How many Grafts needed

[kattru01]

I am a 62 yr. old white female with hair loss mainly on top of my scalp, mostly towards front area. I have been losing hair since my 40's. I currently use hair powder like Joan Rivers Great Hair Day Powder or wigs. It is really hot in Texas and wearing a wig every day is very uncomfortable. I'm wondering about how many hair grafts I would need to fix my thin areas - attaching picture. Also would I be a better candidate for FUT or FUE?

[Speegs]

Hi kattru01,

 

I live in Texas too, I agree wigs sound uncomfortable.

 

You appear to have a diffuse pattern of hair loss common in women.

 

It is difficult to say the amount of grafts you may need from this picture, but ballpark would suggest upward of 2,000 to give you any satisfying coverage.

 

Since you wear long hair, an FUT would maximize your donor, be more affordable, and give you the best opportunity to address density long term.

 

Are you using minoxidil (Rogaine) or Viviscal? Both products appear to be helpful to women, low light laser therapy may also be worth exploring to encourage growth, unfortunately women cannot take finasteride (Propecia).

 

Please feel free to consult with a couple of doctors on this board and see what they have to say, have you spoken with your dermatologist about anything for your hair?

 

You might bring up Rogaine and Viviscal and lower light therapy, some doctors here can certainly help you with acquiring those if you need direction.

[ArochaHair]

I am a 62 yr. old white female with hair loss mainly on top of my scalp, mostly towards front area. I have been losing hair since my 40's. I currently use hair powder like Joan Rivers Great Hair Day Powder or wigs. It is really hot in Texas and wearing a wig every day is very uncomfortable. I'm wondering about how many hair grafts I would need to fix my thin areas - attaching picture. Also would I be a better candidate for FUT or FUE?

 

As a female, and with the diffused loss shown in your photo, you have a fairly strong chance of also having diffused loss in the traditional donor zone so this area has to be carefully examined as well. With cases like yours, and assuming diffused donor loss, there is usually a small area at the back of your donor that has the strongest density so this is where a strip would be taken from, should that be the procedure indicated after an examination by a qualified hair restoration physician.

 

There is also the issue of identifying the cause of your loss so it would be a good idea to consider having a small battery of tests to check for low iron levels, thyroid imbalance and general hormonal well being.

 

Seeing that you are in Texas, Dr. Arocha in Houston would be happy to set up a consultation. He also has a consultation office in Dallas and Austin with Skype options available as well.

[gillenator]

My mom had the same loss pattern of diffused loss in the typical Ludwig pattern.

 

I agree that you might benefit from using Rogaine for women and possibly laser therapy to see how you respond.

 

Many women intend on wearing their hair at longer lengths so it makes more sense for a FUHT procedure if you decide to have surgical restoration.

 

The apparent risk would be some degree of shock loss to the more diffused native hair and many docs approach this type of thinning with more conservative numbers and subsequently see how your scalp responds to the trauma and relating possible shock loss.

 

Definitely get multiple opinions from some reputable surgeons recommended in this community, and also agree to have complete labs done to confirm the source.

[aWidowsPeek]

kattru01 i sent you a private message