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Hair Transplantation
After Age 50
1) When the Time is
Right for Hair
Transplantation
2) When the Older
Man Decides to Seek
Hair Transplantation
3) Physical
Limitations and Hair
Transplantation in
Older Men
4) Realistic Goals
for Hair
Transplantation in
the Older Man
Excellent Results
are the Rule!
Older men with hair
loss can be
confident that age,
in itself, does not
exclude them from
having hair
transplantation. Men
are seldom "too old"
to consider hair
transplantation as a
treatment for hair
loss. Men 50 years
old and older can
usually expect
excellent results
from first-time hair
transplantation.
Excellent results
are common in men
age 70 and older who
decide to have hair
transplantation late
in life.
1) When the Time is
Right for Hair
Transplantation
Male pattern hair
loss can begin at
any age from
adolescence to the
40s and 50s. See
About Hair Loss
for more information
about age and male
pattern hair loss).
Some men choose to
seek treatment early
and maintain a
regimen of treatment
for as long as
progressive hair
loss continues.
Early and continued
treatment by a
physician hair
restoration
specialist helps a
man maintain a
cosmetically
pleasing appearance.
Other men may decide
to accept their hair
loss as a fact of
life and seek no
treatment.
Hair loss that
begins late in life,
or changing
circumstances in a
man's life, may make
hair restoration
desirable or even a
necessity after age
50. It is not
unusual in today's
globalized economy,
for example, for a
man to find it
necessary to change
employment or even
careers at age 50 or
older. Societal
emphasis on
youthfulness may
encourage a man to
maintain an
appearance as
youthful-looking as
his wife's. Some men
may decide they just
want to lose the
look of a balding
man. In any of these
instances, hair
restoration will
contribute to the
appearance that a
man wishes to
present.
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2) When the Older
Man Decides to Seek
Hair Transplantation
The 50+ man who
seeks first-time
hair transplantation
should have a number
of points to discuss
with his physician
hair restoration
specialist. These
include:
A)Hair
transplantation
should aim to
produce
age-appropriate
correction of hair
loss. Most older men
will have modest
goals for hair
restoration; they
will not aim to
achieve the
full-hair look of a
20-year-old man but
rather to improve
the cosmetic
deficiency of
baldness. Goals for
hair restoration
must be frankly
discussed and agreed
upon between the
patient and the
physician hair
restoration
specialist.
B)The amount of
donor hair available
on the patient's
scalp will be an
important factor in
determining what
hair-restoration
goals are
achievable. A
limited amount of
donor hair will
necessarily limit
the number of hair
grafts available for
transplantation to
balding areas of the
scalp. For some
older men,
first-time hair
transplantation may
be their only hair
transplantation if
progressive hair
loss continues to
diminish the
patient's supply of
donor hair; however,
the patient may feel
that results of a
one-time hair
transplantation will
accomplish the goal
he wishes to
achieve. A very
limited supply of
donor hair may lead
the physician hair
restoration
specialist to
recommend against
hair
transplantation. If
a good outcome is
unlikely, the
patient should
accept the
physician's
recommendation
against having the
procedure. The
patient should be
confident that the
physician believes a
good result is
possible.
C)A modest but
usually achievable
hair transplantation
goal for older men
is restoration of a
frontal hairline and
strategic placement
of a limited number
of grafts behind the
hairline to provide
an aesthetic
appearance of
"fullness". This
strategy takes
advantage of the
inability of the
human eye to discern
a difference between
50% density and 100%
density in scalp
hair. The "less is
more" strategy is
one used with a high
rate of success by
skilled physician
hair restoration
specialists. The
patient and
physician must
discuss all options
and agree on a
mutually acceptable
goal for hair
transplantation.
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3) Physical
Limitations and Hair
Transplantation in
Older Men
A man age 55 or
older may have some
chronic medical
conditions that need
to be taken into
account prior to a
surgical procedure
such as hair
transplantation.
Such conditions
seldom pose a
serious risk; taking
account of them
reduces potential
risk. The physician
hair restoration
specialist is a
fully trained
physician who can
take such conditions
into account, and
consult
professionally with
a patient's other
physicians if
necessary.
It is very important
for the patient to
tell the physician
hair restoration
specialist about any
medical conditions,
and about all
medications the
patient is currently
taking or has
recently taken.
Most medical
conditions pose
little risk if the
conditions are
recognized and
appropriate
precautions taken in
the approach to hair
transplantation. For
a patient with a
chronic heart
condition, for
example, hair
transplantation may
be carried out in
two or more shorter
sessions to avoid
the potential stress
of a longer single
session. Medical
conditions that may
indicate the need
for precautions
include heart
disease, high blood
pressure, diabetes,
and bleeding
disorders.
Medications that may
indicate the need
for precautions
include warfarin (Coumadin®)
and aspirin that
reduce the ability
of blood to form
clots.
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4) Realistic Goals
for Hair
Transplantation in
the Older Man
Physician hair
restoration
specialists have
generally found
older men to have
realistic
expectations for the
outcome of hair
transplantation. The
man age 55 or older
will rarely expect
to reverse the
effects of decades
of hair loss. Hair
restoration that
relieves the
cosmetic impairment
of baldness is
usually considered
very satisfactory.
The older man with
minimal hair loss
may wish to achieve
hair transplantation
results comparable
to those realized in
younger men. Whether
or not this goal is
achievable should be
discussed with the
physician hair
restoration
specialist after the
physician has the
results of scalp
examination and
other tests as may
be necessary. The
degree of hair loss,
the amount and
quality of donor
hair, and
anticipated future
hair loss are points
to discuss with the
physician hair
restoration
specialist in regard
to achievable goals
for hair
transplantation.
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