Norwood Stage 7
Norwood Stage 7 is the most extensive pattern on the scale: only a horseshoe-shaped band of hair remains around the sides and back of the scalp, with the entire top bald. It's also the stage where a frank, specific conversation about donor limits matters more than the graft-count number itself.
Why the range is 4,500-6,500 grafts
The 4,500-6,500+ range is wide because outcomes vary more at this stage than any other, almost entirely based on donor density and the size of that remaining horseshoe — someone with a dense, wide donor band can responsibly harvest meaningfully more than someone with a finer or narrower one. This is the one stage where the honest answer to "how many grafts do I need" is often "as many as your donor area can safely supply," not "however many would look fullest," since over-harvesting a limited donor band can leave visible thinning in the area everything else depends on.
What to expect
Two sessions are typical, sometimes more, spaced months to a year apart. A qualified surgeon should assess donor density directly (often with a densitometer) before quoting a number, and should be upfront if your specific donor supply means full-density coverage of the whole top isn't realistic — prioritizing the hairline and frontal third over the crown is a common, sensible way to allocate limited grafts at this stage.
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