Shock loss after a touch up? (photos)

[Xardas]

Hi everyone,

 

Three weeks ago I underwent scar revision surgery and my doctor used some of the grafts to improve density in the areas with little growth (my hair transplant was in August last year). 307 grafts were transplanted this time. So far my scar looks really good, but what worries me is the hairloss on the left side just behind the transplanted hairs. It happened only on one side (the right side looks normal). Three weeks ago I didn't have a bald patch there.

 

Is it possible to lose native hairs so suddenly and only in one place? Or it is simply shock loss? (I take finasteride which seems to halt my hairloss) If so, is shock loss possible after such a small surgery (307 grafts)? I experienced shock loss after my first hair transplant but then my donor area was affected.

 

I am enclosing some photos for reference.

 

I would be extremely grateful for clarification.

[Since21]

The affected area is behind where the grafts were placed? If so, looks like shock loss. Who is your surgeon?

[Blake Bloxham]

Xar,

 

It definitely looks like shock loss. It is good that you are taking Propecia, as this has shown to stabilize surrounding follicles and prevent shock loss when taken peri-operatively. The question, at this point, is whether or not the shock loss is permanent or temporary.

 

It appears like a good portion of the thinning area is in the DHT-resistant temporal/parietal region, so it may be temporary. However, this is not a guarantee. What's more, your only option is, unfortunately, waiting patiently and seeing if the hair regrows. It can take up to 5 months for shock loss follicles to regrow (though some say it takes up to 6 and the most common time frame is 3-4 months), so try and relax until that point.

 

Good luck!

[Xardas]

The affected area is behind where the grafts were placed? If so, looks like shock loss. Who is your surgeon?

 

Thanks for the answer. My surgeon is Dr. Suradej Pong from Thailand.

[Xardas]

Xar,

The question, at this point, is whether or not the shock loss is permanent or temporary. (..) However, this is not a guarantee. What's more, your only option is, unfortunately, waiting patiently and seeing if the hair regrows.

 

Thank you for your prompt reply. That's quite worrying what you are saying, but as you mentioned I can not do anything about it

[Xardas]

Hi guys,

 

It is me again. 3 months have passed since my previous post and 4 months since my procedure. Some of hairs affected by the shockloss have regrown, however, there is still a substantial amount that has not. I can quite easily cover the bald spot with the exisiting hairs (see 'combover' photo) , but that was not the point of the transplant

 

I have three questions:

 

#1 Do you think it is still possible that all the hairs will regrow, or what I can see now (4 months post-op) is pretty much the final result?

#2 Should I try to use Minoxidil? Or it is unlikely to help in this case? (I am still on finasteride)

#3 It is a good idea to undergo another surgery or it is still too early?

 

I am posting some photos for reference.

 

Thank you very much in advance.

Edited July 9, 2014 by Xardas

[LosAngeleshair]

Your new photos look much thicker, even though, to be honest the quality of photos aren't great for documentation. Do you agree that density seems to be better? usually we know our own body/hair better than anyone, better than someone's opinion looking at your pics on a computer. If you do feel like it is getting thicker, than I would relax and track it the next few months. Actually, this seems to be progressing closely to the time frame Blake mentioned.

 

The "bald" area now looks to be made by the part you made in your hair. It isn't back to baseline density, but in my opinion, it looks to be progressing.

Edited July 9, 2014 by LosAngeleshair

[bonkerstonker]

Check my photo blog for shock loss link below. Don't worry it usually grows back takes about 6 months but is harder in area like yours because the shock loss area will be shorter than surrounding area so gives illusion it's not growing back.

[Xardas]

Your new photos look much thicker, even though, to be honest the quality of photos aren't great for documentation. Do you agree that density seems to be better? usually we know our own body/hair better than anyone, better than someone's opinion looking at your pics on a computer. If you do feel like it is getting thicker, than I would relax and track it the next few months. Actually, this seems to be progressing closely to the time frame Blake mentioned.

 

The "bald" area now looks to be made by the part you made in your hair. It isn't back to baseline density, but in my opinion, it looks to be progressing.

 

Thank you very much for your reply.

 

Definitely density has improved but two things worry me:

 

First of all I'm afraid that only some of the hairs will return and a lot of them will be gone forever. Secondly, many people mention 3-4 months as the time frame when the hair comes back, I'm already past this stage so my concern is that what I got back at this point is close to the final result.

 

PS

 

Sorry for the quality of the pictures.

[Xardas]

Check my photo blog for shock loss link below. Don't worry it usually grows back takes about 6 months but is harder in area like yours because the shock loss area will be shorter than surrounding area so gives illusion it's not growing back.

 

Thank you for sharing your thoughts and sorry for the late reply. Do you think I should try to use minoxidil? Or waiting is all I can do?

[Xardas]

Hi everyone,

 

It is me again. The area on the left side, which was affected by shock loss, did not improve at all over the last month. This bald strip was very wide at the beginning of April, later some hairs returned and the bald area became smaller, however over the last month no new hairs have regrown. It has been 5 months and this area looks exactly the same as one month ago. At this point it is almost certain that no new hairs will grow on my left side. I guess the hairs which fell out would be gone anyway and the procedure only accelerated this process. I am pretty devastated at the moment.

Do you think I should wait one more month (or longer)? Or should I go for FUE?

 

Sorry for the low quality of the photos.

[JustOne]

i would wait till at least 12 months from your last surgery to assess the amount of shock loss you actually had . It could still come back .