Shaving the Recipient Area: Advantages and Disadvantages

[nm315]

homeslice,

 

i REALLY hope the next ht works out for you bro..

 

dr feller says

"In the end, all of the above takes a backseat to results. Check to see who has the best and most consistent results and then look backward to how the procedure was done. There are plenty of great doctors out there, just do a bit of research. Thankfully the web makes it much easier than ever..."

 

 

i too say you do it.. check not only this forum pics.. but check the pics on these docs website too.. when a docs belittle others in their own field i see insecurity.. u see confidence, smart, driven.. hmmm...

 

the economy everywer is taking such a bad hit that some docs are resorting to such lows.. feel sorry for them..

[djdennis]

Ok Guys sorry for the truth. YOU DONT HAVE TO SHAVE!!!!!! AGAIN YOU DONT HAVE TO SHAVE. Its a preferance not a fact as Dr. E says!!!! Maybe for Dr. Feller its spagetti if he did it, but not in the hands of Dr. E !!! There was hardly any blood for me. Go Dr. E and Educate!!!

[djdennis]

And I had a mega-session 2953 grafts (No-shave)

[djdennis]

For you guys that want to look like bozo the clown for awhile your choice, not mine, my pref

[PLEASE GROW PLEASE]

DJ It looks like your going to have a good result but you had nothing left to shave.

[djdennis]

There was enough to shave, believe me!!! I had alot of native hair in the middle of my head. I did however shave me head down because the ht was so nice that I wanted my new hairs to grow in even. I had no loss in ht hairs from start to finish. When I decised to shave it was because I could where a hat to work and I did my first shave with a #3 buzzer after my first 30 day mark as you can see in the pics of my weblog. My camara is not the best, but you can see mid scalp, There was a good amount of hair and Dr. E went in between the native. Did not want the complete bozo the clown look. After my first 30 days I decided to heal abit and then shave. Reason my hair was going to grown in even and I put lots of aloe to my donar scar every day, plus I used the minox and it was nice on a #3 buzzer for awhile

[djdennis]

sorry I said I shaved down with a #3 buzzer!!! I made a mistake after reading my post!!! I Shaved down with a #1 buzzer

[MORE_HAIR]

Dr.Epstein.

 

As usual thanks for the clear and helpful explanation of how you do the work you do.

 

Also...it's not only helpful to all us guys losing our hair that you are a fact type Doc...and don't have to compare your work to other docs or mention their names to prove a point...it not only shows you have your own identity...but helps us patients keep our eye on the ball.

 

I really find that approach not only respectful and not self-serving...but you stick to the facts and your beliefs...thank you.

 

I speak often with my pals who I've told about this forum and they lurk regularly.

They also like your approach...expect phone calls.

 

MH

[Bill - Seemiller]

In my opinon, this is not a cut and dry issue. There are cases that require shaving and others that will not. Simply put, transplanting hair between natural hair gets more difficult the denser it is.

 

Taking Dr. Feller's spaghetti example - if there are only a few noodles on the plate, it's no big deal to move them out of the way. But the more noodles you add to the plate, the more difficult they will be to move out of the way.

 

Some physicians may argue that hair transplantation may not be appropriate for patients where their natural hair is too dense. Though this may be true for some cases, many surgeons will find that they can transplant hairs in between and around them with great success by shaving the area.

 

Dr. Shapiro is a prime example of this. Shapiro Medical doesn't require shaving in all cases, but in cases where hair is being densely packed between a lot of native hair, it's strongly encouraged or even required.

 

Very interesting discussion.

 

Bill

[Gorpy]

Good point Bill.

[djdennis]

I have a question for a Doctor. why would native hair possibbly fall out with not shaving and some say that if you shave your chances from nerve damage are less. I just dont understand that grafts are still be placed in between the native. Shaving does not really do much because the hair is still actually there

[Jeffrey Epstein MD, FACS]

Bill- Actually, the issue is less the number of existing hairs, but rather the density/calibre of those that are present. For example, on a second procedure, the prior transplanted hairs do not in any way need to be trimmed, as they are solid and hold their own.

 

Jeffrey Epstein, MD, FACS

[HairDew]

Although I hold a GREAT respect for Dr. Feller and I consider him one of the best in the world; I have seen incredible results from docs who DO NOT shave. Prime example would be Dr. Alexander. He doesn't shave but his work is on par with Dr. Feller.

 

In my case, I just can't have my head shaved. I work in the professional environment and cannot wear a hat. So to me NOT SHAVING is a great factor to consider.

[Dr. Ricardo Mejia]

DJ

Alot of your questions can be answered from my previous posts.

transection risk with megasessions

and understanding shock loss

 

Shaving the hair has no effect on any nerve damage. As you said the hair is there whether you shave the head or not. The above posts should clarify.

[tofueornottofue]

IMO this topic should not receive this much attention. Here's why.

 

The Dr.'s are deciding if shaving is best for the final HT outcome, which at the end of the day is our only concern. The few months of regrowth time is insignificant to the years down the road.

 

When we choose our HT guy, based on our many different criteria, the fact that the Doc is a shaver should not sway our decision. Each of the Doc's on this site, based on his/her technique/skills/knowledge/years of experience, feels shaving or not shaving will yield the best results for the HT. I believe the Dr's here have one goal....to provide great results. If that means a shave is necessary, then so beit.

 

Also, the remarks on here that Dr's that require shaving are looking for the easy and quick way out is just BS. One extra hour of chair time is not what these Dr's are focusing on!!

 

 

Select your HT Dr carefully and stand by the decision based on the research that is available on this site.

 

We have been finding ways to deal with all that life brings to us, good and bad...certainly a couple of months of short hair is not an issue. Let's face it, the first month whether shaved or not, the HT will still show some signs...so we are looking at probably another month of camouflage time until the shaved hairs grow in.

 

Happy 4th to all.

 

FYI...I was shaved by Dr. Feller, June 6, 2008.

 

T

[Smoothy]

If you can shave the area the better for the surgeon for placement. So if you can where a hat for a couple of week and cut your hair short in the back, then do it. If not, then grow the top longer and comb forward if HT in frontal lobe-- if on crown, then grow long in the front and comb back. Best of luck lad.

[Dr. Mohammad Humayun Mohma]

I just had a chance to go through this thread

 

I would like to give you my observation and personal liking.

 

First of all I do not believe that there would be any difference between shaving or no shaving except

1) The patient would not see the shock loss so would nopt worry

2) easier for the surgeon.

 

Generally if the hair loss is more than type III or IV the the hair line has receded by at least 4 to 5 cm. So if you want to bring the hair line forward by 2 or more cm, then you cannot technically follow the same angles as present. the hair direction chnage every 1/2 cm tilting towards the skin meaning getting more and more acute angle with resect to skin.

Therefore whether shave or no shave existing hair will not help much. unless you have residual hair left but then most people do not have residual hair, atleast not in Pakistan.

WIth respect to single or multiple blade reciepent sites I guess some Dr's who arereccomended in this forum do use those multiple handle blades. As I do not correctly remember their names I wont take but they are.

 

One must know one thing there is no one best way of doing a hair transplant.

 

The most important fact to selct a doctor is to see how he makes his hair line. this is only area where one would be able to judge the work, after first three rows or four you cant see if you have single hair follicles or multiple.

 

so my point is we as doctors wuld do what we are comfortable with, thy way we think, its just like a personal touch.

 

the good hair transplant surgery might not be a natural looking one, for the simple reason, a natural looking hair transplant surgery is seen by all but recognised by none.

[Dr. Mohammad Humayun Mohma]

I personally do not shave the head at all. As i mainly do strip harvest the scars are tooo visible and i want them to be hidden, if i shave on top and leave the other area same it looks tooo odd. then as i said earlier most of my clientel is type V to Type VII. so i dnt need to shave them at all.