Density Question

[Guest Baldie3000]

Hello my friends,

 

I have a NW5 pattern and have been toying with the idea of getting a hair transplant for awhile. I've considered a few surgeons such as Armani and DHI however, I'm really leaning toward Dr. Shapiro. For awhile I was hoping to avoid a scar, but there just seem to be so many inconsistencies with fue from what I have read, not to mention Dr. Armani seems to like suing people for free speech!!!

 

Can anyone give me an idea how much density I can expect assuming I have a good donor? I still have a good bit of hair in the crown and really on need to cover the front half.

 

Thanks,

 

~Baldie3000

[Guest Baldie3000]

Hello my friends,

 

I have a NW5 pattern and have been toying with the idea of getting a hair transplant for awhile. I've considered a few surgeons such as Armani and DHI however, I'm really leaning toward Dr. Shapiro. For awhile I was hoping to avoid a scar, but there just seem to be so many inconsistencies with fue from what I have read, not to mention Dr. Armani seems to like suing people for free speech!!!

 

Can anyone give me an idea how much density I can expect assuming I have a good donor? I still have a good bit of hair in the crown and really on need to cover the front half.

 

Thanks,

 

~Baldie3000

[TooThin]

Baldie3000:

 

I am also a NW5. Unfortunately, I was misled into having micro/mini HT surgery with a crap clinic in the 1995/96 period. I was told it was the state of the art technique. I lived 11+ years with an unnatural combover and two strip scars.

 

Dr. Ron Shapiro did repair work on me last year. I had a full strip in late April 2007 to densify the front 2/3 of my scalp and create a normal frontal forelock. He removed both my scars and left me with one longer and flatter one. I also had some additional punch out work to remove mini/micros that were outside the natural hairline region. These grafts had to be removed because they could not be hidden by grafts taken from the strip. To my knowledge, a punch out is essentially the same as FUE.

 

The grafts that were punched out were disected into FUs and then recycled back into an appropriate part of my scalp. The good news is that the punched out grafts which had previously caused me a lot of stress because they were at my frontal hairline are now gone. The bad news is that the survival rate on the punch outs is not as high as FUs harvested from a strip. I don't know if SMG keeps track of FUE survival data. However, my guess from my conversations with Dr. Ron is that, in my case, the survival rate of the punched out grafts was probably only about 1 out of 2 or 2 out of 3 at best. Based on that anectodal information, I don't think current FUE technology makes sense as the primary technique on high level Norwoods (i.e., Norwood 5 or higher) given our very limited supply of donor hair. I could see using FUE to fill in a strip scar or finetune a hairline but not as the primary technique to build a forelock.

 

Reflecting back on my own personal experience. My biggest regret is not the strip scar but rather the donor hair that was probably wasted by the original clinic during my initial surgeries.

 

I am pleased with the work performed at SMG. The staff are top notch and Dr. Ron is a class act. When I did my research into getting repair work done, a couple of the things tipped my decision toward SMG:

 

1) Their ability to make a significant cosmetic improvement with a limited number of grafts on high level Norwoods. For example, in my case, I had 2,500 FUs as a result of the strip surgery last year. I have a reasonable forelock now for my age. Do a search on SMG cases and you will see a lot of cases of 2,500-3,000 FUs that result in a significant cosmetic improvement.

 

2) The other issue that impressed me was the quality of the hairline work. I found that the case results from SMG consistently showed hairlines that were more natural than other clinics. I like a soft hairline with a transition into a denser core. In my opinion, that replicates nature best and will withstand the test of time as compared to a wider and more densely packed V-shaped hairline that I have seen from other doctors.

 

Anyway, I would suggest you have a consult with SMG. I think they have produced much more consistent results than the other two clinics you mention.

 

Formerly TooThin

[Dewayne]

At 3 months, my scar (which was repaired) is virtually undetectable.

[Guest Baldie3000]

TooThin and Dewayne, thanks for the response guys. That really helps.

 

I have learned that selecting the right doctor is extremely important. Dr. Shapiro seems to be an excellent choice from all that I've ready and heard. So I'll continue my research and hopefully will stop being a chicken and go through with it.

 

Thanks my friends

 

~Baldie3000

[thanatopsis_awry]

Baldie,

 

To an extent it's a numbers game, and your density will be determined in large part by how many grafts you get moved, which is related to how many grafts can safely get moved, which has to do with your laxity (in large part).

 

As a NW5, you should aim for as many as you can safely harvest; a recent 1year update of a NW5 w/ 3600 grafts shows that a tremendous change can occur. Granted, he still has a thin vertex/crown that needs to be addressed, but this was part of his overall plan that he devised w/ his doc.

 

Assuming you wanted to leave your crown alone (unless, say, 4500+ got extracted), you should be able to achieve good density throughout your hairline, tapered back over the top. Ideally, IMO, you should go for 4k+.

 

Generally -- and ultimately -- speaking, w/ a "good" donor, you should be able extract 6-7k overall; which, in turn, should be able to give you good coverage and solid density as a NW5. These donor #s, however, from all I can tell, really do vary, and it is all situational.

 

Also, the caliber and charachtertistics of your hair will play a major roll in *perceived density*. Thick, wiry, slight curl....these are good things. So is a non-stark contrast between hair and scalp -- e.g. blonde hair, light-skinned scalp.