jeff1986

Yeah, it would be interesting to see pictures where hairs are growing in misplaced angles. While this is one of the most often mentioned problems, I can't find any quality pics that demonstrate issue. Also, you just brought a valid point that results may vary from person to person: 1. if patient has wavy hairs in the back (donor area) and straighter hair in the front (recipient area) or vice versa then this would require more effort from doctor to align hairs. 2. Also, I think that crown restoration (whirl pattern) would be harder than just the frontal hairline restoration (where all hairs more or less point to the same direction).

Based on threads in this portal I have come across conclusion that two most dreaded complications in recipient area are: 1. low yield of transplanted hair follicles; and 2. hair follicles not transplanted in right angles In this thread I want to focus on the second issue where hairs could end up being transplanted in unnatural angles: 1. Can you point me to a quality picture where Hair Transplant surgery is considered as failed due to hairs being misplaced in wrong angles? 2. How severe is this problem? Can you mitigate it with messy hairstyle? In that case this would not be an issue for someone in his twenties. 3. How this problem could be fixed permanently? Are there non-surgical solutions that work similarly like dental braces (e.g. by wearing a tight hat overnight for extended period that would readjust hair angles)? Any other solutions employed?

As a newbie to hair transplantation, I have been trying to understand what are the worst case scenarios that could happen in recipient area. This is what I have realized so far: 1. Not enough yield that leads to lesser density. If my understanding is right then this most likely can easily be fixed with second surgery that would increase density. Of course assumption is that you still have enough donor hairs. 2. Follicles were transplanted in the wrong direction. I guess if something like this happens then the only options for you are to 1)redo surgery by pulling out these hair and replant them; or 2)adjust hairstyle to something that looks messy and hope that this defect will blend into your image; or 3)shave your head short so that hair misdirection would not be that obvious. 3. Hair line too low. Simply remove excess hairs by replanting them somewhere else. Of course there is chance that you will have scars. I guess you can do this with laser removal without leaving any scars. 4. Obsolete technologies being used that lead to patchy look (e.g. Plug-style hair transplant). But seriously who is doing this anymore, if you can do FUE or FUT that transpant single graft at a time? 5. Ingrown hairs that lead to folliculitis I think this is something that could happen when follicles were transplanted too deep. I still haven't found out if this is something transient or permanent. 6. Healthy follicles could be damaged if transplanted hairs are too close to existing hairs . This should not be an issue for those who are having first surgery where recipient area does not have that many healthy follicles nearby. 7 Ridging (mentioned by Joe). Typically caused by bulky grafts. If ridging is caused by excess fat then apparently this can be fixed with some steroids [http://www.realself.com/question/when-kenalog-injections-dissolve-ridging-raised-hairline-due-hair] 8. Pitting (mentioned by Joe). Typically caused by too large holes in recipient site [http://www.bernsteinmedical.com/answers/removing-tiny-holes-due-to-a-hair-transplant/] 9. Orangle peel effect (mentioned by Joe) Could not find much on Internet what causes this. Is this simply a combination of Ridging and Pitting at the same time? 10. Loss of sensitivity (mentioned by Joe). Typically is temporary, but could also be permanent. 11. Necrosis (mentioned by Joe). Really rare. I believe this could only happen due to infection, severely damaged scalp or something like that. 12. Bad or no growth (mentioned by Joe). I think we could classify this as an extreme case of Not enough yield that leads to lesser density. Are there any other possible implication in recipient area that I might have missed in the list above? Have I underestimated some of the complications in my list above? P.S. If you want to give answer that simply goes like "Choose a qualified HT surgeon" without actually contributing to the discussion, then please don't bother to answer.

Thanks, Joe, I like that you focus on answering the original question instead of trying to steer answer into "choose a qualified doctor that can deliver quality results" direction without giving more details. Of course, I completely agree with that obvious statement that doctor experience matters. However it does not make sense to talk about quality job if one can't define it. Ok, I guess what you are saying is that lowering hairline twice with two surgeries 1 year apart most likely should not have any cosmetic issues. I just imagined this hypothetical scenario where I speculated that maybe border of the new hairline would have to be made thicker in each surgery so I might have ended up with something that looks strange.

Sorry, but what exactly is "small Bosley case"? Are you referring to Hair Transplant Surgery, Hair Loss Treatment - Bosley clinic examples?

Thanks, all those questions that should be asked to doctor make sense. I was also thinking if doctor would have to put hairs in a such pattern so that after first surgery they would look thin or anything like that? I know I could ask the same question to my doctor, but it would be interested to hear what other people think about this...

I guess your answer is offtopic,.. Since this is the only clinic in my country, I don't think it would be better idea to go abroad and find another clinic (You have to take into account language barrier with doctor, distance, different jurisdiction, travel expenses e.t.c.) Also, hair transplant surgery can fail with a good doctor. My original question was whether it is good idea to split whole surgery in two different surgeries 1 year apart. One reason why I though it might be bad idea is if doctor would put hairs in a such pattern so that second surgery would become complicated (e.g. different density)

I guess your answer is offtopic,.. Since this is the only clinic in my country, I don't think it would be better idea to go abroad and find another clinic (You have to take into account language barrier with doctor, distance, different jurisdiction, travel expenses e.t.c.) Also, hair transplant surgery can fail with a good doctor. My original question was whether it is good idea to split whole surgery in two different surgeries 1 year apart. One reason why I though it might be bad idea is if doctor would put hairs in a such pattern so that second surgery would become complicated (e.g. different density)

My HT surgeon is recommending me to have 1500 FUs transplanted (I have something between Norwood 2 and 2A). However, since that clinic is new and the only one in my area, I am a little scared and considering to ask only for 850 grafts to be transplanted. And then, if surgery will be successful, I will go for the second surgery after a year. Has anyone done anything like this? What did your doctor sacrifice - density or hairline length? Any other complications after such a choice? Why you would or wouldn't ask your doctor to do this?

Has anyone done a study how costs to transplant a single Follicular Unit have changed over last 2, 5, 10 and 20 years? My understanding is that even nominal prices (non-inflation adjusted) keep on falling all the time. I also expect this trend to continue once Artas robot will go mainstream and Hair Transplant surgeons will become ~ 2-3x more efficient. I would like to hear opinion on following subjects: 1. How much on average you paid 2, 5, 10 or 20 years ago to transplant a single graft.* 2. Do you feel that there will be even more deflationary forces once Artas robot or other technological advancements will go mainstream? Also could it be that nowadays there are way more Hair Transplant surgeons than few years ago and competition is driving down prices as well? ** * I know that it is not completely fair to compare nowadays FUT and FUE with older day methods due to lower yields and scars that remained. ** I would be interested to hear Hair Transplant surgeon opinion on this matter. Especially if you have been somehow involved with Artas robot.

One of my concerns before proceeding with FUE is - what will happen with my donor area? My surgeon told me that I should not be worried about that because, if 1500 follicular units will be transplanted then the remaining ones in the donor area will grow thicker and the problem will be mitigated. However, I can't find any references in the Internet that would confirm this claim. I would like your opinion (preferably based with experience) on following question: 1. If you had ~1500 grafts taken out - did you notice that hair in the back of your head became noticeably thinner? Is claim made by my HT doctor true or false? 2. What happens with transected follicules after failed extraction attempt? Are they permanently lost or do they regrow? 2. On average, how much donor grafts are there on the back of the head?