Tuesday 15 December 2015

Treating Sufferers of Diffuse Hair Loss              

When a person visits a hair loss clinic to have their thinning hair assessed, they usually tend to either have lost an excessive amount within a limited sized surface area such as at their frontal hairline or within their crown; Or they have lost some hair over a very large surface area which is known as “diffuse thinning”.
When an excessive amount of thinning has occurred within a limited area these clients make fantastic candidates for hair transplantation surgery. The reason is because the total number of follicular unit grafts obtained from one procedure is always low compared to the total number of they may have lost in their life up to know. 
As an example, a male who is a Norwood 6 on the Norwood hair loss scale may have lost as many as 30,000 or more hairs. If this male was to have a hair transplant and obtain a massive number such as 6000 grafts (around 13,000 total hairs) on the day of surgery, this number will give them a significant improvement but it will not restore their density on top to even half of what it used to be. Therefore a person that has only lost hair within a smaller surface area can obtain great value from a hair transplant. This is because the graft number obtained will be sufficient to give the area a final density which at least looks comparable to what it used to be.

hair loss treatment, hair loss in women

Excessively bald areas such as an empty section within the crown or a receded hairline will not respond to treatments such as medication or PRP because these only aim to stimulate existing weak hairs to become thicker. If there is no hair within these regions only hair transplantation will work.Diffuse thinning which is common in females is where a large surface area has lost a visible percentage of its overall density. Hair still exists but they each tend to look weaker and not contain as many hairs per square cm as they may contain within their thicker and healthier donor region.

hair loss in women, hair loss treatmentBecause a person with diffuse thinning still has a reasonable amount of hair and the fact that a large surface area is impacted, it makes treatments such as medication and/or PRP as better alternatives. The reason for this as explained earlier, is because medication only benefits existing weak hairs when it comes to the potential of adding more density. A person with diffuse thinning has many weak hairs which may increase in shaft diameter if they respond to medication or PRP. These treatments can also benefit a large surface area which makes them ideal for sufferers of diffuse hair loss.
In stating the above it does not mean that hair transplantation surgery can never be recommended by a hair transplant surgeon to a client with diffuse hair loss. It all comes down to what level of density has been lost. An earlier stage client should expect to be recommended medication and/or PRP as a positive response is likely which should satisfy the client.
A sufferer in the more advanced stages of diffuse pattern hair loss is unlikely to respond to PRP or medication to a level that will satisfy them. Therefore hair transplantation surgery is recommended in this situation.

Determining which treatment is ideal is best done by speaking with an experienced hair transplant surgeon in a face to face consultation. 

Monday 30 November 2015

PRP Treatment in Sydney

The number of enquirers received in relation to PRP treatment is always increasing at Newin Institute - especially in Sydney. Whether it be for hair loss, joint treatment or facial rejuvenation treatment, more and more people are becoming aware of the benefits of PRP. The term PRP stands for “Platelet Rich Plasma” and involves separating the components of blood, extracting the platelets from the blood that contain growth factors and after a few other procedural steps concludes by having the PRP injected into the treatment area.

At Newin Institute about 3 in every 4 patients notice the real benefits of PRP. It may be a thickening of their weak hairs, pain relief within their treated joints or healthier and more glowing skin. The positive word of mouth and common mention from new clients that they personally know one of our satisfied PRP Sydney patients who recommended Dr Rhett Bosnich, explains why the popularity of PRP treatment at Newin Institute just keeps growing.
Dr Rhett Bosnich consults clients and performs PRP injections in Sydney on a regular basis. Our Sydney consulting/treatment rooms are located in Pyrmont which is located only a few minutes drive from the Sydney CBD or a 20 minute walk from Town Hall train station.

If you are interested in PRP for hair loss, Hairline Feminisation Surgery or joint pain relief you can have an appointment with Dr Rhett Bosnich in Melbourne or Sydney. Simply call us on 03 9693 2200

Monday 2 November 2015

Hair transplant: Why there is a recommended minimum age for surgery


Is there an ideal age for a hair transplant surgery? This is a question that is often asked by the younger clients who come into hair loss clinics usually within the earlier stages of hair loss wanting to rebuild the shape of their receded frontal hairline. In answer to the question on whether there is a minimum age the answer is yes. The preferred minimum is 25 years of age however 30 years or older is preferred. Why is this? Let’s explain this in detail:
1. Difficulty in forecasting long term hair loss



When being assessed for a hair transplant surgery there are two important things that need to be determined during the consultation. The first is the number of grafts that they require right now in order to treat the thinning area and secondly the number of grafts (via additional hair transplantation) that they may require over the long term as they lose more hair.


As an example, a 23 year old male wan
t hair loss treatment to thicken and recreate their frontal hairline back to what it looked like a few years earlier. As far as treating the area is concerned, it may be estimated that he needs 2500 grafts to complete the transplant properly. So giving them the result that they are after is not difficult. However the inability to forecast how much hair they may lose over the next 15 years can create a problem in the longer term. Donor hair is in limited supply because whatever is extracted for surgery does not grow back. If it was evident that the patient was going to become completely bald within 15 years, the hair transplant surgeon is going to be more conservative with the hairline position (meaning that the hairline would be positioned higher up in order to reduce total surface area on top). A strong probability of being completely bald also means that more total grafts will be required during their lifetime to maintain some level of coverage over the top.

If it concluded that a patient will end up with a very bald area the Doctor must decline requests for too much density or a very low hairline as this will severely deplete donor hair supply for future surgeries. Forecasting long term hair loss is very difficult in a 23 year old and quite easy in an older patient that is in their 30s.
2. Unrealistic Expectations in Young Patients




Young patients in their early 20s still hold onto the glimmer of hope that they can bring back the level of density as well as the hairline shape that they had during their teenage years. To them it was only a few years ago when they owned such a thick head of hair so they figure it is still possible and reasonable to request this during their consultation. Hair transplant patients generally end up with a hair transplantation density that is around 40% as thick as the density per cm of their donor region. To put things in perspective a completely bald man with a newly created frontal hairline and a medium density will be very satisfied because it is a significant improvement to what they had for so many years.

The young patient who ends up with a medium density 15-18 months after the surgery will express that they are not satisfied with their result and will blame a lack of growth. But the real reason for not being happy is a lower density compared to what they used to have and to what they were hoping to achieve. This is unrealistic expectation. Sometimes clients come in with a photo of David Beckham and ask, “Can you make my hair look like this?”... Enough said.

A young male will often demand a low hairline as well as a thick density. There are two main concerns about agreeing to this. The first is that the low hairline may suit them in the short term but will look very unnatural as they enter their 40s and 50s which can become a giveaway that they had surgery. The fact is that the older male will have a higher positioned frontal hairline in most cases. Along with this a low hairline increases their total surface area on top limiting the overall density they are capable of achieving should they need additional procedures in the future.

The other issue in relation to wanting a high density comes down to supply and demand. If 3000 grafts were dense packed within the frontal third of their scalp and they require more surgery, it may be possible that 5000 grafts is the most they can extract over their lifetime. This leaves only 2000 grafts to treat the remaining two thirds of their scalp which will produce a density that is only 33% of the frontal third that was initially transplanted at a high density. If a patient is going to transplant the whole top they will want to maintain a relatively consistent density from front to back. They certainly don’t want one region to be double or triple the thickness of the remaining transplanted areas.

3. Young patients don’t think about the long term

A common mentality is that in 10 years they will not care about their hair anymore and therefore they are living only for today. This is commonly heard when a Doctor Recommends hair loss medication for 12 months before proceeding with hair transplantation surgery. Many young patients who are still in the earlier stages of hair loss convince themselves that they will not lose anymore hair. They notice that the existing hair still looks thick and due to this doubt they could ever lose an extensive amount. Being recommended medication, a high hairline design and a medium density to preserve grafts for later do not interest the young patient. However it is up to the hair transplant surgeon to use their experience and to educate the client properly about all the risks and the potential of longer term hair loss.