Dr. William Rassman – Page 1484

April 3, 2008

Hair Loss InformationHad 3 Transplants 20 Years Ago, Now I Am Losing Temple Hair – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

Dr. Rassman,

Great website. I am a 50 year old man who had 3 sessions of transplantation in my early 30s. I now am in need of another procedure as my lateral hairlines have become bare, ie temple areas. I still have a good deal of donor supply in back but am not looking to use Propecia, in the past it did cause sexual side effects I was not willing to put up with. What are my chances of success and how common is it to need an additional procedure or 2 as we age? Thanks

Block Quote

I can not tell you how much hair you have left to transplant in the areas that are thinning, as I do not know the following about your case:

what procedures you had done in the past
how much area of donor supply was moved
what your donor density is
what your scalp laxity is
what your Norwood classification is
what your residual donor supply looks like

It sounds like you had your surgeries prior to the advent of the megasession and follicular unit transplantation. It is not unreasonable to have more surgeries as one ages and one continues to progress in the balding process provided that you have a Master Plan which deals with change and hair loss over time. The supply of donor hair is critical in the formulae. If you want to send me some photos I would be glad to look at them and give you better advice (please reference this post when sending).

April 3, 2008

Is Women’s Rogaine Making My Hair Loss Worse? – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

ive been using women’s rogaine for about 2.5 months, my hair was just thinning when i started, then in the last few weeks it started to just fall out in my brush, the shower, etc. my hair seems to be very thin, and very easily pulled out, like it’s not holding on to its roots. now my hair is so short I can barely make a pony tail! what’s going on, is this normal from taking the rogaine, and how long before i start seeing real growth, and when will the shedding stop!

thanks

Block Quote

Women's Rogaine We have heard of people who initially lose hair when they start Rogaine (minoxidil), the theory in this process is that Rogaine resets the hair cycle and hair that is falling out is actually the hair follicles going into a dormant stage (telogen and catagen). Have you seen your primary care physician or a physician about your hair loss? I want to make sure that there is not another reason for your thinning hair that may be related to a medical condition or medications.

Generally people do not see the results of Rogaine for 6-12 months. You need a diagnosis for what is causing your hair loss, and this is not something I can offer to you without an examination.

April 3, 2008

Hair Loss InformationFolliculitus Decalvans and Hair Transplantation – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

Doc,

I have something between reoccurring folliculitus or folliculitus decalvans, depending on which doctor (i’ve been to a few) you ask. I have had a biopsy. The problem is located on the crown of my head. Subsequently, there is bald spot on the vertex of my scalp (about the size of a dime). Assuming I can get the infection to go away, is this something that can be cosmetically repaired?

Thanks for your input

Block Quote

If you have folliculitis decalvans and you can get the infection under control, any type of repair work in this area (i.e. follicular unit transplantation) could set off the disease process again and you have the potential of losing the transplanted hair and having to deal with the disease process all over again. This is your worst case scenario. I have had 3 such cases over my years in practice. Two ended up with reasonable hair growth, the third one is presently being diagnosed and treated. Good luck.

April 3, 2008

Can Propecia Cause a Varicocele? – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

I have recently read some of your insights regarding hair loss and propecia on the internet. I wanted to ask you a question regarding propecia. I have been using the drug for about a two and half years with pretty good results. At first, the only side effect I experienced was testicular pain that eventually went away after several weeks of using the drugs. Recently, I felt discomfort in that area again and decided to get it checked out. It turns out that I have a vericocele. I was wondering if there is any connection between propecia and the vericocele. I am extremely concerned that I might be harming my body by taking the drug. If so, I would probably discontinue the drug and consider other options such as a hair transplant. If you could shed some light on these concerns I would greatly appreciate it. Thanks so much for your time.

The presence of a varicocele (abnormal enlargement of the veins in the scrotum draining the testicles) is found in many men that are not taking Propecia (finasteride 1mg) so I do not know if there is a cause and effect here. I haven’t read anything about a connection in medical literature. If the varicocele is causing you pain, your doctor may have to perform a minor surgery on it, though sometimes no treatment is required. Learn more about this at Wikipedia.

Paid advertisements (not an endorsement):

April 3, 2008

Noticed Regrowth Within 2 Months of My Treatment Regimen – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

I find your blog to be an incredibly truthful gem floating in a sea of smoke and mirrors, and I thank you for that. Now on to my question(s)…

I have been searching all over the net for doctors of your calibur and style in my area (Chicago IL), but I have not been able to find anything. Can you recommend anyone? (I am currently not interested in transplants, just a general consultant and someone to check my miniaturization/progress). If not, perhaps you can help without seeing me. My current treatment is as follows: I take Propecia in the morning (started 4.5 months ago), I also use Revivogen at night (started 3 months ago), and I use the Hairmax lasercomb (used regularly for 2 months or so). At 2 months I had noticable hair regrowth at my temples.. this hair has since grown to about an inch long. There was a period of extreme itching/shedding (at 3.5mo), but it faded. Now for the past 1.5-2 weeks my head has been itching and shedding AGAIN.

I have done my best to look at all the hairs falling out and there are 2 main types of hairs visible… one is a strong and solid hair (about 50% of the fallout), the other is a weird thin/curly tipped hair but with a noticably stronger/straighter (I have very straight hair normally) base to it (50% aswell). Is it possible for someone to have positive regrowth in 2 months but then plummet back to balding again? Are these thin tipped+strong based hairs a good sign of Propecia reversing the miniaturization?

Also, I see very little progress at the crown, is it possible to regrow at the temples but not at the crown?

Any advice is greatly appreciated. PS: I’m a 24 year old male if it matters.

Generally, I rarely see any gain in hair growth at two months no matter what type of treatment. So you must be doing something that no one is aware of. In short, I really cannot comment on what is going on with your hair growth or hair loss, and I really don’t know why you have itching and shedding either.

With respect to hair growth cycles, it is a very SLOW process and nothing happens in one or two months. Hair grows for several years and hair sheds over several months. Unfortunately, I do not know of many doctors who routinely do miniaturization studies, though there is more and more doing it nowadays. I would consult with a good, caring dermatologist to see what is causing your itching and shedding.

Paid advertisements (not an endorsement):

April 3, 2008

Propecia Vending Machine? – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

Doc, what do you think of a Propecia vending machine?

World’s First Weed ATM

The article states, “AVMs are 24/7 machines housed in standalone rooms, abutting two dispensaries and protected by round-the-clock security guards — like ATMs for people combating psychological withdrawal with a physical one.”

It’s interesting, certainly, but I wonder how easy this is going to be to exploit. Prescription drugs in a vending machine… wow. I do think its an interesting concept. What else can I say? Technology is neat.

April 2, 2008

Dry Skin, Clogged Pores – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

Can dry skin in the mustache area clog the pores in which it stops the hair from growing or cause it to delay?

Clogged pores do not cause delay in hair growth.

April 2, 2008

How Many Grafts to Give Dick Vitale Hair Like Brad Pitt? – Balding Blog

Hi Doc, cool blog.

I was just wondering if hair multiplication became a reality, would it be possible to give a guy like Dick Vitale hair like Brad Pitt? If so, how many grafts woud it take, and what approach would you use? I’m sure if any surgeon could duplicate nature, it’s probably you. Thank you.

I am going to assume ESPN’s Dick Vitale is a Norwood Class VII, and he has an average hair density of 2. This equals about 1250 hairs per square inch, or 625 follicular units (FU) per square inch, assuming an average of 2 hairs per FU. The front and top part of the scalp on average cover about 16 square inches, the crown another 16 square inches, for a total area of coverage of 32 square inches. If we had unlimited source of hair (cloning, multiplication, etc) we would need about 20,000 FU or 40,000 hairs to give him coverage with a density of 2 in the transplanted area (for the head of hair that Brad Pitt has). However, as the gold standard is follicular unit transplantation, this would be the method I would use, even in the make-believe world we just described.

Paid advertisements (not an endorsement):

April 2, 2008

Retin-A and Minoxidil After Hair Transplant – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

I am a 25 year old male. I had a HT procedure about 2.5 months ago. What is the risk to the transplanted follicles from using a minoxidil + 0.025% retin-a formula? I use 5% rogaine foam and 1/4 proscar religiously, but I was wondering if the added retin-a might help. Any advice is much appreciated.

Retin-A is an acid and is sometimes used for the treatment of acne. It causes skin irritation that some believe will help with minoxidil absorption. There is no proof this works in helping with hair growth. It is a buyer beware market. I would speak with your doctor about this use after a hair transplant, but I do not recommend that my patients take it.

Paid advertisements (not an endorsement):

April 2, 2008

Seborrheic Dermatitis and Hair Loss – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

If seborrheic dermatitis is left untreated, can it possibly cause hair loss or small bald patches?

If you let it build hard plaques on the scalp and then you pick them off, it can cause hair loss. Just flaking scalp does not cause hair loss, though. An extreme example of seborrheic dermatitis is the disease called psoriasis, which does not cause hair loss unless the victim picks off the plaques on a chronic basis. My advice is to seek out a good dermatologist and get yourself looked at carefully.

Paid advertisements (not an endorsement):