Age 37 male. Is 800 grafts will be enough to add density ? (photos)

Dear Zefoha33,

Thank you for your question. 800 grafts is way too low for that area; I’d say about 1,600-1,800. Due to vascular limitations there is a limit to how many grafts may be placed into any particular area. Hair restoration is an interesting specialty in that zero training is required to call yourself a “hair transplant surgeon” other than medical school and 1 or 2 years of general medical work afterwards. The overwhelming majority of hair restoration surgeons actually have zero surgical training. I’m a board certified facial plastic surgeon, and I can tell you in 7 years of post-medical school surgery training I saw zero hair restoration procedures. Look for a physician with years of dedication solely to the field of hair restoration surgery. A surgeon who performs many different types of surgery and has somewhat recently (eg: less than 2 years) acquired a NeoGraft machine or similar device is not an expert in hair restoration surgery.  Quite the opposite, I find that many cosmetic surgeons are jumping into the field with promises of big money from performing hair restoration. 



There are hundreds of subtleties and nuances in hair restoration surgery, very few of which can be understood by purchasing a device to perform follicular unit extraction (FUE). The main group for the most accomplished and successful hair restoration surgeons is the International Alliance of Hair Restoration Surgeons. With this group, each physician is vetted by the organization individually with office visits and a thorough review of the physician and practice. There are about 70 physicians that have been admitted to this prestigious group in the USA. At a minimum your hair restoration surgeon should belong to the International Society of Hair Restoration Surgery, which is an educational group for physicians serious about the specialty of hair restoration surgery. There are 297 physicians in the USA who are members. Any physician may apply and gain admittance, and the yearly dues are minimal, so if your doctor is a member of neither, it’s safe to assume he or she is not as serious about hair restoration surgery as he or she could be. With something as permanent as a hair restoration, it’s on the patient to do the research and find a competent, ethical physician to perform their hair restoration procedure.







I hope this information is helpful to you.







Kind Regards,





Ken Anderson, MD





Anderson Center for Hair





Atlanta, Georgia, USA

You need to see a doctor for an examination and discuss your expectations with the doctor.  800 graft will not likely give you density especially when you continue to lose hair.

Thank you for your question.



Based upon the photos that you included with your question, I think that 800 grafts would be a little light to provide you with the density that I believe you are expecting and hoping for.  With that said, 800 grafts may help to provide a little more density, but if you are looking for fullness I believe you would need many more grafts than that (at least double that amount).  



With good surgical technique and expertise, I don't expect that there will be any damage to your existing hair follicles.  Shock loss, although temporary, can occur and I like to inform patients pre-operatively that somewhere between 1/3 - 2/3 of the hairs transplanted can undergo a shedding phase.  Furthermore, full growth following a hair transplant procedure can take 9-12 months.  



If you are seriously considering a hair transplant procedure, I would recommend consulting with a board-certified plastic surgeon who specializes in the various hair restoration techniques.  When done properly and on good candidates, hair transplant satisfaction rates are exceedingly high and in my experience have been one of the most rewarding procedures I can offer patients.  I hope you find this helpful and I wish you the best of luck.

From what I can see from the photos you provided, you need a transplant on your front, mid and vertex areas. 800 grafts is not a sufficient number of grafts to achieve  satisfactory results.  I recommed a professional consultation with an experienced for an accurate surgical plan and estimate of the grafts necessary considering your calculated density, density, hair caliber and number of hairs per follicle

That area deserves about 1500-2000 grafts.

Having said that, there is nothing wrong in doing 800 grafts. You will lack density, but you may still get an improvement. Grafts are going nowhere unless they are wasted, so doing less grafts than needed does no harm.

I would consider getting a few in person consults with established hair clinics.  This would be a good way to get more details and options in a case like this.

From what I see, 800 grafts is a bit light. I would put about 1300-1500 grafts into that sized balding area

I wouldn't think that 800 grafts would be enough to get you any kind of density at all. I would personally suggest a minimum of 1500 grafts. 2000-2500 grafts would be ideal though to restructure your hairline and give it good density. Shock loss can occur at times but it is not common so you shouldn't see any hair loss caused by the procedure itself. There is definitely space to transplant the follicles in and around your existing hair. I would suggest doing this in 2 sessions with a maximum of 2500 grafts to start. You can then reassess after 6 months or so to see if you feel the need to add more hair to any area. Also anything over 2500 grafts is what is called a mega session and can start to decrease the take rate of the transplanted hairs so I just prefer to not do more then 2500 grafts at a time, so we don't waste those precious babies that we are transplanting. Asking questions is necessary to make sure that you find the right hair transplant surgeon for you. Hair Transplant can be one of the most rewarding procedures for both men and women. The procedure from start to finish is not simply a financial investment in yourself, but also an investment in time. Full cycle growth from the initial hair transplant procedure to fullness of growth takes 9 months to 1 year, so choosing a hair restoration specialist the first time around is absolutely essential, otherwise your journey to thicker and fuller hair could take more than a few years.I hope this helps.