Temple Point Restoration:

[Tom R.]

Hi Everyone,

 

While I've done a good job of keeping up with my hair loss, I've always had a problem with the temple point of on left side. Without going into too much detail, when I was a VERY young boy, I got a bit upset and grabbed a hunk of hair and pulled it out. Unfortunately, some of the hair was near the temple and it never grew back. Well, now that I've been battling and keeping enough of what I have, I considered having the temple restored. It really is noticable but more so to me than the average person on the street. So it's not a matter of why I should get it done but perhaps by whom.

 

I had an evalutaion with a top notch surgeon and while he was willing to perform the procedure, he mentioned the problems with texture of donor hair when compared to that of the temple area. I asked if nape of neck hair could be used as that hair has similar characteristics to that of temple hair. He said yes but in his voice and manner, I could tell he was still a bit hesitant.

 

That being said, I'm looking for some imput form those who've had temple restoration and found the characteristics/aesthetics quite satisfactory. If you prefer, a PM is fine too. Thanks and Happy Holidays.

[JoeKid0000]

According to Dr. Rassman, using neck hair might not be a good idea:

 

Transplanting from My Hairy Neck - Balding Blog

[kathie47]

I would also not recommend that neck hair be used for the temporal region.

 

How many physicians have you consulted? I am sure that you will get mixed opinions of this.

 

I bet if the grafts were small enough you should be ok. This forum is a great way to start your research. The people here are full of knowledge.

[hairthere]

I did a temple point fue procedure with very thick donor hair and the results look very natural so far.

[Dr. Timothy Carman]

While it is true that there is a challenge in recreating the temporal points, their artful recreation should not be a problem in the hands of a skilled and artistic hair restoration surgeon and his team.

I also do not recommend the use of nape hair, for the following reasons:

1. Taking hair from that area can leave a very noticeable scar as there is a great deal of soft tissue movement in that area;

2. The hair on the male scalp at the inferior borders also is sensitive (to greater or lesser degrees in different individuals) to DHT and may undergo further miniaturization and subsequent disappearance- not a quality you desire in transplanted grafts.

I would encourage you to interview another surgeon- one that makes you feel comfortable that they are confident in their opinions, plans, and observations.

[mattj]

Did you meet the doctor or show him photos of your hair? It's possible that his recommendation was based on an evaluation of your hair characteristics and not his general thoughts on restoring temple points. Do you have especially coarse hair? In general I think that temple point restoration can have very good results.

 

My personal opinion regarding the use of neck hair is that it can be a good idea as long as the patient is aware that the hair might not be completely permanent. It should remain with you for a long time (especially if you don't have aggressive hairloss) and considering that it's outside of the usual donor area you won't have depleted your graft supply. Worst case scenario is that the result is temporary and after a while you are back to where you started minus the cost of the procedure. A patient who knows these things can make an informed decision.