American Board of Hair Restoration Surgery (ABHRS)
Our Opinion: The American Board of Hair Restoration Surgery
(ABHRS) is one of the few boards there exists within the United States
for hair transplant surgery. We believe that an ABHRS certification ads
crediability to a hair transplant surgeon, as to be ABHRS certified the
doctor has to take an exam as well as continuing education to keep his
or hers certification valid.
General Information:
As there are no American Board of Medical Specialties (ABMS)
recognition for hair restoration. Therefore, it is not possible to get
regnocition from ABMS. However, the International Society of Hair
Restoration Surgery (ISHRS), the worlds biggest hair restoration and
transplant educational organization, only recognizes certification from
the ABHRS. Besides the ISHRS, the ABHRS works closely
together with and
runs the ABHRS website.
Useful Services:
Addresses:
Email: Click here to email the American Board of Hair Restoration Surgery
Website: Click here to
open the American Board of Hair Restoration Surgery's website (opens a new window)
18525 South Torrence Avenue
Lansing
Illinois (IL)
60438
USA
Phone: +1 708 474 2600
Fax: +1 708 474 6260
About the American Board of Hair Restoration Surgery (ABHRS)Source: The American Board of Hair Restoration Surgery
Mission Statement, Goals and Objectives
Mission: To act for
the benefit of the public, to establish specialty standards and to
examine surgeons' skill, knowledge and aesthetic judgment in the field
of hair restoration surgery.
Goals: To grant
certification to candidates who meet the highest standards of the
medical profession in the field of hair restoration surgery with the
express provision that the Board will not act as a business, vocational
or post-secondary school.
Objectives: To
establish requirements for qualification of applicants for
certification by the Board in the field of hair restoration surgery.
History
The need for the American Board of Hair Restoration Surgery (ABHRS)
first surfaced in June 1995 at a Hair Replacement Surgery Seminar in
Chicago. A group of speakers began discussing the need for a certifying
board in hair replacement surgery. The discussion during the subsequent
twelve months became more resolute as the press began to focus on hair
replacement surgery, due to the many sensational stories on television
and in print. In 1996, the American Hair Loss Council (AHLC) invited
all of the specialty groups whose physicians performed hair restoration
surgery to participate in a meeting to discuss the development of a
Board Certification process for hair restoration surgery. The
presidents of the American Academy of Cosmetic Surgery, International
Society of Hair Restoration Surgery, the American Academy of Facial
Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, and the American Society of
Dermatologic Surgery were each invited to send three representatives to
a meeting to discuss the development of a certification process.
Two significant events stimulated this first meeting. First, the AHLC
was receiving many inquiries from the public about how to recognize a
competent hair restoration surgeon. Secondly, the AHLC had been
contacted by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), and advised of its
plan to conduct an industry audit, on both the surgical and
non-surgical aspects of hair replacement. This audit precipitated a
discussion about self-regulation within the AHLC that led to that
organization's invitation to its professional peers to discuss the
development of a certification process.
These representatives met twice. They recommended that an independent
examining body be organized to develop a credentialing and examination
process, the successful competition of which would assure the public of
the individual's educational ability to perform safe, aesthetically
sensitive hair replacement surgery.
On June 10, 1996, the organizational meeting for a hair replacement
surgery certification examination was held in New York City. This
meeting heralded a new era in hair restoration: the formation of the
American Board of Hair Restoration Surgery. Each of the societies
represented at this meeting agreed that their respective organizations
would accept and recognize this board as the only board certification
focusing on hair restoration surgery.
The first formal board meeting was held in Nashville on September 20,
1996. Officers were elected and committee chairpersons were appointed.
They embarked on the development of a written and oral examination,
each of which is statistically validated with regard to their ability
to discriminate between those whose practice habits were consistent
with safe, aesthetically sensitive hair restoration surgery.
The ABHRS recently was recognized internationally. In 2000, at the
request of the president of the European Society of Hair Restoration
Surgery, the ABHRS began to offer its international candidates the
option of having their certificates read "International Board of Hair
Restoration Surgery." A certificate with this designation certifies
successful completion of the same credentialing and examination process
as the Diplomates of the American Board of Hair Restoration Surgery.
Now with five examinations administered, the ABHRS exam stands as the
only psychometrically and statistically validated examination dedicated
to the specialty of hair restoration surgery.
Top of page American Board of Hair Restoration Surgery
Return to Board Certification or Homepage

|