Burned Scalp Hair Restoration
Entry posted by burned1
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Have you ever wondered why your electric deep fryer or skillet has a magnetic cord that falls off at the slightest touch? Kids like me, that's why. As a 2-year-old, I pulled on the dangling cord of an electric skillet and had the contents (primarily hot oil) empty onto my head. Initially there were concerns I could lose vision in one of my eyes but thankfully that was never realized. Ultimately the top of my head caught the bulk of the oil and much of the roots were damaged to the point that they would never grow hair again. The burned area/scar tissue today (in my 40's) covers an area approximately 7 inches front to back and ranging from 2 inches wide at the top of my head to 4 inches wide at the front.
I didn’t intend to post up my story, but as I reflect on how little I was able to find, I am hopeful that the photos and information I share will be useful to anyone else who has a serious burn or scarring on their head.
When I was younger I did research on possible remedies but never felt comfortable with any of the options. In the last few years, I had done further research and found the surgical treatments had been improved greatly. My wife was supportive and with that, I promptly put any decision on hold. In the last few months, I had decided I wanted to have surgery performed and looked into reputable surgeons in my region. There appeared to be much respect for Hasson and Wong on the internet and after making some further checks, I decided to approach them on performing a HT. I discussed it with my wife, who still supported my decision and she took the pictures and we sent them off for an internet consultation, as it wasn’t practical to make a physical consultation. Dr. Wong reviewed my case and determined that even with my scarring, I was indeed a candidate for surgery. With that, I scheduled an appointment, sent a deposit and waited for my date.
Fast forward a few weeks. My wife and I traveled to Vancouver so I could spend a day or two in Dr. Wong’s care. I had followed the pre-operative instructions (but little scalp laxity exercises with the quickly approaching date), but I had reason to worry about the viability of the surgery due to the scarring on my scalp.
Yesterday I had my pre-surgery consultation and Dr. Wong expressed hope that I could achieve good results from my HT. One of the things I noticed during my research was that there wasn’t much information on scarring HTs, but there was discussion about the possible reduction of blood supply limiting the amount of grafts that would be able to be installed. Dr. Wong discussed the same thing. He wouldn’t know until he was working on my scalp, but he figured in the 1500 range. My wife and I spent the rest of the day exploring downtown Vancouver trying to not think about the next day.
Early this morning I arrived at Dr. Wong’s, said goodbye to my wife (who spent the day at a spa) and got prepped for the HT. I will say in hindsight that I wasn’t fully prepared for all the little nuances of this surgery. While Dr. Wong was discussing all the steps he was about to take, I was mentally always waiting for the next shot. It added a little extra stress to the procedure. I did really appreciate the pleasant talk with Dr. Wong during the surgery: Airplanes, hunting and boats. The technicians were also great to talk with, ordered me a lunch and kept me hydrated. I ignored the TV for the most part, but eventually succumbed to ‘Don’t mess with the Zohan”. Probably not the best movie to watch. When Adam Sandler puts the piranha into his swimsuit to prove his pain tolerance, I could not stop laughing out loud. There was a little head movement as well. I probably would recommend a documentary for those with a kid’s sense of humor like my own.
I am now sitting in the hotel room wishing I had taken the pain meds a few hours earlier. I had hoped to wait until bedtime to get a few solid hours of sleep, but my head is hurting quite a bit. Expected I suppose. What I hadn’t expected was the amount of swelling. My right ear looks like Will Smith’s! At least he has a matching pair. I will add a few before pictures, but for now I would like to get this posted so I don’t fail to do so.
Thanks to those who post/comment/reply/support on this forum, If it wasn’t for the information shared here, I would likely not chanced spending such $$$ on a procedure. I appreciate the time you have invested on this website. Hopefully, my story (and pending success) will empower others with similar hair-loss.
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