Scorpian

Let's say you've had two or three surgeries to try and fix an area with poor growth, and after those surgeries, you still have poor growth in those areas. Or let's say you've had two or three surgeries in the same place to add density and then suddenly you experience permanent shock loss. Isn't scar tissue developed in the recipient area, and the success of future growth limited? Or is the scar tissue that does develop in the recipient area different from say a scar in the donor area such as from strip surgery? I know doctors always say that it's hard to tell how successful a transplant would be in a strip scar, so is the "scarring" in the recipient area different? I think it's an important issue to address, especially since people go in for repairs and such. Also, if this scar tissue does develop and could be a problem, is there a specific time period that a patient should allow for healing before undergoing future treatments?

Thanks Spex, but it's only been 10-11 months post op. Shouldn't these grafts take longer to shed? I don't know. I even noticed one site bleed after a light shower and the hair never returned there. How normal is it for grafts to be rejected 10-11 months out? Would Rogaine or other hair products cause it? How does one truly know if it's just seasonal shedding?

Combined with Hair Transplantation, HM could be a big money maker for HT surgeons. I too don't see why it would be suppressed.

Is it normal for newly transplanted grafts to shed just 10-11 months post op??? And happen in groups and seemingly not come back in the same quality? Is this a typical problem with FUE? Would social drinking of alcohol (1-2 drinks maybe two nights a week) cause something like this to happen? Any thoughts? Would hair thickening products potentially cause this? If so, how?

It would be helpful if you did mention the doctor's name.

Some HT doctors are promising cloning to lure people into their clinics, but I wouldn't bet on that until there's substantial proof. The best company working on a cure right now in my opinion is Aderans. They're in Phase 2 trials and we should have results from phase 2 sometime soon. If phase 2 was successful, they will move on to phase 3, which would allow a marketable product to come out within 5 years. If not, then it'll take longer for something to come out. The only downside is that Aderans works in partnership with Bosley, so who knows what might happen.

Was the procedure painful? How many grafts did you have done?

Do most transplants look bad under harsh lighting (light hitting directly on the scalp)?

What hair products are safe to use on transplanted hair?? My hair is naturally coarse so it looks too thick without products. What products do people use??

Is it normal to have pimples that bleed 6 months post op in areas where hair was already growing? I'm assuming it's not.. but has anyone experienced that?

Thanks M&M. I truly hope things improve.

Bll.. I blamed it on so many things. I blamed it on taking a multivitamin.. I blamed it on working out.. I blamed it on Rogaine...I blamed it on alcohol.. I blamed it on the sun...I don't think I have vitamin deficiency because I had blood work done and everything came back perfect. The doctor told me I was in perfect health. Being that I work out, I do take a multivitamin daily. Not sure why previously transplanted hairs fell but I'm hoping for the best. I used up enough grafts to be concerned that I won't have enough left for further thinning, especially if I try AGAIN to correct the same problem area. That's really what makes me a little sad, especially if things don't get better. I do want to see a doctor though to talk about what could lead to hair loss of previously transplanted hairs (such as vitamin deficiency or working out, etc).

The left side of the hairline and right behind the hairline had some minor issues, which I went in to correct. I also had crown work done in my second procedure. Then a few months later, some of my previously transplanted hairs fell and never came back. I don't know why that happened but it was the reason for the third procedure. I do see thickening, and I've come along way since my shock loss. I guess I'm going to wait it out and see what happens in a few months. Either way, I think strip is far more effective than FUE.

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Bill.. thanks for the support. It's just that my first procedure was strip, and when I look at my results with strip at just 4 1/2 months post op, I had an amazingly thick head of hair. My grafts grew real quick and everything looked amazing. I had minor concerns here and there with uneven growth, but I guess that was just hair greed on my part. Hence, I went in for FUE and it was okay, but it actually led to some loss of other native hairs. Unfortunately, last summer my hair got even worse, and it opted to me to have this latest procedure. This time, I'm waiting for things to go back to the way they were. I don't know if FUE takes longer to grow and/or mature, or if aging (now being 26 as opposed to 24), has anything to do with the growth of the hair follicles. I guess I can only hope and wait.

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Well the difference between months 3 and 5 is vast.. so I'm happy about that. You can check my progress pictures from the links right before the new pics. The hair now is way better than it was 2 months ago. I am still concerned about the before mentioned areas though and I'm gonna wait to see what happens I guess. I'm not obsessing though and just going on with my life and letting things happen on its own. I guess I'll tell in a few months.

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I also had FUE and I seem to be having this problem somewhat too. Things were improving, and now some thinning in some spots has seemingly taken place. I'm not sure why this is? I'm almost 5 months post op.

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Hey Bill, this is my third procedure.. and I actually never felt this way after my first and second ones.. partly because I never had shock loss in those two occasions. I agree that everything takes time, but since I never experienced this before, shock loss that is, it's hard to judge what the final result is going to be like. Hopefully you're right and things will continue to get better.

Hey mmche..thanks for the support . It's just kinda tough going out in bright sunlight sometimes, showing off scalp that's visibly thin compared to the rest of my head... My problem is that my hair is coarse (which worked in my advantage in previous transplants in terms of giving off illusion of density).. but when you have half your scalp showing through and half of it covered in thick coarse hair.. it's just odd. The only way to get around it would be to shave my head to like a number 1 cut, but then my strip scar would show. I've used up a lot of grafts to make this as perfect as possible... and in hopes of reaching "perfection".. it almost seems like I went several steps backwards. That's kinda what gets me the most. I am still hoping that things will improve so I'm not trying to state things prematurely. I am documenting my progress as I've posted some pictures before and will continue to do so. To answer some of your other questions, I am using minoxidil, but it's causing a lot of flaking of my skin. I think I'm gonna lower it to once a day instead of 2x a day. I've also been on Propecia for over 5 years. I hope you're right about the rate of growth varying between surgeries. My main problem is not rate of growth of the transplanted hair.. it's the shocked hair that I'm hoping all returns (all of which were previously transplanted hairs).