Post surgery hair loss in places other than donor/recipient?

[fullickles]

I am about 2 and a half months post op from a FUT procedure to restore hairline. I had just over 2K grafts places in the frontal "triangles" where my hairline has receded.

 

My crown area has always been very full though, and as I was looking at it pre-op, I thought that there *might* be some extremely light thinning compared to the rest of my head, but it was pretty hard to be sure. Within a month of the procedure though, I noticed a pronounced thinning of my crown. No bald spots or anything, but it is very noticeably thinner to me as well as my wife.

 

My question is, can this be the result of the surgery? Is this a possible form of shock loss, even though it is not in either donor or recipient area? I am hoping so, and that it will thicken back in, but I am wondering if anyone else has heard of or experienced it.

[Spanker]

I didn't experience a pronounced thinning spot but I think I did see some in the crown a few months after the procedure. Not sure why or if it were because I was checking things out a lot closer. Hair is too long to tell now, but I remember being concerned about it. I don't think it is common or even the result of surgery, could just be bad timing.

[hsrp10]

there is a lot of stress and trauma involved with surgery, including the injections they give, the fatigue, travelling and worrying etc. so probably "surgery stress" related

 

doesn't sound like shock loss, and should grow back

monitor it though and consider your current meds routine (taking Fin etc.)

[Spanker]

I forgot to mention that post surgery is when I started using minox to my mid scalp vertex area, as I didn't think I needed it there before.

[Noodles123]

Absolutely it could be related. The stress of the surgery pushed me into a ridiculous shed that lasted a couple of months. It was literally falling out in clumps each time I showered. Luckily I believe it mostly grew back, but it was very distressing at the time. If the hair was strong, eventually it will regrow but it's not unheard of to have a hair transplant and end up accelerating your hair loss due to the trauma of the surgery.

[fullickles]

My gut tells me that it is related to the surgery, the timing is just too coincidental and the shedding too out of character. Prior to the surgery, I never had hair shedding onto my hands while shampooing. Maybe the stray hair here and there, but it was very rare. Just normal hair cycle sort of stuff. Within weeks of the surgery this was no longer the case. I didn't have it coming out in clumps per se, but there was always several hairs in my hands after shampooing and my head was sort of tingly/itchy all over.

 

I don't take any meds for hair loss and never have. Maybe I am a bit strange, but I would rather have an invasive and uncomfortable procedure than put hormones or chemicals in/on my body. Plus they are pretty expensive. Nothing against anyone who does, it just isn't for me. I did however take MSM for a while immediately post op (for about a month), but then stopped and haven't taken it since. I didn't really notice any acceleration in hair/nail growth from it, and I didn't want to keep taking a supplement if I didn't have to.

 

I am mostly looking to put this experience out there so that people who are considering HT are aware of another possible side effect, as well as get some feedback from other HTers who maybe have had a similar experience to help put my mind at ease a little. Really hoping the density comes back.

[Spanker]

I lose 30 hairs a day in the shower and have been doing so for years and years and have a pretty decent head of hair so far. My guess is that you were losing more than you thought before. You should be losing between 50 and a 100 a day. Keep us updated on your condition.

[Paulygon]

I lose 30 hairs a day in the shower and have been doing so for years and years and have a pretty decent head of hair so far. My guess is that you were losing more than you thought before. You should be losing between 50 and a 100 a day. Keep us updated on your condition.

 

I lose about 50 a day in the shower and when applying Minox.

 

It is very possible OP's issue is related to stress from surgery.