How many grafts will I need to fill in the temple area? I do understand that the hair loss would worsen over time (Photo)

Question

Just curious how many grafts will I need to fill in the temple area, I do understand that the hair loss will worsen over time but I'm just curious how many grafts I will need now?

Jonathan Pontell, MD, FACS · Answer

Hi and thanks for your question.  I would say between 1250 and 1500 grafts would be good.  Good luck.

Levent Acar, MD · Answer

To make a good hair transplant for your case, it should also redraw the front line so that your temples will have natural looking.You may need 1500 - 2000 grafts for a good density.

Tim Neavin, MD · Answer

Thank you for the photo.  It's hard to tell for sure without an in person exam but in my experience anything less than 1,000 is insufficient.  I'd shoot for 1,500 to incorporate good blending to counteract future thinning.

Jae Pak, MD · Answer

It is not in your interest to look good only for "NOW".  If you have surgery to fill in the temples it may take 600 to 1000 grafts.  But if you have further hair loss in a year or two, there may be a GAP that forms and you will look WORSE.  You will end up "chasing" your hair loss with more surgery and never being satisfied with the results.  You need a Master Plan (a long term plan) so that you don't look like a "freak" and regret having surgery.

Marco Barusco, MD · Answer

Based on the pictures, you look young and still have a strong hairline. In cases such as yours, in my opinion the best option is not to commit to hair transplants just yet. Instead, if you are noticing your hair thinning or receding, you should consult with a hair specialist in your area to discuss medical treatments to maintain your hair and slow down the hair loss.

Parsa Mohebi, MD, FISHRS · Answer

It is not an easy question to answer and it has to do with the hairline that matches your other facial features. It is best to determine the number of grafts after an evaluation by an experienced doctor including a microscopic evaluation that shows your future hair loss.

Ryan Welter, MD · Answer

Hair restoration in the temple area is very common.  Unfortunately this area of the scalp does not respond as well to conservative therapy such as Rogaine and Propecia and I frequently transplant this area.  It is also one of the first places to recede.  It is important to know the rate of your hair loss and your family history to know what might be transplanted in this area.  If you continue to lose hair, you must plan ahead and either conserve grafts for future surgery or transplant behind your existing hair line.  It's difficult from the pictures you provided to calculate an area.  Generally speaking prior to transplant, we calculate the square centimeters to be transplanted and then apply a density to that area (say 30 grafts/square centimeter) and that provides a graft count.  With FUE it is easy to extract a matching amount of hair, so the process is made very straightforward.  From the pictures, it looks like you have about 4-5 sq cm on each side which would require about 500 grafts per side.

Amiya Prasad, MD - Account Suspended · Answer

Thank
you for your question. As a surgeon who has been performing hair transplants
for over 20 years, I believe I can lend some insight on this matter. I’m a Board-certified cosmetic surgeon
and also the founder of the Trichostem Hair Regeneration centers, which offer
non-surgical hair loss solutions.

First
and foremost, there are some physiological realities you need to understand
before deciding on a hair transplant, with the first being coverage. Keep in
mind that the donor area, which is the area at the back of the scalp where hair
grafts are harvested from, is very limited by nature. In addition, hair has a
certain diameter and thickness, and as such, thicker and darker hair will
provide better coverage than finer and lighter hair.

When we
do hair transplants, we map out how many grafts we can potentially harvest from
the donor area to place into a square centimeter of scalp where hair loss in
apparent. Ideally, you will need 40-50 grafts per square centimeter to achieve
natural density, but the circumference of skin needed to ensure hair graft
survival greatly limits this. In my practice, we can’t put more than 20 grafts in one square centimeter.
Many doctors will claim that they can place 50-100 grafts in a square centimeter,
which is technically possible, but does not ensure hair graft survival in the
long run. In many cases, in order to achieve natural-looking results, a patient
may need to undergo more than one transplant.

This is
a source of frustration for both doctor and patient. When you add continued
hair loss into the picture, the number of grafts, number of sessions, and the
longevity of the procedure all remain open questions.

In my
practice, we’ve developed a non-surgical hair loss solution called
Hair Regeneration. This treatment makes use of a wound-healing technology
called extracellular matrix which is administered via injection directly into
the thinning area. Results have shown a reversal in hair thinning, even in
patients who have active thinning. We’ve also
seen a decrease in the number of hair transplants that we perform. In fact,
with the right candidate, the yield and coverage of Hair Regeneration will
exceed the results of two hair transplant procedures. For people with smooth
scalps and haven't had any hair for more than 3 to 5 years, a hair transplant
is still necessary to put hair back in those areas.

In your
case, if you are adamant about a hair transplant, I think you should first
pursue stabilization of hair loss, whether by means of hair loss medication
such as finasteride or a technology like Hair Regeneration. You may be unhappy
with the receding temple now, but you'll be much more unhappy with an
artificial-looking or “pluggy-looking” temple.

Keep in
mind also that hair transplantations are limited—even
with the best technical execution, and with the use of wound-healing materials
like Acell and extracellular matrix, it's still a limited procedure.

I hope
that was helpful and I wish you the best of luck! Thank you for your question.

This personalized video answer to your question is posted on RealSelf
and on YouTube. To provide you with a personal and expert response, we use the
image(s) you submitted on RealSelf in the video, but with respect to your
privacy, we only show the body feature in question so you are not personally
identifiable. If you prefer not to have your video question visible on YouTube,
please contact us.

Michael Meshkin, MD - Account Suspended · Answer

You can do hair transplant to restore your temples and also the frontal hair line to match it.  For a small area in the front, we use ultra refined microscopic technique and cut the grafts into one and two hair units to dense pack and give a very natural appearance.  In your case you may need 1000 to 1200 grafts to achieve a very natural result.

William Rassman, MD (retired) · Answer

First of all, you should see a doctor and consider the drug Propecia if he diagnosis genetic hair loss. You did not state your age, but for those men under the age of 30, this drug is remarkable for stopping the hair loss and possibly reversing it without surgery.The best way to determine how many grafts you might need for a given amount of balding, is either see a doctor, get an examination and then an estimate from the doctor, or if you want to do it on your own, go to the web reference below and find someone out of over 1000 men who has your hair loss pattern and see how many grafts it took to fill it in,

How many grafts will I need to fill in the temple area? I do understand that the hair loss would worsen over time (Photo)

Answers (10)

More Hair Transplant Questions

Is it possible to physically "feel" the growth of the hair transplants after 5 months?

Is it okay to use gel and hair concealer after hair transplant?

How long after a hair-implant can I engage in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu training?

Procapil after HT? (Photo)

Maximum amount of grafts possible to transplant at top of head?

How much will the average cost be for 1000 grafts?

WE SEND PRETTY
EMAILS