Crazy Proposition

[TC17]

So I'm wondering, if FUE scarring is so minimal that it is virtually undetectable, why can't a doctor take FUE from a non safe zone and transplant it to lower a hairline or fill in the temples on a young patient? Is there any reason why FUE's cannot be taken from the top of the scalp? I know that those hairs will not be resistant to DHT and will fall out in time, but some younger patients may only want to look like their peers and not commit to a lifetime of hair restoration. Can't a surgery like that buy the patient some time to decide whether he truly wants to undertake the lifelong process of maintaining his hair without limiting his decision to shave his head in the future? If he ever decides to undergo full strip or FUE from the safe zone, none of his limited supply has been touched and with his increased age it should be easier for a doctor to assess his future pattern.

 

*of course this all assumes that the scarring is virtually undetectable, but even if it is moderately visible, very small scars on the top of the head shouldn't be that noticeable*

[TC17]

So I'm wondering, if FUE scarring is so minimal that it is virtually undetectable, why can't a doctor take FUE from a non safe zone and transplant it to lower a hairline or fill in the temples on a young patient? Is there any reason why FUE's cannot be taken from the top of the scalp? I know that those hairs will not be resistant to DHT and will fall out in time, but some younger patients may only want to look like their peers and not commit to a lifetime of hair restoration. Can't a surgery like that buy the patient some time to decide whether he truly wants to undertake the lifelong process of maintaining his hair without limiting his decision to shave his head in the future? If he ever decides to undergo full strip or FUE from the safe zone, none of his limited supply has been touched and with his increased age it should be easier for a doctor to assess his future pattern.

 

*of course this all assumes that the scarring is virtually undetectable, but even if it is moderately visible, very small scars on the top of the head shouldn't be that noticeable*

[Maxxy]

Personally, I wouldn't risk it, with a strip you would need to advance to the high NW scale for the scar to become visible.

 

What you are suggesting - could result in little white dots showing more and more at every scale of loss, eventually ending up with thousands of these dots. I'd rather have the straight scar line, but that's just me.

 

Most FUE scarring is only "virtually undetectable" because it's wider-spread and surrounded by thick native hair.

[TC17]

My ex girlfriends dad is a high school principal who promised his school that if they raised X amount of dollars at some fundraiser that he would allow them to shave his head at an assembly. They ended up raising the money and he kept his word and shaved his head. The only reason why that is important is because he had a FUE surgery two years prior, and there was NO visible scarring.

 

I see quite a few older men with see through fringes of hair that would unquestionably show a strip scar. Also, if the hair is thinned in the donor area you would lose those grafts as well anyway.

 

Of course undergoing what is a temporary hair transplant has its drawbacks, but the combination of medication and the time a surgery like this could buy someone may be invaluable. Hair loss might bother me at 30, but by 40 I may not care. What if a 25 year old gets a small surgery fulling expecting to undergo future transplants to "keep up" with his hair loss, but for financial reasons is unable to afford one when he is 35 and he now looks silly and is unable to shave down because he has a strip scar? God forbid we ever get cancer, but what if a hair transplant patient does undergo radiation therapy and loses all of his hair, again exposing a strip scar?

 

I just think that anything reasonably calculated (and if this is not reasonable than so be it) to buy a hair loss suffer time for medical breakthroughs (cloning, PRP, cures, other meidcation) and/or surgical advancements and refinements has to be a good thing. Does anyone really expect strip surgeries to be the norm in 15, 20 years? If you're still a young man, why would you bind yourself to a lifetime of having a linear scar if it is not absolutely necessary?

[Maxxy]

I'm not suggesting it isn't an option, simply one I wouldn't risk myself.

 

Where as your ex's dad, showed no sign of scars, we all know - from other FUE patients this is not always the case.

 

I have seen some FUT cases with no visible signs of scarring.

 

Of course, this would be a great option if we had a medication that guaranteed halting all future loss and that everyone could handle. (side effects wise)

 

The temp FUE as you are suggest, would always come at the same cost as any standard FUE, so the risk of not being able to afford future transplants would remain the same. With todays transplants each should stand up on their own and not look silly if future loss occurrs.

 

As you said god forbid any of us do - but after seeing people go through cancer, are we really that vain, in suffering and seeing our family suffer as a result of cancer, we'd worry about scars? (again scars can and could be an issue with FUE)

 

I have high hopes for future treatments, but we can't go into procedures with hope things will advance to such levels we no longer need to worry, to do so would be a risky gamble.

[Bill - Seemiller]

TC17,

 

Though extracting hair from the top of the scalp is certainly possible, the cost of the procedure hardly seems worth the temporary solution. It may buy them some time, but would you want to spend thousands of dollars only to lose the transplanted hair?

 

Besidies, just like there's no guarantee that a strip scar will be pencil thin, there's no guarantee FUE scarring will be completely undetectable.

 

Frankly, I certainly wouldn't take the risk.

 

Bill

[imissthebarber]

Another question worth asking is to what extent would shock loss be an issue both in the recipient and donor areas? If the hair is not MPB resistant I would imagine there is more risk of shock loss.

[Speegs]

Originally posted by TC17:

My ex girlfriends dad is a high school principal who promised his school that if they raised X amount of dollars at some fundraiser that he would allow them to shave his head at an assembly. They ended up raising the money and he kept his word and shaved his head. The only reason why that is important is because he had a FUE surgery two years prior, and there was NO visible scarring.

 

I see quite a few older men with see through fringes of hair that would unquestionably show a strip scar. Also, if the hair is thinned in the donor area you would lose those grafts as well anyway.

 

Of course undergoing what is a temporary hair transplant has its drawbacks, but the combination of medication and the time a surgery like this could buy someone may be invaluable. Hair loss might bother me at 30, but by 40 I may not care. What if a 25 year old gets a small surgery fulling expecting to undergo future transplants to "keep up" with his hair loss, but for financial reasons is unable to afford one when he is 35 and he now looks silly and is unable to shave down because he has a strip scar? God forbid we ever get cancer, but what if a hair transplant patient does undergo radiation therapy and loses all of his hair, again exposing a strip scar?

 

I just think that anything reasonably calculated (and if this is not reasonable than so be it) to buy a hair loss suffer time for medical breakthroughs (cloning, PRP, cures, other meidcation) and/or surgical advancements and refinements has to be a good thing. Does anyone really expect strip surgeries to be the norm in 15, 20 years? If you're still a young man, why would you bind yourself to a lifetime of having a linear scar if it is not absolutely necessary?

Are you only 25 as well?