The Cole hair transplant group now offers Platelet Rich Plasma (PRP) to his patients. Platelet rich plasma, (PRP) is derived from the patient’s own blood and is rich in growth factors. Because it is derived from the blood, it is termed autologous and is safe. It is a cell based therapy using the patients own growth factors. The growth factors are concentrated however. The concentration of platelets is increased often over 5 times their natural concentration. This results in a super concentration of beneficial growth factors. The benefits of this therapy have been understood for years in many disciplines of medicine, but only recently have they been applied to hair restoration surgery and hair restoration in general. There are numerous reports that PRP promotes faster healing, but it is still to early to say that it increases hair coverage or a higher yield of graft growth.
I have been recommended 600 to 1000 grafts to the front. I would like to know what is the highest density and graft count with more aggressive density on the front hairline. I would like to have the front hairline to be suitable for a 36yo that is not on meds.
You can go with the maximal density, but I’ve seen many patients from physicians who claim to place 70 to 100 grafts per sq cm that are growing 20 grafts per sq cm. One of two things occurred. One is that the patients received 20 grafts per sq cm, which is not likely. The other is that they received 60 to 70 grafts per sq cm and they lost 50 grafts per sq cm because the placed density was much higher than their scalp could tolerate. There are studies out there showing that densities of 40 per sq cm grow only 73%. I like to keep my maximal density between 40 and 50 per sq cm because I have seen consistent growth rates above 90% in my hands. The other problem with poor growth from an attempt to achieve maximal density is that it may poison the scalp for future surgery and nothing may grow subsequently. It is best to stick with a safe density of 45 per sq cm on the hair line and in the rest of the scalp. This seems to work best for my patients. It’s not as if 70 per sq cm will not grow in some patients. The problem is that you cannot tell which patients it will grow in and which patients it will not grow in. The only way to tell is to try it and if it does not work, the patient is in real trouble.
I heard the tern “Donor Recharging”, what does it means?
CIT donor recharging is a method of preparation where each extracted scalp follicular unit is replaced with a body hair follicular unit. The exchange of these grafts isn’t always one for one but the purpose of CIT donor recharging is to replete the donor area and help the donor area from being too thinned from harvesting with hair transplant. CIT donor recharging also stimulates the production of melanin, a pigment in the donor area. Donor recharging allows patients with higher degrees of hair loss to maximize their scalp hair donor supply and fill-in the absence of extracted follicular units. The results with donor recharging are subject to the same limitations as BHT and results cannot be guaranteed. CIT donor recharging results vary from patient to patient and the appearance of the results is unpredictable.
Resources:
Click here to read more about donor recharging
Donor After 6,000g Harvested with donor Recharging
This video demonstration was taken during live hair transplant surgery with one of Dr. Cole’s patients. With strip harvesting or traditional FUE, the patients are very limited in their personal appearance and have difficulties getting back to normal daily activities because they are asked to shave their head.
Shaving the head allows the physician to have high visibility of the donor area which is necessary for donor hair extraction. With the new C2G technique, the patients are able to keep their normal hair style before and after the CIT technique!
Now patients can have the best of both worlds. They no longer have to put up with the pain associated with strip scars and they can still maintain their normal hair style.
My mother had esophageal band surgery a couple of years ago due to her excessive weight problem. Following this she has noted progressive hair loss and a change in her personality. I’ve read that band surgery and stomach stapling can cause hair loss. Is this true?
Bariatric (Weight Loss) Surgery: Metabolic, nutritional, psychological and physiological Consequences Bariatric or weight loss surgeries have become commonplace in the USA and in other countries, in part due to an ever increasing incidence of obesity in the context of a societal standard of beauty that emphasizes a thin, shapely physique. Lobbying by various organizations, as well as medical studies detailing the present and future consequences of untreated obesity, has led to insurance coverage for these surgeries, which were previously deemed “cosmeticâ€. This article will detail some of the physical and mental aspects of the often rapid weight loss which occurs after bariatric surgery.
The bariatric surgery community utilizes a number of procedures to promote rapid and hopefully permanent weight loss. Some of the earlier methods have been abandoned or modified due to unacceptable morbidity in the post-operative period, both immediate and long-term. Currently used techniques most often decrease absorption of calories or promote early satiety (feeling of fullness), or some combination of the two.
Unfortunately, the decreased absorption of calories is accompanied by decreased absorption of macro- and micro-nutrients. This often leads to nutritional deficiencies of varying degrees of severity. Sometimes these deficiencies may go undetected for some time, until they have had a profound effect on the patient. Many of these deficiencies can be very difficult to treat (refractory) once established. They may cause significant derangement in the patient’s physical, mental and emotional health.
