Balding Blog

Thanks for the further performance pointers! Is (1) primarily avoided by trimming off as much of the skins as possible (without damaging the follicles) and (2) by inserting them so that the hairs grow out closer to perpendicular to the scalp (rather than tangential). I speculate there is a lot of room for automation during the “filtering” the grafts based on follicle counts. I’ve read that in some areas of visual-diagnostic medicine, computer models are able to classify images more accurately than medical professionals (on a nonmedical image classification task, a convolutional neural net I built was more accurate than me in a small labeled test sample). But perhaps even more important is that it can reduce the time needed for the procedure, and therefore, also reduce the costs (which allows more people to get a transplant).

WE have monthly open hose events where our former patients come in to talk about their experience. Most people like you who come are skeptical thinking that can tell who had a transplant and they are always pleasantly surprised that they can’t tell. Good transplants can’t be detected. Look at Elan Musk before and after his transplant, a good example of a good job with actor Joe Penny (https://baldingblog.com/actor-joe-penny-shows-off-his-repaired-hairline-with-photos/).

You have a Class 6 balding pattern with a persistent forelock. If the forelock holds up until you are 35+, then a general estimate of at least 2,500 grafts would be appropriate because the middle of the frontal hairline will not have to be transplanted on the first round. But if the forelock disappears after the transplant, then a hole may appear where the forelock was. This area will HAVE TO BE TRANSPLANTED because if it is not, then your hairline will have a visible hole in it. I always tell my patients that genetic balding is a progressive process, and this discussion is such an example. Even the hair in the existing balding pattern will eventually fall out, possibly requiring still another surgery. In some family lines, forelocks tend to last. If it lasts until you are 35, then you may fall into that category.

I just met with a doctor who recommended 3500 grafts. Do you think that this is appropriate?

No, doctors who recommend that number of grafts have an eye on your wallet not your hair. This should take no more than 1500-1800 grafts depending upon the thickness of your hair. This is half of the number you were recommended.

The number of grafts would depend upon the thickness of your hair (fine, medium or coarse). Assuming that your hair is fine, it would take about 1800 grafts to complete this job. If your hair was coarser, then less grafts would be required.?

 

THIS IS A VERY IMPORTANT READ FOR ANYONE WANTING TO HAVE FUE; I wrote this article in the past issue of Hair Transplant Forum (Volume #27, #2, May/June 2017) which I believe defines a very important guideline for determining how many FUE grafts are safe. This is illustrated well in the previous post below. We are seeing doctors from around the world performing FUE grafts in the thousands without understanding the limits of this surgery. The goal for many patients, is to get all of your hair back in a single hair transplant FUE session. But that goal is not reasonable for many patients with FUE especially when the donor density is low like most Indians, Asians, South Americans, and people from the Middle East. Europeans or Russians often have higher donor densities. The article poses a formula the the doctor can use to actually calculate the safe number of grafts for any particular individual. You have a responsibility to research what your doctors are going to do for you, because if you don’t and if your doctor removes too many FUE grafts from your donor area, you will become bald in the donor area, a bad exchange from balding in the front or the top of your head. You must realize what the risks are and if the safe limits of FUE are exceeded. Many patients who end up with a depleted donor area like the previous post, have little choice on how they are to manage their new balding problem as they may become bald in the back of their head. This article addresses this problem and suggests ways doctors and patients can guarantee that the safe limits for FUE are not exceeded.

full-forum-fue-article CLICK TO ENLARGE

 

 

Donor area depletion occurs when more than 50% of the donor area hair is removed, especially if the hair is fine. Medium weight hair is better for slightly more harvesting with FUE, while coarse hair is certainly better because more than 50% of the donor supply grafts can be harvested. This is a number calculation that can be made prior to your surgery. See here: https://newhair.com/donor-area/

A picture is worth 1000 words. This is Scalp Micropigmentation (SMP) done by someone possibly off-the-street. He has a straight line across his head. Whoever did this had no idea what a hairline should look like.

These photos show a very extensive burn to the scalp. With the proper skills, reconstruction of this man’s scalp can happen using a combination of Balloon Expanders placed under the good part of the scalp and hair transplants after the maximum amount of expansion is obtained. The patient can use an extensive wig as an alternative if he can’t afford the multiple surgeries or such surgeries are not available in his country. I have seen many people like this transformed with the type of surgery i described above and participated in a few of them.

Several years ago, I was treated for testicular cancer. That included 4 rounds of chemo: Bleomycin, Etoposide, and Cisplatin (BEP). Before chemo, I had a nice, full head of hair. I lost all of my hair during chemo. After the chemo, my hair was drastically changed. It was much, much thinner—especially on the top. After a while, I just started shaving my head. I assumed that there’s nothing I could do about it. I did a little searching and didn’t find anything conclusive

Your chemo may have induced genetic balding. You should be evaluated by a hair expert to quantify if you have a reasonably good donor supply left for a hair transplant. Another good alternative is shown in this post: https://baldingblog.com/smp-on-a-class-7-patient-completed-today-photo/ . This can be made darker but it looks great and it is all a specialized tattoo (https://scalpmicropigmentation.com/gallery/bold-shaved-look/#!). This is a completely headache solution for those with not enough hair for a hair transplant or for those who don’t want a hair transplant.