Can a Hair Transplant of 800 Grafts Really Make a Difference?

Written by Gregory Pistone, MD on August 14, 2008

I recently had a hair transplant consultation and I was told that 800 grafts placed into my crown area would be all that I need to cover my baldness. After doing research, it doesn’t seem like this amount of grafts would be sufficient to cover the hair loss in my crown which is about the size of a grapefruit. Can 800 grafts really make a difference?
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Your question is a little difficult to answer without knowing specifics. For example, your age, hair color, caliber (diameter of your hair shafts), curl pattern (straight or kinky) and color of your skin. Your age is important because if you are 25 you can expect continued expansion of your bald spot and the necessity for additional procedures, as long as you have sufficient donor area. If you use all your donor area in the back you would have none left for the front. In my practice, I would rarely perform an isolated crown procedure in a young man, before giving him an adequate trial of Propecia/Minoxidil(at least 1 year) and if there was no response I still probably wouldn’t do it because the potential for future hair loss is too great. On the other hand, if you are 50 or 60 with an isolated crown pattern and no hair loss in the front, I would be more likely to do it and move on to the other factors. If your hair color was grey, white or blonde and your skin was white, you would achieve more apparent density with the procedure than if your hair was black because there would be less contrast between your hair and skin. If your hair was high caliber and curly you would again achieve more apparent density because thick curly hair covers much more space than fine, straight hair. These are all factors which a talented surgeon should consider before determining if 800 grafts are sufficient for good coverage.

As a general response, in my experience, 800 grafts rarely would have a substantial effect on a grapefruit-sized crown area. I generally refer to the crown as the “black hole of the scalp” when explaining a procedure to my potential patients. As always, you should get more than one opinion before your procedure. There are many excellent surgeons listed on www.iahrs.org and I suggest you see several before making a decision.

Good luck and be sure to submit additional questions if you are uncertain.

Gregory Pistone, MD
Member, International Alliance of Hair Restoration Surgeons
Member, American Hair Loss Association