Help for Norwood 7

[wallie12345]

Hi everyone,  I am a Norwood 7 despite having numerous unsuccessful hair transplants and 1 scalp reduction over 20 years ago.  I don't have any donor area left and am out of hope.  

I want my own hair and not SMP and would like to know if there are other surgeries or hair treatments available.  I contacted a doctor about scalp flaps even and I'm not a candidate for that either because the remaining hair I have left is too sparse due to the donor area being used up.    Thank-you.

[Fox243]

3 minutes ago, wallie12345 said:

Hi everyone,  I am a Norwood 7 despite having numerous unsuccessful hair transplants and 1 scalp reduction over 20 years ago.  I don't have any donor area left and am out of hope.  

I want my own hair and not SMP and would like to know if there are other surgeries or hair treatments available.  I contacted a doctor about scalp flaps even and I'm not a candidate for that either because the remaining hair I have left is too sparse due to the donor area being used up.    Thank-you.

Your best chance is Pittella. Here are two similar cases: https://www.instagram.com/p/C5WwWGaPOqX/?hl=en, https://www.instagram.com/p/C4CMWHvttAa/?hl=en

[wallie12345]

Thanks for your help but I don't think Dr. Pittella can help me because I don't have any donor area left due to my previous hair transplants

[Fox243]

Just now, wallie12345 said:

Thanks for your help but I don't think Dr. Pittella can help me because I don't have any donor area left due to my previous hair transplants

It would be from beard hair primarily. 

[wallie12345]

Thanks again.  I don't have enough beard hair unfortunately.  I feel hopeless 

[Fox243]

2 minutes ago, wallie12345 said:

Thanks again.  I don't have enough beard hair unfortunately.  I feel hopeless 

I'd get a consult at least. I've seen him work miracles.

[wallie12345]

It's worth a shot but I don't have any donor area/hair left and I regret having those past HT's.  

[Approach]

29 minutes ago, wallie12345 said:

It's worth a shot but I don't have any donor area/hair left and I regret having those past HT's.  

Wallie, until you have a consultation with the top Norwood 7 doctors, you will never know.  Things have advanced since you scalp reduction 20 yrs ago.

[Ccd99]

Clearly if you have no donor hair left then it is not possible to do another hair transplant unfortunately. 

You could try regrowing your hair by using medication (finasteride/dutasteride, minoxidil, hair vitamins. ketoconazole shampoo), some people are hyper-responders and I have seen cases where someone has gone from NW6 TO NW1.

You can then re-assess if your situation has improved. If all else fails you could always consider a hair system. They look super natural these days and require maintenance every 2/3 weeks or so.

[Berba11]

Could you include some pictures of your donor?

If you genuinely have no donor left in the bank then it’s honestly best to just move on with your life and stop risking getting yourself down a rabbit hole chasing a lost cause. 

[Rasputin]

Yes, would be great if you could post pictures of your scalp hair donor, beard hair on the cheeks and neck, and chest hair.

Also, just out of curiosity, how many surgeries exactly did you have (not including the scalp reduction).

Was it FUE or FUT, or both?

Edited May 16 by Rasputin

[Gatsby]

7 hours ago, wallie12345 said:

Hi everyone,  I am a Norwood 7 despite having numerous unsuccessful hair transplants and 1 scalp reduction over 20 years ago.  I don't have any donor area left and am out of hope.  

I want my own hair and not SMP and would like to know if there are other surgeries or hair treatments available.  I contacted a doctor about scalp flaps even and I'm not a candidate for that either because the remaining hair I have left is too sparse due to the donor area being used up.    Thank-you.

I came from the mid/late 80’s with two horrible punch graft procedures only to have them cut out in several strips over several years. Can you supply pics of your donor from the sides and behind? I think it’s still worth contacting Dr Pittella. Also you could contact Dr Sethi. What are your realistic goals @wallie12345 that you are looking to achieve? 

[Melvin- Admin]

What are your expectations? This is extremely difficult, and you're better off doing nothing. There are probably only two doctors that would accept you. Dr. Pittella and Dr. Sethi. I have seen the latter miss the mark, not because of skill but because there's not much that is possible surgically.

[Al - Moderator]

We need to see a picture of the side of your head, a picture of the back of your head, and a picture of your beard area. If you shave daily then try not to shave an extra day or two and then take a picture. If you have chest hair then a picture of that would be good too. 

[wallie12345]

On 5/15/2024 at 10:56 PM, Fox243 said:

I'd get a consult at least. I've seen him work miracles.

 

On 5/15/2024 at 11:42 PM, Approach said:

Wallie, until you have a consultation with the top Norwood 7 doctors, you will never know.  Things have advanced since you scalp reduction 20 yrs ago.

Thanks, I'm going to try that but I'm not holding any hope and have been told "no" too many times.  

 

 

[wallie12345]

13 hours ago, Al - Moderator said:

We need to see a picture of the side of your head, a picture of the back of your head, and a picture of your beard area. If you shave daily then try not to shave an extra day or two and then take a picture. If you have chest hair then a picture of that would be good too. 

I feel deformed without my hat and my donor area is so visible.   I don't have beard or chest hair to use as donor areas.  I have leg hair but have been told no.  

[caveman]

Hey dude if anyone can do it, it’s one of those docs. If not try SMP it looks decent, and frames the face well. And low maintenance!

[wallie12345]

19 hours ago, Rasputin said:

Yes, would be great if you could post pictures of your scalp hair donor, beard hair on the cheeks and neck, and chest hair.

Also, just out of curiosity, how many surgeries exactly did you have (not including the scalp reduction).

Was it FUE or FUT, or both?

I had either 5 or 6 hair transplants starting in 1992 until around year 2000.  They didn't work and they used up all of my donor area.

[wallie12345]

6 minutes ago, caveman said:

Hey dude if anyone can do it, it’s one of those docs. If not try SMP it looks decent, and frames the face well. And low maintenance!

Thanks, it's a long shot but I'll reach out to those 2 top doctors.  The problem with SMP is that I hate that shaved bald look and I'd do it if I can keep the remaining hair I have without shaving it right down and have the SMP in the balding area but not sure if that would look right.

[wallie12345]

21 hours ago, Ccd99 said:

Clearly if you have no donor hair left then it is not possible to do another hair transplant unfortunately. 

You could try regrowing your hair by using medication (finasteride/dutasteride, minoxidil, hair vitamins. ketoconazole shampoo), some people are hyper-responders and I have seen cases where someone has gone from NW6 TO NW1.

You can then re-assess if your situation has improved. If all else fails you could always consider a hair system. They look super natural these days and require maintenance every 2/3 weeks or so.

Thanks, I've done the medication route and they didn't help me at all.   Plus I did the hair system thing as well and I just felt too self-conscious and even had some people ask me if it was a hair system (which I thought was rude and embarassing) and my hair system was from a top company too.   

[wallie12345]

14 hours ago, Melvin- Admin said:

What are your expectations? This is extremely difficult, and you're better off doing nothing. There are probably only two doctors that would accept you. Dr. Pittella and Dr. Sethi. I have seen the latter miss the mark, not because of skill but because there's not much that is possible surgically.

I doubt even they can help me because I've depleted all of my donor area but it's worth a try.  Thanks!

[wallie12345]

13 hours ago, Al - Moderator said:

We need to see a picture of the side of your head, a picture of the back of your head, and a picture of your beard area. If you shave daily then try not to shave an extra day or two and then take a picture. If you have chest hair then a picture of that would be good too. 

I don't expect a full head of hair but would be happy with a Norwood 4 or 5 but at this point, even that doesn't seem possible.   I'll try reaching out to them and it's still a long shot because I don't have any donor scalp area left.   Thank-you for your help!  

[wallie12345]

20 hours ago, Berba11 said:

Could you include some pictures of your donor?

If you genuinely have no donor left in the bank then it’s honestly best to just move on with your life and stop risking getting yourself down a rabbit hole chasing a lost cause. 

As hard as it would be to accept, it looks like I'm going to have to give up any hopes of having more hair.   I've attached my donor pics in my other comments.   

[wallie12345]

13 hours ago, Al - Moderator said:

We need to see a picture of the side of your head, a picture of the back of your head, and a picture of your beard area. If you shave daily then try not to shave an extra day or two and then take a picture. If you have chest hair then a picture of that would be good too. 

Thanks for your help.  I've attached my donor area in a couple of replies above.  I don't have any beard or chest hair to use as donor areas.  I have leg hair but have been told "no".  

[wallie12345]

18 hours ago, Gatsby said:

I came from the mid/late 80’s with two horrible punch graft procedures only to have them cut out in several strips over several years. Can you supply pics of your donor from the sides and behind? I think it’s still worth contacting Dr Pittella. Also you could contact Dr Sethi. What are your realistic goals @wallie12345 that you are looking to achieve? 

I'm going to get it a try and contact those 2 doctors, thanks.  I thought a realistic goal to achieve a Norwood 4 or 5 but it seems unreachable now.   I've attached my donor pic in a couple of replies above and it took up so much space.   Thanks for your help!