Hair surgery is ultimately all about math. How many grafts (and thus follicles) can be taken out, and how many can be put back in again. A great pilot survey came out last month that looked at the average scalp density of hair follicles of male hairlines. The numbers were surprisingly low, with an average of 52.1 follicular units per square centimeter in the hairline. We can easily obtain that density with today's technology, given the proper donor/recipient ratio. But the unanswered question is should we?
Given that male pattern hair loss is progressive, and there is always a limited donor supply, in which patients do we "ramp up" to this mean density, and which do we "ramp down" to conserve hair for likely future sessions? I believe answering these questions will be the next new phase for hair surgery.
Comments