Hair Transplantation – Page 92

March 18, 2009

Will Miniaturization Mapping Show If I’ll Bald Like My Father? – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

I am 24 y.o. male and i’ve been losing hair since i was 19/20. My father (52 y.o.) and uncle (46 y.o.) are NW 4A and i think i am balding the same pattern. I’ve seen many results where people with NW 4A achieved almost complete coverage with 4000 grafts. Is miniaturization going to show if i will be in my 50’s like my father so that i can start thinking for a HT? I think I’m too young to go for a HT and end NW6.

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Mapping out the scalp for miniaturization can be used to forecast balding patterns, particularly if your eye is telling you that you are losing hair. For a Norwood Class 4A pattern, 2500-4000 grafts can do a good job depending upon the thickness of your hair. Finer hair takes more grafts than coarser hair.

March 17, 2009

I’ve Been on Propecia for a Year and I Got Shock Loss After a Small FUE Procedure – Balding Blog

Dr. Rassman,

I have used the search function and read all about telogen effluvium and shock loss post-transplant. I just had a very minor FUE procedure of 400 grafts performed a few days ago.

I have been on Propecia (1 mg) for over a year and have diffuse alopecia. However, I am now experiencing hair loss all over my head (including what I believe to be the donor area). Is this telogen effluvium from the shock of surgery or just ordinary shock loss? The doctor said it was probably just some shock loss. What the are long-term effects of something like this?

I notice the hair loss by doing a gentle (very gentle) pull test in all areas. Thanks for your help.

I honestly do not know. I am not trying to brush you off, but every case and every patient is different. What is your age? What did your hair look like under miniaturization mapping prior to your follicular unit extraction (FUE) procedure? Did you have diffuse unpatterned alopecia (DUPA)? If you had done a proper pull test, you might have developed a telogen effluvium (TE). Differentiating TE and shock loss may be difficult at this time. If you had DUPA, you could be at the forefront of disaster. If it is TE, then the hair may return, but if you are under 30 years old, I would want to know, because shock loss is often permanent in the very young men. For shock loss, it does not matter if you had a small surgery or a big surgery, as just the anesthesia can precipitate the process (even without the surgery).

This question points out a series of problems for me when trying to answer some questions here. I sometimes get minimal information and am asked about diagnosis and prognosis. What I do when I see a patient is get a complete medical history, including significant discussions on the hair loss history. Then I perform a very thorough examination, which includes mapping the scalp for miniaturization. I put it all together at that point. As you can see from the above email I received, when little information is available to me it is difficult to really help.

Consider a visit to my office for an appointment and then maybe I can help you more extensively. The cost of a trip to Los Angeles has to be minimal when compared to a large amount of hair loss, which is priceless. Or please speak with your doctor regarding this matter. In your case only time will tell and following it with your doctor may give you some comfort in what is happening to you.

March 16, 2009

7 Months After a Hair Transplant, the Density is Decreasing – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

Hallo,

I had an hair transplant on my temples about 7 months ago. After my transplant I had minimal and certainly not complete at all loss of transplanted small hair. After about 5 months I could see results which were incredibly positive and the hair in the transplanted areas was long and rather thick.

What I have experienced in the last 2 months has been a visible decrease in density of the transplanted hair. Is this possible? Also my hair loss in non transplanted areas has increased (I have been on propecia for 8 years)

Thanks a lot for your help

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It is difficult for me to guess at what you are talking about. Existing original hair may continue to be lost to the balding process and even at 6 months shock loss can occur by accelerating the hair loss in the areas you are discussing. You doctor should have good photographs from just before your surgery to help you analyze what is actually happening. That is where you should get the answer to your question. Even if I saw you personally, I may not appreciate the changes you discussed above and the time line of those changes.

March 16, 2009

Hair Loss InformationToppik for African Hair? – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

does hair transplant or products like toppik work for all hair textures? i mean like hard african hair

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Yes, these concealers work for all hair types, including coarse African hair. Hair transplants also work very well for African hair types (see a recent post about this here).

March 16, 2009

Defining a Good Hair Transplant Candidate? – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

hi doctor,
every hair transplant surgon (including yourself) always says a person has to be a good candidate for hair transplant to be feasible and succesfull. what exactly do you mean and how do you define a good candidate?

A good candidate understands the process of balding and the limitations of a hair transplant surgery (where the transplant process works and does not work). The presence of realistic expectations reflects the supply/demand issues of the donor supply and this requires some prediction of your long term balding patterns. The concept of a Master Plan is critical in knowing that you can meet your goals. The rest is determined by the relationship between and good doctor and a patient willing to accept what transplants can and can not do.

All too often, patients who are 21 years old (too young) do not want to bald and they are not willing to really understand what they have to do (from taking medications to following the miniaturization mapping). It’s also worth noting that there are some things that might immediately disqualify you from a surgery: some forms of OCD like trichotillomania (until you have it under control), some forms of alopecia (we don’t want to transplant diseased hair that will just fall out again), etc.

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March 16, 2009

NeoGraft FUE Tool – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

Dr. Rassman,
I wanted to know what you thought of the NeoGraft system. The “FDA-approved NeoGraft automates the surgical removal of individual hair follicles, one at a time”. Do you think this will be just another flash in the pan invention or could it help assist hair transplant surgeons in the future?

Here is the link to the story: New NeoGraft Device Improves Hair Transplants

Regards

The story is actually a press release, which explains why it enthusiastically approves of the tool. One thing I’m disappointed with right off the bat is that it claims “no visible scars” occur if this tool is used, and that is simply untrue. Any puncture made to the scalp will result in a scar to some degree. I know what they were going for, but saying “barely visible scars” or “no linear scar” would’ve been more truthful.

I watched the video and it appears that the doctor is using a drill to remove the grafts from the donor area. It still seems tedious and I could not inspect the follicular units for transection rate analysis (damage done to grafts), which I would need to do to make a judgment on this FUE instrument/technique.

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March 13, 2009

Sun Exposure After a Hair Transplant – Balding Blog

What is your opinion on Sun exposure for a new Hair transplant patient? Is there a danger to getting any direct sun on the scalp at all? If so, what is the proper waiting time after the surgery? Is it only sunburn I need to worry about? If I use sunscreen on my head, what is the correct SPF I should use. I was told direct sun might slow or prohibit any new growth. Thank you for taking time to respond.

UV light is not good for fresh wound healing and is known to slow it down. This would be most sensitive in the first few months, which is when I would suggest using a good sunscreen with an SPF factor of 45 or more. Generally, it is easier to wear a baseball cap.

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March 12, 2009

Hair Loss InformationHair Restoration for Black Men? – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

What are the hair restoration options for a black male with a receding hairline, and preferred style of a brushcut?

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With respect to hair transplant surgery, there is no difference in black men or white men or Asian men or any other ethnicity or race. For very short haircuts, follicular unit extraction (FUE would likely be the way to go so that there isn’t any chance of a visible linear scar, but even the strip method doesn’t discount a short haircut in all men. Scarring is dependent on multiple factors that I’ve described before here.

Actually, I have seen great results for black men with hair transplants. I wish I had some very current results to show, but I can only use photos of those that allow me permission (privacy issues, of course), and with that being said, below is a patient that was featured in our NHI video from quite a few years back. His photos are also on our site here.

March 10, 2009

Can I Have Sex After a Hair Transplant? – Balding Blog

I had a FUE about 3 months ago, I was just wondering if being sexual active could cause a negative outcome in my hair growth since there is large amount of testosterone being produced during this time…? Thank you

Very active sex is safe within a couple of days after a hair transplant (FUE or strip). I tell this to people as a routine, but passive sex is ok the night of the surgery. Why are you waiting?

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March 9, 2009

Can I Just Do a Trial Surgery of 100 Grafts to See the Results? – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

Thanks for lots of info. I have lost most of my top hairs, considering the expensive cost am thinking to try first 100 graft hairs and see the results and then may go for 400 more. Is it reasonable? I had consultation with a doctor in Canada but he recommended to have few sessions of total 1000 at least. your comments please.

Thanks

The number of grafts should reflect a plan for you and your doctor, which is long term. I do not know anything about you so it is impossible for me to tell you what you may want to hear. If I felt that it did you no harm and it met your needs (or some of them), I would consider doing what is in your best interest. Generally, I like my patients to undergo as few surgeries as possible and to KNOW that it will look like before they do it. We accomplish this by giving our prospective patients access to those who have had transplants in the past.

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