Hair Transplantation – Page 99

December 19, 2008

Scar from Hair Transplant Looks Like a Zipper – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

I went in for my second HT yesterday. When I asked the Doctor if my first scar was normal he said, “it was very thin” but, the stitches left marks and it looks like a zipper? (You know, the thin line marks you see on top and bottom of the main horizontal scar line). He said that’s very rare. Is it? and if so, is there a way to eliminate that if I had another HT in 6 months or so with your group of Doctors?

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Zipper The zipper effect means that your doctor placed the suture far from the edge. That will produce the zipper effect. There is no practical solution other than if you have another transplant and remove the “zipper” along with the hair you need for the transplant. There are techniques that avoid the zipper effect, which most doctors use today.

If you’d like to come to us it can probably be eliminated, but I’d have to see you first before promising surgical solutions. If you opt to go elsewhere, you’ll obviously want to be sure that your surgeon does not do the same thing again next time.

December 18, 2008

Can Hair Be Transplanted Anywhere on the Body? – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

Dr. Rassman,

Is it possible to graft hair onto tissue that is not known to be actual “scalp” tissue?

I have a naturally high hairline, which is unflattering enough that I am considering surgical intervention to lower it. I am not certain about the extent to which MPB has raised it even higher, so I don’t really know where forehead ends and scalp begins. Is it possible for hair that is implanted in the “forehead skin” to grow, or does “scalp” provide the only possible growth environment? I’d only want it lowered by an inch or so.

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Yes, you can transplant hair into the forehead or even on the end of your nose and it will grow.

December 17, 2008

Use of Concealers (with Photos) – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

This is a person with very fine hair that had a small transplant with minimal coverage only in a wide area from hairline to about 4 inches back. The hair was very see-through, but considering where he started, he was very pleased and came in for another transplant to increase the density in the front and top areas. We put concealers (here DermMatch and Toppik in combination) and his resulting photographs now show the appearance of far more fullness than he had from transplants alone. The photos below show the value of these products.

Click the photos below to enlarge.

Before apply concealers:

After Toppik and DermMatch:

December 15, 2008

Are Transplanted Hairs as Strong as Natural Growing Hairs? – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

Are transplanted hairs at least a year after the transplant theoretically more fragile and not as strong as in the root of the hair compared to natural hair that hasn’t been transplant and isn’t miniaturizing. I sometimes itch my transplanted section of my head, sum times rigorously, not too hard but itch it. could i damage the tranplsnted hair by doing this or becuase the hair grows beneath the skin it wont be doing damage because the hair starts to grow from beneath the skin?

Both transplanted hair and the non-balding hair are equally strong. If you had your transplant with small needles rather than large ones, there should not be itching. On occasion small nerves are damaged which may produce itching. This eventually goes away.

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December 11, 2008

Could Accutane Effect Growth of Transplanted Hair? – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

I am being treated by a dermatologist for cystic acne on my face, and my dermatologist wants me to begin a course of Accutane (isotretinoin) to treat the acne. I am considering a hair transplant procedure sometime in 2009.

I’d like to know the following:

a) Could the Accutane have any effect on the transplanted hair’s growth? I have read that hairloss is a potential accutane side effect, but wouldn’t that potential hairloss just be in the native hairs and NOT in the DHT-resistant hairs which were transplanted from the back of the head?

b) Is it safe for me to be taking accutane at the time of a hair transplant procedure (either FUE or strip)?

Thank you.

Accutane (isotretinoin) can cause hair loss. Hair loss from Accutane is not associated with hair loss from male pattern baldness (which is DHT related hair loss). So there is a potential you may lose hair (even transplanted hair), although that is unlikely. Unfortunately, this is theoretical and I do not have a clear answer for you as I have not seen anyone taking Accutane with a hair transplant. Also keep in mind you may not lose hair at all even if you take Accutane (is it is only a “potential” side effect). I would also consult with your dermatologist for a better understanding of your risks and benefits.

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December 10, 2008

How Long After a Hair Transplant Are the Grafts Safe? – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

male, 36yo. I had a hair transplant 15 days ago. I am wondering how I can tell how many or what percentage of the grafts have survived, or if it is even possible to tell that at this point. I am also wondering if there is a certain day like day 10 post op or so that whatever grafts have survived so far will continue to survive? Can transplanted grafts die at month 5 for example that before then have been just fine?

Also, will I experience shedding of the transplanted hairs before I see any growth in 4 months or so? In other words, will things look worse before they look better? Should I be concerned if I see shedding in the grafted area? Does shedding mean the grafts have not survived? I have not yet noticed any shedding as far as I can tell.

thanks.

At 15 days without scabbing, you should be safe with the grafts and they will not come out. If the scabs persist, that is another story which requires careful washing. You really should never look worse unless you experience some degree of shock loss. At your age, to prevent this, you should be on finasteride. At 5 months, the hair should be growing or just starting to grow and the hair loss from the hair within the transplanted grafts will return.

For more, see this paper I co-authored and was published in 2006 –Graft Anchoring in Hair Transplantation (PDF file).

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December 8, 2008

Possible Nerve Damage in Recipient Area from FUE? – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

Hi

I have recently undergone an FUE procedure. I had about 2500 hairs placed in total. One week after the procedure, The grafts have taken really well and the scabs have fallen off. All swelling on my forehead has subsided. There is only slight swelling on the vertex. I still have numbness in the recipient area on the top of my scalp, behind the hairline.

When I run my hand over the new implanted hairs, I feel slight twitching on the skin on the scalp. I am concerned about nerve damage in the recipient area. Is it possible that a nerve was pinched, poked or disturbed in the recipient area ? What is the corrective action to take if this was the case ?

regards

Whenever there is a cut on the skin it may cause numbness or tingling or pain. This should subside after several weeks (sometimes months). This should have been thoroughly explained to you before the surgery in your Pre-Operative Consent form and by your doctor. The follicular unit extraction (FUE) technique still involves a cut on your skin. Cut nerves in the donor area is more of a problem, because there are major nerve trunks there, but your question was about the recipient area.

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December 5, 2008

I Scratched Away Some Grafts During My Hair Transplant Procedure – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

I just did a small fue procedure into my scar, I asked to be sedated but during the procedure I scratched away some of my grafts unconsciously. The operating team choose to put some of the grafts back in the scar, can you please tell me something about the grafts survival chances?

For starters, I do not know what, where, and how your surgery was performed. Generally, an FUE procedure may have lower yield and is HIGHLY variable with different medical groups and doctors; the procedure is almost never the same from one doctor to another. Moreover, hair transplantation to a scar may not have a high growth yield when compared to hair transplanted to normal skin.

Graft survival depends on how long it was out of your body with the real issue of graft drying. Grafts that are left in the open hair for 20 seconds will generally die and that is why we are compulsive in keeping the grafts moist as we move them. As you can start to see there are numerous variables at work here and it is not a question I can answer, but most of the time if the grafts come out, they dry and die. Your surgeon is the best person to address your concern (as it always should be).

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December 4, 2008

How to Fix a Pluggy Hairline (with Photos) – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

From time to time, I get emails from men that are incredibly embarrassed about the results they got from an old, pluggy hair transplant. They’re so embarrassed that they request I don’t even publish their emails (even if there’s nothing identifiable in there)… and that’s fair enough. So I just wanted to write a post to quickly explain the best way to fix a pluggy hairline: you need to cut out the plugs and then put transplants in the place the plugs originally were. This is generally done in two sessions (8-10 weeks apart) and we have been doing this for years. It turned out that this man’s scar (from excising the grafts) healed very well, so well that it could not be detected. I put hair wide enough in front of where the scar was so that his hairline was lowered quite a bit. We built a wide transition zone in the leading frontal edge. Here is such a case on a man with black hair.

Before on the left, after on the right. Click the photos below to enlarge.

There’s another plug repair case at the NHI site — Dean’s Story. Be warned, some of the photos there contain surgical content, so if you have a weak stomach, you may want to avoid that link.

December 4, 2008

Remedies for a Bald Spot I Got from an Infection? – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

Hello. When I was in 7th grade I contracted an abscess on the back of my scalp resulting in inflammation and pus and as it healed it left a bald spot. I thought it was from the dirty wrestling mats but never knew exactly where i contracted it. I am 29 today and hair still does not grow in that spot. What are some remedies or things i could do to grow hair back in this spot.

It would depend on the size of the spot to see if it could be excised. A hair transplant would solve that problem. I highly doubt medication would help you in a case like this.

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