scar treatment

[tom129]

I am considering shaving my head again. My transplant was successful but is just not up to my standards. I don't think any continuation of surgery will be up to my standards. The only thing stopping me from shaving my head again is the two scars in the back of my head. One goes all the way across and the other about half way. Are there any techniques or procedures available to remove or lessen the scars.

[tom129]

I am considering shaving my head again. My transplant was successful but is just not up to my standards. I don't think any continuation of surgery will be up to my standards. The only thing stopping me from shaving my head again is the two scars in the back of my head. One goes all the way across and the other about half way. Are there any techniques or procedures available to remove or lessen the scars.

[arfy]

Tough question...

 

I think the answer is "it depends". What do your scars look like? Any idea? Are they on the pencil-thin side as promised, or do they seem to be large, red, raised etc?

 

Another thing to think about is what is your version of success. You will probably not be able to have a pristine perfect scalp again, you've had 2 surgeries. Unless your doctor was top-notch, you may have some issues not just in the donor site, but also in the recipient area too.

 

Have you ever cut your hair real short, since you had a transplant? Do you know what your scarring situation is, exactly? I think a lot of guys who think they have perfect pencil-thin scars, can be surprised at what their scars look like with no hair there. Your hair may be concealing a lot.

 

I think you might want to look into trying FUE to put some grafts in your scar. I'm not saying that is your soluition, but that is one thing to look into. Another option may be some type of resurfacing, although that will not do a lot for a linear donor scar... what you notice the most (probably) is the absense of hair, with a donor scar, unless you are a problem healer. The missing hair makes the scar stand out.

 

Have you seen any pics of guys who shave their heads after transplant? There are a few of them floating around the internet. Your case has to be taken as a unique situation, based on your scalp characteristics and healing abilities, the skill of your doctor, how much transplant work was done, your expectations etc.

 

This is going to take some legwork and creative thinking on your part, there are no obvious answers.

[Peter Mac]

Remove? probably not. Lessen? maybe.

An extreme measure is balloon tissue expansion. A balloon is inserted into your scalp and gradually inflated. The pressure creates more skin and elasticity. The surgeon then removes the extra skin (and scars with it) and sutures the remaining skin together with normal tension. If done properly it combines all scars into one pencil line scar like a strip transplant should give you to begin with. However, you have to be prepared to live with a balloon inflated in your head for many weeks.

 

I wouldn't do this unless you have some really bad scars. You will always have at least one linear scar no matter what you do.

 

If your scars are both thin, I like Arfy's suggestion of putting FUE grafts into the scar to help conceal it.