Hair Can Grow Through Donor Scar

Since Dr. Mario Marzola presented Trichophytic closure in the 2005 July/Aug ISHRS Forum, (Dr. Patrick Frechet also presented a variation of the technique), the appearance of donor scars have been improved significantly. Now hair can grow through the scar.

This photo shows the scar on the donor site (shaved for purpose of picture taking). You can see that there are hairs growing on the red scar area.

If you keep the hair long, the scar is nearly invisible. (Click on photos to see enlarged images)

It is one of the most important discoveries in hair transplant history.

Previously, the hair transplant patient may have wanted to use the same donor area on the second surgery to remove the scar from the prior surgery. However, if we use the same donor area (where the scar is), we harvest 20-30 percent less donor hair. The density in that area was already reduced in the first surgery.

Now with Trichophytic closure, since the scar is not ugly, there is no point in using the same donor area anymore. If one needs a second surgery, we can use a new donor area.

Young Patients-#3

A 26 year old male who is concerned that his scalp is visible in the daylight.

His hair doesn't show any sign of miniaturization.

The problem is his hair style, in which the hair sticks together. Also, the contrast between his hair and scalp color is too sharp.

My Recommendation: Consider changing the hair styling; or even changing the hair color to one more similar to the scalp color.

Young Patients-#2

Case 2a

29 year old male lost his frontal hair. The coverage area is 64 square centimeters.

Vertex hair is coarse. No sign of miniaturization on his vertex area. Propecia alone will not be able to help to re-grow hair at hairline.

My Recommendation: surgery and Propecia as an option.




Case 2b

A 21 year old man came in with his parents. He was so depressed by his frontal hair loss he had difficulty concentrating on school.

I recommended hair transplant surgery and Propecia was advised.

Coverage area was 60 square centimeters with a 30% increase in density.

When he came back for follow up one year later, his hair had grown back with no further sign of miniaturization.

The whole family is very happy.

Before:

After:

Case 2c

When E.A. flew to Orange County from Wisconsin ten years ago for his hair transplant surgery, he was only 23 years old and very depressed about his hair loss.

I performed surgery and advised him to take Propecia to prevent future hair loss.

He is now 33 years old. I saw him recently and he is much more confident in his personality and appearance.

Please see his 21 day surgery diary at: http://www.hairtransplant.com/month/patient4.htm

Young Patients-#1

Each patient is unique.

I offer individualized treatments to all my patients, especially the younger ones. Younger patients require particular attention because their hair loss progress is often unpredictable and donor hair limited. Under these conditions, hair transplant is not always the best option for young people. I have to use hair loss pattern, size, age, hair quality, gender and other factors to give them different plans.

These recommendations may include: surgery, Propecia, Rogaine, observation and sometimes a different hair style or hair color.

In the next several weeks, I will mention them one by one.

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Case 1a:

A 32 year old male came for a hair transplant consultation.



His concern is his vertex area.

His vertex hair is thin and fine; the frontal hair is thinner and softer than donor hair. This is one of the first signs of hair loss.

Vertex thinning area is about 90 square centimeters.

Family History: His father is a Norwood pattern class 6.

His main concern: He is young and has the potential to lose as much hair as his father did. If we do the surgery at the vertex now, we might run out of donor hair and be unable to cover the front in the future.

Treatment Suggested: No surgery right away, instead take Propecia for six months. I always take pictures for comparison. Without the photos it is always difficult to tell the difference.


Case 1b:

Some of my patients on Propecia end up not having surgery after taking the medication.

This patient is on Propecia and never had surgery.

Before Using Propecia


After Using Propecia

Case 1c:

23 years old patient came in for consultation. I advised him to take Propecia first.

The patient took Propecia for two years. The medication helped him grow hair on the crown area and prevented further hair loss.



There was still some thinning on the frontal area and receding hairline, so I performed a hair transplant surgery and used 12 square centimeters of donor. The surgery increased density by 25%.

Conclusion:

He is very happy with the results. By taking Propecia first, he saved both a lot of donor hair for future use and the surgery fee.

Painless Hair Transplantation

We perform the NHT Anesthesia Technique. Ninety-nine percent of our patients consider the hair transplant experience almost as easy as having a hair cut.

The NHT Anesthesia Method is an art of modern anesthesia. Our facility uses minimal dosages of medication, so it is extremely safe. The patient relaxes without being put to sleep, and feels little to no discomfort throughout the entire process.

The two kinds of pain patients face are psychological and physical.

Physical Pain is not the only problem patients face. In many cases, the fear of surgery causes as much distress for the patient. Psychological fear causes patients to tense up or become pale. They start to sweat and their heartbeats slow down significantly, only to jump up with even the slightest touch. Therefore when discussing a painless procedure, we must consider both psychological and physical discomforts.

We use “Twilight Anesthesia” to reduce any psychological discomfort our patients might feel. The anesthesia relaxes our patients enough to remove the discomfort, while allowing them to follow oral commands and respond. Since Twilight Anesthesia is not a general anesthesia, patients are conscious throughout the procedure.

To reduce any physical discomfort, we use the finest needles available. We apply a vibration before the injection, warm up the local anesthesia and use nerve blocks. To further ensure the comfort of the patient, we pre-numb the skin before applying the stimulus anesthesia agent. Tumescent anesthesia is used to make the anesthesia last longer than 10-15 hours. Furthermore, to ensure our patients' comfort after surgery, we provide the latest, best oral pain reliever which can be taken once a day. Patients can now rest comfortably after the operation without disturbance by the suture on the donor site.

See one of our patient's video testimonial about our near painless anesthesia.

The gentleman had one very painful hair transplant experience in another facility. He tried to use a hairpiece because he didn't want to go through another surgery. He didn't like the hairpiece at all. Finally, he found our clinic and had the nearly painless procedure.

Hair, Eyebrow Transplant, Scar Revision

Before and after two surgeries. 50% density added.

Eyebrow: 150 grafts on each side.

Scar revision: Scar due to car accident. We removed the scar and transplanted hair onto the surrounding area.

A Testimonial Letter

I just received a testimonial letter from one of my patients.

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I was ambivalent toward the hair transplant. For years, I would try to kid myself about baldness, try to be one of those who (apparently) are not bothered by it. At the same time, I took started spending a few minutes a few times a week on the Internet investigating hair transplants. That led me to Dr. Chang and NHT. (I also confirmed on the Internet that there were no complaints about his practice.)

My wife and I visited his office for an initial consultation, and were very impressed. I had seen ads for hair transplantation, and had heard a relative’s accounts about a couple of those clinics, and was expecting to encounter a sales environment. Instead, I found that Dr. Chang has a very gracious, humble manner without any attempt at persuasion. My wife read the diplomas and noticed that Dr. Chang practiced as an anesthesiologist prior to opening his hair transplant clinic. This is impressive, since that specialty is among the most accomplished and responsible in the medical field, and it assures the highest physical comfort level during the transplant procedure. Yet Dr. Chang does not use it as a selling point.

In all, the competent, helpful, and low-key approach of Dr. Chang made it easier for me to finally decide that I wanted to go ahead with the transplantation. At the initial consultation, I had expressed my inclination to tackle the rear area first. Dr. Chang explained why it would be better to take the front first, and ultimately on the day of the surgery I decided that he was right. (After the hair grew in, I realized how right he was.)

The first session consisted of the maximum donor area, 30 cm. That day went smoothly and painlessly, with the entire staff ensuring that I actually enjoyed the experience. The only discomfort was in the days following the surgery, as expected from the website information and literature. Through that period, the office was supportive, although I only needed to wait it out without any particular medical assistance.

We again visited Dr. Chang after the hair grew in. I was very pleased with the front-view result, but I realized from side and rear views that I wanted fuller coverage. He had done a lot with the 30 cm donor area, but I had started out with a lot to cover! Here, again, Dr. Chang did not act like a salesman. In fact, in his polite manner, he stated that my hair looked good, and asked if I was sure I wanted a second session. I appreciated that this gentleman was making it easy for me to make the right decision for myself, not for his business.

At this point, I am looking forward to the second session hair growing in. Having seen the results of the first growth, I know it will be great. It’s been only two weeks since the second session, and the NHT clinic sent me an email just to check in. It was in response to that email that I raised the possibility of writing a testimonial – it was my idea, not theirs! In all, I’m proud to write this, and to encourage you to go to NHT.

R.C.
California

What is NHT's philosophy for hairline design?

Question: What is NHT's philosophy for hairline design?

Answer:

We believe that one’s hairline should be designed in according to one’s preference. In general, a hairline design should take into consideration the shape of one’s face. For instance, most Caucasians have longer and narrower faces, therefore, longer and narrower hairlines are considered. Whereas a flatter hairline may suit a square face better, as is the case for many Asian faces.

We also recommend that the center of hairline be at least 1.5 cm higher than the highest wrinkle in the face.

But person is unique and everyone has different preferences. A few people prefer to have lower and flatter hairlines. They are mature enough to drink, vote, and to be in a jury. Why can't they decide what kind of hairline they want? In situations like this, we will offer our advice repeatedly, but also respect the patient's decision. He or she has the right to have what they want. As long as the person feels great about his hairline, why should we judge him with our standard?

An example of a low hairline requested by my patient.