Dr. Timothy Carman

Timothy Carman, MD is Medical Director of La Jolla Hair Restoration Medical Center in La Jolla, California, where the practice describes him as partnering with Dr. William Reed 1. His bio states he chose a career in Emergency Medicine in 1994, then in 2000 began a two-year Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery Fellowship at USC-affiliated Rancho Los Amigos National Rehabilitation Hospital, where pediatric burn cases steered him toward hair transplantation 2. He completed a year-long ISHRS fellowship and joined the practice in 2003 2. The clinic schedules him to one patient and one procedure per day 1.

The practice offers strip excision (SE/FUT), FUE, hairline design, facial hair restoration, medical intervention, PRP, scalp micropigmentation, and laser therapy 3. It also offers eyebrow reconstruction and scar excision/repair 6. For FUE, fine punches free each follicular unit before removal with forceps, a step the clinic says "should be performed only by the surgeon" 4. The clinic favors strip excision as its primary method, saying strip grafts are consistently higher quality while repeated FUE thins donor density 5. Dr. Carman personally leads design planning before surgery 1. Very curly hair may rule out FUE; total alopecia may rule out strip excision 4.

Strip excision starts at $8,600 for the first 1,200 grafts, with additional grafts at $3 each; eyebrow reconstruction is $2,500 per procedure 6. Discounts apply for standby scheduling (5%) or cash payment (2%) 6. FUE costs more due to its labor intensity, with no flat rate published; beard/facial and scar cases are priced individually 6.

Consultations are free, in person or by phone using photos for patients outside San Diego 7. FUE recovery takes at least ten days for hair to cosmetically cover donor sites 4. For strip excision, sutures are removed seven to ten days after surgery, and existing hair covers the incision so the donor area looks untouched right away 5. Patients are advised to stop smoking four to six weeks beforehand and avoid alcohol for 48 hours before and after 5.

Dr. Carman is a Diplomate of the American Board of Hair Restoration Surgery and a Fellow of the International Society of Hair Restoration Surgery, a member since 2003 2. He also belongs to the American Society of Hair Restoration Surgery, the American Academy of Cosmetic Surgeons, the International Alliance of Hair Restoration Surgeons, the Coalition of Independent Hair Restoration Physicians, and the American Hair Loss Association 2.