Dr. Glenn Charles

All of the sprays you mentioned are relatively safe. You should spray a light mist 3-4 times per hour. I have been using a new product called H2Ocean spray which is purified ocean salt water with lysozymes. The patients healing time has been reduced.

It is unlikely that you lost a graft after 6 days. It would have definitely bled if the follicle (root) was dislodged. It is common for scabs with the hairs embedded in them to start falling off from 6-10 days post-op.

Don't let distance be to big a factor in deciding where to have your procedure. Most reputable clinics have close to 50% of the patients coming from out of town, and also reimburse for travel expenses.

Remember it is not about what other people think. It is about what you think. If you are unhappy with the receding look now, you will probably never like it. If you decide to have a hair transplant make sure your new hairline is in a location that will still look appropriate 20-30 years from now. I also recommend staying on the DHT blocker to try and not let your hairloss advance any further.

I also was finishing a procedure when Dr. Bersteins segment appeared on the Oprah show. However, I was lucky that my wife was watching and recorded it for me. Dr. Berstein did a great job and represented our profession well. Hopefully many many more people who suffer from hair loss will realize that the technology has improved dramatically and the results can be virtually undetectable. Congratulations Bob.

Just to clarify. I am always concerned when a patient calls to tell me they are worried about something. Luckily, in most cases there is a reasonable explanation as to why that event is occuring. In this case I explained to the patient that although shock loss is not common this soon after the procedure, it does happen occationally. In the first month or so after the surgery the original hairs in the transplanted area are more fragile. This is most likely due to the new grafts needing a greater blood supply which in turn steals from the surrounding native hairs. Therefore, it is wise not to pull or tug on any hairs in a recently transplanted area. I am confident that in time any previously transplanted hairs that fall out due to shock will all return in addition to the newly transplanted hairs.

Dear Ron, To my good friend and colleague I just wanted to say congratulations. Unfortunetly due to family obligations I was unable to attend this years conference in Sydney. I am very pleased to hear that you were awarded this years Golden Follicle award. You absolutely deserved it. In fact it was probably 5 years overdue. You have had my vote since the award was first created. Glenn M. Charles

I have never had hair transplantation surgery. However, I have known Dr. Tykocinski for many years. He is a very kind and genuine human being. I have observed the results on his patients and they are quite impressive. I would have no problem recommending one of my reletives to have hair restoration performed by Dr. Tykocinski.

By ht e way do not worry to much about not using graftcyte. I truly believe that your end result will be unchanged.

Graftcyte is an excellent product. It has the most value in the first week after the procedure. If you are already 4-5 days out you probably will not be able to get in time for it to make much of a difference. I give it to all my patients and include it in the price of the surgery.

If only a few of the FU's in a densly packed are misdirected or too spikey looking it may not be worth the risk of replanting those couple of hairs. If you are considering another procedure, then it makes sense to make the correction at the same time.

This is relatively common with dense packing in fair skin patients. It is very important that you do not expose the grafted area to direct sunlight until all pigment has returned to normal. The use of low level laser therapy (Hairmax laser comb) has worked on some of my patients who had similar experiences. In time as the hair starts to grow and the normal pigment comes back your situation should improve. Hang in there. Remember in the long run you will be happy.

There is no evidence that there is less shock loss following FUE grafting vs strip grafting. I perform both procedures and have found no reason other than in most cases when FUE grafting is used there is generally only 400-600 grafts vs 1500-2000 grafts used in strip grafting techniques. If you place more grafts in a smaller area there is a greater chance of causing shock fallout of pre-existing hairs.

There are definetly some issues with doctors prescribing medications without seeing the patient. I would be glad to help you out if possible. Please call my Boca Raton, Florida clinic at (888)726-0651 so we can discuss your options.

There is no exact age were we can safetly say a person will not lose any more hair in the crown region. Many hair restoration physicians feel that the majority of a persons hair loss will have occured by age 60. That does not mean that nobody can lose hair after that age. It is important to use your family history if possible to try and help establish a game plan. Also using preventative products such as Propecia may also be of benefit. Another possible approach would be to only transplant the anterior (front) portion of the crown. By doing this you can comb the hair back and get additional coverage over the rear portion of the crown and if further hair loss occurs it will just create a larger oval or round spot. ( Sort of a little built in insurance policy)Always make sure you are happy with the hairline and frontal area of your hair before committing to the crown.

It is true that black hair in some cases may be more difficult due to the high contrast between skin and hair color. That is why it is critical that the physician use an adaquate number of single hair follicular unit grafts in the hairline region to assure a natural result. Other hair characteristics also play an important role in the results of a hair transplant such as hair shaft diameter (fine vs course) and hair shape (wavy/curly vs straight).

Unfortunetly, The U.S. government does not reimburse for any elective cosmetic procedures. As far as I know the Canadian government also does not. I regularly allow a travel discount for my patients who are traveling from distant locations. This includes airfare, hotel accomidations, and transportation. If you plan to make a vacation out of the trip than it seems like an excellent idea to come to the states and have the procedure. Good Luck!

No, ocean water will not harm the grafts. I have practiced in Boca Raton, Florida for 4 years and have been sending my patients in the ocean for the past 2 years. The healing time has been significantly reduced. I generally instruct patients to wait 36-48 hrs before salt/ocean water is exposed to scalp. For my out of town patients I suggest they bottle some ocean water and take it home them or make thier own salt water solution. I have not received a single complaint reguarding ocean water.

There are alot of factors that are important in your case. Hair color, skin type, and healing properties. In cases like yours there is a bit of a catch 22. The deeper pits need to have more aggressive dermabrasion which can cause skin color changes and does not even guarentee leveling of the skin in those areas. I personally do not perform dermabrasion. You would probably be better suited contacting a doctor who has alot of experience with this technique. Unfortunetly there are some pitting/cobblestoning situations that cannot be compltely corrected.

One concern in a case like yours is because you already had work done in your crown area you have made a commitment to continue to follow that area. If you now start to do work in the hairline area, there is a chance that you will not have enough donor hair to fill in the area between the hairline and crown regions if hairloss continues there. It is important for you to try and use your family history of hair loss and always think of the worst case scenario(you lose alot more hair) to establish a good game plan before you have another procedure.

Yes, FUE transplantation can cause scarring in the donor area. Certainly, after having only a few hundred taken from the donor it will be almost undetectable. However, try having several thousand units removed from the donor area, and it may start to look a bit moth eaten. Sometimes removing parts of older bigger grafts that left an unlevelness to the skin can improve the appearence. Dermabrasion is only an option in certain cases, and has its negatives also. Probably the best way to conceil older plug type grafts and cobblestoning is to revove part of the graft and surround the remainder with smaller follicular units.

The thinning hair below your donor scar is most likely due to post operative shock. The majority of hair loss from shock will return before or at the same time as the transplanted hairs. Shocked hair in the recipient area has a lower regrowth percentage because some of the shocked follicles are weak dying hairs that were likely to fall out soon on their own. Shock in the donor area is generally completely temporary.

Any time grafts are placed within scars it is somewhat of a mystery as to the success of growth. I have had cases were it appears that every graft grew successfully, and others where a lower percentage of the grafts showed hair growth. By placing FUE grafts throughout a donor scar you can potentially camaflauge the uniformity and visibility of the scar. This is what breaking up the scar means. Generally, the FUE method is a little easier to go through than the strip method. Mainly because it is a quicker procedure and there are no stitches that need to be removed. Like most other things in life each procedure has its advantages and disadvantages.

Redness (erythema ) in the recipient area following hair transplantation is quite normal. The redness can last a few days to a few months depending on the patients skin type. Remember no direct sunlight for at least one month. This can amplify the problem and may even make it permanent to some degree. The smaller dark red spots are probably either ingrown hairs or pimple-like lesions that are common and usually clear up once the hair has grown in. If you are ever getting a bunch of the reddish lesions in one small area and its tender and irritated you may be developing a minor infection. You should contact your doctor and they may prescribe an antibiotic.

Unfortunetly, there is no perfect answer to your questions. I have seen patients that lost the majority of their hair early and then remained stable while others lost the hair very slowly in their 20's-30's and then had significant loss between 40 and 55 years of age. My advise is to gather as much information about your family history of hair loss as possible. Concider taking Propecia for the provention of further hair loss. And establish a game plan thinking worst case scenario, that you will continue to lose more hair. That way you will be prepared if you do and pleasently suprised if you don't.