Senior Member BigBill1234 Posted June 4, 2009 Senior Member Share Posted June 4, 2009 So it turns out my doctor went a little lower with my donor scar than he should have and it is quite large. (9mm) Should I go ahead and have someone revise this, or just live with it? I plan on having another HT, but Dr. Rose said that it would not be wise to go into that scar again because they have such a high chance of stretching like mine did. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member BigBill1234 Posted June 4, 2009 Author Senior Member Share Posted June 4, 2009 So it turns out my doctor went a little lower with my donor scar than he should have and it is quite large. (9mm) Should I go ahead and have someone revise this, or just live with it? I plan on having another HT, but Dr. Rose said that it would not be wise to go into that scar again because they have such a high chance of stretching like mine did. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member imissthebarber Posted June 4, 2009 Senior Member Share Posted June 4, 2009 My understading is that below the occipital (sp?) ridge there is more risk of scarring due to lower collagen so many doctors would not want to go into that area. However, since one has already gone there it is possible that a scar excision could help but I'm not sure that any outcome would be at all certain. Anyway, I am not an expert, hopefully you'll get some docs to comment on your situation, quite a few do chip in on the forum. Is it 9mm the whole way or just at the worst point? How long a section of the scar are you concerned about? e.g. 6cm, 10cm etc What is your age, level of loss, would you plan future transplant procedures? Depending on the answers to these questions FUE or a separate higher strip transplanting into the scar could be an option although it might take a lot of grafts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member BigBill1234 Posted June 4, 2009 Author Senior Member Share Posted June 4, 2009 Yes, Dr. Rose said my scar was below that reidge which I guess is no good. It's not 9mm the whole way, just at the worst part. I am 23, had 1600 grafts and I plan on getting another transplant. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr. Timothy Carman Posted June 4, 2009 Share Posted June 4, 2009 BigBil1234- At that lower level the chances of scar reformation, especially at your age (younger patients can scar more due to their higher collagen levels) are much greater, that along with the general observation that scarring occurs with greater frequency in the area you describe. Rather than attempt to revise, I would recommend a small FUE case to place grafts into the scar, which should give a good result- I would also recommend waiting for at least ten months following your initial surgery so that scar can fully mature and settle down. Overall though, in the long run be optimistic- it's fixable. Hope this helps- Timothy Carman, MD ABHRS President, (ABHRS) ABHRS Board of Directors La Jolla Hair Restoration Medical Center Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member BigBill1234 Posted June 4, 2009 Author Senior Member Share Posted June 4, 2009 If I get another HT, is it possible to fill in the old scar with hairs with a strip surgery? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr. Timothy Carman Posted June 4, 2009 Share Posted June 4, 2009 Absolutely. Timothy Carman, MD ABHRS President, (ABHRS) ABHRS Board of Directors La Jolla Hair Restoration Medical Center Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member BigBill1234 Posted June 4, 2009 Author Senior Member Share Posted June 4, 2009 This is very unfortunate for me! It's sad I did not find this forum prior to my hair transplant and I told Dr. Rose that. I'm pretty upset because I don't want to waste donor hair filling in a scar in my donor hair area!! The doctor did a decent job on my head but thank goodness I only had 1600 grafts. I am kind of at a crossroad as to what to do:-( Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted June 4, 2009 Share Posted June 4, 2009 Sorry to hear about your scar, I truly hope your issue gets resolved, do you have a picture? I am not familiar with (sp) a picture would better illustrate your scar to me, anyway wish you the best. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member HairIsThere Posted June 4, 2009 Senior Member Share Posted June 4, 2009 Yeah I'm sorry to hear about that too Bill..If you don't mind me asking, was the reason your scar got so big strictly due to the doc goin too low in the donor area? or was there any other contributing factors? I wish you all the best man. - 1 HT ~ 3000 grafts - Regimen: Propecia 1X daily Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member BigBill1234 Posted June 4, 2009 Author Senior Member Share Posted June 4, 2009 I don't have a picture as it is pretty difficult to take one of the back of my head. I was told that the scar was so wide because of how it was cut below the ocitipal ridge where a lot of tension is. You can't see the scar when my hair is longer, but I can't use below a 5 one it. You can see it when it is wet though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member javy Posted June 5, 2009 Senior Member Share Posted June 5, 2009 Bigbill1234 Why don't you ask someone to take a picture of your scar and post it on the forum for others to examine it. You may never know, there might be some way to get it fixed...Just my two cents Javy Done done.. Check out my blog.. 2785 grafts by Dr. Humayun Mohammad My Hair Loss WebLog Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member BigBill1234 Posted June 5, 2009 Author Senior Member Share Posted June 5, 2009 I will try to get a picture. I assume there is a way to fix it. Like Dr. Tim said, when I get my 2nd HT, use some of the grafts to fill in the scar?? How many grafts does this usually take? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr. Timothy Carman Posted June 5, 2009 Share Posted June 5, 2009 BigBill- The number of grafts that it takes depends on the total area the scar occupies. Because scar tissue can be a bit less vascularized (less blood supply), you wouldn't want to pack em in there at 40-45 FU/cm2; 25-30FU/cm would be about right- so typically no more than 300 grafts at the most. As Javy says, a pic would be nice. Timothy Carman, MD ABHRS President, (ABHRS) ABHRS Board of Directors La Jolla Hair Restoration Medical Center Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member HairIsThere Posted June 5, 2009 Senior Member Share Posted June 5, 2009 Bill, did you have this HT recently? If now a days it's a general consensus on not going below the occipital ridge thats weird the doc would have done that. Have you talked to him about it? - 1 HT ~ 3000 grafts - Regimen: Propecia 1X daily Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member BigBill1234 Posted June 5, 2009 Author Senior Member Share Posted June 5, 2009 I had it done back in AUGUST!!! I don't know how to confront him about it...? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member imissthebarber Posted June 10, 2009 Senior Member Share Posted June 10, 2009 Dude I'm sorry to hear about how this worked out for you but I was surprised when you said you could still get down to a #5. Plenty of guys with a scar above the ridge can't go any lower than this, and in some cases even at this level the scar still shows. Any HT decision is a big one in your life and so I would definitely not rush into any alterations at this stage. At the moment you just have to let the scar heal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member BigBill1234 Posted June 10, 2009 Author Senior Member Share Posted June 10, 2009 I am not sure if it's a number 5 my barbor said he could use... It's whatever the longest clipper is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now