Wes Welker FUT Hair Transplant Boston | New England Patriots

Wes Welker built his reputation by finding openings other players could not. During six seasons with the New England Patriots, the wide receiver became one of the NFL’s most productive pass catchers, earning five straight Pro Bowl selections with New England, recording five 1,000 yard seasons and leading the NFL in receptions three times.

His playing career eventually became a coaching career, with stops in Houston, San Francisco and Miami before joining the Washington Commanders. But during his years in the NFL, there was one change Welker was noticing that had nothing to do with football. His hair was thinning.

“The hair transplant was the best thing I have ever done,” Welker said about his experience with Leonard Hair Transplant Associates.

Playing professional football put Welker in front of millions of people, but it was often the moments after the game when he noticed his hair loss most.

“After a game, you get in there and take a shower, your hair is still greasy and it’s really not the way you want it to look. It’s frustrating … and you just end up throwing on a hat or something to try and cover it up,” Welker said.

Rather than continuing to cover it, Wes decided to find out what could be done.

In 2012, while playing wide receiver for the New England Patriots, Welker met with Dr. Robert Leonard, founder of Leonard Hair Transplant Associates, to discuss his thinning hair and the options available to him. “When I was considering hair transplantation I knew that I wanted to work with the best in the field and that is why I chose Dr. Robert Leonard,” Welker said. “Dr. Leonard has a tremendous reputation and his knowledge and expertise helped put my mind at ease throughout the process.”

After examining Welker’s hair loss and discussing what he wanted to accomplish, Dr. Leonard recommended Follicular Unit Transplantation, or FUT, along with medical treatment to help maintain his existing hair. FUT is a surgical hair transplant technique in which a thin strip of hair bearing scalp is removed from the donor area and carefully dissected into individual follicular unit grafts. Those grafts are then transplanted into areas affected by hair loss, allowing the patient’s own hair to grow in the areas being restored.

Welker’s FUT procedure focused on the areas where his thinning had become increasingly noticeable and was completed in a single surgical session. He was able to leave the office afterward and fly back to Florida the same day. The surgery itself may have taken only a matter of hours, but like every hair transplant, the result developed gradually as the transplanted follicles healed and began producing new hair.

Today, patients are generally told to expect early new growth around five to six months after hair transplant surgery, with more significant cosmetic change developing around nine to twelve months and the final result generally developing between 16 and 18 months. For Wes, the change eventually became noticeable enough that even the person closest to him started commenting on it. “I can’t believe how your hair is coming in,” his wife told him. Welker would later speak publicly about his experience with Leonard Hair Transplant Associates and became one of the practice’s most recognizable patient stories.

Welker finished his NFL playing career with 903 receptions, 9,924 receiving yards and 50 receiving touchdowns. He earned five Pro Bowl selections and two First Team All Pro honors, while his six seasons with the New England Patriots made him one of the defining receivers of that era in New England. After retiring as a player, Welker remained in football and moved into coaching, working with the Houston Texans, San Francisco 49ers and Miami Dolphins before joining the Washington Commanders coaching staff.

Wes Welker received his FUT hair transplant from Dr. Robert Leonard in 2012, and his experience remains an important part of the history of Leonard Hair Transplant Associates. Today, hair transplant surgery at the practice is performed by Chief Hair Restoration Surgeon Dr. Matthew Lopresti, who performs both FUE and FUT for men and women experiencing hair loss at our surgical offices in Newton, Massachusetts and Warwick, Rhode Island.

Patients considering hair transplant surgery can begin with a complimentary consultation with Dr. Lopresti. He can evaluate the pattern of hair loss and donor area, discuss what the patient would like to accomplish and determine whether FUE, FUT or another hair restoration option may be appropriate. Leonard Hair Transplant Associates offers in person consultations as well as Telehealth video consultations. Call 1 800-GET-HAIR to get started.