Category: Hair Transplantation

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Even Today, The Quality of Hair Transplant Work Can Be Less Than Marginal (with Photos) – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

I am not against capitalism, but last week I met with a young man who took advantage of “special pricing” for hair transplants at just $0.99 cents a graft by a clinic here in Southern California. Yes, you read that price correctly. This is the same facility where a man had died during his transplant procedure a couple of years ago (the only death I know of in the history of this business). This is unlike a 99 cent store that might sell some quality products. This was, of course, a cosmetic procedure that is presented front and center right there on your scalp… and he went with the lowest price he could find.

The patient I met just had a surgery at this clinic and was thrilled at the bargain price he got, but when I saw him (just a day out from his surgery) I was shocked by what I saw! He looked like a victim of a shotgun blast, with blood all over his head and wounds big enough to drive a truck through. Well, maybe not a truck, but you get the idea. This is absolutely NOT the normal look for a person the day after surgery (this is an example of what you should look like a day after surgery). Many of the grafts were hanging out of his head, either partially or fully, and they were embedded in the clots that lay on top of the skin. The patient also reported that the facility was not clean and it was crawling with ants. A real bargain, indeed!

This is one of the more shocking cases I’ve seen in a while and he agreed to let me share his story. I washed off most of the caked clots from his recipient area before these photos were taken. Once again, these photos were taken the day after his surgery at another clinic and I only saw this patient after he came into my office for help. Click to enlarge.

A “bargain” hair transplant

 

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Transplanting a Patient with VP Shunts? – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

I have 2 VP Shunts one on either side of the back of my head. Would this be prohibitive to having a hair restoration procedure? Also, does Dr. Rassman have any experience working on patients that have shunts? Any information you could provide would be greatly appreciated.

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Hydrocephalic vs NormalFor those that aren’t familiar with the term, a ventriculoperitoneal (VP) shunt is a tube that takes brain fluid and connects it to the abdomen where it drains for the treatment of hydrocephalus (or water on the brain). And yes, I have done hair transplants on patients who have had VP shunts (see here).

As you indicated that you are from out-of-town, I would have requirements for you if you wanted me to do your hair transplant. First, send me detailed pictures of your hair loss and then I would want to get specific X-rays to locate the shunts. I must know the course of the shunt and how far under the skin it is. With the shunt located, the hair transplant can be done safely. You can call my office at 310-553-9113 and arrange to have a phone consultation with me.

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23 Days After Surgery, The Hair Never Fell Out! – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

Dear Sir:
i had FUT 23 days ago and my doctor told me that the transplanted hair will fall out in two weeks, then start to grow again. The transplanted hair didn’t fall out up until now and the hair covers the bald area and i feel that it is slightly longer. is this is a good sign and means complete success of surgery? or does it mean nothing? thanks for your time and patience and hoping to answer me back.

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If it continues to grow, you will be like 5% of people who never lose the hair after a transplant. You won’t know for another few weeks and it is not unusual that the hair appears to be growing as it is being pushed out of the skin. The hair length below the skin varies with race, but for a Caucasian, the length is between 5-6 mm, for an Asian it is often longer by a mm or so. I hope that you join the ranks of the 5% who keep on growing. Drop me a line and let me know and I will post your comment here on the blog linked to this post.

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What’s the Purpose of Taking Propecia If I Just Need Hairline Help? – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

I have a question regarding the entry “How Many Months Does it Usually Take for Regrowth from Propecia to Occur?”. You said it’s unlikely that people with a norwood 3 will be able to re-grow hair at the frontal hairline. In this case, is there a purpose in taking propecia? Would hair transplant be better in restoring the frontal hairline?

I am actually very worried about taking propecia because I am scared that I may have to stop taking it one day (due to the cost of the drug) or for other reasons that I can’t continue using it. And you mentioned that once someone stops taking the drug, hair will fall out rapidly. Even though 2 dermatologists told me that once I stopped using it, my hair will just go back to the state prior to taking the drug (so I am just buying time using propecia).

Can you also help me with finding a reputable doctor (or a hair transplant surgeon?) I can consult in Toronto, Ontario as I am not sure how to get in touch with one.

Thank you so much

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Your question reflects your confusion of the facts as they exist. Propecia (finasteride) rarely regrows hair in the Norwood Class 3 balding pattern (frontal area). Transplants are the way to go if you qualify as a candidate (loose “rule” is if you’re over 24 years old… or if you are younger and have a good doctor that doesn’t just want to get your money). Hair loss is progressive in nature, and as I don’t have enough information about you, I couldn’t begin to guess as to whether your hair loss has stabilized or if you’re in for further loss. Your dermatologists told you correct info — if you stop Propecia, you may rapidly go back to where you would have been had you not taken it. There are generic forms of finasteride (in 5mg dosage that can be cut) which can be purchased at a fraction of the cost of Propecia, but you need a doctor’s prescription for it.

To find a doctor in your area, go to the ISHRS site and look up the doctors in Toronto using their physician search. Every city has some good doctors and some dishonest ones, so be sure to research your chosen physician on the web (and you can figure out the reputation of the doctors by looking on various industry bulletin boards, including Hair Transplant Network and Hair Loss Help).

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Hair Loss InformationHair Transplant + Hairline Lowering? – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

Hello,

I am a 23 year old man with MPB on my fathers side of the family, with the men either norwood III A or norwood IV A.

My issue is that I have a large forehead and I was wondering if it would be possible for someone with a naturally big forehead (pre baldness) that has gone bald, to under go a hair transplant and then have hairline lowering done using donor hair to reconstruct a lower hairline than their original?

Thank you

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For men who can continue to bald as they age, hair transplantation is a better solution than a hairline lowering procedure to reduce the forehead size (its like a reverse brow lift). If the balding continues after a hairline lowering procedure, the scar will become evident and a transplant sooner or later will be needed. For women, however, the choice to do a full surgical hairline lowering procedure is a reasonable option as their is rarely frontal balding as in men.

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I Want Preventative Hair Transplant Surgery – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

Hi Doctor, I am 21 with temples that are starting to recede.

All them men on both sides of my family suffer from the exact same pattern of baldness, Norwood III A.

Does this mean it is inevitable for me to suffer the same fate? If so, is there any way a surgeon would transplant hairs from my donor area to cover this region even though I haven’t had significant hairless?

I desire this to prevent ever having to go through a “bald period”

It’s not guaranteed that you’ll get that same pattern, but the odds are certainly not in your favor based upon what you are saying. Hair loss can skip generations. Any surgeon that would transplant hairs into that area in a 21 year old without significant balding occurring is probably a crook and will be doing you more of a disservice than anything else, because the evolution of hair loss is not 100% predictable.

So for starters, you run the risk of shock loss (meaning you’ll just lose hairs around the recipient area) after a transplant, leaving you possibly worse off than you started. And most important, you never should have preventative hair transplant surgery, as your future hair loss pattern is not a guarantee.

Balding Forum - Hair Loss Discussion

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Why Don’t Other Doctors Create Very Low Hairlines? – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

Dr. Rassman, I have followed your great blog for a while now and I know that you have been in the business for a number of years. I’ve recently discovered the work of Dr. [name removed] and noticed that one of his specialties is the lowering of the hairline beautifully. His work interests me as I have quite the receding in the temples and would love to establish a lower hairline. My donor area is great with extremely thick hair (thanks mom). My question to you is how come other Doctors do not try to establish themselves (via website, testimonials, great hairline photos) more like Dr. [name removed]? Would you be comfortable taking on the same tasks that he does in procedures?

I am asking because I want to know if his hands are truly as gifted as his prices are steep.

What makes you think doctors do not lower hairlines? Doctors generally recommend a neutral hairline appropriate for one’s age. It generally should be in the mature hairline position. Often, younger men will request a hairline that may be too low or lower than what is considered “normal” and certainly more like their 12 year old hairline rather than a mature hairline. There is nothing wrong with this request as long as there is communication between the doctor and the patient and the long term plan takes into account what the worst balding could be… and that the hairline will be appropriate for life! Yes, for life! This is a lifetime decision and as hair transplants are irreversible, if it is transplanted too low, you are up the creek without a paddle.

Keep in mind if the hairline is too low it can never be raised, but if the patient still wants a lower hairline (even an abnormally low one) the doctor and patient need to come to a mutual agreement with respect to the patient’s wishes and with the patient’s understanding that their request comes with consequences. There are a few doctors (like the one you referenced) that like to create abnormally low hairlines, as they appeal to the younger patient who never accepts the understanding that their hair loss will continue to move backwards (it is a progressive process). Any good doctor can create any hairline he wishes and if it is too low, well, trouble will sooner or later follow. So while some doctors may publicize lower hairlines with many examples on their website, I have also seen many of those patients who regret the decision to recreate a low hairline and have come to see me to ask me to move it back. You don’t see those on the websites. Aside from placing it too low, these hairlines may deplete the donor supply more rapidly, so as the hair loss moves back in many balding men and they need more hair to follow the loss, they may find that the hair supply has been used up and that there is not enough hair to follow the hair loss back to what I call ‘a reasonable stopping point’. I tell everyone that the good news and the bad news about hair transplants is that it is irreversible. Unfortunately, I am not able to raise hairlines with any ease and I can not create enough donor hair if the patient has used up his supply, so again, there are consequences.

Balding Forum - Hair Loss Discussion

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I Want to Transplant Hairs from My Toe to Eyebrow – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

Do you do eye brow transplants?

I have toe hair, and I would like to either remove it or have laser done to get rid of the hairs. I don’t like my eyebrows, because they are thick. The color matches between my eyebrow and my toe hairs and they seem to have the same texture.

I think I would be a good candidate if you did.

Yes, we do eyebrow transplants! Body hair transplants (from the back, chest or leg) have been attempted in the past with minimal success because the telogen cycle is long, at times longer than the growth cycle. Although scalp hair transplant to the eyebrow is routinely done, it does not always produce soft eyebrows that women want if the scalp hair is anything but fine. Keep in mind that scalp hair is generally more coarse than eyebrow hair. Thus, eyebrow transplants for men with coarser hair produce a more aesthetically pleasing result (as men generally want bushy, coarse eyebrows like Einstein or Mark Twain — well, maybe not that far). That being said, many of my patients (who are women) were very satisfied with their eyebrow results. The key point is that everybody is different and each patient needs to have realistic expectations and goals and know the limitations of such surgery with regard to the thickness of the hair being transplanted. This goes for any type of surgery.

I would not object to toe hair transplanted to the eyebrow, but it would be purely experimental and the growth rate may be less optimal because the sleep cycle (telogen) is relatively long, possibly longer than the growth cycle. The reason I suspect that this is the case is that I have rarely seen very long hairs growing from the top of the toe. I would want to know more about what the patient expects and what other hair may be available as an alternative.

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Can You Preserve Hairs for Transplanting Later? – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

Why can’t you transplant hair from one person to another? if the hair is exactly the same colour and close enough the same texture is it possible to do this? Also, on the same note can hairs remove during a procedure be preserved or do they have to be put into a head straight away? honestly it would be a great idea, people with generously thick hair “sell” their hair to you and then you could probably charge 3 times that amount to put it into someone elses head, it would make lots of money.

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There is a lot of experimentation occurring, but nothing that exists at this time. Hair grafts start dying at about 8 hours out of the body while kept in ideal conditions like iced Ringer’s solution at about 34 degrees Fahrenheit. The death rate for grafts occurs at a rate of about 1% per hour after the 8 hour period. In 24 hours, there will be 24% death rate of grafts, 48% at 48 hours etc.

Hair follicles are organs, and like with a kidney, liver, or heart transplant, these organs also have limited times to get them into their new and final resting place. You would have to take anti-rejection medication for the rest of your life if you used anybody’s hair organ other than your own and the risks of these drugs are high for death — a risk perhaps worth taking for a heart or liver, but for hair? No way. These medications can lead to other health complications, and since a hair transplant isn’t exactly a lifesaving procedure (like a heart transplant would be), the end doesn’t justify the means.