Dr Lam's Hair Restoration Forum

hi,
obviously, i cannot directly answer your questions since i do not have photos to review. however, if it is just a temple issue, i think about 300 to 500 grafts a side sounds reasonable. however, i have to see where your hairline is and whether you need other work in the central density etc. also, the two hardest things to do well are a female hairline in general and a temple. angles of hairs must be perfect to create a natural result that appears feminine, combable, and natural. watch my videos on that subject. most surgeons do very few female patients. our practice has moved up to about 30% female, which i think is pretty rare across the world to have that.

honestly, if the donor area is harvested with very high precision and significant tumescence to protect nerve and blood supply and careful harvesting, with possibly a trichophytic closure, the wound should heal seamlessly. as far as shedding, yes that is a major concern for women particularly if there is any thinning. if it is just a female hairline lowering or temple lowering, then the odds are a bit better. in any case, i typically like several months on 5% (male strength) rogaine over all areas including the donor area. if you would like to set up a phone consultation with me, just call my office to arrange that when you are ready. 972-312-8188. hope that helps as a start.
best
sml

Hi again,
Still contemplating going in to have a temple hair transplant...thank you for answering my last questions. You are very kind.
I do have one more question.
In your experience...in the donor area or in the recipient area, is there ever any nerve damage done?
I mean...I suffer from head aches and migraines...I expect to have some head ache pain after the surgery; but could I have long term migraine problems because of nerves being cut at the back of the head?
Is there an area to harvest from (that is better for this concern) over say another area?
My surgeon keeps saying he doesn't like to cut too low on the scalp in case I ever wanted to have shorn hair...(which I have never had in my life, and have no intention of ever doing).
I have had straight, long red hair my whole life (with cowlick loaded bangs...ugh!)
I worry about the sensitivity in the temple area as well.
I had botox injections (once) that hit a nerve that ran up above the temples on my scalp and that caused some head aches for a while.
This eventually subsided.
Could I expect the same duration of head ache pain after a temple hair transplant?
I so appreciate your time and expertise on this matter...if I lived remotely closer to your clinic or in the States, I would come see you directly.

hi,
thanks for the follow-up question. although there are obviously no guarantees, i would say that it would be very unusual to have any persistent headache issues after a HT. the nerves in the back are very much protected when i do a transplant through generous use of tumescence, i.e., fluid placed back there to separate the harvesting from the nerves. however, obviously you could have lasting nerve numbness but i have not seen that. i have seen in other clinics lasting pain in the area of harvest due to rapid and poor technique. i have not seen that in my patients. i have fixed other people's pain issues using botox and that has worked well. it seems to burn out the discomfort over time. however, headaches induced by an HT seems very difficult to imagine. as far as the location for the harvest, it would be where i can get the finest hairs and greatest density. that would typically be in the lower area, and i agree that women do not shave their heads so that should be totally fine.
best,
sml

Thank you Dr. Lam.
I am pleasantly surprised at how quickly you respond to questions.
I am also happy to have you mention that since my transplant is in the temple area (and the hairs there are typically fine)...that you of course, would want to harvest similarly fine hairs.
That area is in the lower area eh? (I told you I was Canadian).
My surgeon never mentioned that to me...hmmmn....
Thanks again with regards to the head ache questions!
Now if I could just muster up the courage to do this...and the time needed so nobody knows about it...

my pleasure. you got that correctly.