Category: Hair Transplantation

What exactly does hair pitting mean and how is it caused and is there any way to fix it?

I believe what you may be asking is the possible scarring that occurs after a hair transplant. It should not happen with modern day hair transplantation, but I still see it on occasion when patients come in for a consultation.

The “pitting” you are referring to is just what it sounds like: an inward indent into the scalp – a pockmark on your head about 1/8 inch in diameter (or more). This happens when the surgeon or the staff is inexperienced. It can also happen if the patient does not heal very well. Or even a combination of both.

You really cannot fix it completely. Some have tried steroid injections, dermal fillers, or even micro-abrasion, but in my experience it never really works the way you intended and patients are left dissatisfied. The best advice is not to get yourself into a situation where you may end up with pitting. To start, you should research whichever surgeon you decide to go with. Don’t go bargain hunting for cheap surgery, because like a bad nose job, it will stand out and you’ll end up spending years and spending thousands of dollars trying to fix it.

I have wavy hair and would like a hair transplant but I prefer FUE so I don’t get a scar at the back of my head. I understand that the hair shaft slightly curls under the skin for wavy hair. Once my hair is extracted via FUE is it possible to implant it into my thinning area but make the hair shaft or bulb of the hair straight so I have straight hair growing out instead of wavy. I know it sounds weird but can it be done?

I had a patient once tell me that another doctor he saw for a consultation had told him he could have his hair character changed from curly to straight, but the surgeon has no such control. If a surgeon tells you he/she does have that ability, run away, because he may have other personal reasons to do your surgery ($$).

Hello Doctor,
I was just wondering, with all the advancements in technology and the rising demand for restoring ones hair do you think that hair transplants will become relatively cheaper in the near future? if so when would could someone predict a drop in price? 5, 10, 20 years?

thanks

Perhaps surgery may drop in price if you adjust for inflation, but overall hair transplant surgery is an elective cosmetic surgery and as long as there is a demand, it will still likely be relatively expensive. I am sure (even now) you can find doctors who offer a very low price of around $1 per graft, but the quality and results may be questionable. I often fix many patients failed hair transplant surgeries from Tijuana and even local clinics where patients go to get bargain hair transplants for $1 to $3 per graft. In the end, the patient ends up spending a lot more to fix the bad work.

I am often amazed at how someone would go bargain hunting for cosmetic surgery that will last a lifetime. If you have a bad meal you can always go to another restaurant tomorrow, but a hair transplant is for life. You’ll be looking at the bad work on yourself each time you look in the mirror. I realize finance and fees are definitely a factor, but it should not be something to base the decision to have surgery.

I believe there will always be patients who seek out the cheapest surgery from doctors who want to compete and offer a low fee. And there will always be top surgeons who will command a very high fee for quality work and the patients who seek out top quality work. Not all hair transplant surgery or surgeons are the same, which is why many patients fly in from all over the world to see us at New Hair Institute.

Doc, I’ve learned many years ago the difference between a top doctor and an average one. Since then if I need to see a doctor I always try to see people at the top of their field. Especially when it comes to surgery which is a true art. My concern is the reliance on technicians. I know time is a consideration when dealing with a thousand or 2 hairs. You often see patients who had bad doctors. Maybe they had bad technicians. You have stressed the importance of the placement and angle of hair, yet you leave that to technicians. Technicians turn over quite a bit in any field. So there’s a good chance some workers are learning on a patients scalp. Not a comforting thought for someone who’s gone through enough emotional concern over hair loss, not to mention spending the money their spending for top work.

I’ve seen the difference between a gifted surgeon and an average one.. forget a technician. I guess there’s nothing one can do about the harvesting.. that requires technicians. Are there HT docs who do all the placement themselves?

Thanks

Hair transplant surgery cannot be done with just one person. It is a team effort between doctor and technician. A great surgeon cannot produce quality work without great technicians. It is true that there is technician turnover and technicians-for-hire who jump around to different clinics, so when you interview doctors you should also ask about the turn over or if they use per diem technicians.

New Hair Institute has been open for over 22 years. Many of my staff members have been with me for close to 15 to 20 years. That is how we produce quality work.

I am a 24 year old male who has somewhat of a receding hairline like my father who has the same hairline I have, but he is 57 years old. While he has maintained his hairline, the hair on the top of his head is noticeably thinner than on the sides.

What if I had a transplant primarily to the front of the scalp and then continued to thin elsewhere on my head. Since the hair in a transplant will not thin like the rest of the scalp as one ages, my question is can the transplanted hair be thinned out or even removed to blend better with the rest of the scalp?

I wouldn’t recommend it, but I suppose what you’re asking can be done theoretically. However, if you have a good Master Plan and a good surgeon, you should be able to plan out how to address your hair needs now so that it doesn’t look bad even 50 years from now if you continue to thin.

Overall, I think you are missing the point… which is that you need to see a good surgeon (face to face) for an examination and a specific consultation for the planning of your individual needs.

I’ve had 2 procedures with a prominent surgeon for a total of around 3700 grafts. My first was at age 51, second 54. I felt I was a good candidate since the hair on the back and sides of my head was thick. My first procedure grew-in nicely but I had a lot of dry, itchy, flaking scalp issues. I began to notice thinning hair in the transplant area about 1.5 years ago. The 2nd procedure is still thickening up but I suspect it will thin as well in a year or so. I think this is partially due to my age since all my hair is getting thinner.

I’m not convinced HT’s last as long as the hype would like you to believe. I’m really concerned for guys in their 20’s going through this procedure expecting it to last a lifetime.

There are many patients who undergo hair transplant surgery in their 20’s and 30’s that still have a full head of transplanted hair in their 50’s. There is a small minority of patients who were never properly diagnosed and perhaps do not have genetic androgenic alopecia, but rather have another type of balding (such as diffuse unpatterned alopecia), that underwent hair transplant procedures that were not permanent. Or it’s possible the grafts were taken from a non-permanent zone.

When patients have transplants into thinning hair, the results are generally good for the first few years until their original non-transplanted hair starts to fall out (as they would have without the surgery) and those initial results become less impressive. This makes them think that the transplanted hair is falling out, as patients do not see (or were not properly informed) that hair loss is an ongoing dynamic process. Even with the native hairs falling out, the transplanted hair should be enough to provide a better overall look to the individual, as long as there was a proper Master Plan made.