Many potential patients want to know what happens during a hair transplant consultation. Well, when we see a patient for a consultation, one of the things we have to consider most carefully when considering their suitability for a hair transplant is how much more hair they are likely to lose. Hair loss is a progressive condition that does not strike in one fell swoop. We will often refer to the Norwood Scale to easily pinpoint what stage of hair loss a man occupies.
If a man comes to us at too young an age – in his early twenties, for example – in most cases we’d advise him that it’s best to abandon the desire for a transplant for a few more years. Otherwise, due to the progressive nature of hair loss and more hair rapidly being lost, a hair transplant today will not cover the hair thinning that could occur a year from now. Instead, for young men and women, we would recommend starting with medical management, by way of finasteride and minoxidil, to control shedding and decelerate hair loss.
Hair restoration shampoos like groMD can also help reduce shedding and protect and nourish the scalp. Other options include platelet-rich plasma (PRP) therapy, a breakthrough non-surgical hair restoration treatment that has been known to stimulate cell regrowth and reduce the effects of pattern hair loss.
There are various things that we look for when we see a patient to determine the cause of the hair loss. However, as the majority of cases that we see relate to male pattern baldness (MPB), a condition that upwards of 70 percent of men will experience in their lifetime, we employ a state-of-the-art genetic and chemical testing kit to examine all aspects of a person’s androgenic alopecia.
Two small swabs are rubbed against the inside of the patient’s cheek and packed off to a lab for analysis. The results will tell us whether the patient has a particular genetic combination which makes it more likely that he’ll lose hair. Of course, it goes without saying that there is room for error in the test, and the results should never be taken as gospel, but it can give us a pretty good indication of what the future looks like for your hairline.
Combined with a careful examination of the patient’s locks, and a chat about their family history of hair loss, we can determine how much more hair the patient is likely to lose, and where the hair is likely to recede. The test can’t be used to conclusively prove that a patient will or will not lose his hair, but it’s a good, additional indicator that proves we’re on the right track in our consultations.
Dr. Amir Yazdan, MD, is an internationally renowned hair transplant surgeon, expert guest on Dr. Phil and The Doctors, creator of the GroMD hair restoration product line, ISHRS member, accredited member of the IAHRS and a visceral advocate for patient care. Learn more about Dr. Yazdan or read rave reviews from his patients.
