Month: June 2015

We continue to see patients who had SMP done elsewhere and found that they continue to be unhappy with the results. The work we have seen reflects an inadequate investment of time on the part of the people doing the process. The patients reported that they had it done over a two day period for a total of maybe 4-6 hours. When that is compared with what we do for a full head treatment, we frequently spend upwards of 20 hours per patient (over 3 sessions). One needs to compare apples to apples, and what we are seeing is grapefruits coming to our office.

The patient we saw today, came in after his SMP pigment almost completely faded. I suspect it is because the pigments used were temporary pigments, and like the patients discussed above, it was a relatively fast job with more widely spaced ‘dots’. The cost to the patient was less almost half of our fee, but then the process had to be repaired and redone again, driving up the total cost of the process. Think twice and be sure to shop the SMP service and absolutely demand that you meet patients that have had it done so that you can tell the different between ‘bull’ and fact.

This young man is enrolled in University of California in San Diego and has a career in Physics in front of him. He is very bright and he is balding already, now only in the crown, but he has early thinning evident in the frontal corners which may follow his father’s pattern of a Class 6 balding pattern.

He said, point blank, that he did not want to go through the four hair transplant surgeries that I did on his dad, even though, he admitted, his dad looked ‘good’. He was dead set against Propecia, for sound, rational reasons and understood clearly, that the decision not to take this drug would inevitably lead him to continue with the progressive balding process he is presently experiencing. He came to this decision having thought hard and long, and after doing considerable research on the subject. “My body has its own clock and my unique genetics and I have known this since I turned puberty. I fully realize that I am ready to go bald, if I must, but I don’t want to keep worrying about it, day in and day out. Now, I live under a base ball hat and I want to go out not worrying about my hair and my visible aging, balding head”

So he came to see me because he decided to have Scalp Micropigmentation. We discussed his changing natural hairline that may disappear with time, and he fully realize that the hairline that we will create with SMP will be permanent and that he was willing to accept the normal recession and adjust his styling, possibly locking in a short hair style (almost shaved look) for the rest of his life. He wanted for us to create a natural shape and configuration of a youthful hairline that he saw on our website on some of our hair transplant patients and on some men who shaved their head and never went bald. I told him that for a while, he will be able to let his hair grow out, until the frontal hairline recedes. He didn’t mind and liked the idea that once he had the SMP done, he would be finished with his hair problem and go on with his career as a physicist and focus on the rest of his life.

Opening a new frontier in transplant surgery, Texas doctors have done the world’s first partial skull and scalp transplant to help a man who suffered a large head wound from cancer treatment.

I would guess that he received radiation for a brain cancer and that his scalp and skull had necrosis (death) that left him with no or a poor cover for the top of his head, leaving the skull and brain potentially exposed. This can be onerous. Assuming that I am correct, something like this would be lifesaving. This would not be a substitute for a hair transplant so for our readers, I wouldn’t rush to Texas to have this done. It is, nevertheless, interesting to read about.

What are the statistics of FOX test negative patients ? Is any ethnicity ,age , hair color or hair character more prone to be more FOX negative ?

Follicular Unit Extraction (FUE) when it was popularized in 2002 at the ISHRS meeting (Follicular Unit Extraction: Minimally Invasive Surgery for Hair Transplantation) did not have a popularized name. We thought FUE (“foo-yee”) was not a very sexy name. Thus we called it FOX (FOllicular unit eXtraction). We identified many patients where FUE or FOX techniques did not work. We published the problem in 2004 with “FUE Megasessions – Evolution of a Technique“.

Over the last 10+ years many doctors have (and continue) to improve the FUE method but the FOX negative patients still remain a challenge. Some (patients) are not the best candidate for the FUE method of donor hair extraction with a high percentage of transection. This is true with even the new ARTAS (robot FUE). Techniques and instruments may improve but the patients are still FUE-negative where their transection rate is too high.

There is no firm data or statistics we keep. There is also no collective data of information by doctors in the hair transplant field. In fact, many would say they don’t really have FOX negative patients for the sake of their reputation and marketing.

In my private practice, our techniques have improved and we have our own proprietary instruments. We also have the ARTAS system. There are still FOX negative patients and we still do the FUE/ FOX test to screen patients before surgery.

I did my FUE in Turkey. After opertion I noticed some part of my recipient area seems more dark than rest of the part.After 1st week after wash the head is getting clean but those area,where still seems to be wet and little red.Today is 12th day,I am getting worried about the progress.As I am quite far from Turkey to consult my surgeon so please give me a guideline about the possibilities or likelyhoods.

You really need to contact your surgeons back in Turkey for a follow up (even by phone). What I see is not normal.

We actually wrote about hair transplant in Turkey as a medical tourism destination last week FUE in Turkey.

I work in a school and recently met an 8th grade student, so 13 or 14 years old, who had very advanced male pattern baldness. It had clearly progressed in the male pattern, and he was somewhere around a Norwood 5 or 5A. There was a large bald circle on the crown, and what remained of the forelock was very thin. My question is: Is it possible for MPB to occur that early without the presence of a disorder, or does balding at such a young age reflect some underlying problem beyond the simple genetic predisposition for male pattern baldness?

Androgenic alopecia (AGA) or Male Pattern Balding (MPB) starts with puberty when the hormones change in the young man. In general most MPB starts around late high school/ early college years. I suppose a 14 year old going through puberty can have signs of MPB. I have seen 16 to 18 year old boys with complete Norwood 5/6 balding.

Hello Dr! First of all, english is not my native language so please bear with me.

My question is about the genetics regarding male pattern baldness and if it’s only a “guessing game” to determine the future outcome of my hair situation.

I need some advice on my hair situation. I’m a 30 year old male who has been “struggling” with high temples since about high school. I’ve been obsessing about my hair since about january (never even thought about it before then). Probably a nw 2,5-3.

My family history is making me so confused over the outcome of my, probable, upcoming hair loss. Making a list for an easy read;

Moms side;
Granddad, full head of har until his 60s then a diffuse thinner. (Always had “fine hair”)

Grandmom, curly hair, little temple recession.
Uncle 1, fine hair. Receding hair line and vertex thinning in his 50s (maybe later)

Uncle 2, full head of hair, curly. Mom, thin fine hair.

Dads side;
Granddad, bald. Probably started in his late 20s. Uncle, bald. Noticeable when he was about 25. Dad, straght hair, high temples (like me). Full head of hair.

Brothers;
3 year older, diffuse thinner. Noticeable at vertex in his early 20s. 6 years younger, high temples, a little bit diffuse thinner.

Question:
Is it possible to pick up my grandfathers balding pattern later, for example, he started too notice thinning at the age of 28.. Can i follow hes pattern but 5 years later?

We don’t generally go into this much detail into family history or give a diagnosis or a prediction based on family history. In general male pattern balding is genetic but it does not always follow a family line. The best way to diagnose MPB is through an exam (in person).

If you have a Norwood 3 hair loss pattern then that is what you have.
If you think you are going to have a Norwood 5 hair loss pattern, then the best way to find out is through a detailed exam. Looking at your hair under a microscope (MINIATURIZATION STUDY) or testing the bulk of your hair over a period of time (BULK STUDY) is the best way to diagnose the balding pattern.

Dear Dr.i would Like to ask about finasteride,while taking finasteride can i have oral sex or not,my wife is feeding mother now for the past 3 months i am taking generic finasteride in my query is can i oral sex or not is it safe or unsafe please advise me my,during the medication period oral sex is safe or not pls advise still we are continuing the same.

Always follow up with your doctor and address the issues that concerns you. The Internet is not the source for medical assurance or self treatment. Taking finasteride from my knowledge should not be an issue when you have oral sex with your partner even if she is pregnant. If you are still worried, you can always abstain. We’ve written about this subject in the past. Search your query on the upper right corner.