Can My First Hair Transplant Be a Megasession?

Hi, I’ve got a “virgin” scalp, ie. no previous hair transplants.

Although, I’m not there yet, my hairloss looks like it will eventually end up in a Norwood 5-6 pattern.

Taking that info for face value I have the following question. Assuming a patient will need at least two to three procedures, is it better for someone with a virgin scalp to have their initial transplant be a large “mega-session?”

In other words, is it harder to have a larger subsequent done down the road because of laxity issues caused by a previous smaller surgery?

Basically, is it better to knock-out a mega-session first while the scalp has its best scalp laxity?

Thanks

Generally, we do not preemptively transplant hair to non-balding areas and prefer to treat the impending balding area with medications like Propecia. How do you know you will end up as a Norwood 5 or 6?

We pioneered the “megasession”, but just because we can do it does not mean we recommend it to everyone. Every case is different, and both the long term and short term goals must be discussed with each patient. For example, one patient may choose to have several smaller sessions over their lifetime as they are balding. Or another patient may wait until they are bald and have one big megasession.

Having a good scalp laxity works at making a megasession on the first surgery easier to do. Scar laxity usually returns to preoperative status after a surgery. If you have an FUE procedure instead of a strip surgery, the surgeon will take out what you need… and take out more and more of what you need as your balding progresses. No recurrent scars with FUE is clearly an advantage, but without seeing you, I am not sure how what I said applies to you.