Dr. William Rassman – Page 1062

October 6, 2011

Bumps in Donor Area After FUE – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

I had a FUE operation of 3650 grafts exactly six weeks ago to my frontal hairline NW2. I recently, last 5 days, have about ten bumps like pimples in the DONOR area? what is going on?

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Norwood 2 If you were really only with a Norwood Class 2 pattern balding, why would you have 3650 grafts transplanted? This just does not make any sense to me.

Two things come to mind that could explain the bumps you’re seeing — 1) When transected hairs in a graft are placed, they can act as a foreign body. 2) There may also be folliculitis at the recipient sites.

If there is a folliculitis, the treatment should be incision and drainage of the bumps, a culture of what comes out of the wound and the use of antibiotics. Once the culture has grown out, the organisms will be identified and tested against the medication that the doctor will give you. That will tell him if his guess is the correct diagnosis.

For transected hairs, there may be a different course. As much as I would like to help you, I think that you will be best served to go back to your doctor.

October 6, 2011

Balding in Mixed Race Men – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

Hi, i’m a 21 years old male, and i’m mixed caucasian/african.

Here’s my question. My dad’s (caucasian) been balding since age 30, and is now completely bald at age 60. He is the worst case of MPB in my entire family. On my mom’s side, there is no history of hairloss whatsoever. Myself, i’ve got a lot of hair, semi-african and semi-european, but very dense, with a kind of “coarse” afro look (very far from my dad’s hair). I have my mom’s hairline (mature, typical from her race, where there are no hairloss), and thick hair (i think).

I’m afraid i might end up as my father, but is there really a risk? If i ever go bald, at what age it might happen? Don’t the african genes dominates caucasians’ (i’m dark skinned)? What about mixed people in MPB?

Thanks a lot for your help!

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There’s no way to tell if you will be bald simply based on your race… mixed or otherwise. Even with a family history, it is never truly clear. It’s possible that the balding gene exists somewhere in your mother’s family tree, too (and it can skip generations).

The best thing to do is to go see a doctor for an examination. Tests such as miniaturization studies and bulk measurements can establish a baseline so that you can track what is going on with age. You can also get a genetic test called HairDX, which is about 70% accurate, to find out if you have the gene. It won’t tell you if/when it’ll express itself, but it’s a start.

October 6, 2011

Is My Treadmill Causing My Hair Loss? – Balding Blog

Sir
my friends have been telling me that jogging too much on a tread mill leads to hair loss. is it true sir should i stop using tread mill?

thank you

Your friends are mistaken. Your genes are the most likely cause for hair loss in men… not your treadmill.

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October 6, 2011

My Doctor Said to Use Propecia Daily for a Month, Then Every Other Day Afterwards – Balding Blog

I’m a 22 year old suffering from hair loss. I was using 5% Minoxidil at the advice of my local physician for the past 2 years with limited sucess as it managed to slow my hair loss but not reverse it. After seeing a dermatologist recently, he advised me to use propecia once a day for a month and then take it every other day afterwards.

He said that after a month Propecia will lower DHT levels in my system and will be effective for 72 hrs which is why he said I only need it every other day as this will save me money. Do you believe that by taking propecia this way it will have the same effect as using it once a day?

The recommended dose of Propecia is one pill a day for treating hair loss. I do not understand you doctor’s logic, but I will defer the treatment to your doctor as you are under his care… not mine.

I do know that Propecia’s half life in your blood stream is 4 to 6 hours, which means most of the drug will be gone from your blood stream in one day.

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October 5, 2011

Do It Yourself Hair Transplant (Parody Video) – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

Easy at home hair transplant. What do you think about this doc?

Video: Do it Yourself Hair Transplant

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This is not as far fetched as it seems…

I once had a patient come in for a hair transplant. I believe he was a phone consultation with photos sent in beforehand. So on the day of surgery, when I washed his hair before the transplant, his entire frontal hair came off in the sink!. He had glued it in place. This man was very upset and I felt like a fool by not knowing that is what he had done.

He was an African American with kinky hair, and let his natural hair around the glued hair grow long. He did a really good job with gluing the hair in place, and had me completely duped. He was very upset with me and as I believe that the “patient is always right”, I worked like hell to re-glue that salvaged hair pulled from the sink after I did the transplant. It was one of those unforgettable moments in my hair restoration career.

Of course, I wouldn’t recommend people doing this — but for a parody video, it really hit close to home.

October 5, 2011

Hair Loss InformationRogaine Shedding Confusion – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

Hi Doctor. I am slightly confused. I have visited several balding forums looking for information about rogaine. Some members seem to be under the impression that rogaine accelerates hairloss by increasing blood circulation and therefore the amount of DHT that can reach hair follicles to miniaturize them. This seems rather counterproductive for a FDA approved product that is suppose to regrow hair…

can you please provide some knowledge and insight on this conundrum? Would taking Propecia for a couple months beforehand prevent this problem?

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You’re not alone in being confused about this. I have rarely heard of this complication and have learned that it exists by my extensive reading on the internet. I see more reports online about minoxidil/Rogaine shedding than I’ve seen in my own patients.

Some say that it accelerates the anagen stage in the hair loss cycle, which means that it first has to go through telogen (hair loss phase). I really don’t have confirmation of this, though.

October 5, 2011

Any More Info on Minoxidil and Spironolactone? – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

Hello,
Just a quick question about the 2011 Alaska meeting. You spoke briefly about Minoxidil and spironolactone used together by a doctor in Thailand with good results. Can you elaborate on this?

Thanks a lot

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Not much more info than is already all over the web separately on each medication. The study in Thailand was with systemic minoxidil, which is clearly not suggested for treating hair loss.

October 5, 2011

16 Months After My 3rd Transplant, I Only See Baby Fine Hair – Balding Blog

Hello Doctor,
I have had three hair transplants totaling to about 5,400 grafts. I am about 16 months into my third transplant that i had in March 2010. I have observed that i still see baby like fine hair, as they seem when transplanted hair start to grow, still in some of my transplanted areas of the scalp. And i don’t think these are my miniaturized native hair as alot of them are grafts of two, three or single.

I am not sure if this is happening because i have had that many surgeries and there is lack of blood circulation for the hair to grow properly or the grafts were not transplanted properly by my doctor. I tried talk to my doctor about it, but he kept saying that they are probably my native hair. I am not sure what i can do to confirm this.

I generally want to see the patient 8 months after the procedure to get an idea what it looks like. By that time, I usually see 80+% of the growth that was transplanted. I wouldn’t expect to see blood supply problems.

Since you’re already 16 months in and not fully satisfied, then you should get another opinion from a doctor (in person exam). Hopefully you have detailed before photos to compare to your hair now.

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October 4, 2011

Can Bulk Analysis Predict Patterns? – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

Can a bulk analysis predict how bald a man suffering hair loss only in the ‘receding’ pattern will end up? For me, I’m almost 100% sure I haven’t lost any density or thickness behind the hairline so how would a bulk analysis predict where my recession will progress to?

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Norwood 5 Yes and no.

The hair that is going to be lost has a biological clock with a trigger point that starts the balding process. Let’s say that someone will become a Norwood class 5 pattern balding man and that the leading edge of his frontal hairline started at 18, the remaining part of the front started at 24, and his crown started to thin at the age of 22. That means that the predicted pattern will not show until the bulk starts to reduce in those ‘triggered areas’.

When the thinning starts, the bulk measurements are clearly impacted earlier than the eye can detect, so that is the “yes” part of the answer to your question. The “no” part may reflect the crown status at the age of 20, which will not show thinning (in this scenario) until he is 22.

October 4, 2011

After Taking Propecia for 4 Days, I Can’t Sleep and Break Out in Sweats – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

I am a 46 year-old male and a loyal reader of your blog. Based upon the positive results you have seen with Propecia, I decided to try it, after consulting with a hair-loss surgeon. I have taken 4 pills thus far. I was more than willing to tolerate the side effects reported by Merck if it meant stopping my hair loss. However, I have began to experience possible side effects not reported by Merck, including difficulty sleeping, mental fogginess, breaking out in sweats, along with the more common side effects of decreased energy and drive.

After experiencing these, I began doing some research and ran across sites you may be familiar with, such as Propeciahelp, on which users complain of side effects such as these along with others (e.g., hypogonadism) even after stopping the drug. There are various reports that the drug alters the brain (e.g., mood and thinking) by affecting neurosteroids and can permanently alter the neuroendocrine system.

Obviously, I am freaked out about this and will probably stop taking the drug. I would like to know your opinion on the reports of these side effects, the possibility of permanent alterations of various bodily systems with use of this drug, and your opinion on websites such as these (Propeciahelp) in general. Thank you for your trusted advice.

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Suggestions can produce side effects (see “placebo effect” and “power of suggestion”). Your gonads will not shrink in a few days. It is possible (albeit very remote) that there are brain effects, but you should discuss this with your physician and that is why a doctor’s prescription is required for this drug in the United States and many countries. Have an open line of communication with your doctor. If you’re unable to sleep and you think it is related to the drug, talk to your doctor about stopping it.

While forums can be helpful, one must remember that many times they are full of unverified claims and feed into irrational fears. I’ve written about this before here.