how long would a donor strip be for 3000 grafts?

[azn_guy]

Hey Everyone,

 

Any idea how long a donor strip would be for 3000 grafts?

 

This is what I've come up with especially with asian hair characteristics.

 

Usually Caucasians have on average 100,000 hairs, while Asians have 80,000 (this is only an average), simply do a search online "asian hair, 80,000" a bunch of articles will come up

 

So considering 80,000 hairs, assuming 2 hairs per follicular unit, there should be 40,000 FU's

 

the dht-resistant hair around your head takes up 25%, meaning 25% of 40,000 is 10,000

 

so it looks like I have roughly 10,000 grafts to work with.

 

Assuming I take 3000 grafts, and I have roughly 80fu/cm, this means I would need one of the following

 

a) 21.4cm x 1.75cm strip (3000/80/1.75 = 21.4cm)

 

b) 25cm x 1.5cm strip (3000/80/1.5 = 25cm)

 

c) 30cm x 1.25cm strip (3000/80/1.25 = 30cm)

 

d) 37.5cm x 1cm strip (3000/80/1 = 37.5cm)

 

I don't know about you guys, but a 25, 30, and 37.5cm strips lengthwise is REALLY long...

 

This is of course assuming I have 80fu/cm, (I could have 100fu/cm, but then again I have asian hair)

 

Any thoughts?

[azn_guy]

Hey Everyone,

 

Any idea how long a donor strip would be for 3000 grafts?

 

This is what I've come up with especially with asian hair characteristics.

 

Usually Caucasians have on average 100,000 hairs, while Asians have 80,000 (this is only an average), simply do a search online "asian hair, 80,000" a bunch of articles will come up

 

So considering 80,000 hairs, assuming 2 hairs per follicular unit, there should be 40,000 FU's

 

the dht-resistant hair around your head takes up 25%, meaning 25% of 40,000 is 10,000

 

so it looks like I have roughly 10,000 grafts to work with.

 

Assuming I take 3000 grafts, and I have roughly 80fu/cm, this means I would need one of the following

 

a) 21.4cm x 1.75cm strip (3000/80/1.75 = 21.4cm)

 

b) 25cm x 1.5cm strip (3000/80/1.5 = 25cm)

 

c) 30cm x 1.25cm strip (3000/80/1.25 = 30cm)

 

d) 37.5cm x 1cm strip (3000/80/1 = 37.5cm)

 

I don't know about you guys, but a 25, 30, and 37.5cm strips lengthwise is REALLY long...

 

This is of course assuming I have 80fu/cm, (I could have 100fu/cm, but then again I have asian hair)

 

Any thoughts?

[imissthebarber]

I haven't gone through your maths in detail but the numbers sound about right to me EXCEPT that you don't have 10,000 to work with. If there are 10,000 in the safe zone the likelihood is you have around 5,000 to work with. If you took out all the safe zone you would be left with no hair at the back of your head a and a visible scar.

 

I think strip scars tend to be pretty much the same length whether they are 2000 or 4000. The difference may be from 25-31cm (dependent on head size etc. and how aggressive the doc is). I'm pretty sure that 37cm would be going outside the universal safe zone. The number of grafts is mainly determined by the width of the strip removed. I guess you could ask whether the doc could take a fatter shorter strip, but as your calculations show it won't be that much shorter. For most guys the issue is how short you can wear the hair after you've done it. Put it like this, how many people do you know with 21cm scars on their head? Not too many right. So even if your scar ended up at 21cm you'd still probably want to hide it. A 21cm scar because the strip was wider might be more visible than the longer thinner strip as it would have to be closed with more tension and therefore the risk of stretching would likely be higher.

 

Anyway, it is your call, best of luck with whatever you decide. You could always consider FUE if you don't want the long scar.

 

Also don't think it is all about the numbers because it definitely isn't. Although Asians may have fewer hairs they tend to be thicker. Dr Rassman recently stated that a coarse hair could have 3-4 times the volume of a fine hair. So even if you have 20% fewer hairs than caucasians this will be likely more than outweighed by the thickness of each strand.

[hairthere]

my strip for 3200 grafts is ear to ear.

[azn_guy]

good point guys, 21cm strip would essentially be the same as a 25cm strip, you would still want to hide it.

 

btw, I am only wondering right now. Is this something you could recommend?

 

for example, if you're the type to keep the sides short due to hair style, you would ask the doctor to do a 21cm strip and go wider rather than longer.

 

I think doctors like using the side hair for temporal restoration as well.

 

my math could be incorrect too feel free to correct me!

 

It concerns me regarding the "only 5000", I was anticipating 10,000 fu's, the more the better right?

[Dr. Scott Alexander MD]

azn_guy_001, when talking about the human body and something that happens in nature it is impossible to use any of your mathmatical equations to figure out something that has so many variables as the amount of scalp you need in a strip to equal 3000 grafts. That is why dr's need to see patients in person to get a good idea of how much hair is available for transplant and how much scalp is needed to reach that goal. First, the hair in the back of the head is usually much more dense than the hair on the sides. Second, the scalp in the back usually has more elasticity than the sides. You need to figure in all of these variables to give an estimate on how much tissue you are going to need. On average, if a patient has very good density he is going to need a strip 1.5cm wide in the back tapering down to 1-1.25cm on the sides; and at least 30cm long. If the density is average in the back, the strip is going to need to be around 2cm wide in the back and 1.5 on the sides, being around the same length. If the density is average in the back, and you can only get 1.5cm wide in that area, you are going to have to take a strip at least 35cm in length to get that amount of grafts.

Then if you want a trychophytic closure you have to figure in 1-2 rows of hair follicules that will be over lapped in the closer, thus needing even more elasticity. So you can see there is no easy calculation to figure how much hair you can recieve in any given surgery. It's always easy to say what you want, but it's not always what you can have. That is why it's best to go to your doctor for an in office personal consultation.

 

Hope this helps.

[Dr. William Lindsey]

Exactly why an in office visit is key to the best planning for both doctor and patient.

 

We keep our strips a bit thinner and do a little smaller cases in general. It is pretty easy to get a good scar with a 1.5cm strip width, but I find it tougher to get a nice, tight, trichophytic closure with 2cm, in all but the most elastic scalps.

 

I see 2 patients a week with really sub par scars. I suspect that some were from poor closure, but I am sure that some had a wide strip. And I would guess that the doc and the patient discussed the tradeoff between more hair and more likelyhood of wider scarring in some of those cases, but the patients don't recall that being discussed. I know we discuss that in our office; but whether or not its recalled a few years down the road by the patient, with a wider scar, is anyone's guess.

 

Dr. Lindsey McLean VA

[azn_guy]

This question is for the HT surgeons

 

Is it too much to ask for specific strip details during a consultation?

 

I noticed at 2 of my consultations, the doctors simply look at it really quick, then dont do any micro-investigations or anything.

 

I would like to know exactly what their donor-strip approach would be.

 

I referenced this questions to the doctors, but anyone else that is experiences may answer

[kaounis]

It's not rocket science azn guy! The Dr. will recomend a certain amount of grafts, when the donor strip is about to be taken,the Dr. usually will asses the density per sq cm and then use common multiplcation to figure out how long and how wide a strip to take. He or she will take into consideration your laxity, and will either make a long thin strip,(1-1.2 cm), or a shorter wider strip, (1.5-2 cm). I beleive most expierinced Dr. prefer to take longer shorter strips when possible. There are no real "specific" strip details other than that. Staples, sutures, tri., double layer closure, etc., are all after the fact....

 

Just a thought from the peanut gallery....

[Dr. Scott Alexander MD]

The number of grafts to accomplish your desired goal is the most important detail of the consultation. Once that is determined then you decide at the surgery how much tissue is needed to get the desired number of grafts. The length or width is as important as the elasticity of the patient and the ability to get those grafts. I really don't think any other details are important concerning the strip other than your ability of whether you can or can't get the number of grafts that you need.

 

azn_guy I really think you are getting wrapped up into details that are not important. What's important is the ability of the doctor to draw and perform a natural hairline and to be able to give you the most density possible with the least amount of scaring. After all, your goal is a quality transplant and not how wide the strip was that was used to obtain the grafts.

[azn_guy]

you guys are right, maybe I am getting wrapped up on all of this, But I think it's a great question.

 

One thing I dont see enough of through patient and clinic before and after photos are the donor recipient areas. While people do show pictures, I guess I would be more at ease if I saw this more often.

 

Funny thing is I'm not worried about the recipient area as much because I've seen so many successful stories w/ before&after photos so I guess I'm trying to grasp the "hidden fees" section of a Hair Transplant surgery so I dont get surprised.

 

I did go to a consultation and I specifically asked the lady "how will the scar be", all she did was show me an almost undetectable scar via tricho and said I would look like that. I felt she was selling me the procedure, which is why I'm asking the question here

 

I do appreciate the responses!

[Dr. Scott Alexander MD]

Here are some of my scar pictures if this helps. Let me know if you have more questions.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[azn_guy]

now that's what I'm looking for =)

 

Most of the photos here it looks pretty undetectable. Is this what I should anticipate with my hair characteristics?

[Dr. Scott Alexander MD]

Everyone's physiology is different. We do use the same techniques on every patient. It is up to the healing compasity of your body as to your scar will look like this or not. We do anticipate that it should be extremely close to these.

As for having Asian hair characteristics, the 2nd photo is an Asian man so you can see the similarities.