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how does my donor zone look?


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  • Senior Member

Some docs will use nape hair when re-building a hairline however when there is retro-alopecia evident, I would hope that they would not use it.

 

Only a microscopic evaluation of your occipital zone would confirm if that hair was suitable for transplantation, something that cannot be done with photos.

Gillenator

Independent Patient Advocate

I am not a physician and not employed by any doctor/clinic. My opinions are not medical advice, but are my own views which you read at your own risk.

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  • Regular Member
Some docs will use nape hair when re-building a hairline however when there is retro-alopecia evident, I would hope that they would not use it.

 

Only a microscopic evaluation of your occipital zone would confirm if that hair was suitable for transplantation, something that cannot be done with photos.

 

 

I've had a camera on my donor zone and there was no miniaturisation. I just wondered really if docs actually do use the nape hair as someone on another forum said im not a good candidate due to retro alopecia

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  • Senior Member

Miniaturization evaluation has to be performed by a trained physician and they don't use a camera.

Gillenator

Independent Patient Advocate

I am not a physician and not employed by any doctor/clinic. My opinions are not medical advice, but are my own views which you read at your own risk.

Supporting Physicians: Dr. Robert Dorin: The Hairloss Doctors in New York, NY

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It appears that you do in fact have retro alopecia, as Gillenator said the only way to check for miniaturization is to go to a hair transplant surgeon who has the proper microscopic tools and software, I had my donor checked by Dr. Mohebi a coalition physician in LA, he calculated the amount of miniaturization as well as the average follicular units per cm2. Some surgeons even have software that can check the micron of the hair and the total amount of hairs on in the donor area.

 

However yes you are correct, the nape and lower portion near your ears are NOT utilized as donor hair, there are some surgeons that utilize this but it may be on a case by case basis, it is clear that this not permanent hair for you so the surgeon should not use that hair under any circumstance.


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As others have said you won't know until you visit a HT surgeon. My donor area looked excellent with thick growth, much thicker then yours. The Dr thought it would be a straight forward surgery but once my hair had been shaved, he told me my donor area was bad and in the end he struggled to extract 2800 graphs.

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  • Senior Member
As others have said you won't know until you visit a HT surgeon. My donor area looked excellent with thick growth, much thicker then yours. The Dr thought it would be a straight forward surgery but once my hair had been shaved, he told me my donor area was bad and in the end he struggled to extract 2800 graphs.

 

Thats a surprise. I have seen really bad hair that you can get mid 3k in one strip. What it fue or strip?

 

OP, your donor doesn't look great, but like everyone says, you need to see a doc the get an expectation of the amount of grafts available. Also, the quality is important. You should ask about that.

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It was a FUE. I'm over 40 with what seemed like good donor area, plus i wasn't getting a massive amount of graphs, so strip didn't even cross my mind.

When the Dr started the extraction, i heard him and the techs talking about how the area wasn't great and a straight forward HT ended up taking 1 1/2 days and about 12 hrs. He didn't go into specifics, but after that length of time i was too tired to push him. There was talk of maybe using beard hair midway through the surgery but eventually they found enough hair for the HT.

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  • Senior Member

What appears to be good to the naked eye or at "first glance" is not always the case until a more in depth analysis of the donor is performed.

 

Glad to hear that you were still able to have the procedure done...:)

 

Out of curiosity...how was the final result after the procedure fully matured?

Gillenator

Independent Patient Advocate

I am not a physician and not employed by any doctor/clinic. My opinions are not medical advice, but are my own views which you read at your own risk.

Supporting Physicians: Dr. Robert Dorin: The Hairloss Doctors in New York, NY

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thanks for comments guys. I will go for a proper consult

 

here is my head 4 years ago snapped with flash. I agree the nape area is thin but if this isn't a donor zone what's issue? I still have thick v shape at back. here is my hair shaved down to a number 1

downloadfile.jpg.cda129b2212a543aca10c8592f831eb3.jpg

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  • Senior Member

Would you consider going on meds for a few yrs & see if you can stabilize your hairloss?

On the NW scale what do you think you are?

Can you take some front & sides picture's? so this will give members a better idea

of what could be possible in your long term goals.

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norwood 4a. my front has receded at temples but been like that since I was 16. midscalp is thinning but crown is good

 

i would consider going on meds but there's no point me taking them if a HT is out question really due to propecia potential risks

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Well like other's have said seek professional help by "several ht doctors" & go from there but without medications you could be in for a tuff battle im afraid to say, but don't give up hope ive seen many guys like you whos come through this crap.

 

Get back to us, it be interesting what they have to say.

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  • Senior Member
Some docs will use nape hair when re-building a hairline however when there is retro-alopecia evident, I would hope that they would not use it.

.

 

Now this is interesting. With regards to retro-aloprecia don't you think a doctor will likely not use nape hair since alopecia comes from that region of the scalp? It would be foolish to though I am no doctor of any sort.

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  • Senior Member

You would be shocked as to what I have observed and seen over the past four decades in this field...:eek: Sometimes the surgeon is pressured by the patient into doing something that he/she would not customarily do such as using nape hair that is obviously unsuitable for transplantation.

 

And the real issue is not whether or not nape hair should be used, it is in fact whether that nape hair is considered a permanent donor source, meaning, is it DHT resistant or not?

 

No matter if it is nape hair or hair harvested directly from the donor zone, if it is diffusing or shows marked miniaturization, then IMHO it should be considered unsuitable for transplantation, period.

Gillenator

Independent Patient Advocate

I am not a physician and not employed by any doctor/clinic. My opinions are not medical advice, but are my own views which you read at your own risk.

Supporting Physicians: Dr. Robert Dorin: The Hairloss Doctors in New York, NY

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  • Senior Member
You would be shocked as to what I have observed and seen over the past four decades in this field...:eek: Sometimes the surgeon is pressured by the patient into doing something that he/she would not customarily do such as using nape hair that is obviously unsuitable for transplantation.

 

 

Yes that is what I had highly suspected as well. Good opinion.

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