Month: September 2006

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4 Years After Hair Transplant, I Am Still Numb – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

I had a HT from another surgeon about 4 years ago. The numbness area has still not gone away after 4 years. I was told it would take 3 months to a year. Is there still hope for my nerves to reconnect on their own? If not, is this correctible by surgery or any other methods?

Thanks.

Numbness after a year reflects some nerve damage. I would want to know where you are numb. There are nerves in the back of the head than can be damaged from surgery. They are the greater and lesser occipital nerves, temporal and third occipital nerve. The following image shows the major nerve distribution and it may correspond to the area where your sensation is impacted:

As you can see from the picture, these nerves specifically cover different areas of the scalp. If any of these nerves are injured, a sensory defect will reflect the nerve’s distribution. We are fortunate that these nerves overlap in most people, and if one is damaged, the other has a distribution that covers the damaged nerve. It sounds like your back-up system did not work.

After 4 years, the nerves usually are dead, so that surgery (which is very difficult anyway) will not work. If there is pain in these nerves, then there are things that can be done to alleviate the pain, but usually after 4 years, all pain should have gone away.

(image source: eMedicine)

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My Multi-Vitamin Contains Saw Palmetto – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

I have been on Propecia for roughly 4 months now. It is working great. I noticed MPB early, got a scalp biopsy (and consequently a diagnosis), and obtained the finasteride all within 10 days. I am relatively happy. Great blog by the way.

This morning, I just noticed that my multi-vitamin contains Saw Palmetto, 50mg. My dermotologist had mentioned that you should either take one or the other, and not both, but I’m hoping the dosage is small enough to not matter. My question is could this have a stacking effect? How much Saw Palmetto is “prescribed” for MPB? Is this even near a dose? Am I now forced to always take 50 mg of this for life too? Just curious.

Saw palmetto is often ineffective for treating MPB. If it works at all, it is a weak DHT blocker so that there should be no stacking impact with Propecia. If you should stop saw palmetto at any time, there should not be a withdrawal effect, so you can safely stop the saw palmetto at any time.


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Hair on Back of 12 Year Old Son’s Head Doesn’t Grow Anymore – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

My mixed race (black/white) 12-1/2 year old son has had a mini afro since he was 2. It is sort of his “trademark.” About 3 months ago, the back of his head has lost its growth, and is much shorter than the rest of his hair. He is devestated, and fearing some kind of baldness issue. Why do you think this happened? Any suggestions?

He should be examined by a good doctor (dermatologist) and get his hair mapped out for miniaturization. I am just guessing here without the benefit of knowing much about your son’s history. Is this hair that is located on the high neck, rather than the low scalp? I clearly need to know more. If you’d like, you can send photos and mark on the photo where the notch is on the back of his skull. All men have a prominent notch on the back of the skull (a male characteristic). Please reference this posting if you do send photos.

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Can I Wear My Hair System While My Transplant Grows In? – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

I wear a hair system. if i go for a transplant, can i still wear hair system till the time the other hair does not grow … i.e immediately after surgery i want to cover it with the hair system so no one notices.

For the first week, I would advise against it. When you use a hair system it needs to be switched to clips. Tape or glues will kill any hair transplant, first by pulling out the new grafts and then by traction alopecia. Be careful that the system does not rub on the grafts and that the system is clean so that it does not increase the risk of folliculitis.

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Can a 56 Year Old Woman Regrow Pubic Hair? – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

Is it possible for a 56 years old woman to regrow pubic hair?

Regrowing pubic hair may occur with minoxidil applications twice a day. I would take 8 months to find out if it works. Alternatively, hair transplants work 100% of the time in the pubic area.

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Bumps on Scalp Causing Bald Spots – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

Hello,

I have a problem with my hair. It seems that lately I’ve been getting these strange bumps on my head that seem to be pimples only on a very different scale. They are quite rough and I can tell that there is a dense liquid behind them. Out of curiousity I’ve popped them and they usually scab and go away. But about a day or two after they go away, they leave a baldspot, usually the size of nickel or dime. Sometimes the spot is bald for more than a month and sometimes only a few weeks. I’m afraid to cut my hair because I know they will be clearly visible. What do you think this is?

It sounds like you have recurrent folliculitis. See a good dermatologist and get it treated. Infections can produce temporary balding around the infection itself.

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Amphetamines and Hair Loss – Balding Blog

does long term amphetamine use cause hair loss?

Yes, amphetamines can cause hair loss.




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Hair Loss InformationI Read Online About Propecia Side Effects and Now I’m Freaked Out! – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

I am seriously considering taking propecia, I did a bit of research online and came across a few sites that really freaked me out, askthepatient.com propeciasideeffects.com. which report serious side effects and by some people they have not gone away. what do you say about all this, I would really like to take the drug but I am a bit freaked??? please answer me

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Propecia (finasteride) has side effects that I know of, as follows:

  1. Increased libido in some men (usually older), because testosterone levels go up by about 15%.
  2. Decreased libido in about 1-2% of men, Also, erectile dysfunction is included in this group.
  3. Decreased in prostate cancer. Many people, like me, feel that this may be the magic bullet for prevention of this disease.
  4. Breast nodules in far less than 1% of men taking Propecia.

As the half life of this drug is 5 hours, it will be out of your system in a couple of days after stopping it. If you get any of these side effects, they will go away. Although I do hear some reports of other ‘not feeling well’ side effects, these may well be psychosomatic. If you need it, try it, for there is nothing to lose. If you do decide to try it, then you should give it a fair opportunity to benefit you by taking it for a full 8-12 months.

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Miniaturization Mapping vs Pull Test – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

Dr. Rassman,

I’m going to make an appointment to have the miniaturization test in your office, but someone told me about a “pull-test” which measures the ratio of hairs pulled from a sample area on top of your head to hairs pulled in a sample from the donor area. When compared to the donor area, if significantly more hairs come out from the sample area on the top of your head, then you are balding. Is this test accurate to some extent?

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The pull test is not good for diagnosis of miniaturization and genetic hair loss. The degree of shaft thickness change is what mapping will show. Hairs that are in the early phase of miniaturization will not pull out. Those that do pull out, may be the hairs about to go into their telogen cycle.