin growing from the sides of the wound to its centre wont make it to completely close the wound.

All in all its too early to say anything. Maybe in 2 weeks we should see whats happening.

#20

Honestly i wouldnt put that much weight into that newsletter comment about it growing hair in humans ive adked mike manning if it has and he said has never been tested on a hair growing area yet. Although i am extremly happy he’s trying acell , lets not forget his rep is as a poor ht doc and had tried franchising also. I would take it with a cup of salt.