Dear Dr. Winder:
Q. I seem to be seeing more and more in the media lately about operations for men who are bald, or balding. Could you please give me some information on this; I'm concerned that my baldness makes me appear considerably older than I am and is "holding me back" at work.

A. Hair transplants are, in fact, becoming more and more popular since the surgical techniques have been so greatly improved. Depending upon the area(s) and the severity of hair loss, there are several different techniques that can be used. Any patient considering hair transplantation must have a good "donor site" elsewhere on the head from where hair can be transferred to the balding area.

1. Punch grafts - 10 to 15 hairs per graft
2. Mini grafts - 2 to 4 hairs per graft
3. Slit grafts - 4 to 10 hairs per graft
4. Strip grafts - 30 to 40 hairs per graft
5. Flap surgery - a "flap" of hair-bearing scalp is "rotated" into the area that is balding; this procedure can accomplish what as many as 350 or more punch grafts can do, in one setting
6. Scalp reduction - the balding scalp is actually removed to cover areas at the top and back of the head.

Read more about this procedure.