Hello all, I could not find a sub forum specifically for hair transplants. I'm 38 years old and lost the top part of my hair when I was 18. I went to doctors in the beginning of my transition at age 34 and they took a quick look at my head and said there is no point doing a transplant or taking medication. My top is too barren and there isn't any extra density on the sides and back to compensate with a transplant. That diagnosis hasn't changed since then after years of HRT.
Since then I have felt pretty good going around with hats and growing what's left of my hair.
So I'm okay either way, but still... I am considering to save up in the course of the following years for a possible... "upgrade".
See, those doctors told me transplant is pointless because they assumed I would want a full set of hair. Which of course ideally I would, but what about the next best thing... moving my bald part from the top of my head, to the back of my head?
See, I don't care so much about looking "normative" BUT a bald part at the back of my head looks a lot more feminine than a bald part at the top of my head and as much as hats are nice, I really would like to advance to a point where I can look feminine even when I'm totally naked, it would help with my personal feelings about my body.
So, my questions are:
a. is hair transplant a dependable way to move hair follicles and preserve their health and ability to grow into full length?
b. what is the range of how much do they cost?
c. who and where are the best doctors to do hair transplants who could help me do this weird thing?
To give you some idea of how this could look, here is a video of a youtuber who shaves parts of her head and still looks feminine.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AYiCfa1V6lY
Again, it doesn't look "normative", but that isn't a priority for me. Now, I know shaved doesn't look the same as barren bald no follicles... but I could tattoo the barren parts, and doing a tattoo over a barren top would not look feminine, but doing a tattoo over a barren back I think would look feminine. Plus, here she shaves the sides of her head, and my idea is for me to move hair from the back up top but if possible leave the sides untouched because I LOVE sides hair.
So question d. I guess is:
d. what do you think about my theory? Do you think it could work to make me look more feminine without having to rely on a hat or a wig, even if it does not look normative?
This is an interesting idea. I'd be worried that the procedure would leave scar lines that are totally visible. Also the idea of tattooing in the stubble is interesting too. Stubble does catch light differently than a tattoo though. People will notice that's a tattoo. I'd personally go totally bald and embrace the hats and skull caps if doing the wigs and hats with hair is wearing on you. Your face is totally feminine. You will pass with no hair, I'm pretty sure.
Bari Jo
No, I do not pass without hair+hat or wig. Not at all. I prefer hat+hair or wig over totally bald any day. I'm just wondering if I could upgrade it more to have the option to have hair on top. Would transplanted hair grow full length and thickness?
Oof, alright I misread. I do think your face is lovely though. I don't have the answer to your other question. Perhaps another that has had transplants for quite some time can pipe in.
Isn't there something that is basically a surgically implanted wig you have to have adjusted occasionally? I remember reading that one woman did it after her hair loss was deemed too severe.
There are partial wigs that can be glued with a strong adhesive. Some salons provide services to make a custom one, do the gluing and removal once a month and help with styling. It costs quite a bit more than my normal whole head wigs, like 5-10 times more and the monthly expenses are also heavy. Plus, I once had a wig on my head for two weeks and when I took it off my scalp looked awful. The salon promised me that their wig type breathes better and it won't itch... but I couldn't get them to sign a contract on that, so that together with the high financial cost made me decide to say no to that option. In theory though, they would look much more natural because I could use what's left of my hair together with them (for example, the sides would be completely my own hair and that is one part that wigs have trouble with) and I could wear them most of the time and not see the baldness every day.
I understand there are also procedures to glue synthetic fibers to the scalp, but it is very expensive and you would have to do it again and again as they fall off the head and I also understand there are often problems of allergies, itching and rejection.
Both of these solutions have too heavy prices to justify doing them.
If I can get the top of my head to be full of hair instead of the back, I am hoping it would be a one time thing and then I would just have to do the normal maintenance everyone has to do with their hair.
It all depends though if I can depend on the hairs growing full length and thickness...
I am moving this thread to FFS because often hair transplants are a part of the FFS procedures to cover scars and finish off the look after surgery. From what I have been reading about transplants, they work but normally a strip of skin is removed from the back of the head and the hair is then placed where it's desired one plug at a time. The hair is just like what used to be there and after a while even grows in the same direction surrounding hairs grow. The real question only your surgeon can answer will be is there the hair to gain the desired results. Anyway, look at the FFS section and you should learn more about hair transplant procedures.
Cool, thanks. Might be a good idea to add to the description of FFS group that it is the place to discuss hair transplants. I read the descriptions of all the sub forums and didn't find that specified in any of them.
I am not familiar with hair restoration techniques but is your question if a hair bearing skin flap can be moved from the back of your head to the front? I guess that is possible. BUT if you decide to get an expander implant under your hair bearing skin, that can expand your hair bearing skin with follicles and can solve your problem. I think you should contact Dr Mayer for this procedure to find out what can he do do for you.
Quote from: reborn on October 20, 2017, 09:09:56 PM
I am not familiar with hair restoration techniques but is your question if a hair bearing skin flap can be moved from the back of your head to the front? I guess that is possible. BUT if you decide to get an expander implant under your hair bearing skin, that can expand your hair bearing skin with follicles and can solve your problem. I think you should contact Dr Mayer for this procedure to find out what can he do do for you.
Wow! The Fleming/Mayer technique? I looked at their site and they do some amazing stuff. Having a full head of hair would be ideal of course, but none of the doctors so far told me I have any hope of that, so I would settle with having a full head of hair up top at the expense of baldness at the back if full hair all over is not possible.
Wait, after they move the flap from area A to area B, is it actually possible for the donor area to regrow follicles and then nothing is lost?
Quote from: reborn on October 20, 2017, 09:09:56 PM
I am not familiar with hair restoration techniques but is your question if a hair bearing skin flap can be moved from the back of your head to the front? I guess that is possible. BUT if you decide to get an expander implant under your hair bearing skin, that can expand your hair bearing skin with follicles and can solve your problem. I think you should contact Dr Mayer for this procedure to find out what can he do do for you.
I did some reading about scalp expanders just now and I'm a little confused. Is it just stretching out the coverage area of existing follicles (ending up in thinner hair) or is it somehow tricking the scalp into new fill in growth?
Ruth,
In a skin flap procedure the flap is moved to a new location. When a skin flap is used to fill in a bald spot, the bald area is cut off and a hair-bearing flap is used to fill the defect.
The follicles are a part of the moved flap so after the procedure all of them are in the new location. The location from where the donor skin was taken is sutured shut.
Roll,
Yes, expanders are only used to stretch the hair-bearing skin. The total number of follicles remains the same.
I think that you are wrong zirconia. The total number of follicles increases with tissue expansion as well. Did you already have a consultation with Dr Mayer? Can he solve your problem?
I sent an email yesterday and didn't get a reply yet. I inquired how we could make a consult happen considering I live in Israel, not in Beverly Hills.
I'm going to try and be really strict with my nutrition, use the Hairegen device I bought over a year ago twice a day and be consistent with all health promoting activities such as exercise in the following year, keeping track of my activity with a spreadsheet to make sure I don't forget checking off all activities. I will also save money by not buying any wigs, clothes or junk food outside the house.
I will take pictures of my hair condition monthly.
My plan is to give lifestyle the best possible chance, and to see if it makes any definitive noticeable difference on my hair, while also saving money at the same time for the highly likely situation it doesn't.
If after a year lifestyle works then good, I made myself healthier and saved money.
If it doesn't work, then good, I have been saving money for the best possible procedure I will be able to find. The flap technique sounds promising to me, with or without full hair coverage... if I can at least move the baldness from the top to the back, that will be a substantial upgrade for me.
I wish you the best of luck. Please keep us up to date
Ruth,
I just remembered something.
If you're certain that you'd be happy with an unconventional look, one other thing that might possibly increase your options is body hair transplants. That is, of course, if you do have body hair even on hormone replacement therapy.
I do know some doctors do this. However, I also know it doesn't work for everyone.
The procedure itself is similar to regular follicular unit extraction, but instead of hair from the scalp, hair from other locations is used. It almost certainly wouldn't grow to be as long as scalp hair does, but if you are after a punkish look and can find a doctor with good aesthetics, patience and skill who is willing to work with you, it might still open up some design possibilities.
It's definitely not mainstream, though, so it would be even more important than with conventional procedures to be careful every step of the way.
Here's a question... Suppose the body hair in it's normal place, say, chest or back, would stop growing while on feminizing hormones. If prior to starting HRT the follicles had been transplanted to the head... would they stop growing just as if they were on the torso?
Hi, Roll
Yes, it is a good question. That's actually why I added the caveat "If you do have body hair even on hormone replacement therapy." If I'm not wrong, Ruth has been taking female hormones for some time. Any hair that remains even after the androgens are gone should be more likely to stay viable.
That said, some reports claim that with time the transplanted hair begins to take on the character of other hair originally present in the recipient area. If true, this may mean that provided the hormone treatment is started some time after the transplant procedure it might be less susceptible to the drop in androgens. However, that is definitely a question for someone specialized in the field. I really don't know.
BHI have been slow to respond, but in preliminary emails they think based on the pictures I sent that I am actually a likely candidate...
...which would be such a radical change in status, where all the doctors I have seen so far said there is no hope for me.
We still have some more checking to do first and schedule a skype consult, but I am wondering if it's actually something that is physically possible to do and if the next challenge will be finding a way to pay for it...
Wow I didnt know about the flap thing.
I did hair transplants for my hairline (transferring from the back of the head) in 2014 and took my square hairline to rounded hairline and loved it. They grew very well. Density however is never as good.
I had FFS last year and now I'm planning on having hair transplants AGAIN from the back to fill in over the hairline scar.
I went to Dr. Gabel in Portland, Oregon. he's really good and well renowned.
The hair flap thing sounds interesting.....I wonder if Dr. Gabel has an opinion on it. I'd suggest contacting him too for another opinion maybe.
Good luck!
Quote from: Ruth Ruthless on November 01, 2017, 03:23:47 PM
BHI have been slow to respond, but in preliminary emails they think based on the pictures I sent that I am actually a likely candidate...
...which would be such a radical change in status, where all the doctors I have seen so far said there is no hope for me.
We still have some more checking to do first and schedule a skype consult, but I am wondering if it's actually something that is physically possible to do and if the next challenge will be finding a way to pay for it...
You will be in extremely good hands. If they say it is possible, they will do their best. I am very excited for you. Please keep on posting about your experience
We had our Skype meeting. He said that due to my coronal incision from previous forehead surgery he cannot know via Skype if I am a flap candidate or not, I would have to come over there for a more thorough diagnosis. :(
Quote from: Ruth Ruthless on November 08, 2017, 12:18:48 PM
We had our Skype meeting. He said that due to my coronal incision from previous forehead surgery he cannot know via Skype if I am a flap candidate or not, I would have to come over there for a more thorough diagnosis. :(
That sounds very bad. I guess it has to do with the vascularization of the previously lifted flap for the forehead surgery. How long do you have to wait for the surgery? What is the price? Is it in your price range?
Quote from: reborn on November 08, 2017, 05:16:42 PM
That sounds very bad. I guess it has to do with the vascularization of the previously lifted flap for the forehead surgery. How long do you have to wait for the surgery? What is the price? Is it in your price range?
Which surgery? I already had forehead surgery a year and a half ago which the coronal incision he says might prevent doing a flap.
As for the flap, he said he can't say for sure unless I come there for a physical diagnosis. They didn't give any price, just said he can't give a diagnosis. I'm not inclined to save a ton of money just to come over there and find out I am not a candidate.
I asked them to give me a target price to strive for and they said they need to see me physically first before they can give me a price.
I tried to explain to them that I don't want to lose the money from making a trip and not having enough for the procedure if the answer is positive that I am a flap candidate.
Ask for a best case, worst case price. That will give you a range to shoot for and if you have a little extra, it will cover any surprises. Hopefully the best case would happen and you would have saving for latter in life.
There are many doctors performing the same procedure around the world. You should ask other doctors also
To be honest, I'm losing motivation to go for this procedure, having read this. The high cost together with high risk, especially if I go for someone else... I guess I will have to wait for new technology, and make do with hats and wigs for now.
http://www.plasticsurgerypractice.com/2008/02/is-the-scalp-flap-procedure-really-safe/
QuoteAccording to Jeffrey Epstein, MD, FACS, board-certified facial plastic surgeon and hair-restoration surgeon, and a member of the International Alliance of Hair Restoration Surgeons, many risks and complications are associated with scalp flap procedures, especially when they are performed by a surgeon without extensive experience. Some complications include partial or complete failure of the flap; visible scarring along the hairline or donor area; and most importantly, with further progression of hair loss, the risk of an unnatural appearance.
When asked which hair-restoration technique is the safest, Epstein says, "The gold-standard-microscopic follicular unit grafting in which as many as 8,000 hairs (3,500 grafts) can be transplanted in a single safe procedure."
To my limited understanding most hair transplant procedures for severe (almost seemingly hopeless) hair restorations are done over multiple sessions.
I see no reason why it couldnt be done with FUE or FUT over say 3 sessions grafting 8000 at a time.
It all depends on how confident the surgeon is.
I know a lot of the american and Canadian ones boast that they can do this. Ive seen day by day video blogs of men and women with what seemed like they were beyond the point of no return end up with a full head of hair over multiple sessions.
The other upside of spreading it out over time is it lowers the cost compared to trying something extreme.
*shrug.*
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I went to Dr. Cooley in North Carolina USA (Carolina Dermatology Center). I have had the 2nd of 3 procedures.
Procedure 1 3500 grafts $12,000
Procedure 2 2500 grafts $9,000
Procedure 3 1100 grafts not done yet. May use 400 grafts for eye brows.
My GCS cost was $22,000 and BA 8,000 for comparison.
Procedure 1 gave good results. I had procedure 2 in September so it will take 5 months to get a good idea on how that will help. I was pretty bald on top. I am post op and have no T so no worries about losing any more hair.
Ruth, your face is very pretty.
Quote from: Ruth Ruthless on November 09, 2017, 07:43:46 PM
To be honest, I'm losing motivation to go for this procedure, having read this. The high cost together with high risk, especially if I go for someone else... I guess I will have to wait for new technology, and make do with hats and wigs for now.
http://www.plasticsurgerypractice.com/2008/02/is-the-scalp-flap-procedure-really-safe/
I have been Dr Mayer's patient and I can tell you first hand that he is an extremely good doctor. I would trust him that he will do the procedure right. Maybe the high risk of flap necrosis is the reason he wants to see you in person. I am sure that if he accepts you as a patient you will end up being happy. I wish you the best of luck