Avoiding over harvesting

[davidk]

I have talked to quite a few clinics at this point. The general feedback is my donor area is healthy and I should get anywhere from 3500-4500 grafts. I am really worried about over harvesting and (slightly less so, but still worried) about having an unnatural hairline. I am wondering if these risks can be reduced if I opt for fewer grafts with the intention of doing a second procedure in a year. I have the flexibility where doing two procedures would be fine, so if this is a smart way to reduce risk, it might make sense for me to go this path and ease my concerns. 

Is this a sound approach? Will it lower the risk or should I just follow the original suggestion of the clinic? 

[mmokin]

2 minutes ago, davidk said:

I have talked to quite a few clinics at this point. The general feedback is my donor area is healthy and I should get anywhere from 3500-4500 grafts. I am really worried about over harvesting and (slightly less so, but still worried) about having an unnatural hairline. I am wondering if these risks can be reduced if I opt for fewer grafts with the intention of doing a second procedure in a year. I have the flexibility where doing two procedures would be fine, so if this is a smart way to reduce risk, it might make sense for me to go this path and ease my concerns. 

Is this a sound approach? Will it lower the risk or should I just follow the original suggestion of the clinic? 

maximum 2000 grafts per procedure and from the numbers your giving i can tell your looking at hair mills, always always start small and build up 

[davidk]

2 minutes ago, mmokin said:

maximum 2000 grafts per procedure and from the numbers your giving i can tell your looking at hair mills, always always start small and build up 

I am only using doctors on the recommended list, no hair mills. Dr. Yaman suggested 4500 grafts. Eugenix said 5000 (including some from the beard), Bicer suggested 4000 grafts, and Nader suggested 4000 grafts. 

[mmokin]

in that case still insist for taking 2000 from donor at any one time and the rest body hair if possible, you will get less trauma in one area therefore less scarring and overall damage to your donor

 

[GoliGoliGoli]

2 hours ago, mmokin said:

in that case still insist for taking 2000 from donor at any one time and the rest body hair if possible, you will get less trauma in one area therefore less scarring and overall damage to your donor

 

This is the opposite is what I've commonly seen recommended, which is to always use your maximum available "scalp donor" before moving onto body hair. 

[mmokin]

7 minutes ago, GoliGoliGoli said:

This is the opposite is what I've commonly seen recommended, which is to always use your maximum available "scalp donor" before moving onto body hair. 

he cares about his donor doing what is stated is far better than taking out 4000 grafts in one session

ive given my opinion 

 

[DrMunibAhmad]

When you take more then 2500-3000 you wil be taking grafts from a not true safe donor area. This means it'll be not permanent probably. 

[Jackdaniels]

It depends on the clinic. Some clinics can be able to extract large numbers of grafts per sessions without a problem at all. 
 

for example I have seen many cases from @Dr. Felipe Pittellathat he extracts 6500 grafts in one day session without any problem to the donor. 

[Doron Harati]

Overharvesting and depletion can also occur from small sessions\1500 grafts.

 

Big sessions over 6000+ grafts (if the donor is much higher than the average) can be done successfully, the key is to make a punch job not too deep with enough space between grafts.

 

When hair mills do mega sessions they go too deep because it's make the punch job easier without any benefit for the patient, additionally they don't make space between every punch, even worse make a punch over a punch.

 

You can read my 3 hair transplants journey, unfortunately my 1st horrific experience was done by Arenamed clinic in, they overharvested and scared my donor with 5000 grafts IN ONE SINGLE DAY without growth, you can see clearly they did punch over a punch.

 

Then, I had 2 repair procedures by Dr. Maras, he used twice my sides head donor (I was lucky Arenamed didn't touch my sides), each time he used around 2500 grafts and I'm very happy now, my sides looks better than my depleted back thanks to a delicate job and can be even used for 4th procedure, you can see comparison photos on my threads.

 

Our clinic perform over 6000+ grafts sessions with the right candidates.

 

[Rahal Hair Transplant]

@davidk,

Do you have any photos of your scalp that we can see? I ask because it’s difficult to really give you any input on how many graphs you might need versus whether or not a particular amount of graphs being extracted would over tax your donor area.

Also, I know Dr. Rahal uses a scientific formula to determine exactly how many units one has available in their donor area throughout their lifetime without overharvesting. Then of course, it can be determined whether or not that number of flick units can and will meet your goals Also, I know Dr. Rahal uses a scientific formula to determine exactly how many units one has available in their donor area throughout their lifetime without overharvesting. Then of course, it can be determined whether or not that number of foot units can and will meet your goals for hair transplant surgery.

creating a natural looking hairline is exceptionally important and is one of Dr. Rahal‘s specialties. And that said, I’m not suggesting on the doctors can also do a good job by creating natural hairline. But the hairline in particular seems to be of great concern to you.

at the end of the day, for our members including myself can only give you some general advice and opinions.  Thus, you really need to consult a few doctors you are impressed with to get their professional input on whether or not what can be accomplished is in line with your ultimate goals. If you would like to schedule it one on one information session with Dr. Rahal, feel free to send me a private message and I can get a set up for you.

Best wishes,

Rahal Hair Transplant 

[davidk]

I spoke to a doctor and his suggestion was to do the extraction over 2 days fully manually to help reduce the risk of over harvesting. So something like 2000-2500 grafts each day. Curious if people think that is a reasonable approach to reduce risk? It sounds logical to me but always good to hear from other people! 

Attachdd are photos. 

[BaldGuy]

37 minutes ago, davidk said:

I spoke to a doctor and his suggestion was to do the extraction over 2 days fully manually to help reduce the risk of over harvesting. So something like 2000-2500 grafts each day. Curious if people think that is a reasonable approach to reduce risk? It sounds logical to me but always good to hear from other people! 

Attachdd are photos. 

You have got a huge area to cover. You propably need 5000-6000 grafts. With Dr Yaman you could select either to do it with motorised or with manual punch in a two days session. A third option would be to tell the doctor to do around 3500 grafts now with motorised for frontal third and part of midscalp, and after a year second surgery with another 2500-3000 grafts.

Edited January 24, 2023 by BaldGuy

[Dr. Guncel Ozturk]

I recommend that you opt for a conservative approach with fewer grafts in the first procedure, with the possibility of a second procedure in a year. This will reduce the risk of over-harvesting and ensure a more natural hairline.

The option of manually extracting the grafts over two days, as suggested by the doctor, is a reasonable approach to further reduce the risk of over-harvesting. However, it is best to have a thorough consultation. 

The number of grafts should be personalized to your individual case and taking a step-by-step approach may provide better outcomes and reduced risks.

Feel free to reach me out if you need any further assistance!