Can Wrong Angled Hair Be Repaired

[EastCoast]

What do you do when you have mis-matched angles in your hairline that clump and point different directions?

 

Can you take them out and replant or do you build around?

 

Any ideas?

[Spanker]

Yes and yes. You can take them out and replant them, however it it is the right follicular size, like not a plug, you will be better off to build around them in almost all cases.

[EastCoast]

Will replanting around say 1 and 2 hair grafts that are far off (angled) hair make this poorly angled hair lay better?

 

I was told by one doctor that the area has a little scarring and he didn't want to remove/replant as it could pit. He tried to fue the graft and twist it to new angle but as stated some are is scarred and he did not attempt all areas.

 

It looks like pubic hair in a 1/2 inch by 1/2 inch spot at the temple area. Up and down, left and right and it does Not comb in any direction nicely.

 

 

If some hairs are too low in hairline what is best fue or electrolysis? Do you think FUE would leave small white scar dot?

 

Could you perform electrolysis, wait and replant new grafts in area?

[Spanker]

It all depends on how much hair you are talking about and your characteristics.

 

Did you see a recommended doctor to consult you on a repair?

[EastCoast]

I have had 2 consultations and quite confused. Had a couple so called small repair sessions of no luck?

 

Need maybe best surgeon and remove grafts I think.

 

Build around in past just did ok camo.

 

Thanks

[michaeljames]

What do you do when you have mis-matched angles in your hairline that clump and point different directions?

 

Can you take them out and replant or do you build around?

 

Any ideas?

 

Hi there East Coast,

 

A native of the frigid Northeast here; but sunny Southern Cal finally got me; guess why...lol. One of the most rewarding things we get to do in the practise here is exactly what your asking. Repairing or redeisgning older or inferior HTs. So simple mate, it can be corrected and improved in the hands of the better HTN recommended surgeons. Get an online consult from several and make the choice that suits you. All the Best, Michael

[EastCoast]

I decided to go FUE.

Can someone tell me if you remove wrongly angled hair via fue can you reset it in same hole or will it pit?

 

What is pitting and what does it look like?

 

If the Doctor FUE's a wrong angle can he twist it in the right angle and not replant?

This would be same hair follicle but only loosened and turned in right direction. No removal.

[scar5]

I disagree with Spanker here. In most cases I believe you are better trying to remove the misangled hair. My reasons are;

- because as ur hair thins, they become more noticeable

- they greatly restrict ur hair style options when u need all the help u can get

- building around them only intensifies the clump or cluster of color, which only hightlights the other areas

 

U can punch out the hair but I am yet to hear a doctor replant them nearby, let alone in the same hole that formed upon their extraction. If they were replanted in the extraction hole again, the scarring that will form in the that hole will distort the angle of the hair in an unpredictable way. U could end up with the same proble u started with. But why they can't plant nearby? That is something of a mystery to me at this stage.

[EastCoast]

If you punch out in hairline and say re-plant around then you must remember that the spacing will be off. Can you replant in or near a hole that was fue out? Once a hole heals I guess you could punch near it in future.

I also have a couple of compressed grafts so what if one fue the graft and then dissects the graft and replants in same hole?

Can a hair that stands straight up be fue'ed, then twisted in same hole to change angle?

What causes bad angles? The slit or direction hair was implanted.

Will I have fue scarring in hairline area from punch?

[gillenator]

If you punch out in hairline and say re-plant around then you must remember that the spacing will be off. Can you replant in or near a hole that was fue out? Once a hole heals I guess you could punch near it in future.

 

I also have a couple of compressed grafts so what if one fue the graft and then dissects the graft and replants in same hole?

 

Can a hair that stands straight up be fue'ed, then twisted in same hole to change angle?

 

What causes bad angles? The slit or direction hair was implanted.

 

Will I have fue scarring in hairline area from punch?

 

East Coast, I think I remember you from way back. Sorry to hear of your dilemma. Was this from a FUE procedure when FUE first made it to the USA and it was the trending topic in the forums?

 

It is very difficult to answer which tough grafts can be extracted and which ones could potentially be excised and which ones should be avoided. Pics would help but please allow me to comment in general terms.

 

There is transection risk to any of these difficult angled grafts whether they are extracted or excised. Before FUE obviously these type of grafts or the larger plugs had to be excised and then dissected into smaller grafts and re-implanted. When cuting out the grafts (excised), there are no forces of traction, torsion, and compression when removing them. They are cut out period. With plugs, sometimes a suture or two is used to close the opening to mnimize the effect of visual scarring. Transection goes down considerably IMHO "if" the removed grafts are microscopically dissected after removal versus just removing and immediately re-implanting.

 

Single hair grafts are easier to remove with FUE because there is only one hair follicle to harvest out compared to a larger graft. If the grafts are improperly angled, the FUE surgeon cannot see below the surface to see how the follicles are angled or seated. This is what makes extracting mis-angled grafts very difficult if not impossible. And the ones that have pitting make this guessing game even more difficult and why many docs will not want to do it.

 

I am not an advocate of re-implanting extracted grafts or even excised grafts in the same original site they were removed from. Yes in some cases they can be re-implanted into a fresh recipient site where it is not under trauama from where it was removed. I believe it takes a combination of freshly harvested grafts to camouflage the area "after" the recipeint area has completely healed and not under trauma or stress. One of the biggest reasons grafts do not survive is related to the trauma they are under after they have been harvested. You can always go back to have new grafts extracted to place in the areas that need them.

 

Of course depending on the condition of the removed grafts, they may not be in good shape to re-implant for the reasons that I stated above. Some can, some cannot. The characteristics of the grafts in the temporal areas sound sparse and may not survive the re-implant. The surgeon will have to make that call once he gets them out, if you decide that you want those grafts removed.

 

You can also harvest some terminal hair from the parietal areas (sides) with FUE if you are light on donor availibility. But again my suggestion is that you do this in a two or even three stage repair procedure. Again, once you completely heal after the stubborn grafts are removed, the surgeon will be at a better advantage to see how much scarring developed between where the open spaces are. The larger the punch or the larger the incision is made to remove, the larger the scar may result. Still, some are hardly noticable to the common person.

 

I truly believe that freshly harvested grafts will best help to camoulflage the ones that cannot be removed. Otherwise grafts that were removed and in bad shape stand very little chance of survival or regrowth when re-implanted so why create more open incisions in the recipent area when the removed grafts stand very little chance to survive. And as I said, if they are re-implanted within the same site that they were removed, it can lessen the re-growth chances that much more because of the additional trauma and rebuilding of scar tissue.

 

Can poorly angled grafts be scored free with a punch and then twisted or re-angled? Maybe, but doubtful and few cases like this has been done. The follicles themselves have to be seated properly so the entire graft must be freed to re-position the follilce(s), not just the graft itself. Cutting the dermis tissue layer and then twisting the graft in itself will not properly re-angle the follicles within the graft IMHO. In fact, I honestly believe that it can transect the graft from the forces of traction, torsion, etc.

 

And yes both the recipient incisions and how the grafts are seated at time of placement are both critical. A misdirection of either can produce the problem you are experiencing. Think of it this way. The recipient incision acts like a guide that the grafts slide into. In addition, if the recipient incisions are slightly bigger than the perimeter of the grafts, then pitting can occur. If the sites are too small for the grafts, then a raised bump can occur during the healing process.

 

This is why some docs have the grafts microscopically prepared so that both the incision sizes and the peripheral width of the grafts match as closely as possible.

 

Best wishes to you East Coast.

Edited February 20, 2013 by gillenator

[michaeljames]

What do you do when you have mis-matched angles in your hairline that clump and point different directions?

 

Can you take them out and replant or do you build around?

 

Any ideas?

 

Hello East Coast;

 

Your question on the surface lends to thinking of course this can be done because FUT methods both 'Strip Method" and FUE procedures have advanced greatly in the past few years. However depending on which type of surgery you had, the health of the grafts at present and the level of transection; all makes your query more unique. This underscores the need of using one of the best surgeons and one who experience and recommendation is high.

 

Depending on the density there is also the chance a "Celebrity FUE" can provide the aesthetics and change without too much fanfare. This procedure is minimally invasive and not just for celebrites. All the Best, Michael.

[Dr. William Lindsey]

My general thoughts are that unless the hairs are really mis-aligned so that you can't cover them with hairspray, mousse, etc, that we simply pack hair around the previously placed hairs. You paid for them already, and they are growing, so be very cautious before you dig them up and replant them. Some won't make it. Its all just like moving a little fragle tree (singles up front) or a bigger tree (doubles /triples behind). I'd think carefully before proceeding.

 

Good luck to you either way.

 

Dr. Lindsey McLean VA