I was told no

[Adamleland]

I am a hardwood 5 or 6. And 54. Was told that my sides were too thin and it was risky. I was told this by a very good doctor in Santa Monica. I was grateful he was honest. But was disappointed at same time. Any thoughts on options? 

[Gatsby]

Hey @Adamleland and welcome to the forum. It's difficult to tell going by your pics. Could you post one again of the sides and back. What is your beard like? You are a Norwood 6 and surgeons such as Eugenix, Dr Pitela and others do great work in this area. What are you goals? Full coverage?

[Adamleland]

Just the front behind my existing tuft of hair. 

[Yaz123]

2 hours ago, Adamleland said:

I am a hardwood 5 or 6. And 54. Was told that my sides were too thin and it was risky. I was told this by a very good doctor in Santa Monica. I was grateful he was honest. But was disappointed at same time. Any thoughts on options? 

Your donor Area doesn't look too bad, not sure why you for denied. My donor area is very light and thin. I'm on finasteride and rogaine to improve my diffuse thinning. Don't see why you are not a good candidate for HT

[hairman22]

good the surgeon turned you down.

Just means you are not a candidate for that surgeon

Pitella,Eugenix & Zarev would take your case im sure

[mr_peanutbutter]

what expectations do you have? 

[Rahal Hair Transplant]

@Adamleland

Did the surgeon who did your evaluation do it in person or was it online? Honestly, it’s very difficult to gauge whether a donor area is too thin by photos alone. That is, unless the donor is exceptionally thin which doesn’t seem to be the case by looking at your photos.  What’s definitely true as you certainly have a lot of ground cover and if you were going to proceed with hair transplant surgery, you would need to have realistic expectations and any thoughts of restoring a full looking head of hair without any signs of thinning needs to be ruled out.

Based on the photos alone, I wouldn’t necessarily say you’re not a candidate if you have realistic expectations but, that’s based on photos alone and sometimes what you see in person is way different than what you see in the photos.

Best wishes,

Rahal Hair Transplant  
 

 

Edited September 15, 2022 by Rahal Hair Transplant

[Adamleland]

I did in person consultation. He put a microscope on my head and showed that my hairs grafts had like one and two hairs and saw some with none which gave him concern that they would fall out or not give density I need. My back was okay. Maybe 1,000 good candidates. He said to take rogain or minoxidil and see if it strengthens the sides. 

[Rahal Hair Transplant]

Well if your donor area contains mostly single and double haired flicker in the units and no triples or quadruples, his assessment sounds correct. Also, did he say anything about donor density? For example, did he measure follicular units per square centimeter?  If so, what was the average FU/cm2 in the donor area?  If he didn’t measure this, Did he provide you with explanation as to why he didn’t?

Based on everything you’re sharing, I happen to agree that you’re likely not a good candidate for hair transplant surgery. But I do recommend getting some additional opinions by doing a couple more consultations.

Best wishes,

Rahal Hair Transplant 

Edited September 15, 2022 by Rahal Hair Transplant

[Adamleland]

I did in person consultation. He put a microscope on my head and showed that my hairs grafts had like one and two hairs and saw some with none which gave him concern that they would fall out or not give density I need. My back was okay. Maybe 1,000 good candidates. He said to take rogain or minoxidil and see if it strengthens the sides. 

[Adamleland]

Thank you Dr Rahal I am a bit disappointed (to put it mildly) he just took the microscope and I could see my hairs on the side. Most had two or on graft coming out. Some had zero. But it looks okay from a distance. I think based on this he just ruled me out. It was doctor Shaun Behnam and he was very kind about it. 

[Adamleland]

17 hours ago, mr_peanutbutter said:

what expectations do you have? 

I just want to fill a little in behind my tuft in front to have a tad bit stronger hairline. 

[Rahal Hair Transplant]

@Adamleland,

if you truly would be satisfied restoring a conservative looking hairline with only a small bit of coverage behind the area, then you’d likely have the donor even if it’s as bad as the last doctor says.  However, my guess is that the doctor is concerned about the 0 haired follicular units.  This could be a sign of miniaturization in the donor area which means you may not have a “safe zone”. If the donor area is thinning (which is a sign of DUPA or diffuse unpatterned aliopecia) then the transplanted hair could thin out and wouldn’t be permanent.

in my opinion, get a second opinion either with another reputable hair transplant surgeon or a dermatologist and have the hair in the sides and back of your scalp evaluated.

I know this is discouraging to hear.   But a second opinion will either confirm what the last doctor said or rule it out and prove you’re a candidate. I just want the best for you.

Best wishes,

Rahal Hair Transplant 

Edited September 15, 2022 by Rahal Hair Transplant

[SeanT1]

A surgeon turning you down doesn't mean you're not applicable for surgery at all.  It just means that specific surgeon would be uncomfortable performing the procedure with their skillset.

You find other surgeons that would be more confident & with more experience with norwood 5/6's.
Some surgeons only deal with norwood 2/3/4.