Can I Possibly be Candidate for Hair Transplant Surgery?

[rjw524]

Hello all,

 

I'm a 43 year old Black (African American) male who started losing my hair in my Mid 20s.

 

I feel that I personally look better and much younger with my hair back.

 

I've always wanted my hair back and recently began to seriously look into Hair Restoration or Transplant surgery. I submitted photos to a local surgeon in the region and he disqualified me as a candidate today due to the patchy nature of my scalp.

 

(Needless to say, I was extremely disappointed to hear that.)

 

I had always assumed that I was pretty much just another guy with male pattern baldness. However, I just learned about such conditions as DPA and DUPA (diffuse unpatterned alopecia) and the like.

 

However, the more I've looked into it, the more I feel that I actually could be a candidate. Obviously, my hair loss is extensive, but my donor areas appear to be completely intact and it grows in very quickly.

 

Also, I've been at this level of baldness for well over a decade now. There's been no more hair loss since that point.

 

I've attached a few photos and would really appreciate getting some opinions from this forum.

 

While there is a patchy quality in some points, I don't think I'm DUPA (but I imagine all DUPAs say that at first, lol). I really feel like my baldness fits an overall pattern (clean on top, strong hair on sides and back).

 

Also, please bear in mind, that I shave my head once or twice a week, so the hair in the photos is closely cropped.

 

Thank you,

 

rjw524

[Legend007]

U don’t have enough donor hair to cover ur whole scalp .. unless u have a lot of body hair to supplement the lack of a good donor . .. honestly I think u look age appropriate..

Not sure if it be worth the time n risk n money in ur case ..

[rjw524]

U don’t have enough donor hair to cover ur whole scalp .. unless u have a lot of body hair to supplement the lack of a good donor . .. honestly I think u look age appropriate..

Not sure if it be worth the time n risk n money in ur case ..

 

Thanks for the reply.

 

Just a few questions...

 

1) How much of my scalp could I reasonably expect to cover if I did go forward with it?

 

2) From these pics do I appear to be DUPA or DPA?

 

 

Thanks again...

[rjw524]

Hi guys, I was hoping I could get a few more opinions.

[Steeeve]

Hi guys, I was hoping I could get a few more opinions.

 

I know this isn’t easy for everyone to do but I think we need some pictures with better clarity to give a better opinion. I can’t quite tell what your best options would be based on the pics you provided. It looks like your temple region has receded pretty far back but it could just be bad lighting or the poor quality photo. If you’re not able to do that then I think your best option is to get into a clinic for a face-to-face/hands-on consultation. Your donor region doesn’t look great based on the photos either.

 

Are you on any medications? Finasteride?

 

Do you feel comfortable providing the name of the doctor who turned you away?

[delancey]

Hi rjw,

 

It is difficult to get a good idea of your donor region by looking at these photos alone. First, the camera faced a bright light when the photos were taken, so the image quality is poor. Also, you hair is very short, so it is difficult to evaluate the donor region accurately from just looking at the photos.

 

Do you have better photos with your hair grown out a bit?

 

Dr. Konior in Illinois and Dr. Ron and Paul Shapiro are quite close to you and both are recommended by this forum. I recommend an in-person consult with a leading surgeon to get a crystal clear idea of what your options are.

[Shera]

Hi rjw524,

 

As the previous poster said, some clearer pictures would have been more useful.

 

Having said that I understand why the clinic turned you down for surgery. Think of it in terms of having to tile a roof, you just don't appear to have enough tiles for adequate coverage, there'll be big gaps in your roof and the water will gush through!

 

I think to get a better opinion you could let your hair grow out for up to 14 days and then post some better quality pics. A cleanly shaven scalp donor can be deceiving.

 

If it looks better then there may be an option of proceeding strategically to a plan to give you some coverage. This plan could involve an option for SMP, but lets hold fire until you send the updated pics.

[Melvin- Admin]

It appears to be DPA, but the pictures are not very clear. I will add that you appear to be suffering from retrograde alopecia. This means your sides and nape are thinning. This doesn’t necessarily mean you’re not a candidate. However, it substantially reduces the donor supply. I’m uncertain whether or not you’ll be satisfied with the results that are achievable surgically. What are your expectations?