I am wondering what course of action would be taken if a person used all their donor hair and then began to lose more hair. I'm referring to the hair that is next to the transplanted hair. I hope Falceros and B-spot don't mind me using them as examples. Since I remember Falc saying he had a little bit of donor left and B-spot is going to have a 3rd surgery. Which I'm guessing will use up the remainder of his donor hair. I'm also young (25) and plan on having a transplant with Dr. Hasson in about 16 months. My major concern about this surgery and future surgeries are that I will have more hair loss and have no donor hair remaining. I know I may get a lot of you saying that’s why we use Propecia, which I have been on for three years. But I've also heard its effectiveness can decrease with time. It scares the crap out of me when I see a guy with a shaved head who is a extreme Norwood 7 and appears to be under the age of 40. Even with proper planning these guys wouldn’t have a good result from a HT. Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated. I will add a link from a previous post that has pictures and my hair loss history. I will also try to add more recent photos where my hair is grown out more.

http://hair-restoration-info.com/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/3466060861/m/8851042782

Hey Younguy,

Excellent question. Firstly, i want to refer your attention to this post.

http://hair-restoration-info.com/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/1466060861/m/6271089103

Even though the content of the other guy's question is different, it sort of leads to the same answer. This is particularly pertinent since you are a "youngguy".


Read the above post and let me know if you still have any questions. Both B Spot and I give answers to this and the importance of planning conservatively when you are young for the prospect of potentially losing more hair. The bottom line is, with proper planning and staying conservative, you can pretty well be rest assured that you'll be in decent shape. BUT, inevitably, if you do end up a norwood 7, certainly you will have balding/thinning areas...because like you said, a person just doesn't have enough donor hair to cover it all. BUT, with proper planning, you can at least ensure that you wil have a natural looking hair transplant and you will still end up looking much better than you would at a NW7 level without hair transplants. It is those who plan liberally too quickly that can end up looking worse...unnatural if you will, if they end up a NW7.

Let me know if this and the above post answers your question.

Falc

Very Good Question and one that Falc answered very well in my opinion----

Let me explain some of the details of my situation---

Once I dip into my donor for a third and final strip--- I will primarily be done with my HT journey---

I will have reached a graft count of over 8000 transplanted grafts, which I consider to be above the 7000+ grafts necessary for NW5-6 people like myself to look great with a very full frontal half and a thin crown.

However, this is done with very careful considerations and very careful donor management.

I feel that after my 3rd strip, I will still have 500-1000 grafts available via FUE should any noticeable hairloss occurs.

My hairloss has stabilized to a point where I have reached the balding position I will continue to possess in life ala, my Dad and Grandfather who each have the exact pattern of loss I had before I started this journey.

Another thing to consider is that I did not try to "stay ahead of my hairloss"
My situation is simply maximizing available donor with no real concern for native hair, because I did not have any!!!!

I am very excited about my overall finished product at the hands of Dr. Shapiro, as I know Falc is over-joyed to know that Dr. Hasson is topping off his HT journey.

You have to make sure that YOU manage your donor properly as a young man---- always with an eye toward the future.

I hope this helps you out!!!!!!

Take Care,
J

Thank you both for responding to my question!!! I think it took Falc about 48.39 seconds to reply :-). Your answers did help, but since you are both very young, don't you think there will be more hairloss, even with drugs? What would either of you do if your hairloss progressed to the point of someone like Danny DeVito? I'm sorry if this a taboo type question but I don't think 500-1000 FUE would cover that much more balding. Thanks again for all your help! B-spot I was wondering if you could let me know what Dr. Shapiro charges as I am now considering him as a HT surgeon in the future.

You question is not taboo whatsoever.

I do not think I will lose any additional hair.

My loss pattern matches both my father and his father, both of whom reached a NW6 and have stayed there (Dad 49, Gramps 77).

While that is no guarantee, I think it is a very well-thought out risk.

Another thing to consider is that I just started Propecia-- simply because I have not lost any additional hair in the last 2-3 years.
However, Dr. Shapiro wants me to begin taking it, so I do what he says!!!!

Also, should I go to a NW7, I will still look pretty damn good with the way I have been transplanted. All of my laterals have been transplanted, my hairline, frontal core, mid-scalp and my crown will have been transplanted.
There is simply not much more I can lose, which is why I think 500-1000 FUE grafts will cover anything I need much later in life.

Anyway, Dr. Shapiro is 4.50 per graft for the 1st 2000 and 2.50 a graft thereafter.

I hope this helps you out!!!

J

youngguy,

I agree with B...your question is not taboo. Certainly you are thinking like someone who is planning long term, and THAT is something we encourage around here. Too many people want to jump into surgery without evaluating the risks. Too many people's attitudes even AFTER advice has been "but i want to enjoy my youth...so what does it matter?". So...I tell them...go ahead and do what you want, and you'll SEE what it matters in 10-15 years. But THEN...it will be too late. So you are thinking intelligently.

I MIGHT lose more hair...the only hair I believe I might lose would be in the back below the crown. I believe finasteride is helping that hair hold on. Other than that, I like B, I've already lost all the hair on top of my head (even the hair from before any surgery is now gone) and now I only have grafts left on top. The high sides are indicative of my family hairloss history...I do not believe I'll lose that. But like B said...even if I do...I'll still look MUCH better than I would if I didn't have any surgery. That's why it's important to make sure even IF there is additional loss, that your hair transplant will be a cosmetic improvement and look natural.

Falc

LOL on the time thing...did I really reply that fast? Must have been one of my BOTS

You didn't list me...

But I'll throw in my 2 cents anyways

I would definately wait as long as you can. You have a very ligitament consern. I don't think I'm in that situation at 43 years old.

I guess at the end of the road, if you don't like your long term results... One could use Lazer Hair Removal and officially say good bye to their trust fund

After using all the donor hair, I would guess that what was once the Crown would be streched and moved to the back of the neck LOL