There is a way to determine the amount of hair successfully transplanted by measuring the length and width of the donor scar and number of native hairs per/cm from the donor area. Can anyone confirm the specifics on measuring this to obtain the number of hairs that should have been extracted and transplanted? I want to get a measure on the number of hairs currently in the area where they were placed to compare the number of hairs removed. This will tell me what the success rate is. Thanks

TTDS,

Perhaps you can have someone count them for you?

Other than counting, if you can get an accurate density reading in the varying areas of your scalp then take the average. Then measure the transplanted area and multiply the numbers, you may be able to get an approximate, but I hardly doubt this would be accurate.

It will be interesting to hear other responses to this.

Falc

I was told by a doctor I consulted with before my HT that there is a formula to determine this and it is very accurate. I may check back with him if nobody here is familiar with the formula.

Well mathmatical formulas are easy but coming up with the real numbers to fill in the variables are more difficult.

One formual would be:

(Average recipient transplanted hair density - average recipient native hair density) X area covered.

This will be very tricky unless the density of the native hair was taken before surgery and this assumes that no additional native hair has been lost.

I'll be curious what the physician you have discussed this with has to say about it. Please share it with us.

Best wishes,

Falc

Falc,

Are you volunteering to count them? I'll be glad to send you a photo. I just emailed the coalition doctor that told me about the formula for determining the number of hairs removed from the donor site and number of successful grafts at the recipient site that surfaced. When I hear from him I'll post the answer.

It seems to me that this would be a fairly common subject of interest since patients would want at least a ball park idea if they truly received the grafts they paid for especially if one is questioning the results of the procedure.

Falc,

Here is the answer from the Coalition doctor.

One can make a rough estimate as to how many grafts one would expect to obtain from harvesting a given amount of tissue.

For instance if the donor density is on average 80 FU per sq cm then if one took a strip of 25cm x 1cm , we would expect to get about 2000 grafts. ( 80 FU times 25 = 2000 grafts)

That said one would have to factor the rate of telogen (perhaps 10-20% depending on the studies one sites) and varring density from the harvested area.

Also the average FU contains about 2.1 hairs FU

TTDS,

But this is not what you asked about.

You asked about the SUCCESSFUL hair growth of a hair transplant.

The formula you provided is how many grafts can be expected to be harvested DURING surgery.

Am I missing something?

Thanks,

Falc

Sorry for the confusion. No you are not missing anything. This formula will determine how many grafts were excised from the donor area. Then the same magnifying glass used on the donor area to determine the native donor area density is then used on the recipient site to determine that density.

All I am looking for is to determine the approximate number of grafts removed from the donor area and now 11 months later the number that is in the recipient area. I know what my donor area density was before the surgery and the density of the recipient site was before the surgery so this should be fairly easy to figure out. Do you agree? If you see a flaw with this formula please let me know and I'll bring it to the attention of the Coalition doctor and see if he can address it.

This makes sense.

A certain number of grafts were harvested and implanted in the front.

You can count the number of hairs(grafts) growing in a particular area. You could do this by combing the mature hairline hairs in one direction (say from 1 cm of hairline) and counting them, or you could buzz down the area and use close up photography to count.

I know the clinic that did my HT guarantees that every hair transplanted grows and I think this kind of counting is the only way to know what % has grown. If the yield is less than 50%, I would press for a refund because there is no guarantee the clinic would not make the same mistakes the second time.

I am almost at the 6month mark myself and am underwhelmed with growth. Its obvious that only a small % of grafts are growing.

TTDS,

But what you aren't taking into consideration is the potential loss is native hair density since surgery.

In the event you have more hair loss (unless the surgery was performed in a completely bald area), the native hair density has decreased which will dramatically impact that projected growth yield.

The other problem is that hair density of both your native hair and transplanted hair is most likely not evenly distributed. If you are talking about "averages", it will work better, but it won't be precise.

Looks like you are back to counting hairs

Falc

I'm sorry, I thought I mentioned that I had my density checked before the surgery. So with the measure of density before the surgery at the donor site I should be able to tell how many grafts were removed in relation to the scar size. The grafts were put in a totally bald area so whatever is there now is a result of the grafts moved from the donor area. I'm not looking for an exact number but a ball park to determine what percentage of the amount of hair that was removed from the donor site has now surfaced and growing on the recipient site.