Had 3888 grafts with Dr Rahal on my frontal 1/3. The doctor mentioned I had very good donor density (above 100cm2) and laxity. I previously had 100-200 minigrafts in my hairline 13 years ago.

The haircount was:
singles - 832
doubles - 1735
triples - 1283
quads - 38

Holy jabenero jalepenos ---that's a TON of grafts ! Looks as though your going to have TRUE density when all is said & done.
congrats.

Very agressive HT. Gonna be good.

Yea I was a bit shocked when Dr Rahal told me the final numbers. In the preop and online consultations he aimed for around 3000. He also told me the scar from my previously minigraft job back in 1996 was too high and he couldnt remove it.

You gonna be with 2 scars now?? Can you post a picture of your old scar?

Shamrock,

Unfortunately, sometimes previous scars are placed too low or too high and they can't be safely harvested. Thus, sometimes it's best to leave them where they are and take hair from where it's optimal.

It looks like you're going ot have an incredible result.

Are you on Propecia to help against future loss?

Best wishes,

Bill (Falc)

almost 4000 graphs for the front third?! It will look good but you better hope your loss is stable and that you dont have too much further loss. Good luck tho!

Wow, that's gonna look great. You'll have plenty of grafts in reserve too with your donor density. Congrats.

Lots 'o grafts. You are going to have some awesome density when this grows out. Congrats!

4000 grafts in that small an area is very aggressive. He surely will have a thick full mane when all is said and done.

Shamrock, If you dont mind me asking... How old are you? Are you on med's to slow down the proccess of continual hairloss?, and did Dr. Rahal happen to mention how much donar you possibly have left?

Wow, is there such a thing as "graft envy"? Because if so, I think I have it right now!

Shamrock, in 8 months time, your head's going to have more hair on it than my Great Aunt Ursula's chin (i.e. a lot!) Looking forward to seeing your results grow out.

Thanks for the comments everyone. Like I said I was surprised by the final number but Dr Rahal reassured me that with the high density in my donor area, I have a lot left for further loss if needed. I dont remember for sure, but when he was going over the specifics and post op instructions, I think told me donor density was around 140cm2. Is that even possible?? This was after 7 hours in the chair though and I cant remember everything, so I can check with Adrian and see if he can get me the exact number. During preop went went over family history of baldness, hairline design, and finally the plan was laid out for 60-65% in the the hairline and then going to 50% behind the hairline.
I am 32 and starting propecia and rogaine foam next week per Dr instructions. I had a great experience there, his techs were very accommodating and skilled. Dr Rahal even gave me and my girlfriend dinner to take back to the hotel.
Eman and Mane, thanks for the encouragement before my surgery. I ended up leaving the day after surgery and just wore the blue surgical cap. I did get a few stares in the airports, but I was never was asked to remove it. Just one guy in Ottawa airport security asked me if I was a doctor, haha

140cm2?????? REALLY? That's a lot of hair...

I was close, I just talked with Adrian and he said the donor density based on the strip was approximately 150 grafts per cm.

Shamrock,

150 FU/cm2 donor density is the highest I've ever seen. I must say however, according to your pictures, your donor density does not appear that thick, maybe more like 70 FU/cm2. Maybe Adrian can confirm this for us and maybe even show us some photos of the shaved strip pre or post harvest?

Best wishes,

Bill (Falc)

Falc,
Here are the facts we have from the surgery. The donor strip measured 24.3 cm after removal (little bigger pre removal).
the graft count we got was 3888 with the following breakdown of singles, 2's and 3's and 4's.
1's - 832
2's - 1735
3's - 1283
4's - 38
This puts his donor density at slightly higher than 150grafts/cm based on actual measurement and not guess work.

In general, we have seen patients with densities as low at 65 grafts/cm and ranging up to higher than 150 grafts/cm. In fact we have seen many other patients with such a high density (they don't always make it to the forum). They are rare but do exist and if one does enough surgeries the odds are we will see more.

(3888 divided by 24.3 puts him at 160 grafts per cm2)

To the other posters, just to clarify, the plan for shamrock was to graft about 3000 grafts not 3888. Our intent was not to be too aggressive but we do not throw any grafts away and wanted to utilize the total amount harvested.

http://www.hairtransplantnetwo...opyID=2174&WebID=920

I'm really surprised by density. I had 45cm2 to fill, which works out at an average recipient density of 65Fu/cm2 with 2900 grafts
Our hair loss seems to be similar

Bearing in mind Dr Rahal planned with 3000 for but could harvest 3800, you can count yourself a lucky guy
I'd be very interested to follow your progress, hope you update your blog

Adrian,

Now you have me really confused. How is that you're getting the hair density of this patient without using the width measurement of the strrip in addition to the length?

Density is not determined by the number of grafts divided by the length of the strip. It's determined by the number of grafts divided by the length, then divided by the width.

For instance - if the width of the strip was 2.0 CM, density would be 3888 grafts / 24.3cm (length) / 2cm (width) which would be 80 FU/cm2 - which is much more realistic.

The only way the donor density is 160 FU/cm2 is if the width of the strip was 1cm. I'm not saying this is impossible. I'm just looking for clarification on your math.

Best wishes,

Bill (Falc)

With all due respect Bill
24.3 cm is the actual surface area.
Length and width of the strip was already factored into this measurement

Adrian,

So was the length 24.3 and the width 1, or was it some other combination?