While most hair loss is caused by a hereditary condition called male-pattern and female-pattern baldness, some cases may be caused by more serious medical conditions.
According to the Mayo Clinic, there are many medical conditions that can be at the root of your hair loss problems. I’ve outlined some of the more common hair loss causing medical conditions below.
Thyroid problems/Hormonal imbalance: Many individuals don’t realize the important role hormones play in hair growth. When our hormones are imbalanced or going through rapid changes, this can cause our hair to thin, fall out, and even stop growing all together! Constant hormone imbalance can be a sign of a thyroid condition.
Alopecia Areata: Alopecia is a medical condition in which a patient’s immune system attacks their own hair follicles. This causes smooth bald patches to present on the scalp.
Infection: Although we don’t often think of our scalp being the same thing as our skin, our scalp is in fact made up of epidermis and dermis. Our scalp is therefore susceptible to infections, just like the rest of our skin. Infections can penetrate the scalp and cause patches of hair loss.
Chronic illnesses: Any ongoing chronic illness can cause hair loss. More serious conditions such as heavy metal poisoning, sarcoidosis, autoimmune disorders, cancer, and lupus can cause hair to become brittle and fall out.
Medications: Hair loss can be a side effect of certain medications. Drugs used to treat arthritis, depression, heart issues, high blood pressure, and even birth control have been shown to cause hair loss.
Think your hair loss might be caused by a more serious underlying condition? Dr. Yazdan specializes in the medical management of hair loss. Upon reviewing medical history and patient records, as well as testing and analyzing a small sample of the patient’s hair follicle and scalp tissue, he can determine the cause of your hair loss. Give us a call for a consultation and find out what’s causing your hair loss today.
Tag Archives: fut
Am I a Candidate for a FUE or FUT Hair Transplant?
If you are pursuing a hair replacement surgery, you’ve likely considered a FUE or FUT hair transplant. But how do you know which is right for you?
Dr. Amir Yazdan discusses who is a better candidate for follicular unit extraction (FUE) vs strip (FUT) hair transplant harvesting when performing hair transplant surgery. Both procedures can be very effective but there are issues that determine if a patient is better for one procedure versus another.
With FUE hair transplantation the follicular units of 1-4 hairs are excised one at a time using a very small (.7-.9mm), precise circular scalpel. The incision is so tiny that when the wound heals there is virtually no visible scar. This is particularly popular for patients who have less hair loss and want to keep their hair very short.
Patient’s with more hair loss and desire more hair transplanted in a single session may prefer the FUT strip excision method. With a narrow strip a large amount of hair can be extracted at one time and with microscopic graft dissection the hair grafts are prepared by size. With modern tricophytic donor closure the scar is very fine and easily covered by the existing donor hair.
FUE vs FUT Hair Transplant Procedures – What’s the Difference?
Many patients are confused by the various hair transplant techniques and who is a good candidate for which procedure.
Orange County hair transplant surgeon Dr. Amir Yazdan explains who is the best candidate for FUE vs FUT. Although there are many specific reasons a patient will have one procedure versus another the decision is typically based on two criteria.
A patient who is best qualified for follicular unit extraction (FUE) #1 wants to keep their hair very short in the back and doesn’t want even a very thin scar to be visible and #2 needs usually 2000 grafts or less.
A patient that typically has strip FUT hair transplantation #1 does not keep his/her hair short in the back and #2 needs more than 2000 hair grafts in a single session.
In Dr. Yazdan’s Orange County and Las Vegas offices he will review all options including medical treatments during your consultation and together you will make a decision based on multiple factors prior to hair transplant surgery.
