Post Hair Loss Questions and Get Answers

I’m not a glass half empty person but i just wondered what risks go along with hair transplant surgery before taking the plunge.  Any advise would be great.

This question was posed by a hair loss sufferer on our hair restoration forum and answered by Dr. Michael Beehner of Saratoga Springs, NY who is one of our recommended hair restoration physicians. His professional answer is below.

When reviewing the “negatives” regarding hair transplants, I usually touch on the following for the patient to know about:

First of all, the general tone of my comments is that fortunately hair transplant surgery is a remarkably complication-free area of surgery. Much of this has to do with the rich blood supply of the scalp.

Here’s the list:

• 20% chance in males (probably 30-40% in females) of forehead swelling, which comes on the 3rd day after hair restoration surgery and is gone by the 6th day after. The more work done in front, especially if temples are included, the higher the incidence of this. Most hair restoration clinics give Prednisone or a steroid to decrease the incidence of this.
• Most important one of all: 5-15% chance of mild hair transplant “shock loss” to some of the existing native hairs. (Incidence is higher in females, probably near 30%). Most of these follicles affected by this will start to regrow in 3-4 months. Thinning hair or vulnerable ones may not return.

In the past, prospective patients considering hair transplants had limited online information about clinics they were considering. But recently, we’ve been successful in getting almost all surgeons recommended on the Hair Transplant Network to present examples of their work on our forum.  See “Recommended Clinics Required to Present their Patient Results on our Forum”.

What a great opportunity for prospective patients to see real results from a larger variety of hair restoration clinics they are considering. To see a number of patient examples from a number of leading clinics throughout the world, visit “Patient Results Posted by Leading Hair Transplant Clinics”.

You are encouraged to check this section regularly and give genuine feedback to the doctors regularly presenting examples of their work. Remember that your regular feedback of a surgeon’s results contributes to advancing the hair replacement industry and improving techniques.

Kudos to hair transplant surgeons recommended by this community for rising to the challenge by going public with their results.

Bill Seemiller – aka Falceros
Associate Publisher of the Hair Transplant Network and the Hair Loss Learning Center
View my Hair Loss Weblog

Technorati Tags: hair transplants, hair restoration, hair replacement, hair transplant surgeons

Absolutely no one in my family is bald except for one uncle who went bald at like the age of 40. I’m 19 and my hair is getting thinner. I’ve always had thinning hair but now its getting worse. I don’t think it’s genetic and the only thing i can think that’s causing my hair loss is that I’m a gym rat and possibly be the whey protein I take daily – could this possibly be affecting my DHT levels? If any of you guys can give me any kind of feedback it will be much appreciated.

This question was posed by a hair loss sufferer seeking hair loss help on our hair restoration forum and answered by Dr. Brandon Ross of LaJolla, CA who is one of our recommended hair restoration physicians. His professional answer is below.

Hair loss is really a crapshoot. Genetics plays a huge role, of course. But it is possible to have everyone in your family have no loss, while you have tons, and vice versa. There are multiple genes involved in male pattern baldness, so it is not easy to predict who will get the loss and who won’t. Some of the genes reside on the X chromosome, which explains why people try to look at “their mother’s side of the family” for clues.

Hair loss patients considering hair transplant surgery deserve only the best results. This is why all surgeons recommended on the Hair Transplant Network must continue to meet our high level of standards by producing state of the art results if they are to continue to be a part of our community.

Recently, our hair loss forum community has taken public accountability and transparency to a higher level. Soon we will be giving recommended hair transplant surgeons a strong incentive to post consistent evidence that they produce excellent results on a regular basis in order to substantiate their reputation online. For more information and to offer your input, visit “Recommended Clinics Offered Strong Iincentives to Present their Patient Results on this Forum”.

Bill – aka Falceros
Associate Publisher of the Hair Transplant Network and the Hair Loss Learning Center
View my Hair Loss Weblog

Technorati Tags: Hair loss, hair transplant, hair transplant surgeons

Is it normal to be shedding vast amounts of hair each day?  I’m talking about 200-300 plus daily (that i can see and guess, so its probably more). I’m also noticing that I’m not just shedding from the top anymore but on the sides.

This question was posed by a hair loss sufferer on our hair restoration forum and answered by Dr. Michael Beehner of Saratoga Springs, NY who is one of our recommended hair restoration physicians. His professional answer is below.

You didn’t mention your age. As Bill (Falceros) had mentioned on our hair loss forum, it is normal to lose 50-100 hairs a day simply from the random rotation of the hairs on your head through the hair growth and resting cycles. So on any given day, you will have that many hairs falling out and that many hairs starting up growing out from the follicle again. The number you mention, assuming you’ve proved this by counting them – that’s a hard thing to “eyeball” – and you are losing that many, then one of two things is going on. Either you are really in an accelerated phase of male pattern baldness, or you have experienced a “telogen” reaction from one of many causes. These phases are very common and usually occur around a few weeks to a couple of months AFTER the incident or exposure that actually caused it, which makes it a little harder to figure out.

Non-surgical hair loss treatment drugs may help balding men and women with moderate thinning hair but often fall short to deliver dramatic improvement for those with extensive hair loss. In the old days, other than accepting your baldness, covering totally bald areas with a hat or a hair piece was the only way to conceal hair loss.

But today, patients who demand only the best results and surgeons who deliver them continue to revolutionize the hair transplant industry. Surgeons dedicated to performing ultra refined follicular unit hair transplantation can now perform even larger densely packed sessions when appropriate for the patient. This minimizes the number of surgeries a patient needs while maximizing both hair density and naturalness.

Below we introduce you to a few of the men and women who have successfully restored their hair and lives with todays revolutionized hair transplant procedures.

“MP96” has been active in our forum community since mid 2007 and has been active in charting his progress on his hair loss blog. Receiving 2100 follicular unit grafts in the hairline, Dr. Rahal was successful in reversing the appearance of his male pattern baldness by restoring his hairline. Visit his blog to see his impressive life changing transformation and congratulate him on his new head of hair.

Hair loss blogger “Hair28” sought hair restoration and found Dr. Jerry Cooley who helped restore his youthful appearance. 2051 follicular unit grafts and six months later, he presents his impressive life changing transformation on his hair loss blog. More hair growth and thickening is expected for another six months.

The experience and skill of hair transplant surgeons vary, as do their results. That’s why only surgeons with a proven record of producing quality results are recommended on the Hair Transplant Network.

Recently, we invited our hair loss forum community to offer their input on the potential recommendation of Dr. Tom Rosanelli of San Francisco, CA. Learn how our community recommends hair transplant surgeons.

Dr. Rosanelli has been performing exclusive hair transplant surgery for over 20 years and has the staff and experience to perform regular sessions up to 3000 follicular unit grafts when appropriate for the patient. Our Publisher Pat Hennessey has also visited with and observed Dr. Rosanelli in live surgery. Pat was very impressed with his dedication to high quality follicular unit hair transplantation and how he and his dedicated staff work harmoniously together. To see the highlights of Pat’s visit, view “Visit to Dr. Tom Rosanelli’s Clinic in CA”.

After extensive research and seeking input from his patients and physician peers, we are pleased to welcome Dr. Rosanelli as our new recommended hair restoration surgeon. Be sure to congratulate and welcome him to our community by visiting the “Potential Recommendation of Dr. Rosanelli of San Francisco, CA”.

If you are considering hair transplant surgery, especially those local to San Francisco, we encourage you to consult with Dr. Rosanelli. See his physician profile including his contact information by clicking here.

Onwards and Upwards,

Why is the bald crown (vertex) area referred to as the “black hole” for hair transplants?

This question was posed by a hair loss sufferer seeking hair loss help on our hair restoration forum and answered by Dr. Michael Beehner of Saratoga Springs, NY who is one of our recommended hair restoration physicians. His professional answer is below.

I can think of two good reasons to call the balding crown (vertex) a “black hole” for hair transplant surgery.  Number one, it is always larger than what the patient thinks, and, most importantly, it virtually always increases in size in all young and middle-aged men with hair loss (and even in a lot of the older ones!) and the area increases almost logarithmically, not in simple direct proportion to the increase of the diameter.

The second reason is that, because of the “whorl” or swirl arrangement of hairs, there isn’t a lot of overlap in this area with most styling patterns compared with how transplanted hair looks thicker in the areas on top and in the temples.

This is a scary thought for recovered bald men and women who just spent thousands of dollars restoring their hair with hair restoration surgery.  Hair loss docgtors and patients alike have told others seeking on our hair loss forum that transplanted hair is permanent.  But what about the few individuals that have reported a loss of transplanted hair?  Is this a normal or rare phenomenon?  What are the risks that it could happen to you?

On this forum thread, a forum member shares their concern over lost transplanted hair and receives physician input.  Feel free to offer your own input or ask your own questions on this critical topic.

Bill Seemiller – aka Falceros
Associate Publisher of the Hair Transplant Network and the Hair Loss Learning Center
View my Hair Loss Weblog

Technorati Tags: bald, hair restoration, Hair loss, transplanted hair

This question was posed by a female hair loss sufferer seeking hair loss help on our hair restoration forum and answered by Dr. Michael Beehner of Saratoga Springs, NY who is one of our recommended hair restoration physicians. His professional answer is below.

I’m at 2 months after hair transplant surgery and have noticed shock loss directly above and below the scar line. I’m wondering if this is normal, or could it be a stretched scar?  Also I’ve notice that my hair growth has basically stopped in the donor area. Is this normal?

Post hair restoration surgery telogen effluvium or “shock loss” above and below the donor scar should be a fairly rare occurrence. It doesn’t happen everyday – or at least shouldn’t.

It is well known that the cause of telogen hair loss around the donor scar is too tight of a closure, which usually is related to taking too wide a strip in that particular section of the head. This is most commonly a problem at the two “corners” behind the mastoid bone. Fortunately, in the great majority of cases, after a few months the hair starts to regrow again, but in severe cases it can be a permanent loss.

Bottom line: it shouldn’t happen.

Mike Beehner, M.D.

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Bill – aka Falceros
Associate Publisher of the Hair Transplant Network and the Hair Loss Learning Center
View my Hair Loss Weblog

Technorati Tags: hair loss, hair loss help, hair transplant, shock loss, hair growth, hair restoration, telogen effluvium, telogen