Hair Transplantation – Page 159

November 8, 2006

Cigarettes and Hair Transplantation – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

Done hair transplant 20 days ago. i have started smoking again but my doc advised against it. will smoking stop the growth of newly implanted grafts?

Smoking is bad for your health in general and it contributes to poor wound healing and poor circulation. If you are saying that you recently had a hair transplant and are now smoking, it might impact growth as the circulation does go down in the scalp with smoking. It is impossible to state that smoking will stop the growth of your implanted grafts, but why risk it? I can say that of those people who may have had less than targeted end-results, most were smokers. Maybe it is a good time to stop smoking.

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November 8, 2006

FUE vs FIT — Which Technique is Recommended? – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

Overall what would be your recommendations for a procedure that would better serve the interest of the patient the FUE or the FIT?

The difference between FUE (Follicular Unit Extraction) and FIT (Follicular Isolation Technique) is essentially in a name. The originators of the technique called FIT, in my opinion, could not get credit for an inventive breakthrough, so they simply changed the name. With that said, the FIT doctors use what they think is a different instrument (a sharp punch with a depth guard), something I used in the early days when I was originally exploring the technique and found no real advantage because any alteration in the angle of a sharp punch will cut through the graft and kill is. I believe that the use of a sharp punch of any type causes too much damage, so I rarely use it except for special cases where my biopsy shows that it has value and will not damage the hair. The best interest in patients is served by the least damage in the extraction process when these procedures are selected. There is enough difference between the tissues of one patient vs another patient that fine tuning the instrument (which instrument will be best for that particular patient) is critical (my opinion).

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November 8, 2006

Taking Expired Propecia, Transplanting Spikey Hair – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

Thanks for your very informative blog.

Two questions: I’m 35 – MPB runs in my family. I’ve avoided using anything and think I’m ready to try propecia. I actually got a prescription for it about two years ago – just didn’t take it. Is there any harm in taking expired propecia?

I few years back I saw a transplant doctor in San Antonio, TX. He said I would not be a great candidate for a transplant because the hair in the back of my head is kinda spikey and the scar would be noticable. How do you deal with folks with spikey hair to minimize that?

Thanks so much!

If the Propecia was in a sealed bottle, it would probably be ok. I won’t recommend taking it, but I do recommend reading this article from Newsweek published a couple weeks back — Do You Take Expired Medications?. Contact your prescribing doctor for the final word on what you should do.

With regard to your question about spiked hair, I’ll assume that the doctor you saw was saying that your hair was very straight and strong in character. That should not be a problem for transplantation. Asians have strong, straight hair and I do such surgeries on this type of hair quite often with no problems.

November 6, 2006

5 Months After Transplant, Still Redness and No Growth – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

I had a transplant in late-May. I still show no results and it is almost November. I also still have redness on my scalp. Shouldn’t I now show some hair growth? Should this redness have subsided by now? Finally, is Tricomin shampoo supposed to speed up growth?

If the redness and the lack of growth concerns you I would follow-up with the doctor who performed your surgery. Not everybody reacts exactly the same to the surgery, but it is relatively rare to see redness continue after the first month. With respect to growth, it may take up to a year to see the complete results. I would not put much faith in Tricomin shampoo to speed up the newly transplanted hairs. After 8 months, if you do not have styling length hair, then you might have a failure of the transplant, but wait it out before drawing conclusions.

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November 3, 2006

Hair Loss Information2 Months Post-Operative Trichophytic Closure (with Photos) – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

I thought it would be nice to share a 2 month post surgical donor wound (still a bit light pink) with hair growing out of the wound from a trichophytic closure. By the 4th months, this wound will become virtually invisible.

For more information about the trichophytic closure technique, see Techniques to Minimize Donor Area Scarring.

Click the photos to enlarge.

Trichophytic

November 3, 2006

Hair Loss InformationAny Danger to Grafts From Humidity 4 Days After Surgery? – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

Hi Doctor,

i Had hair transplant surgery in Thailand. First day was a rest day. Second day i went to his clinic and washed my head. third and fourth day I went shopping in thailand and nowadays the weather is quite humid there.

My question is When I was shoping (3rd and 4th day after surgery I had light exercises and in the hot climate in Thailand I began to sweat because of the of humidity. SO i quickly reached the hotel room and cleaned my scalp with baby shampoo as the doctor advised. my question is , is there any danger to the grafts because of this humidity and sweating?

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After the second day, your hair transplant grafts should have firmly set in and humidity/sweating should not affect them (even light exercise). For more on physical exercises after surgery, please see Resuming Physical Activities After Surgery.

November 2, 2006

Scarring in Donor & Recipient Area, Body Hair, FUE – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

Hi Dr. Rassman,

I’m considering going in for a FUE hair transplant and I understand that there is minimal scarring involved. I was reading up on the New Hair Institute web site and noticed there are many “mini” scars. Will these scars be only in the donor area or where there is transplanted hair?

I’m also considering using body hair as a viable source for donor hair. I’ve seen a few surgeons doing this. Have you personally performed such an operation? I would love to hear your thoughts on this procedure.

Best regards.

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Follicular Unit Extraction (FUE) produces very small scars in the donor area, usually less than 1mm (there are 25mm to an inch). The only way most people could see these scars is a complete shave of the head (not a short hair cut, which probably would not show any of these scars). In the recipient site, the grafts are always trimmed (in our office, anyway) to cut away the unnecessary skin so that these grafts should not produce any visible scar in the recipient area. My understanding from the recent ISHRS meeting in San Diego, is that most surgeons doing FUE do not trim the grafts and therefore may get very small recipient area scars.

I have commented on body hair transplants before, but I’ll recap the biggest problem with them. Due to the short growth cycle, body hair will not show up very well (quantity) because for every body hair that is transplanted, less than half of them will be in growth phase at any one time. That means that less than 50% of the hairs will grow according to what you can see. At the meeting in San Diego, one doctor who does a lot of body hair transplants showed two patients who had them done. The growth in numbers was far less than 50% of what the two patients and the doctor reported was put in at the time of the surgery. The only good news about what I learned at the meeting with regard to body hair is that the length of the hair does double to what the person had in the chest or back (natural position). I would want to have a face to face meeting to understand your focus on the body hair, why you wanted it, and to see what else was available to meet your needs.

November 2, 2006

Anticoagulants and Hair Transplants – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

What if your on coumadin, do you have to wait until your off the medication? I am told yes.

Just to clear it up for the readers out there, I believe you’re referring to waiting until you’re off coumadin before having a hair transplant.

It is wise to reduce or stop coumadin (an anticoagulant) prior to having a hair transplant. I have had the misfortune to do a hair transplant on a number of patients on coumadin (it can be reversed with Vitamin K) and on Plavix (can not be reversed). There was very mild bleeding from the recipient site the night of the surgery. The surgeon must understand why a person is on these medications and weigh out the safety of stopping them or staying on a lower dose of these medications. Each case is medically evaluated independently.

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November 1, 2006

Man Unaware of Shock Loss After Transplant – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

I am 37 years old male and I had hair transplant with 800 grafts four years ago. after hair transplant i lost my original hair which i had before transplant and now i left with only the hair which i transplanted. i have two question. first, is it normal for everybody that once you did hairtransplant you will lose your original hairs due to shock that our scalp get. my other question is regarding after transplant. since last year after getting shower the next day when i touch my scalp i notice the dead hair bulb ( i think it is called hair bulb or hair follicule, the material which hair grows from it ). it scared me alot. i have oily skin and when i touch my scalp i notice them it is like more then 10 per day. would you please give me some idea that why i lose my hair bulb besides my hair. and what should i do to prevent it.
thank you

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Shock loss after a hair transplant occurs in some patients and it is best prevented by taking Propecia (which I prescribe to everyone having a hair transplant just to minimize this possibility). It is probably related to the degree of miniaturized or weak hairs that were in active loss phase when you had your transplant.

Regarding your second question of a ‘dead hair bulb’, I do not know what you are describing. It is normal to lose up to 100 hairs a day. What you are probably seeing is a hair shaft with a little sebum (mucus) plug attached at the end.

October 31, 2006

Getting a Lot of Scalp Pimples 6 Months After Hair Transplant – Balding Blog

did second transplant 6 months ago.i seem to have alot of pimples and they are getting worse.is there any cure.tried with pills already but doesn’t work.thanks.age 27-sex male

Six months after a hair transplant should be enough time to end any cycle of pimples. I’m not sure what pills you might’ve taken to eliminate the scalp pimples, but I suggest you go back to your hair transplant surgeon and get yourself evaluated. You have a doctor, take him/her to task. Patient aftercare is important, and your doctor should be willing to answer your concerns.

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