Ex-England star Michael Gray has UK's first live hair transplant at Manchester clinic

By Dean Wilkins

Ex-England footballer Michael Gray had live hair transplant surgery streamed across the internet from a Manchester clinic yesterday.

Dr Bessam Farjo, Medical Director of the Institute of Trichologists, performed the UK’s first broadcast of the treatment and invited the public to get involved through Twitter.

Gray, who starred for Sunderland, Blackburn Rovers and Sheffield Wednesday, underwent surgery to improve his receding hairline and responded to questions submitted by the publiic.

Dr Farjo said: “Our broadcast is intended to orchestrate a pioneering moment for the hair loss community, as well as the surgical field, giving the nation a first-hand look at the procedure and helping to dispel misconceptions around hair transplant surgery.”

A broadcast of this type has not happened in the UK since Channel 4’s ‘Surgery Live’ in 2009, which included showing brain, stomach and open-heart surgery.

Gray said: “People refer to the harrowing experience a woman must go through when losing her hair, however it can be equally upsetting for men, who can suffer from a severe loss of self-esteem.

“I hope the live broadcast will help us to educate people about hair transplant surgery and open up discussions around the solutions available to those experiencing hair loss.”

Around 4,000 people have travelled to Dr Farjo’s surgery, which is consistently at the forefront of cosmetic surgery.

He also performed the world’s first full beard transplantation in 1996 and his recent research projects will hopefully contribute towards the successful cloning of human hair.

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