Taking the Surgical Plunge - Please help!

[Duckie]

Dear all

 

I have decided to take the surgical plunge to correct my high hairline. I have some last minute questions to ask before I wire money over to Dr Path in Bangkok. Appreciate if you could answer my questions based on your post-op experience.

 

i) I was told that each of us have about 70-100 grafts per cm sq of our scalp; but Dr Path will only do 50 grafts per cm sq for transplanted hair. My whole rationale for correcting my high highline is so that as a woman, I could tie up all my hair into a beautiful ponytail (which I can't now without looking like I've lost hair in the front). I am worried that because it's only gonna be 50 grafts per cm sq, my transplanted hair will look obviously less dense than the rest of my head, and it'll be obvious when I tie my hair up. Will it??

 

Dr Oravan was kind to help me meet an actual HT patient at their clinic. But he was a man, and he kept his hair short - so his transplanted hair looked like it blended in with the rest of his original hairs. But I'm not sure if it'll still look beautiful if I keep my hair long/tie it up.

 

ii) Are you happy with the results of your eyebrow transplants?

 

iii) What happens if I accidentally pluck out my transplanted hair after it's grown out? I know that the whole rationale with HT is that when the transplanted hair first fall off after operation, the bulb still says within the skin - when the transplanted hair breaks through and starts growing, it's because the bulb had remained within the skin. But if I accidentally pluck out my hair, do I not pluck it out by the bulb - and therefore no hair will grow? I am asking because I notice that when I sometimes accidentally pluck out a hair strand, there is a thick bulb-like end to the hair strand.

 

Thank you for taking the time to help me!

[1978matt]

50 grafts per cm will look very dense. Don't forget that each graft has an average of 2 hairs so what you will get is about 100 hairs per sq cm.

 

I think if you were to attempt a greater density there would be a risk of a poorer yield.

[Duckie]

50 grafts per cm will look very dense. Don't forget that each graft has an average of 2 hairs so what you will get is about 100 hairs per sq cm.

 

I think if you were to attempt a greater density there would be a risk of a poorer yield.

 

thanks for replying matt! what are your HT experiences? Do you have any knowledge on Question 3 about hair being plucked out?

[Bill - Seemiller]

Duckie,

 

Welcome to our discussion forum and social community. Dr. Pathomvanich is an excellent physician and will take good care of you.

 

50 FU/cm2 is typically plenty of hair for most people. I recently responded to a similar question on another topic so I recommend clicking here for a more detailed explanation of what these numbers mean and optimal density, etc.

 

Regarding "plucking" of hairs, I wouldn't recommend it. While an accidental plucking once in awhile most likely won't cause any damage to the route, continual pulling on the hair can cause damage to the root and cause permanent hair loss. This includes conditions lke trichotillomania and traction alopecia.

 

I hope this helps.

 

Best wishes,

 

Bill

[Duckie]

Duckie,

 

Welcome to our discussion forum and social community. Dr. Pathomvanich is an excellent physician and will take good care of you.

 

50 FU/cm2 is typically plenty of hair for most people. I recently responded to a similar question on another topic so I recommend clicking here for a more detailed explanation of what these numbers mean and optimal density, etc.

 

Regarding "plucking" of hairs, I wouldn't recommend it. While an accidental plucking once in awhile most likely won't cause any damage to the route, continual pulling on the hair can cause damage to the root and cause permanent hair loss. This includes conditions lke trichotillomania and traction alopecia.

 

I hope this helps.

 

Best wishes,

 

Bill

 

Hey Bill

 

Thanks for helping out!

 

Our hair falls off according to our natural hair-growing cycle. But it will regrow again because the of the hair bulb that resides beneath the skin. What I want to understand is -

 

i) When hair falls out, does it always falls out with the root still intact beneath the skin? Or does it fall out sometimes along with the root? How do we tell?

 

ii) When we pluck off a hair strand, do we pluck it out in its entirety such that the hair will no longer grow? From the articles your provided, seems like this is a yes/no answer, depending on how much you yank it out. Asking because I recently plucked out a white hair - they say if you pluck out your white hair it won't grow again because you yank it out (by the root).

 

If it helps, I've been taking He Shou Wu lately - a chinese medicine that's been known to keep white hairs away.

Reverse Gray Hair with He Shou Wu

[Duckie]

Hey guys! I have a few more questions and I hope you could help!

 

iv) Has anyone done an extensive long term study of HT patients? Say 10 years on, are HT patients more susceptible to hairloss because of the stress caused by HT operation?

 

v) Has anyone not been able to grow the shock-loss hair back from HT operation?

 

Asking because I don't suffer from hair loss. I am considering HT purely for cosmetic reasons - to lower my hairline. I don't want to go for HT and then have it cause me to suffer from hair loss. However, I am quick sick of living with a huge forehead.

 

Thanks in advance for helping!

[Duckie]

I think I may be balding in the centre. Not many members have replied to my thread... if you come across this, please tell me what you think!

[gasto]

Duckie, hair does not fall permanently unless the dermal papillae is damaged. The bulb contains these cells so that they can produce stronger, longer hairs. Damaged or mutilated dermal papillae will cause permanent hair loss. If you pull one hair through force, you will notice a yellowish substance at the bottom, that is the follicule but not the dermal papillae, which will make the whole mature hair to grow within 3 months or so.

[gasto]

The following will help you understand what I previously wrote better:

 

(Link removed by moderator)

Edited August 9, 2012 by TakingThePlunge

[Duckie]

Thanks Gasto! but which question were you trying to help me answer?

[TommyLucchese]

It should like normal tied back. Lots of men have their head up at the right or slicked back and, if done right, looks completely normal. I've also seen quite a few results where the men have grown long hair (of particular interest to me) and again, looks great.

 

Have you looked up female patient results? That should give you a better understanding.

 

Shock loss, as far as I've read, all grows back within a few months, I don't know if you're going bald but I'd suggest taking another photo of it in a month, two months, three months etc and comparing to see if there's any change.

[Duckie]

Dear TommyL,

 

Thanks for your comments! I have looked up female patients, but I think I haven't met enough HT patients in real life to be confident of HT - time I start seeking them out in my country for a meet up!

 

I always wonder if the patch at my crown is just natural (because I naturally have thinner and lesser hair) or I have genetic balding, the slow kind..that may not show within 3 months Though it does appear that the patch has gotten obvious this year!

[gasto]

The link only showed a diagram of the hair follicules and skin layers, I have no idea why it was deleted by the moderator.

 

Anyway, it was responding your question of whether when you pull one hair out with their follicules, would it regrow? The answer is generally: Yes.