Persistent Pain and Numbness after HT

[cegomes]

Hi,

I had a hair transplant 5 years ago (in Brazil). The cosmetic result is good.

 

Some months after the procedure, I noticed some persistent pain and high sensibility in my scalp, mainly in the scar and areas near it (example: where the eyeglasses touch my head). But it did not heal. The areas near the scar are extremely sensible. I need eyeglasses to work but its impossible to use them (my astigmatism is incompatible with contact lenses). Its impossible to wear sunglasses and watch 3d movies.

 

Some surgeons said that its necessary to remove the scar, because I could have some neuromas.

 

The scar is very homogeneous, it is not wide, and the HT was made by a very experienced surgeon. He said that this never happened to his patients and he has no idea of what happened with me.

 

I went to some pain specialists (physiatrists) that told me to take amitriptilin (50mg/day) , pregabalin (Lyrica, 225mg/day). None of them had any effect! I could not take more than 50mg/day of amitriptilin because itcould cause anxiety. I already take 1200mg/day of carbamazepine (it is used for other neuralgias) for bipolar III disorder.

 

Other things I already tried are: laser terapies, topical capsaicin and local injections of corticoids. No results!

 

Now, the surgeons think that the only thing to do is a surgery to completely remove the scar, like a new strip (very very thin) for hair transplant, without transplanting follicules. I'm not sure if this will help.

 

I already did lots of search and some web sites and surgeons comment that it is possible (very rare) to have persistent pain after years of HT, but I never found suggestions of how to treat it.

 

Sorry for the bad english. Thank you.

[Blake Bloxham]

Ce,

 

What type of surgeon recommended removing and revising the scar?

[cegomes]

Two plastic surgeons.

One does ht. The other does other things like face liftings and etc.

[s2thoudriver]

Botox in the scar area to rid the pain?

 

Just a suggestion.

[Blake Bloxham]

If the pain is truly being caused by a neuroma or some sort of nerve entanglement secondary to fibrotic scar tissue, I don't know if Botox would help. Botox essentially prevents muscles from contracting. This works in some individuals with chronic tension headaches or cranial pain secondary to TMJ dysfunction because both those issues can be musculoskeletal in nature. However, if it were purely neurological, its logical to assume that ce may have received some relief from the neuropathic pain agents he previously took. So it is difficult to say!

 

Having said that, I do think the best thing to do is consult with a number of medical and surgical physicians (which it sounds like you have been doing) and figure out your best option. In many cases, people view surgery as a "last resort," and I think the option to undergo a second procedure is something that you need to make with a physician you trust.

 

I hope this helps!

[cegomes]

Well, I will consult two neurologysts monday and tuesday. I read some articles about treatments of occipital nerve damage.

Its very strange that none of the treatments had effect...

I can say that dipirona (novalgina) helps a little bit (around 20%) and capsaicin too, but not enough.