Can I have a Transplant ?

[Rashid36]

Please see my pictures and let me know if I can restore my hair loss.

[Melvin- Admin]

I had a similar hair loss pattern, not as advanced but similar, you can restore it but you have to be smart, you have retrograde alopecia which is common amongst high norwoods, are you taking any kin of hairloss stabilizer like finasteride or minoxidil? If not you might want to give that a shot first before having surgery.

[Dutchie]

Are you kidding me, you're an excellent candidate. You have loads of donor hair

[Dutchie]

Just a question though, in the first pic is the hair that starts at your neck shaven close on purpose, or is it receding also??

[JON86]

Just a question though, in the first pic is the hair that starts at your neck shaven close on purpose, or is it receding also??

 

It's retro alopecia happens in high norwoods. Doesn't disqualify him but

he needs to be on meds and find an ethical doctor. If grafts are taken in that zone they will likely not survive a transplant. Needs to do a miniaturization test.

[Stig]

Looks like you have good donor, but you do have a lot of area to cover. Don't think you will have enough to cover everything, especially the vertex/crown area. Focus on the frontal 3rd, but be very conservative and then evaluate if you have enough leftover to hit the crown in conjunction with body hair.

[Melvin- Admin]

My post got flagged for some reason, you're a candidate but the retro alopecia means you have less grafts to choose from, you're like me what I like to call a hybrid norwood 6/7 the sides are high and the crown doesn't come down as far but the retro alopecia is limiting the donor area. The good thing is though, that generally people trim the nape quite short so its not really hair loss that is noticeable to the general public they probably just think you cut your hair like that.

 

It appears as if the donor quality is good thick and coarse, you will have to plan your surgeries wisely, I would recommend splitting them up first addressing the hairline and midscalp, I would follow the hairline you still have that is intact and just thicken it up, and if you have enough grafts do some of the crown, you can check out my thread as I have a similar hairloss pattern, also you can check out Harin's thread, his hairloss is nearly identical to yours he got FUE+BHT and its looking good already at 4 months.

[Dutchie]

It's retro alopecia happens in high norwoods. Doesn't disqualify him but

he needs to be on meds and find an ethical doctor. If grafts are taken in that zone they will likely not survive a transplant. Needs to do a miniaturization test

Yeah, thats what I was afraid of

[Rashid36]

Thanks everyone for your reply.

Please post all links you mention so i can read.

 

I have had many different opinions from clinics and doctors some say 2000 grafts some 3000 some even 4500 and over!

 

Doctor Lorenzo is the only one who told me I have retro alopecia and limited donor. Most clinics in Harley Street, London just gave me a graft number and a price with the exception of Farjo Clinic who saved me from spending alot of money and trouble in this regards.

 

The thing i'm most worried about and which they explained to me is the amount of hair loss and the donor area and future hair loss on top of that it will not be able to cover that as well.

 

I don't just want to be left with transplanted hair only and the rest fall out.

My dad and brother have full hair loss only sides and back left however they dont have retro alopecia. Which leads me to another possible cause of this and that is in the past i have had laser hair removal to remove hair on the back of the neck going up to the ears. Now i think maybe the heat from the laser has affected the hair too Or it may just be i have retro alopecia.

 

I have researched a lot on different treatment options and read a lot regarding my hair loss.

 

Please let me know your comments, opinions and advice in my case.

[Melvin- Admin]

I think part of the hair is not actually nape hair but neck hair, with that being said the nape hair is thinning, retro alopecia is common, the hair on the male is not DHT resistant it is not used for transplantation anyways, the issue I see is that your head does appear rather large so it almost certainly means that the crown will have to be left bald, but I truly believe you can still get good hairline and midscalp coverage which is what matters.

 

Checkout Harin's thread is hairloss is nearly identical to yours

http://www.hairrestorationnetwork.com/eve/181502-nw-6-7-hair-transplant-new-delhi-ncr-region.html

 

My thread is in my signature.

[Stig]

I also think you should strongly consider getting FUT over FUE to maximize the lifetime grafts that can be moved.

[Bill - Seemiller]

Rashid,

 

You've already been given some excellent advice from our members but I thought I would chime in with my opinion. It does appear that you have retro alopecia since you seem to be receiving from the neck up. That of course could be a problem and will require you to get on medication such as Propecia and possibly minoxidil for areas of thinning. Because you have limited donor supply, this will unfortunately limit how much hair can be moved from the donor area to the bolding areas which means you will have to have very realistic expectations as to how much hair you can restore. You will have to determine whether or not what is realistic is acceptable to you. In other words, you may have to accept that the crown area may always be bald or at least very thin while working on using your available donor to restore a mature looking hairline. If you are satisfied with that, you may be a good candidate however, you will want to work with and outstanding surgeon with a proven track record of producing excellent results and come up with short-term and long-term goals. You may need more than one procedure to meet your goals, for example it took me for procedures to get the head of hair that I have now. If you are satisfied with that, you may be a good candidate however, you will want to work with and outstanding surgeon with a proven track record of producing excellent results and come up with short-term and long-term goals. You may need more than one procedure to meet your goals, for example it took me for procedures to get the head of hair and I have now. Dr. Lorenzo is an excellent physician. Feel free also to take a look at the list of surgeons we recommend who have been prescreened by this community and are doing outstanding work all over the world. Dr. Lorenzo is an excellent physician. Feel free also to take a look at the list of surgeons we recommend who have been prescreened by this community and are doing outstanding work all over the world.

 

Best wishes,

 

Bill

[Britanium]

Would you also consider a hair system(wig) ? I can see you spending out a great deal of money on a transplant and not really getting a great result. With poor donor and a huge area to cover.

Of course your going to concentrate on the front and leave the crown to get anything half way decent.

[Rashid36]

Thanks everyone i learnt more here than consultations i've been to in person!

I've been told that my hair is thinning so fut scar will show.

I don't want to wear the hair system as i'm not completely bald yet!

If i get the hairline done and mid area what about future hair loss?

What will I do then i will just be left with a few transplanted hairs in e.g 10 years?

Some doctors have suggested doing the hair line with donor hair and body and beard hair for the scalp.

They have said body and beard hair has much less chance of regrowing.

Many clinics have said sorry to me i'm not a good candidate for a hair transplant.

 

It's been about 2 weeks I started using Regain foam but because its such a large area i cannot cover it all with the reccomended dosage. i don't want to put too much on so i've been putting it on the crown and a little at the front.

I will give this around 3 to 4 months. Dont want to take med due to side effects.

 

Again I have been given many different opinions regarding treatment from clinics.

I wonder how many transplants i would need and the cost of it?

Is body and beard hair something i could rely on for future hair loss and to cover large areas?

Also its not only the back hair i have i mean the sides can be used too.

 

I'm 35 years old in the past few years i have noticed more thinning and hair on sides going white.

The worst thing is a bald head just does not suit me because of the way my face is shaped and i have a pointed nose.

[harin]

Rashid35 - why dont you grow your hair out and post another picture say in 6-8 weeks time of your donor area hair?. At times when balding men cut their hair short so that it does not look awkward the back and sides may look like one may be having retrograde alopecia. Sometimes when you grow your hairs out it is easier to evaluate the same.

 

I personally believe that if you have realistic goal then it is possible to restore cosmetically acceptable hair and hairline.

(beard, chest and armpit hairs could be used as supplemental sources -- so post the pictures of ur beard and chest areas if feasible).

 

All the best with your research --- do not hesitate to ask any questions.

[Melvin- Admin]

Rashid, you've lost almost all of the hair on top, not sure how worse it can get its basically gone hate to be blunt about it, if you're worried about your donor hair becoming thinner, you should go to an in person consult and have them perform a miniaturization test on your donor hair.

 

Body hair transplantation has its limits but combined with scalp hair it could provide additional density, regaine foam is useless, I much prefer lipogaine, it's a better form of minoxidil the active ingredient, let me try and answer your question as realistically as possible, will you ever look like you're not balding? No is the short answer, you will never have enough donor to cover your entire scalp with good density. However, if you have realistic expectations you can still get a good result adding some hair to your hairline and midscalp and leaving the crown bald, once you have restored the hairline and midscalp then you can plan for the crown if you still have grafts left, you'll probably need 3-4 surgeries to have the results you desire and even then you'll never have a full thick head of hair this is just reality.

[Rashid36]

I'm sad !

 

The pictures i posted were with 2 weeks growth. I normally have to trim the sides and back hair every 4 to 6 days as they grow so fast and i want an overall short, neat and blend look.

 

I buy products which are safe to use and from known stockists.

Now there are many online products i dont want to risk.

 

Okay but if i did that front hair and mid what about future loss?

I have been told by one clinic to go for coverage than density but how much coverage would be needed to look good.

I don't mind some scalp showing but the problem is looking 5 to 10 years if i have complete loss like my dad and brother than how will i look if i have the transplant now?

 

My beard hair grows very vey quick and it is thick ive let it grow long in the past. See beard pictures at about 4 to 5 days growth.

 

I accept i cannot get full hair like it used to be but whats the best i mean on norwood?

 

Other people who have had alot of hair loss also have good donor, seems i got the worst of it.

[Rashid36]

Just been told,

We do not harvest body hair to be transplanted over the scalp as there is a disparity in hair caliber and life span between these two types of hair. Body hair has a bigger caliber, coarser and more curly compared to scalp hair. Transplanting them over the scalp might not produce an evenly blended look.

[1978matt]

You appear to have a real supply vs demand problem. I think you could only get 2000-2500 grafts from that donor area and even then some of them may not be DHT resistant.

 

2000-2500 might be enough to recreate a hairline and a thin frontal third but it might start to look strange as you lose more hair and possibly end up a NW7. Forget about doing FUT as in your case it is not worth the scar.

 

I'd suggest looking at hair systems. There are some impressive ones out there if you look hard enough.

[Mickey85]

I would not undergo a procedure. Sadly you exhibit what looks like retrograde alopecia and I would suspect that your crown will dip further down in time as I can see a slight halo where the density is lower but it could be the lighting. The retrograde alopecia narrows the safe zone in the donor area which means the transplanted hairs are not immune to vanishing at a later time. I'm sorry to tell you this but having any surgery will likely cause big regrets later down the line in your situation.

 

[Rashid36]

One of the hardest things to accept but need to be safe then sorry.

My question is how can so many clinics and even doctors not just tell me this many have said to me to go for treatment now with no concern about the future hair loss, cost and stress that it could cause me.

 

I think i will wait till it gets to norwood 7 and then see what i got to work with but by then i might not want it.

 

I thought i might have some more hope when body and beard hair were mentioned but then don't know if i can rely on this. No one gives a guarantee too.

Has anyone had good results for more then 5 years lets see pictures.

When i asked one clinic for this they started getting funny.

 

I got alot of questions to ask if i were to go with the hair system option and SMP safety

Edited February 12, 2016 by Rashid35

[Dutchie]

Dont give up hope just yet, Rashid. Google Dr. Umar, give him a call and lets see what he can do for you. He is somewhat of an expert in advanced cases of Norwood 7's like you:

 

https://www.dermhairclinic.com/

[California]

One of the hardest things to accept but need to be safe then sorry.

My question is how can so many clinics and even doctors not just tell me this many have said to me to go for treatment now with no concern about the future hair loss, cost and stress that it could cause me.

 

I think i will wait till it gets to norwood 7 and then see what i got to work with but by then i might not want it.

 

I thought i might have some more hope when body and beard hair were mentioned but then don't know if i can rely on this. No one gives a guarantee too.

Has anyone had good results for more then 5 years lets see pictures.

When i asked one clinic for this they started getting funny.

 

I got alot of questions to ask if i were to go with the hair system option and SMP safety

 

Hi Rashid,

 

I believe that you have received some excellent advise from the Forum members. Rushing into an HT in your situation might not be a good idea. As you have mentioned, you might want to let your hair loss "settle" before taking the plunge (if at all).

 

I just wanted to point out the fact that BHT is not unreliable....as long as the HT Surgeon specializes in that field and has a proven track record. In some cases, BHT is kind of the only option. Many folks will disagree with this and I respect their opinions. I am just sharing mine. I would rather have some hair coverage using BHT than no coverage at all. I would highly encourage you to research BHT as much as possible and not give up on it just because of the feedback that you have received so far.

 

Sharing a couple of Patient cases where BHT was the savior....

 

http://www.hairrestorationnetwork.com/eve/168492-dr-bhatti-fue-body-hair-transformation.html

 

http://www.hairrestorationnetwork.com/eve/175737-potential-recommendation-dr-tejinder-bhatti-chandigarh-india-6.html

 

Lastly, I am NOT trying to sell you on BHT.....I am just suggesting that you might want to research this more extensively. More information you have, the better off you will be.

 

I wish you all the best.

 

Best regards,

California

[delancey]

I feel that with your level of retrograde alopecia and already existing hair loss, you would be having a hair transplant just for the sake of having one. Without stabilizing your hair loss, I feel the best thing to do is to do nothing at all. In my opinion, body hair should stay where it is. It just doesn't look natural.

 

Have you looked into getting a hair system? PM me if you would like some good links.

[Dr Blake Bloxham]

Rashid,

 

Thank you for sharing these images with the community. As usual, the community members have provided excellent advice. I wanted to share mine as well. I hope it's helpful:

 

I actually reviewed your thread a few times before commenting. I really wanted to look at your donor area a few times before leaving a reply. As I'm sure you know by now, it's because there are some concerning features. Specifically, it looks like you have some thinning into what is generally considered the "safe donor area."

 

This could be interpreted a few ways: as a "retrograde alopecia" -- which a few others mentioned -- or it could be a patterned diffuse alopecia. Retrograde alopecia is something that happens in some sense to almost everyone. This is simply because the follicles at the nape of the neck aren't necessarily permanent and can thin out in time. Some, however, experience a more aggressive thinning up right to the edge of the safe donor. If it stops here, you may be okay for a transplant. It's when it starts to creep into the donor -- and you could view this as a diffused unpatterned type of hair loss or an aggressive/unstable retrograde alopecia -- that it becomes a problem as far as transplants are concerned.

 

Now, the light may be playing some tricks on us here. And I'm not sure how aggressively you're shaving into the donor region, but I've been fooled by this before. Altogether, however, it does still look a little questionable. Like a few others pointed out, using unstable follicles in a hair transplant is a problem.

 

Here's what I would recommend:

 

1) Grow the donor hair out for a while. Take some images and re-post them on the community. We may be getting fooled a little bit by the shaving and the camera angle, and this could shed some light (no pun intended) on the issue.

 

2) Most importantly: see an experienced hair loss doctor and have your donor evaluated in person. I see you mention speaking with a lot of doctors, but I'm not sure if you've seen one (or several) in person. If you haven't, do this. It's very important.

 

This will give you a better idea of how to proceed. I really do wish those images instilled more confidence in your donor. It would be nice to say "go for it!' But I think you're better off being conservative here and really understanding your donor supply before moving forward. I also would not recommend body hair transplants (BHT) either.

 

I hope this helps. Feel free to ask any additional questions and please do keep us updated.