A man came to see me last week with a problem following his hair transplant at another clinic over a year ago. The surgeon told him that 6600 grafts were transplanted (in three sessions) using the follicular unit extraction (FUE) technique, which he guaranteed has a yield of over 90%. The patient wanted to know if his surgery actually reflected 6600 grafts, so at the patient’s request, we counted the actual grafts that grew. We divided up his head into 1cm square units and then counted the individual grafts inside those squares. The count yielded 2092 grafts of which approximately 50% had only one-hair and 50% had two-hairs, totaling approximately 3100 individual hairs. The hairs did not look very healthy, but the patient had fine hair in his donor area, so I suspect that the fullness reflected the low volume of each hair that survived.
I actually had the opportunity to measure his density before he decided to have his surgery with another doctor. His initial preoperative donor density measured 2.4 hairs per mm square. In my experience this type of donor density usually yielded about 15% one-hair grafts, 65% two-hair grafts, and the rest would be three-hair grafts. Estimating the hair count from the 6600 grafts he expected to grow, he should have had hair growth that would reflect (1) approximately 3960 hairs from three-hair grafts (20% of the 6600 grafts), (2) 8580 hairs from two-hair grafts (65% of the 6600 grafts) and (3) 990 single hairs (reflecting 15% from one-hair grafts)… for a total of 13,530 hairs that would have grown from a 100% successful harvest. Estimating an FUE yield of 90% (a reasonable estimate for FUE and his surgeon’s guarantee of that amount) from a projected successful hair count from the 6600 grafts, I would reduce that count to 12,204 hairs (90% of the 13,500 hairs estimated above). He should compare the actual hair count we obtained in the counting process of approximately 3100 hairs which reflects a loss of 9104 hairs. The hair count therefore reflected a substantial reduction in the hair yield of those grafts that grew when compared to what should have grown. When one would count the grafts that did not grow, the death rate of the hairs was almost three times what did grow.
Where did those missing hairs go? I suspect that they were killed at the time of the FUE either through drying of the grafts during placement, trauma from the technicians placing the grafts, or transection of the grafts (a common problem in those surgeons who really do not have mastery of the FUE technique).
I like your way of thinking, but you can’t put together possibly disassociated facts to make them work. I suppose that is the first step to innovation, though. I suppose anything is possible in the not-so-near future, but I see an influx of angry emails whenever I poo-poo on any future technologies by telling them that if it ever were to become reality, that it would be many, many, many years away.
Hey, I was hoping for flying cars, public space travel, and a cure for cancer by now. I’d even settle for a cure for the common cold. I would like to think of myself as an optimist… you know, a glass-half-full kind of guy… but the cure for balding is not as easy as you may think. Being bald is like the color of your eyes, the way your ear lobes fold, or how tall you are. It is genetics! And as much as gene therapy is the new buzzword in science, it is a long ways off.
For those readers who does not know about trichodynia, it is a condition where the patient experiences a painful, burning sensation on their scalp. From 
You can’t blame Joseph R. Garcia for gazing in the mirror and dreaming of luxuriant locks sprouting from his balding pate — if that was his wish when he strolled into a Park Ridge pharmacy in November and again in January. But did he really need 23 bottles of Rogaine?
Different physicians/clinics will likely have financing available, though some patients opt to pay cash or put it on a credit card. We do offer financing if you elect to have your surgery at New Hair Institute, and that info is available 
I’ve never told anyone to flat out “do not use that product” unless I knew it to be harmful to them. Most of these products are a waste of time and money, and when I’m asked about my opinions I’m going to provide them. There is no regulation on many of the products I’m asked about, and countless companies will take advantage of the balding public’s desire for hair growth. In fact, I’ve often told people that write in with positive experiences with a non-FDA approved hair treatment that I’m glad they’re getting good results and to continue using it as they see fit. However, as a medical doctor I’m not going to recommend possible garbage to thousands of people that visit my site daily. I will, however, recommend proven treatments that have been tested and shown to be safe.