Author: Dr. William Rassman

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Hair Loss InformationA Month After a Hair Transplant, I Had Major Stress – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

About four weeks after getting a large hair transplant I had a bit of a major shock to my business which caused a good deal of panic. A lot of adrenalin rushes, flight/fright, etc., off and on for a few weeks. Pretty constant. The worst has passed, but I am wondering if these adrenalin surges hurt my new implanted grafts’ growth chances. I know it is a vasoconstrictor, but assume that the grafts were secure and alive after 10 days or so.

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I don’t have a definitive answer, but I would guess that your emotional stress would have no significant impact on your hair transplants particularly since it occurred a month after your surgery. It’s going to be a case of wait and see.

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Hair Loss InformationAm I Breaking Out in Hives from Propecia? – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

Hello Doctor,

Thanks for maintaining such a great blog.

I am a 20-year-old student who started taking Propecia about a month ago. Since then, I’ve broken out in hives about once every two weeks. The breakout lasts for about 3 days.

I have three questions for you:
– Do you think that this is an allergic reaction to Propecia?
– If I am indeed allergic to Propecia, do you think that it will be less effective?
– I have experienced a noticeable increase in shedding since starting Propecia. The Internet tells me that this could be a good sign, but we both know there’s a lot of misinformation out there.

Again, thanks for the great blog.

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First of all, if you are breaking out in hives I would see a doctor. This is not a place to get a medical diagnosis or treatment. Any medications can cause a reaction or side effects, but I do not know anything about your medical history or health or habits to even guess why you are breaking out in these two week intervals. Are you doing something different every two weeks?

In general, patients do not shed after taking Propecia. Patients lose hair with or without the medication from natural genetic causes. The “increased shedding” people refer to is very abstract and hard to quantify. This is one of the main reasons you need to see a doctor before you start Propecia and have some form of documentation of where you are starting from (such as a picture of your hair, miniaturization study, or even a bulk measurement). Without anything objective to compare to, it is just anyone’s guess.

Finally, I would guess there are people who are allergic to Propecia, but I have not met anyone face to face at my medical practice who have these allergies people write about on the Internet.

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Hair Loss InformationIn the News – Divorce and Female Hair Loss – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

Snippet from the article:

As if the heartache of divorce wasn’t hardship enough, it appears that women enduring marital break-up may also have to deal with hair loss.

New research reveals that, genetics aside, the next strongest predictor of midline (central) hair loss among women is their marital status, with the loss of a spouse (through either divorce or death) raising the risk for thinning hair above that of married or single women.

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Read the full story — Could Divorce Trigger Hair Loss in Women?

The study looked at sets of identical twins and determined that excessive alcohol and smoking increased the risk, in both men and women. The study also revealed that sun exposure is also believed to be a factor in hair loss, as those exercising outdoors or didn’t regularly wear hats (sun protection) saw increased thinning. One of the keys the article focuses on is divorce, which can bring about a lot of stress… and it isn’t surprising that stress can lead to hair loss. Overall, it’s interesting stuff and worth a read.

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Hair Loss InformationScalp Scar After Motorcycle Accident – Will Hair Regrow There? – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

I recently had a motorcycle accident about a month and a half ago. unfortunately i was stupid and wasnt wearing a helmet causing a minor injury on my head. i went to the hospital and was told by the doctor that i would need plastic surgery to make sure my wound closed. however throughout the whole process of taking care of paper work and insurance to cover the plastic surgery my wound closed out perfectly fine. even the doctor told me i didnt need the surgery anymore.

however i have a scar about the size of a quarter, a little bigger id say, and i have no hair there. but people say i am gonna grow hair being that everything closed out normal no stitches or anything. i just wanted to clarify that. thanks

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I would wait about 6 to 12 months to see if hair will regrow. If not, you can have that scar dealt with, either by having the scar revised or perhaps hair transplanted into the scar. At this point, you’re going to have to wait and see, and if the hair doesn’t return you can meet with your doctor to determine the next step.

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Hair Loss InformationI Want My Juvenile Hairline Restored with High Density – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

Hello. I needed to know if you have any high resolution before and after photos for male patients who have had transplants at NHI to restore their juvenile hairline with a high density. I was trying to find some on the newhair.com site, but couldn’t. I know that this is not a common procedure in men as many guys do not commit to taking propecia early on in the balding process and come in when the hair is only restorable to the mature position, but I’m sure juvenile hairline restoration has been done as for certain modeling/acting careers the thick Juvenile hairline is the aesthetic-standard.

The mature position is unacceptable for some of us, especially with how the aesthetic standard is becoming more stringent in 2011 due to many popular icons who lack the balding genes. I am considering doing hair transplantation for my career at your practice and was recommended to have FUE by my doctor (if I really wanted it). I do not have advanced balding or miniaturization beyond the hairline.

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In general, we do not restore juvenile hairlines or any hairline with high density, especially with one surgery for most patients… perhaps with the exception of young male actors or models that have careers dependent on a specific look. You probably will not see these patients at our website, because many are convinced that their hairline will put them at risk for recognition if shown online. We don’t force patients to sign a photo release, so we can only post what we have permission for.

We don’t recommend transplanting a low hairline in men, because you are setting yourself up for disappointment if you develop a more advanced balding pattern over time. More specifically, I do not know what your expectation of “high density” and your desire for a “juvenile” hairline is.

If you want to see examples of hairline density, just attend one of our open house events in Los Angeles and see some of our patients in person. A few of them who regularly attend do have high density, and meeting them to see for yourself in person is a great way to get an idea of what can be done. Our next open house event in Los Angeles is this Saturday the October 1st, and you can find our upcoming free open house events listed here.

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Hair Loss InformationTransplanting a Non-Balding Person’s Hairline? – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

Have you ever transplanted grafts along a non balding person’s hairline not to lower, but to thicken the hairline so that they could grow a fuller fringe if they had fairly fine hair?

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In dealing with hairlines, transplanting a normal hairline just to thicken it is not advisable, as the transplant could damage the existing hair. I have fixed defective looking hairlines on male actors and models who need perfect frontal hairlines for their careers, so I have worked to keep their juvenile hairline intact.

For women who have normally high, non-balding hairlines, these can also be addressed with either frontal hair transplants to bring the hairline down or hairline lowering surgery. Many women have these procedures done.

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Hair Loss InformationCould a Hair Transplant Cause Tinnitus? – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

Hi Doc,

I suffer from tinnitus due to tension in my neck. I am unable to figure out anything about it besides that when I am nervous or I am slouching for a long time, it comes.

My question is – Is there any swelling in the neck area or behind the ears or in the sinuses from a hair transplant? If so, would there be anyway to avoid it? Have you heard of a transplant causing tinnitus? I’d like to get a transplant but the thought of it worsening my tinnitus makes me nervous!

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I’ve never heard of a hair transplant causing tinnitus. Tinnitus generally has to do with the inner ear problems or even certain brain pathology. I would follow up with a specialist.

With hair transplant surgery, you may have swelling of the neck and ear area. I would follow up and raise these concerns with your doctor before having any surgery.

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Hair Loss Information2011 ISHRS Meeting Review, Part 8 – Minoxidil – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

ISHRS 2011

Note: The annual meeting of hair surgeons was in held in Alaska this past week. The following review is very selective and is biased by the things that were interesting to me and what I (Dr. Rassman) thought could be interesting to the readers.

This is part 8… and final part. Thanks for sticking with me on this!

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Minoxidil as a systemic medication?

    Dr. Damkerng Pathomvanich (award winning doctor from Thailand) experimented with the use of minoxidil as a systemic medication on patients. This medication is used in many Asian countries as a treatment for hair loss. He commented that when spironolactone is added to systemic use of minoxidil, there is an enhancement of the hair benefits and a reversal of hair loss in many people. Although the reported side effects of this approach were small, there are still many side effects with these medications (e.g. significant drops in blood pressure, weight gain, fluid retention, rapid heart rate).

    These systemic medications are not FDA approved in the United States for the treatment of hair loss, as well as many other countries. Minoxidil was originally used in the 1960s as a treatment drug for high blood pressure, but its impact was not consistent with lowering blood pressure. Many of these earlier patients developed a reversal of their hair loss and many women treated with it developed facial and chest hair.

 
Aspirin and hair transplantation?

    A hair transplant surgeon who is also a cardiologist suggested that a person on low dose aspirin can have a hair transplant without stopping the aspirin.