Can a Craniotomy Scar Be Avoided?

/by William Rassman, M.D./0 /,

My son is worried that after he will have craniotomy, (and it is to remove the lesion) and having a big scar, it will be very noticable and hair will not grow at the scar. Can it be avaided? What can he do before? Any recommendation? Also, can you make hair grow on scar tissue? What is the success rate?

Talk with his surgeon and let him know of your concern. Worst case scenario and there is a linear area that won’t grow hair after all is said and done, I have fixed many craniotomy scars with hair transplantation.

Tags: craniotomy, hair transplant, scar, hairloss, hair loss

Surgical Hairline Lowering + Hairline Transplant?

/by William Rassman, M.D./0 /,

Dr. Rassman,

I recently read some posts regarding the surgical hairline lowering procedure vs. a hairline transplant. I was wondering whether it would be synergistic to do both?

If you are male (with a NW2 receded hairline due to MPB) with an inherited high hairline, wouldn’t it be better to get the surgical hairline lowering procedure done in addition to a hair transplant? Wouldn’t this conserve donor hair because you are essentially reducing the size of the forehead (less area to worry about transplanting hair follicles to…).

Thus, this would remedy the high forehead and restoration of the hairline, with enough donor hair in case of any future hair loss.

Hairline lowering procedures should only be done on women or on men who do not contain the balding genes. That means that men wanting this surgical option should be genetically tested first, perhaps using something like HairDX. For women who do not usually lose hair (as they do not have patterned baldness), the hairline lowering procedure has value since there is no significant danger of the hairline rising above the point of surgery.

The advantages of the surgical lowering procedure (like a brow lift in reverse) is that the results are basically instantaneous, a week or two after healing is complete. The hair was there prior to the surgery (just a few centimeters lower), so you do not have to wait for the hair to grow out like with a hair transplant. If you need more than one inch lowering, then the transplant option may be better. Some people with the hairline lowering procedure will develop a scar at the hairline and may require transplants to hide it.

Tags: hairline lowering, hairtransplant, hair transplant, hairloss, hair loss, genetic, hairdx

Eyebrow Hair Stopped Growing After Waxing!

/by William Rassman, M.D./0 /, ,

(female)
Hello! i use to go and get my eyebrows waxed. The last time i did was about 7 months ago and every since then they haven’t grown back, they are very thin (it looks like i dont have any eyebrows) and there are a few bald spots.. What could of caused that? and is there anyway i can get them to grown back?

If you pluck out your eyebrows all the time, eventually some hairs may never grow back. Think of it as causing small trauma to the hair follicle over and over and eventually the hair follicle will stop producing hair. Wait it out for a full year. If it does not return, you can have a hair transplant to put them back, using hair from your scalp.

Tags: eyebrow, hairloss, hair loss, hair transplant

Hair Growing to the Edge of the Scar Where a Mole Was Removed

/by William Rassman, M.D./0 /,

I had a mole removed about a month ago, and the actual scar is healing very thin and good. The hair is growing right up to the edge of the scar from the top, and even at some points looks like it is growing through it. My concern is that underneath the scar, there is patches where the hair is scarcely coming in, and even patches where no stubble is visible. Can you shed some light as to how hair grows around scars, could the surgery have put the hairs beneath the incision into the resting phase. I have been worried about their growth and realize it’s way too soon to start thinking about FUE to fix the scar, although I realize it may be a solution if the hair doesn’t return to its normal growth. Any light you can shed would be greatly appreciated.

Yes, damage can be done when surgery is performed in the scalp. Sometimes, the hair follicles are amputated while the stubble remains and this may be a cause of hair loss from a local excision. The stitches that are placed can produce damage to the hair along the leading edge of the excised mole (as in your case). Wait it out a full 6 months and hopefully the hair will grow. If it is a problem, transplants work very well here.

Tags: hairloss, hair loss, scar, mole, hair transplant

In the News – Man Dies After Replacing Real Medication with Herbals

/by William Rassman, M.D./0 /

From the article:

A Chinese man who received a face transplant in 2006 has died, highlighting the risks of a recent groundbreaking US operation.

Li Guoxing, 32, died at his rural home in rugged southwestern China after forsaking immune-system drugs in favour of herbal medicine, his surgeon Guo Shuzhong said.

“His death was not caused by the surgery. Our operation was a success. But we cannot rule out a connection with the immune system drugs,” said Dr Guo, a surgeon with Xijing Hospital in the northern city of Xian who operated on Li in April 2006.

Read the full text — Chinese face transplant Li Guoxing dies

Granted, this is not about hair loss or hair transplantation, but it highlights that many of these herbal remedies are not replacements for proven medications. I found it interesting and definitely worth a read! Treatments to control the rejection process is a science that requires careful monitoring. Switching to herbals either as an adjunct or a replacement for drugs that prevent rejection of transplanted organs, can not produce a good outcome.

I’m not suggesting that using herbal treatments to prevent hair loss or regrow hair will lead to death — far from it. You will eventually lose the hair you’re so desperately trying to keep if you make the switch from a known and proven drug like finasteride to a fancy shampoo or lotion you can buy at your local salon/grocery store/online store, though.

Tags: transplant, drugs, medication, herbal, death, news

I Want a Larger Forehead

/by William Rassman, M.D./1 /

I have a fairly small forehead line and i really want to make my forehead line larger naturally soon. Please suggest me what I can do to have a larger forehead line. Thank you.

The answer to this question reflects missing data which I would need to take this to a next step:

  1. Are you male or female?
  2. What is your age?
  3. Can you send me some good photos with your eyebrows lifted high as well as a normal facial set of photos?
  4. Do you have genetic hair loss?

I would pick up this once I have the missing pieces I have just asked for.

Tags: forehead, hairline

Pricing for Hairline Lowering with Balloon Expansion?

/by William Rassman, M.D./0 /

(female)Hello Dr. Rassman;

Your website indicated that the cost of a one-time hairline-lowering surgery ranged between $9,000-$11,000. I am curious as to the price if a balloon expansion is necessary.

Thanks in advance

We don’t list a price for that type of procedure on the NHI site, so I assume you’re talking about a past posting on this site. The cost of the hairline lowering surgery is around $15,000 plus the cost of the balloon expander (usually about $1000). This includes multiple visits per week for balloon inflation with saline until the balloon reaches its final point of inflation. Balloon expanders are rarely needed for lowering the hairline.

Tags: hairline lowering, balloon, expander, hair loss, hair loss, hairline

I Have DUPA — Can I Transplant My Beard Hair to the Scalp?

/by William Rassman, M.D./0 /, ,

i was wondering if a person like myself with DUPA had a strong beard would if be possible to transplant it to the scalp and if so how much coverage would i get?

Such a transplant (beard to scalp) would technically work, but to what master design is the question! The character of beard hair is different than scalp hair.

You’d need to come in for a consultation and let me look at the many variables. With your goals clearly defined, we can discuss not only using beard hair, but perhaps even leg, chest, arm, and pubic hair as well. I generally do not recommend body hair transplants, but in a case of DUPA (diffuse unpatterned alopecia), things are different. Generally though, the hair of DUPA patients is so thin that you may not get what you need from other body parts.

Tags: dupa, diffuse unpatterned alopecia, hairloss, hair loss, bht

FUE2 for Body Hair?

/by William Rassman, M.D./0 /,

Dr. Rassman,

You mentioned a couple of weeks ago that with Follicular Unit Extraction Enhanced (FUE2) that you should be able to successfully transplant body hair. When do you expect to experiment with this type of body hair procedure?

Thanks

When a patient comes in and requests it, I will test biopsy him with the FUE² first. No such patient has come forth yet.

Tags: fue, fue2, bht, hair transplant, hairloss, hair loss, body hair

Can I Get Body Hair Transplants If I Want to Keep My Hair Short Forever?

/by William Rassman, M.D./0 /,

Hi Dr.Rassman,
I see one of your recent post talks about transplanting leg hair to the chest. You mentioned also that you could transplant leghair to the scalp. Say you did a Fue2 procedure, coudln’t you reasonably get a LARGE amount of graphs using both legs if needed and the back of your head to fill in basically your entire head and then you could just have a shaved buzz cut for the rest of your life? I would not mind having to shave my head for the rest of my life for a fact as long as I know stubble would be up there!

I have discussed body hair transplants before (see posts about BHT). I would want to know why you felt that body hair was better than scalp hair. The growth success reflects the growth cycle and the sleep cycle of body and leg hairs such that far less than 90% growth occurs at any one time. Plus, the character of the two hairs (scalp and body) are quite different. And then, you’re saying you could make decisions about hair styling for the rest of your life. These are things you really need to consider.

Make an appointment with a competent and knowledgeable doctor if you are serious.

Tags: body hair, leg hair, hair transplant, hairtransplant, fue, bht, hairloss, hair loss

Transplanting Leg Hair to the Chest?

/by William Rassman, M.D./0 /,

Hi,

I’m 42 y/o male.I have heard about harvesting body hair for the scalp, but what about harvesting body hair for the body? It seems to make sense as it is the same type of hair (I.e,. leg or back hair for the chest) but many websites say that bodyhair transplants come from the scalp and that the hair must be trimmed a few times a months. Is there a reason that they do not use body hair. I looked and could not find anything about this on your bog. Thanks

You can move your own hair from one place to another on your body. Yes, from your leg to your chest should work as well as from your leg to the scalp or the scalp to your leg. The leg hair is shorter and there is a 50% telogen phase for all hair follicles, which in the leg ranges from 3-6 months. If the anagen phase is comparable, it would mean that you get to show only about 50% of what you got at any one time, but I am skeptical of any numbers I see, so just remember that hairs on the leg are short and short lived (growth, that is).

Tags: leg hair, chest hair, hair transplant, hairtransplant, hair loss, hairloss, chest, body hair, bht

Armpit Hair Transplant?

/by William Rassman, M.D./1 /,

Thank you for taking the time to read this. I am almost 30 years old and have NEVER NEVER EVER grown a thick patch of hair under my underarms. I am really insecure about this and would love to know more information about my options for any type of procedure. This is very serious because me over anyalzing it everyday is affecting me. I am married and my wife does not care, but I do. I do not grow facial hair that much either but I am ok with that. I just would love to have a full patch of hair under both my underarms. It would be a dream of mine. Thanks again for reading.

ArmpitAlthough not a procedure we would usually do, hair can absolutely be transplanted to your underarm (armpit) area. If we would use scalp hair for this type of procedure, it will have the characteristics of scalp hair. The good news is that the glands that come with it should not put out much perspiration so lack of deodorant shouldn’t be an issue. Pubic hair would work, but again it is different than scalp hair. I would want to assess your hair characteristics if we meet (as you indicated you are local to my Los Angeles office, this would be good use of your time).

The underarms normally have apocrine glands (producing the odor that drives women crazy). From Wikipedia — “These glands produce sweat that contain organic molecules (lipids and proteins) and pheromones. Mainly present on the face, in the armpits, and around the genital area, their activity is the main cause of sweat odor, due to the bacteria that break down the organic compounds in the sweat.”

You can call 800-NEW-HAIR or fill out our form to be contacted and we’ll setup a free consultation with myself or Dr Pak so the issue you’re having can be examined and a plan for getting your underarms hairier can be made.

Tags: bht, hair transplant, underarm, armpit, axilla, oxter, hair loss, hairloss, hairtransplant, body hair

Removing the Testicles to Manage Hair Loss?

/by William Rassman, M.D./1 /

I understand that a orchiectomy is an effective, though drastic, way of preventing baldness. I am thinking of having it done. Will the reduction of testosterone result in the loss of facial hair, i.e.- a beard?

Someone asked me a similar question a little over a year ago — here. It is an obviously extreme method of hair loss prevention, but I don’t think that you will find an ethical surgeon to remove your testicles just so you can manage your hair loss and lose your beard. Don’t take what I say here as gospel word for word.

Tags: orchiectomy, testicle, hairloss, hair loss

70 Year Old Missing Pubic Hair

/by William Rassman, M.D./0 /, ,

(female) I am 70 years young and I would really like to grow my pubic hair which has almost disappeared. how can it be done

A hair transplant works nicely for pubic hair and age should not be a problem provided that the donor area is healthy. It will be taken from the scalp and you can make it as dense as you like. Pubic hair transplants are very common in Asia.

Tags: hair loss, hairloss, pubic, pubic hair, age

Doctor is Rude and Arrogant Beyond Description

/by William Rassman, M.D./1 /

JerkI saw a patient this week who had a flap surgery some years ago, leading him to develop a deep hatred for his surgeon. He explained that the surgeon’s lobby had two doors and two waiting areas — one for new patients and one for the established patients, to keep them separated in his office. When he went in for his first consultation, each time he wanted to ask a question, the doctor interrupted him and said, “No questions please.” He was told what he was going to have done and based upon some belief that this doctor had special skills, he accepted the doctor’s advice. On the day of the surgery the doctor’s patient segregation failed, and a previous patient of that doctor was able to warn him to not go through the procedure, adding, “You will regret it for life.” Although it scared him, he went through the process nevertheless and ended up a mess and by not heeding the warning, he now regrets it every day he looks in the mirror.

His flaps were disabling and he told me it made him feel like Eddie Munster (the character from the 60s TV series). When he complained to that doctor about the loss of hair along the sides and the huge scars in the back of the head and neck, his doctor seemed annoyed, but nevertheless suggested some balloon expanders for his head to create another flap in the front. When the balloon came out and the new flap was created for transfer, he saw the surgeon toss a huge amount of leftover hair into the garbage. He asked, “Why are you throwing out those hairs“, and the surgeon responded that the hair, “would not grow anyway, so no point in keeping it“.

He has since learned much about what he should expect from a doctor and now lives with a freaky set of problems that I will try to partly repair. I was amazed to hear his story about his surgeon and by only calling the surgeon arrogant, I am being courteous. Folks, please, if your doctor is unwilling to listen to you or answer your questions, consider choosing another doctor. Open dialog and a good doctor/patient relationship are very important. And as I’ve often said, ask the doctor to meet with past patients, not only to see their results live and in person, but also to get their take on the experience. Hopefully you can avoid this from ever happening to you.

Tags: hair flap, hairloss, hair loss, doctor, physician, rude, arrogant, hair transplant