Thehairupthere

Doctors are simply not allowed to disclose that type of information under HIPAA regulations. Patient privacy is protected so a doctor cannot simply say I worked on so and so because it's unethical and illegal.

It's normal to still have some soreness in your donor area as you still have your stitches in and they can be uncomfortable. If you are in a great deal of pain you should contact your surgeon and let him or her know and they can perhaps prescribe another pain killer, or possibly check your incision for any possible infection or any other underlying issue. If your pain goes away after a while it most likely is nothing, possibly just pain from sleeping directly on the incision since you're putting pressure on it. Since it's day 8 you do not need to sleep at an incline anymore, you can sleep laid back, on your side and even on your stomach at this point as your grafts are secure. Just to be safe speak to your doctor.

Salt and pepper hair really looks great, and the salt hair or grey hairs really do give you the appearance of thicker hair as they mimic the color of your scalp.

What you are saying is actually a good thing, it means that you saw a positive reaction, and actual growth in the center. Most people don't see growth in the hairline, but you will go on to lose much more hair on the top and crown so you really do need to start the medication and continue for many years otherwise you will need many more treatments and cost you much more money.

At your age if you haven't started any preventative medication such as minoxidil or finasteride, I would not suggest getting any transplantation. You appear to have thinning throughout the top of your head so I would say you're 3 or 4A at the moment but it appears that you may go onto a level 5A or 6 if you do not use those medications in the next few years. I would suggest using the medication for one year than get re-examined by a recommended surgeon from this forum and then proceed.

Most people don't have 10k grafts available, a more realistic number is about 6-8k. Scar reivisons would simply excise the old scar and give you a new smaller, thinner scar, but you'll still have one there, this would only be done if you have a thick, large scar. You also have the option of doing FUE into the scar which can minimize the noticeability of the scar.

It is more difficult for hair to grow properly through thicker scar tissue so the results may not be as good. You may need more than one treatment to get the best results possible, but it's hard to say without seeing the scar itself. Sometimes it's possible to simply excise the scar out and give a small, pencil thin scar instead. Pictures would be very helpful.

We can't tell how many grafts you would have after this treatment because we haven't examined your donor supply. That information should be given to you during the consultation.

Scalp exercises work well for those who need extra elasticity in their donor area, it isn't needed unless your doctor believes it's necessary. Typically it's more useful for those doing 2nd or 3rd procedures as their scalp has tightened.

Typical scar width is about 1.2 cm could be a little larger depending on the size of the treatment. If you're doing 5000 grafts which is a lot to do in one treatment, it can be larger than that.

Your scar should heal properly if the size is appropriate to the characteristics of your skin. If their is a possibility that your skin can't handle that large of a treatment then you shouldn't have that size taken. That should all be factored into the decision on how many grafts you can safely get in one session, which I'm sure the doctor did.

You can still have FUE after other FUT treatments you may not have 1500 grafts available because we're not sure yet how many grafts in total you would have had transplanted.

Some people scar worse than others, that can be due to bad suturing, poor cleaning and care for the scar or keloids. This can be corrected in many cases by doing a scar revision, but if you go to a recommended surgeon this is not likely or expected to happen. It takes usually 6 months for the scar to heal properly and it will show a small, pencil thin scar, but there shouldn't be much redness once it's healed. Also I wouldn't suggest buzzing your hair down any shorter than a #3 on a razor setting as the scar can be noticeable if you shave shorter than that.

In some ways that can be true, but it all is relative. If you have enough donor supply than your results should come out great. It really depends on how much hair you've already lost, how many grafts you have available to you, your skin and hair quality and the expertise of the surgeon you choose.

Donor miniaturization is when your donor hairs are starting to thin similar to the hair on top of your head. This can be an issue with transplanting as you would have diffuse thinning all around your head and can limit the results. You may also be transplanting hair that may not survive or stay permanently because they may be miniaturizing. Check with your doctor if this is the case for you.

It depends on how healthy those hairs are and how dense your hair is currently. If the hair is already miniaturized or unhealthy they may shock out, but if they are healthy they should return but it could take 3 months if they do fall out temporarily. Most skilled surgeons can limit the amount of shock loss but sometimes it's very hard to avoid, ask your doctor when you see him or her and get their honest opinion if you are a susceptible to shock loss.

Your doctor is correct. You really need to start propecia or rogaine to stop any further hair loss. Someone as young as you needs to be on one of those medications for at least 1 year before considering hair transplantation because the surgeons need to feel secure that you won't continue to lose a significant amount of hair as you age. These medications will also limit you from needing many procedures to compensate for the loss you would otherwise experience. You should start one, but if you can try both for one year and then go see a specialist recommended by this forum to see about next steps. Propecia does have side effects but they are rare.

The reason is because regular sutures are stronger, and they won't dissolve. It's most important in the first 10-14 days because that's when the scar is not healed and needs to be tight. That is why after 10-14 days you can get those removed and then the dissolvable sutures will keep it tight for the additional time, but it certainly can stretch with only dissolvable sutures. Any doctor familiar with sutures could have removed the normal sutures for you, you don't have to fly all the way back. This does not mean it will stretch, just be careful and take it easy. Walking around should be fine, just don't do anything more strenuous. Also I see you have many questions that you post here, I would suggest calling your doctor if you're very worried so he or she can give you more information and also let them know that you have concerns.

They only used dissolvable sutures? I don't believe that is common practice as dissolvable sutures do not hold as tough as regular sutures so it is possible that the scar can stretch with only dissolvable sutures. Most surgeons use both dissolvable layer below a regular suture layer as to keep it very tight so the scar heals well and thin. Bactroban is bacitracin that helps heal scars so it won't get infected, and also helps heal better so it won't be red or irritated.

You won't look like this after a few weeks, most of the redness will be gone after 10 days. It will be pink for a few weeks after that and the hairs you had transplanted will fall out after 8 days to 2 weeks post surgery so you will look pretty much as you did prior to surgery.

Your doctor should have gone over this with you on how to properly take care of the scar area. Did he or she not give you ointment to put on the scar? You should be applying bactroban or other bacitracin on the stitches until they are removed, which is between 10-14 days. Combing your hair will not stretch your scar, the scar would stretch from doing too much strenuous activity, like exercise or heavy lifting. So just take it easy until they remove the stitches and you'll probably be ok.

You can use certain cosmetics after all of your scabs fall off which is between 8-10 days. You can use dermatch or toppik to make it look fuller. You don't have to wear a hat unless you want to but you can try and experiment with coming your hair forward and giving yourself bangs to hide this area until things start to grow. This will take some time until everything grows, so you shouldn't expect anything significant until at least 6 months, and that hair will not be nearly as long as the native hair you have right now. So really it will take 1 year before I think you are happy with what you had done.

You will experience some shedding with rogaine and propecia within the first 3 months but it is temporary your hair will regrow and usually become healthier and thicker. The 5% foam is the correct one to use, and if you can try to use it twice a day, and propecia once a day. Using both will give the best chances of regrowing hair as well as stopping any further hair loss. Again remember that both of these medication don't usually show great results in the hairline area, but rather on the top and crown regions. So if you see your hairline recede it does not mean the medication is not working, it just doesn't provide great results in that area. You should commit to using both of these for at least 1 year and follow the progress every few months with photos.

Judging from what I see here, you seem to be a good candidate for the medication as you have a lot of miniaturized hairs, which can regrow and become healthier, as well as reducing the likelihood of you losing more native hair. How long did you use the medication in the past? You really need to use the medication at the very least for 6 months to see any change, and one year to see any growth. This also will limit the amount of treatments you will need in the future as you may continue to lose more hair. The amount of grafts that you need seem to be around 3000-3500 grafts if your donor supply allows that much. This would redo the entire hairline, forelock, corners, temples, top, bridge and a portion of the crown. Again I would suggest using the medication as well, as it really does work well, and the side effects are not very common.

With 3000 grafts it's more efficient to go with the FUT procedure and you will most likely see better results.

eBeckieSantosu I'd be happy to help if you have any questions. If you sent an online consultation for us through the HTN I would expect Dr. True to get back to you early this week.

I agree with Dutch on this one. You should start the meds first and then consider treatment, because you are young and do not want to go too aggressive too quickly before you see how the medication works for you and we are not entirely sure what pattern you will be without the medication in a few years.

Not using finasteride because you're going to a Norwood 7? That exactly why you should start the medication. You seem to have a lot of miniaturized hairs and those can regrow with the medication. Consult with a proper surgeon who is recommended by this site for an evaluation and start the medication for one year before treatment. If you're in the UK Dr. Farjo is a good choice, but if you're set on coming to the US many doctors offer online consultations.

I agree, you should start rogaine and propecia and you may see a great improvement in hair regrowth. Most people at least see a stabilization off hair loss with the medication as well.

You can cut your own hair, but I wouldn't suggest using a clipper for the first few months on a short setting. Your scar will not be fully healed and you may have some shocking to the surrounding area of the scar making it seems worse than it actually is. If you can I would suggest avoiding the clippers in general and instead using scissors leaving about 1 1/2 inches of hair to cover the stitches properly until it heals. You can start shaving with clippers again to a number 3 setting around 5-6 months.

800 FUE seems a bit conservative probably need closer to 1500-2000 grafts to give you the density that you are looking for. Definitely continue using propecia and it may be a good idea to wait 6 more months to see how you are reacting to the medication closer to one year as many people see new growth around that time.

You could be a candidate for treatment, but you are young so you need to take a few precautions before proceeding. Are you using any medication to prevent hair loss like minoxidil or finasteride? If you are not you should consider using those medications for at least one year before having the procedure. The reason is that you need to halt any further loss because you only have a finite amount of grafts available to you and you do not want to deplete your supply by using too much in the front, without knowing exactly what is going to happen behind the transplanted hair. That being said you do look like a good candidate for treatment, but again I wouldn't suggest doing anything if you are not on any medication. If you are taking the medication and it's working well at stopping the loss than you could have the procedure done but you may want to be a little bit conservative. Try meeting with a doctor that is recommended by this forum and see what he or she says.