|
 Dr.
William Rassman graduated from the Medical College of
Virginia in 1966 where he received his Doctor of Medicine.
He completed a surgical internship at the University
of Minnesota and obtained a cardiovascular fellowship
with Dr. C.W. Lillehei. Dr. Rassman completed a residency
in general surgery at the Cornell Medical Center and
Dartmouth Medical Center. He served in the U.S. Army,
reaching the rank of Major. He was stationed as a surgeon
in the Republic of Vietnam, and was awarded the Silver
Star. The American Board of Surgery certified Dr. Rassman
in 1976.
In
1991, Dr. Rassman founded the New Hair Institute (NHI), and quickly
became a world leader in hair restoration surgery and in hair transplant
technology. This technology enables NHI surgeons to perform hair
transplants with large numbers of grafts in single surgeries. These
high graft counts were previously thought possible only with four
to ten surgeries. His many innovations in techniques and equipment
have been presented at medical meetings around the world, and published
in industry newsletters and prestigious medical journals as he pioneered
these advances. He developed a strong stance on the ethics involved
in hair transplantation as he condemned doctors who used salesmen
to take advantage of naïve, panicky patients. He attacked the use
of scalp reductions as an illogical and often damaging procedure
that put the patient at risk, and he debated the issues related
to scalp reduction procedures at medical meetings around the world.
Because of his adamant position on scalp reductions, the procedure
has been largely abandoned. Dr. Rassman pioneered the Megasession
in 1992-4 (he was the first to do 2000 grafts, 3000 grafts and 4000
grafts in single sessions, reporting these advances in the Hair
Transplant Forum), dense packing of grafts, and the Fast Track®
method of hair transplantation whereby a patient's restoration can
be completed in just one or two sessions. With Dr. Robert Bernstein,
he developed techniques that have proven to be the gold standard
for hair transplantation around the world: The Follicular Unit Transplantation.
He and Dr. Bernstein published these results in a series of peer-reviewed
articles in major medical journals.
As
a professional inventor, who holds both U.S. and worldwide patents,
Dr Rassman invented the Densitometer™ for the precise measurement
of hair density and hair quality. Such precise measurements are
now the standard, required of all ethical medical practitioners
in diagnosis of the balding patient. Three other inventions in medical
instrumentation have U.S. Patents, either granted or pending, in
the hair transplantation arena. He holds multiple patents in an
artificial heart device, other medical devices, computer software,
and, more recently, in the biochip field (patent pending), an area
where he has great interest.
Dr.
Rassman has presented more than nineteen scientific papers before
national and international societies, such as the: International
Society of Hair Restoration Surgery, International Society for Hair
and Scalp Surgery, Annual Global Convocation of Hair Restoration
Surgery, American Academy of Facial, Plastic and Reconstructive
Surgery, European Society of Hair Restoration Surgery, and Merck
Committee Meetings.
 Dr.
Rassman's dedication to the dissemination of knowledge
is clear in the more than twenty articles on hair transplantation
and related issues that he has published in highly regarded
medical publications such as: Dermatologic Surgery,
International Journal of Aesthetic and Restorative Surgery,
Hair Transplant Forum International, and Journal of
Dermatology, Surgery, and Oncology. In 2001, NHI published
the sixth edition of The Patient's Guide to Hair Restoration.
This book explains, in layman's language, what causes
baldness, how baldness is diagnosed, the best medical
and surgical options available today, the proper use
of medication, and how to repair the poor results of
older surgical procedures. The Patient's Guide's extensive
photo section includes more than 100 color photographs
of patients in various stages of hair restoration.
Dr.
Rassman continues to push the state of the art in hair transplantation
forward. In the summer of 2001, he announced a breakthrough in the
field: Follicular Unit Extraction™ (FUE™). In this technique, individual
follicular units are extracted directly from the donor area without
the traditional linear incision in the back of the scalp. An enabling
technology, presently in a 'patent pending' status, has been developed
to make this breakthrough more practical. The advantages of FUE™
are that these procedures can be performed on patients with very
limited donor hair, and, healing is fast, without visible scarring
in the donor area.
Dr.
Rassman is motivated to make a difference in whatever he does. He
strives to be the best and is never satisfied with the status quo.
He is a visionary and has never allowed his goals to be limited
by current thought on any subject.
|
