Hair transplant age considerations

[Jugendlich]

Recently i had hairline work done by clinic recommended by this website, before my op i was turned out by many other clinics due to my low age (early twenties) even though i had stated that if i experience further hairloss i will shave completely down with no guard or razor. I had dense head of hair but a recessed NW3 hairline on already high forehead so growing it out was not a good option for me, i't looked better shaved but it frustrated me as i still had lots of thick healthy hair left. Now 9 months post op i buzzed it with no guard and no one could tell that i had done anything, donor scarring is undetectable and even with shaved look it gives some frame to face and looks much better that before i had done anything, i won't be having any regrets long term.

 

However the yield was not optimal and right side of my hairline didn't turn out dense enough to make me satisfied so now i have to get further work done if i want to grow it out. What frustrates me is that some of the best clinics which perform manual extraction with great success turned me down only because of my low age even though i expressed clearly my situation. So i couldn't choose a best clinic based on my research and which would have best suited me my specific case and went to turkey for micromotor extraction and choi implanter (only because they were the only ones who agreed to perform FUE despite my age) and didn't get optimal result and had to shave it down anyways!!

In the end of the day i remained with a bald look and i can't understand why some clinics are not ready to perform FUE on guys in their twenties who are ready to shave their heads but just PREFER to wear hair? As the yield was not optimal i have now wasted some valuable grafts which i can't get back and it frustrates me! I'm not slacking the clinic as these things sometimes happen, however i believe that for fine caucasian hair manual extraction is a benefit and provides a better outcome. I attached a few pics to demonstrate my situation. I would have gone to BHR clinic for manual extraction and pre made incisions but they turned me down and i just can't understand why as i clearly expressed them my specific case. I would like to provoke discussion on the subject and hear your opinions on this.

 

I attached photos of donor and recipient 9 months post op, a pic of hairline before any surgery and donor 1 day post op.

[sl]

Hi Jugendlich

 

I am not sure what rep at BHR you dealt with so apologies I don't have specific information on you but if a patient is in early 20s and NW3 then probably was the reason why we were not comfortable to offer surgery as seemingly others also were not from what I read.

 

Hair loss is progressive and for us that is very young to commit to surgery and there may have been other options for you also to explore in terms of medication and waiting and seeing how things developed.

 

Clinics will have different protocols so some will believe it is the right decision and others will not, this is not a criticism but a reality and we prefer and are known to be a conservative clinic and I would have personally been suprised had we offered a hair transplant to some one who is early 20s with your loss.

 

Please feel free to email the rep that you had dealings with and I am sure they would be happy to expand on the reasons if not clear to you in the emails you received and they will have more information than me so can give a more detailed reply.

 

Sorry we were not able to offer and hope you see improvement in the next months as if I read correctly your surgery was 9 months ago and if so then things can still change and as said the advisor you spoke to can give more specifics to you if you'd like to see why we were not keen on offering surgery.

 

Best wishes.

[chrisdav]

Jugendlich,

 

Why did you go ahead with surgery if you were refused by a number of good clinics? Surely that was an indication itself.

[Swooping]

Were/are you on propecia?

 

Btw do you have a post-op picture which shows how much yield you got with long hair (recipient)? Would be nice, thanks.

[Jugendlich]

Jugendlich,

 

Why did you go ahead with surgery if you were refused by a number of good clinics? Surely that was an indication itself.

 

I got the impression by their responses that they refused since there is possibility of experiencing further hairloss behind the transplanted area which would lead to unnatural appearence if the hair is GROWN OUT. However when shaved it becomes a non issue and i had nothing to lose since i was already spending most of my time with shaved head. I just would like to have possibility to have good frontal hair as long as possible and then when it progresses too far shave it down and live with it for the rest of my life.

 

As i stated i'm not criticizing the clinic i went to since they were really professional and did their best, i just feel that in my case with fine straight hair i would have benefitted from different approach (manual extraction & pre made incisions) and feel that choi implanter is more beneficial for those with thick hair (asian, turkish people). However they were the only ones who understood what i was trying to express. I think that every case should be handled on case-by-case basis and in certain cases there is nothing wrong to get it done in your early twenties.

[Jugendlich]

Were/are you on propecia?

 

Btw do you have a post-op picture which shows how much yield you got with long hair (recipient)? Would be nice, thanks.

 

I can send you photos at some point. I have been taking finasteride, minoxidil and nizoral shampoo for over 2 years with great success and ZERO side effects. The reason i made this post was not to complain about my result but rather provoke discussion about the pros/cons of getting a HT at a young age when it usually affects you the most.

[chrisdav]

Jugenlich,

 

It is difficult losing your hair at any age but I feel it is probably most difficult in your younger years so I understand the decisions you made.

[ej]

I wish my first doctor had turned me down when I was a 22 year old, as this would of saved me a lot of heartache, misery and expense, and at this age I had no idea what I was getting into.

 

I think it is misguided to think you can have fue and then shave down and not worry about anything. I think a lot of people assume this, and then end up on the transplant treadmill, constantly going back for more grafts as mpb progresses. Some run out of donor, and when shaven are left with an odd baldness pattern, that does not look natural in any way, temples and hairline grafted with nothing behind it will look strange, shaven down or not.

 

I always think its odd for anyone to opt for a transplant and then to shave down, I would save the cash and shave down anyway, most are aware that a transplant is an illusion of density, created by grafts placed effectively, a hair style that compliments the transplant, and products all work together to create an optimum result.

 

Who was the doctor in Turkey that performed your procedure? Have you got any clearer pictures of the hairline as these would be interesting to see also? At such a young age I think most doctors would turn a client down as it becomes a question of ethics, it would be informative for others considering a procedure to know who these other doctors besides bhr were, perhaps you could share this info also?

 

All the best

 

ej

[1978matt]

You made a mistake, unfortunately. It happens to the best of us. Dr Bernstein can put it into words better than I can:

 

Age for Hair Transplant Topic | Bernstein Medical

[Swooping]

You made a mistake, unfortunately. It happens to the best of us. Dr Bernstein can put it into words better than I can:

 

Age for Hair Transplant Topic | Bernstein Medical

 

I laughed a bit at point 1;

 

In a young person, particularly one younger than 25, it is very difficult, if not impossible, to accurately determine the stability of ones donor area, i.e. to tell for sure if the hair in the donor area will be resistant to DHT over the long-term. If a surgeon performs a hair transplant on a patient who has an unstable donor area, the transplanted hair will disappear over time.

 

So what does he want to say here exactly? He can't predict donor stability in a young guy but he can predict donor stability in someone who is older?

 

Unless Dr. Bernstein is a clairvoyant I don't see how he would be capable of that. So that's a very weak argument in my opinion.

[1978matt]

I laughed a bit at point 1;

 

 

 

So what does he want to say here exactly? He can't predict donor stability in a young guy but he can predict donor stability in someone who is older?

 

Unless Dr. Bernstein is a clairvoyant I don't see how he would be capable of that. So that's a very weak argument in my opinion.

 

I think what he is trying to say is that beyond 25 you can study the donor area and have a better idea what is going on (percentage miniaturisation, specific zones of thinning, future NW class).

 

The extent of stable donor area is not known until basically the day you die. On a scale between 18 and 80 years old, at 21 a doctor might have a 20% chance of predicting safe donor, whereas at 79 years old it is a 99% chance, the point being that the longer you wait the better chance you have of making the right call.

[Swooping]

I think what he is trying to say is that beyond 25 you can study the donor area and have a better idea what is going on (percentage miniaturisation, specific zones of thinning, future NW class).

 

The extent of stable donor area is not known until basically the day you die. On a scale between 18 and 80 years old, at 21 a doctor might have a 20% chance of predicting safe donor, whereas at 79 years old it is a 99% chance, the point being that the longer you wait the better chance you have of making the right call.

 

Understand, but it's far from conclusive. Let's assume a 20 year old and a 40 year old with both a good donor. Now the 20 year old may still have a excellent donor at the age of 50. While the 40 year old, 5 year later is having a rapid decrease in donor quality.