Senior Member TakingThePlunge Posted March 27, 2009 Senior Member Share Posted March 27, 2009 Hey guys, I crunched some numbers today and now I'm feeling a little worried about my future outcome. I had my HT 12 weeks ago today (too soon to see any results I know) with Dr. Alexander. During my consultation, he said that my donor area looked very dense. I ended up with 2516 grafts and the hair breakdown was; 608 singles, 1885 doubles and 23 triples. I knew from the beginning that my number of triples was low but never thought about adding up the total number of hairs. My grafts only yielded a total of 4447 hairs! What got me thinking about this was that I was perusing Dr. Rahal's site and found a chart that says that, on average, 2500 grafts will yield between 5800 and 6300 hairs. If that's the case then my melon gave up over 1,000 hairs less than average! Should I prepare myself to be disappointed? David - Former Forum Co-Moderator and Editorial Assistant I am not a medical professional. All opinions are my own and my advice should not constitute as medical advice. View my Hair Loss Website Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member Ceasar08 Posted March 27, 2009 Senior Member Share Posted March 27, 2009 In my opinion, the most important thing is the quality of the hairs, not the number. For some people, 4000 hairs is literally like 8000 for others. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member wantego Posted March 27, 2009 Senior Member Share Posted March 27, 2009 a little worried about my future outcome. I had my HT 12 weeks ago today (too soon to see any results I know) with Dr. Alexander. During my consultation, he said that my donor area looked very dense. I ended up with 2516 grafts and the hair breakdown was; 608 singles, 1885 doubles and 23 triples. I knew from the beginning that my number of triples was low but never thoug I would not worry about that at this point being so early. How did you decide on 2500 grafts? I have seen some great results posted by Dr Alexander recently. I hope yours turns out great as well. 4374 grafts-7/2/2008-Dr Rahal 485 singles 2336 doubles 1526 triples 16 quads 9809 total hairs Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member TakingThePlunge Posted March 27, 2009 Author Senior Member Share Posted March 27, 2009 Thanks for the positive words guys. wantego, At my consultation, I simply asked Dr A how many grafts he recommended for me. He said 2500 would give me the result I was looking for. He showed me some patient photos of guys w/similar degrees of hair loss and a similar number of grafts and then drew the hairline on that he felt was appropriate. I trust him 100% and know he did the best with what he had to work with. I'm just hoping that I'll get a result that I'll be happy with for a while. I know I'll probably need another HT at some point but I'd like to be able to enjoy this one for a couple of years. You guys have put some of my fears to rest. Thanks again! David - Former Forum Co-Moderator and Editorial Assistant I am not a medical professional. All opinions are my own and my advice should not constitute as medical advice. View my Hair Loss Website Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member Hair of the dog Posted March 28, 2009 Regular Member Share Posted March 28, 2009 Hi TTP I am just 18 weeks out from surgery with Dr Alexander and I had the exact same worry. My breakdown was pretty similar yours, I had 647 single grafts, 1920 doubles and only 11 3+ hair grafts At the minute I getting quite a bit of growth coming through and I am feeling quite optimistic about things. Dr Alexander said he had packed the grafts in quite tightly and I can already see a "cosmetic" difference. The growth and hairline so far looks totally natural. I am sure you have similar exciting developments to look forward to, but it is a real b1tch waiting for it! Hope this helps. Cheers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member TakingThePlunge Posted March 28, 2009 Author Senior Member Share Posted March 28, 2009 Spex, I started Rogaine Foam and 1/4 Proscar daily one week after HT. I was really reluctant to get on the Finasteride but I knew I needed to slow further hair loss if possible when I saw the pics of my crown. Keeping my fingers crossed for a little thickening in that area. Hair of the dog, Nice to hear from a fellow Dr. Alexander patient. Your feedback was exactly what I was hoping for! Not only did you have a similar hair count but the same doc as well! Thanks again for all the valuable feeback! This is the best club I never wanted to belong to! David - Former Forum Co-Moderator and Editorial Assistant I am not a medical professional. All opinions are my own and my advice should not constitute as medical advice. View my Hair Loss Website Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill - Seemiller Posted March 28, 2009 Share Posted March 28, 2009 Taking the Plunge, In my opinion, you're going to have a great result. Don't get too hung up on the numbers. But continue to be realistic in your expections. 2500 grafts isn't going to give you true density or full coverage. You might want/need another procedure to give you the density/coverage you desire - but give your first one a chance to grow out before making a decision on another surgery. Hang in there my friend. Bill Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member TakingThePlunge Posted March 28, 2009 Author Senior Member Share Posted March 28, 2009 Bill, As always, your input is greatly appreciated! I feel like I have realistic expectations. I just became a little concerned when I realized that my donor strip produced around a thousand fewer hairs than average. From everyone's feedback it seems that this alone is not a major concern and I feel a lot better about it now. I love this community! In the old days, all you had was an ad in a magazine, a brochure or a TV commercial with faked photos and a local doctor you never heard of promising you the world. Today we have the world at our fingertips! The value of our shared knowledge and experience cannot be overstated! I understand you are going in for another HT soon. Best of luck! For anyone interested, I just posted 12 week pics on my blog. David - Former Forum Co-Moderator and Editorial Assistant I am not a medical professional. All opinions are my own and my advice should not constitute as medical advice. View my Hair Loss Website Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member Ceasar08 Posted March 30, 2009 Senior Member Share Posted March 30, 2009 Dr. Alexander seems to hit it out of the park every time... the fact that you chose him will be the most important factor in your outcome. It's easy to forget how many heads these doctors have seen. Dr. Alexander can take one look at your hair characteristics and know exactly how any grafts/hairs will achieve the desired effect, how far back to go, how dense to pack, etc. Everyone is different. Looking forward to hearing your updates... grow well! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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