NW6/7 - The unanswered question !

[baldee]

hello all,

It seems that these forums are bursting with expert transplant surgeons, mentors and veterans. I would like to ask these people if they can possibly treat young NW6/7 patients who do not respond to medical therapy. The impression I am getting is that most clinics shy away from these type of patients, they consider them too technically difficult and dangerous to have surgery on.This might be justified since such patients have too high expectations however I am sure that such persons would benefit most from a transplant than the usual 50 year old NW3 that most surgeons seem to be earning their bread and butter from. So please, if this has been done before post results. Thanks

[ravegrover]

hello all,

The impression I am getting is that most clinics shy away from these type of patients, they consider them too technically difficult and dangerous to have surgery on.

An ethical clinic may not perform HT on a young NW6/7 person. But, that is for the person's benefit. HT has its limitations and best results are achieved if it is performed after person's hairloss is arrested with medication and there is decent supply of donor hair available.

[garageland]

Baldee,

How young is young?
As a norwood 6 ht veteran and now consultant I can try to help answer your question.

I see in my consultations many young guys under 30 who are already or will be progressing to a nw6. Whether they are a candidate depends on their donor supply and their expectations.

I really feel for young guys who are loosing their hair and are destined for a high norwood and it annoys me that people say outright that they are not a candidate as nw6's are really suffering, but the truth is that many are not good candidates and would be best advised to shave their head.

Some norwood 6's make the best candidates for transplants as many don't get so hung up on density but this is as long as they understand what is possible for them and their expectations are in check.

Clinics will shy away from young guys that don't want to take meds, if your expectations are realistic and your donor is decent then you could be a candidate but be prepared for a conservative hairline and a thinner crown.

[35YrsAfter]

Men's hair loss is so common. Previous to working at Dr. Cole's office, I worked for a small video production company that had 5 male employees. Every one of us has hair loss to some degree. Some men honestly don't mind being bald while other men become determined to find a solution to their hair loss. A person who is a Norwood 6 and even those moving toward Norwood 7 can achieve some relief in the frontal area. For most men, the number one objection to hair loss is the slick "dome" look when viewed directly from the front. I have found that men who get the best result are most often those who are determined to continue on and keep "hitting" the balding areas with grafts. I began my repair surgery in 2006 and since then I have learned what donor source provides the best coverage for me. At my age I care much less about hair loss than I did when I was in my teens and 20's. To some men anything less than a teenage head of hair is unacceptable. To other men some hair is preferable to the slick look. Some men do not care at all about being bald and many women actually prefer bald men.

Here is an example of a Dr. Cole patient who got some relief in the frontal area:
Video

-35YrsAfter works at Dr. Cole's office

[FearTheLoss]

Men's hair loss is so common. Previous to working at Dr. Cole's office, I worked for a small video production company that had 5 male employees. Every one of us has hair loss to some degree. Some men honestly don't mind being bald while other men become determined to find a solution to their hair loss. A person who is a Norwood 6 and even those moving toward Norwood 7 can achieve some relief in the frontal area. For most men, the number one objection to hair loss is the slick "dome" look when viewed directly from the front. I have found that men who get the best result are most often those who are determined to continue on and keep "hitting" the balding areas with grafts. I began my repair surgery in 2006 and since then I have learned what donor source provides the best coverage for me. At my age I care much less about hair loss than I did when I was in my teens and 20's. To some men anything less than a teenage head of hair is unacceptable. To other men some hair is preferable to the slick look. Some men do not care at all about being bald and many women actually prefer bald men.

Here is an example of a Dr. Cole patient who got some relief in the frontal area:
Video

-35YrsAfter works at Dr. Cole's office

Is it true that Dr. Cole has been getting some donor hair to regenerate like Gho?

[35YrsAfter]

Is it true that Dr. Cole has been getting some donor hair to regenerate like Gho?

Yes and Dr. Cole is not the only doctor getting follicle regeneration using ACell. Dr. Gho remains a mystery. It may be that Dr. Gho is on to something and doesn't want to share. Dr. Woods was of that mindset. Dr. Cole visited Dr. Woods in Australia around 2002 if memory serves me. Dr. Woods would not say a thing about how he extracted follicular units. Did that mean that Dr. Woods was not getting growth and great looking donor areas? No. It was Dr. Woods' results in addition to the reports of a new and superior technique that inspired Dr. Cole to move to FUE. I know someone who overheard Dr. Woods on the phone talking to another doctor about how substandard the hair transplant industry was at that time. My personal thoughts on Dr. Woods reason for remaining silent may have been something like, If you can't figure it out, stick with the status quo.

Dr. Cole has yet to see one of Dr. Gho's results. That certainly does not mean Gho doesn't have any.

-35YrsAfter works at Dr. Cole's office

[baldee]

I'm almost 25, stopped my medical therapy only recently since I went from norwood 2 to 6 whilst on medication. Personally I wouldn't mind a thin crown. But I did not post over here just for my sake, I think that many others like me have been plighted by hairloss at such a young age and become socially scarred. If I started to bald in my mid 30s the outlook on life who have most probably been different and I wouldn't have bothered much. When you are in your 20s having hair is the norm. Information about severe hair loss in the relatively young is not so readily available on the web and Ive seen very few such cases being discussed. Thanks

[FearTheLoss]

Yes and Dr. Cole is not the only doctor getting follicle regeneration using ACell. Dr. Gho remains a mystery. It may be that Dr. Gho is on to something and doesn't want to share. Dr. Woods was of that mindset. Dr. Cole visited Dr. Woods in Australia around 2002 if memory serves me. Dr. Woods would not say a thing about how he extracted follicular units. Did that mean that Dr. Woods was not getting growth and great looking donor areas? No. It was Dr. Woods' results in addition to the reports of a new and superior technique that inspired Dr. Cole to move to FUE. I know someone who overheard Dr. Woods on the phone talking to another doctor about how substandard the hair transplant industry was at that time. My personal thoughts on Dr. Woods reason for remaining silent may have been something like, If you can't figure it out, stick with the status quo.

Dr. Cole has yet to see one of Dr. Gho's results. That certainly does not mean Gho doesn't have any.

-35YrsAfter works at Dr. Cole's office

Any idea of what kind of regeneration rates Cole is getting? I saw somewhere someone said around 50% regrowth...but I can't remember where

[35YrsAfter]

Is it true that Dr. Cole has been getting some donor hair to regenerate like Gho?

I'm almost 25, stopped my medical therapy only recently since I went from norwood 2 to 6 whilst on medication. Personally I wouldn't mind a thin crown. But I did not post over here just for my sake, I think that many others like me have been plighted by hairloss at such a young age and become socially scarred. If I started to bald in my mid 30s the outlook on life who have most probably been different and I wouldn't have bothered much. When you are in your 20s having hair is the norm. Information about severe hair loss in the relatively young is not so readily available on the web and Ive seen very few such cases being discussed. Thanks

I noticed thinning when I was 16 years old! My hair was nearly black when I was 14. Within 2 years it became thinner in the front and lighter in color. I felt as if my life had fast forwarded 30 years. I remember going to a dermatologist and he gave me hydrocortisone cream to rub into my scalp. Rogaine was not even available then. I fell for a marketing campaign back then and had the legacy 4mm punch open donor hair transplant surgery. Young men used to get really messed up back then with scars and an unnatural appearance.

The options available to young men with hair loss are so much better today. Most men want to deal with frontal hair loss first. It's SO important to resist those who market a low dense-packed hairline. Dr. Cole generally discourages men in their early 20's from having hair transplant surgery. It's difficult and more accurately, not possible to determine the extent of future hair loss. I used to work with a guy in his late 30's whose hair loss was so severe that he only had a 1 inch wide strip of hair left above his ears and in the back of his head. Women loved him though! as I mentioned, some women prefer bald men.

35YrsAfter works at Dr. Cole's office

[35YrsAfter]

Any idea of what kind of regeneration rates Cole is getting? I saw somewhere someone said around 50% regrowth...but I can't remember where

We see an average of about 50% follicle regeneration using ACell. We have seen as little as 10% and another patient had 70% in one of his donor regions. On February 6th, 2013, Dr Cole extracted 500+ beard hairs from my right lower jaw area. He treated the donor area with ACell and it will be interesting to see what happens there. It's been 12 days and I can't even see the extraction sites. They appear no different than the pores in my skin. The beard area heals remarkably well. Those who have had beard hair extractions without ACell say the same thing. ACell seems to cause the donor area so stay pink longer.

- 35YrsAfter works at Dr. Cole's office

[FearTheLoss]

We see an average of about 50% follicle regeneration using ACell. We have seen as little as 10% and another patient had 70% in one of his donor regions. On February 6th, 2013, Dr Cole extracted 500+ beard hairs from my right lower jaw area. He treated the donor area with ACell and it will be interesting to see what happens there. It's been 12 days and I can't even see the extraction sites. They appear no different than the pores in my skin. The beard area heals remarkably well. Those who have had beard hair extractions without ACell say the same thing. ACell seems to cause the donor area so stay pink longer.

- 35YrsAfter works at Dr. Cole's office

That is awesome and I really appreciate your information as Cole and Gho are the only to surgeons I would want to have a ht with because of the minimal/no scarring and advancements they are both making.

So essentially, ACell is still in it's early stages and Cole will perfect it even more in years to come....but if one got on average 50% donor regrowth from him and had say...6000 available in the donor area...then instead of 6000 he could get 9000+ total grafts using ACell? (given time and money were no issue)

[drybone]

What I am most interested is how many hairs regrow in the recipient area. Regrowing in the donor is an added bonus.

Its now expected to be 99% growth in the recipient area. With this kind of procedure I would accept 85% if we can get 50 % regeneration in the donor.

Is this possible?

[35YrsAfter]

That is awesome and I really appreciate your information as Cole and Gho are the only to surgeons I would want to have a ht with because of the minimal/no scarring and advancements they are both making.

Related to scarring, these are photos of our repair patient from last week who had previous surgeries at two separate clinics as late as 1990-1992! These scars can be fixed. We repaired his recipient area that had a pluggy unnatural appearance. We will need to wait 8 months to update with results as these photos were taken before his surgery. Repairing the donor area requires precious donor hair that would be better used on top.





- 35YrsAfter works at Dr. Cole's office