worried about shockloss

[Marie32]

I am a 32 year old female planning on a hair transplant as hair loss is herditary for me form both sides of my family. Also teh females in my family have high testosterone levels which is a big part of my balding problem. My biggest concern is the shockloss. Does anyone else have or had a problem with this? What should I expect. ALso if I lose hair from shockloss and gain it from the transplant I am basically back to where I started with the same amount of hair, right?

[Bill - Seemiller]

Marie,

 

Any time hair is transplanted in between or around existing natural hair, there is a risk for temporary shock loss, referred to as telogen effluvium. This risk is even greater for women.

 

Tthe good news is that in almost all cases, telogen effluvium is temporary and both natural and transplanted hair regrowth will begin around the same time.

 

Severely miniaturized or vellus hairs may not return if they are "shocked" since they may be too weak to survive the trauma of surgery. But hair transplant surgery only expedites the inevitable for these hairs since they were in the process of dying anyway.

 

It's extremely important for female hair loss sufferers to consult a dermatologist to determine the cause of their alopecia. Non-genetic baldness can often be reversed by treating the condition causing it.

 

Many females are not good candidates for hair transplant surgery depending on their hair loss pattern. Any thinning hair on the sides and back of the scalp puts the female patient at risk of losing transplanted hair in the future. This is because the donor area "safe zone" is vulnerable to hair loss and thus, any hair taken and transplanted may also thin and fall out too.

 

Take your time and do plenty of research. Many hair restoration doctors recommended by this community have plenty of experience with female patients and they've all met our high standards for recommendation.

 

I hope this helps.

 

Bill

[kevkristy]

Marie

Be very, very careful. Shock loss is a major problem with hair transplantation. In my opinion, it's vastly underdisclosed and/or brushed off as a temporary thing.

 

And female hair tranplantation should be particularly worrisome given that female balding is usually diffused and not receding.

 

With this, hair transplants will be placed in and around existing hairs and not in areas where little to no hair exists.

 

And you're right. If you have 3,000 total hairs implanted but lose even 2,000+ due to shock of surgery, you will have virtually no improvement in appearance.

 

And if you lose them in certain areas (e.g. where your hair is currently stronger) you could be worse off.

 

Think about the idea of "if they were on there way out then they may not come back" for a second. You're getting a transplant because you're losiing your hair. Hence, most of these hairs are one their way out at some point. Which ones is the crapshoot.

 

Docs that shave heads seem to have better results, or that's what they claim - as they tout better precision in not harming existing hair follicles.

 

Believe me its a mess during surgery and so the idea of bloody hair getting in the way of the visuals makes some sense. A shaved head would give a cleaner desktop to work, if you will.

 

But again, do you want to walk around with a shaved head for 6-8 months post op? It's a tough call.

 

Just make sure you discuss with doctor. Ask the doctors this question specifically. Get them in writing.

 

And get on propecia and vitamins as this will stregthen existing hairs.

 

Good luck.