A lot of people would say 20 is too young for a hair transplant and, on the whole, I agree. No one knows how hair loss may progress in the future. But surely at some point it’s time to bite the bullet. If I could get 5 years of no real hair troubles before I had to cross the ‘receding again’ bridge, I’d be more than happy. On one hand I worry about further loss, on the other, I worry that I’m wasting my early years worrying about something I should be too young to worry about. For all I know, I could die at age 30.
Age should only be one factor when deciding if a person is a candidate for hair restoration surgery. My thought is that a patient must understand if more balding occurs in the future (which is likely) that more hair transplants may be required and any hairline/frontal work needs to be done in a conservative location that will look appropriate with aging.
I agree that it is more important when you are young. Life is very short. Enjoy it while you can because you never know how much longer any of us will be here.
In this hair transplant video interview, Coalition physician Dr. Raymond Konior discusses what patients should look for in a hair transplant surgeon. He believes research, especially on the Hair Restoration Forum and Social Network, asking questions, and consulting with several hair restoration physicians is vital when selecting a doctor.
Dr. Konior’s very experienced staff prepare all the follicular unit grafts using microscopes exclusively. He carefully creates all the incisions for these refined grafts using very tiny custom cut blades. By carefully controling the angle, direction and depth of these incisions he creates a very natural pattern and direction for the new hair, even in the temples and sides.
The male patient pictured below was 39 years old when he presented to our clinic in 2002 having had two previous large hair transplant sessions at another clinic. He noted to us at that time that he thought his donor scar was wider than he liked.
He then proceeded to have three hair transplants with us to finish up and give him the density he desired on top. Each time we were able to excise a small amount of the donor strip width along with harvesting a strip of hair for a total of 3500 new grafts. We gave him 80% follicular units and 20% double follicular units. At that point, he wanted us to do what we could to eliminate or lessen the visible impact of the scar as much as possible, especially on the right corner area.
In 2004 we then proceeded to excise around 5-6mm of the widest part of the scar but it returned to being almost as wide as before due to the elasticity of his scalp. We then, over the next few years, did three follicular unit extraction (FUE) sessions into the scar with 912 grafts (mostly 1 and 2-hair FU’s) obtained from 0.9mm sites using the manual SAFE method of Dr. James Harris.
I’ve recently attended several hair transplant consultations and each surgeon recommended a different follicular unit graft density (number of follicular unit grafts transplanted per square centimeter of balding scalp). I’m wondering, what type of follicular unit graft density is safe and recommended?
If you asked 10 different hair transplant surgeons “what is the maximum safe follicular unit per square centimeter density” you would probably get 10 different answers.
I generally do not exceed 50-60 follicular units per square centimer. I would rather place 60 follicular units in a square centimeter and have 56 units grow than place 80 follicular units per square centimeter and only have 68 units grow. Less waisted follicles is better in the long run. Everyone has a limited supply.
Dr. Glenn M. Charles
_______________ Blake – aka Future_HT_Doc
In this video interview, Dr. Sharon Keene discusses why hair loss sufferers typically choose her clinic for their surgical hair restoration procedure. Dr. Keene performs every aspect of the surgery, from donor removal, to creating the recipient sites, to placing the grafts, along with her experienced assistants. Each patient is given not just her staff’s attention, but her personal attention throughout the hair transplant surgery.
In my research, I have noticed that the hair restoration physicians who perform sagittal incisions do sessions averaging about 2500 grafts and then want you to come in later for further surgeries. Those who do lateral slit incisions average about 4,500 grafts in only one hair transplant surgery. What is everybody’s preference? Has anyone done both?
Both the sagittal and coronal slit have their place in hair transplantation. I often use combinations and have done very large cases using both methods. It should really depend on the individual factors of the case including, but not limited to, the type of hair the patient has, existing hair that the doctor needs to avoid damaging and the number of grafts per sq cm being placed.
I recently began a Propecia (finasteride) regimen for my ongoing hair loss, and, despite maintaining a regular diet, noticed an accompanying weight gain. I’m wondering, are these issues related? Can taking Propecia (finasteride) for hair loss cause weight gain?
I recently re-checked the official report from Merck Pharmaceuticals (the company that manufactures Propecia) and did not see “weight gain” listed as an observed side effect.
They did mention the potential for breast swelling/enlargement in males, possible urticaria (a type of swelling, allergic reaction), and facial/lip swelling, but nothing about weight gain. Additionally, keep in mind that these possible side effects only occur in a very small number of Propecia patients (less than 2%).
It does seem like weight gain can occur for a variety of reasons, and discussing these issues with a personal physician is probably the best option at this juncture.
_______________ Blake – aka Future_HT_Doc
In this hair transplant video interview, Coalition hair restoration physician Dr. Bernardino Arocha discusses what drew him to perform surgical hair transplantation.
Dr. Arocha attributes his natural hair transplant results to his extensive background in painting. In his hair restoration practice he takes pride in his artistry being so natural that it goes unnoticed.
To learn more about Dr. Arocha, his experience, skill, philosophy and to see examples of his hair restoration results, visit his Coalition profile on the Hair Loss Learning Center.
I’ll be 28 soon and already balding in the hairline. I have been doing some research and came up with a site about biotin’s effects on stopping hair loss and contributing to hair growth using biotin vitamins and diet alone. According to the site, you don’t really need to purchase all of those expensive hair loss treatments that include biotin. They talk about eating a biotin rich diet and I am definitely willing to try that. So my question is, does anyone have any experience with such a diet and did it regrow hair?
In my opinion, it would be almost impossible to get a significant increase in biotin with diet alone. You would definitely need some quality supplements. I recommend one that uses the newer nano technology. These are made with nano particles that actually get absorbed in the intestine. Most vitamins and supplements are produced with macro particles and clusters that are too big to get absorbed and get excreted in the urine before being absorbed.
I also believe that biotin probably has more of an effect on hair quality than quantity.
Every year, hair restoration physicians, medical assistants and others in the hair restoration profession from around the world come together to discuss the latest and greatest hair loss treatments at the annual International Society of Hair Restoration Surgery (ISHRS) scientific meeting. Last week, the ISHRS held its annual 2011 scientific meeting in Anchorage, Alaska.
While the publishers of the Hair Transplant Network were unable to attend this year’s ISHRS meeting, the below highlights from this year’s conference came from interviews with several expert hair restoration physicians who provided this community with their feedback on the latest innovations discussed at this year’s meeting.
Hot topics include updates on hair duplication (formerly known as autocloning) with ACell, follicular unit extraction (FUE versus FUT hair transplant surgery), causes of female hair loss, Propecia and whether or not it can cause permanent sexual side effects, robotic hair transplant surgery using the ARTAS Hair Restoration System, revolutionary tools for hair restoration including updates on the NeoGraft hair transplant machine, hair transplant graft survival rates, and the future of hair loss treatments.
Acknowledgements
A special thanks Coalition member Dr. William Rassman for providing details on many hot topics he found particularly interesting on his Balding Blog (www.baldingblog.com). Much of Dr. Rassman’s input on the meeting along with others are summarized below.
Other contributors to the below highlights of this year’s ISHRS meeting include:
The publishers and editors of this web blog are
former hair loss sufferers and not medical
professionals. Medical questions should be directed to
qualified medical professionals.
No information provided on this site constitutes a
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rely solely on any such information or advice.
Age should only be one factor when deciding if a person is a candidate for hair restoration surgery. My thought is that a patient must understand if more balding occurs in the future (which is likely) that more hair transplants may be required and any hairline/frontal work needs to be done in a conservative location that will look appropriate with aging.
