August 2006 – Page 16

August 3, 2006

Transplanting Hair Into Scar Tissue – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

If you transplant hairs into a scar, is it true that the scar gets worse before it gets better?(does the scar stretch before the scar actually has hair growing)? If so, does it eventually get better?

Disguising a scalp scar with hair transplants is an ideal procedure that is often done at NHI. There are other factors involved such as:

the location of the scar
your hair shaft thickness and the scar thickness
the contrast of your hair color to your skin color to minimize the appearance of the contrast
the character of your hair (wavy, curley, straight)
the length of your hair (very short hair will require more densities than longer length hair)

It is not true that the scar gets worse from a scar transplant and then gets better, nor does it stretch from getting hair placed within it.

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August 3, 2006

FUE vs Hair Multiplication – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

Sorry to bother you about my small scar again, but I have been doing a lot of research about Follicular Multiplication, and I have read that it is a lot like FUE, except they do not extract the whole follicle.(So the extracted hair will grow back). I was just wondering if that might be an option for me, becuase I have a very small scar on my scalp, and I would really like to fill it in with a small hair transplant, but I am afraid that the transplant will cause more damage to my hair than the scar is to begin with.

I don’t know what to do, because it is so small, but it bothers me, and I would really just like to get it repaired, but I don’t want to cause any damage to the rest of my hair.

An FUE procedure will not damage your scalp or hair. Hair multiplication is experimental and probably will not work. There are a number of companies like Aderans and Intercytex trying to induce formation of new follicles. Most researchers would accept anything, whether it be follicular neogenesis or rejuvenation or stem cell yields, or anything that will make a new hair, any way it comes. Unfortunately, this technology is probably years away, still.

Why not just fix this small scar if it is so bothering and get it behind you?

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August 3, 2006

Adderall and Hair Loss – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

If adderall does cause hair loss, then what is the explanation behind it? i.g. lack of blood flow to the sclap, increase in stress hormones?

Thank You

This drug is both a neuro-stimulant and an appetite depressant. When it causes hair loss (side effect) the mechanism may be related to the weight loss that follows and could be nutritional. It could also be a direct effect of the drug on hair growth.

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August 2, 2006

Was My Transplant a Failure? – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

Hi Doctor,

I had my transplant on 6th july this year. I managed to go through good post-operative care for ten days but on the 12th day, I started getting rid of my scabs by gently rubbing my scalp even when it was dry. That was basically because I misunderstood my doctor who actually told me to gently press scalp at times of any itching. So everytime the scab fell off I saw a hair attached to it too and in rare cases there wasn’t a hair to it. I still have many transplanted hair left on my scalp and I am currently 20 days post-op. I have doubts that I have possibly dislodged my grafts and I am afraid my transplant may result in a failure. Incase if I have dislodged some grafts, will this affect the grafts which have not been dislodged. And is the presence of graft noticable on the scalp with a naked eye?

I am well aware that I shouldn’t have done the rubbing on dry scalp but does that mean that I have made a BIG mistake and there is no point in expecting the new hair growth at all?

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I believe you are overreacting. If everything was good for the first 10 days, there is little possibility that you lost any grafts/hair. What you are doing is shedding the hair that was transplanted. It will go into a hair cycle of telogen and then ‘wake-up’ and start growing at about 3-4 months. This is normal and certainly nothing that you’ve said in your email indicates that what you did will have any negative long term impact.

August 2, 2006

Transplant Scar Width – Balding Blog

Are all the modern hair transplants now performed with a scar that is 2 to 3 mm in width? If I felt around my head for the scar, would I be able to feel it? If I used mederma for the first 3 months or so, do you think the scar would be softer and smoother, and thus less obvious when you feel around for it?

Most scars following a hair transplant in the competent hands (your doctor is in that group) will fall within the 2-3 mm width upon healing.

I am not sure if Mederma really works since I do not have direct experience, but I do not believe that there is any harm to using it. You can read previous posts on Mederma here and here.

August 2, 2006

Sarcoidosis and Hair Loss – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

i have sarcoidosis. my hair is starting to fall out. i’m 29 male. please tell me if it will grow back

There is no way for me to know that your hair will grow back. You need a good medical examination and a correct diagnosis. Sarcoidosis is a multisystem disease of unknown causes. It affects more women than men. It affects all organ systems including the skin, which may contribute to hair loss. While sarcoidosis may be a factor in your hair loss, you may also have male pattern hair loss. There is no way to tell unless you get your hair mapped out for miniaturization and then follow-up with your doctor for his/her interpretation of that mapping pattern.

August 2, 2006

Miniaturization Mapping After Hair Treatments – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

I think that mapping for miniaturization, “mini mapping”, is a great idea, nevertheless, this raises a very pertinent question: Can miniaturization be accurately diagnosed if drugs such as Propecia, Avodart, and / or minoxidil have been successful in treating MPB since these drugs may have thickened the hair, thereby making the once thin hairs look more like larger terminal hairs. Thank you for your time as this blog must be quite time consuming.

Measuring miniaturization of hair is a great way to quantify the change of your scalp hairs’ health over time It is obviously best to record the degree of miniaturization before a treatment is started, but it is never too late. If you have access to mapping your scalp hair for miniaturization, then it is my opinion to have it done to keep a record of your current state of hair health. Progressive deterioration or improvement can be measured giving you an idea where you are heading.

You are correct in stating that a successful treatment for male pattern baldness should reverse some or all of the miniaturization. The more successful the treatment, the better the assurance that you are on the correct path. Wouldn’t be nice if, for example, if you had 80% miniaturization in the crown before treatment and then after treatment it dropped to 30%?

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August 2, 2006

I’m Suddenly Losing Pubic Hair – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

I am a 58 yr old female, went thro’ menopause at 46 and have lost underarm hair for last 5yrs or so.Scalp hair has never been thick but adequate but suddenly losing pubic hair. I look quite young for my years, live quite stressfull life, eat quite healthily (protein comes from fish, eggs and cheese, not much red meat). Take minerals, antioxidants, 0mega3 oils,drink 2to3 alcaholic drinks daily and 30mins brisk walk daily. Low blood pressure, sedentary job,slight muscle weakness right side of heart, possible IBS. Any ideas?

Sometimes sudden loss of pubic hair or scalp hair may be a sign that you may have a medical condition that you are not aware of. You should see a doctor for a full medical work-up.

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August 2, 2006

Doctor Said FUE Would Leave Detectable Scars – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

Hi, I am sixteen-years-old, and I just recently went to a consoltation with my parents to address the scalp scar, (non-transplant)that I had wrote about in a previous post. The doctor has been doing hair restoration for over 30 years and he seems to know what he is talking about. Well, my question is this, I went into the office thinking that he would recommed the FUE procedure to fill in this scar, but instead he told me he would be using FUT. He said that he would use a trichophytic closure and that the small scar he would make would be virtually undetectable. I asked him why he wouldn’t use FUE, and he told me that he performs this procedure, but he said that it would cost me twice as much and it would leave me with little scars that would be even more detectible than the trichophytic-closed scar. He said that my scar would require 50 unit grafts, and that this would be no problem. I just wanted to know your opinion. Does this doctor sound correct?

-P.S. My parents and I would really like to know, because we want to get the best treatment possible, and we need some advice. Thank-you

Either FUE or FUT will do the job. This doctor may not be comfortable with FUE, but it is not a procedure that produces any socially-detectable scars. In other words, FUE will not produce a noticeable scar (less than 1 mm punctate scars), versus a small, barely noticeable linear scar with FUT. The choice is yours. Although the FUE is often more expensive, I doubt that 50 follicular units would be an appreciable difference in costs.

As you are local to my Los Angeles office, if you and your parents are looking at options and would like a free consultation with an NHI physician, you can call 800-NEW-HAIR to schedule an appointment or visit the NHI site to request more info.

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August 2, 2006

Depressed and Hopeless 21 Year Old Female Losing Hair – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

Hello,
Im a 21 year old female and I have been experiencing an excessive amount of hair loss for the past 2 and a half years. Although I’ve never had a thick head of hair, I always had just about normal hair. I never experienced so much hair loss untill I started college. It is so bad that I can see my scalp all through out the crown of my head. During the first year of experiencing this, I had a blood test by my physician, but they said everything seemed to be fine. I then began taking vitamins, such as biotin and other hair vitamins. Balding is hereditary from my moms side, she has it as well, yet she only began to experience it during her mid 30’s. I recently saw another dermatologist who told me the best thing is to use minoxidil, and I did. Still, no results and it even seems like it got worst. I feel extremely depressed and hopeless, PLEASE, HELP!

Since you have had all of the blood work that will rule out a medical cause for hair loss and you already have seen a dermatologist, your next move is to find a doctor who can map your entire scalp out to evaluate the type of hair loss pattern that you have presently. From that information one might be able to predict what may happen to you. If you are a candidate for hair transplantation, then he/she will let you know. Minoxidil takes 8-12 months to see an impact, so make sure that you wait that out.

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