Hair Transplant Specialist
Gorana Kuka-Epstein, M.D., is the Director of Research of the Foundation for Hair Restoration, as well as Co-Director of the Women’s Center for Hair Loss. Board-certified by the Diplomate, American Board of Hair Restoration Surgery, as well as board-certified in plastic surgery in Europe, where she maintains a hair practice in Belgrade, Dr. Kuka is recognized for her expertise in FUE techniques, her interest in newer more effective ways to treat hair loss including investigative work on fat and stem cell therapy, and her knowledge on hair loss in women.
Dr. Kuka Epstein has presented lectures to a variety of European and North American plastic and facial plastic surgery societies as well as the ISHRS (International Society of Hair Restoration Surgery) in addition to her busy clinical practice and research work which includes overseeing one of the most exciting studies on hair loss – an FDA approved trial using adipose-derived growth factors. She also created the FoundHair Training course (www.FoundHairTraining.com) that provides aesthetic surgeons an unsurpassed exposure to different hair transplant techniques, right in the Foundation’s Miami office.
She has a particular interest in diagnosing and treating women suffering from hair loss. Understanding the value of critical steps in order to diagnose patients with hair loss, she created a special diagnosing protocol. She lectured at several international meetings on this topic including the ISHRS meeting in Prague in 2017. This particular protocol is well received among fellow doctors and provides necessary information for correct diagnosis.
Dr. Kuka Epstein established several therapies at the Foundation including Viviscal supplementation, Growth Factors Plasma, Microneedling and most recently adipose tissue injections. These are cutting edge therapies that are used in the country as well as worldwide.
Areas of Expertise
Dr. Kuka has been advancing FUE techniques for nearly all of her professional career. This includes not only teaching her techniques at the FoundHair training course, but also developing the E-FUE System that provides unsurpassed graft extraction with minimal donor site scarring. With her extensive experience in liposuction, she is overseeing the research on the use of fat-derived stem cells for the treatment of hair loss, an exciting FDA-approved study.
Research
Dr. Gorana Kuka Epstein is a founder and Director of Department of research at the Foundation. She was engaged in the first FDA study for the application of regenerative cells in the treatment of hair loss. Highly interested in regenerative medicine she does not stop to explore its benefits in treating different types of alopecias including androgenic alopecia, alopecia areata, scarring alopecia. She developed her personal technique in treating scars with a combination of fat and hair grafting. In 2019. she will start a new study on the efficacy of the growth factors and adipose tissue injections for early stages of androgenic alopecia which is going to be her Ph.D. thesis.
Personal websites
www.haircenter.rs
www.drgoranakuka.com
Conferences
PUBLICATIONS
Kuka Epstein G, Epstein J. Successful hair transplantation in a patient with scarring alopecia pretreated with autologous fat grafting – a case report (manuscript in preparation)
Kuka Epstein G, Epstein J. Two step procedure to correct scalp and facial scars – fat plus hair grafting (FHG) (manuscript in preparation)
Kuka Epstein G, Epstein J. Mesenchymal Stem Cells and Stromal Vascular Fraction for Hair Loss: Current Status. Facial Plast Surg Clin N Am 26 (2018): 503-511.
Kuka G, Epstein J. The evolving role for adipose tissue in treating hair loss. Hair Transplant Forum Int’l. 2018: 28; 54-56.
Epstein JS, Kuka G. The role of hair transplantation in managing facial trauma. Facial Plast Surg. 2017; 33(6): 613-620.
Bonati LM, Kuka G, Strugar T. Microneedling in all skin types: A Review. J Drugs Dermatol; 2017, 16, 308-313
Epstein J, Kuka G. Hair Restoration for the Otolaryngologist. Sataloff’s comprehensive textbook of Otolaryngology, head and neck surgery; Facial plastic and reconstructive surgery. 2016; vol 3, 397-410.
Epstein J, Kuka G. Beyond the hype-automation in hair transplantation. Journal of anti-aging and cosmetic innovations. April 2015
Kuka G, Epstein J. The differential diagnosis and treatment of female hair loss. Plastic Surgery Practice, 2015
Epstein J, Bared A, Kuka G. Ethnic considerations in hair restoration surgery. Facial Plast Surg Clin North Am. 2014; 22(3): 427-37
