Question regarding hair-transplant

[Ataylor]

Hello,

 

I'm new to the board. My name is Anthony. This isn't a joke as most people on message boards believe.

 

I have a bald spot about 1 1/2 inches in diameter on my head. I've been told taht it's a birth mark, but only God knows. Well, I desperatly want to fill this in but don't want to completely jump into this procedure.

 

Can you guys -please- fill me in on a couple of things I should look for before going through with this. And also if there are any questions I should ask the Dr. performing this surgery.

 

How will I know for a fact that this person is excellent at what they do?

 

Two of my main questions:

 

1.) Like I stated above, the bald-spot is about (let's says) 2 inches in diameter, how much do you think that would cost to fill in? An educated guesstimate is completely fine.

 

and

 

2.) Do they actually have to remove a piece of my scalp or can they just take hairs from either the back of my head or another part of my body to fill in the spot?

 

Any help is greatly appreicated.

 

Thanks in advance,

-Anthony

 

p.s. I'm sure I have a few more questions, but this is pretty much the gist of it.

[Ataylor]

Hello,

 

I'm new to the board. My name is Anthony. This isn't a joke as most people on message boards believe.

 

I have a bald spot about 1 1/2 inches in diameter on my head. I've been told taht it's a birth mark, but only God knows. Well, I desperatly want to fill this in but don't want to completely jump into this procedure.

 

Can you guys -please- fill me in on a couple of things I should look for before going through with this. And also if there are any questions I should ask the Dr. performing this surgery.

 

How will I know for a fact that this person is excellent at what they do?

 

Two of my main questions:

 

1.) Like I stated above, the bald-spot is about (let's says) 2 inches in diameter, how much do you think that would cost to fill in? An educated guesstimate is completely fine.

 

and

 

2.) Do they actually have to remove a piece of my scalp or can they just take hairs from either the back of my head or another part of my body to fill in the spot?

 

Any help is greatly appreicated.

 

Thanks in advance,

-Anthony

 

p.s. I'm sure I have a few more questions, but this is pretty much the gist of it.

[Robert_]

Ataylor,

 

Welcome to the Hair Restoration Research Forums.

 

First of all, if it is, indeed a birthmark that has caused the bald circle, you need to consult a reputable hair restoration physician that can tell you whether or not you are a candidate for a hair restoration procedure. It seems to me that if hair never grew there in the first place, or if a skin condition caused the hair to fall out that the underlying condition should be addressed (of possible) before transplanting grafts into the site as if native hair doesn't grow there transplanted hair may not either.

 

You didn't specify as to whether you always had this bald spot or if it came on lately. If it appeared lately, was it rapid or over the period of a few years?

 

Also, it sounds like you have modern hair restoration surgery confused with the more antiquated scalp flap method surgery. For more information on the most advanced techniques for modern hair restoration surgery check out this page:

 

Dense-packed follicular-unit transplant surgery

 

Overview of other hair surgery procedures, including scalp flap surgery

 

(near the bottom)

 

Before considering surgery, you should consult with either a reputable and ethical (VERY important!) hair restoration physician and/or a dermatologist to make sure that the area in question can, indeed, accomodate transplanted grafts.

 

-Robert

[Ataylor]

Ataylor,

 

Welcome to the Hair Restoration Research Forums.

 

First of all, if it is, indeed a birthmark that has caused the bald circle, you need to consult a reputable hair restoration physician that can tell you whether or not you are a candidate for a hair restoration procedure.

 

What would I have to do in order to insure that the physician I speak with is reputable? The only thing I can think of is asking to speak with the people that had the process done through him/her. I just wonder, seeing as how there are many shady individuals in this world, if it would be -at all- possible for the company or physician to have a load of people that haven't used his branch accept calls and relay information which isn't true.

 

It seems to me that if hair never grew there in the first place...

 

Well, it never did grow there, but a few years back I started to massage the spot, and as of late, there have actually been a few hairs that are growing. It's far from full, but there are definitely hairs that have grew which were not there before.

 

You didn't specify as to whether you always had this bald spot or if it came on lately.

 

I've had it since birth.

 

Also, it sounds like you have modern hair restoration surgery confused with the more antiquated scalp flap method surgery. For more information on the most advanced techniques for modern hair restoration surgery check out this page:

 

Dense-packed follicular-unit transplant surgery

 

Overview of other hair surgery procedures, including scalp flap surgery

 

(near the bottom)

 

Thanks a lot, I'll look into that.

 

Before considering surgery, you should consult with either a reputable and ethical (VERY important!) hair restoration physician and/or a dermatologist

 

Once again, that is exactly what I want to do. Can you -please- give me some pointers on how to insure that the company is reputable and honest? I don't want to go to some rookie doctor and have him practice on me.

 

Thanks a lot for the effort, Robert, I truly appreciate it.

 

Regards,

-Anthony

 

p.s. You wouldn't happen to know how much this would run, would you? And if my insurance (PPO) would cover it?

[the B spot]

I think you should call Shapiro Medical Group and speak with Dr. Shapiro. I think you will get the straight scoop from him, and be able to make an informed decision regarding your bald spot. Post some pictures, if you can, I think we would all like to see them.

[finallyfree]

I think it is very important that you see a Dermatologist, who does NOT perform hair transplants.

Let him evaluate your condition.

Maybe perform a biopsy.

It seems extreme caution is called for, since you always had the bald spot but have now noticed fine hair growth after massaging the area.

A HT doctor may not be the best person to consult as the first step.

A dermatopathologist would be.

Whatever you do, be doubly careful.

[Bradley R. Wolf M.D.]

Tony,

You probably have a congenital condition called Temporal Triangular Alopecia (TTA). It's usually an oval shaped area of hairloss present since birth that doesn't change located above and forward of your ear. Often there are a few minaturized hairs growing in the middle of the area of loss. It's usually on one side but can be bilateral. Transplants grow very well here. One hundred to 200 grafts can generally be placed here. It's a perfect area for FUE to be used since a small number of grafts is needed. If in fact this is what you have there is no need to get a biopsy. I've done many TTA cases all with successful growth. Post photos here. Go to a reputable FUE doctor. Good luck.

[Ataylor]

-EDIT-

Bradley, I've sent you a PM.

 

Hey Bradley,

 

So that's what it's called, huh? It's amazing how I never knew that. It's located exactly above and forward of my right ear...weird! Anyway, your help is greatly appreciated, man, thanks a lot!

 

I read online that someone paid 13USD for each graft, so that gave me a ballpark figure on what I should expect - just incase anyone else might be wondering.

 

 

Also, thanks to everyone else for their effort, every bit of info either helped me or -atleast- shed some light on this matter for me.

 

Kind regards,

-Anthony Taylor

 

p.s. I'd post pictures but I don't have a camera nor do I have a scanner, so...

[Robert_]

Originally posted by Ataylor:

 

I read online that someone paid 13USD for each graft, so that gave me a ballpark figure on what I should expect - just incase anyone else might be wondering.

 

 

 

Actually, you will be pleasantly surprised to learn that the best hair restoration physicians in the country (and elsewhere) charge substantially less than $13 per graft for follicular-unit transplant surgery.

 

-Robert

[Ataylor]

Glad to hear that. I wasn't necessarily intending on scrounging around for the cheapest price; I have that "get what you pay for" mentality, but I surely won't refuse a good offer from a reputable Dr..

 

I have two more questions:

 

1.) If I do decide to go through with this procedure, will the implanted hairs act the same way all other hairs on my head do...naturally? Say for instance I lose my hair; or it starts to recede, will the implanted hairs recede as well; and at the same time, too, or will they stay in place?

 

2.) Is there any way that they can be implanted improperly -i.e. backwards (somehow), which would disrupt the natural flow of my hair?

 

I'd really appreciate if someone can address these two specific questions, as I have been meaning to ask these them for quite some time.

 

Thanks again,

-Anthony Taylor

[Ataylor]

Ok, well maybe just one more question:

 

What I'm wondering is, does the Dr. have to extract each graft from the same place on my head -which I'm noticing leaves a scar on the few patients I've seen-, or is it possible to extract from different parts of my head in order to prevent a consistent mark?

 

The thing is, that I usually cut the edges of my hair fairly short, due to the fact that my hair is slightly curly; and in order to keep it clean, I have to use a size 1 on the clipper.

 

And even if they can extract from the top portion of my scalp, I'd still prefer that I don't have a scar. So the question still stands.

 

Once again,

-Thanks

[rpm]

I had a procedure done 3 months ago, my hair is cut really short, and I had several people really look at the scar, but were barely able to tell that anything was done. Look up pics on this site refering the "ledge closure" technique.

[Telephone Man]

Welcome to the forums, I agree you need to have this evaluated by a dermatalogist. A friend of mine recently had an area that he was born with diagnosed as stage 4 melanoma, in case you are not familiar with a stage 4 check out the web, not great.

 

TMAN

[Robert_]

Originally posted by Ataylor:

1.) If I do decide to go through with this procedure, will the implanted hairs act the same way all other hairs on my head do...naturally? Say for instance I lose my hair; or it starts to recede, will the implanted hairs recede as well; and at the same time, too, or will they stay in place?

 

Normally transplanted grafts will retain their "DHT-resistant" characteristics since they are harvested from the donor area least likely to succumb to MPB. Your situation may differ, however. Only a very skilled and knowledgeable hair restoration physician would be able to answer this question satisfactorily.

 

Originally posted by Ataylor:

2.) Is there any way that they can be implanted improperly -i.e. backwards (somehow), which would disrupt the natural flow of my hair?

 

This is where the skill of the hair restoration physician that you select comes into play. You have a double-edged sword that you must pay attention to: not only do you have to ensure that the physician that you select is ethical, skilled, and produces great, natural results but you must also be sure that the physician is familiar with this condition. To further answer your question, however, take a look at some of the photo albums of patients in the Hair Transplant Patient Photo Albums forum. You will find that the most skilled physicians are experts at graft placement. Hair restoration surgery is truly an art and careful attention must be paid to the correct angulation of the transplanted grafts to ensure a natural look. Head and face shape and features play a huge roll in this process. The physician definitely has to be an artist as well as a superior medical doctor.

 

Originally posted by Ataylor:

What I'm wondering is, does the Dr. have to extract each graft from the same place on my head -which I'm noticing leaves a scar on the few patients I've seen-, or is it possible to extract from different parts of my head in order to prevent a consistent mark?

 

There are two current ways in which to harvest scalp hair for use in hair restoration surgery. FUT (follicular-unit transplantation) and FUE (follicular-unit extraction). You can get a rundown of both (including photos) here:

 

Follicular-unit transplant

 

Follicular-unit extraction

 

I hope this helps to answer your questions thus far. Let us know if you have any more.

 

-Robert

[Ataylor]

not only do you have to ensure that the physician that you select is ethical, skilled, and produces great, natural results but you must also be sure that the physician is familiar with this condition.

 

No one is helping me in this area. How does someone go about ensuring that the Physician is "Ethical" and "Skilled"?

 

Also, how would I know that this person is an artist and is excellent at what they do? Would you please give me some pointers as to what I should ask in order to confirm and validate their experience in this field?

 

Thanks again,

-Anthony

[Gorpy]

Anthony,

You can rest assured that Dr. Wolf who responded to you above is one of those ethical, skilled and artistic doctors.

 

Look at his photo gallery here

 

Notice one of his patients actually has the problem you were describing. You should not let geographic location influence your decision. Schedule a consultation, arrange a flight and see what you think.