Category: Hair Transplantation

Hey doc. How are you today?
I have been diagnosed as a Norwood 5 thinning pattern. Originally when I started finasteride I was a Norwood 3 vertex only, but obviously the medication is only slowing the process down. I had a consultation with a reputable Toronto Dr and he said it would not be be worthwhile performing surgery at that time. But now that things have progressed is it possible to perform surgery just to give me more density? I am fine with my hair line. Or is it dangerous transplanting in between miniaturized hairs? I’m 22 and have been on finasteride for 2 and a half years with a gradual decline in my hair count but hairline is still thick for some reason. What do you think ?

I am fine. Thank you for asking.

Transplanting between the miniaturized hairs may likely result in you losing those weak hairs, so you won’t be any better off than you are now (except with less donor hair and less money in your bank account). I can’t say for sure since I haven’t seen you, but based on your description the surgeon you saw might have done you a favor.

I’m a Class 4 evolving to a Class 6 pattern. My concern is if I have a transplant now and am happy with the result, but the hair loss pattern continues to a Class 6, that I may find myself chasing this problem for potentially many transplants and then run out of donor hair and regret the decision altogether. I’d hate to have an un-natural hair loss pattern many years from now because of this. As I understand it, you can do a test to map the scalp for miniaturization which can help in developing a long term Master Plan and help determine if the hair in the donor area is healthy and how much is available for moving. Can you comment ?

After mapping out your scalp for miniaturization and knowing your donor density, scalp laxity, and your hair and skin characteristics, I can usually tell where your hair loss pattern is going. Your question is appropriate about a long term Master Plan. Generally, if we transplant the frontal area to a line drawn between your ears, that area can almost always be made to look normal and the density in that area is something that is worked out with your surgeon. The area from the line between the ears to the very back of your head (the crown area) is significant if your density is low. If your density is average or higher and you want the back of your head transplanted, we must ascertain the available donor supply to do that in a worst case scenario.

If you take drugs like Propecia (finasteride) then the hair loss to a Norwood class 6 may be improbable. Most of our patients focus on the frontal area first, and then based upon desire, the crown if there is enough donor hair to manage a possible expanding crown. A frontal to mid-head reconstruction works for most people, as the man in the mirror is who most men want transplanted. Under a worst case scenario where you progress to crown loss, you can look perfectly normal with a full front and a thin or balding crown (which can be covered like this patient did).

I had a hair transplant done over a year ago. My hair grew in great but I feel my hairline is a little too far back. I would like to move it forward 3/8 of an inch. I understand when creating a hairline it looks more natural when grafts of single and double hairs are used. So my question is how far back are the grafts of single and double hairs placed? My concern is whether or not I could the procedure done by the means of the strip method or would I have to get it done with the FUE method? (Also, do you have a rough estimate of how many grafts would be needed? Medium course, fairly straight, blonde hair)

At the very least, I would need to see a good digital photograph with your eyebrows lifted high so that the forehead creases are visible. This would help to determine placement. Some surgeons do not put single hairs in the front, so I can not comment on what you had done without seeing you. Clearly with a medium coarse blonde hair, you should require less grafts than those with darker fine hair, but again, I would have to see how wide the area which will be transplanted has to be lowered to meet your goals. Follicular unit extraction (FUE) or strip harvesting can address a transplant successfully.

i was googling the address for John lord when I got your article. im in my 40’s and want to inquire about hair transplant. someone i knew went to him and was happy about the result and it was also inexpensive. wanted to try it but very scared about his history, outcome if i were to go elsewhere and the amount i will end up paying. my hair is thin and i just want a thicker full hair especially front area.

John Lord is not a doctor, but somehow owns a surgical hair transplant clinic. This is illegal in California, but he was able to skirt the law. His clinic was responsible for the only reported death in the history of hair transplantation just a few years ago. The patient who died came to see me a couple of weeks before he had the transplant that killed him. Our clinic fees were a bit higher so to save money he ended up at John Lord’s clinic. And well… you know what happened next.

Our facility is fully accredited with the AAAHC (Accreditation Association for Ambulatory Health Care), which guarantees that our processes are first rate, infections are very rare, and safety is paramount as it is built into our system. We are audited every three years and all of our records are reviewed by this agency for safety and poor outcomes. We’re one of the very few hair transplant clinics to go through this rigorous auditing and accreditation.

I had the opportunity to see a few of the patients from John Lord’s clinics and the results were clearly substandard. Maybe the bad transplants are the only ones that came to see me for repairs. As for the cost of hair transplantation, that depends on how much hair needs to be moved. I’m in Los Angeles if you’d like to make an appointment (it’s free).