Sharon A. Keene, MD, FISHRS | USA
Dr. Keene’s clinic, Physician’s Hair Institute, in Tucson, AZ, utilizes state of the art equipment and techniques in hair transplant surgery. For the FUT graft dissection, this includes a form of magnification that offers improvements over the standard stereoscopic microscope used by most hair restoration surgery practices in graft dissection. It involves a high-resolution digital video camera, in conjunction with a backlight, projected onto an LCD screen. Dr. Keene announced this technique at the Orlando, Florida conference in 2002, and presented the technique in 2003 at the Italian Society of Hair Restoration Surgery conference in Rome, Italy. The technique was well received and has been adapted by many of the top hair restoration clinics. It is an improvement over the stereoscopic microscope in that it allows the doctor more direct supervision, while improving ergonomics for the technicians, and provides excellent magnification for dissection.
Moreover, Dr. Keene designed a graft holder that keeps the grafts well hydrated during hair transplant graft placing, an important factor in graft survival. She also created a multi-recipient site scalpel that improves the efficiency of creating incisions, but keeps this critical step in the hands of the physician, not the assistants. Other doctors have followed her lead and started to use similar devices due to their recognition of the advantages these devices offer.
In addition to the strip donor removal, Dr. Keene utilizes the S.A.F.E. device for follicular unit extraction (FUE) graft removal. She considered other FUE removal devices, but chose this one both because the S.A.F.E. machine helps speed the FUE donor removal over removing the grafts manually, while limiting the risk of dehydrating the grafts (as can happen with suction used in some devices) and diminishing transection through the use of the dull excision technique. This refers to removing each graft with a biopsy type excision, making the excision deep enough to delineate/outline the circumference of the graft part way, and then pulling the graft from the underlying tissue to avoid cutting off the follicles, which cannot be seen when taking donor from the surface of the skin. Dr. Keene will continue to update her choice of FUE devices as the devices advance.
To allow her to take part in all aspects of the surgery, Dr. Keene typically limits her hair transplant surgery to one patient per day, (exceptions may be if she is doing eyebrow restoration or a very small area of hair transplant). She is known for having a very “hands on” approach in the surgery room. Dr.Keene performs every aspect of the surgery, from donor removal, to creating the recipient sites, to placing the majority of the grafts, and is the only one who will be making any excisions or incisions. Her assistants dissect grafts, and the most experienced medical assistants will assist her with graft placement under the doctors direct supervision. At Physician’s Hair Institute, each patient is given not just the staff’s attention, but also Dr. Keene’s personal attention throughout your hair transplant surgery.
You will never encounter a high-pressure sales professional at Dr. Keene’s office. She believes that patients should be informed and educated about their options, but never pressured. She will not recommend hair transplants for everyone, but will base her recommendations on your individual needs and circumstances.
Dr. Keene limits the overhead at her clinic in order to pass that on to you. Quality and aesthetic results are her main concern, but making this procedure affordable to those who can benefit from it is important to her as well. So marketing is kept to a minimum, and Physician’s Hair Institute is a clinic focused primarily on the professional, technical, and artistic aspects of hair restoration.
Dr. Keene worked with the Shapiro Medical group in MN for many years. However, the demand at her Tucson clinic, along with her educational obligations (with the ISHRS), has limited her travel time. Consequently, she currently limits her hair transplant surgery to her Tucson clinic only. She also has a satellite office in Scottsdale, AZ for the convenience of her many Phoenix patients.
