we worry about the hairloss we might suffer in the future after a HT...

[Sunnycoastman]

...But Ive never ever seen anyone who obviously had a HT and now all the hair around it is gone and they look like a muppet or something. There must be thousands of 20 and 30 year olds getting transplants, then as they age they lose alot more hair leaving the island of transplanted hair.

 

Do they keep going back for more or what. Its something we all think about... right. Its an expensive business too. I mean when youre single you can afford it but once married with kids its not so easy.

 

how many more transplants will a guy in his 20s need to do so the first one dosnt end up looking silly.....

 

Do young guys really understand what theyre getting into....maybe the family history of baldness needs to be researched a whole lot more before taking the plunge......cheers

 

sunny

[Ozguy]

There is a guy at work who obviously got a hair transplant in the 80s. He is a very pluggy but strong hair line and no hair behind it. I often wonder why he doesn't get it fixed. Maybe it is the cost, I am in Australia and HTs are prohibitively expensive here.

 

I have often seen guys with very strong hair lines yet what is clearly recession from the midscalp to the crown and wonder if it's a good HT. In my opinion it looks better than no hairline at all.

[ultimate]

If someone in their twenties has HT and they are not informed about more procedures by the Doctor then i think they are in serious trouble some years down the line. Think about it they suffer hairloss at an early age and then eventually do a HT thinking that all problems will go away....they get on with life...probably get married and have kids a few years later and then find themself in trouble with the hairloss issue again. Now, its probably harder financially because they have more commitments. They go through the HT battle again.....

 

Im 27 and i know clearly that i need another HT at least, maybe two more (assuming donor supply is enough) to get the best end result. I just had my first HT last month and i am starting to think about the next procedure.

Some guys under 25s say they dont care what happens when they reach 35plus. But I think they say that because of their current desperation in trying to deal present situations. Thats why every Doctors must stress to under25s specially about at least two procedures even if family history does not show a severe baldness.

 

If i had to choose between hairline and crown i would ofcourse like most people choose a strong hairline than spreading over the entire scalp on the first procedure which in most cases gives a comb over appearance if not straight away than at least when more native hairloss occurs

[Blake Bloxham]

Sunny,

 

You bring up a great point - thousands of patients have HT surgeries every year, but rarely do you see people walking around with a great, isolated hairline on an otherwise bald head.

 

Well, there is a reason for this ...

 

Most good docs take future/projected loss into account when performing a hair transplant procedure. They do this, in part, for the very reason you described. However, unfortunately, some doctors do not take this factor into consideration, and you'll see cases where 2,000 grafts are used to lower a NW 2 hairline on a 23 year old with NO indication that future loss won't occur.

 

Another reason you don't see what you've described is because a lot of surgeons use oral/topical medications in conjunction with transplant procedures, and this usually helps maintain and even thicken up the various areas of the scalp.

 

Lastly, you're right - many people do undergo multiple procedures. Remember that hair transplant surgery isn't a complete reversal of loss, and future, progressive balding does occur. However, if you work with an ethical doc, at a young enough stage, it's unlikely that you'll end up with an isolated, floating hairline in your 50's.

[ohlife]

Is it wise to get a HT knowing that there's a chance the second half of your hair is only being kept in place by other treatments? I'm thinking about getting on either or both of fin and minoxidil, but even if they manage to keep what I have in place (which is all but thinning at the temples at the moment) I'll still want to fix my hairline with a HT so as to rid myself of the 'horseshoe' look. Is it wise to get on the meds and attempt to hold what I have in place, and then look towards a HT when I'm 25-27 for the hairline/temple region whilst still on them? or is it advisable, if you're looking towards a HT, to actually let the front half fall out, then get the HT, and then get on the meds to prevent the back half from creating the 'island' effect?

 

cheers

[Sparky]

I was one of those stupid kids with NW1.5 balding stage that rushed into an HT at a young age, with no perception of what would happen in the future, I just wanted Tom Cruise's hairline, and couldnt see the possible problems in the future. Luckily I didnt lose anymore hair, maybe due to proscar, maybe I just wouldnt of lost it anyway.

 

Getting an HT is not something to go into lightly, do years of research and make sure you are really prepared, with hindsight, I would never of done it.

[Megatron]

I know 3 people who had a HT and all three made the same mistake of lowering their hairline too much and not continuing to use hair loss medication. 2 of the 3 have the dreaded thick hairline with nothing behind it look. 1 of them went back for 3 more procedures to fill it in, but he's now progressed to a NW 7 and has bald temples receeding so far back that it almost makes the thick hair on the top of his head look like a mohawk.

 

morale of the story, stay on your hair loss drugs and/or plan your HT as if you're going completely bald.

[Blake Bloxham]

Ohlife,

 

If you are experiencing loss, utilizing finasteride and minoxidil now will definitely help. At the least, it will help you understand how well the medications will maintain your native hair. After you know the medications work in your midscalp/crown region, you can look into a transplant to restore the rest.

 

I wouldn't advise letting any hair purposely fall out before undergoing a transplant procedure. Remember that you possess a limited number of viable grafts, and it would be a shame to waste these units on hairs that could have been saved.

 

Because you seem young (I assume a few years under 25), I would look into minoxidil and finasteride now, maintain your native hair and prevent future loss as much as possible, and then research a hair transplant surgery. Also, if you are an appropriate age for surgery, you can use both a transplant and medications at the same time.

 

Good luck, and keep us updated. You can also start your own hair loss site to track your progress if you'd like!