Questions re female sideburn recon with FUE

[SarieMarais]

Hi all

 

I am over a year post op from a disasterous facelift by a 'top' UK surgeon who surgically removed my sideburns without my consent and elevated my hairline above my ears.

 

I've been researching HT for ages and could do with advice.

 

It's difficult to find anyone with significant experience of female sideburn recon, for example there are just a few pics on the internet and it's the same few pics constantly circulating.

 

Some surgeons appear to have fantastic results with female sideburn recon using strip.

 

i am a bad candidate for strip as i already have a .8 x 7cm bald strip on my head courtesy the FL surgeon where he pulled too tight and the scar stretched, my hair fell out and i now have this bald strip.

Coupled with the loss of sideburns i have lost alot of volume and my hair was thin and fine to begin with.

 

So i cannot risk a stretched scar from strip.

 

I recently had revision surgery to try and minimise the elevated hairline (flap rotation and temple redraping) and to ecxise the bald strip but this unfortunately failed. The bald strip simply stretched again resulting in yet more hair loss and the rotation had no impact on the elevated hairline.

 

My options are now limited to FUE and i really need to get it right as the emotional and financial impact continues to devastate me.

 

When i email HT surgeons, they either don't reply, or they recommend strip- despite me sending a pic of my huge stretched scar/bald strip.

 

I need to find some one who is experienced in FEMALE sideburn recon specifically and will take the time to give me appropriate personal advice.

 

Any comments, advice or experiences would be really welcome.

[Dr. Glenn Charles]

If you have had a failed strip procedure I do not see why FUE could not be attempted to reconstruct your side burns. You would need to have a small area in the donor area shaved to perform the FUE procedure. With everything you have already been through I would imagine this would be tolerable. Usually when I perform side burn reconstruction for post face lioft patients I use 300-400 FU's per side. This number of grafts is easy to get with FUE. Unfortunately, FUE is generally more expensive that strip procedures.

[SarieMarais]

Many Thanks for the response. I couldn't find any photos of female sideburn recon on your website. Are there any results you could post on this site? I'm sure there are other women out there who have the same issue I do and would find some examples very useful.

 

Thanks again

[Blake Bloxham]

Hi Sarie,

 

I'm sorry to hear about the disappointing lift procedure. Frankly, I've seen a number of sideburn repairs performed on post-face lift patients over the years, and I think the loss of female "sideburns" can be a real post-operative concern.

 

Furthermore, I've taken the liberty of performing a search for sideburn restoration examples, and although the results may be a bit generalized, it could be helpful (click here).

 

I think many hair transplant surgeons are quick to recommend follicular unit transplantation (FUT) to female patients because in general, women are excellent FUT candidates (good donor laxity, great hair characteristics, thick scar coverage, etc). However, like Dr. Charles mentioned, this does not mean you couldn't also be an excellent follicular unit extraction (FUE) candidate as well.

 

I highly recommend (along with continuing a line of communication with Dr. Charles) revieiwng our pre-screened hair transplant physicians and inquiring about this issues further.

 

Please, feel free to ask any additional questions. Good luck!

[SarieMarais]

Thank you Blake.

 

I actually already emailed pics to a number of recommended docs on this forum a year ago. Many didn't reply and those that did were suggesting strip. One or two have suggested FUE, but then failed to respond when i asked to see photos of past patients.

 

I need to be absolutely sure the surgeon i select has proven experience with female sideburn recon. If they can't provide photos (and not just 1 pic of the best ever result, but pics of all results so that i know what is realistic and know what the worst outcome might look like) and/or put me in touch with previous patients, then i cannot take the risk.

 

I've already had my once attractive face disfigured by a 'top' London surgeon, so i can't make another mistake with this damage limitation exercise.