I’ve just had a hair transplant (7 days ago). Without going into debate about the use of ecstasy, would its use cause my grafts to fail?
“Without going into debate” about the use of illegal drugs, you should ask your doctor who did your surgery.
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I did a Hair Transplant about three weeks ago. Received 1727 grafts, have been taking care post op as suggested, but still experiencing numbness in the graft site and pain in the vertex area despite the fact I had not received hair in that area. I am also experiencing significant hair loss of my original hair. What is the remedy to slow the hair loss, as it defeats the purpose of getting the transplant in the first place. I am loosing the transplanted hairs as well.
This is why you need a good doctor. Doing the right surgery the correct way is important, but so is the post-operative care. Things can go wrong, and although they are minimized by surgery, they still can happen and that is why you need to have a doctor you can go back to, talking through the problems. Supporting patients is part of good medical care. I would push your doctors first to help you understand what is happening to you. If that does not meet your expectations, then see another doctor.
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Taken from a Japanese talent show, this video is for those of you who want to know how to build a classy comb-over (if one could ever consider a comb-over to be classy). Actually, the result is quite impressive —
I have a VP shunt that drains spinal fluid from my head to my stomach due to a blockage in my spinal column. Could I still get a hair transplant ?
Yes. In fact, we recently had a patient who had a VP shunt and had a hair transplant. Your doctor should be highly qualified and must have experience in such a matter. You would likely require a CT scan or an X-ray to confirm where the shunt traverses so that it is not damaged during the surgery.
I would like to know your opinion on this procedure: Hair Science Institute
The procedure is called “HairStemcell Transplantation” and promises near complete regrowth of the donor site. It seems way too good to be true but I want to have an expert opinion on it before I jump to any conclusions.
It seems what they are doing is Follicular Unit Extraction (FUE), but they try to differentiate from FUE with what they call a Hair Stem Cell Transplantation. It is especially confusing when they show both side by side, yet they look the same. From the photograph they provide, they are using a standard dental drill head piece.
In short, stem cells are not readily identifiable even under a microscope. So to claim stem cell transplantation is likely a misnomer or sensationalism at its best to exploit the buzz word of “stem cell”.
Finally there are no doctors mentioned on this website that is associated with “research”. I find that highly suspect.
There is some literature about the association between minoxidil and upregulation of keratinocyte growth factor and vascular endothelial growth factor in dermal tissues. Do you know if there are any groups looking at perhaps topical treatment with either of these growth factors? If not, what do you think about and therapeutic potential?
Also, there is some literature that suggests that topical cyclosporin induces hair growth. What about other topical immunomodulators like Protopic?
There are drugs that have been reported to grow hair as a side effect. In fact, that is how Propecia was discovered. The generic form of Propecia is known as finasteride. Finasteride was used for many years for the treatment of benign prostate enlargement. As a side effect, it grew hair on men. As such, the drugs and growth factors you cite may have had some press in growing hair, but there are trade-offs with risks and benefits and side effects associated with any drug use. Fortunately, Propecia was approved by the FDA and deemed safe with minimal side effects. The other drugs need rigorous testing and clinical trials before they can become clinically reliable. Besides dutasteride, I do not know of any drugs that are in development or undergoing FDA approval process for the treatment of hair loss.
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(female) I heard of the possibility of shock and its harm to cause loss of existing hair from hair transplantaion. How frequentlly does this happen and does is the risk lower with follicular unit extracton?
Many women can not get real benefits from a hair transplant, so that is why I want to see pictures. There is no substitute for a direct examination of your hair with miniaturization studies to determine just where your hair loss is and how good your donor area is. Most women with genetic hair loss have a poor donor supply because of the thinning and the high degree of miniaturization in the donor area so they do not qualify for a hair transplant. Too many doctors will still perform surgery on these women when there will be no benefit just for the money. You need to find a good, honest doctor who keeps your interests central to your evaluation (not your purse). I am not convinced that Propecia would work for woman’s hair loss and in fact, it is not FDA approved for treating female hair loss because there is no proven benefit of it for women.
When a transplant is done, shock loss may occur in the recipient area so the method of extracting the donor hair is what is important. The best way to reduce the risks for shock loss is the use of Propecia (for men only) to be taken orally prior to the surgery and for the subsequent 6-8 months. For women, hair loss from shock loss usually reverses if it occurs (less than 10% risk in women) and it is possible the Minoxidil may help prevent it.
Dear Doctor:
Thank you for answering my question regarding the liver’s function in the conversion of testosterone to DHT. Might this prove a new avenue of therapy? In your opinion, if there are
cholesterol-lowering drugs that reduce the amount of cholesterol that the liver produces, could the same not be done for DHT? Also, do you think there could be an immunization against DHT, perhaps triggering an immune response against DHT in the body. I know I am hypothesizing a new approach to immunotherapy, but I figure…what the hey? Thanks, as allways.
I suppose anything is possible, but finasteride (Propecia/Proscar) is a very effective medication that blocks DHT production for the treatment of androgenic hair loss. You can conceive many creative ways to block DHT, but why would you want to when you already have a proven and safe medication such a Propecia. What we really need is more research into finding other non-DHT related drugs that can stop / prevent / or even reverse androgenic hair loss (AGA) or male pattern balding (MPB). In other words, blocking DHT is not the end all, cure all.
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Dr. Rassman,
I am in my early 20s with no signs of hair loss. My father has a receded hairline with somewhat thin hair at the top at the age of 55. My mother’s father died at a young age (say 33) but was losing his hair at the time. My mother has 3 brothers, one of which has lost his hair at an early age with the other 2 retaining full thick heads of hair well into their 40s. My mother, however, has shown some signs of female pattern hair loss. At what age should I expect (if ever) to see signs of hair loss?
Also, what kind of results can someone expect from Propecia if they begin using it literally the first day they see their harline recede even the slightest bit.
Kind Regards
Propecia is not a magic pill. It does not completely stop balding. So if you use it on the first day of hair loss, that does not mean it will stop it completely. It may slow down the rate of hair loss and in patients who have lost hair in the past 2-3 years, it may reverse it. Furthermore, Propecia is more effective on the top and crown areas of your scalp. Propecia does not seem to work as well for preventing hairline recession.
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Hi,
I have just started taking Propecia to combat MPB and early results look promising. As it starts to reverse hair miniaturization does that mean the hair will also grow for a longer period (and so achieve longer length) before it stops growing then falls out to start another cycle? And if I continue with Propecia can this growth phase eventually be brought back to the normal length (for me it was about 4 to 5 years) so I can grow long hair again?
Note: I’m not asking if it WILL … just if it can!
Thanks
Some people will note that the hair that is impacted with miniaturization will stop growing prior to falling out from genetic hair loss. Propecia may reverse this ‘failure to grow’ process, but there is no way to be sure. Usually, hair that slows down prior to falling out, will not completely reverse back to its original growth rate, even on Propecia.
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