CuriousJungleGeorge

Thanks, guys. But I'm asking, a little more specifically, once the grafts have been created and the incisions made, is there any way a technician (reasonably trained) can "screw up" placing them in? I imagine it's simply a matter of inserting grafts into incisions (not to imply it's easy or fun), and that there's not much way to get it "wrong." Is that correct? If the appearance of growth depended on the hands of technicians (placing grafts) rather than the surgeon's creating incisions on the scalp, and patients had different technicians working on different parts of the head simultaneously, a single result might vary widely from one place of the scalp to another.

We constantly hear about how important it is to select a good hair-transplant surgeon, because the incisions he makes in the recipient areas determine how good the transplant will be, and his handling of the donor region predicts how undetectable excision scar will turn out. I wonder, though, how important is it which technicians work on a patient? Unlike with surgeons, patients typically know nothing about the team of technicians that will be working on them (other than whether or not it has been assembled by a competent physician) and tend, then, to have no say whatever in whom they get. Can a mediocre technician produce mediocre results from masterly crafted recipient incisions? Thank you.

Certainly, I'm not saying none of that matters, but, none of it reflects on his competence as a surgeon.

First, I think we have to give receptionists, consultants, and doctors credit when they seem to be "baby-stepping" you with information: they have no idea where you've been or what you know, and it's fair they assume you haven't researched the crap out the this procedure. Second, be very careful when you decide you're twenty-four years old, are mistaken for thirty-two, so would like the hairline of a sixteen-year-old to live out your youth happily. I get that that sounds reasonable ("The hell with when I'm sixty; give me a good decade or so, now"), but if you're quite bald at twenty-four, it's very likely you won't keep a sixteen-year-old's hair-line for even three or four years. The natural hair will keep receding, and you'll run out of donor supply to fill in the gaps. By thirty (which is much closer than you might think), you could end up with a bunch of hair at the front, and a lot of empty scalp behind, which will likely devastate you far more greatly than accepting a somewhat more "mature" hair-line right now. You have to balance your priorities. Unless you'll be dead by thirty, you shouldn't act like your whole life will be the next half-decade or so. Good luck.

It should be reiterated that cosmetic surgery incorporates perhaps as much art as it does science (well, maybe a little less, but plenty, still). What's pleasing to one person might not be so to another -- you're bound to favor the doctor with whose aesthetics you happen to agree. Also, some physicians tend to be "conservative" while others are a little more "liberal." The former category is often said to be wiser and sometimes said to be more ethical, but if you have a sense of what you want, and a doctor still won't give it to you, you might favor someone less authoritarian. In hair-transplantation, as in most of life, the notion of "best" is not nearly so solid as it might first seem to be.

Too late, Bill! All that smacking around the area of the donor area...for nothing!

I've heard good (well, maybe mixed) things about Dr. Armani. How were your results "terrible"? Anyway, no, I don't believe there is a "Tiger Woods" of hair transplantation. I understand your question, but, honestly, even its essence is mistaken. These are largely subjective things (who's "best" at something), and that extends even to sports: Michael Jordan is the "best" basketball player to some people, over-rated to others, and just "among the best" to some others. No one doctor is perfect, but there are several who are excellent.

Ninety-pound bells? Damn...

I certainly hope you won't be "on your own" after your surgery -- lol. Yes, you should have scheduled an appointment with your doctor for a visit the day after your procedure, when you would have been examined and cleaned up. After that, you need to go to the clinic again in a week or two (your doctor ought to let you know when) to have your sutures removed. Did you think the stitches would just stay in you...? Anyway, yes, after a couple of weeks, use sound judgement (don't get in a contest with your friends to see who can take the biggest brick to the back of the head), but know you should be able to live your life "normally" again (but, yes, sun-burn = bad [even without the procedure's having been performed]).

First, just because your doctor didn't give you instructions for beyond two weeks now doesn't mean he won't do so when you see him within the first two weeks for your follow-up visit. Second, after the first couple of weeks, your life really is pretty much back to "normal" -- really, there aren't very many "instructions" for you to follow from that point on.

I've heard minoxidil plays no part in the growth of transplanted hair, including in having it come in faster. As for foam vs. solution, the former is more costly, but, apparently, it might be "absorbed" slightly more efficiently.

That's a relief. Thank you.

Staples can be used to bring together the donor region after a strip has been excised. They are an alternative to sutures (stitches).

I think it would be impractical for any hair-transplant surgeon to "focus" his or her practice on men in their early twenties; it's just a very small part of the potential market, most of which, I imagine, lies with men in their forties. That said, there's no reason a skilled doctor whose "base" is middle-aged would prove insufficient in treating a younger person. Is there something specific that concerns you?

I'll second the suggestion of having a neck-/travel-pillow handy for the first few (two to four) nights. It's not essential, but is helpful. Of course, everyone's different. Understand, though, you'll be sleeping pretty uncomfortably during that initial phase of recovery (the meds. might help knock you out somewhat fast, though).

Thanks, Bill. Honestly, I'm not looking for a way to "speed" the process up; just to help it occur as efficiently and successfully as it can. I've been thinking about Mederma, but many opinions I've heard (a few of them from dermatologists) have said the product is complete nonsense. On one hand, I'm a bit tempted to adopt the "it can't hurt to try it" attitude; on the other, I'm opposed to trying random crap just for the sake of "giving it a shot." Maybe time is all that's required. Maybe I'll buy a tube of something. I don't know...

Or get a Rod Blagojevich -- .

Any tips to minimize the appearance of the donor scar (strip-harvesting method)? Specifically, any tips as to what to do once external sutures have been removed? Were you given bactroban ointment? If so, do you use this after the sutures have been removed? Silicon-gel sheets seem impractical for use in the area. Thanks.

Any tips to minimize the appearance of the donor scar (strip-harvesting method)? Specifically, any tips as to what to do once external sutures have been removed? Were you given bactroban ointment? If so, do you use this after the sutures have been removed? Silicon-gel sheets seem impractical for use in the area. Thanks.

I second the advice about the nickels... I think this sort of thing won't help your results come in faster. The fact is, follicles have their natural cycles of growth and dormancy, and it's illogical to think three months can turn in to one because you get more blood flowing to your head for two or three minutes a day (going for too long in the position actually can be harmful, so I'd recommend against it no matter your purpose). If you are intent to hang, maybe try it three or four days after the procedure, but be warned, you're going to feel as if your scalp (and your grafts) is about to fall off -- it'll not be a pleasant sensation.

Is the purpose of your transplant just to bring your hair-line down a couple of centimeters? That is, are you not experiencing any hair-loss? Understand that it probably will take lots of grafts to achieve what you want, and, in the event you lose the hair behind that which is transplanted, you might not have enough donor supply left to fill in the space/s, giving you an "odd" appearance. Talk with your doctor about this, and really think the decision through.

I, too, have read that such hair may not be as "reliable" as that found in the traditional donor region. As for a "softened" effect, "nape hair" might be helpful, but I think it might be too thin to work on its own.

Is it possible that grafts that aren't "pulled out" by a hat can be "moved" so to grow at an angle other than that at which they were originally positioned by the doctor/technicians? Thanks.

Is it possible that grafts that aren't "pulled out" by a hat can be "moved" so to grow at an angle other than that at which they were originally positioned by the doctor/technicians? Thanks.

I didn't know doctors gave out coverings like hats of bandanas...