Month: December 2012

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Even More Hair Transplant Failures Keep Showing Up – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

Two more hair transplant failures showed up in our office last week from other doctors — one was an FUE technique and one was a strip harvest. I’ve written about the topic of surgical failures a few times already, and the last thing I want to do is scare people off the idea of having a hair transplant completely, but I want to keep our readers informed about what they must learn about the doctor or clinic that they’re considering for their hair transplant procedure.

When I talk about these failures, I mean that there is a large percentage of the transplanted grafts that didn’t grow. You have a finite amount of donor hair, so when there are grafts that are damaged or killed because of poor techniques in surgery, you’re losing your valuable donor hair (and you’re getting financially ripped off). So before you choose a doctor, try to research the doctor.

Does the doctor have a high failure rate? And how would you even go about finding out?

  1. Go to the medical board of your state and look up the doctor. Complaints are filed and published by the medical boards.
  2. Check out the Better Business Bureau, where people who are not satisfied with a service will voice their concerns.
  3. Ask your doctor about their malpractice record. How many cases have they had in the past 10 years? You can verify their answers by looking them up in the courts of your area.

The patients who present with these failures usually did little comparative shopping or investigative work. They may have based their decision on the cheapest price they could find or just whoever is the closest practice in their area, but what surprises me the most is that many patients didn’t get more than one opinion before having surgery. It doesn’t hurt to get a second opinion, and it’s worth noting that the New Hair Institute does offer travel programs for those individual from out of the area. Half of our practice reflects people who fly in, so just getting surgery from the closest place to your home shouldn’t be an excuse.

When you shop, you can get the benefits of our long experience by reading our featured post — Selecting a Hair Transplant Doctor.

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If I’m Too Young for a Hair Transplant, Can I Just Have a Forehead Reduction Now? – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

Hi,

I have done a lot of research in relation to hair transplants and forehead reduction as I have been experiencing hair loss over the last few years and I also have a large forehead. As I am only 20 years old I know it’s not recommended to have a hair transplant as there may not be enough donor hair to be transplanted to keep up with further hair loss I may experience over time.

Would it be possible to have forehead reduction surgery to lower my hairline and reduce the size of my forehead and also have a hair transplant to replace hair that I have already lost? I have dark red, wavy/straight hair and my hair is thick at the back where the donor area would be (not sure if this would make a difference).

I’m currently at the Norwood II stage and I am already extremely self conscious about my hairloss and large forehead and it has effected my confidence. I’ve considered using Propecia and Rogaine but I’m terrified in case I experience excessive shedding or erection problems from Propecia as I have read a lot of reviews from people who experienced these side effects.

I am getting desperate now so any advice you could give me would be much appreciated.

Thanks

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Great question. I assume you are a male. This makes a difference, as females with this problem can safely have a hairline lowering procedure, as they will not lose the hair above that was moved down. A male with active hair loss will most likely lose the lower hairline and be no better off (possibly worse off) after a hairline lowering procedure.

At 20 years old with no clear examination or diagnosis of male pattern baldness, a forehead reduction may make things worse if you progress to a Norwood 6 (for example). You need a Master Plan and a clear diagnosis. You are young, so let’s start it right, come pay us a visit at the New Hair Institute to have the degree of your hair loss diagnosed.

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Transplanting Hair from the Back of the Head to the Sides of the Head – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

Hello Dr. Rassman,

In researching hair transplantation, I have been unable to find an answer to what seems to me to be a pretty basic question: Can donor hair be relocated to the sides of the head? If so, would this be an option for me?

Here is a rundown of my situation: I am not sure what my pattern is, but I have lost a good amount off my hairline and the front 1/4’s of the sides of my head. The back of my head is pretty full, and the back 3/4 of the sides and area beyond the hairline on top are also relatively full.

Thanks so much for all your nice work

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In men, hairs from the back of the head are considered permanent. This is the donor area in hair transplant surgery. You can transplant it anywhere on the body and it should grow. Thus, you can transplant hair from the back to the sides.

As to what you are referring to as “the sides” remains to be seen, as I do not know what you are exactly describing. If you would like a consultation you can always email us at hairdoc@newhair.com with photos.

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Hair Loss InformationDoes Having a Lot of Body Hair Cause Faster Balding? – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

Hello, i’m a 16 year old male sophomore. I’ve tried searching for the answer to my question, but no one seems to have a definite answer to it yet. Does having a lot of body hair cause baldness faster/cause baldness? I ask this because, while I may not be completely covered in hair (at least not yet…I hope not though) my legs are very very hairy.

My arms have more hair then most, but its not to out of control, and my chest is mostly clear of hair, theres nothing noticeable. But I won’t lie, I am scared to have body hair, I don’t particularly like it, and i’ve also noticed that men who have more body hair seem to have less head hair, I don’t know if this is just a coincidence, but nonetheless I am still concerned, even though I still have a full head of hair. I’m just not sure how the future will play out for my body. Though I can say that while my dads side has a lot of hairy men, no one in my family has ever truly gone bald before. However, I could be an unlucky exception.

Thanks for reading, and hopefully my question is answered!

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Body hair and head hair do not relate to each other, as they are separately genetic coded. Men with hairy bodies can have hairy heads with or without balding on the scalp. If you think that you are losing hair, then visit a good hair doctor who will determine if you are losing hair on your head or not.

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Hair Transplant Patients Under 30 Years Old? – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

Hello Dr.Rassman

Really informative website, love it. I just have a couple questions.

1. Just wanted to know how come there is a lack of hair transplant photos on the NHI website of patients 30 and under?
2. How many patients under the age of 30 that you have done surgeries on, either in the front or crown of the scalp, have to come back for more additional procedures to make it look thicker and fill in areas or because they are losing hair behind their transplanted hair?

Thank you kindly.

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There are many photos on our NHI website, and I’m sure there are some younger patients in there. If there is a lack of these younger patients, it isn’t on purpose — we post the photos that our patients allow us to post, and many of the younger patients don’t wish to appear on our site.

Our average age for transplant patients is around 30 to 40s, but we have done surgery in men as young as 20 (who was a bald NW 6) to as old as 80. This becomes a one-on-one assessment comparing the risks of too early transplants with waiting too long. It’s not something that I can easily convey here in this post.

Men with frontal hairline loss often come to surgery earlier, because they are bothered by the man in the mirror. Younger men who are rapidly losing hair will likely benefit from finasteride (Propecia) over surgery in certain cases. It is not unusual for a young man under 30 with fine hair to have two procedures with us.

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Hair Loss InformationWould SMP Today Prevent a Future Hair Transplant? – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

Hi Dr. Rassman –

I had a question about your SMP. So if I currently have a thinning head of hair (had a HT two years ago, but need a second) and I wanted to get SMP as a form of permanent Dermatch or Toppik, would you have to shave my head to do it? Or can you do the procedure without shaving?

Would having SMP done make it more difficult/prevent me from having a second HT in the future?

Thanks!

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In some patients, we have been using Scalp MicroPigmentation (SMP) to thicken up the look of a thin transplant, thereby avoiding another transplant. This can be done without shaving the head, but it all depends on your current state of hair and your overall expectations. SMP wouldn’t prevent future surgery, though.

You should see a doctor with expertise in this area (like us) to find out if your proposed approach will work. This could be done with photo consultations with good, clear photos sent to us at the address on the Contact page.

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Can Propecia Just Stop Working Abruptly? – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

Hi Dr.

I have a quick question. I apologize in advance if you have already answered it as I tried searching. I am 30 yrs old and I have been using Propecia for almost 1.5 years. When I started it worked great, within a few months it stopped hair loss and I even noticed a bit of regrowth on the temples. Recently I got a hair cut and noticed that my hair is thinning again. And I have started to see my scalp.

My question is that is it possible for Propecia to stop working abruptly ? If yes should I consult my doctor again for options ? or is this the end of the line.

Also I might add that there has been added stress in my life recently do you think that this maybe a temporary thing where the effectiveness of propecia may bounce back ?

Thanks in advance

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Hair loss can be a very subjective thing. Just to look at your hair and to judge how thick or thin it is can depend on lighting and perspective. It also depends on your hair cut. I would think that getting your hair cut short would make one’s hair look thinner (more light allowed to the scalp) anyway. Besides that… Propecia does not just stop working. Hair grows in cycles, so I would think when hair is actively in a shedding cycle, the impact of Propecia may be lessened – albeit this is somewhat of a stretch.

The best advice I can give you is to stay on the drug even if you think it is less effective. But in any case, talk to your prescribing doctor.

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I Hit My Head on the Sidewalk and Now There’s a Bald Spot Where it Healed – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

I have a scar from hitting my head on the sidewalk 3 months ago. The gash on my scalp has healed very nicely(thin red line) but there’s a bald spot to one side of where the gash has healed. How long do I wait to find out if hair will grow back there and why is it not bald on both sides of the gash?

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If the spot lasts more than 5-6 months, you can probably see someone about treating it. Sometimes a limited transplant can work nicely on scalp scars from accidents.

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Hair Loss InformationCan I Have Several Smaller Scars Along Langer’s Lines Instead of 1 Large Linear Scar? – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

Dr.Rassman/Dr.Pak,
Is it possible for an FUT patient:-

– to have several small (5cms) donor-strip scars rather than the normal one large scar, and would such scars heal better if they followed Langer’s lines?
– to have donor-strip scars incorporated into existing scars (in permanent zone)?
– to have, using your experience and artistry, donor-strip scars with the appearance of naturally-occurring scars: the normal scars that most people receive from the everyday knocks and bumps of an active childhood/adulthood (falling out of trees, falling off bikes, sport injuries, fisticuffs, etc.).

I appreciate that all surgery inevitably leaves scarring and even with the standard of your work some compromise is necessary. But, perhaps like many men, I’m uncomfortable with the thought of having scars that are so obviously due to hair transplant surgery – even though such scars can be covered by wearing longer hair and/or camouflaged by SMP. However, if the scars could be disguised as accident-related scars much of the anxiety of having FUT surgery would be removed and, within reason, any amount of scars would be acceptable.

Thank you.

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Multiple small scars were offered in the past, all placed horizontally in Langer’s lines (the lines in the skin where collagen fibers are naturally oriented). Some were significantly less detectable; however, they may not be very efficient if a lot of hair is needed (as in the Norwood class 6 or 7 patients) and multiple small scars often have some hair loss associated with them.

I frankly do not know of any doctors offering this approach. If for any reason, you are a person that widens scars, this approach would leave your head full of scars.

I had three strip surgeries all in the same place for my balding crown, but only one scar remains that is so small, few can see it. In my situation, having only one scar was the right decision and I did not need Scalp MicroPigmentation (SMP), as I did not need to hide what was already hidden.

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Testosterone Shots and Transplanted Hair – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

This email came from a transplant patient of mine from years back…

About eight or nine months ago, I had a low testosterone test result and began taking testosterone shots to respond to this. My urologist assured me that the shots would not cause hair loss, but I’d appreciate knowing from you your thoughts on the subject if possible. To my viewpoint, my hair seems to be thinner, but I am not objective (or rationale) on the subject.

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If you have been taking testosterone for 9 months and have not seen an impact causing hair loss, then you should be safe with regard to this potential problem. I would assume that those hairs which are genetically impacted by the balding process are all gone by now and all you are left with is hair that will not fall out with testosterone. Your transplanted hair falls into this category.

If you were a young men and still had active balding, then you would have seen hair loss by this time from the testosterone.