Newly transplanted hairs immune to MPB? I don't think so.

[NG2016]

I had the Neograft procedure done about two years ago in December 2014 (about 1000 grafts) at Dr. James Fernau's office. I have also been taking Finasteride 1.25 mg (Proscar 5 mg cut in 1/4) for the past 2 years.

When I got the surgery--they tried to explain to me that the hair from the back of the head (donor area) was "genetically immune" to the androgenic alopecia (MPB) and that is the basis of FUE--taking these "genetically immune" hair follicles and placing them where hair is affected by MPB. I was pretty desperate for hair so I just believed them.

Fast forward-- it has been 2 years since my surgery and I have lost most all of the newly transplanted hairs from my donor area.

Can someone please explain to me why this might be the case/please explain if the hair from the donor area is truly supposed to be immune to MPB?

[Louish]

Some unlucky people have no "safe zone" or have a very small one. You might be one of them. It's all about genetics.

[pkipling]

I can't speak to your specific case, as there may be other factors that contributed to this. I would definitely reach out to your doctor to get his opinion on the matter.

As for the general question, yes - while not every single hair from the donor area/safe zone is guaranteed to be "genetically immune", that does tend to be the case. For the vast majority of men, their hair loss does not progress into the donor area, so when people say that the newly transplanted hairs aren't at risk of MPB, that is operating under the assumption that those hairs were never going to fall out to begin with. A more accurate explanation would be that those transplanted hairs will last as long as they would have if they had stayed in the donor area. If they were predestined to last, they'll last. If they were predestined to fall out, they'll fall out. And like I said before, for most men, those hairs in the donor area are predestined to stay put.
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I am a patient advocate for Dr. Parsa Mohebi in Los Angeles, CA. My views/opinions are my own and don't necessarily reflect the opinions of Dr. Mohebi and his staff.

[NG2016]

I have not read where they have the reasons why MPB only affects the crown and not the sides or very back of the head. Any idea?

Also, my doctor had no idea when I asked--he just said try a laser comb. Nothing helpful