scarredbaldy
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Well... it's been 5 months now, and I think I have a pretty good feel in regard the final scar dimensions. I would say the new scar is an improvement over the old one but not by much. The consensus on this forum, as well as my doctors opinion at the time, is that it all comes down to patient physiology, and that a new scar is likely to stretch out as much as the original. My experience seems to confirm that as well. For anyone looking for a scar repair, if their original hair transplant specialist is known to have great success rates, as mine was and is, I would recommend against scar excision and jump straight to FUE. Ultimately, I believe that the hair follicles that were lost inside the original tricho-closure balance out any gains made by the smaller scar. I have currently booked an FUE repair session for later this year. Hopefully my only problem after that will be figuring out a way to change my username on this forum from scarredbaldy to slightlybaldy. While at the clinic, I had the chance to meet another patient with FUE. Seeing his results and having him describe to me his experience, if I could go back, I would do FUE from the start. I'm sure there are a lot of great healers out there, but ultimately not worth risk. Sometimes impatience gets the best of us, but in the long term, in my opinion, you're better off planning smaller FUE sessions, than a FUT mega-session.
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Well here it is. Pictures at almost 2months. I've shaved my whole head at about 2.5cm in length to get a better feel of what it looks like. Looking at the pictures, I'm not so confident anymore about the guard 3 (1cm), but it's still looking much better than the original scar did at this time frame. The measurements are still the same as in my previous post. That would be 1mm in width on the left side of my head, stretch to 5mm as it travels along to the right , with one small spot stretching down to 1cm width for about 5mm length and then returning back to to a 5mm width. Hopefully, there is some shock loss in there and things will get better. At worst, I probably saved myself a lot of grafts for a fue revision next year, which makes this whole ordeal worth it, I would think. Whatever that means. Good thing we all have baldness, surgeries and scarring to keep our minds occupied. Now if it were only a less expensive hobby... Well , any opinions on the matter would be appreciated. The plan right now is to wait it out, get FUE if needed and enhance with SMP if that fails. I'm figuring that if I ever get to the state where I do need those extra 300 or so grafts that I plan to waste on this scar, well, I'm probably better off just keeping my hair short all together. In which case, they serve me better camouflaging my smiley friend...
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rev333, only time will tell. it is still very early. as I am not evern at the 2 month mark I would estimate the scar its about 1 mm in width all through the left side and onto the middle of my head at which point the. width gradually reaches 4-5 mm with one small area reaching as high as 8-10 mm. Regardless, the tricho seems to cover every thing very well. I believe once the redness is gone , I 'll be able to do guard 3. Sure would've been nice if it was 1mm all the way through, but I'll take it.
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Td06, I would say yes. Nothing dramatic but there was some...
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Td06, I believe it is a Tricho Closure. MrGio-WHTCClinic. after the first procedure my scalp felt very tight and the back of my head was numb for almost 6 month. Infact, even when the sutures were removed , I could see the scar was going to be wide and could identify a big problem area. I dont think it stretched much more after that. This time around , after the revision, the back of my head didn't feel any tightness or numbness whatsoever. Since day 1 the scar looks much better. I will be posting picture at around month 2 but I would say right now it is pencil thin all the way to the right side of my head, at which point, there might have been a bit of stretch or it might just be shock loss, but it's still looking much much better than it did than after the first procedure.
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Some post op updates. Week 1 and 2 .
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I have expressed my concerns with my doctor and he very generously offered to attempt a scar excision. While doing my own research I found it extremly difficult to find any before and after pictures related to scar excision. I will be posting my progress in the months to come.
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seeker2014, to answer your question I had 4566 grafts. Thank you again for all your recommendations, it is a lot to digest at the moment and I will have to take this all of this into consideration. arussell, I did speak to my clinic and after a physical examination by Dr Rahal, I was told that FUE was possible, but judging more by his intonation than what he said, I had the feeling (perhaps erroneous) that it wasn't worth the trouble. I truly believe Dr Rahal is a very competent doctor and perhaps his evaluation led him to conclude that the risks outweigh the rewards, which may very well be the case. Considering I am only 32 , it is quite possible that I might need the extra hair follicles in the decades to come. Like anything, hair styles are dictated by fashion, and keeping my hair long, or using visual illusions as described by seeker2014 in his previous post, might be the best solution for the time being. Thank you all again for the information, it certainly has helped put things into perspective.
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Hi seeker2014, Thank you for your response. I think it is clear that if I do want to attempt repairing my issue it will be a long journey of trial and error. With my work obligation and the 6 month delays between regrowth periods, it looks like this might be an impossible undertaking. As for the minimum guard needed, I believe I have brought a bit of confusion regarding my scar, a 3 guard would definitely not even be close to sufficient. I have included clearer pictures to illustrate my situation. Thank you again for your support.
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Hi scar5, Thank you for your reply. Your honesty is refreshing and given the facts, I rather save my money and avoid getting into a vicious endless cycle . I can't say for the moment that It is causing me much psychological distress but you are right in saying that I was expecting a more ideal scar and that the industry does in somewhat feed into desperation and provide false hopes or at the very least irrealistic expectations. Only time will tell if this was a big mistake with diminishing returns. As for the dimensions I posted, a more accurate measurement is probably 1 to 2cm for the width and not 4mm. As this relates strictly to the section that stretches beneath the main line . The line itself covers more than half the perimeter of the head and is of acceptable dimensions on the left half of my head. Sometimes I wonder if the sowing was done by I different individual for each hemisphere or if it simply bad genetics. Thanks again for your response
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Hello Everyone, In 2011, I underwent FUT surgery with Dr. Rahal and while I am still happy with the overall results, my scar has always been very noticeable and this forces me to keep my hair rather long. Recently, I went back to the Dr. Rahal for his opinion on the matter and inquired about having FUE done into the scar. While he did say it was possible and gave me an approximate cost for the procedure, I can't say I left his office convinced and I didn't feel like he seemed to think it was worth it. I am naturally suspicious when it comes to money and that's why I am here to ask for other opinions. I do understand that I might have to keep my hair long for the rest of my life but I would have like the possibility of going a little bit shorter. My scar It is about 3cm long and 4cm wide at it's worst and I have included a picture. The only solution I have right now is to use Toppik but it is not ideal. My general impression from other similar threads is that FUE inside a scar generally fail and a second strip excision will likely produce the same results...
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