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

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

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.



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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.