TheHairLossCure

Varsityblue, I am assuming you are following the prescribed post-operative care? I say this only because, while the actual grafts have surely taken, the visible hair shafts are not necessary growing. Sometime the scalp must be scrubbed with a bit of vigor to dislodge any "dormant" shafts. My guess is that you are in fact getting early growth because, otherwise, you would have observed cist formations in the recipient area (certainly if it has been a full month). Sounds like you are good shape, though. Still, it is always good to keep in touch with your clinic. If for no other reason, you can share the good news. We are at a juncture in hair transplantation where patients can and should expect elegant final results. Furthermore, post-operative discomfort is very minimal with today's state-of-the-art FUT. One "down side" I see with the procedure is that there is an element of delayed gratification. That is to say, patients typically see growth at 3 months, noticeable cosmetic changes at 6 months, and full results at one year. It is, of course, worth the wait when the surgery is performed in expert hands. Some patient get quicker growth or, in your case varsityblue, growth right "out of the gate." It goes without saying that I am pleased when this happens. Glad to hear the update. Keep up the good growth!

Price and quality have a linkage to some extent, I suppose. The reality, however, is that sometimes your per graft fee pays for overhead not related to surgery (marketing, etc.). Many of the supposed "hair mills" charge a hefty fee for surgery. Many of the docs discussed on this very board, though, can consistency get better and more natural results. What is more, their fee is often lower. Dr. Rose does consistently elegant and undetectable hair work. I would consider the pricing to be in the middle range. Please do not let price be the main determining factor. You wear a HT on your head forever. So get it done right. Yes, money is, of course, an issue. Still, in the long run, you are not going to remember if you paid a little more or a little less. You going to live with the result, excellent or poor.

I believe that double strip scars present a major problem for patients and severely limit styling options. With second and third strip surgeries, linear scaring should be excised, if possible, along with the donor hair. There is, however, a risk that the new scar will be wider than the previous one. Regardless, a single linear scar is almost always preferable to a double scar

How long ago did you have the surgery in the crown area? Is there staggered growth, or no growth yet?

You are off to a good start at 3 months. Congratulations. Transplanted hair grows out in an irregular fashion. It follows then that one side might be noticeably fuller than the other as the transplant matures. Also, you probably had one member of the staff placing the right front-area and another member of the staff placing the left frontal area. If you are growing on both sides at month 3, you are in good shape and I trust that things will even out over the next 6-9 months. Enjoy the progress!

What color is your hair? Skin? What about the curl of the hair? If you have dark, straight hair and white skin, it is probably not that difficult to see down to the scalp (depending on your hair style, of course). You still might want to talk to a dermatologist to rule out male pattern hair loss.

Often it is the patients with the lesser degrees of hair loss that are best candidates for transplant surgery. The donor supply versus demand situation is working for these individuals. Some patients with minimal loss have a small and well-defined areas of loss. For example: deep temple recessions in an otherwise lush head of hair. Or perhaps a small, isolated bald spot in the crown with no signs of thinning in the immediate surrounding area. Other patients, though, have thinning, not baldness, over a large area. It sounds like you match this description. This sort of pattern suggests that, at some point, the thin areas will be essentially bald. What this means is that you can graft into those areas and boost the density and coverage dramatically. The native hair has a transient life span while the transplants are effectively programmed to grow forever. When the native hair eventually "falls out" due to natural progression you will be left with only the grafts. This will not create a naturalness problem if the grafts are follicular unit grafts. The problem, however, is that you will have taken a step forward and then, with aging, a step back. Objectively, even with progressive loss, you will have more hair in the area than if you did nothing at all. Still, it is worth noting that, in order to keep your coverage at a certain level, a follow-up procedure might be in order when the native hair goes.

Arrie, Very nice transformation indeed. Well done. Enjoy

Typically, transplanted hair has a lower density than native hair. One of the reasons for this is that many patients (but certainly not all) will lose more hair than can be transplanted. So, for example, a patient might lose 15,000+ follicular units to male pattern baldness. That patient might have only 7,500 transplantable follicular units in his donor area though. What to do? Well, if the patient desires hair transplantation over the entire balding area, he would need to sacrifice density to achieve coverage. This is not uncommon at all as many patients who desire hair transplantation also have substantial loss. There are, however, some notable exceptions. Some patients have minimal loss and show no signs of miniaturization. This would suggest that the risk of major future loss in small. In such a case, the donor supply versus the donor damand is favorable. So building high density might be a real option. You might be a good candidate for high-density packing. Obviously, you must get a physician consult, or several physician consults, in order to get a true feel for whether or not your goal can be reached.

Strip can just as easily be criticized as FUE, and vice versa. There is always risk with surgery and, with hair transplants, these risks include donor scarring, shock loss, etc. Generally though, if you go to a good doc with a good rep, they will do whatever it takes to get you a good result. It can be hard to tell the good docs from the bad sometimes though. My advice would be to get feedback about the doc from multiple sources. If all checks out, great. Try to talk to patients and see some in person, if possible. At that point you should go with your gut.

More and more, physicians are taking an interest in FUE. It makes perfect sense too. There are some patients for which FUE is very well suited and this fact, in and of itself, warrants the interest. From what I have observed, there are many doctors who, on some level or another, are offering (or planning to offer) FUE.

The main benefit of hair transplant over systems, in my opinion, is that hair transplants (after recovery, etc) are relatively low maintenance. The main benefit of systems over hair transplants ??“ and I say this as one with zero affinity for systems ??“ is that they can provide a density not often seen with hair transplants. Some people have all the money in the world but opt not to do surgery. I imagine that some of these individuals must specifically want super high density over extensively bald areas. So I guess, for these folks, systems are the right choice. Personally, I would rather have a natural looking hair transplant. But that is just me.

It is critical that you see a qualified surgeon, or surgeons, to get a great result. Your HT should "take," but, again, finding the right doc is hugely important. Much has changed in the world of hair restoration since 2000. Overall graft survival, like other factors, has improved over the pasted 8 years.

In my opinion, when people notice you have new hair, it is usually just a compliment. Unless that person is suffering with hair loss and wants to know "your secret," an explanation is probably not all that necessary. "Thanks" or "thanks, I've been using some products" is oftentimes a sufficient reply.

All things being equal, I think the NW 4 and the NW 6 are in the same boat in terms of supply. Even though the NW 4 will have maintained more hair in the pattern baldness area, this hair must still be considered transient. Even if the patient and doctor want to get aggressive with the harvesting - by which I mean harvesting transient hairs - they would probably need to do so via FUE. FUE is sort of a "go anywhere" technique (for better, or worse).

Couple thoughts: 1) Don't rule out the meds options. I understand that you may not have a lot of cash at the moment, but there are some cost effective solutions if you are a med-therapy candidate. Retarding hair loss, if it bothers you, can be a good investment. 2) If you are thinning, remember you are not bald. In fact you may be one of the few people that sees that you are losing your hair. It would be a shame if your thoughts were to become consumed with hair loss when you do in fact have hair. I would look at meds, if appropriate, and perhaps some concealers, and try to enjoy what you've got. BTW, you are wise to check in with your doctor about your concerns!

I believe I understand your concern. Many times doctors suggest waiting for surgery so that the pattern baldness becomes more established. Now, that can make a good degree of sense, however, in your case, it sounds as though your hair loss pattern (in term of the surface area on the scalp) is established. I imagine that a surgeon would be able to assess your case and, furthermore, predict your worse case scenario. With this information, you and your doc should be able to plan your restoration and properly allocate your donor hair. You may find that, after you do the necessary consults with your top-choice-docs, it is really up to you whether or not you should go for it. In other words, there may be no reason at all to wait if you feel you are ready to go.

Norwood 6's and 7's can be good surgery candidates if ??“ and only if ??“ they have the right expectations. You can get a nice and natural result for sure. You must simply remember that hair transplants cannot turn a half head of hair to a full head of hair. You can relocate your donor hair in a clever and artful way, though. I imagine you could indeed get a dramatic result...still, I doubt it would be "full."

Dakota, good call. I would check out the medical therapy option...and propecia (as many posters know all to well) is the gold standard. You look like you have some isolated crown loss. Still, this is quite consistent with male pattern baldness, so the sooner you catch it with meds the better. In terms of surgery, the first 2 questions that come to mind are 1) how old are you? And 2) Do you wish to keep your hair the same length as in the photos?

You should not ice the recipient area. This will not temper shockloss, as far as I know, and will only create complications as the grafts are setting. (Always discuss with your doc, of course!)

Hatrrick, That's pretty much the deal, at a glance. Your day-of-surgery consult will be pretty involved as you and your doc design the hairline and recipient area, etc. The only thing I would add to your summary is that many of the steps will either overlap or repeat during surgery. So, for example, the doctor might create recipient sites followed by the staff placing grafts. The doctor might then - particularly during a large session - go back and create more sites and have the placers do another round etc. Additionally, since strips take so long to dissect, there will be spans of time when some of the staff will be placing grafts while others will still be working with the tissue under the scopes.

1. How can a strip removed from the non-balding area possibly cover the entire balding area. Do you have to take multiple strips. A: Usually, in order to achieve coverage, you must sacrifice some density. Similarly, if you want certain areas super thick, you will not be able to cover other portions of the scalp very well, if at all. 2. Does hair grow back in the "donor area?" A: No, the donor wound is closed under minimal tension - at least that is how Dr. Rose does it ??“ and the result is typically a very narrow scar. The hair grows where you place it on top - not in the donor. 3. In best case scenarios can you have similar density to someone without hair loss? A: Yes but the best case scenario is a person with very minimal hair loss with little chance of significant progression...this is not a typical patient. It probably will not serve you well to think about atypical situations...unless yours really is.

Well, there is actually such a thing is recipient dominance, however, it does not explain the "claims" with BH.

Some physicians have argued that BH can "behave" like scalp hair. Unless somebody can explain this occurrence and then consistently manipulate it to the benefit of the patient, it is not a practical consideration. It is certainly interesting to explore scientifically. Still, I don't see a justification for advertising BHT as a good surgical alternative.

Dr. Rose likes Dr. Cooley, quite a bit. Additionally, a colleague of mine worked alongside Dr. Cooley and was greatly impressed with his surgery - in particular, his donor closures.