Hair Transplant at a Young Age...Personal Advice

[seeker2014]

I want to preface this post by stating I will not be sharing the name of my doctor who is a recommended/coalition surgeon (however, he is rarely mentioned in threads). This post is meant to provide advice for younger patients considering a hair transplant...if you would like to PM me with a short list of possible surgeons, I would be more than happy to review it.

 

I underwent my HT at 24 years old. I had conducted research about my doctor and felt confident he would provide me with an honest assessment of my situation. During the consultation, I shared my family history (early balding does run in my family) and my expectations for the procedure. The doctor recommended 2500 grafts concentrated in the first 2/3 of my scalp via FUT with a conservative hairline (at the time, I hadn't lost any hair from my vertex). I was satisfied with the proposed plan and set a date for three months out.

 

The surgery occurred without a hitch and, fortunately, the scar healed up reasonably well (I can buzz my hair down to a 2 guard with some blending). 1 year post-op, I was extremely happy with the results. However, approximately 15 months post-op, I all of a sudden started to concede some significant ground. Despite being on finasteride (1.25 mg/daily) and minoxidil for six years, I started to lose hair from the transplanted area and vertex. Evaluating my current situation, I am probably heading towards a NW 6 or 7 (I am a diffuse thinner). Do I blame my doctor for what is probably a natural progression of hairloss?...no. However, in retrospect, I do assign a certain amount of blame to my doctor and the rest to myself:

 

(1) I wish my doctor would have been more honest with me. During the consultation, he never mentioned the high probability of more procedures down the road and failed to address the unique complications of someone with a diffuse pattern of hairloss. On my part, I should have scheduled additional consultations for more expert input--this is especially critical for a younger patient since your ultimate hairloss pattern is harder to predict. I believe other doctors would have advised me not to undergo the procedure or, at the very least, wait a few more years.

 

(2) For a younger patient, FUE is probably a better option than FUT. I am not trying to incite a FUE vs. FUT debate since I believe each technique has its merits. However, for someone who is young without a definite hairloss pattern, FUE presents a lower risk of observable scarring. Probably the best option is to wait closer to 30 when your hairloss pattern will be more established, choosing the technique that is best suited for your needs.

 

(3) Think long-term. As a young patient, it is easy to fixate on correcting your hairloss NOW in order to restore a "fleeting youth". However, it is important to project how severe your hairloss might become and if you are willing to undergo multiple procedures. Even though I just turned 27, it has become easier for me to accept what is almost inevitable (an advanced NW stage since I am probably not the best HT candidate). This has helped me concentrate on what I can do later down the road to possibly improve my current situation (e.g. receiving a small FUE procedure to hopefully get down to a 2 guard without blending or, optimistically, a 1 guard).

 

Well, sorry for my long post, but hopefully this will be of benefit to someone

[chrisdav]

Great post there - you have brought up some very important points and no doubt it will be use to other prospective patients seeker2014.

[1966kph]

Nice thread seeker.

We see it all to often were younger sufferers lose a bit in the hairline and jump straight into a ht to reverse this pattern. Or if say their a norwood 3-4 then get a 4000 - 5000 fue with little understanding of what is going to happen in future years.

Its one of my biggest concerns regarding younger patients that they don't plan for the future when deciding to go with the low hairlines.

Research Research Research to save yourself real problems to come.

Have a good day.

[seeker2014]

Thanks for the responses chrisdav and 1966kph. I really felt inspired to write this thread as I have lost my hair twice since high school. I experienced significant recession starting at 17 which I then largely recovered by jumping on finasteride/minoxidil at 18. I then experienced gradual recession starting senior year of college until undergoing the HT at 24, conceding ground once again to my present state. All in all, fortunate to escape with a manageable hairline and scar, but definitely the wiser from the experience. I really hope this thread will prevent younger patients from pursuing something that might might ultimately not be attainable with advanced early stage hairloss....or might require revised expectations once evaluating the severity of hairloss at the age of 30. I have been researching doctors for FUE into FUT and not committing to anything for at least another year and multiple consultations.

[fortune11]

You raise some very important points . I started losing my hair at an early age (I was 19 when my college roommate pointed out emerging bald spot on the crown) and god knows it was all I could think about when I would be in public . Thinking back now , I realize how silly that obsession was.

 

Thankfully for me I waited till 28 to get my first HT , if for no other reason than I didn't think I could afford it before then. By that time the follicular grafting technique was in full vogue (FUT not FUE) and I was lucky that my first and only interaction was with Shapiro Medical Group . Matt Zupan bluntly told me being a diffuse thinner I was heading towards a NW5-6 and even if they took all my donor supply and placed it on my scalp, my eventual appearance decades from then, would be no better than it was now . I was disappointed but very glad to hear the truth upfront. Dr Ron designed a very conservative hairline (receded NW 2) and one which looks very natural on me as I am nearing 40. Now pretty much all the hair I have on the front and mid scalp is transplanted hair from HTs #1 and #2 .

 

One thing I have learned is HT hair is better than my natural hair in the sense that the way Dr Ron (and then Dr ZIering) placed the grafts , the optical illusion it creates in the front makes the density look like 1.5-2x than what it naturally would be otherwise . This one fact , besides just # of grafts , is a major item that can make or break a hair transplant.

[thatoldchestnut]

Fantastic, thoughtful post Fortune.

 

Although your perspective is certainly not unique among the patrons of this site; it's definitely nice to read such a considerate approach. I hope it will provide others with some (at times, much needed!) context if and when they decide to undergo surgery, or anything of the like.

 

Even though I'm not quite as young as some (or as I'd like to be for that matter ) I'll definitely be trying my best to take these matters in hand, if and when that fateful day should arrive!