Dr. William Rassman – Page 1858

February 17, 2006

Does Deep Massage on Donor Scar Have Any Benefits? – Balding Blog

Hi Dr.
Many Thanks for your efforts here. I’ve this one little enquiry. Have had a strip surgey for some 1000 grafts, Will the deep massaging of my 5 months old linear scar have any beneficial effects? like enhancing/improving it’s future appearence, Also, can now i resume my sport activites like swimming, jogging & some weight lifting without worrying that my scar could stretch, overheard that scars take up to 18 months to reach their maturity stage.

Thanks again & Best Regards

Deep massage can help loosen your scalp for future graft harvesting, however it will not improve the appearance of the scar. Sport activities such as swimming and jogging a few weeks after surgery should not widen the scar, provided that the incision was not made in the high neck area. When neck excisions are done, there is a higher incidence of widening donor scars. In the short term period after a hair transplant (first 4-6 weeks after a strip harvesting technique is use) weight lifting can potentially cause widening of the scar because straining the neck muscle may want to traction on the scar. After 5 months, I believe that everything is somewhat fixed in position. Massaging the scalp will have value if the scalp is tight.

For your information, there are three phases of wound healing:

Inflammatory response — day 0 to 4 days
Fibroblastic repair — day 4 to 6 weeks
Maturation/remodeling — 6 weeks to 2-3 years, although most of the strength (the width of the wound) is established by the end of the 4th month

February 17, 2006

Gap in Right Eyebrow from Cyst – Balding Blog

When i was younger about 10 i had a cyst develop on my eyebrow. They hospital removed this cyst but there was a fairly wide gap on my right eyebrow which will not grow back, is there any possible way i can get hair on my eyebrow like a transplant?
thanks

Hair transplants are a good fix for this as they can fill in the gap of your eyebrow. I do not believe any medicine will help in your case. Some examples of eyebrow transplants can be found here, here, and here. For past blog entries about eyebrow transplantation, please click here.

February 17, 2006

Hair Loss in Woman After 2 Surgeries Months Apart – Balding Blog

I am a 33 year old woman who just underwent 2 surgeries under general anesthesia in the last 5 months. The first was liposuction that resulted in sepsis, pulmonary hypertension, fat emboli etc. Various meds included lasix, decadron, antibiotics, cardizem, xanax, lexapro. The second surgery was to repair internal damage, lyse adhesions, and explore possible pancreatic duct damage, and cholecystectomy. Other meds included Dilaudid and valium. Luckily prior to this I had extremely thick hair and very healthy hair. I am now losing tremendous amount of hair and it is becoming thinner every day. I am worried. Will it return? Are any of these meds directly related? Is it the Anesthesia?
Thank you

Wow! You have been through quite a bit and you have my best wishes for a full recovery! You are experiencing a “telogen effluvium” which in simplest terms is a reaction of your body to the stress it has gone through. Many condiditons and situations can cause you to lose hair like this, emotional stress, rapid weight loss, a car accident, giving birth (for the women out there), and even a colonoscopy! It has little or nothing to do with the anesthesia or the meds, and the good news is that you will regrow your hair.

February 17, 2006

MSM for Hair Growth – Balding Blog

Does MSM make hair grow faster, and if so, by about how much?

I read and agree with this article: MSM and Hair Loss for a Treatment. Many claims, not much data.

February 17, 2006

Radiation Therapy in Youth Caused Current-Day Hair Loss? – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

Greetings,
I just learned that my husband had been diagnosed as a child with cancer in one of his testicles. He underwent radiation and had lost hair on his head. Could this radiation have caused some permanent hair loss on his head? He is bald at the crown.
Thank you for you time

It is not clear if he received radiation to the head. Assuming that his radiation was more in the groin, then I doubt that it is producing hair loss. He needs to get a working diagnosis with mapping of his scalp for miniaturization. Treating the balding crown has some good solutions for him but first he needs to get a working diagnosis.

February 17, 2006

Sexual Side Effects from Minoxidil? – Balding Blog

I have used the 5% Minoxidil solution for nearly two years as directed, ie., twice a day. While it seems to have worked with my hair loss, it seems that my sex drive has waned. Also, when I do, it seems erections aren’t what they were before. I am 46 and in otherwise good health.

Are there any indications that long term use of Minoxidil (like I have used it) has any effect on either a male’s sex drive or erectial function? Thanks in advance.

There are no known sexual side effects from topical minoxidil (also known as Rogaine). This is a drug that has been around since the 1970s (it was originally a medication for high blood pressure) so its safety and side effect profile are pretty well known – even for patients who have been on it for decades. It does work to strengthen hair growth.

There are several other possible causes for loss of libido not least of which is the pervasive rumor that “hair loss medications” cause decreased sex drive. While decreased libido/erectile dysfuntion is a rare (+/- one percent) and temporary (1-3 days usually) side effect of Propecia, it does not occur with minoxidil use to our knowledge.

Finally, (for the rest of you readers out there) it bears repeating that human beings are highly suggestable – if you tell someone, man OR woman, that they might possibly have a side effect or if they even just THINK that they will have it, they will often manifest it for you. (It is often joked that this goes double for guys when it comes to their manly functions but both sexes will have this effect.)

Back to the original writer of this blog entry – this is not to say your symptoms are not real – I believe they are. If you persist in having significant symptoms of decreased sex drive or erectile dysfunction, I’d HIGHLY recommend you talk about it with your doctor. In the meantime, I can reassure you that you may continue to use the minoxidil without fear that it is causing your symptoms.

February 16, 2006

MPB Skipping Generations – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

Hello Doctor. I am a very concerned 20 year old who is looking for some answers to my questions. Both my father and my mother have a thick head of hair as well as a fairly high hairline, perhaps a bit higher than your own judging from your picture i see here. On my mothers side however, there is a bit of tendency for MPB as both her grandfather and one of her two brothers were bald. Recently, I have noticed a slight bit of thinning above the eyebrows on either side of my hairline. I havent noticed any unusual amount of hair loss, and the rest of my scalp is just as thick as ever. I have read numerous other blogs concerning hair loss on this website and I am aware that MPB can skip generations. What are the chances that I have inherited MPB? Am I taking after my bald uncle or is this just a bit of natural thinning that I am seeing? Thank you for your time.

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There is no way to tell if you have genetic hair loss tendency unless you get a working diagnosis with mapping of your scalp for miniaturization. One day in the distant future, we will be able to read the human genome, which will allow us to more easily answer questions like yours. 95%+ of the time, men of your age will lose their childhood hairline and develop a receded mature hairline. That is what you may be seeing.

February 16, 2006

Hair Loss InformationBio-Matrix from Hair Club – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

i am 27 years old and my hair is thinning. no visual bald spots, only one small spot in the right back side that has been about the same size (size of a quarter) for last 4-5 years. i am very skeptical about medication, but really want to know what i should do to not to go bald. also advise about the bio matrix (is that a good solution ?). thank you very much.

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Your bald spot on the back of your head sounds concerning to me and I suggest that you get a doctor to check it out. As for Hair Club’s Bio-Matrix, from looking at their website, the product seems to be a wig with some weaving and customizing it to your head. Weaves and wigs have a tendency to produce traction alopecia which start a cycle of progressive hair loss on a separate time-line of its own. If I have read it wrong, then Hair Club is less than clear about what it is. I’ve written about wigs/weaves/systems in the past, found here.

February 16, 2006

Hair Genesis Oral Soft Gels – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

I’ve been using the Hair Genesis products for about three months with no real change in my hair growth. They claim that their Oral Soft Gels, contain Saw Palmetto, Beta-Sitoserol that block DHT. Have you had any expeirence with this oral gels? Is there any harmful ingredients that cause side effects?

I have no direct experience with this product, but the information I got from their website is less than impressive. Saw Palmetto has questionable value as a DHT blocker and its dose varies per manufacturer. Either you are getting nothing of value, too much, or too little DHT blocker. You will not know for sure unless you lose your sex drive or your hair, at which point you know you are getting too much or not enough. Either way, it’s a bad way to find out.

Paid advertisements (not an endorsement):

February 16, 2006

Increased Shedding with Propecia Use – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

Hello Folks,
I have been using finasteride 2MG daily and found no issues related to Sex drive. However what I find interesting is that the hair shedding has increased to a very high extent i.e more before using drug. Is this normal? i found that this is due to movement of hairs from telogen to anagen phase. Should I stop the drug? Increase the dose?
Thanks

I have no patients that have complained of shedding from Propecia, yet I have been asked about it in emails via this blog a few times. I probably have more patients on Propecia than any doctor in California, so I find it interesting to hear about the shedding problem that is reported to me here. My best advice is to continue to take the drug. What you might be seeing is some accelerated hair loss in its normal cycle, which hopefully will be addressed as the drug kicks in.