Hair Restoration Surgery

[Hairyonewas]

I went in and had a consult with a dermatologist who does hair restoration procedures the other day, and I wanted to ask you all about the things he told me. He seemed pretty adamant on the following points:

 

1. He was one of the best hair restoration surgeons in the area.

2. Hair is not to be transplanted to the crown (top) of head, because that hair will continue to fall out leaving a weird looking island. People don't care about the back of the head anyway, it's the front that matters.

3. Rogaine and Propecia are proven to work on that area.

4. Hair restoration surgery is a future looking procedure, and most people who do it are reluctant to do it on young people because they fail to understand that a 20 year old hairline is an unreasonable expectation.

5. Follicular transplants leave white, spotty dot-scars that look terrible, and it's an unreliable method because the instruments and hair crops are so minuscule.

 

He showed me his own hair transplant, which had left a thin scar spanning from ear to ear on the back of his head. It looked pretty bad, but he said he was still in the intermediary time. He was also pretty old, so I don't think he needed a really vigorous head of hair--in other words, I would not have been happy with it as a 22 year old, but for a 65 year old, it looked alright. Why would a 65 year old get a hair transplant, anyway?

 

His general course of action is to remove a two millimeter wide strip from the donor area--like a plug--then cut it up and put the pieces into the recipient area. Again, the recipient area being only the top front of the head.

 

Is it true that no hair transplants are done on the crown? Is Follicular Unit Transplantation really a shady business? Or is it really just a newer yet reliable technique that would be threatening to the business of doctors of a certain age, such as the one I consulted with.

 

I'm 22 years old, and I don't really want to be combing my hair over the crown of my head. Might it be better to just buzz my head? I won't be able to anymore if there are scars running across the back.

 

Also, do you guys know how much money these guys make in one surgery? I think it's almost unethical to consult and perform surgeries! Again, I'm 22. This guy said most doctors don't want to deal with immature 22-yr-old-hairline expectations and then the resulting 30 year old backlash when it all looks ridiculous, but he still said he was willing to do it. Another guy refused to even see me. Is that normal? I heard a different kid had been in for 14 treatments.

 

Thanks for reading. I'd really be interested in any experienced thoughts.

[HighTopFade]

Hey there HairyWS,

 

If you still have decent coverage... BUZZ IT! Buzz it but PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE use rogaine and have your "normal" dermatologist prescribe finasteride.

 

You can maintain the hair you have now and go after treatments in the future that are going to be a lot more advance.

 

 

Goodluck and stay in touch, man!

Edited December 13, 2010 by HighTopFade
whoa @ grammatical errors -- must have been drunk!

[gmonasco]

He was one of the best hair restoration surgeons in the area.

 

Can you imagine anyone who practices in that field not saying the same thing? What practitioner is going to tell you, "Yeah, I do hair restoration surgery, but my results are typically average at best"?

 

Hair is not to be transplanted to the crown (top) of head, because that hair will continue to fall out leaving a weird looking island.

 

It may not be advisable to transplant hair to the crown before the extent of the hair loss pattern in that area is evident, but it's far from an absolute that hair should never be transplanted into the crown.

 

People don't care about the back of the head anyway, it's the front that matters.

 

I would agree that the framing of the face is more aesthetically important than the fullness of the crown, but plenty of people still care about the appearance of the latter.

 

Rogaine and Propecia are proven to work on that area.

 

Technically true but misleading. They have proved to work well for some people, but the extent to which they work (and whether they work at all) can vary quite widely from person to person.

 

Why would a 65 year old get a hair transplant, anyway?

 

Why should a 65-year-old person be less concerned about his appearance than anyone else?

 

Again, I'm 22. This guy said most doctors don't want to deal with immature 22-yr-old-hairline expectations and then the resulting 30 year old backlash when it all looks ridiculous, but he still said he was willing to do it. Another guy refused to even see me. Is that normal?

 

In general, a 22-year-old is not far enough along developmentally for his future hair loss pattern to be established or predictable, so hair transplantation is not advisable for such a patient. (It would be a case of sacrificing long-term potential for an ephemeral gain.) I would be very, very leery of any doctor who was willing to perform such a procedure on someone that young (barring the most extraordinary of circumstances).

[hairthere]

If you want constructive advice on your situation I suggest you post some pics (you can obscure your face). The doc you visited sounds like he may be behind the times and technology being utilized in modern HT surgery. It's also suspect when any professional feels the need to pronounce himself "the best" in his field.

[HighTopFade]

 

Why should a 65-year-old person be less concerned about his appearance than anyone else?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

While I know what you are getting at, the OP is just generalizing... considering his(the doc's) age and all.

 

When someone is 65, it's acceptable that he's balding. No one goes around saying, "OMG, LOOK AT THAT BALDING 65 YEAR OLD MAN! LOL"

 

But people do go around saying things like, "OMG, that kid is balding?! How old is he? 20?"

[gmonasco]

When someone is 65, it's acceptable that he's balding. No one goes around saying, "OMG, LOOK AT THAT BALDING 65 YEAR OLD MAN! LOL"

 

When people reach middle age, it's normal for them to start developing wrinkles. No one goes around saying, "OMG LOOK AT THE CROW'S FEET ON THAT 45-YEAR-OLD WOMAN! LOL." Yet plenty of middle-aged women still undergo cosmetic surgery for such things nonetheless.

[Tom60]

wait, is this person a dermatologist AND a HT doctor?

 

Did you see the credentials? Have you checked that person in the hairrestoration website?

 

Honestly, if that doctor isn't on this site, than it can't be too good. No offense.

 

You are only 22 and have you tried any medication? Minoxidil? Anything?

 

We can help, we just need information.

[Hairyonewas]

Ok, cool, thanks for all the replies.

 

I do know the doctor specialized in Hair Transplantation, I don't know that what specific credentials he had, but he definitely didn't seem like a scam artist or anything. Again, his strong criticism of Follicular Transplants and his age kind of turned me off, because I've heard that the procedures done even 10 years ago are dramatically different than what's done nowadays. You're correct, he's not on this site.

 

I do use Minoxidil and I've been taking Propecia for about a month now. I've also tried the Crew Hair Trichnology patches and ointment, but it seemed kind of obscure so I exchanged it for Rogaine. I'm definitely thinning like crazy, and there's not like a bald spot on the crown but there should be soon if things continue to progress like they are. I have heard, however, that sometimes hair loss happens sporadically--that it could progress rapidly for several months then slow...but, that hasn't happened so far.

 

I personally don't even consider this "cosmetic"-- I'd almost call it reconstructive because I'm so young. It sucks. A 65 year old single woman wouldn't be deterred by a man's less than full head of hair (I think). I wouldn't mind if I started balding just a little later--maybe if I could just make it through most of my 20s, so it doesn't look so out of place beside my peer group. In that sense, I am kind of looking for a quick fix. In other words,I don't desire hair, I fear the lack of it.

 

Has anybody had any long-long term experience with Propecia and Rogaine. I know there's no across the board effects, but, as I'm probably in it for the long haul, I wanted to ask. Are there any studies on the effects of Propecia taken for multiple years? Has it really halted hair loss?

 

Also, has anyone gotten follicular transplantation surgery? How does it compare to other procedures? Did anyone have the surgery that leaves scars on the back of the head?

 

I don't have any pictures handy, but I googled balding and I think my hairline looks a lot like this guy's, not as thick on top, though:

 

[mattj]

If you're losing hair rapidly you really need to put the breaks on and see if the treatments you are taking put a stop to your hairloss before considering getting a transplant.

 

The points raised have been answered, but on the subject of different techniques and potential for scarring, what the doctor told you seems strange. Follicular Transplants (Follicular Unit Extraction or FUE) do leave tiny scars (although they can be barely visible) but as the doctor demonstrated on his own head, strip scars also cause scarring, and in one continuous line, so it is odd to try and portray FUE negatively on that basis. A completely pristine scalp is something that we must sacrifice if we want to take hair from one area and move it to another. It's a price we have to pay to restore hair to areas from which we have lost it. Fortunately, these days even a strip scar can be hard to detect with anything but the shortest of haircuts.