Is it worth being agressive ?

[PD]

Please discuss/advise..

 

I am 38 (probably more like NW6, but not exactly - see pic) and fighting with myself as far as how much of the scalp should I get HT done. So far, I am leaning toward getting just enough to cover my frontal half. (Area A in picture) I dont think being agressive and filling up the entire bald scalp is necessary for the following reasons:

 

1. frontal half is very critical to change one's look. While I agree the crown will make a little bit more diff, the (perceived)difference in look between getting a frontal and rear is not much ..

 

2. if one's job is not in entertainment industry/show biz or does not need to wear very short hair, it shouldnt be that big a deal

 

3. close to double the cost, frontal might need about 1500-2500, for the entire top, could be 3500-4000 (H&W could probably fit about 7000)

 

4. potential to look terrible either way. After say 10 yrs, if loss continued further back and down, there could be a new gap between transplanted hair and original hair at which point there may or may not be enough donor hair / strip available to close the gap, should max out in the first HT by doing entire bald scalp.

 

So, to overcome #4, I was planning to having a sort of a band of decreasing density in the rear of frontal half(in the area B) to resolve unnatural look of dense (transplanted)hair abruptly ending in clean bald head near crown area. I have actually seen some pictures of patients performed by a popular surgeon on this site who had this look.

 

So what do you guys say ?

[hairlust]

hey pd. IT LOOKS like you have good donor hair, and i know that only a doc knows, but from my experience, i think you could do a good frontal transplant. I think though that you wuld need about 4000 in the front.see a good doc, again, your donor hair looks good, so there is good potential for good results.

[Ronald]

I think what you do should depend on your scalp laxity and donor area availability.

 

If those are favorable, then you will have more options.

 

I know its annoying when people type this, but I think a qualified hair doc would be in a better position to answer your questions.

[aaron1234]

PD,

 

That's a good shot for the top of the head, but I'd like to see your sides and back, i.e. your donor area. But you do seem to have thick and curly hair on the sides which tend to give great results with a HT.

[PD]

Juanc/Ronald/Aaron,

 

Thanks for your opinions guys..

 

I was told by HT doc I visited that I do have reasonable amount of donor hair TODAY.. but long term you never know, I had amazing dense hair on the top 20 years ago, see what happened ;-)

 

I would also love to hear on my idea that filling up every bit of scalp is not necessarily the right strategy..

 

Aaron, you did the best thing going to Dr. Shapiro... Good Luck man!

[aaron1234]

I would also love to hear on my idea that filling up every bit of scalp is not necessarily the right strategy.

 

I think your strategy is a good one and also realistic. Of course, everyone is one is different, but if you are content with having a thin crown then it would definitely be wise to pack more towards the front. In fact, it seems that most surgeons usually place higher densities in front as it is already.

 

Aaron, you did the best thing going to Dr. Shapiro... Good Luck man!

 

Thanks PD. I'm definitely playing the waiting game now. But I'm optimistic about this round.

[hairlust]

I opted to just fill in the front, thats the profile that everyone sees anyway. So a good strategy would be to start a conservative hair line in the front, and work your way back. Also

your curly hair will be beneficial for "Creating the illusion" of density, if you place a density of about 40-45 hairsper sq cen.in the front you should get a great result and if u have high sides that should help even further.

[imissthebarber]

You should discuss this in detail with a surgeon. Ask them (and satisfy yourself) whether this plan will look natural:

 

a) from all angles

b) in all lighting

c) with further hair loss

d) with different hairstyles

 

and any combination of a-d

 

If there is further hair loss the pattern you have drawn might be overbalanced toward the front and if so people are likely to notice that.

[HairHope]

The front 1/3 to 1/2 will take about 4000 grafts minimum to give reasonable illusion of density given the advanced hairloss you have.

 

You will do yourself a favor to do at least that amount on the first pass.

 

Best of luck.

[TheEmperor]

Originally posted by HairHope:

The front 1/3 to 1/2 will take about 4000 grafts minimum to give reasonable illusion of density given the advanced hairloss you have.

 

You will do yourself a favor to do at least that amount on the first pass.

 

Best of luck.

 

Yes. 4K will only do frotn half and you will want more density.

 

My front was done with 4.5K grafts and density is low. If spread out any further, would be a total mess. If packed tighter, would also be a disaster becuase it wouldnt be connected as well on top.

 

Its a balancing act. Only get 4K+ done, period. Only a few docs do this regularly. Even with that many grafts, you will want more.

 

Given future loss, chasing the crown can be a very bad idea.

[PD]

thanks juanc, imissthebarber.. i am counting on my curly hair, and about the discussing with a surgeon, i am hoping i will be obliged with all the detailed questions.. as you can see, i disect this thing a lot more than many out here, it looks like :-) but, thats me!

 

HairHope, TheEmperor, thanks for the input.. I didnt think I would need 4K+ for just the frontal.. Man, I was hoping i could getaway with 3K for just the frontal, the problem is the more i picture myself with about 4k, i less motived i become to get the HT done... i am hoping some good surgeons recommended here can achieve reasonable coverage on the frontal with 3k, with all the lateral slit techniques and so on..

 

Check these two, the second patient had chosen coverage over density, i understand... either way, i probably need at the very least 3500.

 

1st: ( 3.1K )

 

before:

http://www.hairtransplantnetwo...opyID=1395&WebID=689

 

after:

http://www.hairtransplantnetwo...opyID=2629&WebID=689 (some pics have both before and after in the same image.)

 

2nd: (3.2k)

 

before:

http://www.hairtransplantnetwo...opyID=1647&WebID=750

 

after:

http://www.hairtransplantnetwo...opyID=2265&WebID=750

[hairlust]

go for it, i only have 4000 grafts, and my scalp is really white and my hair is jet black, so its a horrible contrast. i can see you have black hair and a darker skin tone on your scalp, this will definitely be a gain for you. I think that 3k graft will help you with your hairs characteristics, and if you need more, you can always go to a cheaper doctor, just to add more hair. thats what i did. Youre lucky that you dont have a really white scalp though, it really screws things up.

[TheEmperor]

Originally posted by PD:

thanks juanc, imissthebarber.. i am counting on my curly hair, and about the discussing with a surgeon, i am hoping i will be obliged with all the detailed questions.. as you can see, i disect this thing a lot more than many out here, it looks like :-) but, thats me!

 

HairHope, TheEmperor, thanks for the input.. I didnt think I would need 4K+ for just the frontal.. Man, I was hoping i could getaway with 3K for just the frontal, the problem is the more i picture myself with about 4k, i less motived i become to get the HT done... i am hoping some good surgeons recommended here can achieve reasonable coverage on the frontal with 3k, with all the lateral slit techniques and so on..

 

Check these two, the second patient had chosen coverage over density, i understand... either way, i probably need at the very least 3500.

 

1st: ( 3.1K )

 

before:

http://www.hairtransplantnetwo...opyID=1395&WebID=689

 

after:

http://www.hairtransplantnetwo...opyID=2629&WebID=689 (some pics have both before and after in the same image.)

 

2nd: (3.2k)

 

before:

http://www.hairtransplantnetwo...opyID=1647&WebID=750

 

after:

http://www.hairtransplantnetwo...opyID=2265&WebID=750

 

Its good to see you doing your research. The first patient will obviously need a second pass. The second patient got a good balance of coverage and density and may be finished. My coverage is not unlike the second patient, although I have 4500 grafts to achieve similar coverage.

 

I think these patients both represent realistic outcomes.

[coscanoer]

It's definitely the smart decision to play it conservative with the crown. You will be thankful down the line. I think that you can get decent coverage with like 10 FU/cm2 and, combined with some concealer, make it look like you more or less have a reasonably thick crown. Or you can leave it altogether. Also, transplanting hair is a one-way action. If you add less hair to an area, and you find you are satisfied, then you are done. However if you add too many grafts or a ton don't grow, you can never undo that.

[PD]

coscanoer,

 

I agree that transplant is a one-way trip in that you lose option to shave completely, down the road (strip) should one's loss progress pretty badly... ofcourse, one can come back for transplant, but I dont know if I would continue to fight this losing game. basically, to me, in getting a HT done, "I am buying time" probably 10yrs hopefully 15yrs!

 

come to think of it, i need to find out if the scar will ever become smaller, as time goes by...