As could be expected, Dr. Ballon is often asked why he would choose to leave a successful career in neurosurgery to redirect his attention and training to hair restoration. “Neurosurgery is an immensely rewarding field,” Dr. Ballon explains, “but it is also incredibly demanding. After 23 years of 24/7 weeks, I was ready for a change.” Dr. Ballon was also ready for a change in his personal appearance: he decided he was finally going to have the hair transplant he’d been thinking about for years. In the course of researching the process, Dr. Ballon learned that hair transplant surgeons come from all walks of medicine. “It was then that I realized hair restoration surgery was not only the solution to my baldness, but also the perfect second career for me.”

Requiring finesse and attention to detail, hair transplant surgery draws on a skill set similar in many ways to that which Dr. Ballon had mastered in performing thousands of delicate operations on the brain and spine. “While both challenging and satisfying, hair restoration surgery has afforded me a greater level of personal freedom and more time to devote to family and friends.”

As a hair transplant patient himself, Dr. Ballon can easily relate to his patients. He knows firsthand just how life-changing the experience can be and takes great satisfaction in bringing that experience to others. Throughout his medical career, Dr. Ballon has always been admired by colleagues and peers for his integrity and sound medical judgment. “In the field of hair restoration, surgery may not always be the best option,” he says. “I believe that the approach to each individual’s hair loss must be tailored to his or her particular situation. The advice I give a patient is no different from the advice I would give a family member or a close friend. I always consider it an honor when someone chooses me to be their surgeon, and I feel it is my professional obligation to ensure that the patient's decision is one of the best he or she has ever made."