Author: Dr. William Rassman

Great response to minoxidil after just 5 months

The FUE procedure removes hair from the back of the head, so it can’t grow back. The amount of hair that can be removed is limited. If too much hair is removed, as in this person, the back of the head becomes thin and see-through as a result of the depleted donor area.

The number of FUEs that can be removed depends upon many factors. Most importantly, the original donor density must be measured by the surgeon before recommending FUE graft numbers. If too many grafts are removed from the donor area, balding in the back of the head (as shown here in this photo) occurs.

The initial problem, prior to a hair transplant, is that most patients want more hair moved, and surgeons are motivated by the money they receive for taking out more FUE grafts. So, without good planning, the donor area is often over-harvested, producing balding in the donor area (as shown in the photo below). I can state with almost 100% certainty that 5500 grafts would produce donor over-harvesting in 98% of the population because the original donor density in 98% of the population will not support this number of grafts (see here: https://newhair.com/donor-area/).

No, your donor area is depleted. I don’t believe that 99% of people who get 5000 FUE grafts can support that number without getting a see-through donor area. Your residual donor density is probably too low for reasonable coverage. Scalp Micropigmentation works well for managing the APPEARANCE of this problem (See: https://scalpmicropigmentation.com/)

An FUE surgery of 5,000 grafts is most likely too many grafts for the donor area in 98% of the population. As a result, you have a problem with over-harvesting which produces a see-through donor area. The original density may have been too low to support the number of FUE grafts you had done. You now have a depleted donor area, and since your hair appears short in the photo, this problem is made worse. If you let your hair grow out more, maybe it will cover this overharvested donor area. One reasonably good solution is Scalp Micropigmentation.

Whatever you do, do not do another FUE as your situation will become worse. FUE is often promoted as a scar-less surgery, but clearly, it is misleading as in your situation. You can either let your hair grow longer to cover it or get Scalp MicroPigmentation which will camouflage these bald areas exceptionally well.

See here: https://scalpmicropigmentation.com/scar-covering/

This unfortunate man who went to Turkey, has well more than 5000 grafts. I am sure his donor supply was significantly depleted and the grafts, at least many of them, may not grow. The people who perform such surgeries are challenged to product a very high number of grafts thinking that this is good surgery, even better surgery. In fact, this is POOR surgery because the grafts will not get enough blood supply to thrive and grow. There is also a good possibility that they patient may develop necrosis because the blood supply to the recipient area was cut off from the many wounds created for the recipient sites. As long as there are believers that this is a bargain that they can’t turn down, then these terrible surgeries will continue leaving victims flying home from Turkey now knowing what will happen to them and many with problems like necrosis which will require more expensive medical care.

Doc, i have a question, Does it happen usually that someone stops reacting to the current dosage and has to move to higher concentrated dosages. Ex, someone stops reacting to 1mg finestride and has to move to 2mg to keep seeing results. I am kinda scared of it, I started with 1mg per day, but later came across someone mentioning it, so I reduced the dosage to 1mg every alternate day, bcoz 0.5mg per day wasn’t available. Was it a smart move or me just believing in a myth?

The original Merck studies showed that the 1mg dose was the ideal dose for hair loss. Half that dose is 82% as effective, so taking a pill every other day is essentially half the dose and it should still be 82% effective in your situation.

I’ve been in fin for 5 years and maintained everything I had, even grown some back. Hairline looks great. A little thin around my right temple, but other that, great. Reason I’m stopping, is I’m having some slight pain when ejaculating and the wife and I have been trying to have another kid for almost a year with no luck. Semen seems to be hit or miss. Sometimes it looks thick, other times it looks thin and watery. Anyways,I’m 30 now, and just going to shave it all off. I’ll try to keep you guys updated if curious. I have stayed away from here from the fear mongering as it wasn’t healthy for my mental health, but wanted a place to post.

You should think twice about the decision to stop finasteride after 5 years of use. You will lose all of the hair you would have lost over the past 5 years once you stop the medication. I have seen many men regret the decision. Watery semen is a common occurrence. I am writing this to let you know the consequences of stopping finasteride.

Most people believe that the lines on the graphs will continue on the same general slope after the 5 year time-frame. Not a good outlook for the non-Propceia user.

Long and short, what I wanted to know was whether your natural balding pattern that is determined by your genetics eventually manifests itself despite finasteride use or not. Hence, I asked, does finasteride just delay the inevitable, or does it continue to work to prevent the progression of hair loss for the duration it is taken?