Tag Archives: FUE hair transplant

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Avoiding a Botched Hair Transplant

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The good thing about hair restoration is that it’s permanent and the bad thing can be that its permanent.
A Hair Transplant can be a life-changing procedure. A full head of thick luscious hair can take decades off your life giving you a youthful you! Unfortunately, there are plenty of horror stories and gruesome photos when it comes to botched hair restoration surgeries. A number of factors can lead to unsatisfactory results, which range from unnatural looking and poor longevity to embarrassing skin damage. Almost always, this can be attributed to the inexperience of the physician. Let’s look at some major factors that could potentially go wrong if you’re not cautious in your planning..
Over-harvesting
Over-harvesting happens when too much hair is taken from the donor site and unfortunately is almost a non-correctable problem.  In this case, a recommended solution would be Scalp Micropigmentation (SMP) done to the area that is depleted. Transplanting grafts into the depleted area is possible but extremely difficult and labor intensive. Dr. Yazdan has strict guidelines for safe extraction numbers and routinely performs this technique on depleted donor areas with strip scars and over-harvesting. Although this does not bring the hair back, it will help tremendously on making the area look as natural as possible.
Scarring
Large linear scars are a result of the Strip method. Scarring is something that is common to have happen with improper experience from a doctor and can be caused by over-harvesting. When the incision is made at the donor site, if more skin grafts are taken than the elasticity of your skin can handle, causing tension of closure, this makes it hard to stitch the scalp tightly back together resulting in a gapping scar.  If you’re concerned of a botched scar, a safer bet would be the 2nd hair restoration technique which is called FUE (Follicular Unit Extraction) that minimizes scarring as this method is done by extracting grafts individually opposed to taking a strip from the back of the scalp. With FUE there is no linear scar and no stitches are required, so your donor area will be minimally noticeable within just a few days. Dr. Yazdan has done thousands of hair transplants and it takes great effort for anyone to find a donor site scar on his patients.
Failure of Regrowth
This can happen from poor surgical technique. Poor handling of the grafts, and drying out of the grafts. If the donor hair was properly harvested and properly placed, typically 95% or more of the grafts should successfully grow.
Large Punch Size
The larger the punch size, the higher the risk of damaged or dead nearby hair follicles. Your grafts should average only 1-3 hairs which can be accomplished with smaller punch sizes. More recently, many physicians are using a machine or robot, rather, called the Artas which does the extracting of the hair follicles for the surgeon. Multiple problems can occur with the Artas including the use of the larger punch sizes creating permanent damage to the nearby hair follicles. Dr. Yazdan recommends a highly skilled and experienced surgeon who manually does the hair restoration surgery to get both the angle and orientation of the incisions in a way to match the existing native hair, so the results come out looking natural.
Shopping for a Bargain
Going to a budget store is all good if it’s for redecorating your home. It is not something you want to risk your appearance on. This could potentially affect your quality of life and is NOT recommended as this can lead to disastrous results that you may be stuck with. At Modena Hair Institute, our patients take comfort in the security and aesthetic results of their choice.
Bad FUE or Strip hair transplantation planning can lead to unnatural looking results leaving you more self-conscious of your appearance than before you started -Don’t let this happen to you! Picking the right doctor is extremely important, while minimally invasive, it is still a surgical operation that needs to be done by a Board-Certified Surgeon who has a high success rate in order to obtain superb results. A botched surgery can easily be avoided by doing extensive research.
If you have any questions, or would like to schedule a consult please call one of our conveniently located offices in Irvine, Newport Beach, Beverly Hills and Las Vegas 1-888-717-5273


 

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FUE Hair Transplant: How Long Will It Take For My Hair To Regrow?

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Hair growth after surgery is the very first question that may come in mind. Understanding the stages how transplanted hair grows will help to keep expectations realistic.
Every person is different, therefore the rate in which your hair will regrow varies from patient to patient. In our practice, a well performed transplant will see results in as little as 4 months whether you’re acquiring FUE or Strip hair transplant surgery. Newly growing transplanted hairs start to become visible at this time however they are still not in their final stages of thickness and length quite yet.
Dr. Yazdan likes for his patients to come in for a post-op visit at the 1st, 3rd, 6th, and 9th month mark to compare your pre-op photos so we can discuss your progress, but expect to see the full benefits within the first year and maximal cosmetic improvement can be seen within 14-18 months.
“I highly recommend waiting a solid year before arriving at any conclusions as to the success of your hair transplant. At this time, if you’re still unsatisfied with the length and density of your new hair, talk with your surgeon. If you still have doubts, you may need to seek a second opinion.” Says Dr. Yazdan.
Once a hair transplant starts to grow, it will continue to grow until the end of the hair cycle at a rate of about ½ inch per month. The new hair which has been transplanted grows in cycles and will become fuller and thicker than the donor site over time.
And for optimal results, we like to follow a hair restoration surgery with PRP (Platelet Rich Plasma) or laser therapy which can stimulate hair regrowth tremendously giving you maximal results. Light medical management is also highly desired during the growth period. Medical management consists of non-surgical methods such as minoxidil, finasteride and GroMD hair loss prevention shampoo.
Some might say the hardest part of a hair transplant is after the procedure is finished. Continuously over analyzing and examining each hair follicle, checking the mirror every few hours waiting to see results. Remember, be patient! Good things come to those who wait.
For questions or to schedule a consultation, call one of our offices conveniently located in Irvine, Newport Beach, Beverly Hills and Las Vegas at 888-717-5273 or contact via our website at contact Modena Hair Link

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Eyebrow Transplant: Should You Try It?

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Eyebrows are more important than ever before! With todays fashion trend, its all about the thicker, fuller eyebrows. The quest for fuller brows has made eyebrow transplants a thing these days. Let’s talk about who would be a good candidate:
Eyebrow loss can occur in both men and women, leaving them unsettled and insecure about their facial appearance. After all, eyebrows frame the upper portion of the face and eye area making this region the first thing people look at. Brow loss is most commonly due to injury or trauma resulting in scars, hormone imbalance, hereditary, aging, yet over-tweezing making the top of the list! Less common factors may be due to an attack of the immune system such as cancer treatment processes like chemotherapy-which for some patients, can be the most emotionally difficult part of the process as hair loss can be a tell-tale sign of an illness present.
Every day people are applying makeup to recreate a new brow or filling in what they once had. Thinning or hair loss of the brow region from overplucking was a common trend in the 90’s, as that was the time overzealous plucking in earlier years often begin to show up as thinning or bald spots. Overplucked eyebrows are one of the most common causes people seek out transplants. More than ever, people are pulling out all the stops to hide the fact that they’ve lost their brows, and often times the hair won’t regrow on its own. Fortunately, there is a Cosmetic treatment now being used for a more long-term solution using modern microsurgical techniques.
Eyebrow Transplantation is a surgical procedure to permanently restore or customize the brows by taking hair from another part of the body such as the back of the scalp and transplanting it to the brow region to create the desired brow shape. This procedure is quite meticulous and takes artistic design for a successful procedure. However, if done incorrectly, can leave you with redness and scaring on the donor site as well as uneven patchy eyebrows.
As with all cosmetic procedures, the key to a natural-looking result is to fully research the surgeon of your choice to get a good idea of the doctors skill when it comes to eyebrow transplants or any kind of hair transplants for that matter. “I can’t stress enough how important it is that patients do their homework ahead of time in finding the right doctor, otherwise they might end up with a botched outcome,” says Dr. Yazdan -whose patients fly in from other areas to seek treatment at his Beverly Hills and Orange County offices. It bears repeating that careful planning and precise angulation of each hair is critical for a successful end result.
Restore the thickness and shape of your eyebrows by calling our office today!
For questions or to schedule a consultation, call one of our offices conveniently located in Irvine, Newport Beach, Beverly Hills and Las Vegas at 888-717-5273 or contact via our website at contact Modena Hair Link

Case Results

Case Study – Botched Strip Transplant Corrected using FUE and Strip Combination

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This patient had a 3,000 graft Strip/FUT hair transplant done previously at another clinic which resulted in an oversized, irregular scar from ear to ear as well as poor results. It also left him with damage to the donor zone and decreased density of hair follicles. While hair transplant surgery is minimally invasive, it takes a highly skilled hair transplant surgeon with advanced equipment and a great team to minimize the probability of a botched surgery like you see in these photos.

The patient wanted to have better results as his hair was still very thin in the hairline all the way back into the crown. Because of the damage done to the patients donor zone in his previous surgery, his density was only about 20 grafts per square centimeter. It was calculated that doing a 2nd strip procedure would only yield roughly 1,000 viable grafts which would not be enough to get the patient dramatic results. It was therefor decided to do a combination of Strip and FUE to maximize the number of grafts we could obtain in 1 surgery.

The large strip scar was excised yielding 1,082 grafts and closed with a better technique improving the overall appearance and leaving him with 1 incisional line vs 2. The FUE method was then used to extract the hair follicles above the Strip scar. A total of 1,043 FUE grafts were extracted resulting in a total of 2,125 grafts. The grafts were then transplanted into the patient hairline, midscalp, and crown as show.

If you’d like to hear more about Strip and FUE combination options and benefits- please feel free to call one of our conveniently located offices in Irvine, Newport Beach, Beverly Hills and Las Vegas 1-888-717-5273

Case Results

Case Study – FUE Hairline Hair Transplant

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This patient came to us after doing lots of research on hair transplantation. This 45 year old male patient desired more density in his hairline and crown. After getting a graft quote and cost estimate, the patient decided to get the hairline done now in one procedure and the crown done in one year from now in a second procedure. Dr. Yazdan transplanted 1500 grafts into the hairline through the FUE method of hair transplantation. Below are before and after pictures illustrating the patient’s results.

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When is it time to start considering a hair transplant?

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The best way to prevent hair loss is to catch it as early as possible. With information widely available on the internet, we’re getting more patients coming to us earlier in their loss. This is great news – since there’s more options available to treat hair loss the sooner the symptoms are recognized.
If you’re one of the growing number of individuals who have caught their hair loss early, you may be wondering when the right time to consider a hair transplant is. The timing of hair transplantation depends on a variety of factors such as age, stage of hair loss, family history of hair loss, cause of hair loss, and so on.
Below, we break a few of the most common contributors to determining your candidacy for hair transplantation to help you figure out the best time to start investing in your hair.
Age
It is not uncommon for individuals to begin noticing signs of hair loss in their early 20s. For these patients, we begin with exploring what we call medical maintenance options. Examples include laser treatment, PRP therapy, prescription medications, and over-the-counter hair loss solutions which can help protect the current hair, ward of future loss, and even reverse hair loss if its recent. We go to these routes first because starting a patient on hair transplantation at such an early age can cause them to have to get multiple surgeries through out their life to maintain their desired look, costing them lots of money and jeopardizing the health of their donor area.
Stage of hair loss
If hair loss is in its beginning stages, it may not be time for a hair transplant just yet. Hair transplantation is most effective in those patients who are in more progressive stages of hair loss. Those in early stages have many options for hair restoration outside of hair transplantation.
Cause of hair loss
There are many causes of hair loss. While the most common is age and genetics, side effects of medications or diseases are pretty common as well. If it is suspected that a medication or disease may be causing your hair loss, it is best to explore this cause more. In some cases, simply changing medications or treating a disease can eliminate the hair loss.
So, when is the right time for surgery? To determine the best time for hair transplantation it is best to meet with an experienced hair restoration surgeon who can do a full analysis of your hair loss and explore all of your options with you. If you’d like to find out if you’re a candidate, give us a call today.

Case Results

Case Study – FUE Receding Hairline Restoration Transplant

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Patient presented with severe receded hairline hair loss, at just age 25. He began noticing the hairline receding at age 16 and noted his father and both grandfathers also have a receded hairline. The severity of his receding aged him and took a toll on his self confidence.

The patient’s hair goals were to restore the hairline with minimal scarring. Upon consultation and comprehensive evaluation, Dr. Yazdan and the patient decided on the FUE method of hair transplantation. FUE transplants produce minimal scarring and supply a sufficient amount of grafts for a hairline restoration procedure.

Hairline restoration cases like these can take anywhere from 500-2500 grafts depending on the severity of the hair loss and the goals of the patient. Dr. Yazdan worked with the patient to design a hairline that look natural, age-appropriate, and mimicked his hairline prior to the hair loss. Pictures show the patient immediately after the FUE hair transplant procedure. Approximately 1800 grafts were used for this procedure.

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The importance of graft placement in hair transplant surgery

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FUE Hair Transplant done by Dr. Amir Yazdan. Individual results vary.
Hair transplant procedures are a great way for those experiencing hair loss to reclaim their hair. Hair transplants allow you to have your own natural hair restored in areas that have been balding for years.
When done properly, your friends and family will never know you had a procedure done. It looks that natural – because it is. Unfortunately, not all hair transplants are done properly.
Some surgeons, whether because of laziness or inexperience, cut corners in hair transplant surgery which can cost patients the results of their procedure, leaving them with what we call a botched hair transplant surgery.
One of the ways in which surgeons can greatly effect the outcome of hair transplant surgery is with graft placement.
In order for the hair transplant to look like naturally growing, young, healthy hair, the grafts must be placed in a natural formation. This way, the transplanted grafts will blend right in with the surrounding native hairs, leaving no one the wiser that you’ve had a restorative procedure done.
Natural-looking graft placement takes time and expertise. It can be quite tolling on the surgeon, as they often have to put strain on their back, put in long hours without breaks, have steady hands, and a meticulous eye.
Inexperienced or lazy hair transplant surgeons rely on the use of machines or technicians to perform the bulk of the surgery and ease the difficultly and strain of high-quality hair transplants. This, unfortunately, causes an increase of risks such as scarring, plug-like looking grafts, damage to hair follicles, and low graft survival rate.
Your prospective hair restoration surgeon shouldn’t cut corners, and neither should you. Make sure that your hair transplant and investment will yield great results by thoroughly researching and asking questions.
Schedule a consultation today to see what your hair transplant could look like.
*Individual results vary.*

Case Results

Case Study – FUT Hair transplant 6 months post-op

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Patient presented with severe receded hairline, front hairline balding, temple balding, and crown balding. Although the patient was only 28 at the time of consultation, his hair loss made him look much older.

The patient’s hair goals were to restore the receded hair line, restore the front hairline to a more youthful level, fill in temples, and fill in the crown. The patient had a healthy donor area, with good hair density and overall healthy, strong hair follicles.

Dr. Yazdan performed an FUT hair transplantation with approximately 3600 grafts. Video and pictures are 6 months post-op.

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Hair transplant surgery as an investment

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Here at Modena, we consider hair transplant surgery a personal investment. And it’s not just because we love what we do.
Hair transplant surgeries involve extracting hair follicles from a ‘donor area,’ (usually the back of the head) and transplanting them into the areas effected by hair loss, also known as the ‘recipient area.’
These transplanted follicles have a very unique trait: they’re permanent. Yep, you heard that right. These transplanted grafts are not subject to the same hair loss the previous recipient zone was. This is because the hair follicles are native to the healthy ‘donor area’ that is not effected by the hair loss.
One thing we’re always sure to explain to our patients is that there is no cure for hair loss. If you’ve been experiencing hair loss thus far in your life, your more than likely to continue experiencing it throughout your life.
This means that while your hair transplant results are permanent, you may see continued hair loss in the native surrounding hairs. For these individuals, multiple hair transplants may be necessary over time to maintain the desired look of the hair.
While we can’t count on our native hair to stick around, we can count on our transplanted hair to. We love to give our patient’s one less thing to worry about. When considering a hair transplant surgery, you don’t have to worry about throwing your money down the drain. Your hair transplant surgery will be an investment that will keep the youthful, healthy appearance of your hair throughout your life.
If you would like to make a personal investment in your hair, give us a call today. We specialize in multiple methods of hair transplant procedures and hair restoration methods.
*Please note that all individual hair transplant results vary case by case. Results are not guaranteed. Schedule a consultation with a hair restoration surgeon to get an idea of your potential results.

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Botched hair transplant surgeries continue to rise

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The rates of botched hair transplant surgeries continue to rise.
Doctors or technicians claiming to be successful hair restoration surgeons boast of their qualifications, abilities, and certifications. They claim you can have double the grafts all in one session. Best of all, you can have it for a steal of a price. This colorful narrative attracts desperate patients seeking a more affordable hair transplant option.
Unfortunately, if it sounds too good to be true, it most likely is. These inexperienced, unqualified doctors trick patients suffering from low self-esteem into compromising their hair transplant results.
Inferior qualifications, lack of experience, and absence of medical regulations abroad equal a recipe for disaster for hair transplant patients. Victims of botched surgeries are often left with unsightly scars, infections, and graft survival failure.

You can reduce your risk of becoming a botched hair transplant surgery victim by researching, asking questions, and weighing the cost-benefit analysis.
Below is a list of questions to ask your potential hair restoration surgeon during a consultation:

  • How many years of experience do you have transplanting hair?
  • Do you use a machine or hand tools to assist you in extracting and placing grafts?
  • What size punch tool do you use?
  • Do you have any before and after pictures?
  • Do you have any testimonials?
  • Are you certified by the ISHRS?
  • Will you be the one actually performing my surgery?
  • What percentage success rate do you have for graft survival and overall successful outcomes for hair transplant surgeries?

Keep in mind that doctors in countries other than the U.S. are not held to same strict medical standards. Getting your surgery abroad greatly increases your risk of having a botched surgery.
Here at Modena, we’ve helped many botched patients restore their hair. If you’ve been the victim of a botched surgery, give us a call for a consultation today.

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How to prepare for your hair transplant consult

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So you’ve decided you want to find out more information about hair transplant surgery. Consultations are the best way to find out more about hair restoration procedures. Most importantly, consults are how you obtain hair transplant price and grafts quotes.
Make sure you get the most out of your consult by preparing for it.
First, do your research.
Make sure that you’ve researched your potential hair transplant surgeon. Are they qualified and experienced? Are they certified by the International Society of Hair Restoration Surgeons? These questions will help you ensure that you’re placing your hair in the right hands.
Additionally, your surgeon should have plenty of before and after photos as well as reviews. These will help give you an idea of their skill ability and what outcomes may be possible for you.
Second, don’t be afraid to ask questions.
There are many methods and techniques in the field of hair restoration. Will your surgeon be doing the procedure by hand or machine? Will the doctor be present throughout the procedure or will a technician be doing the work? What size punch tools will be used? What is his/her success rate for graft survival in hair transplant surgeries? These questions will shine light on the doctor’s process and inform you what to expect.
Third, consider the cost-benefit analysis.
Cheaper is not always better. While a lower price for hair transplant surgery sounds ideal, you often get what you pay for. Most cases of botched hair transplant surgeries come as a result of cutting costs (via traveling abroad for surgery or choosing someone with inferior credentials). While you may save money in the short-term, you’ll end up spending more long-term to fix the botched surgery.
If you’re ready for a hair transplant consult, give us a call today!

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The dangers of getting surgery abroad

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Some individuals who are desperate to get a surgery or procedure done, but find themselves with a lack of funds, seek treatment abroad.
In developing countries, procedures and surgeries can be done for a fraction of the cost compared to here in the U.S. For some, the cheaper price tag outweighs their concerns about the risks of cutting corners.
Whether you’re in the U.S. or abroad, all medical surgeries carry risks. While the risks are usually relatively low, with the benefits far outweighing the risks, in the U.S. the patient is made aware of all potential outcomes prior to partaking in the procedure.
In other countries, things like lack of regulation, lack of sanitary quarters, lack of education and lack of expertise increase the risks of surgery dramatically.
Regulation. In the U.S., we have strict regulations on doctors via the medical board of doctors. There are associations and government run organizations that outline and regulate strict guidelines for how medicine should be practiced. They also outline and regulate the areas in which medical surgeries and procedures can be done, maintaining sanitation. All of these regulations reduce risks of danger to the patient, such as infection and death. These regulations keep the patient safe and help secure the positive outcome of the procedure. In developing countries, they don’t have these same organizations that keep strict guidelines for medical practice. This lack of regulation means increased danger for the patient. Your risk of infection and having a botched surgery increases dramatically.
Education. In the U.S., doctors go through intense training and schooling before being allowed to practice. Additionally, they have to get specific training and maintain current yearly training hours to keep up their knowledge and skills. In other countries, doctors are not held to this same high standard of continuing education. Because they may not be as skilled, they may not know the correct techniques for surgical procedures.
If you find yourself contemplating getting a procedure done abroad, stop and think about the risks that are increasing. While you may save money short-term, you’ll end up spending more long-term to correct a botched surgery. And most importantly, risking your health is not worth any dollar amount.

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How to determine how many grafts you need for hair transplant surgery

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The most common questions regarding hair transplants are how many grafts are needed and how much the procedure will cost.
To get an idea of the cost of your surgery, you’ll first need to get an idea of how many grafts you’ll need. While the cost is not always directly correlated to the graft count, the two numbers are often correlated.
To best answer these questions, you should meet with an experienced and qualified hair transplant surgeon. During a consultation, the stage of hair loss, scalp and follicle health, density of hair coverage, quality of donor area, medical history, and many other factors can be evaluated to give you an accurate idea of the amount of grafts you’ll need.
An additional factor to keep in mind is that hair goals differ from patient to patient. What makes one patient happy may not make another patient happy. These goals definitely play a role in the amount of grafts needed.
For first time patients, scalp hair transplant surgeries typically range between 1,000-3,500 grafts needed. All of the factors above will determine your exact graft count needed.
If you’d like to get a surgical quote to determine how many grafts you’ll need and how much the cost of the procedure will be, give us a call for a free consultation today.
If you’d like to learn more about what factors go into graft count quotes, read here.

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Are you a candidate for hair transplant surgery?

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Hair loss effects over 80% of men over their lifetime and over 50% of women over their lifetime. This common ailment used to have no recourse of solution.
But, thanks to modern advancements in medicine and science, hair transplants are helping men and women all around the world regain their hair.
This life-changing procedure involves extracting grafts from a ‘donor’ area (such as the back of the scalp) and transplanting the grafts into the ‘recipient’ area (aka area of hair loss).
While this procedure has helped so many not only get their hair back, but their confidence and youthfulness as well, unfortunately, not everyone is a good candidate for hair transplantation.
So, how do you know if you’re a candidate for hair transplant surgery or not?
Many factors play a role in determining your candidacy for hair transplantation. Below, are a few of the most prevalent reasons individuals are not ideal candidates for hair transplantation.

  • Gender – while this factor isn’t exclusive (we’ve done many successful female hair transplants), in general, most women are not ideal hair transplant candidates. This is due to the type of hair loss that most women experience. Most women experience diffuse thinning hair loss. While hair transplants can still be successful on patients with diffuse thinning hair loss, it can be more difficult on women due to the length and coverage of the hair.
  • Early stages of hair loss – if you are in the very early stages of hair loss, it may not be best for you to get a hair transplant just yet. Hair transplants don’t treat hair loss. That means you’re your hair loss will continue as you age. You will most likely need another hair transplant to make up for new hair loss. There are many ways to medically manage hair loss and even reverse it in the early stages. Right now, you may be a better candidate for laser therapy or PRP. You can save hair transplantation for later on down the road.
  • A weak donor area – hair transplants require a healthy, full donor area to extract grafts from. If your donor area is weak, this may cause you to not be a good candidate for surgery. The good news is, there are other donor areas besides the back of the scalp that grafts can be extracted from. We have conducted many successful body hair transplants for those with a weak scalp donor area.

Please keep in mind that to determine your actual candidacy for hair transplantation, you should meet with a qualified and experienced hair transplant surgeon. If you are not a candidate for surgery at this time, but are experiencing hair loss, make sure to schedule a medical management consultation so you can maintain your hair and ward off hair loss as long as possible.

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Is FUE hair transplant surgery scarless?

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The FUE method of hair transplant surgery is often referred to as the scarless surgery method. But is FUE really scarless?

FUE surgery was probably first named the scarless method due to the difference in extraction technique from the FUT/Strip method. The FUT/strip method utilizes the excision of a strip of scalp on the back of the head. The grafts are then extracted from this piece of scalp. This method leaves behind a scar where the scalp was excised.
The FUE method utilizes individual graft extraction from the scalp. Each graft is extracted one-by-one directly from the scalp. No scalp excision is required.
While no elongated scar is left behind by the FUE method, there is still a possibility for scarring. This comes from the punches that are being made in the back of the scalp to extract grafts.
That being said, if the FUE method of surgery is done correctly, with the latest advanced extraction tools and advanced skill and technique, scarring can be non-existent or at least non-visible to the naked eye.
According to Dr. Amir Yazdan, many hair transplant practices are utilizing a punch tool that is much too large and increases the risk for scarring. He states that most practices use a 1.0-2.0 mm punch to extract grafts. This is much larger than the 0.7 mm punch he uses at Modena Hair Center.
Why don’t they use a smaller punch tool? Dr. Yazdan states, “the smaller the tool the more skill that is required to properly extract the grafts. Not only do many physicians lack this level of skill, but so do robotic hair transplant assistants like the Neograft and Artas. These machines are notorious for leaving very visible punch scars.”
If you are interested in the FUE method of surgery and are hoping for the most scarless outcome possible, make sure to research your potential surgeon thoroughly. You’ll want to make sure they do the procedure by hand (not through robotic assistance), they are certified and registered as a hair transplant surgeon by the International Society of Hair Restoration Surgeons, and they have plenty of experience.
If you’d like to schedule a consultation with Dr. Amir Yazdan, give us a call today.

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Risks of FUE hair transplant mega-sessions

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FUE hair transplant mega-sessions consist of extracting and placing 4,000+ grafts in a single procedure. This is much more than the usual 1,000-3,500 that is extracted and placed in a typical FUE hair transplant procedure.
With a higher number of grafts extracted in one sitting, the risks of shock loss, scarring, and low-graft survival rate increase. Below, I break down how each of these risks is increased by an FUE mega-session.
Shock loss – What’s important to understand is that any surgical procedure is a type of trauma that the body endures. Your surrounding follicles are affected by the extraction and placement of grafts in the scalp tissue. If certain surrounding hairs in both the donor and recipient zones are weak and nearing the end of their life cycle, it’s possible the trauma of surgery could push them over the edge. This means they may be permanently shed through a condition called shock loss. During FUE mega-sessions, this surgical trauma is amplified. More grafts are extracted and placed which means more of the surrounding hairs are susceptible to shock loss.
Scarring – The FUE method of hair transplantation consists of each graft being hand extracted one-by-one. While tedious, it offers natural looking hair transplant results with minimal scarring. Anywhere from 1,000-3,000 grafts are comfortably and safely extracted during FUE. Much more than that and the low risk of scarring is negated. This is because the donor area is getting completed depleted in order to sustain the high number of grafts needed. This creates more scar tissue which means visible scarring and decreased hair growth returning in the donor area.
Low-graft survival rate – The longer grafts are out of the scalp, the greater the likelihood they will not survive once transplanted. Due to the nature of mega-sessions and the extended amount of time they take to complete, grafts tend to be sitting outside of the scalp for a longer period of time. Additionally, grafts are extremely fragile and sensitive. Mega-sessions don’t often allow time and space for the quality of care needed to maintain the health and safety of the grafts. Any damage to the graft and it will not survive once transplanted. It is believed by many experienced hair transplant surgeons that less than half of all transplanted grafts in a mega-session survive.
So how do we achieve high graft hair transplants for those patients who need it without doing a mega-session?
When a high number of grafts are needed to achieve the desired density and fullness the patient wants in their hair, it is often better to utilize multiple surgeries over time. This allows the scalp to heal and newly transplanted follicles to grow naturally and fully.
This in turn yields better results over time, as shock loss is reduced, scarring is minimal to non-existent, and graft survival rate is high.  You are much more likely to see the full results of a high graft FUE hair transplant if the surgery is split up.
If you’d like to learn more about the FUE method of hair transplantation and get a graft and price quote for your specific hair needs, give us a call for a free consultation today.

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Do FUE hair transplant mega-sessions work?

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Recently there has been a trend in hair transplant centers offering FUE mega-sessions. FUE mega-sessions consist of offering 4,000+ grafts extracted and placed in one sitting.
This is much more than the typical 1,000-3,500 grafts that are usually extracted and placed in a typical FUE procedure.
Many individuals assume the more grafts extracted and placed, the better. But more does not always equal better, as is the case with FUE hair transplants.
With a higher number of grafts extracted in one sitting, the risks of shock loss, scarring, and low-graft survival rate increase. In another article, I break down how each of these risks is increased by an FUE mega-session.
Obviously, increased hair loss, scarring, and minimal graft survival are not desirable hair transplant results. The likelihood of good results with a mega-session just doesn’t outweigh the likelihood of bad results.
So how do we achieve high graft hair transplants for those patients who need it without doing a mega-session?
When a high number of grafts are needed to achieve the desired density and fullness the patient wants in their hair, it is often better to utilize multiple surgeries over time. This allows the scalp to heal and newly transplanted follicles to grow naturally and fully.
This in turn yields better results over time, as shock loss is reduced, scarring is minimal to non-existent, and graft survival rate is high.  You are much more likely to see the full results of a high graft FUE hair transplant if the surgery is split up.
Something else to keep in mind when evaluating FUE mega-sessions is the honesty and transparency that may be lacking in surgeons offering these procedures. I recently met with a patient who had a quote from a hair transplant surgeon for a 10,000 graft FUE mega-session. This graft count is clearly inflated. It is frankly not possible to extract 10,000 grafts in one sitting, let alone produce a successful hair transplant. This surgeon is banking on the lack of education in his potential patients.
Your best defense in avoiding scams and botched surgeries like these is to do your research.  Make sure your surgeon is a U.S. medical doctor, you’ve read reviews and evaluated before and after pictures, and they are certified by the ISHRS with many years of experience.
If you’d like to learn more about the FUE method of hair transplantation and get a graft and price quote for your specific hair needs, give us a call for a free consultation today.