Need your Support and Help !!

[methodactor]

Hi Hair Lovers,

 

Need your valuable help and advice. I am 26 and loosing hair at a brisk pace. I really cannot tell the count but i can clearly make out the difference on the front. My hair has become visibly thin that people started pointing about my hair loss. I am in the entertainment industry and hair loss is really adding to my woes. I have done a lot of research and consulted a lot of them here in India. Richfeel clinic, Advanced Hair studio, Dr. Madhu, Dr. Radharani are few of them. I have zeroed out on Dr. Madhu/Dr. Radharani but have got few questions and concerns and hope the experienced folks would help me. Pl]’Xease refer to my pics.

 

1. Will finex stop my current condition of shedding ?

2. Dr. Madhu asked me to go for 3500 grafts as the first grafts are of good quality. What does that mean ?

3. If at all I want to go for second HT in future, will they be able to extract follicles?

4. My biggest concern is I am planning for go for Dense packing and Dr. Madhu said he will be able to do HT in between my existing frontal hair which is thin. I need it to be dense as part of my profession. I would like to know whether this causes any problem with the existing frontal hair?

 

 

Your help is greatly appreciated.

[Blake Bloxham]

Hi Method,

 

Let me see what I can do to address some of your concerns:

 

1. Finasteride is a proven preventive hair loss medication. Although the drug can cause an initial shedding period (which can last up to 3-4 months), the shedding subsides and eventually stops the progressive hair loss process (the "shedding" as you put it) and may even regrow some lost hair. Make sure you discuss any hair loss drug use with your hair restoration physician.

 

2. I'm not sure what was meant by "as the first grafts are of good quality." Maybe he was referring to the density of your donor region? Did Dr. Radha quote a similar number of grafts?

 

3. Yes, if you go back for a second hair transplant, the physician will still be able to extract additional follicles (either from the traditional "strip" method or Follicular Unit Extraction).

 

4. Transplanting follicles between your existing hair in the hairline/frontal scalp should not cause any damage to the existing hair. Granted, you could experience some post-operative "shock loss," which can make the native hair shed, but this would be temporary.

 

I hope this helps! Please feel free to ask any additional questions.

[gillenator]

methodactor,

 

Welcome to the community and see this is your first post.

 

More than anything, spend more time researching both the benefits as well as the risks associated with hair transplant surgery.

 

After seeing your pics, my first thought was, "Look at all of that hair". My first inclination was, "why are you getting a HT?"

 

You have tons of hair volume both attributed to the natural wave and curl and also the degree of hair caliber. You appear to be receding more than having a diffused hair loss pattern.

 

Still, with that much existing native hair, you risk shockloss of some of that hair and you could very well find yourself to begin "chasing" further loss which equates into more procedures, more money.

 

Overall, diffused thinners more subject to shockloss and some experience permanent shockloss to the very weakest hair.

 

I suppose you can bring your temple points forward but at your age I would not bring down your hairline any.

 

But IMHO, this does not equate into a large session and where are these proposed 3500 grafts going to be placed? Do you have crown loss as well?

 

Hard to imagine a session that large based on your pics unless they plan on lowering your hairline. We are all getting older not younger as you know so having too low of a hairline IMHO, does not look natural.

 

And if finex is indeed finasteride, then yes low dose finasteride IMHO is the most efficient hairloss medication available.

 

Keep in mind that if you are shedding now, the initial use of finasteride can induce more shedding in the beginning stages. The shedding does stabilize after continued use for most men, but everyone responds differently to meds.

 

Keep researching and again welcome to this forum.

[1978matt]

Totally agree with Gillenator.

 

One word: Finasteride

[methodactor]

Hi Method,

 

2. I'm not sure what was meant by "as the first grafts are of good quality." Maybe he was referring to the density of your donor region? Did Dr. Radha quote a similar number of grafts? .

 

 

Future Doc, thanks a ton for the reply. Dr. Radharani quoted 2500 grafts but she was not sure about doing HT in between existing hair. Is it a special skill to do HT between the existing hair ?

[methodactor]

methodactor,

 

 

After seeing your pics, my first thought was, "Look at all of that hair". My first inclination was, "why are you getting a HT?"

 

You have tons of hair volume both attributed to the natural wave and curl and also the degree of hair caliber. You appear to be receding more than having a diffused hair loss pattern.

 

 

But IMHO, this does not equate into a large session and where are these proposed 3500 grafts going to be placed? Do you have crown loss as well?

 

 

Keep researching and again welcome to this forum.

 

 

Thanks a lot Gillenator that was really helpful. I really want to go for the HT as I am in the entertainment industry where hair plays a major role. About the 3500 grafts, I have asked the doc for a dense look and they have suggested the figure. I am not really sure how the 3500 grafts are going to be placed and i have no loss on the crown. Having said that the shock loss is really a concern. Is there any way to stop it from happening ??

[xtatic5]

Thanks a lot Gillenator that was really helpful. I really want to go for the HT as I am in the entertainment industry where hair plays a major role. About the 3500 grafts, I have asked the doc for a dense look and they have suggested the figure. I am not really sure how the 3500 grafts are going to be placed and i have no loss on the crown. Having said that the shock loss is really a concern. Is there any way to stop it from happening ??

 

Shock loss is uncommon (less than a 50% chance) and there's nothing you can do to prevent it. If it happens, it shouldn't last more than a few months.

 

Careful, over-packing can cause blood supply issues leading to dormant grafts. I would definitely try "finax" and see if it regrows any hair before going for surgery.

[gillenator]

Thanks a lot Gillenator that was really helpful. I really want to go for the HT as I am in the entertainment industry where hair plays a major role. About the 3500 grafts, I have asked the doc for a dense look and they have suggested the figure. I am not really sure how the 3500 grafts are going to be placed and i have no loss on the crown. Having said that the shock loss is really a concern. Is there any way to stop it from happening ??

 

Sure you can stop it. Just tell them that you decided to pull back the numbers and be sure to have the doctor first draw in the proposed area where grafts would be placed. It may be that your doctor is thinking of doing something that may be very aggressive yet you are the one having the procedure done. How experienced is he at dense-packing? Does he have many cases to show you the end result?

 

You can always add density later if you choose to do so. Asking for a dense look is too vague. Have him state it to you in cm2 terms. If your virgin density is say 87 cm2, then you do not need the same to "look restored". Do you know what level your virgin density is at?

 

It never hurts to get more opinions.

[methodactor]

Shock loss is uncommon (less than a 50% chance) and there's nothing you can do to prevent it. If it happens, it shouldn't last more than a few months.

 

Careful, over-packing can cause blood supply issues leading to dormant grafts. I would definitely try "finax" and see if it regrows any hair before going for surgery.

 

I really appreciate your reply. Thank you. I am planning to give finax a shot before going for the HT.

[methodactor]

. How experienced is he at dense-packing? Does he have many cases to show you the end result?

 

You can always add density later if you choose to do so. Asking for a dense look is too vague. Have him state it to you in cm2 terms. If your virgin density is say 87 cm2, then you do not need the same to "look restored". Do you know what level your virgin density is at?

 

It never hurts to get more opinions.

 

Gillenator, once again thank you for taking your time out. Dr. Madhu is quite famous in this part of the world but I am not really sure about dense packing cases he dealt. Need to check. About the virgin density, I never heard about the term before. How to get it checked ? Will the HT surgeon be able to help me with that ?

Edited June 19, 2013 by methodactor
spelling miSTAKE !!

[gillenator]

methodactor,

 

You are very welcome. Virgin density is the volume of hair within the confines of the donor zone that is untouched from any prior HT surgery whatsoever.

 

Yes, any reputable HT doctor should be able to calculate an individual's donor density. The devices they use to evaluate density can vary. The idea is to evaluate different areas within the donor zone and count the number of FUs and total hair count within a defined surface area such as one square centimeter. A very simple device that can be used is a densiometer which has the 1 cm2 viewing lens already incorporated within the device. It also has a light switch to illuminate the area while viewing. I have two of them in my office. Radio Shack sells them at minimal cost.

 

They then can inform the patient something such as, "there are an average of 90 FUs per cm2". Total hair count is an average of 207 individual hair shafts. This equates to an average of 2.3 hair shaft per FU. Obviously this is a hypothetical example.

 

The surgeon may then make FUE extractions and decide to harvest an average of 30 FUs per cm2 so that the patient still retains approximately 2/3 of original donor density. In other words this could bring down your density to an average of 60 FUs cm2. This is not a problem with FUE unless the transection rate while doing manual extractions is high.

 

This is why choosing a surgeon very skilled at manual extractions is critical and why any patient needs to see consistent good FUE work from other patients of the doctor being considered. This includes consistent yields.

[methodactor]

methodactor,

 

You are very welcome. Virgin density is the volume of hair within the confines of the donor zone that is untouched from any prior HT surgery whatsoever.

 

Yes, any reputable HT doctor should be able to calculate an individual's donor density. The devices they use to evaluate density can vary. The idea is to evaluate different areas within the donor zone and count the number of FUs and total hair count within a defined surface area such as one square centimeter. A very simple device that can be used is a densiometer which has the 1 cm2 viewing lens already incorporated within the device. It also has a light switch to illuminate the area while viewing. I have two of them in my office. Radio Shack sells them at minimal cost.

 

They then can inform the patient something such as, "there are an average of 90 FUs per cm2". Total hair count is an average of 207 individual hair shafts. This equates to an average of 2.3 hair shaft per FU. Obviously this is a hypothetical example.

 

The surgeon may then make FUE extractions and decide to harvest an average of 30 FUs per cm2 so that the patient still retains approximately 2/3 of original donor density. In other words this could bring down your density to an average of 60 FUs cm2. This is not a problem with FUE unless the transection rate while doing manual extractions is high.

 

This is why choosing a surgeon very skilled at manual extractions is critical and why any patient needs to see consistent good FUE work from other patients of the doctor being considered. This includes consistent yields.

 

Thanks a ton for the detailed explanation.

[gillenator]

Best wishes to you my friend. You're going to be fine.