Doctor Won’t Transplant Me Until I’ve Taken Propecia for a Year

I met with a doctor in Madison Wisconsin, Dr. Gencheff.

I am 21 years old, soon to be 22. He advised me to start taking Propecia first to “stabilize” because he said young men can have an “shock loss” if transplantation is performed without it. This was in December 2005. It’s been 6 months roughtly since I started the drug. I actually take “Finpecia” which is a generic finasteride. I think it is working to slow down the process, but I can’t tell the full results yet. I will continue to take it as long as i need. He mentioned that transplanting in the crown area is not a good idea. I am not exactly sure why, i think he said its because you don’t know how far its going to progress. All in all, he said I had good hair to transplant with, but he said he wouldnt operate on me until I had taken Finasteride for at least a year. Is it possible to transplant in the crown area? By the way, i think he diagnosed me as a future 5a. The mid scalp is thicker as well as the front hairline. Thank you for your help, I may be seeing you soon.

From your brief description, I agree with your doctor that you should be on Propecia for a reasonable amount of time before resorting to a hair transplant surgery — especially at the age of 21. Your doctor seems to be looking out more for your interest than his own bank account, which is definitely a good thing. I often write on BaldingBlog about the “Master Plan” of a life long goal of maintaining a desirable head of hair, rather than just achieving a quick fix. If you are indeed a future Norwood 5A (assuming you are a Norwood 3A now) then it would be wise to see how much Propecia can slow, stop, or even reverse the hair loss process. Maybe you will be lucky and reverse some of the process you are now experiencing. I look forward to seeing you in San Jose and would be happy to map out your scalp for miniaturization, trying to outline where you may be going with the balding process.