Carl B. Shory, MD, joined the staff of Latham’s Hair Clinic in 1981 and has been medical director since 1984. He is a graduate of Spring Hill College in Mobile, Alabama, and graduated from the University of Alabama Medical School in Birmingham. He completed his internship and residency at the University of Alabama at Birmingham.

In 1985-86 Dr. Shory and his team were the first in the United States to employ full scalp coverage using follicular unit hair transplantation. This revolutionary technique was light-years ahead of the old standard hair transplant. No other clinic in the country employed this whole scalp FUT coverage until the early 1990’s.

Dr. Shory continues to bring this kind of excellence to his work in the 21st century by performing the “FUT PLUS” technique. Rather than making a slit in the scalp and jamming around graft into an elongated slit, a circle of bald scalp is removed and the graft is placed in a more physiologically correct position. In this way the hair grows out at the exact angle and direction of the surrounding hairs. In addition, bald scalp is actually removed and there is less scarring, dimpling and virtually no ingrown hairs. There is none of the “bouquet” effect where multiple hairs grow from a single hole, and the hairs grow smooth and straight.

The finished results can be washed, cut, combed, styled and look totally natural. In addition the procedure has been so refined that it is virtually painless, requiring no sedation and no bandages.

Because of the small size of the grafts, they can be placed within existing thin hair to thicken it, or, if so desired, the original hairline can be re-established.

The procedure is performed on an outpatient basis with the patient fully awake – sitting upright watching a favorite video, and it requires only two to five hours to complete. Afterwards the hair is styled to look no different than when the patient arrived at the clinic, and the patient can usually return to work immediately.






Frequently Asked Questions

What is Follicular Unit Transplantation?
Follicular Unit Transplantation (FUT) is the common buzz word seen most often on hair transplant websites today. FUT is really nothing more than another term for a small graft containing 1 to 3 hairs.

What is Slit Grafting?
Slit Grafting is when the surgeon makes a cut in the scalp with a scalpel or punctures the scalp with a needle. Then 1-2 hairs are placed in the opening.

What is “normal” hair loss?
The average human has 100, 000 hairs on the scalp. Normal hair loss is the daily shedding of hair, on average 50 - 100 hairs a day. Most people would not notice this hair loss if not for the way it collects in hair brushes and shower drains. These hairs typically begin regrowing in 90 days with no net loss of hair.

What causes people to lose hair beyond the “normal” range of hair shedding?
Hair loss is most often a result of genetics. The official name for the condition is Androgenetic Alopecia. But hair loss can also be a result of the following conditions:

  • Alopecia Areata -- when the body's immune system attacks its own hair. Patients commonly see a sudden loss of hair in one or more circular or oval patches, but can experience widespread patchy loss. This condition usually resolves spontaneously. Recovery can be speeded by steroid injections.
  • Anagen Effluvium - when rapid shedding of the hair is caused by chemotherapy and certain other medications. This condition usually improves within 6 months of stopping the medication. Hair treatments - when chemicals used for dying, bleaching, straightening, etc., are overused or used incorrectly. Hair shafts can be damaged and hairs break off. It takes three months after the discontinuation of treatments to see if this hair will grow back.
  • Hormonal changes — when a person experiences pregnancy, childbirth, or menopause, or in people with imbalanced thyroid levels. Usually hair loss is temporary.
  • Poor nutrition - when a person has an inadequate supply of protein, calorie, carbohydrates, vitamins or minerals in the diet or who is poorly nourished in other ways.
  • Telogen Effluvium occurs when sudden or severe stress causes hair follicles to stop growing and prematurely enter the Telogen Phase, or resting phase, prior to being shed. Hair loss is usually temporary, but in some cases can continue until the underlying cause is resolved.
  • Traction Alopecia - when hair is subject to repetitive, continuous pulling of hairs by certain hairstyles. Changing the hairstyle will usually solve the problem, but permanent hair loss may result if the style is not changed.
  • Trichotillomania - when a person has an irresistable urge to pull or twist their hair. Patchy bald spots can result when hair is pulled from the scalp.

What is Androgenetic Alopecia?
Androgenetic Alopecia is a progressive condition affecting 40 million men and 20 million women in the United States. This type of hair loss can begin as early as the teenage years and affects 30% of both sexes by age 30 and 50% by age 50. Androgenetic Alopecia is also referred to as Male Pattern Baldness and Female Pattern Baldness.

What is Male Pattern Baldness?
Male Pattern Baldness can be inherited from either the mother‘s or father’s side of the family. Many family histories reveal similarities in hair loss, as if the hair on the head is programmed to fall out at a certain age and time. We see men as young as sixteen and up.

What does Male Pattern Baldness look like?
Male Pattern Baldness can exhibit itself in many ways. It can be receding on the hairline, it can be thinning throughout the front, top and crown of the head. In extreme cases, it can be down into the sides and low into the back and up from the neck hairline.

What is Female Pattern Baldness?
Female Pattern Baldness can be inherited from either the mother’s or father’s side of the family. Many family histories reveal similarities in hair loss, as if the hair on the head is programmed to fall out at a certain age and time.

What does Female Pattern Baldness look like?
Female Pattern Baldness exhibits itself in thinning throughout the top and down the sides, behind the hairline. Typically the back of the head is not affected.

Is there a cure for Male Pattern and Female Pattern Baldness?
Hair transplantation is the only cure for Male Pattern and Female Pattern Baldness.

What other options are available besides hair transplantation?
Despite the many products that can be seen on television and the internet, there are only three products that actually work: Finasteride (Propecia) and Minoxidil (Rogaine) and Saw Palmetto. These drugs are not a cure but they do typically slow down and possibly stop the hair loss if you continue to take them. Hair will fall out as soon as the drug is discontinued.

What about the other products on television and the Internet, like laser hair brushes, etc.?
These products do not work at all and are a complete waste of money.

Where can I get hair transplantation surgery?
When selecting a doctor, beware of doctors and plastic surgeons who may only perform one procedure a month (or year, or less). Look for a hair transplant clinic that specializes in hair transplantation At Latham’s Hair Clinic, we do over 90 percent of all the hair transplants performed in Alabama. Hair transplantation is the ONLY surgery performed at our clinic, and our physician Dr. Carl B. Shory averages 6-8 surgeries per week since 1981 in our Birmingham and Huntsville offices.

Birmingham Office • 2206 Cahaba Valley Drive • Birmingham, Alabama 35242
205-995-2402 • Toll Free 800-626-8809

Huntsville Office • 3776 Sullivan Street, Suite A-2 • Madison, Alabama 35758
256-830-4949 • Toll Free 800-842-0432