Dr. Glenn Charles

It would be hard to determine how successful your previous transplant procedure was without knowing the number of grafts that were placed and seeing your before photos. You might get more information if you were to have a biopsy of your scalp in the balding areas. This could be done by a local dermatologist. The goal of the biopsy would be to rule out a scarring alopecia, which if present could be the reason that the grafts did not grow in those areas. From the photos it appears that you would only need 600-800 follicular units to increase the density in the thinning areas. FUE is certainly an option. Depending on what the scar looks like from your first procedure, you may want to consider another strip and a scar revision at the same time. The new suturing techniques can allow the doctor to remove a prior scar, take additional grafts and leave the patient with a smaller scar that before the second procedure. It is also much less expensive. There is really no different pre-op instructions with FUE vs strip, and it can also be done using only local anesthesia. Keep doing your due diligence.

I have been to Dr. Tessler's office and have seen first hand his attention to detail and artistic ability. He is a very honest physician and I would have no problem sending a relative or good friend to him for a hair restoration procedure.

If you are having a hair transplant in the hairline area and the doctor plans to do some grafting into the hair behind the hairline there is a possibility of having a little shock loss. Any healthy hairs that fall out due to shock will grow back either just before or at the same time as the transplanted hair. The small percentage of thinning/weak hairs that fall out from shock and do not grow back probably would have fallen out on their own within the next year or two. Some say that the healthier your scalp and hair is before a transplant the less shock and better the results will be. Similar to saying the better shape a women is in before pregnancy the more likely she will return to her pre-pregnancy shape.

As long as it has been a few days and all the scabs are dry, you should be safe to wear a baseball hat. Make sure that you adjust it to a larger size and do not drag the hat down or up along the hairline. Put the front of the cap on first when putting hat on and hold the front steady while taking the back of the hat off first when taking hat off. The opposite of how you would normally put on and take off a hat.

Stay confident. Dr. Epstein does very fine work. I have been to his clinic in Miami and witnessed first hand his attention to detail and real artistic ability.

You can go to dermatch.com or toppik.com. There is also a web site called spencerforrest.com that offers these products and even shows a video of how they are used on patients.

I have been prescribing Propecia for over 10 years, and have never told a patient that they had to stop taking medication if he was trying to get wife pregnant. I have had dozens of patients over the years that had healthy children while taking Propecia. It is true that Merck strongly suggests that females not come in direct contact with the medication. I wish you luck and remember practice makes perfect.

In order to lose a graft after your procedure you would most likely see bleeding from the recipient site. When this occurs it is generally in the first 24-48 hrs. If you find 1 graft on the pillow or on your forehead in the morning it should not change your result since you have 1199 others. I tell patients that if in the first 2 days, they accidentally bump their head and a few grafts come out, they should immediately put them in a glass of water and then call me. I will meet them back at the clinic and attempt to reinsert them. as long as the graft stays moist it has a chance to survive. It has only happened 2-3 times in 10 years.

I also recently heard that Lysine could somehow enhance the effectiveness of Propecia. I am still searching for a reasonable explanation. If I find it I will post the information immediately. As far as green tea is concerned, I have never heard that mentioned.

I have never done or heard of anyone that has had BHT to FUE spots on scalp. I thought that was the main reason to get FUE, so you could cut your hair really short. Maybe you should have told your doctor what your intentions were. They may have only done the FUE's in the middle of the donor area instead of the sides. Keep in mind that you may get the same white spots in what ever area of the body the doctor takes the grafts from.

Dr. Lindsey, I am on this site almost daily and somehow never came across this post. I have a young daughter and when I read this my heart just about stopped beating. I know we do not know each other well, but I will not stop praying for you and your family until you post a message that says my daughter is now in remission.

It is probably not necessary if it is your first procedure. It usually is only an issue for those who have been told they have tight scalps to begin with or patients who have had prior procedures. It is amazing how adding just a few millimeters of additional movement of the scalp can allow the doctor to remove more scar tissue and hair baring scalp and still close the wound with less tension.

The headband is not going to be of any benefit at this point. I am not convinced that it ever does. I do not think it will cause any harm, unless wrapped to tight. You should be almost completely healed at this point. Get ready to relax and enjoy the summer. In the fall you will start seeing the hair grow. Good luck.

By the time you go away on your trip there will be almost no chance of doing any harm to your transplanted grafts. Your scabs should all be gone by that time. Then there is not much you could do that will chance the outcome of your surgery. Try and enjoy yourself and don't think about it for a few months until the hairs start growing.

My Bad guys. This was the result after the first procedure. This case was not supposed to be entered until results of second procedure were obtained.

I agree with Dr. Alexander. Exposing yourself to low oxygen situations may cause additional stress to your whole body. This in turn could possibly make you experience hair loss at a faster rate than without the stress. However, it would most likely only be a permanent problem if you were genetically inclined to have hair loss later in life. In other words hair loss is almost always genetic. All the things you are exposed to and the stressful events probably only play a role in the rate at which the genetics express themselves. However, it is well documented that wounds do heal faster when exposed to high concentrations of oxygen.

Bleeding from the grafts 2.5 months after your procedure is almost impossible. It is much more likely that you scratched a scab or a pimple-like lesion that caused the bleeding. It is around 2-3 months post-op that many patients experience folliculitis. This is a common condition that may be a sign that hairs are starting to grow, but curled at the surface and have become in grown. If at any point you are getting several of these lesions in the same area, you should contact the doctor who performed your surgery. Occasionally an antibiotic is necessary. More often these problems are isolated and resolve themselves.

What you are experiencing is perfectly normal, but really has no bearing on what your final result will look like. You will still have to wait for that. In general the 1 hair FU's and 2 hair FU's are placed very close together. Except for the randomly place singles in the frontal hairline area. I have seen many cases where the 1's shed prior to the 2's, and and many cases visa versa. You should be close to completely healed already. Get ready to forget you had a hair transplant for a few months, you do not want to drive yourself crazy. You can start getting excited around 3-4 months when the hair starts to grow.

The goal for most hair restoration physicians is to have all grafts placed back into the recipient sites within 6 hours. Grafts are very resilient, but must remain well hydrated to survive. It has been proven that dehydration is the factor than can have the most negative effect on the grafts. This is why in large cases 2500 follicular unit or more it is necessary to have enough assistants to get the job done within the proper time limits. Since FUE is a slower process, not as many grafts should be retrieved from donor area before time would become a factor, and the grafts would need to be placed into the recipient sites.

Believe me, Janna can answer any question. She has in incredible amount of knowledge when it comes to hair transplantation, and loves to get calls between 2:00 am - 4:00 am.(Just kidding) When I used to work in Dr Shapiro's Minneapolis office and here in my Boca Raton, Florida clinic we always are available. I give all patients my cell phone number and call them the evening of the procedure to check up on them. I also have 1 night per week were we offer late appointments for consultations or follow ups and also an occasional Saturday.

38 year old patient who was requesting added density to the frontal 2/3 of thinning area.

39 year old patient looking to strengthen hairline and add some density in the frontal area.

The number of hair transplant procedures per day a physician performs should not be the only factor used in deciding where to go to have your surgery. For example there may be a clinic that performs 2 or 3 procedures a day, but uses 20-23 surgical assistants/ technicians. This clinic would have the ability to divide the staff up to have 7-7 assistants in each surgery. On the other hand there may be a clinic that only performs one procedure each day, but only uses 4 assistants/ technicians. Where would you rather go? It should then depend on several other factors. What does the patient feel comfortable with? What kind of results is the doctor getting? What are the patients saying about the doctor? What techniques are going to be used? Along with many other pieces of information. I usually only perform 1 large procedure a day, unless the cases are small or just repairs. However, I know a few physicians who have very large staffs and get excellent results doing 2-3 procedures per day.

It is still too early ( 6 months ) to determine how successful your procedure will be. You should be seeing some new growth at this time, but it can take another 6-8 months to obtain your final results. There is a possibility that a tight skull cap could inhibit proper circulation. This is not recommended especially in the case of a recent hair transplant. Hang in there. I hope you end up with a very positive outcome.

Start off by reading as much information about hair transplants as possible. Either visit a few reputable clinics or send photos via e-mail to several good physicians. Here what they suggest as your options. This is an important decision. You should not limit yourself to local doctors. Most high quality hair restoration clinics offer reimbursement for travel expenses so the procedure will not cost you anymore than having procedure done close to home. Most clinics do have financing options available. From the one photo you posted it is hard to determine the quality of your donor hair. If it is good, I would recommend anywhere from 2000-3500 follicular unit grafts depending on your budget and how far back from the hairline you wish to go.