Further regression years (even decades) after HT

[ST91]

Hi all,

I'm curious if there are men that had their HT done in the 90's/00's and have further regressed in the meantime. Do you guys have some examples by any chance?

Reason I'm asking is because I'm told to manage expectations with my current donor. I could live with having a balding crown when it's 'age appropriate' (which for me is like ≥45 years old), but I don't feel the same about the front and middle, which are thin now in my early 30's. Crown area is still okay atm.

I often see older men with decent hair and a balding crown. I think it looks fine on them, but I'm not sure if it looks weird when a HT was done previously.

[Xanadu]

14 minutes ago, ST91 said:

Hi all,

I'm curious if there are men that had their HT done in the 90's/00's and have further regressed in the meantime. Do you guys have some examples by any chance?

Reason I'm asking is because I'm told to manage expectations with my current donor. I could live with having a balding crown when it's 'age appropriate' (which for me is like ≥45 years old), but I don't feel the same about the front and middle, which are thin now in my early 30's. Crown area is still okay atm.

I often see older men with decent hair and a balding crown. I think it looks fine on them, but I'm not sure if it looks weird when a HT was done previously.

The internet is full of cases like that. Usually the areas that continue to regress are the areas which were not transplanted. But even transplanted areas can regress with time due to age-related thinning etc. However, in many and probably most, the transplanted hairs stay strong, and stronger than the hairs which were not transplanted.

[Rahal Hair Transplant]

@ST91,

What you are describing is very possible and exactly the reason why we always tell patients that it’s important to work with a surgeon who will focus not only on short-term hair restoration goals, but the long-term. Male pattern baldness is unpredictable and will progress as far and as long as one’s genetics dictate. For some who are on the luckier side, androgenetic, alopecia may slow down substantially or even stop at lower Norwood levels.  For others however, genetic hair loss may be a lifelong battle and continue to progress even slowly throughout one’s lifetime.

As a result, it’s very possible that many years or even decades later as indicated that one may feel that they want or need another hair transplant procedure to thicken up their existing hair.

The question is, do you have enough available donor hair to undergo another hair transplant? Have you planned for the long-term possibility that another procedure may be needed?

This may be common sense for some over a period of a couple years but decades later? Most of us probably think that what we’ve done decades prior will last us for our lifetime.  But then you have a situation such as this.  The truth is, there is that possibility that we will want or need undergo another procedure because hair loss has slowly progressed for years or even decades after our initial procedure(s).

So what you’re asking is certainly very possible and something a number of her transplant patients will likely run up against in time.

Best wishes,

Rahal Hair Transplant

Edited April 12, 2023 by Rahal Hair Transplant

[ST91]

4 minutes ago, Rahal Hair Transplant said:

@ST91,

what you were describing is very possible and exactly the reason why we always tell Patience that it’s important to work with a surgeon who will focus not only on simply short-term hair restoration goals, but the long-term. Male pattern baldness is unpredictable and will progress as far and as long as your genetics dictate. For some who are on the luckier side, androgenetic, alopecia, may slow down substantially or even stop at lower Norwood levels.  For others however, genetic hair loss may be a lifelong battle and continue to progress even slowly throughout one’s lifetime.

As a result, it’s very possible that many years or even decades later as indicated that one may feel that they want or need another hair transplant procedure to thicken up their existing hair.

The question is, do you have enough available donor hair to undergo another hair transplant? Have you planned for the long-term possibility that another procedure may be needed?

This may be common sense for some over a period of a couple years but decades later? Most of us probably think that what we’ve done decades prior will last us for our lifetime.  But then you have a situation such as this.  The truth is, there is a possibility that we will feel i that it has become necessary to undergo another procedure because hair loss has slowly progressed for  years or even decades after our initial procedure(s).

So what you’re asking is certainly very possible and something a number of her transplant patients will likely run up against in time.

Best wishes,

Rahal Hair Transplant

Hi @Rahal Hair Transplant, thanks for your detailed reply. 

My donor is sufficient to fill the front and a part of the mid-scalp. In case my crown goes bald afterwards, there would not be much donor left to fill that area (which I would be okay with at a later stage of my life).

My main question is could it look natural if the vertex does go bald over a longer periode of time, when the front and middle were transplanted? And are there examples?

[Rafael Manelli]

We need a compilation of hair transplants with a decade or two elapsed since the surgery.

[Doron Harati]

Better if you can show photos including your donor.

Probably you had a small session so the native has gone and not support to result like back in the day.