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Dear Vanessa-  In general hair transplants cannot restore volume overall, rather to some specific areas.  In cases such as yours, laser light therapy may be effective in restoring density.

It would certainly be best to not go swimming for the first week while you have sutures in where the graft donor site is, but once the sutures come out and the graft donor site is fully healed, which would be in seven to ten days, there is no reason why you could not go swimming as you did before. Just to let you know, in general, the ocean is considered a cleaner place to swim than a pool which has more bacteria. However, after seven to ten days it is not going to matter whether you are in a pool or in the ocean, you can swim as you did prior to the transplant.

Posted by Dr. Galitz

Patients can receive a hair transplant with a majority of different dermatologic conditions. It is always best if the condition can be better controlled with medication, but if not, the procedure can still be performed. Posted by Jeffrey S. Epstein, MD, FACS

Thomas, Just in this past month’s Hair Transplant Forum, the official publication of the International Society of Hair Restoration Surgery, an article I wrote on different reparative techniques , focusing on the FUE extraction and linear graft excision techniques, appeared as the cover story.

With the FUE extraction technique, when performed properly, I find that typically 60 to as many as 90% of the hairs we attempt to remove can in fact be successfully extracted- and the advantage is that with these very small punches, scarring is actually minimized.

I am not sure what this other doctor is referring to as “graft excision” but I am assuming extraction of the grafts using a larger punch, say 1.5 to 2.5 mm (vs. 0.8 to 1.0 mm for FUE), which can then be sutured closed- however, without a doubt, this creates increased, not decreased, scarring, due to the linear excision of these grafts. I have seen this many times, and is the reason I now use primarily the FUE extraction technique. The other possible procedure he is referring to as “graft excision” may be an actual linear elliptical shaped incision which is then sutured closed- an no one has performed more of these procedures than I, and in fact I know that many doctors recommend against this technique without knowing how effective it is when performed properly.

Hope this all helps.

Posted by Jeffrey S. Epstein, MD, FACS

The incidence of side effects with the use of Propecia is documented as 1% - 2% of patients who take the medication.  The side effects are generally sexually related and most commonly involve a lowering or a decrease in the patient's libido and/or sex drive.

There are a significant amount of patients who claim to have a side effect that probably falls into the placebo category.  There have been many studies in the past that have shown that more patients in the placebo group will complain of side effects than patients in the group that are taking the actual medication.

Yes. There has been relatively equal data showing that there is no difference in the efficacy in both Rogaine/Minoxidil and Propecia/Finasteride in regards to the prevention of male pattern baldness or androgenetic alopecia.  I personally have had many African American patients over the years taking either one of those two products or both together have had equally successful results in those patients as compared to those patients that are non-African American.

A variety of treatments are available for you. These include Propecia, laser light therapy, optimal scalp and hair care, and Rogaine

Posted by Jeffrey Epstein, MD, FACS