HT between existing hair - Cause Shockloss

[john148]

Hi all,

 

I recently had a HT. Prior to HT i had 'most' of my original hair still on my head but it was a little thinner and receding quite a bit and there was an 'island' forming in the front.

 

I had my HT done by a very good surgeon so I know the quality was very good but I still have a question on shock loss.

 

In anticipation of me losing hair in the future the Dr transplanted hair between by already existing hairs both in the 'tuff' and back from there. (Something we agreed upon ahead of time and I am glad we did)

 

How likely is this to cause shockloss or cause me to lose the existing hair I already had in place? My fear is that;

 

a. I will have permanently lost my existing good hair with the replacement hairs which in part will defeat the purpose of the HT.

 

b. I will have temporarily lost my existing hair to shockloss and look more thin than norma for the next 6 months.

 

Any feedback?

[bonkerstonker]

Check my pics in the signiture below i had 5300 grafts placed inbetween all that hair from front to back. Shockloss in my opinion is 95% certain to happen i'm at 5 weeks now and i look totaly bald on top compared to how i was but i can see the existing pre op hairs starting to poke through the scalp now, i'm virtually sure that if you used a good doc your hair will return but you'll look like a right bald wally for 4 or 5 months.

 

I also have a lot of shockloss around my scar that is also starting to regrow now. You will not be able to hide a ht into existing hairs without a hat or concealer imo.

[john148]

Thanks Bonkerstonker.

 

I am wondering if my shockloss will be as severe since I had 3,000 grafts compared to your 5,200.

 

How long did it take for your existing hairs (hairs in place before HT) to fall out? Did all of them fall out?

 

I guess I am just very concerned that I may end up bald for awhile and people will be wondering what happened.

 

Do you have any updated pics?

[aaron1234]

Are you finasteride? That can help prevent shock loss.

[john148]

I just started taking Propecia after the HT. I was on Rogaine for more than a year prior.

[Guest Ian512017155]

My advice stay on the propecia and Rogaine and look for a shampoo like nizoral

[hairthere]

Shockloss is common but will not be permanent if the native hairs are strong. Hairs that are permanently shocked out were about to fall out anyway. The bigger concern with transplanting into native hair is transection, which can damage and destroy the follicle. If you went with a top doc your odds of transection decrease dramatically.

[bonkerstonker]

I have no update pictures but there is a guy called epileptic skeptic on here if you check his pre op pics and 1 month pictures in his blog u will see what happens to everyone with existing hairs the same is happening to me. Obviously you have to grow your sides to cover the scar which makes things look even worse.

 

The existing hairs started to fall out very fast from day 6 because i shaved my full head they grew a little then fell out along with the new hairs but by day 9 i looked very bald.

 

You need to get into the mind state that you're going to get shockloss there's no ifs or buts, regardless of how many grafts you've had if you had surgery amongst existing hairs you will lose a lot imo. I think it has a lot to do with the blood loss and scabs around the existing hairs but it's all good as long as your doctor doesn't hit any follicles and transect them but they wont hit any if you use a good surgeon because they blow up your head like a balloon so the gaps become bigger between the existing hairs.

[bonkerstonker]

Also i'm on finasteride and minoxidil ( no minox for first 2 weeks after ht), i'm not sure if that helped but to be honest i don't think the shockloss could have been any worse so it probably hasn't done anything for my temporary shockloss but i imagine it will help me massively long term which is what i'm more concerned about. The reason why i say this is because most people get shockloss around the scar where dht has no effect on the follicle so blocking dht on the top with finasteride is the same principel!

[hairthere]

"You need to get into the mind state that you're going to get shockloss there's no ifs or buts, regardless of how many grafts you've had if you had surgery amongst existing hairs you will lose a lot imo. I think it has a lot to do with the blood loss and scabs around the existing hairs but it's all good as long as your doctor doesn't hit any follicles and transect them but they wont hit any if you use a good surgeon because they blow up your head like a balloon so the gaps become bigger between the existing hairs."

 

Hey bonker, I think you might have some misconceptions about shockloss. Not every patient experiences shockloss, and it seems to be more common in the donor area (surrounding the strip) than the recipient area. Also, they do not blow your head up like a balloon so the gaps become bigger between hairs. Swelling usually occurs after HT surgery from fluids--perhaps that's what you're thinking of? Rather, many HT docs shave the recipient area down so they can transplant amongst existing hairs and have a proper field of vision.

 

I think the reason you are experiencing the "ugly duckling" phenomenon is not from shockloss, but because your head has been shaved and you're seeing it without any hair coverage for the first time. When you have existing hair pre-HT it can create a layering effect making it look denser, but when you shave you take that coverage away. This same phenomenon is how HT surgeons can create a look of a fuller head of hair with half the amount of actual density. It is what we often refer to as the "illusion of density."

[bonkerstonker]

No chance pal i got shockloss because i see the existing hairs poking back through the scalp now and most people i speak to had it wether it's the recipent or donor it's shockloss that you will find hard to hide from people in your life and obviously that is what this john is trying to do.

 

Also every surgery i've had my head was blown up like a balloon before, you can see the gap difference clearly before they start as i have seen it on me every time in the mirror. Are you saying you never had this with your doctor or noticed it? I find it hard to believe that this has happened to me twice with 2 different doctors and it's just fate or good luck with my head naturally swelling to make the gaps bigger before they start making slits.

 

Can anyone deny or confirm my balloon theroy?

 

Ultimately i'm trying to let the john know to prepare for the worst and everything else is a bonus from my own personal experiences and from what others have told me about theirs that's why i wrote imo after that paragraph you quoted me on.

Edited April 26, 2011 by bonkerstonker

[LSorvats]

John thats a great question, and the exact same thing that is bothering me most about whether to do an HT or not. I think some people are more prone to shock loss than others, but from all my research on this topic I did have one leading surgeon tell me that if the transplants are carfeully placed in the exact same direction in between the native hair you shouldn't receive more that 30% max hairloss of native hairs and this will only happen in 10% of cases. Now I know that this is no guarantee, but I think there are a lot of surgeons out there that "plow" through the native area recklessly and cause guaranteed shockloss. Also, if done properly, I was promised that all native hairs will grow back. Please dont ask me what surgeon promised me this, as I find this website has way too much hidden advertsing and propaganda, and i dont want people thinking i am one of those pretend posters who will then go on and say Dr. X is the best out there. FYI, this website is an amazing source for information and has been a real lifesaver so i dont want to take anything away from it, other than to warn readers out there to take some of the posts on this site with a pinch of salt.

[hairthere]

bonker, in three strip surgeries I have never had my head inflated like a ballon prior to surgery in order to increase the gaps between follicles. I have also never heard of a doctor doing this. If you can find someone to corroborate your theory I will be shocked. I also experienced zero shockloss in my recipient area, although I did have some around the strip. I have seen countless cases of guys who had HTs without shaving down and they had no shockloss. I'm willing to bet if you had your HT without having to shave down it would not look as dramtically bad as it now does. Now, I'm not saying shockloss doesn't happen, but I don't think it's as common as you're making it out to be. I do think prospective patients should be aware that it is a risk and that their post-HT appearance will be less than optimal, especially if they must shave down.

[bonkerstonker]

Hmm well each to their own i suppose pal. Lets see if Anyone comes forward about the balloon theroy that can confirm that for us. I'm sure joe, spex or matt will know a concrete answer to this if they see the thread i would be interested to know for definite.

[hairthere]

Well, you learn something new every day. Good call Bonker. Thanks for clarifying Spex.

[bonkerstonker]

Thanks spex. No probs hairthere, it would be virtually impossible to implant inbetween the existing hairs without it imo and i definitely wouldn't of risked it without it because for me the gaps just looked too small at normal head size lol.