Do hair transplants really last?

[Scorpian]

Is hair in the recipient area of a transplant susceptible to DHT? My original surgery three years ago featured great success (via strip), and I was quite pleased with my results. I went from a NW 3-4 to a NW1. Three years later, some of those original transplanted hairs seem miniaturized. Some of them are just not as thick as they used to be. Hence, I pose the question.. do transplanted hairs really last? We see a lot of pictures 1-2 years after a procedure and we comment on them. What about people 5-10 years after a transplant? Do they still have great hairlines with no miniaturization of the recipient area? Can't wait till HM comes out one day and gets rid of this problem .

[Scorpian]

Is hair in the recipient area of a transplant susceptible to DHT? My original surgery three years ago featured great success (via strip), and I was quite pleased with my results. I went from a NW 3-4 to a NW1. Three years later, some of those original transplanted hairs seem miniaturized. Some of them are just not as thick as they used to be. Hence, I pose the question.. do transplanted hairs really last? We see a lot of pictures 1-2 years after a procedure and we comment on them. What about people 5-10 years after a transplant? Do they still have great hairlines with no miniaturization of the recipient area? Can't wait till HM comes out one day and gets rid of this problem .

[Scorpian]

If PRP works, it could be a great addition to the hair loss battle and preserve the transplanted hairs as well (assuming transplanted hairs could eventually be susceptible to DHT).

[MrJobi]

one word: YES

[Dr. Glenn Charles]

That is a very good question, One that is difficult to answer. I have been doing hair transplants for over 10 years and have a few patients that looked great for many years and then did have some apparent thinning. However, the majority of my patients have had continued success with there hair transplants. I also have seen many patients who had the older plug type surgeries 15-25 years ago and still have most of the transplanted hairs intact. This leads me to believe that in most cases the transplanted hairs are for the most part permanent.

[TC17]

I've also seen a sizable number of older men with thinning in their donor area. There can be no doubt that if there is thinning in the permanent zone, that the permanent zone is not necessarily permanent. I also worry about what will happen in the future if my donor area thins and a scar becomes visible and I lose transplanted grafts. Although I have been told that the rim of hair thinning is rare, the fact that it exists is troubling because of what could potentially happen.

 

What I don't understand is how the physicians estimate graft availability on younger patients when the potential for loss exists. For example, if person A visits a doctor at age 25 he may be told that he has 8,000 grafts available, but if the same person were to visit the same doctor but at age 55, he may only have 4,000 available. The question then is what happened to the 4,000?

[lost my swagger]

there is no doubt that thinning in the "permanent" donor area can take place... i doubt its something that can accurately be predicted considering drs cant really even predict ones typical balding pattern and progression in the usual balding areas..

 

the glorification of HTs nowadays, as a seemless, completly natural, solution has resulted in a MUCH larger number of young guys and guys of all ages getting HTs, REGARDLESS OF WHERE THEIR FUTURE HAIRLOSS PROGRESSION MAY TAKE THEM, they cannot posibly know where they will end up, or how their donor will hold up.. in time we will begin to see, and hear more stories of guys who experienced plenty of donor thinning, and even transplant thinning as they age, IMO.

 

since hairs in even the donor region can sometimes be susceptible to DHT, and eventually die themselves, a LOGICAL person will determine that the possibilty is VERY real that a percentage of their transplanted hair will follow this pattern and be lost eventually..

 

HENCE WHY, Bill HAS HAD SOMEWHERE ALONG THE LINES OF 48 TRILLION GRAFTS MOVED YET STILL REMAINS ON HIS MEDS, NIC NITRO ALSO CONTIUES TO ADDRESS HIS HAIRLOSS INTERNALLY. these guys know better

 

to me this is just another topic that needs to be addressed more, but isnt... now excuse me while i go get off on the latest posted result of a NW3 who with the large help of meds, and half his donor used was able to get a brand new lower hairline...

[ej]

My transplanted hair is still as strong as its always been 10 years after surgery ,Im in my early 40`s , with the benefit of hindsight I would definantly have done things differently, I would of solely addressed the forlock and continued working on that area alone until suitably density is achieved , I think this approach to a transplant is playing it safe for a permanent natural outcome taking into account possible future hairloss .

Regards

ej

[stamos]

I had HTs in 1995 from a shitty clinic and all old plugs are still there.

 

Hereis my 1st topic here, with pics around the middle of the page.

[Al - Moderator]

Stamos,

Have you had a repair job since those picts? My old HT is similar to yours in that the top of my head is very thin all over. I'm curious to know how much area you were able to cover if you had a procedure done yet.

[aaron1234]

As LMS was saying, I often notice elderly men who have basically no donor left. I always fret that that will happen to me and my donor scar will eventually not have the benefit of being covered by the hair above it.

 

Now I would imagine that 20-30 years down the road that hair multiplication will be on the market. But there is no guarantee of that.

 

So does Finasteride actually keep the donor zone from miniaturizing? I don't think there have been studies about the 20-30 year effects and efficiency of Finasteride. So we can only hope that either Fin will keep us from becoming the worst level of a NW 7 or that a newer treatment will come around down the road.

[TC17]

To piggyback on what you said aaron, even if finasteride proves effective in me forever, I do not want to take medication for the rest of my life. Although lots of companies are throwing ridiculous sums of money at treating hair loss, it is disheartening to me that the only proven medicines so far have been discovered accidentally. Oh well, que sera sera.

[HairIsThere]

I have noticed too that some older men essentially have no donor hair left. But when you hit a certain age, around 60 or 70 or so, unfortunately pretty much everything starts fallin apart, not just hair. Plus, when I'm 70 years old I don't think I'll be near as concerned about my hair as I am now at 22.

[TC17]

HairIsThere,

 

I used to think that way as well, but after looking over this site I no longer am as sure that I won't care when I'm older. I say that because there are a lot of members who are in their 40's, 50's, and 60's who have decided to undergo a hair transplant after decades of being bald. You would think that after that much time that they would just be used to it, but clearly that is not the case. HOPEFULLY when men our age get older we will have figured out a way to actually beat this whole going bald thing!

[PCC]

Although my outcomes have been both a blessing and curse, hair from my earliest proceedures 25+ years ago is still growing vigorously. In fact this hair has to be trimmed by the barber at least every 3 weeks or it becomes unmanageable.

 

Phil

[Bill - Seemiller]

Hair transplants are as permanent as donor hair is. Donor hair thinning can occur over the years, but usually not to any great extent. Thus, the possibility of transplanted hair thinning over the years is also a possibility, but not to the same extent as pattern hair loss.

 

But in reality, nothing in this world is permanent, including our lives. Thus, the idea behind hair transplant surgery is to improve our appearance and enjoy it as long as we can.

 

Best wishes,

 

Bill

[stamos]

Finasteride helps keeping the hair above the donor area, or and the donor area as well? if its the later then it protects grafts also.

 

Originally posted by BeHappy:

Stamos,

Have you had a repair job since those picts? My old HT is similar to yours in that the top of my head is very thin all over. I'm curious to know how much area you were able to cover if you had a procedure done yet.

 

I had a repair job of around 2600 grafts and covered the front area, just before the crown.