NW6 and 7's

[Take a chance]

I've been classified a norwood 6 and i'm not even 30 yet. I'm due for a transplant in a few months. What will happen to me in the future when I become a nw7. My procedure will take up at least 5000 grafts over 2 HT's leaving me with limited donor supply. How many times am I going to have to tweak the hair transplant as my hair line receeds further in the future?

 

Last thing you want is for your crown to be fixed then down the track it opens up further leaving like a channel of hair over a balding area. Does anyone have any advice for this?

[hairthere]

You need to discuss this concern with your doctor and come up with an appropriate plan. if it's the lower half of your crown that won't have coverage maybe you can grow the hair long enough to cover it up...

[Dr. Michael Beehner]

Dear "Take a Chance,"

First of all, not all Norwood Class VI's go on to become a Class VII. If you can see some thinning in that top fringe area, and if your male relatives tended to drop their fringes down that far, then you might be right to expect to go to a Class VII. (For those that don't know, a Norwood Class VII, the most severe degree of hair loss, is one in which the entire top of the head is bald and the border of the side fringes is down along the side of the head and not up near the top)

Assuming you're in your 20's and that you are going to become a Class VII, you still can be a good hair transplant candidate. Your hair surgeon almost certainly will have to exclude the downhill vertex/crown in back from transplanting, and will need to create a gradient effect of hair, which is densest in the front-center and then tails off as it approaches the sides and back. Adopting a styling pattern of bringing the hair straight back or toward one of the rear corners would be a big help also.

Two other big factors that will be important for your hair surgeon to consider are: first, how dense is the area of donor hair you do have - is it densely populated and with a lot of 2 and 3-haired FU's, or is it thin with lots of 1's and 2's? Second, what are your hair characteristics. It would be a big help if your hair was not curly and "flowed" well so it could be brought straight back and cover some of the crown area.

With decent density in your "safe" donor area and with realistic expectations on your part, you could receive a very natural looking transplant result.

Mike Beehner, M.D.

[imissthebarber]

I would suggest studying a lot of old family photos if possible. A lot of my relatives reached nw6 around 30 but none really went on to a nw7. It isn't a perfect guide but as the doc suggests it may help to guide reasonable expectations you could have for the future.

[imissthebarber]

This article might be useful

 

Dr Arocha on Advanced MPB

[Take a chance]

Thank you for your reply Dr Beehner. I really do think that eventually I will become a class VII and this worries me. I do agree that the best styling option for me would be to comb it all back that way existing hair can cover some of the crown.

After speaking to my HT doctor he said that the first procedure will be to create a hair line and take care of the top front area. I assume that in the second procedure we will be addressing the crown area.

I need some clarification with the statement you made.

 

"Your hair surgeon almost certainly will have to exclude the downhill vertex/crown in back from transplanting, and will need to create a gradient effect of hair, which is densest in the front-center and then tails off as it approaches the sides and back".

 

What do you mean by gradient effect of hair? Also having a large crown area to fill already do you think I will be able to cover it all in the second procedure I have? You mentioned that he should not touch the vertex crown. What do you mean by this?

 

Sorry if i sound a bit naive but i am fairly new to this and you have been the only person that has given me a straight answer about this question. I think the topic is an issue for a lot of people who have extensive hair loss and are still young. Any further info would be much appreciated and thanks again for your response.