Category: Hair Transplantation

Hi doctor.

I have had two sessions of FUE hair transplant to my hairline and frontal with two different doctors in Europe, the first one of 1000 grafts in 2003, and last year additional 1000 grafts, total of 2000 grafts.

As I was still losing my hair, I wanted more density to my hairline and beyond it and close the angles which was left open. This procedure and doctor completely ruined my appearance by adding many large grafts in the hairline and just filling in the already straight hairline instead of making it irregular with single grafts. The two other main things that went wrong was the angle the grafts was set in, on one side of the hairline he inserted the grafts to follow the existing hair and this side I am happy with today. On the other side he did something that I still today dont understand, he must had a total blackout of some kind, he placed the new grafts pointing to my temple crossing my existing hair from the first procedure growing slightly back.

That makes my hair on this side problematic to shape as it is like a nest where the hairs are growing in all different angles, which leaves the hairline look unnatural and this side very strange in all.

My questions are:

– Is this a lack of skill from the doctor to place the insertions in this wrong and unnatural angle on this side?
– How to correct this in the best and easiest way?
– How to correct the multiple grafts in and the beyond the hairline?
– Should he do the repair for free or pay my money back so i can go to a professional doctor to correct me?

My doctor is only thinking about money and not his reputation by telling me that the result is natural and that I should be happy with my results. In my opinion he doesnt have the skills for this kind of work because its so big mistakes done by him.

The hair transplant surgeon has full control on the angle and direction of transplanted hair. If it was placed in an odd angle or direction (that does not look natural), it was due to the surgeon’s mistake. Unfortunately, you cannot correct the wrong angle or direction of hair after it has been transplanted. You can possibly have some repair work, but it will never solve your problem 100% and it will likely be very costly.

If you believe you had bad work and do not trust your doctor, why would you go back to the same surgeon?

Before you do anything, you should consider seeing another doctor for a second opinion to confirm if what you are describing is actually true. I do not know you or your doctor and I really cannot judge if your transplant was a failure. I am just going by your word.

Finally, this type of situation is the very reason why you need to choose a competent and skilled doctor. Not all hair transplant surgery is the same.

if you have salt and pepper hair and the back of your hair is still relatively black with most of the sides, top, and front salt and pepper, what happens when you transplant the hair in the back to the front and top? does it also eventually turn grey also?

Whatever hair is in the back (donor area) will be the hair in the transplanted area. Over the many years of transplanting hair (20+ years), I have not seen any dramatic changes in hair color for patients with grey hair on top and darker hair on the back. It seem to generally blend in well.

In other words, hair color does not usually change to another color just because it is transplanted. In your case, the hair might turn grey after it is moved simply because it would’ve turned grey even if it had not been transplanted.

Hello doctor,
I am 22 year old and i had a hair transplant yesterday. I was told by my surgeon that 2560 grafts have been implanted. My question is how do i know if 2560 have been planted or not? Thanks

As the doctor’s staff are preparing the grafts, there should be accounting sheets that allow the technicians to count and sort the grafts by the number of hairs in each graft. Ask your doctor to show you the sheet and the doctor should be easily willing to do this.

While you do have to have some level of trust in the surgeon and his staff, these accounting sheets will show that the number of grafts, once counted and sorted, have been reviewed and prepared by a large staff of people.

It’s rather sad that a day after your surgery you are having trust issues with your doctor.

Hi doctor Rassman
If someone with the degree of loss of Steve Ballmer, Microsoft CEO, wants a hair transplant and has a very realistic expectations, what options will you give him?

While the options are more limited for those men with the most advanced balding patterns, I have surgically treated a number of patients with a Norwood class 7 pattern, as Steve Ballmer shows in the attached photo.

Hair transplantation can be done successfully if the patient’s donor supply is adequate, such as the case with Patient ZU. This patient had almost 10,000 grafts thanks to good quality, medium weight hair, and a significantly higher hair density than an average Caucasian. There are other class 7 patients you can view here.

Dear Dr. Rassman,

First I’d like to say I really appreciate your informative website.. It has helped out alot.. My question is; how does someone that doesn’t make a lot of money afford a hair transplant? I’ve read about a number of people that have had multiple hair transplant surgeries, some of these people who appear to be younger. I was just wondering how they afford to keep going back. Surely not all of these people have great paying jobs..

I’m not sure if my question can even really be answered but I thought it was worth a try. Thanks!

Realizing the cost can be high for a person who earns a low wage, we do offer financing options that are taken up by many of our patients. The key to cost is good communication with your doctor so you can see what he/she can do to help. We offer significantly discounted Standby rates to fill any open or cancelled slots on our surgery schedule, as well as offer a travel program that helps offset the costs of getting and staying here for out-of-town patients. Learn more about it on our Fees and Payment Options page.

In the end, a hair transplant is not a necessity as it is an elective cosmetic procedure. I realize some may not be able to afford it, but in my 20+ years of treating hair loss patients, the determined ones always seem to find a way to finance the procedure. One patient I recall (I believe he was a waiter) had a brown bag that he used to collect all of his tip money over years in until he had enough to pay for the surgery.

Why are the hair follicles with one and two hairs used in the front instead of the ones with three and four hairs? Also how far back are the ones and twos placed?

I’ve had one transplant before but i would like to add a 1/4 of inch on my frontal hair line. If that’s all that i were to have done would i have to have the FUE procedure instead of the strip because the area only desires follicles with one or two hairs?

We place one hair grafts in the front to achieve a natural, soft hairline. If you were to look at people who have never had a hair transplant you will see they have single hairs in the front. Having three or four-hair grafts in the front will look unnatural and be detectable as a man-made process.

I had hair transplant surgery 15 months ago, and the back of my head is still numb and tingly. It starts from the incision line and goes up to the top of the back of my head. The numbness and tingly has not changed at all. I told my doctor about this numerous times, and he just stated each time that it will go away. Years ago, I had two hair transplant surgeries of 800 grafts and 250 grafts. After those two surgeries, I had no numbness at all. However, with this surgery, which was over 2000 grafts, I had numbness and tingly right after surgery, and it hasn’t changed yet. Is there anything that I can do?

During the surgery, I heard one of the helpers say to the person who was cutting the strip of hair that he cut too deep. Could this be a possible cause of the numbness? Is there anything that I can do? It’s a constant annoyance, day in and day out. I’m also getting head aches. Could this be the cause of that?

Thank you for your time

Generally speaking, any scalp numbness from a hair transplant surgery should go away after about one year. If the doctor cuts too deep or cuts a large nerve (called the greater occipital nerve) the numbness may be permanent. It is one of the rare unfortunate risks associated with hair transplant surgery.

The concept and theory of hair transplant surgery is easy. The execution and practice is highly variable. There is no formal training in hair transplant surgery and just because a doctor is a Plastic Surgeon does not mean he/she is a capable hair transplant surgeon. There is no American Board of Medical Specialties (ABMS) for hair transplant surgery (like there is for Plastic Surgery). Just because a doctor belongs to hair transplant societies such as ISHRS and ABHRS, it does not mean they are “board certified” or trained in hair transplant surgery. It just means they paid a membership fee. Thus, choosing a well qualified, well trained hair transplant surgeon is difficult and highly variable.

Having said all this, your doctor may be a well trained and reputable surgeon and this may just be one of those rare unfortunate instance of the risks associated with surgery.