gillenator

Here's the deal. When you here of patients having poor growth from those HT doctors that are less known, i'ts usually due to the fact that the strip is not dissected under a microscope. The transection rate is high. The staffs are usually not the cream of the crop, they are not trained proficiently well and so the grafts are not implanted well. We could go on and on.

IMHO, the weekend won't hurt to wait until you can reach your doctor. I have seen this before multiple times and forget the term for it, but again IMHO, not anything serious.

I agree. Postponing your decision won't hurt a thing. Possibly start by buzzing your scalp and then experiment different lengths. Some guys are happy with a number 3 guide and can still hide the scar.

If you have a follow-up procedure within the same area as your first procedure, then you should wait one year. An increase in the amount of anethesia or increase in the duration does not necessarily imply that an increase in shockloss will occur. This is a question more suited for the doctor.

I think Hair Club at one time was a part of MHR, the other large chain just like Bosley. Bosley acquired Medical Hair Restoration (MHR) officially last year and many of the MHR offices were closed. Hair Club may now be a part of Bosley. Take a look at the Physician Locator or recommended physicians in Colorado in this community.

I concur that the weakest hair may not come back however the stronger hair will rest for 3-4 months and then regrow.

Usually it's the weak diffused hair that des not come back once shocked out. That hair is already miniturized and on its way out.

Dan, Just be sure to wait until your epidermis is healed before re-applying Toppik post-op.

Are there any cases or examples of genetic hairloss (MPB) in your family history on either side? If so, get examined in person by a reputable HT surgeon in your area. You want to be physically examined for evidence of miniturization which sounds like you may have going on. It is not difficult to ascertain. Samples from the donor zone are compared to samples taken from areas of the scalp that are typically susceptible to the effects of DHT. Comparisons are made to note decreases and differences of hair shaft diameter to terminal hair samples. And ideally this is done over a period of time. Density counts can also be tracked within defined areas of the scalp that again are typically susceptible to DHT.

Unless you are already in a routine, regular cardiovascular workouts may help increase the blood flow to your hands.

In thirty years, Ihave never heard of someone experiencing a shed from quitting smoking. I quit myself and never lost any hair over it.

I have been more oriented toward the lateral slit technique due to its outstanding results when done properly. Saggital slits have their place as well and can be used in conjuction with lateral slit methods.

Montrose, I also live in the greater Wash DC area and trust me, you definitely want to see his patients "in person", not just pics. But really, that's good advice for any doctors' work. If you live in the area, there's no reason that it cannot be worked out.

I also am a skeptic regarding laser combs in general. If you do choose to use one post-op, be sure to follow your doctor's advice. I would think that most will want to be sure your epidermis is completely healed.

nordstrom, What happens is that these folks who end up happy with a great result end up getting on with their lives. Most never come back to these online hairloss communitites. They simply move on. The ones who end with a horrible result/experience tend to blame themselves and are too ashamed to advertise what they did.

If the linear scar comes out real fine and without discoloration, then it can be difficult to see among exisitng hair. If the patient had a good trico closure done, all the more difficult to find. Mis-angulations of one's hairline, etc can give away a HT. It's things like that that can be a give away.

Shockloss is totally "unpredictable" period. Every now and then you will see an add or proclomation from a doctor/clinic that their patients have no shockloss. Don't believe it for a moment. Generally speaking, there are a number of factors that can attribute to shockloss. The main one is the overall trauma to the scalp from the surgery. The trauma caused by thousands of recipient incisions made induce and cause shockloss to the native exisitng hair. Even the surrounding hair can shock out from this trauma. Some of the fluids injected in the scalp can also cause shockloss. Smaller procedures involve fewer incisions and less overall trauma to the area. Some docs will not want to do as large of sessions when there are larger amounts of diffused exisitng hair in the recipient area.

I concur. Once the transplanted hair has shed and rested, it re-enters the growing (anagen) phase again and that is done in a 3-4 month time frame for most. Once in the growing phase, the average cycle period is six years before the hair will again rest. My thoughts are also possibly there has been a change in your profile that has caused or promoted some shedding. Under any large levels of stress lately? Very stressful times can cause some shedding. I also recommend that you see your doctor.

FYI, Ziering is a former surgeon at Medical Hair Restoration (MHR), one of the hair mills that was acquired by its largest competitor, Bosley. Really do your homework on this one!

vek2010, I am sort of surprised that no one replied to you yet this is a fast moving community so I understand. All four docs that you mentioned do both FUHT and FUE. Did they give you the 1500 number or is that what you would like to start with? You stated that you are in a class 3a now which in theory could support more than 1500 grafts. I do not know anything about your hair characteristics so posibly you have nice wavy, curly hair with a high degree of coarseness to it. To date, I am still of the opinion that the industry is producing the best yields in strip. I based that on what I see across the industry. As proficiency continues with FUE, the yields should improve with less transection overall. Most of us men with MPB are going to require 5,000 plus grafts in our lifetimes ans why many of us including myself have chosen FUHT over FUE. Many of us have accepted the fact that if we choose to resolve our hairloss with surgery, we may never be able to wear our hair that short ever again. Yet if one's hairloss is more minimal and not advanced in family history, then FUE can be the best way to go if wearing short hair is that important. To some men, it is. 1500 extractions is not a large procedure. Extensive FUE work does not guarantee anyone that they will be able to wear real short hair styles. The scarring does show on some and especially when it involves very extensive work. There is also more collateral damage done throughout the donor zone to neighboring FUs with too many extractions (over-harvesting) that you do not have when the donor tissue is harvested in strips. I want to encourage you to think about how much work you will need in your lifetime. Are you on Propecia? Best wishes.

Usually when threads like these come up, it's usually an either/or discussion. When dealing with repair, I have become more and more convinced to have both methods available in the repair surgeon you are considering. I know of a very talented plastic sugeon in the Mid-Atlantic area who does HTs and does not practice FUE whatsoever. Albeit well respected, he is limited to excising any large grafts in repair scenarios. Some have to be sutured closed. It's hard to argue improved cosmetic appearance when trading off a plug for a scar. It's very possible that some of the larger grafts could be thinned with extractions thereby minimizing any "visible" scarring since there is no excising of the entire graft or plug. Some larger grafts are better to be excised; it all depends on the condition of the individual graft/plug. I think it is a judgment call by the surgeon. My point is that if the doctor at hand cannot perform FUE, he is limited. Some of the best repair results that I have seen post-op utilized a combination of excision and extraction techniques.

EL, I am surprised that you experienced that much swelling from a procedure of 3500 grafts. I wonder how much saline was included in the injections. Generally speaking, post-op swelling in the forhead shows up about three days post-op and then lingers for another three days. We call it the 3/3 rule. Larger procedures can involve more swelling and show up quicker because of the trauma caused by all of the recipient incisions. The effects of gravity pull the fluid down the face so possibly the band is preventing the fluid from pulling down for some of you.

You may also want to re-contact the docs that did not mention shockloss to the area and ask them their opinions about it and why they did not bring it up.

After three days of post-op healing, it's pretty difficult to lose the grafts from normal activity. From most of the post-op instructions that I have seen, most only require sleeping at an elevated position for three days. The goal is to keep the recipient area moist and maintaining an optimal healing environment. The crusts that develop are the tips of the grafts above the scalp line which will eventually dry out and fall off after approximately one week of healing. Typically the stubble of hair within the graft will come out with the crust. Usually the post-op instructions will instruct the patient to pour a mixture of shampoo product and lukewarm water over the recipient area without scrubbing the area. No pressure rinsing either. After 7- 10 days, normal shampooing can resume. If any crusts still remain at 10 days post-op, many suggest the patient getting more agrressive in scrubbing the area to remove any remaining crusts.

brows23, Facial hair HTs have always interested me over the past thirty years and wanted to ask you afew questions if that's okay. How many grafts or hairs were transplanted? Most docs have the grafts dissected into single hair grafts as obviously that's how our eyebrows are established. Can you put the yield to date as a percentage of the hair that was transplanted? The only other thing I can think of that might be attributable to a slow regrowth is that those transplanted follicles are resting for a bit longer than they normally do which is 3-4 months post-op. Hopefully you are going to get more from the procedure. Best wishes to you.