True or False?Shock fallout with Strip and not so with FUE?

[forlife]

Is it true you only get shock fallout with strip and not with fue?

[forlife]

Is it true you only get shock fallout with strip and not with fue?

[Rugger]

if youre subject to shockloss in the recipient area, you will get shockloss regardless of whether you do FUE or strip....shockloss has as much to do with your genetic makeup as it does the surgeon's skill...

 

i dont know of any information on shockloss in the donor area for FUE, but im sure there will be someone out there that can comment on donor shockloss..

 

transection loss is another matter....transection loss could in some cases be higher with FUE than with strip, depending on the FUE practicioner...and it could be more in the recipient area as well....also, high density sessions could be subject to higher transection and shockloss risk just from the closeness of the new implant slits to existing hair...

[arfy]

I agree with Rugger in that the patient's characteristics can be a major factor in whether shockloss is a problem. It might even be the #1 factor, as long as the surgery was performed correctly.

 

It seems like there may be 2 different reasons for shock loss... direct surgical damage to the existing hair during the procedure, and the more-vague "general surgical trauma".

 

If the doctor accidently damages pre-existing hair with the placement of new grafts, that is obviously going to cause some hair loss. This could happen out of necessity - the doc has to put the hair where a lot of hair already exists. Maybe that hair is not all that sturdy, but ultimately it all counts. We need every hair, even the wispy ones can contribute something. When guys lose wispy hair to shock loss, it is still an issue to them, even if the hair wasn't that healthy! It all helps!

 

Or the damage could happen accidently. There may be plenty of room around pre-existing hair, but those existing hairs get damaged when the doctor is creating the new recipient sites. Many docs create these sites FAST... two or more every second. It is easy to imagine that existing hair could be damaged accidently. As Rugger said, how much hair is already in that area (and space between hair) will probably be an issue.

 

Another reason for shock loss may be 'general surgical trauma'. Realize that shock loss is not something that is understood, so there is a lot of speculation, especially if the cause isn't something obvious like surgical damage (see above). Some people have speculated that the drugs and saline that get injected into your scalp might be a culprit in shock loss. Other people have said that the surgery itself somehow triggers a response that leads to shock loss. It is not really understood.

 

Some FUE clinics say that shock loss is not a problem during their procedure because there is no donor strip removed, which is easier for the body to cope with. However, there have been some FUE patients who did report shock loss. Maybe the patient's own characteristics made him especially susceptible, maybe this was a case of doctor error, or maybe the alleged lower risk of shock loss with FUE has been exaggerated... I don't know. Shock loss may be less common with FUE, reports from patients seem to suggest that it is true, but this would be pure speculation because nobody keeps track of shock loss statistics.

 

Also, some strip excision surgeons claim that shock loss isn't an issue in their clinic (I believe that Shapiro Group has said this before). There are even some doctors who say that shock loss "doesn't exist" (?) or that it is extremely rare.

 

We can be pretty sure that "general surgical trauma" is a real issue because patients have reported shock loss in areas where they didn't get any surgery. Some doctors would contend that the patient just continued to lose hair. Patients would say in response that their hair loss was accelerated by the surgery (in essence what shock loss does).

 

The best thing you can do is to optimize your own situation with meds like Propecia or Avodart and Minoxidil. You don't want to be in hair loss "free fall" when you are getting your hair trransplant, you should try to have halted your hair loss. The stronger your pre-existing hair is, seems to be the #1 factor in preventing shock loss, that you may be able to have some control over.

 

As far as which procedure causes more shock loss problems, FUE versus strip excision, I would be curious to hear the opinions of the few doctors who practice both methods. They might have the most information on this, based on what they see in their clinics.

 

Hope that helped...