I've had a couple of consultations but none of them actually use a tool or device to measure donor hair for number and quality. They basically just do a quick visual assessment and then give their feedback. I'd like to have a consultation where my donor area is assessed in more detail. There must be doctors or clinics who put more emphasis on donor assessment area during a consultation. Do you know of any that perform these measurements as a standard part of their consultation?
Which doctors/clinics actually measure donor area?
- Thread starter Jim2026
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You're right that a glance isn't enough. The tool is a densitometer, or digital trichoscopy with a dermatoscope, and it gives the things that decide your plan: hairs per square cm in the donor, how they cluster into follicular units, and shaft thickness.
The part a visual misses is miniaturization in the donor itself. If those hairs are already thinning, the area isn't as permanent as it looks and harvesting it hard can leave it sparse for good. That's the finding that changes everything, and you only get it by measuring.
So rather than hunt for a name, ask each clinic flat out: do you run densitometry or trichoscopy as standard, and do you check the donor for miniaturization, not just count grafts? Ask to see the numbers. The good ones show you without fuss. The ones who eyeball it and jump to a big graft figure are answering you anyway.
The part a visual misses is miniaturization in the donor itself. If those hairs are already thinning, the area isn't as permanent as it looks and harvesting it hard can leave it sparse for good. That's the finding that changes everything, and you only get it by measuring.
So rather than hunt for a name, ask each clinic flat out: do you run densitometry or trichoscopy as standard, and do you check the donor for miniaturization, not just count grafts? Ask to see the numbers. The good ones show you without fuss. The ones who eyeball it and jump to a big graft figure are answering you anyway.