Hair Loss Forum - Hair transplant graft estimation (2023)

It only takes seconds to estimate roughly how many grafts we need for a hair transplant. I forgot who emailed or posted this first but the idea is that in general we need about "1000 grafts times the norwood scale", so if someone is a norwood 3, then in general he will need about 1000 grafts x 3 = 3000 grafts to cover the area. I have been applying this formula to most pics I have seen online and it is surprisingly accurate.

ipod is located in [NA] and he is available to meet: NO

» If I understand you correctly this guy should have received 1000 x Norwood
» 4 = 4000 grafts? But he only had 2010 grafts.
»
» http://www.hairsite.com/hair-loss/board_entry-id-99378-page-0-order-last_answer-category-2.html

Dear Ipod,
This is a NW4 caucasian patient result (4200 grafts).
http://www.hairsite.com/hair-loss/board_entry-id-49056-page-0-order-time-category-0.html

Of course, one has to factor in other things like -
1. Patient's choice of hairline (the more conservative the hairline, the less the number of grafts).
2. The doctor's philosophy towards hair restorations.
3. The donor availability.

Why I posted was because sometimes such simplistic formulas can mislead prospective patients who may not have done a thorough research.

Consider these 2 NW6 patients. They each have different hair and scalp characteristics. They also have a big difference in terms of the sq cms of the recipient area.

Jiggy
http://www.hairsite.com/hair-loss/board_entry-id-15838.html#p15838

NW6
http://www.hairsite.com/hair-loss/board_entry-id-47842.html#p47842

Regards,
Dr. A

Dr. Arvind is located in NEW DELHI, INDIA and he is available to meet: YES
email hairsite@aol.com to arrange a meeting.

» » It only takes seconds to estimate roughly how many grafts we need for a
» » hair transplant. I forgot who emailed or posted this first but the idea
» is
» » that in general we need about "1000 grafts times the norwood scale", so
» if
» » someone is a norwood 3, then in general he will need about 1000 grafts x
» 3
» » = 3000 grafts to cover the area. I have been applying this formula to
» most
» » pics I have seen online and it is surprisingly accurate.
»
»
» If I understand you correctly this guy should have received 1000 x Norwood
» 4 = 4000 grafts? But he only had 2010 grafts.
»
» http://www.hairsite.com/hair-loss/board_entry-id-99378-page-0-order-last_answer-category-2.html

It will never apply to Dr. Bernstein because he has a tendency to exaggerate the norwood class of his patients. Just take a look at the pics he posted here, you have to discount the norwood class 1 level down, if he said it was a norwood 4, then it is probably a norwood 3 in reality.

ipod is located in [NA] and he is available to meet: NO

» » It only takes seconds to estimate roughly how many grafts we need for a
» » hair transplant. I forgot who emailed or posted this first but the idea
» is
» » that in general we need about "1000 grafts times the norwood scale", so
» if
» » someone is a norwood 3, then in general he will need about 1000 grafts x
» 3
» » = 3000 grafts to cover the area. I have been applying this formula to
» most
» » pics I have seen online and it is surprisingly accurate.
»
» Dear Ipod,
» The idea is flawed and based an era when doctors could only offer much less
» grafts then they can today.
»
» I have stated earlier, and I repeat, graft estimates need to be based on
» the patient's requirements. Not on the clinic's capabilty.
»
»
» In the thumb rule you talk of, let's consider a NW 3 v/s a NW 6.
» Assuming that both of them have a similar head size, same hair
» characteristics and a wish to go for moderate density of ?40 fu grafts/sq
» cm. Even not considering any other variables, the square cms of bald scalp
» would be too different.
» A NW 6 has lot more real estate to cover (not just twice
» Of the NW3).
» Regards,
» Dr. A

Dr. A, I know I know, it's not accurate but I still think it is a very handy method to quickly estimate graft requirement assuming that we only need average coverage and no dense packing etc.

ipod is located in [NA] and he is available to meet: NO

» It only takes seconds to estimate roughly how many grafts we need for a
» hair transplant. I forgot who emailed or posted this first but the idea is
» that in general we need about "1000 grafts times the norwood scale", so if
» someone is a norwood 3, then in general he will need about 1000 grafts x 3
» = 3000 grafts to cover the area. I have been applying this formula to most
» pics I have seen online and it is surprisingly accurate.

If I understand you correctly this guy should have received 1000 x Norwood 4 = 4000 grafts? But he only had 2010 grafts.

http://www.hairsite.com/hair-loss/board_entry-id-99378-page-0-order-last_answer-category-2.html

UFC is located in [NA] and he is available to meet: NO

» It only takes seconds to estimate roughly how many grafts we need for a
» hair transplant. I forgot who emailed or posted this first but the idea is
» that in general we need about "1000 grafts times the norwood scale", so if
» someone is a norwood 3, then in general he will need about 1000 grafts x 3
» = 3000 grafts to cover the area. I have been applying this formula to most
» pics I have seen online and it is surprisingly accurate.

Dear Ipod,
The idea is flawed and based an era when doctors could only offer much less grafts then they can today.

I have stated earlier, and I repeat, graft estimates need to be based on the patient's requirements. Not on the clinic's capabilty.

In the thumb rule you talk of, let's consider a NW 3 v/s a NW 6.
Assuming that both of them have a similar head size, same hair characteristics and a wish to go for moderate density of ?40 fu grafts/sq cm. Even not considering any other variables, the square cms of bald scalp would be too different.
A NW 6 has lot more real estate to cover (not just twice
Of the NW3).
Regards,
Dr. A

Dr. Arvind is located in NEW DELHI, INDIA and he is available to meet: YES
email hairsite@aol.com to arrange a meeting.