CHICAGO – A Cook County woman is suing a physician, alleging negligence, after her husband died while undergoing an elective hair restoration procedure in December 2014. The suit alleges that despite the patient’s history of heart disease, no EKG monitoring was used during the operation, which may have prevented his death. This is now the second death that I am aware of. The need for proper monitoring during any surgery is critical during any surgical procedure and I think patients would insist on having the doctor on-hand able to handle any eventuality that occurs that puts you at risk. Some doctors are known to leave the office during a hair transplant procedure leaving the care of their patients to technicians. We are experience and trained in advanced life support so we can handle any emergency that occurs. Hair transplantation (including FUE) is a surgical procedure and as such, REQUIRES the doctor’s presence through the entire procedure and that the doctor is prepared for any eventuality. We have done over 15,000 surgeries without incidence.
Is It Possible to Have a Hair Transplant Fail Because of a Medical Condition?
There are many dermatologic diseases that will kill transplanted hairs. Most of these diseases have signs that are present, either obvious ones like alopecia areata or subtle ones like Frontal Fibrosing Alopecia. These diseases are easily diagnosed by a doctor who is an expert in this field or a dermatologist who specializes in diseases of the scalp. The key is to have the diagnosis made in advance, something that an experienced hair transplant surgeon will always look for.
2018-02-12 06:27:572018-06-26 12:58:30Is It Possible to Have a Hair Transplant Fail Because of a Medical Condition?
Defective beard transplant
This man found that his surgeon used 3-4 hair grafts for the beard. It is clear that there is a texture difference between his normal beard and the transplanted beard as well as skin deformities. I wonder if it would be worth while removing each graft that has multiple hairs and corbelling and replace them with beard hair from under the chin. You can have a test area done and see if it solves the problem to your satisfaction before rushing into a large surgical procedure. Then, after 6 months or so, it the test area approach works, you can replace your entire beard transplant as with the test site ?
Post-Operative Questions About Telogen
First, I would like to appreciate your online service, for freely accepting questions and comments and for your valuable answers. Thank You.
I have had my hair transplant about 12weeks ago of approx. 1,650 grafts. My donor area took quite some time to heal, approx. 9-10weeks, before the occasional swelling in a few spots which have now completely subsided. During the first 10 days I had some grafts fall out, which I was told was normal, over the next few weeks I lost more of these transplanted grafts as has been considered normal procedure after a hair transplant. I have had to deal with pimples/puss modules in the transplanted region occasionally and again I read that this is normal. I have used Neospirin ointment to treat these modules and it has helped quite a bit. I am also taking finasteride 1mg for about 17weeks (started 5weeks prior to the procedure as recommended by the Doctor). It is now 12 weeks, and my questions are:
- Is it possible that not all the transplanted hair has fallen out? Because when I touch the transplanted region with the palm of my hand, I still feel a few spikes here and there. Just today I noticed a couple of hairs with scab attached at the bottom fall out. Should i be concerned that even after 12 weeks not all of the transplanted hairs have fallen out?
- As I do not see much new hair in the transplanted area as yet after 12 weeks, should I be concerned, when I have been reading that by 2-3 months the new hair would start appearing.
- I am considered type VI and 35yrs of age. Even with taking Finasteride, I seem to lose at least 50-75 hair everyday after the two daily showers. Do HOT water showers have a negative impact?
Your valuable comments are much appreciated. Thank You
I am fairly sure that you are not losing hair transplants, but what you are seeing may reflect poor cleansing of the recipient area where the scabs stayed on too long. Without seeing you, I am assuming that what you are seeing is the hair from within the old grafts that is coming out (the hair that should have fallen out earlier). The ‘root’ of the transplanted graft is secure in a couple of days after a transplant until the scabs are all off. Rarely will a transplanted graft come out after the scabs are gone (in our hands in just a few days the wounds lock the hair graft into position because of the small needles we use). We have researched this extensively, and found that they can not be pulled out the earlier of (1) after 10-12 days, even if you try to pull them out, or (2) the disappearance of the scabs (usually a couple of days in our practice). In patients who do not comply with our washing protocol, the scabs may last for weeks.
Hair roots start taking hold and growing hair in 10-20 weeks after the transplant procedure, so I would not worry at this stage in the transplant growth cycle.
Hot showers will not cause hair loss, but if you are losing hair, then there may be a shock effect from the original surgery which should be about over shortly. You need to ask your doctor to map out your remaining hair for miniaturization to determine if your class 6 pattern will progress to a more advanced pattern. That should have been in the discussion when you and your doctor made a Master Plan for what was about to happen to you with a hair transplant.
DermaRoller
Can you please comment as to your opinion of the dermaroller? Thank you
Honestly… it looks painful. Its a roller with little spikes on it to open the scalp so that it can absorb minoxidil better. The site claims that it is pain-free though. I cannot really comment on how much of a benefit (if any) it has or if it really works, but the theory and concept seem valid.
Actually, I have one next to me as I am writing this blog. I ordered one to see it for myself. While the idea sounds good, like many good ideas, they often fail during the implementation. I’ve seen these for sale at a variety of online stores, from Amazon to Saks Fifth Avenue, so I’m sure there are plenty of users out there. If anyone has had experience using the Derma Roller, please write in to share your findings.
Prescription Drug Price Check
I just saw a mention of a site called GoodRX that allows you to price check local stores. I ran finasteride through their search and found the prices charged by my local Costco, Kmart, and Target stores, among others. Might be something your readers would be interested in.
Thanks for the information!
It seems there are a wide range of markups for generic finasteride 5mg. $9 for 30 pills seem to be the lowest. If you cut those pills into four pieces, that is basically four months of hair loss treatment for 9 bucks. Doing the math, that’s $27 a year. Not too shabby. You just need your doctor to prescribe the higher dosage to you with instructions to cut the pill.
2012-05-10 12:52:352012-05-09 14:00:27Prescription Drug Price Check
DHT and Eyebrows
Doctor, how does DHT affect the eyebrows? Im 18, balding, and have noticed that i can pull out 4-5 eyebrow hairs in one small tug. Am I loosing my eyebrows too? Can propecia stop this as well?
Well, for starters you should stop pulling on your eyebrows!
I do not believe DHT affects eyebrows as it does scalp hair. Remember, the main reason for hair loss (male pattern baldness) in only partly about DHT. Yes, DHT is responsible… but the main reason for male pattern hair loss is your GENETICS interacting with DHT. Eyebrow hair is not part of the male balding process, and as such, Propecia will likely not do anything to help your eyebrows.
Preventing shock loss in Hair Transplant Surgery
The only way to prevent shock loss (the loss of your native hair) following a hair transplant is to take the drug finasteride prior to the transplant and then after it for a year or more. When this happens in women, there is no known way to prevent shock loss as the mechanism is different
2019-12-10 04:26:242019-12-10 10:45:35Preventing shock loss in Hair Transplant Surgery
Did I Get an Infection After My Hair Transplant?
I’m a female, 41 years old.I underwent hair transplantation 10 days ago.Everything was fine, but 2 days ago I started with a clear discharge from the site of the implants. It is oozing non stop now and red. I saw my Dr.yesterday.He assured me it was not infected…How so ????? If it is draining it could not be right.I’m worried sick…Should I be taking antibiotics ?????
You are doing the right thing by seeing your doctor. It is impossible for me to give you any medical advice without examining you myself. Please follow up with your doctor and ask him these questions or if you are not satisfied, get a second opinion. Certainly, recipient sites should not be draining at any time, especially 10 days out of a hair transplant surgery.
Prolactin and Hair Loss
I’ve recently read that prolactin can potentially cause hair loss. Do levels have to be exceptionally high for this to occur, or can even moderately high levels contribute to thinning hair?
An abnormally high level of prolactin (hyperprolactinemia) is a condition characterized by elevated serum levels of the hormone prolactin in non-pregnant individuals. Hyperprolactinemia may cause progressive pattern hair loss due to an indirect effect on increasing free testosterone level.
2007-04-02 09:34:502007-04-02 09:34:50Prolactin and Hair Loss