Scar excision or fue into scar?

[RustyShackleford]

3 years after Fut (1,000 grafts), I want to repair the scar. HT doc said it stretched more than he anticipated, apparently I have too much scalp laxity. Ideally I'd like to conceal scar and have a shorter haircut (3 or 4 razor) without harming donor density too much.

 

Option 1: Doc offered to do a scar excision with double layer tricho suture. He said he did a single layer tricho originally (whatever that means). He'd also implant any grafts harvested, but I just want to excise the scar not do another strip.

 

Option 2: FUE into scar, estimated 400-600 grafts. If I went this route I'd consider up to 1k grafts to finish some work up front.

 

Scar Excision: Cant find a lot of success stories with this one. Has anyone had a long-lasting positive outcome they can share? Did it allow you to wear your hair shorter? How did it impact the density around the scar? Im thinking if i had some success then id require less fue grafts in the future to improve the scar if i needed. Would hate to make things worse though.

 

FUE: I have fine blonde hair and am worried about over harvesting. For those who have done fue, do you notice the scars? Can you feel them? Is there any way to get an idea of how 1k grafts would affect density in the donor area for hair type like mine.

 

It would be great to hear some personal experiences. i know Im not the only one in this dilemma.

[n00b]

am sorry about your scar.

Did it stretch after 3 years or was it stretched from the start, say 6 months from the op?

 

As for scar excision or fue, i suggest you look into dr.lindsey. search for his scar excision posts on the forum. i recommend a consult with him.

[Mikey1970]

I had 500 grafts FUE (beard hair) to repair my strip scar, in addition to having my frontal third infilled with regular scalp FUE a month ago.

 

The work on the strip scar seems to be fantastic. My GP has marvelled at the result & my hair is clipped down to a number 2 on the back at present.

 

FUE by a top surgeon into the strip scar seems to be a very good way of treating it. My surgeon believes that beard hair is courser than most hair & therefore the best donor to use for repairing strip scars.

[RustyShackleford]

@n00b not sure, but it likely stretched within 6 months and then probably got slightly worse, but i dont think it will stretch more than it has. Im skeptical of scar excisions because even if you do get a good result, will it stay that way? Really curious what people have experienced because there isnt a lot out there. I've researched Dr. Lindsey, seen his videos and work. Still not convinced.

 

@Mikey1970 That's good to hear. I dont have a ton of beard hair but at least it proves fue can really make a difference. How large was your scar?

[n00b]

i agree with your view on scar excision. Try fue into scar. If it doesn't work out, you can try scar excision then.

[Transhair]

I feel that if your scar stretched after just 1000 grafts, you probably won't get a great result from the excision either, so go with FUE

[RustyShackleford]

Ya I was kind of thinking the other way around. That it might make sense to try the excision and if that doesnt work do fue. The surgeon will do the excision for free. Still waiting to hear if anyone out there has had any real results with scar excision?

 

As far as fue? How bad is the scarring, do you really notice the little dots? Would 400-600 grafts fill the scar well and at least come close to the density?

[hyperhair]

My FREE scar revision ended up even worse than the first scar. it stretched to infinity lol

 

I got FUE transplanted in it in May

 

From my experience DONT do revision

[Bernstein Medical]

Hi Rusty,

This is an excellent question. You are correct, widened scars can be improved in two ways: they can be re-excised to make the scar finer, or hair can be placed into the scar to make it less visible. If the scar has thickened (called a hypertrophic scar), transplanted hair won’t grow in it until it is made thinner. This can be accomplished with injections of cortisone directly into the scar. It often takes a series of 2-3 injections spaced at least a month apart to sufficiently flatten a scar so that it can receive grafts . Once the scar is thinned, hair obtained through FUE may be transplanted into the scar. You can read more about this topic on my blog: What are Options for Fixing Wide Donor Scars? In our practice we perform FUE with the ARTAS robotic system.

I hope you find this helpful.

Dr. Bernstein

[Louisjams]

I understand it bothers you but, IMHO, your scar really does not look that bad. Your hair above and below the scar looks very dense and should really make this pretty invisible. Have people commented on it to you? I suspect that unless you are absolutely dead set on a very short haircut you may be better off just leaving it alone.

[MrGio-WHTCClinic]

Linear scarring and stretch-back occurs up to a few years after scar revision through excision. FUE with beard is a viable solution in the long-term.

[RustyShackleford]

Louisjams, thanks man I appreciate the kind words. I know it's not the worst and Im thankful for that but it really bothers me. No one has commented on it because I keep my hair so long, someday i'd like to try buzzing down to at least a 4 or 5 though.

 

I think it's the width of the scar and the lack of density that bothers me most. I'm hesitant to do fue because i dont want to thin out the back to fix a scar. And I still havent really heard of many successful excisions (in fact i hear the opposite), although the HT doc seems really confident the double layer tricho will make an improvement. I guess he only did a single layer suture the first time. It's a tough one... I don't plan on doing anything until I'm 100 percent confident in the decision.

[RustyShackleford]

@hyperhair, Stretched to infinity, what happened? How big was it to begin with? Did you combine it with another procedure? What's your scalp laxity like? Did the doctor do the double layer tricho suture?

 

And then how many fue grafts did you decide to do? How do the tiny scars feel/impact on the donor area?

 

Sorry for so many questions man, this is all the stuff Im trying to understand. I'd much rather get info from real people than HT doc websites.