Shaving of natal hair

[starman]

Why do some Drs. shave the natal hair where the transplant is being performed while other Drs. don't. I've read somewhere that if you shave the transplanted region you can cause damage to the natal hair roots, again, I just want to know what is the best procedure any info would be appreciated, thx

 

PS I hope all of you had a Happy Thanksgiving!

[starman]

Why do some Drs. shave the natal hair where the transplant is being performed while other Drs. don't. I've read somewhere that if you shave the transplanted region you can cause damage to the natal hair roots, again, I just want to know what is the best procedure any info would be appreciated, thx

 

PS I hope all of you had a Happy Thanksgiving!

[Maxxy]

The only reason I can see for shaving is that it will make the doctors and techs job a lot easier and quicker if the area is shaved down. (of course this has it's upside for the patient aswell)

[latinlotus]

starman:

 

There is a debate between doctors regarding this issue. Some say that shaving helps to reduce risk of damages (transection) to native hairs when planting grafts between them. In addition, these doctors claim that it helps to follow the angle of the native hairs. On the other hand, doctors who do not require shaving don't see any risk and leave the choice to the patient.

 

During my research, i formed an opinion that shaving only benefits the doctor as it saves him time (and costs). I don't buy the claim regarding the risks of not shaving. With magnifying loupes, if the doctor is still afraid of damaging natives hair and/or can't see the angulation of the unshaven native hairs, then i think he has a big problem.

 

Dr. Cooley said that he has no problem with shaving or not. He does admit that he would save time, and as in my case, he would have save about 2 hours of surgery time if i was shaven. However, he feels his patients are paying an already high enough price for HT, that he does not want to subject them to another few months of ugly duckling phase awaiting for the (native) hair to grow back.

 

Personally i don't have any preference before going into the HT. I just wanted a good result with the highest possible yield. Now that HT is done, i am so glad that my hair was not shaven because by day 3, most traces of HT already gone and by day 6, my HT was undetectable (apart from stubbles from new implanted grafts - check my web log for more details and photos). There are a few tiny scabs left, but they are mostly hidden by the native hair and best of all, my donor scar is completely hidden. It is true that my healing process was unusually quick but the average HT patients would have the scabs gone by week 2, thus all they need to hide is 2 weeks max. Compared with the shaven patients who would usually have funny looks at them for 2 or 3 months.

 

Some doctors not requiring to shave: Cooley, Keene, Epstein...

Some doctors require to shave: Hasson and Wong, Feller, Rahal...

[Bill - Seemiller]

starman,

 

You've already received some excellent information on this thread. I also recommend reading responses on this thread To Shave or Not to Shave the Recipient Area for a Hair Transplant.

 

Best wishes,

 

Bill

[starman]

Thanks ALL, I appreciate the feedback, I prefer NOT being shaved & save myself some crucial downtime but unfortunately the Drs. I was leaning towards seem to favor this, I guess I will have to reevaluate my options, Thx again.

[Maxxy]

Starman,

 

Have you asked any of your preferred Docs if they will carry out the transplant without shaving?

 

I think it's a shame if those Docs who like to shave have no space for compromise.

[Jotronic]

Starman,

 

Your issue is shared by many however many more overcome this small hurdle and move forward with a procedure. This includes many that are in the public eye either as leaders of industry or other high profile positions.

 

At our clinic, we pretty much started the practice of shaving because we recognized it's benefits. We've been doing this for years now and for a long time were the only clinic to do this. Now, many more clinics have seen the merit of this approach and are now requiring, or at the very least, strongly suggesting that shaving be allowed. This is because they realize that yes, shaving does make a big session faster, but it also helps to greatly reduce the chances of trasection and thus the chance of permanent shock loss.

 

I certainly respect the decision by many to opt for a clinic that does not require shaving. What I have a hard time getting my head around however is that while shaving is acknowledged as making the procedure easier to perform why on Earth would one not want to make the procedure easier for their chosen doctor IF they chose a doctor based on the results that they have seen knowing full well that the doctor normally requires shaving. I would think that it would stand to reason that if a medical procedure is easier somehow for a doctor to perform then that doctor would be able to perform a better job overall.

 

You've been considering whomever you've been considering for a very good reason and I would wager it's because of what you have seen in their results on a consistent basis. If this clinic(s) usually requires shaving then that just may be one reason behind their success in producing results that appeal to you.

 

Talk to them and ask them why they shave. Odds are they'll tell you they use to not require this but then realized that doing so makes the procedure easier, faster, more reliable and in the end produces better results overall.

 

Understand that when a doctor is trying to make, say for argument, 4000 incisions in your recipient scalp he has to comb, brush or manipulate your hair all through out this portion of the procedure just to find the spaces in between your existing hair. The hair does not move out of the way itself, it has to BE moved. Once the hair is moved for a clearer view the angle and direction of this hair is now distorted. Therein lies the biggest overall factor that dictates how all this plays out for your final result. If the TRUE angle and direction of the native hair is not properly determined then the new incision will not match that of the native hair AND it means that the chance for trasection of that neighboring hair has just gone WAY up. This is on top of the possible shock that the native hair will go through because of the hair being manipulated or combed thousands of times in a single day.

 

Now talk to some doctors that do not require shaving and ask why they can do just as good a job unshaved. Remember, its all about having a clear field of vision for the procedure. You'll hear one reason and one reason only, because they are using magnifying loupes to see better.

 

I have just given you an explanation of why in my view shaving is better. The only counter argument is that with magnifying loupes one can see better. This is only a reason but NOT an explanation.

[starman]

Again, thx for the advice Jo. Maxxy, I have a consult w/Dr. Feller in a few weeks & I'll see what he has to say.