Is Shock Loss Always Certain Without Taking Propecia?

Hi Doctor, im a 20 year old male and am going to get a transplant in a couple of weeks. The doctor is in India and seems to be pretty good. But my main question is regarding shock loss. in one of your posts you said that without taking propecia, shock loss could be permanent in the transplanted or balding area. is that a 100% case. If it’s temporary,what can be done to prevent or lessen it because if suddenly after shock loss there is nice coverage then people would be able to tell that something has been done. that defeats the whole purpose of a transplant. your opinion….

Shock loss, as was referred to in previous posts, is a state of losing miniaturized hair in the recipient area that could be seen after hair transplant surgery. It also can accelerate hair loss that occurs in prone individuals who are young (like you). Its occurrence is multi-factorial and may have to do with the patient’s individual susceptibility, degree of miniaturization, type and extent of surgery, and clearly, age. Some patients may never show shock and the loss may be negligible. As stated previously, using Propecia (finasteride 1mg) significantly reduced the rate of shock loss in our practice, and we recommend it to all of our male patients before surgery.

I have concerns that at the age of 20, without taking finasteride daily for a year or so, a hair transplant is something you may regret. I would strongly recommend that you not have a transplant without giving the medication a year to see what it would do. You have your whole life to do a transplant, but you can not undo it once it is done.