Would a decent surgeon be willing to operate on an 18 year old?

[ohnoo]

So I'm 18 years of age and have a hairline that's somewhere between a norwood 2 and 3.

I'm transgendered and taking anti-androgens and estrogen so I was hoping that would make it different for surgeons as shouldn't loose anymore hair throughout my life.

I was just asking as Dr Madhu rejected me with a consultation and thought I should ask here...

[JimmyNeutron]

When I was 19 I went to Bosley for a FUT, I was NW3. They prescribed me with Propecia and told me to use Rogaine for 1 year, then I came back with thicker hair after 8 months. They were gonna operate me with 800 grafts on the hairline. I backed out because I didn't even have the money for it lol. I am happy I didn't do it to be honest, not because of horror stories or because I was afraid of Bosley, but because of eventually finding out about affordable FUE prices from foreign doctors who do good work. I always preferred FUE I just couldn't afford $24-30k dollars and still can't. I woulda done 800 graft FUT for like $6k. Looking back and knowing you can get like 3500 FUE grafts for around $12k with Dr Doganay or Dr Erdogan, it is silly to spend that much on FUT for such low amount of grafts.

 

I know I started babbling towards the end, sorry. The point is if you stabilize your hair loss and you are moderately high NW, yeah, I think a good surgeon would do work on you despite your age. But the key is stabilizing your hair loss if you are that young, that high a NW scale, in order to be a candidate. Worst case is they tell you to come back when you are 21 maybe?

[Mickey85]

So I'm 18 years of age and have a hairline that's somewhere between a norwood 2 and 3.

I'm transgendered and taking anti-androgens and estrogen so I was hoping that would make it different for surgeons as shouldn't loose anymore hair throughout my life.

I was just asking as Dr Madhu rejected me with a consultation and thought I should ask here...

 

I understand that you are taken estrogen and anti-androgens but I don't know if they stop hairloss 100%. If it is correct that they do, I can see some surgeons willing to perform a small and safe procedure. Where abouts are you located? I have seen transgender patients from recommended surgeons before. I think Lorenzo has performed on a few as well as Feriduni.

[ohnoo]

I've been on hormones for a year, so hair loss has definitely stopped and stabilised, though I didn't receive any thickening effects.

Regardless of if I get rejected, I guess if have to keep going to surgeons until I get one that accepts me. Hairloss is an extremely masculine trait that completely ruins my presentation and ability to function socially...

I'm australian and looking primarily at India for transplants, due to skilled surgeons and cheap prices

[bright]

why u try natural herbals for hair loss?

[ohnoo]

I haven't...I took actual medication.

[bright]

actual medication?u dont want natural medication?

[gillenator]

I've been on hormones for a year, so hair loss has definitely stopped and stabilised, though I didn't receive any thickening effects.

Regardless of if I get rejected, I guess if have to keep going to surgeons until I get one that accepts me. Hairloss is an extremely masculine trait that completely ruins my presentation and ability to function socially...

I'm australian and looking primarily at India for transplants, due to skilled surgeons and cheap prices

 

ohnoo,

 

You are still too young for a HT procedure IMHO. Even though you are actively taking anti-androgens and estrogens, there is no hard clinical substantiation that it will stop MPB or even reverse it. If you are experiencing some genetic hair loss stabilization, then we are all happy for you.

 

But what concerns me for you is the fact that both females as well as males are subject to MPB because of their genetic predisposition. I have heard from a fair number of women both young and older who are experiencing MPB and in every case was in their genetic profile (family history).

 

The difference are the thinning patterns although most females experience generalized thinning and diffusion throughout their scalps which can include the donor zones both occipital and parietal zones. Some females recede in the classic Norwood scale patterns whereby their hairlines begin to pull back with recession in the temporal lobe areas.

 

The reason you are too young is because when MPB is visibly apparent in the teens, it is almost always an indication of extensive hair loss in the future in both men and women.

 

Now if you are in gender transition, then possibly you would be a candidate for low dose finasteride which can help stabilize hair loss in the mid-scalp and crown. Very few individuals experience stabilization in the frontal zone and why many opt for surgical restoration in that area because of the progression of MPB over one's lifetime.

 

You may already be aware that meds that contain low dose finasteride like the infamous Propecia in North America or Finpecia in Europe are disclaimed to females because of the inherent potential risk to the genetalia of an unborn baby. Yet most transgenders are not planning to birth children so that disclaimer may not apply to them yet still would highly recommend seeking the initial advice of a licensed physician to discuss that issue before starting.

 

A fair number of transgenders that I have conversed with opt for a brow lift albeit still a surgical procedure but does not impede the scalp with transplanted grafts like traditional HT surgery.

 

Although you did not state why Dr. Madhu declined to perform a HT procedure for you, my premonition was some if not all of the reasons that I just stated.

 

Lastly, starting HT surgery in the frontal zone at such a young age can potentially accelerate the progression of hair loss meaning, the area that immediately adjoins the recipient zone begins to recede at an accelerated rate. This puts the patient in a position of having to "chase" further hair loss with more and more surgery.

 

This opinion may not be one that you wanted to hear nevertheless one that I strongly urge you to consider rather than just trying to find a surgeon who is willing to take your money.

 

Best wishes to you and want to encourage you to keep researching all of the risks related to surgical hair restoration before you make any decisions.

[ohnoo]

ohnoo,

 

You are still too young for a HT procedure IMHO. Even though you are actively taking anti-androgens and estrogens, there is no hard clinical substantiation that it will stop MPB or even reverse it. If you are experiencing some genetic hair loss stabilization, then we are all happy for you.

 

But what concerns me for you is the fact that both females as well as males are subject to MPB because of their genetic predisposition. I have heard from a fair number of women both young and older who are experiencing MPB and in every case was in their genetic profile (family history).

 

The difference are the thinning patterns although most females experience generalized thinning and diffusion throughout their scalps which can include the donor zones both occipital and parietal zones. Some females recede in the classic Norwood scale patterns whereby their hairlines begin to pull back with recession in the temporal lobe areas.

 

The reason you are too young is because when MPB is visibly apparent in the teens, it is almost always an indication of extensive hair loss in the future in both men and women.

 

Now if you are in gender transition, then possibly you would be a candidate for low dose finasteride which can help stabilize hair loss in the mid-scalp and crown. Very few individuals experience stabilization in the frontal zone and why many opt for surgical restoration in that area because of the progression of MPB over one's lifetime.

 

You may already be aware that meds that contain low dose finasteride like the infamous Propecia in North America or Finpecia in Europe are disclaimed to females because of the inherent potential risk to the genetalia of an unborn baby. Yet most transgenders are not planning to birth children so that disclaimer may not apply to them yet still would highly recommend seeking the initial advice of a licensed physician to discuss that issue before starting.

 

A fair number of transgenders that I have conversed with opt for a brow lift albeit still a surgical procedure but does not impede the scalp with transplanted grafts like traditional HT surgery.

 

Although you did not state why Dr. Madhu declined to perform a HT procedure for you, my premonition was some if not all of the reasons that I just stated.

 

Lastly, starting HT surgery in the frontal zone at such a young age can potentially accelerate the progression of hair loss meaning, the area that immediately adjoins the recipient zone begins to recede at an accelerated rate. This puts the patient in a position of having to "chase" further hair loss with more and more surgery.

 

This opinion may not be one that you wanted to hear nevertheless one that I strongly urge you to consider rather than just trying to find a surgeon who is willing to take your money.

 

Best wishes to you and want to encourage you to keep researching all of the risks related to surgical hair restoration before you make any decisions.

 

The reason I had been rejected by madhu was that he said he doesn't operate on patients younger than 23...

And Male pattern baldness is caused by testosterone, androgen blockers and dutasteride that I'm taking would stop it completely as I don't have the male hormones for it to progress. Whether it regrows or not is a completely different story.

The thing is that a receded male hairline is just not satisfactory in any way for someone who plans to prevent as female, it's pretty much a giant roadblock to their life.

[Blake Bloxham]

Ohnoo,

 

While I understand your predicament, I think Gillenator brings up some very valid points. If you are intent on seeking some sort of surgical restoration now, I suggest treading very carefully. Rushing into an unsatisfactory procedure now may actually create a worse situation down the road. If you want to explore the option further, I suggest speaking with some of our recommended hair restoration surgeons. These physicians are highly ethical and will not operate on a poor surgical candidate. However, your best option will still likely be stabilization with medication and surgery at a later date (after these medications have halted the progressive androgenic alopecia process and possibly provided some regrowth).

 

Best of luck! Please feel free to ask any additional questions.

[gillenator]

ohnoo,

 

MPB is a 100% genetic disposition from the family genes. Yes there are other types of alopecia but it sounds from your description of your hairline receding that it is in fact MPB.

 

Did the doctor you saw give you a formal diagnosis for MPB? If he did, the meds and anything else will never completely stop the recessionary loss. They simply buy us some time however MPB is progressive over our lifetimes which is a scientific fact.

 

Some conditions like MPB are treatable, but everyone responds differently to anything we ingest whether androgens or meds.

 

So my concern for you at such a young age is that once your hairline has HT surgery, it could potentially accelerate the loss because you are so young.

[ohnoo]

I've been diagnosed with mpb about a year ago.

But I still don't see how androgen related balding would continue when I have to DHT or even normal testosterone. The cause of the balding is literally gone.

[gillenator]

That's because MPB is indeed a genetic trait, not hormonal. There are various forms of alopecia yet MPB is genetically orientated.

 

Again, it's very nice to read your comments about the progression being greatly slowed or even appears to have stabilized. But from four decades of researching this, MPB continues to show evidence that it is progressive in nature.

 

Some progress faster than others so my wish for you is that you keep as much of your native hair as possible for as long as possible.