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Duncan Simmons, Hair Transplant Doctor

Hair Club Locations: Minneapolis, Des Moines, Springfield, St. Louis & Kansas City

Dr. Simmons became interested in hair transplant procedures while in medical school and during his General Surgery residency. As technology improved and he saw the amazing results of the procedure, he decided to dedicate his career to hair restoration. Dr. Simmons has completed over 6,000 hair transplant procedures.

Number of Transplant Procedures Performed:
Over 6,000

Member:
International Society of Hair Restoration Surgery

Residency:
General Surgery Yale

Education:
BS with Honors, Major Chemistry, Minor-Biology, Campbell University, Buies Creek, NC

Military Service:
7 years US Army 5th Special Forces Group Ft. Bragg, N.C.

Questions & Answers with Dr. Duncan Simmons

Q & A with Duncan Simmons, M.D.

What inspired you to become a hair transplant physician?
Hair loss is prevalent throughout my entire family. When my own hairline began to mature in college I began investigating all the available alternatives. My interest only grew through medical school and residency as I started performing hair transplant procedures and saw the amazing results.

What would you tell a patient considering a hair transplant procedure?
Our current surgical procedure provides a naturally appearing permanent solution to their hair loss. Safe and effective medical treatment can be used to stop the ongoing loss. Hair Club provides a variety of Proven Solutions to address any and all concerns they may have about hair loss.

How do you determine who is a candidate for hair transplant surgery?
A thorough discussion of the patients expectations and a complete examination of the patients donor area provide the doctor and patient the necessary framework to determine whether transplantation is the appropriate next step.

Why are patient expectations important to the procedures results?
Patients need to feel comfortable with the look they will enjoy after the procedure. Exceeding the patient�s expectations insures a satisfied client for life.

Do you perform Eyebrow Transplants?
Yes

Close

(music playing) JULIAN
How many years have you been performing hair transplants?

DR. SIMMONS
I've been doing hair transplants about fifteen years. I've done close to six-thousand cases out of about twenty-one thousand general plastic and reconstructive cases.

JULIAN
Seeing so many patients over the years, would you agree that one of the most important decisions they have to make is choosing the right doctor?

DR. SIMMONS
Absolutely. The critical step in determining who will do your transplant or whether or not you will have a transplant, patients need to feel comfortable with the surgeon who is doing their work. A couple of points that I, that I send clients away with are, number one, you need to know what the underlying training was, everybody did something before they did hair transplants. Um, my training, again, is in facial plastic surgery, and the second point is that you want to understand

DR. SIMMONS
the, uh, the surgeon's artistic vision. The ability to take the very technical aspects of our specialty and translate those into being bale to create something that looks very natural. That only comes with an artistic eye. My experience with, uh, What has driven me from, um, from doing all kinds of general plastic reconstructive cases to exclusively doing hair transplants, it really is the patient satisfaction. There's just nothing, there's nothing like hair. There's nothing like giving back, to a young gentleman, or an older gentleman, something, something that they've lost. We don't look at it or think of it as vanity, it really is just a (unintelligible) to get back their original hair.

JULIAN
Do you get to know these patients after the procedure is done?

DR. SIMMONS
We have very extensive follow-up, we follow our patients with our Post EXP Program, at least once a month, for the first nine months. I have patients that I operated on fifteen years ago that I'm still in contact with.

JULIAN
Wow.

DR. SIMMONS
The interesting part about the, the day of surgery is that for most physicians, a day at work means, seeing lots and lots of patients, running from one exam room to the other. We get to spend all day with a single patient, and that really affords us the opportunity to get to know them on a much more personal level.

JULIAN
So talk to me about your team then. Because it's not just about doctor, but it's also about the team that you perform the surgeries with. How important is that factor when choosing a medical group or an individual doctor?

DR. SIMMONS
In hair transplant surgery, the staff is critical. They are irreplaceable. I can do an entire facelift by myself, with no help. I need all of my technicians, specifically I'll have somewhere between four and six, sometimes seven of my trained medical technicians, who cut and place the grafts and sometimes assist me during surgery. They are critical to the team, they are the team. And this truly is a team sport.

JULIAN
What aspects of hair transplantation attracted you to this field?

DR. SIMMONS
To be perfectly honest, it's because it's an office-based practice, and I, uh, it affords me a lifestyle where I can spend more time with the people that are really important to me, my wife and my two nine-year-old sons. Um, from a work standpoint it really is the satisfaction that I see, in my patients, the change in their self-esteem. You just don't see the same kind of reaction from someone who's had a facelift, a nose job, um, really any other kind of plastic surgery.

JULIAN
Are all surgeons created equal in this venture or is there a difference with Hair Club Medical Group^TM surgeons?

DR. SIMMONS
Uh, I believe there's a difference in Hair Club surgeons in that they have been selected, uh, not, uh, they've been selected, uh, to be with Hair Club, and they've applied to be with Hair Club. I think that the level of training, previous experience, uh, is above and beyond, you know, any other group practice, and on a whole, is comparable with the top surgeons in the world.

JULIAN
From your perspective, how do you determine who is a candidate for a hair transplant procedure?

DR. SIMMONS
Determining candidacy for a prospective patient, is is really driven by two factors. Number one, and that's always my first question, is "what are your goals?", "what are your expectations?", "what do you hope the surgery is going to do for you?". And the second issue is, whether or not they have enough available donor. Patients who are a Class 5 or Class 6, on the Norwood-Hamilton Scale, some surgeons may say that they're not a candidate, but it's my view that if they have enough available donor, and their expectations are in line with what we can deliver, as far as density, um, then they still are a candidate. So those two issues matching the patient or client's expectations, with their available donor.

JULIAN
What is telemedicine?

DR. SIMMONS
Telemedicine is the ability for a surgeon in a remote location, to view photographs, to be able to see the extent of hair loss, see the available donor, and then to speak with the patient about any questions or concerns they may have.

JULIAN
Well, thanks again for taking the time today. I know this has helped a lot of people get a better insight into what you do, who you are Dr. Simmons, and who Hair Club Medical Group^TM is and what they have to offer.

(music begins to play)

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Duncan Simmons, Hair Transplant Doctor

Q & A with Duncan Simmons, M.D.

What to do About Your Hair Loss