A: The crown can be transplanted first in patients who have very good donor reserves (i.e., high density and good scalp laxity). Otherwise, after a hair restoration procedure to the crown you may not be left with enough hair to complete the front and top if those areas were to bald.

Cosmetically, the front and top are much more important to restore than the back. A careful examination by a trained hair restoration surgeon can tell how much donor hair there is available for a hair transplant.

For more information on this topic, see my publication on surgical planning of hair transplants, “Follicular Transplantation: Patient Evaluation and Surgical Planning.”

A: I perform all the consults myself. I invariably start with a very open ended question as this allows the patient to really express what his/her concerns are and I am often surprised by what I hear.

I agree that the doctor should not have pre-conceived notions about what a patient wants or what he or she is feeling. This doesn’t mean that the doctor can’t advise a patient on what we believe to be the best course of treatment, but we must listen first if we are gong to really help you.

Once the patient has told his story, a thorough history is important to rule out medical conditions – this is essential with women where the diagnosis of androgenetic hair loss is not often clear. A careful exam will enable the physician to see if the patient has sufficient hair resources to match his/her goals.

The specific aesthetic needs of the patient, particularly with respect to hairline design, should be discussed in detail and, most importantly, there should be a long-term plan in the event of further hair loss.

For more extensive information, please read the Follicular Transplantation: Patient Evaluation and Surgical Planning page of the Bernstein Medical – Center for Hair Restoration website.

A: Most likely you have a type of androgenetic alopecia called Diffuse Unpatterned Alopecia (DUPA).

In this hereditary condition, hair thins all over rather than just on the front, top and back as in the more common male pattern baldness.

The fact that the back and sides of your scalp are thinning (the donor area) precludes you from being a candidate for surgery. The diagnosis can be made by observing a high degree of miniaturization (fine hair) in the donor area under a magnifier. This instrument is called a densitometer.

For further information, please read the article:

Bernstein RM, Rassman WR: Follicular Transplantation: Patient Evaluation and Surgical Planning, published in the journal Dermatologic Surgery in 1997. Specifically, read the last part of the article.

A: It depends upon the person’s age, how bald he is likely to become, and the donor supply.

As a general rule, the crown should not be transplanted in a younger person (under 30) as the extent of his balding is hard to predict and crown thinning at this age often suggests that the person will become at least a Norwood 6.

If a person has enough donor hair (i.e. good donor density) and scalp laxity, so that coverage of the entire bald area can be accomplished if the patient becomes a Norwood class 6 (and it is unlikely that he will become a Class 7), then transplanting the crown before the front is reasonable.

If a person has a family history of baldness limited to the crown, even at an advanced age, and the person in question is following this pattern, then earlier treatment of the crown may be considered.

Lastly, if you do treat the crown in a younger person, or one with whom the extent of hair loss is uncertain, the crown should be transplanted with light coverage only. That way a limited amount of hair will be used up in this area and there will be enough left over for the more cosmetically significant top and front of the scalp.

For a complete review of this topic please read: Follicular Transplantation: Patient Evaluation and Surgical Planning. Dermatol Surg 1997; 23: 771-84. A copy in PDF format, and other hair transplant publications, can be downloaded at the Bernstein Medical – Center for Hair Restoration Medical Publications page.

A: A “thin” crown should first be treated with Propecia, as it may thicken the hair to a cosmetically acceptable degree without the need for surgery. If Propecia is ineffective in restoring enough hair, then surgical hair restoration can be considered.

The surgeon must also factor whether or not the patient has enough donor reserves to transplant the front and top part of the scalp if the patient becomes very bald. This is hard to predict in patients who are still in their twenties.

See the paper Follicular Transplantation: Patient Evaluation and Surgical Planning for a more complete discussion.