August 2007 – Page 6 – Balding Blog

August 22, 2007

Harvest Follicles for Later Hair Cloning? – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

My sister in law had extensive chemo and radiation, cancer cells were detected in her brain few days ago, she is going to receive more radiation directly in her head, doctor told her that she’s going to loose her hair permanently.

Doctor I’m wondering if you could harvest some hair follicles for cloning and then when she’s well you could transplant those follicles back in her scalp. Can you respond quickly, since she’s started the new radiation today.

Thank you

There has been considerable research on taking hair follicles, freezing them and trying to ‘wake them up’ for reimplanting later. Failure is very high and after a few weeks, there is virtually a 100% failure rate. It appears that freezing them with the various techniques available will kill the hair follicles.

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August 22, 2007

Hair Loss After Local Anesthesia? – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

I had liposuction with local anesthesia about 4 months ago. I seem to be losing a lot of hair. I knew it could happen with surgery but local anesthesia?

Any stress can cause hair loss. I can not give you any other explanation.

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August 22, 2007

Eating Disorder and Female Hair Loss – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

Hi, I’m a 25 yr old female who has noticed lots of hair loss and scalp showing. When I put my hair down the middle part is getting a bit wider and is creeping further back. When i put my hair up, I have to be careful that hair is covering the scalp showing on the sides.

My dad’s side has hair loss and I’ve been taking diet pills from 1998- 2007 (abused lots of ephedra-based ones) and have dealt w/binge eating, bulimia, and a serious case of anorexia. Is this all catching up w/me?

Either way, WHO do I go see to get a diagnosis? Someone told me endocinologist while others say dermatologist. I’m a college student w/no health insurance so money is very tight. Any
suggestions would be GREATLY appreciated!

Thank you for taking your time to read this and I hope to hear back soon.

You need a primary care doctor first and foremost. It is highly likely that your erratic diet is central to your hair loss, so that is where you need to start. Weight loss and poor diet are contributing factors for hair loss.

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August 21, 2007

Can I Remove the Plug-Scarred Donor Area from My Hair Transplant 25 Years Ago? – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

i got transplants in 1983 that were less than satifactory.i have been wearing a hair replacement for about 15 years.my question is this.i want to shed my hair replacement and go to the shaved head look,but the donor area in back is my problem.can plastic surgery cut outthe plug area tomake it look natural? i appreciate your advice

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I see patients like you almost every day. A small portion of my practice is based on correcting bad hair transplant surgeries, like the old plugs. See Patient Photo Gallery – Repair Work for some examples.

It is very difficult to remove the scar so that you can shave your head, because the scars are going to have a white appearance. If you goal is to keep your head shaved, look at a Horror Story with a… Happy Ending?, which shows the use of tattoos to solve the problem in the donor area. It is relatively easy to disguise the unnatural scar and plugs with a follicular unit extraction (FUE) hair transplant surgery, but some hair length may be important. I would want to know how many ‘old type scars’ you had, as they may allow me to have some creative input. You must be seen in-person for a real opinion.

I’m 18 and Want a Hair Transplant So Life Doesn’t Pass Me By – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

I live in Washington, D.C. and I have the hair loss problem, but I’m 18. I have tried Rogaine, I have tried Fo Ti, I have tried everything (except for Propecia) including going to the hair club, where they would glue a wig to my scalp. I called hair loss clinics all around my area to ask them when it would be right to have implants/ transplants done and they say that I have to wait 6 years, that is, until I have completed my transformation into Patrick Stewart. I am about a 50% on the Norwood scale and I don’t want my life to pass me by. Do you think that it would be right to get surgery done at this point in time? I don’t see any other way. Is there a minimum age for implants and if done before the minimal age will the implants fall out? Also, is there a way to keep them in (rogaine, propecia, etc.)?Thanks for your help

I hope to hear from you soon

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When a wig is applied to your scalp with glue and other similar attachments, it will pull out the hair and produce more hair loss (traction alopecia). As a result of this, you can be ‘hooked’ on the wig for the rest of your life. There is no real minimum age for a hair transplant, but generally speaking, we tend not to do these in young men under the age of 24, because the hair loss pattern is not clearly defined. Simply said, hair transplants are performed by moving the hairs from the back of the head (donor area) to the areas you need hair (front, top, crown, etc). So as long as you don’t have an underlying genetic condition such as alopecia, your hair transplants will stay in forever (independent of age). As we always want a Master Plan for each patient and their balding pattern, we need time to get there. Propecia (finasteride 1mg) works well in young men to prevent or stabilize the hair loss and that should be your first line approach.

August 21, 2007

Clip-In Hair Extensions and Hair Loss? – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

Hello,

I had 1600 hairs transplanted in March, 2006 and it seems that I need a little more fullness. I was thinking of purchasing some clip-in hair extensions around 1″-2″ wide to add fullness here are there. They are apparently undetectable and can be taken out easily. Do you think these could cause any damage at all? Thanks again for all your great work.

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Clip-ins may produce traction alopecia (hair loss), particularly when applied in the same place each time. As the clips are generally fixed to the wig, they almost always may be applied to the same place or the wig is out of place. I would think twice about producing that type of damage for the long term.

August 21, 2007

Sexual Dysfunction Side Effect from Finasteride Diminishes Over Years – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

Greetings Dr. Rassman,

I’m one of your patients (procedure in 3/07). Things are going well. You gave me a bottle of Propecia to try and I just started taking it about 3 days ago. I had been holding off taking it until I did some more reading (OK – I’m a slow reader)

I found this article; I thought it might be a good addition to your Blog:

MedicalNewsToday.com – Finasteride For Prostate Cancer Only Short-Term Risk For Sexual Dysfunction

Best regards

Thank you for the information. Of note, the article reports:

The 2003 results of that trial, conducted by the Southwest Oncology Group in more than 18,000 men, showed that finasteride could reduce a man’s chances of getting prostate cancer by almost 25 percent.

and…

The authors, who surveyed more than 17,000 men 55 and older for seven years, reported their results in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute. … The study suggests that finasteride will cause little or no sexual dysfunction for most men who decide to take it, conclude the authors.

The study was funded by the National Cancer Institute. Citation: Journal of the National Cancer Institute, DOI: 10.1093/jnci/djm023

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August 21, 2007

Female Hair Loss After Antiviral Medication? – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

Hi I am a 58yr old female who has been loosing hair for about 30 years I was diagnosed with female pattern baldness. I recently had shingles on my head and was given antiviral medication. Since then my hair has been shedding quite a bit more. is this do to the meds and will it stop? Thanks

There is no specific medication other than topical minoxidil (Rogaine) that can grow hair for female pattern hair loss. Physical stress such as your recent bout with shingles can accelerate the hair loss process. Unfortunately, there is not much in terms of medications that can bring hair back.

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August 21, 2007

Does Loose Skin Make for a Successful Hairline Lowering? – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

i am a 24 year old male with a high forehead. my forehead has a lot of loose skin. i would like to lower it a little bit through surgery. is it better to have loose skin for that procedure. do you of and good surgeons in ohio that could do this. i want to do this in the next couple of months and the cost

You need to be evaluated by a competent doctor. You can check with a plastic surgeon for this procedure. The costs vary with doctor. I do not have any Ohio recommendations.

I generally prefer to restrict this surgery to women. Men who might lose hair will recede behind the surgical site where the hairline was advanced. The scar, which is usually hidden, might show up if recession of the hairline occurs. Loose skin does make the surgery easier.

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August 21, 2007

Bumps Behind Both Ears, Causing Hair Loss — Doctors Don’t Know What It Is – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

I have these small swellings on the head right behind both of my ears . . each swellings are around 5 cm in diameter and bone hard, no pain if i touch them or pres them . . but they have this really annoying stressed feeling and . . . they seem to change size starting from the back of my head till the neck . . . Doctors here say that it is nothing and wants to give me anti-anxiety pills for visiting them so often . . 5 months passed and it seems to get worse. I am worried that it needs better attention. Could you please tell me what I can do? I even don’t know the name of the disease.

Another symptom I want to mention if it is related. I am losing more hair from my head . . the hair strands seem to be coming off from the root and they are very dry most of the time

Please help
Thanking you in Advance

You should go to another doctor. If there are bumps behind the ears, then something is wrong. Without seeing you, there’s not much more I can offer. Sorry.

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