Category: Uncategorized

Posted on

Scalp Laxity Exercises Before Hair Transplant Surgery?

I have had several HT procedures. The latest was in March 06 and had HT’s placed on the frontal part of my scalp. They have not yet began growing. I know this because I can’t see any new hairs growing on my hairline. How long does it take for hair to grow after you have had three to four in that particular area? Can I do or take something to start making them grow? I looked on the Hasson and Wong website and they recommend doing Scalp Laxity exercises to give skin more flexibility prior to surgury. If you do these a few months after you have a HT in prep for another HT will this cause the scar to stretch? Will this improve blood flow to the scar for possible better HT’s into the scar in the future?
Thank you Dr.

Hair transplants always take up to 5 or 6 months to start growing. Previous hair transplants will not affect the start-up phase. Some doctors believe that minoxidil helps get the hair growing faster. I have tried minoxidil on one side of the head on a number of patients and did not see a difference in the rate of growth.

There is an exercise to increase the scalp laxity. It generally will take a month to get some gain from such exercises. Scalp exercises after the first 3-4 months of a previous surgery should not cause the scars to increase in size, nor will it increase the blood supply.


2006-09-11 09:27:16Scalp Laxity Exercises Before Hair Transplant Surgery?

Posted on

DUPA and Propecia

hello i have Diffuse Unpatterned Alopecia (DUPA) and was wondering if propecia worked for me would it thinken the existing hair or would it have to shed and grow again as a new hair? and if possible could you tell me how long i’d have to wait to see if the propecia was working for me?

Propecia works by blocking DHT effects on scalp hair that is affected by male pattern hair loss (androgenic hair loss). Hair loss from DUPA (diffuse unpatterned alopecia) is not related to male pattern hair loss and it may not be affected by DHT. Thus, Propecia may not work, but it is the only drug that can be used. That being said, some doctors (include me in this group) will prescribe Propecia to patients with DUPA in case there is an underlying androgenic component to hair loss. In some patients with DUPA, I have seen improvement with Propecia.


2007-07-10 13:33:10DUPA and Propecia

Posted on

Scalp MicroPigmentation SMP Review of Eyebrow Scar and Scalp Scar with Thinning

This is a review of a Scalp MicroPigmentation performed at the New Hair Institute Medical Group. The following patient had a eye brow scar indent which he tried to mask with tattoos many years ago. He also had a hair transplant that did not work out well for him as he continued to lose hair. He did not want to have another surgery and just wanted to keep his hair shorter for a younger look. The problem was the hair transplant scar and the generalized thinning all over. He also was self conscious about his eyebrow thinning and eyebrow scar.

SMP was performed over his short hair cut (without shaving the head). In addition Juvederm was injected the the indent in his eyebrow scar to smooth out the edges. Finally, SMP was applied to his eyebrows for a full eyebrow appearance.

SMP to Eyebrows with Juvederm

SMP to Eyebrows with Juvederm

SMP to thinning hair

SMP to thinning hair

SMP to Hair Transplant Scar

SMP to Hair Transplant Scar

SMP to thinning hair

SMP to thinning hair

Posted on

Dutasteride vs Finasteride

I am having good results from taking finasteride but I understand that dutasteride is a better DHT blocker. Should I switch?

Dutasteride has a risk of sterility and some studies suggest that increases insulin resistance and NAFLD. There is also a bigger is the risk of gynecomastia compared to fin 1 mg? The sterility and insulin problems have not been reported with finasteride and considering that you have good results with finasteride, I would not suggest that you switch?.

 

Posted on

Scalp Severely Tender 11 Days After Hair Transplant

Hi! Thank you for providing so much helpful information! I had a hair transplant eleven days ago with a very reputable surgeon. I had 3700 grafts placed in my temples and frontal hairline via strip method. I have been having severe scalp tenderness in my crown where no hair was transplanted. The tenderness does not seem to be improving at all. The crown is much more tender than my donor sites. I don’t have any tenderness in the recipient areas. I contacted my doctor who said this was normal and should improve over the next few weeks. However, I have not read about any other patients having a similar experience. So I would greatly appreciate your thoughts. Do you think this is a typical problem after surgery? Do you think that it will completely resolve? If so, about how long do you think it will take to improve? Thanks in advance!

I do not know how to answer your question without examining you. At 11 days post-operative, the differential diagnosis could be infection, too tight a closure with ischemia to the scalp (restriction in blood supply), nerve injury, and on and on. Your doctor needs to examine you and let you know.

Posted on

Eating Dairy Makes My Scalp Ooze

Anytime I consume dairy products especially milk and butter and sometimes ice cream,(yogurt and cheese do not bother me), I start getting a secretion on my scalp within a day or so and it hardens while trapping the hairs on the scalp. It is almost like putting gum or glue on the scalp. I wash my hair every day and sometimes I can dig my fingernails into this stuff to try to get it off my scalp but then tons of hair come off with it. Polysorbate 80 works great for eliminating this stuff but I have avoided consuming milk and butter for well over 10 years and that works better. I also notice that by just being overweight(even without consuming milk or butter), I am afflicted with this problem so I have slimmed down. I would like to know what is this stuff that forms on my scalp and why does it do that in the first place?

Maybe you should not consume dairy products at all. Perhaps switching to soy will be a solution. I couldn’t tell you why the sebum output on your skin/scalp seems to be stimulated by the dairy you consume. With regard to polysorbate, Wikipedia says:

“Polysorbate 80 (commercially also known as Tween 80, a registered trademark of ICI Americas, Inc.) is a nonionic surfactant and emulsifier derived from polyethoxylated sorbitan and oleic acid, and is often used in foods. Polysorbate 80 is a viscous, water-soluble yellow liquid.” … “Polysorbate 80 is often used in ice cream to prevent milk proteins from completely coating the fat droplets. This allows them to join together in chains and nets, to hold air in the mixture, and provide a firmer texture, holding its shape as the ice cream melts.”

Thanks for the interesting question.

Posted on

Elevated Bilirubin Levels from Finasteride?

I am a 51 y/o male. I have been taking Finasteride for the past 4 yrs. I also take Lovastatin for my cholesterol. My latest blood test showed elevated levels of Bilirubin. My doctor stated that it might be from the Finastride and that it is a possible side effect of the drug. I can’t find any info on this claim and I find it hard to believe that it all of a sudden is causing this.

Can you help me? I don’t want to stop taking the Finasteride and lose the results. I also must add that Dr. Pak did a procedure on me just about 2 yrs. ago and I love the results. Thank You.

I’m glad you are enjoying the results of your hair transplant!

I would ask your doctor to look for another cause of liver dysfunction. I have not heard or read about finasteride causing this type of problem. Lovastatin and similar medications do report elevated bilirubin levels as a possible side effect, however.

Posted on

Scratching My Scalp So Much That I Have Bald Spots Now

About a year ago I started getting some scalp problems, primarily an itch. I would scratch the itch so hard I would develop some raw areas on the scalp that would scab over. Yet I continued to scratch and pick at the scabs until I noticed patches of bald areas on the top of my head where I had been scratching and picking. Will these areas grow back hair in time? Have I damaged the roots to the point no hair will re-grow in these areas? It looks horrible. Thanks.

You are clearly developing traction alopecia and these areas may stay bald. This is an obsessive/compulsive disorder and you should see your family doctor about his/her recommendations for treatment.


2007-07-09 08:33:05Scratching My Scalp So Much That I Have Bald Spots Now

Posted on

Erectile Dysfunction with finasteride studied

The study was released by the Britich Medical Journal which reported that the association of finasteride and Erectile Dysfunction when used for Benigh Proetatic Hypertrophy stated: “Our findings should be reassuring that the risk of erectile dysfunction is not higher for men who are prescribed finasteride or dutasteride for BPH or finasteride 1 mg for alopecia. Clinicians should be aware that the longer a man has BPH, the higher his risk for developing erectile dysfunction,” Katrina Wilcox Hagberg of the Boston Collaborative Drug Surveillance Program at Boston University School of Public Health, told Reuters Health by email.

The same was suggested in men who used the drug for hair loss, which they said “Similarly, in the cohort of men with alopecia (n=12,346), the risk of ED was not increased for users of finasteride compared with unexposed men with alopecia (IRR, 1.03; OR, 0.95).”.

What this says is that these drugs do not cause Erectile dysfunction. I am not sure that I believe this as some of the patients who I ahve treated have reported real one-on-one relationships between ED, libido and the drug finasteride, and when they stopped it, the symptoms always went away.

Here is the article which you can read for yourself. https://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/869443?nlid=109620_1001&src=WNL_mdplsfeat_161004_mscpedit_urol&uac=90007MX&spon=15&impID=1209180&faf=1