I'm glad that I'm not the only weirdo who considers things like this. IF (and that's a big if) the scarring from FUE would be so minimal as to be almost invisible to the naked eye, and if I were insanely wealthy, I would absolutely take hair from the unsafe zone and transplant it.

Hmmm, interesting. Over the course of the last 5-8 years, our notion of the "safe zone" has been challenged repeatedly.

There are still those who believe you can only take 2-2.5cm X 20-22cm long and that is all.

I disagree. I believe the donor is a moving field, that is different for each patient, and can change as you go age.

A 25 year old vs a 40 year old with the same level of loss can be approached very differently.

If you account for future loss, taking into consideration all the present factors such as age, current level of loss, progression, ability to use meds/topicals, available donor, quality of the individuals hair, and most importantly...the patients wants vs needs, you can safely transplant most patients and manage to meet or exceed expectations. You must be aware of patient expectations as well.

There is some risk, however, as with all surgical procedures. Again, HT's are not for everyone.

Cheers,
Jason

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Go Cubs!

6721 transplanted grafts
13,906 hairs
Performed by Dr. Ron Shapiro

Dr. Ron Shapiro and Dr. Paul Shapiro are members of the Coalition of Independent Hair Restoration Physicians.

TC17, are you calling me a weirdo?

Well I think the ball game could be different now because of the meds we have available? Remember, with propecia/proscar we have the ability to maintain the hair we have so taking that into account I was thinking that taking a strip or FUE from the upper region of the scalp could at minimum provide many years of functional follicles.

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My Hair Loss Website - Hair Transplant with Dr. Wong

B described a dynamic safezone, which I think is a very apt description. Hasson and Wong with patient consent seem to enage in this on occasion -- I seem to remember there being a discussion where Bill discussed the option of engaging in a dynamic-safezone w/ Hasson.

With what B said it seems that SMG is willing to engage in honest and flexible talk to best meet a patient's interest and wants, even if this means defying an otherwise rigid thought of yester'year.

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*A Follicles Dying Wish To Clinics*

1 top-down, 1 portrait, 1 side-shot, 1 hairline....4 photos. No flash.

Follicles have asked for centuries, in ten languages, as many times so as to confuse a mathematician.

Enough is enough! Give me documentation or give me death!

I believe TC is calling you a weirdo hairshare

Of course, it does take one to know one!!!! LOL.

Anyway, your right Thana...obviously with a younger patient, we will approach them as if they will be a type 5-6, with a type 5-6 available donor...this changes as you age...so it is always good to work backwards from what the future "might" hold vs working solely from what the patient "wants" today....balance.

Dudes, seriously...I feel like a Banzai tree right now.....where the hell did I put that photo of Phil Jackson

__________________
Go Cubs!

6721 transplanted grafts
13,906 hairs
Performed by Dr. Ron Shapiro

Dr. Ron Shapiro and Dr. Paul Shapiro are members of the Coalition of Independent Hair Restoration Physicians.

LOL, sorry guys!

You know, recently there was talk on this forum that some physicians believe that finasteride will never stop working. Personally, I'm not buying that proposition, and I don't think that the physicians really believe it either. If they did, they would lower hairlines and fill in temples of young guys and rely on the medication to keep them safe.

Jason, if too much is taken from the donor area, why can't a physician just transplant armpit, leg, or chest hair into the donor area to make it appear more full? I would think that body hair in that area would be less of an issue than at the top of the head. Thoughts?

Taking hair from areas of the scalp outside of the "universal" safe zone happens more frequently than most hair restoration patients may realize. The notion that donor hair is "permanent" has also been challenged by a number of members of this community.

The truth is, hair transplants come with risks. The key is to minimize those risks as much as possible to restore as much of a patient's hair for as long as possible. Nothing lasts forever...not even life. So technically, saying a hair transplant lasts forever is inaccurate.

In my opinion, the safe zone is dynamic and varies for each patient. The real question is...how do we get the most out of our donor hair and use it responsibly?

Age, family history, scalp and hair characteristics will aid a physician in how to approach a patient's donor hair. To maximize the number of grafts, strips are sometimes longer leading into the temple areas in patients who have a solid family history of baldness with no loss there. Nape hair and hair above the crown have been used in older patients with no signs of impact to those hairs by DHT, etc.

Personally, I think it would be irresponsible for hair replacement physicians to take hair from areas of the scalp that already show obvious signs of thinning . I also think it would be irresponsible for doctors to harvest hair from areas more susceptible to DHT if safer hair hasn't first been utilized.

Hair transplants involve careful planning and risk management. It's a skilled and ethical physicians job to go over all the benefits and potential risks with their patients (transparency) giving patients the ability to make sound choices. Sometimes a hair transplant surgeon may deny a particular patient's choice if he/she feels it's not appropriate for the patient. Patients may not always like it, but ethical physcians will always put their patients' best interest ahead of financial gain.

Best wishes,

Bill

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To learn about how I restored my hair, view my my hair loss website.

Remember, true beauty radiates from within, not from the skin.

I am not a medical professional and my words should not be taken as medical advice. All opinions and views shared are my own.

Well, the fact is this was touted by a couple of doctors a few years back...those of us who challenged this notion for the profiteering, unproven practice were basically attacked as shills...until it just fell by the wayside like so many "next great things" and those supporters moved on where such things are OK to announce, then never deliver. =)

For the low, low sum of uh, double the cost, the doctor would take out a graft, then go get a graft from your body and put it in the extraction site. Never worked. Body hair has been hit or miss and behind the scenes a failure, aside from a few positive results. Dr. Mwamba has used some acell matrix from the bladder of pigs to promote healing when donor restocking. I'm not sure how it is coming along.

I believe BHR has performed some beard hair to gapped donor sites 6 months after FUE surgeries to restock, but again, white dots in the donor vs facial scarring.

I am all for trying new things out...but the industry tends to rush things into full fledged "Savior Mode" before seeing where the chips really fall.

We just have to keep asking questions and looking for results.

Cheers,
Jason

__________________
Go Cubs!

6721 transplanted grafts
13,906 hairs
Performed by Dr. Ron Shapiro

Dr. Ron Shapiro and Dr. Paul Shapiro are members of the Coalition of Independent Hair Restoration Physicians.