I had a HT about eight years ago and will need another shortly. I have been researching doctors and have followed this board for six months. I think Hasson & Wong will be my choice, although I have not contacted them or made an appointment for consultation yet. I notice Hasson & Wong always shave the head before performing the HT. Does H&W require you to shave your head? I am thin in the front but have enough to cover the HT and don't want my head shaved. Any comments would be helpful.
Thanks.

I don't think its required that everyone has to shave their head. It depends on what you are getting done and the hair that you have. For certain procedures it is just easier for the doctor and helps guaranttee a better job. A 9 month chronology of a Berstein patient was recently posted by Pat. As you can see none of this patient's hair was shaved. Your consultaion will reveal what would be the optimum process for you.

A main reason docs shave the recipient site is to make the procedure easier for them and to see more clearly what they need to do as far as graft placement. H&W probably does it because of the huge procedures they do and the time they save by not having to constantly move the hair around to place grafts. Also with all the dense packing docs are doing it is just plain easier for them. I say the easier it is for the doc and the better job they can do when they don't have to work around long hair the better. I can understand if you're just getting a touch up job on the temples but if you are doing a larger session over more area I can see why it would be in the docs best interest to see exactly what he's working with and not have to work around hair. I know my doc will shave the recipient site only if it's ok with you just because it makes things easier for him. I said do it and was happy he did

I get asked this a great deal and here is a recent post Dr H to help understand the importance os shaving down the recipient area.
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There are multiple technical factors that come into play during the creation of recipient sites and the subsequent graft placement. These include:

1.) When thinning areas are shaved down the “thinning process” takes on a different meaning. With the use of magnification it will be seen that some follicular bundles are absent (and there are wider spaces between remaining bundles) and that some bundles are significantly miniaturized. It will then be possible to place new recipient sites in the place of absent bundles and alongside miniaturized bundles to recreate the density. This can also be done in a uniform manner so that if the pre-existing hair eventually disappears, due to progression of hairloss, the transplant can still look reasonably natural. If the recipient site is not shaved the surgeon must part through the hair again and again looking for any empty spaces and trying to fill the spaces as best as possible. This is not really as exact a process but much more hit or miss.

2.) The hair exits the scalp at an exact angle. The only way to precisely match that angle is to buzz the recipient hair down (in a way similar to how ALL doctors need to shave the donor hair when taking out the donor strip).

3.) Transection of existing hair below the skin surface is possible if the incisions are not made exactly parallel to the surrounding bundles. We often see this as a “halo” type effect when performing repair procedures.

4.) When inserting grafts the technicians can easily identify the recipient sites and ensure that all sites are filled. This can be achieved with no trauma to the pre-existing hair.

5.) When hair is buzzed no manipulation of the pre-existing hair is required at all. When the hair is not shaved it needs to be combed through (hundreds of times) by the physician who makes the recipients sites and again by the technician who places the grafts into the sites. This repetitive trauma of combing through the hair again and again will result in “hair shock”, a shedding of the existing hair. When this hair falls out in 2 to 3 weeks there will be a 2 to 3 month wait before it returns. Whereas if the hair were buzzed it would grow from day one 1 and keep growing. A number 3 buzz cut often will look good at 10 to 14 days post operatively and blend in with the recipient site well.

All these factors are relatively unimportant if you are trying to place to 2 or 3 hundred grafts into recipient sites however if you wish to have the utmost of refined results the difference is night and day.

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Regards
Spex

Thanks for all information. I have been thinking it over and have decided to shave it before the procedure. No guts, no glory. If people ask i'll tell them I had a HT.

Specs,

Thanks for posting Dr. H's info regarding hair shaving.

Pellis,

You need to not shave your head before you arrive for surgery. You need to let the doc do this as he will only shave the areas that the grafts are going into. The back and sides needs to be long enough to hide the staples during your initial post-op healing period. Once the staples come out, you can shave the back and sides of your scalp to match or blend in with the top.