Regular Member Dr. William Lindsey Posted January 12, 2011 Regular Member Share Posted January 12, 2011 As some of you all may know, I am a proponent of shaving the recipient area and then packing it with good donor hair. While that is often "camouflagable" at least in part, sometimes people endure a few months of looking fairly different. Shown is a fellow we did at the very end of October. He had longish hair that was very sparse up front. We packed in 2500 grafts up front and went back his partline. One week pics are also shown. He stopped in Sunday, as he lives out of state and had a quick scar check. Other than extruding two deep dissolvable sutures, he looks great. Being asian, he has a bit higher scar risk than caucasions, therefore I was pleased to make sure things were and are going ok. A review of his hairline suggests that a some grafts didn't extrude or maybe he has a bit of growth. Hard to tell. Hopefully he'll stop in in a few months for more pics. I am posting this mainly to show folks who have similar hairstyle issues, what things may look like postop before growth starts. Dr. Lindsey McLean VA William H. Lindsey, MD, FACS McLean, VA Dr. William Lindsey is a member of the Coalition of Independent Hair Restoration Physicians Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member TakingThePlunge Posted January 13, 2011 Senior Member Share Posted January 13, 2011 Dr. Lindsey, Thanks for posting this patient's hair transplant photos. Lots of members do post questions about shaving for hair restoration surgery and have concerns about what they will look like post-op. This will definitely serve to help educate those that are on the fence when researching their options. As always, your work is impeccable. 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 Dr. William Lindsey Posted January 21, 2011 Author Regular Member Share Posted January 21, 2011 Its all part of the information that helps people make the right decisions for themselves. This site is excellent at providing a plethora of info that people can digest. Dr. Lindsey McLean VA William H. Lindsey, MD, FACS McLean, VA Dr. William Lindsey is a member of the Coalition of Independent Hair Restoration Physicians Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member Dr. William Lindsey Posted April 5, 2011 Author Regular Member Share Posted April 5, 2011 Well he came down from NY on Sunday to see relatives and stopped by. He's 5 months and 3 weeks out and is growing pretty well. As I predicted preop, he is now going to cut his long hair in the back and adopt a more business like haircut to go along with his new job. He'll be back in October for a 1 year check. Dr. Lindsey McLean VA William H. Lindsey, MD, FACS McLean, VA Dr. William Lindsey is a member of the Coalition of Independent Hair Restoration Physicians Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member TakingThePlunge Posted April 6, 2011 Senior Member Share Posted April 6, 2011 Dr. Lindsey, Thank you for taking the time to update us on this patient's progress. I look forward to his one year results. 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 LSorvats Posted April 6, 2011 Regular Member Share Posted April 6, 2011 Are these recent photos, or taken at 2.75 months post surgery (as the title suggests) therefore taken in January this year? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member Dr. William Lindsey Posted April 6, 2011 Author Regular Member Share Posted April 6, 2011 LSorvets Initial pics are perioperative and at 2.75 months. The ones I posted yesterday are from sunday. Thanks Dr. Lindsey McLean VA William H. Lindsey, MD, FACS McLean, VA Dr. William Lindsey is a member of the Coalition of Independent Hair Restoration Physicians Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member zo1279 Posted April 13, 2011 Regular Member Share Posted April 13, 2011 I am always curious...perhaps Dr. Lindsey can elaborate in regards to why exactly the area has to be shaved? Why do some docs do it this way vs. not shaving the area? Obviously I am sure there are medical reasons as hopefully Dr. L can explain for us but from a cosmetic stand point it is horrible to have to shave half your head...how can patients cover this? I know with my hair short i would have to ultimately shave my entire head to match and revealing the big scar at inception. I understand however that you have to look ugly before you turn into a butterfly but can this ultimately be avoided? Thanks in advance!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member Tao Posted April 13, 2011 Senior Member Share Posted April 13, 2011 That's a damn good question. I was fortunate in that I didn't have to have my head shaved like bozo. I always wonder how in the heck people who get shaved like that pull it off? Go into seclusion for 6 months? Wear a hat to work in the office? Who can do that? I think not shaving is definitely more work for the surgeon and slows things down. But I was very very appreciative of my doc's efforts in that regard. An HT was traumatic enough. Looking like a mad murderous clown and/or like you were hatcheted in the back of your head for months afterward would be a bit much. My Hairloss/Transplant Website: http://www.hairtransplantnetwork.com/blog/home-page.asp?WebID=1772 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member Dr. William Lindsey Posted April 20, 2011 Author Regular Member Share Posted April 20, 2011 I freely admit that I lose some patients to local competitors due to my shaving the recipient area. Four reasons we shave are: 1. Visibility and placement without getting tangled in nearby hair. I tell patients that if I asked them to fill out our registration form and then I covered it with hair and blood, or spaghetti and sauce, they'd not be able to see what they were doing and they'd likely fill out the form sloppily. 2. Dense packing. In my opinion, our office can pack tighter without other hairs around. We want to pack an area, not fill in around hair that is likely to "go" in a few years...so that A: the patient only has one procedure in a given recipient area and B: so that they don't think the transplant failed, when the "stragglers" eventually go away, leaving a very thin result, if not packed. 3. We don't do prophyllactic fill in cases, and generally only work on an area that is pretty thin or bald. See paragraph above. 4. Even if we do save hair or on the plug repairs we do, when we go right up to the existing plugs, without shaving them; there is a good deal of shock loss, and often the patient looks pretty similar at 1 month whether shaved or simply shocked. Just Monday, I had a guy come from a national chain center who'd had a "fill in" in his thinning hair, he'd then lost the native hair and didn't really look any better than before he paid them 12k. AND he said that while he wasn't shaved, as I propose, that he lost most of his hair in the recipient area for a few months anyway. There are many ways to skin a cat, and to do transplants. Shaving works for our office and a few others. But there are many excellent doctors who don't. These are the reasons we shave. Thanks for the question. Dr. Lindsey McLean VA William H. Lindsey, MD, FACS McLean, VA Dr. William Lindsey is a member of the Coalition of Independent Hair Restoration Physicians Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member zo1279 Posted April 20, 2011 Regular Member Share Posted April 20, 2011 Great. Thank you very much for your detailed response! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member Dr. William Lindsey Posted May 10, 2011 Author Regular Member Share Posted May 10, 2011 You're welcome zo. I put up a video on why I favor shaving and packing on youtube last weekend. It should be linked to my website soon. It has a couple of examples of folks who'd had a smaller hair case, "sprinkled" in existing but going hair....and how they wound up looking not really any better. I favor waiting until we can hopefully make a big change in the recipient zone, and then we're done there. Dr. Lindsey McLean VA William H. Lindsey, MD, FACS McLean, VA Dr. William Lindsey is a member of the Coalition of Independent Hair Restoration Physicians Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member bonkerstonker Posted May 10, 2011 Senior Member Share Posted May 10, 2011 Nice work that lindsey it's growing fast. Just thought i'd put my 2 pence in with regards to shaving. If you don't shave your hair there is no point having a ht because you're not being serious about the whole affair. The work needs to be tip top as it's gonna last forever and your ugly duckling phase will only last 3 or 4 months so that's a massive good to bad time ratio. I wouldn't let a decorater paint my house through my letter box so i'm not gonna let a surgeon transplant my hair through my existing hair. simple! Bonkerstonker! http://www.hairtransplantnetwork.com/blog/home-page.asp?WebID=1977 Update I'm now on 12200 Grafts, hair loss has been a thing of my past for years. Also I don't use minoxidil anymore I lost no hair coming off it. Reduced propecia to 1mg every other day. My surgeons were Dr Hasson x 4, Dr Wong x 2 Norton x1 I started losing my hair at 19 in 1999 I started using propecia and minoxidil in 2000 Had 7 hair transplants over 12200 grafts by way of strip but 700 were Fue From Norton in uk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member zo1279 Posted May 10, 2011 Regular Member Share Posted May 10, 2011 I think everyone is different...i have seen great results with doctors who shave and from doctors who do not...I don't necessarily think someone should choose one over the other just because of shaving but I can definitely see how it can be one of the things considered. I do though understand your point of having to just endure it and go through the ugly duckling stage. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member bonkerstonker Posted May 10, 2011 Senior Member Share Posted May 10, 2011 Trust me mate I look horrendous now at 7 weeks after ht and before my ht my hair could be styled so you could hardly tell my hair was thinning. I spent ten years hiding my loss and styling perfectly and worrying that it would get a bit messy and ruin the illusion I'd spent a hour making. I'm currently in a happy situation of knowing I have a different future to look forward to. Bonkerstonker! http://www.hairtransplantnetwork.com/blog/home-page.asp?WebID=1977 Update I'm now on 12200 Grafts, hair loss has been a thing of my past for years. Also I don't use minoxidil anymore I lost no hair coming off it. Reduced propecia to 1mg every other day. My surgeons were Dr Hasson x 4, Dr Wong x 2 Norton x1 I started losing my hair at 19 in 1999 I started using propecia and minoxidil in 2000 Had 7 hair transplants over 12200 grafts by way of strip but 700 were Fue From Norton in uk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member Dr. William Lindsey Posted May 17, 2011 Author Regular Member Share Posted May 17, 2011 There are many ways to skin a cat...and to do hair surgery. What works best for me it to shave...unless its filling in along an already transplanted hairline in someone who can't shave. But even in them, at a month, I suspect they'll have enough shockloss that they look the same as a shaved patient. As I've blogged before, shaving works best for my team and me. But there are certainly excellent doctors who choose not to shave and still get great results. It takes more work, and unfortunately many clinics (not the top ones mind you) don't appear to put in that extra effort. Its quite conceivable that they'd not put in the effort even with shaving either. Shaving is part of the equation. A bigger factor is hairline design and technician skill! Dr. Lindsey McLean VA William H. Lindsey, MD, FACS McLean, VA Dr. William Lindsey is a member of the Coalition of Independent Hair Restoration Physicians Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now