Dr Lam's Hair Restoration Forum

[ravimanohar]

Dear sir,
My question was regarding,
will you prescribe minoxidil and finasteride after transplantation,if so from when and how long it should be taken and how it helps transplanted hair.

[dr. lam]

yes, minoxidil and finasteride always help to support hair in many ways:
1. they work to slow down hair loss to limit need for further transplants or at least delay them.
2. they work to limit the chance of postoperative shedding in those that have a lot of vellus or miniaturized hairs. typically it is good to start minoxidil for 6 weeks to 3 months and for added protection finasteride for 4 to 6 months before having a transplant.
3. the minoxidil can add more robust blood supply that could theoretically (but not proven) to enhance graft growth so for a few weeks to a few months before the procedure ongoing until 6 months after the procedure using minoxidil can be a great idea. we do stop 2 days before surgery and restart 7 days afterward to limit bleeding and irritation, respectively.

[ravimanohar]

thanks for the reply,
how many months it will take to see complete growth of transplanted hairs to skin level.

[dr. lam]

18 months. watch this video to understand this in detail:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zkiDIMWzuRA

[ravimanohar]

Dear sir
My uncle wants to get Ht done.He works in mining company in underground(temp more than 40 deg) at least about 3-4 hrs per day.He is concerned about graft uptake.Will it effect result after HT.If so howmany days he should not work undergroung in high temperatures?
Please suggest.

[dr. lam]

that should not hurt his growth. to be safe, i would take a week off from work if possible. hope that helps.
best,
sml

[ravimanohar]

thanks for the reply.
Is DHI better than Strip?How is different from strip method in terms of graft uptake(quality of grafts) and density of the recepient area that can be achieved and maximum number of grafts that can done in a single sitting.
Is DHI done with single follicle unit grafts?
Please let me know your expertise opinion.
thanks
Ravi

[dr. lam]

DHI, i believe you mean FUE, follicular unit extraction. if you want to know my thoughts on it, read this page i prepared:
http://www.hairtx.com/procedures/follicular-unit-extraction/

[ravimanohar]

Dear doctor
how you desigh the hairline.I mean the degree of angles,number of rows of single hair grafts and needle gauge-19 or 20 and density(you densly pack with single hairs?)

[dr. lam]

the hairline is made with very low angles like 10 to 30 degree angles, all straight forward with no bending. however, i do practice something called convergence (check my blog section and search for convergence) in which hairs are angled slightly inward so that they don't splay open. i also work to make a very nicely (but not too excessively) staggered frontal hairline that looks natural. i use 1 to 2 rows of 1 hair grafts tightly packed followed by 2 hair grafts that define the remainder of the hairline. in short, i create technically precise but artistically beautiful hairlines.
sml

[ravimanohar]

Thanks for the reply.
May i know wheather you use 19 or 20 guage needle for designing hairline.

[dr. lam]

both. it depends on whether the 1-hairs fit into a 20G but in general they do. 19G is generally used for 2-hair grafts. however, over the past 1.5 years i have been using micro-punches that are even more amazing than needles since i remove a small amount of bald skin. i have been tremendously happy with the results even more than with needles if the person is the right candidate, i.e., that person does not have any hair there since removal of bald scalp will risk removing good hair if there are any there to be found.
best,
sml

[ravimanohar]

thanks for the quick reply.

[dr. lam]

my pleasure.