Xardas

I underwent a small (less than 300 grafts) FUE procedure 3,5 months ago. There was no infection or any problems of this kind. What worries me is the fact that the donor area has much less density than before so now I have a sparse-hair-strip at the back of my head. I am enclosing a few photos for reference (sorry for the low quality). Has anyone any idea what went wrong? Is there anything I can do? Thank you.

Hi everyone,

It is me again. The area on the left side, which was affected by shock loss, did not improve at all over the last month. This bald strip was very wide at the beginning of April, later some hairs returned and the bald area became smaller, however over the last month no new hairs have regrown. It has been 5 months and this area looks exactly the same as one month ago. At this point it is almost certain that no new hairs will grow on my left side. I guess the hairs which fell out would be gone anyway and the procedure only accelerated this process. I am pretty devastated at the moment.

Do you think I should wait one more month (or longer)? Or should I go for FUE?

Sorry for the low quality of the photos.

Check my photo blog for shock loss link below. Don't worry it usually grows back takes about 6 months but is harder in area like yours because the shock loss area will be shorter than surrounding area so gives illusion it's not growing back.

Thank you for sharing your thoughts and sorry for the late reply. Do you think I should try to use minoxidil? Or waiting is all I can do?

Your new photos look much thicker, even though, to be honest the quality of photos aren't great for documentation. Do you agree that density seems to be better? usually we know our own body/hair better than anyone, better than someone's opinion looking at your pics on a computer. If you do feel like it is getting thicker, than I would relax and track it the next few months. Actually, this seems to be progressing closely to the time frame Blake mentioned.

 

The "bald" area now looks to be made by the part you made in your hair. It isn't back to baseline density, but in my opinion, it looks to be progressing.

Thank you very much for your reply.

Definitely density has improved but two things worry me:

First of all I'm afraid that only some of the hairs will return and a lot of them will be gone forever. Secondly, many people mention 3-4 months as the time frame when the hair comes back, I'm already past this stage so my concern is that what I got back at this point is close to the final result.

PS

Sorry for the quality of the pictures.

Hi guys,

It is me again. 3 months have passed since my previous post and 4 months since my procedure. Some of hairs affected by the shockloss have regrown, however, there is still a substantial amount that has not. I can quite easily cover the bald spot with the exisiting hairs (see 'combover' photo) , but that was not the point of the transplant

I have three questions:

#1 Do you think it is still possible that all the hairs will regrow, or what I can see now (4 months post-op) is pretty much the final result?

#2 Should I try to use Minoxidil? Or it is unlikely to help in this case? (I am still on finasteride)

#3 It is a good idea to undergo another surgery or it is still too early?

I am posting some photos for reference.

Thank you very much in advance.

Xar,

The question, at this point, is whether or not the shock loss is permanent or temporary. (..) However, this is not a guarantee. What's more, your only option is, unfortunately, waiting patiently and seeing if the hair regrows.

Thank you for your prompt reply. That's quite worrying what you are saying, but as you mentioned I can not do anything about it

The affected area is behind where the grafts were placed? If so, looks like shock loss. Who is your surgeon?

Thanks for the answer. My surgeon is Dr. Suradej Pong from Thailand.

Hi everyone,

Three weeks ago I underwent scar revision surgery and my doctor used some of the grafts to improve density in the areas with little growth (my hair transplant was in August last year). 307 grafts were transplanted this time. So far my scar looks really good, but what worries me is the hairloss on the left side just behind the transplanted hairs. It happened only on one side (the right side looks normal). Three weeks ago I didn't have a bald patch there.

Is it possible to lose native hairs so suddenly and only in one place? Or it is simply shock loss? (I take finasteride which seems to halt my hairloss) If so, is shock loss possible after such a small surgery (307 grafts)? I experienced shock loss after my first hair transplant but then my donor area was affected.

I am enclosing some photos for reference.

I would be extremely grateful for clarification.

I had it about four months after my transplant. Winter time reaction. No effect on outcome. First ten days are critical to a HT success. At worst the growth may delay a little. Go see a dermatologist ASAP.

Thank you for sharing your experience.

As I said, everything was fine for the first few weeks, or even months. It only started now, at about 4 months (similar to your case). As I mentioned, the dermatologist told me it could theoretically affect the outcome, but he has never come across a ht patient before.

From my experience with seborrheic dermatitis and hair transplants, it's not the flaking or irritation etc. that you have to be most worried about it's overuse of harsh shampoos such as Nizoral 2% that can really have a negative effect.

 

Wash your hair frequently, use a medicated or dandruff control shampoo sparingly as directed by your dermatologist (see one ASAP as recommended by the Gillenator) or HT surgeon, and don't scratch or pick at anything with your nails.

I would also check with the above doctors regarding fluconazole use and your hair.

If you got through the first 10 days you should have no issue.

 

Seborrheic dermatitis is a life-long pain in the ass condition, and you may have to change your shampoo and treatment regimen frequently, but it can be controlled.

Just be careful not to overuse harsh shampoos or scratch your scalp hard (rub only with pads of fingertips if have to) and you should be fine. Good luck.

Thanks for such a quick reply!

I have started using Nizoral one month post-op, but not very frequently; once, maybe twice a week, so it shouldn't have any negative impact on the outcome. How often did you use Nizoral when it ruined your 1st ht?

For the first 10 days I didn't have any problems and obviously was very careful with the recipient area.

What did your surgeon tell you about your condition?

 

If this persists, I would see an experienced dermatologist in person.

My surgeon said it could affect the growth but he has never had a patient with such condition.

It is hard to find a real expert, as I moved to a developing Asian country. The dermatologist I saw, said the same thing (that it could affect the growth) but he, in turn, has never dealt with a patient after a hair transplant. I was advised to continue taking fluconazole&ketonazole, on top of that, he added Nizoral to my regimen.

So they both reckon that it can lead to poor results, but neither of them got any practical knowledge in this kind of situation. That's why I wanted to get an insight from someone who actually experienced/witnessed the same thing.

I am four months post-op; my left side looks great - there is lots of hairs and the density is very decent, on the right side, however, there are some hairs in the hairline but in the middle there is a big bald patch with zero hairs. Additionaly, a few days ago I noticed that I have developed a skin condition which seems to be a mild case of seborrheic dermatitis. I was afraid that this can influence the grafts in a negative way, so started taking fluconazole (150mg daily - orally) and ketonazole cream. The medication seem to work fast, because the inflammation is disappearing.

My questions are;

1) Can this skin condition be the reason of the poor growth on the left side?

2) Is there anything I can do now to help the situation?

3) When can it be determined whether the HT was unsuccesful?

4) Has anyone had a similar experience?

I found some info on other sites, where doctors assured that as long as the scalp was clear during the procedure, the results shouldn't be affected. It doesn't calm me down, though. I saved up for the surgery for six months, which meant that my social life was non-existent. After HT I waited for the results, so didn't want to be around people as well. It's been almost a year and this has been the most miserable time of my life. I'm devastated and afraid of ending up looking like a freak of nature :eek:

I don't have any pictures, my ht surgeon resides overseas. He is a good doctor and a nice guy, so obviously I don't want to damage his reputation, all the more that I still hope that everything will turn out ok. :confused:

I would be very grateful if anyone could help me, I'm really desperate.

Please excuse my English, I'm not a native speaker.

no it looks good, its funny i had my ht 5 months ago and got 2048 grafts, only 1 more than you, the scar looks how it should, i was also concerned about it in the beginning, but take a look at my pics and you will see mine looked the same

Thank you tacolinowest. I hope it will be fine then. Yeah, it's strange that we got almost the same number of grafts transplanted

Hi everyone,

I had a ht 8 weeks ago (2047 grafts). What is bothering me now is the scar. Do you think it will be as wide as it's now (or even worse) or am I experiencing a shock loss?

Here are two photos, one taken immediately after the ht, the other 7 weeks post op (sorry for its quality:)

Thank you