Do Megasession Hair Transplants Increase The Chances of Having Complications?

[tbtadmin]

I’ve heard about scar stretching and complications when having a megasession hair transplant, and this concerns me. I definitely want to get the most that I can with one surgery, but is is really possible to do this without causing complications? Please let me know, I need to make my decision in the next month [...]

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[blowmeup]

Interesting explanation Dr. Hasson. It makes a lot of sense. Great Video!

[Jeffrey Epstein, MD]

Every patient's case needs to be individually evaluated when determing the ideal number of grafts in a hair transplant procedure.
In most cases, the ideal number of grafts, in my experience, is somewhere between 2200 and 3000 grafts- which depends on the degree of hair loss, the flexibility of the scalp, and the density of the donor area. Despite the fact that I have a tea of 15 full time assistants, who bring an average of 7 plus years experience working with me, I don't feel in most cases that it is wise to go beyond 3000 grafts, due to the slight but definite risk of lower rate of hair growth and if obtained by an extra wide donor strip, a risk of a wider donor site scar.
When you go through my website or see pictures of my procedures on BTT, you can see how my approach- while certainly not conservative but not cavalier- is able to create rather impressive results.

Jeffrey Epstein, MD, FACS
Miami and NYC

[Jotronic]

Just wanted to further the discussion by showing some scar examples of our large sessions. All twelve of these examples had at least 5000 grafts in one session and some had a second session for additional work. Each of our HD videos, at least 100 of them, show the resulting scar from the procedure. Some range as high as 6000 or even 7000 grafts in one session while others are less than 1000 grafts in size. Donor scarring, in the right hands, is no more likely to stretch than those of smaller sessions.

[Winston]

I think these examples make it clear that in the right hands large sessions can be done safely.

[amadeus]

But how do you you know if you are a good candidate for such a large hair transplant? I’ve had a couple of online consultations and one doctor said between 3200 to 4000 grafts and another said that I was not a candidate for such a magasession and that he would only do about 2000. How do you know?

[Jotronic]

Amadaeus,

How do you know? This is a good question. The answer is, quite frankly, you don't unless you have taken the time to understand what allows for a big session and that is twofold; donor density and donor laxity. Both however are sometimes difficult for patients to determine so you leave it up to us, the experts, to tell you and that of course where the real confusion begins because you are going to get a wide range of responses to your inquiry. Your post above highlights this very issue.

Ultimately, the only way you can really know is to have a consultation with a clinic that not only performs larger sessions routinely but also has the documentation of such cases online. A clinic saying they perform larger sessions is one thing. Many will say that they can but they prefer not to or that most patients do not have the characteristics for larger sessions. Both are false.

There is no reason to not perform a larger session if the patient has the characteristics, they also have the need (aggressive hair loss) and the clinic has the expertise. It leads to fewer surgeries, less downtime, less scarring and even less cost.

So, the way you know is to find a clinic that does what you want and see if they have a track record of actually delivering. If they do then talk to them to see if you are a candidate and go from there. Talk to other clinics as well of course. Talk to as many as you can but always remember that what you are being told should be verifiable online with their results. Period.

[amadeus]

Thanks for the advice Jotronic. It's all so confusing. Each doctor that I spoke to told me something different. Is there anywhere Spencer kobren writes about this or does he have any specific recommendations on how to tell if you’re being told the truth?