Norwood Stage 3 Vertex
Norwood Stage 3 Vertex is easy to confuse with plain Stage 3, but it's a meaningfully different pattern: the same temple recession, plus the beginning of thinning at the crown (vertex) — a separate area at the back-top of the head, sometimes starting as a coin-sized thin spot that's only visible from directly above or in photos. It's why this page exists separately from Stage 3 rather than being lumped in with it.
Why the range is 1,800-2,800 grafts
The 1,800-2,800 graft range is higher than plain Stage 3 because you're now covering two distinct zones with different demands: the frontal hairline (which benefits from a natural, gradually-increasing density as it moves back) and the crown, which grows in a whorl pattern that's harder to camouflage convincingly at low density. Surgeons often allocate a deliberately smaller share of grafts to an early-stage crown specifically because crown patterns can keep expanding — planting too aggressively there before the pattern's full extent is known risks needing to "chase" further loss later.
What to expect
Often one session, though some surgeons prefer treating the crown conservatively in the first pass and reassessing in a follow-up session, precisely because crown involvement is harder to predict than frontal recession. Donor supply planning matters more here than at plain Stage 3, since two zones are competing for the same finite donor area.
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