Indications

1. The young patient.
2. The active patient.
3. The patient who desires a short hair style.
4. The patient who desire any hair style.
5. The patient who wants the least invasive surgery.
6. The patient who wants a procedure that does no produce a linear scar.
7. Corrective work to the recipient area.
8. Camouflage of old strip scars.
9. Treatment for eyebrow loss, eye lash loss, moustache, underarm hair, or pubic hair or other specialty cases of hair loss.
10. Extensive scarring of the donor region.
11. Tight donor areas.
12. Depleted donor areas.
13. Those desiring the most advanced form of hair restoration surgery.
14. It is the only true stand alone hair transplant.

The Young Patient

The young patient has a much greater potential for hair loss due to androgenetic alopecia. If history has taught us anything in the hair transplant or hair restoration of men and women with hair loss due to androgenetic alopecia, it is the following: hair loss is progressive until the day you die, methods of treatment for hair loss change as individuals age, individual expectations for hair restoration change over time, patient finances are not pre-determined, Individual tendency to live on the brink of debt, patient responsibilities vary according to their present circumstances, the personal view of one's self modifies over time, hair styles vary according to fashion and ones position in life, treatment desires vary over time, and the potential for modern medical advances open many new doors to treatment options for hair loss.

Hair loss is progressive until the day you die

It is very common for us to see individuals that believe their hair loss has stabilized. In fact, many times it will stabilize for several years prior to accelerating again. In other words, hair loss tends to cycle. Individuals will see a massive shedding and hair loss abruptly that subsequently stabilizes. Hair loss may then cease for several years prior to resuming. Others will see a massive and total loss in a short period of time, but this typically occurs to the very young patient who begins to loose his hair in his teens or very early twenties. Individuals often present to the hair restoration surgeon for correction of their hair loss. It is very common for them to say, "my hair loss was abrupt at onset and quite noticeable, but ceased altogether a short time thereafter. They tend to be aggressive in their hair restoration treatment desires through surgical hair transplant. They are more than willing to seek aggressive forms of surgical transplantation in a desire to resolve their hair loss needs. They often accept lower hairlines, wasteful strip harvest techniques and substandard graft preparation. This is a set up for failure later in life.

Surgical hair transplantation in the young patient is like offering candy to a young child. The child is more than willing to accept the tasty treat without considering the consequence to their teeth and overall health. Similarly, the young patient often seeks and accepts hair at all costs without consideration of the future ramifications. A few years later in some and several years later in others, the consequences of these aggressive actions become apparent and the patient is left with a permanent solution to his or her hair loss that may leave them permanently disfigured for the remainder of his or her life.

The supply of donor hair in the strip harvest donor region (the back and sides of the head) is limited. As the hair loss progresses, the supply to demand ratio decreases. Eventually, the demand may out weigh the supply and the patient can be left without adequate donor reserves to treat the demands.

It can be stated with reasonable accuracy that the younger a patient begins to loose his hair, the more advanced the degree of hair loss will be over time. Patients report exceptions to this probability at times. Some state that their father lost the same degree of hair when they were in their early twenties, but did not advance beyond a class 3 with no vertex loss what so ever. While we recognize this possibility and encourage patients to seek a relative that followed their same chronological/historical pattern of hair loss, there is not defined data to support it. Therefore, we persuade all individuals with hair loss early in life to anticipate the worst. This means you may one day develop an advanced degree of hair loss that you would prefer to treat by alternative means. This may include a very short or shaved hair style that would expose a strip linear donor scar.

Methods of hair loss treatment change as individuals age

Your expectations for hair restoration change over time

We have seen one patient we personally treated at age 24. This person had a permanent linear strip scar and desired to simply shave his head and accept his baldness. While this is the exception rather than the rule, it is a probability and one that indicates The only limiting factor was the linear strip scar. Follicular Isolation Technique (FIT) or Follicular Unit Extraction (FUE) is the only extraction method in hair transplantation that does not leave a permanent strip scar and allows the patient to later cut their hair in a very short style.

patient finances are not pre-determined

Individuals cannot predict their economic future. They may find themselves in an industry that declines due to financial hardships such as the struggling airline industry has at the turn of the present century or they may find the geographical region struggles due to a the affects of a particular industry such as the oil industry decline's affect on Texas in the 1980s, or the loss of a factory that supported a city such as closing of Kodak in Rochester, NY. This change in economics may affect a person's future.

Furthermore, individuals with hair loss tend to be embarrassed by their hair loss and seek avenues to conceal their hair loss. This may include a job that allows them to wear a hat, but does not pay well. They might also avoid social situations that expose them to ridicule by their peers. We have heard of individuals who drop out of school due to embarrassment over their hair loss even though they maintained a solid A average. This may have significant ramifications to their financial future and earning capacity.

Hair restoration surgery is not covered by insurance. It is an out of pocket expense and an on going expense due to the progressive nature of hair loss. Therefore, it is imperative that individuals recognize this potential prior to pursuing a hair restoration path. The future financial burdens may exceed the earning capacity of the individual leaving them partly restored and possessing a permanent strip linear donor scar. Once again their options for hair style and method of concealment are severely crippled by the permanent strip linear donor scar.

Individual tendency to live on the brink of debt

Patient responsibilities vary according to their present circumstances

Other times people find themselves with unexpected responsibilities such as a wife, husband, a house full of children, medical bills, aging parents, financial emergencies such as mechanical failures to a car, tuition, etc. Any of these unexpected financial strains can limit one's personal grooming budget. Men in general tend to take care of their families first and themselves last. Women tend to raise their children first while making personal sacrifices. These prevailing trends limit the finances one can devote to themselves. Families might find themselves torn over additional hair restoration procedures and taking care of the family. This often creates a degree of marital strife that is unhealthy to the relationship. If a person suffers from a linear donor scar that cannot be uncovered, it may affect the psychological well being of the individual suffering from it to the point that it impacts their financial future and is harmful to the growth and development of the family. As previously stated, it might affect the earning potential of the individual and have far reaching negative consequences to the family. Alternative hair styles can sometimes resolve the internal conflict and reduce the peril to the family unit. Thus, avoidance of the strip scar has paramount significance to some families. 

• The personal view of one's self modifies over time
• hair styles vary according to fashion and ones position in life
• treatment desires vary over time
• the potential for modern medical advances open many new doors to treatment options for hair loss
• It is the only true stand alone hair transplant

We have noted that body hair can add a significant amount of hair to the overall plan. An average chest and stomach measures approximately 1.5 feet long by 1 foot wide or 22.5 cm long by 15 cm wide. In one instance we estimated that over 40,000 hairs were available for hair transplantation to treat hair loss on the top of the scalp. This can make a significant difference especially to the Norwood Class 5, Norwood Class 6, and the Norwood Class 7 patient. Of course this was an extremely hairy chest and abdomen with a hair density range between 20 and 40 hairs per square centimeter. Hair density on the back of some individuals ranges between 10 and 20 hairs per square centimeter. This too can add a tremendous amount of hair to the hair restoration plan in hair transplantation due to male pattern hair loss. Female pattern hair loss may benefit from leg, pubic, and underarm hair though a woman's legs are often exposed so techniques that limit scarring to a minimum are mandatory.