Before
After
A useful amount of native hair was still present across the frontal region and mid-scalp before surgery. The recipient area therefore required graft placement between and around existing follicles, rather than reconstruction of a largely bare frontal scalp.
The patient had not used finasteride or minoxidil before transplantation. Both treatments were started after surgery to support the native hair that remained.
Case summary
| Clinical detail | This case |
|---|---|
| Norwood stage before surgery | Norwood IIIA |
| Technique | FUE |
| Total grafts | 3,078 |
| Transplanted hair count | At least 6,368 |
| Single-hair grafts | 756 |
| Double-hair grafts | 1,354 |
| Multi-hair grafts | 968 |
| Treatment areas | Frontal region and mid-scalp |
| Crown transplanted | No |
| Follow-up shown | 10 months |
| Previous finasteride/minoxidil use | No |
| Finasteride after surgery | Yes |
| Minoxidil after surgery | Yes |
Across our case library, follicular units containing three or more hairs are described as multi-hair grafts.
Treatment planning
Before surgery, the hair loss was classified as Norwood IIIA.
Transplanting into an area that still has hair
Existing follicles were still growing throughout parts of the frontal region and mid-scalp.
That changes recipient-site planning. The position and direction of useful native hairs need to be taken into account when deciding where new grafts can be placed.
The purpose of the transplant was to add coverage while preserving hair that was still contributing to the patient’s appearance.
This is clinically different from placing grafts across a recipient area where most native hair has already disappeared.
Why 3,078 grafts?
The starting condition helps explain that number. The patient already had native hair distributed through parts of the treatment area, so the procedure added transplanted density to an existing framework.
A patient receiving around 3,000 grafts between existing hairs can therefore have a very different treatment plan from someone receiving 4,000 or more grafts across a much larger bare surface.
See our hair transplant results library to compare graft counts, transplanted hair counts, treatment areas and follow-up periods across documented cases.
Graft composition
The 3,078 transplanted grafts consisted of 756 single-hair grafts, 1,354 double-hair grafts and 968 multi-hair grafts.
Based on the recorded composition, the procedure involved at least 6,368 individual hairs:
- 756 single-hair grafts contributed 756 hairs
- 1,354 double-hair grafts contributed 2,708 hairs
- 968 multi-hair grafts contributed at least 2,904 hairs
The true number may have been higher because our multi-hair category includes follicular units containing three or more hairs.
Across our case library, we do not assign exact retrospective graft counts to the frontal region, mid-scalp or crown when treatment-zone boundaries overlap. Doing so would imply a level of precision that the surgical distribution does not support.
Was the crown transplanted?
No. The crown was not grafted; all 3,078 grafts went to the frontal region and mid-scalp, where they were placed between existing native hair.
The 10-month result
At 10 months, the follow-up photograph shows substantially greater visible frontal coverage.
The hair is styled back and away from the forehead, which keeps the frontal result visible instead of using a forward hairstyle to conceal the area.
The follow-up photograph was taken from a somewhat different angle, and the hair is considerably longer than in the pre-operative image. Those differences affect how coverage appears, so the photographs cannot provide an exact measurement of density gain or graft survival.
The frontal area can be assessed reasonably well from this view. The mid-scalp was also treated, but the photograph does not show that entire region.
Further maturation may still occur beyond the 10-month point.
Finasteride and minoxidil after surgery
The patient had not used finasteride or minoxidil before transplantation and started both after surgery.
Because native hair remained inside the treated areas, medical treatment forms part of the context when interpreting the follow-up appearance.
For a fuller example of how post-operative finasteride and minoxidil can affect the interpretation of existing native hair, see our 3,853-graft FUE case with post-operative medical treatment.
What this case shows
A graft count only makes sense next to the scalp it went into. Here, 3,078 grafts carrying at least 6,368 hairs (756 single, 1,354 double and 968 multi-hair units) were placed between native hairs that were still worth keeping, so the transplant added density to hair the patient already had.
The same number on a largely bare frontal scalp would be a different plan altogether. Finasteride and minoxidil were also started after surgery, so the 10-month photograph shows the transplant and the treated native hair together.
Dr. Mesut Demir’s note
“A useful amount of native hair was still present in the frontal region and mid-scalp. We planned the recipient sites around follicles that were worth preserving, taking their position and direction into account.
When you work between existing hairs, the recipient area has to be planned differently from a largely empty scalp. The goal is to add coverage without treating the patient’s remaining hair as expendable.
He also started finasteride and minoxidil after surgery to support the native hair that remained.”
Dr. Mesut Demir · Pure Line, Istanbul
About this result
This page documents an individual patient’s result at 10 months.
Individual results vary with donor capacity, hair characteristics, hair loss progression, healing and treatment.
The photographs document this patient’s outcome and should not be interpreted as a guarantee that another patient will achieve the same result.
The patient gave written consent for these photographs to be published.
Information about medication on this page describes this individual’s treatment history and is not a recommendation or prescription for another patient. Medication decisions should be made individually with an appropriate clinician.
Medically reviewed by Dr. Mesut Demir, M.D. ·
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