Besides Propecia, What Else Can I Do to Prevent Shock Loss?
Hello Dr. Rassman,
What precautionary steps can a younger man take in order to help prevent and/or lessen the effects of shockloss? I know it’s important to be have been on Propecia for several months, but what else can contribute? Will having the recipient area shaved help? I’m likely to have some hairline touch-up work. Would having a less-dense prodcedure (decent amount of native hair remains) impact less trauma on the recipient zone, thereby reducing potential shockloss, or does the point become moot regardless of the density placed? Thanks.
Shock loss can occur regardless of density, and there is really not much you can do. Taking Propecia is the best option to try to prevent shock loss, though I guess another option would be not to have surgery at all. You have to weigh the risk vs the reward. If you have more to lose than gain, then I would be very cautious.
Surgery is not always the answer… and it is not reversible, which is why I’ve often said that the good news and the bad news about hair transplants is the permanence. Be sure to pick a good doctor you trust and have seen his/her work on previous patients (in person is best) before you get a hair transplant, and do not be driven by the best price you can find.
The THICKNESS OF THE SCALP is another key factor. The plexus of key arterial vessels that network to supply blood supply to the scalp lay deep in the scalp over the “galea†layer (the thick gristle at the bottom) deep in the subcutaneous fatty layer. It this subcut layer is nonexistent, then it is hard for the doctor to avoid injuring those deeper vessels, even with tumescence.