Rafa Nadal, superstar tennis pro, is reported to be headed back to the transplant surgeon for his second treatment in short order… is this the trouble with transplants?
Rafa Nadal
Rafa burst onto the professional tennis circuit back in 2005 when, as a muscular 19 year old, he won his first major tournament at the French Open. He has only failed to win that title on three occasions since and is rightly recognised as the “King of Clay.” His total of 11 titles, he is the current champion, also means he holds the record for the most wins at any single tournement by a player in the history of the game. So there is no hint of exaggeration when describing Rafa as a global superstar. All that attention comes at a price of course, and when Rafa began to lose his hair he took a quick decision to do something about it. Last year saw him have transplant surgery at the clinic of a well known Madrid clinic. 6 months later the relocated locks had taken hold and there was a distinct improvement in his appearance. But his story does not end there…
No Going Back Now
Unfortunately it would seem the transplant is not the end of the story for Rafa, not even in the short term. Fast forward 18 months and, according to tennisworld.com, that hair loss is back and was very visible at a recent tournament … his Spanish surgeon was quick to point out that it is not the transplanted hair failing, those occipital hairs, once they have taken root, can be relied on. Rafa’s problem was that his own hair loss was progressing, and creating new gaps around the transplanted hair. In the same report tennisworld.com tell us that Rafa has headed straight back to his surgeon for additional work.
HIS Hair Clinic
Of course it is no problem for Rafa Nadal, he is a seriously wealthy young man. But for those among us who end up seeing a transplant as their own salvation, scrimping and saving to be able to afford the treatment, the idea that they may need to fork out again just two years later is terrible. Not least because the first time they made that decision they were coping with standard male pattern hair loss, the second time their appearance is often made worse by a small strip of relocated hair in the middle of an ever increasing bald patch. There in a nutshell, is the trouble with transplants. The progress of hair loss is unpredictable at best, but you should at least wait for a period of stability before starting out on what might end up being a series of surgeries. You can see the original tennis world article here.
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