Middleson

[Middleson]

Scheduled for 2500 grafts in the first week of January 07 with Dr. Cooley.

 

 

 

[stumper]

Hello Middleson I must say you have a odd balding pattern your front looks nice and full, but crown work can be very unpridictable its like the layers of an onion.ohh brother were is thy crown end.You picked a talented surgen good luck my freind.

[Bill - Seemiller]

Good luck with your surgery Middleson. As I've stated in a previous thread, you selected a fine surgeon. Please keep us posted.

 

Bill

[Bill - Seemiller]

Since I just saw your post on another thread with your question as to whether or not we feel you need more than 2500 grafts, allow me to say this:

 

The crown area has been referred to as the "black hole" or "black pit" regarding grafts. It's difficult to tell based solely on these pictures, however, in my estimation, I'd say 2500 grafts will be a nice start in the crown and will definiately give you some coverage but I wouldn't expect significant density. Of course, I'm not a doctor, but I would think 3500K would be more accurate to give you more density. But it also depends on your goals. Do you plan on touching up the hairline or middle section at all? It looks like overall you have a good head of hair, so perhaps you don't want to mess with those areas. If you are going for the crown alone, I would see about increasing the graft count if you have the laxity for it.

 

Bill

[Guest Cousin_It]

Middleson...

 

I think Bill has given you a good "guesstimate" on what is needed in the crown area. If this is the only area you wish to address than the 2500 grafts recommended by Dr.Cooley should be fairly sufficient. If on the other hand he will also be addressing coverage on the sides, it will not give you satifactory results, IMO.

 

To give you a feel for the number of grafts appropriate for various stages of balding with various densities take a look at this link, it is a graft calculator that should assist you in determining what ultimately you may need for full restoration.

 

http://www.hairlosslearningcenter.org/hair-loss-content...lements/mm/calc.html

[Middleson]

stumper: i thought i had an odd balding pattern. to tell you the truth, I was very surprised to see the top view photo i had taken & posted yesteday...i didn't realize i had lost as much as i had. Thanks for the vote of confidence!

 

Bill: thanks again, I've pretty much decided to go ahead & share photos of the process throughout the year in a weblog. I've always been a relatively private person, but why not? I find the older i get the less i care about what others think. I'm doing this for me not anyone else. and if anyone else is able to learn something by what I go through then i'll feel good about sharing the photos on the weblog.

 

Bill/Cousin_It: I appreciate the link to the Hair Restoration Graft Calculator, I hadn't run across that before. With my pictures right in front of me, and using the calculator, I selected areas 1 (hairline) and 5 & 6 (Crown) and moved the density ruler to the extreme right side. This calculation returned 3100 grafts. I would liberally estimate I would only require about 50% of area 5 (half of 1368 grafts = roughly 700). So, this calculator suggest I would need 2400 grafts (area 1 + area 6 + half of area 5). So, perhaps the 2500 estimate is in the ballpark for me. Considering that I'm going to be 47 in 2007, I don't want to bring my hairline forward to that of a young man, just touch it up and refine it a bit. But in either case, I will be discussing this more in depth with Dr. Cooley, for sure...and will be prepared to go with his recommendation either way.

[Bill - Seemiller]

Middleson,

 

Glad the calculator and our posts have given you some comfort. Dr. Cooley is an excellent physician and you will be in good hands. When he does an "in person" consultation with you before the surgery, he will be able to give you a more accurate estimate of what you will need and then will be able to determine what he can get, etc.

 

Regarding your blog, once you post your pictures, you may want to consider adding a signature to your posts with a link to your weblog, kind of like I link to my procedures.

 

Good luck and keep us posted.

 

Bill

[hairbank]

Middleson-

 

Best of luck to you. Sounds like you've been doing some research and Dr. Cooley is one of the best. As for the graft count, that's a tough one to guess from pics. You had a similar situation as mine (a little better) with hair in front but nothing in the crown. I'd guess you'll want at least 2000-2500 for the crown to have decent coverage. The nice thing is you appear to still have decent density in front and can probably use this to blend with the crown for a nice overall appearance when complete.

 

However you decide, best of luck to you. You're in good hands with Doc Cooley.