JustCurious Posted January 23, 2009 Share Posted January 23, 2009 I have been reading posts from this website for a few months and badly want to find the answer to one question. What is the maximum strip thickness that a hair transplant Doctor will ever excise from a patient? Whilst the 1cm - 2.2cm thickness range is quite common, if a patient was lucky enough to have very high scalp laxity (lets say 4cm of donor movement), what is the thickest sized strip a surgeon will ever go to? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JustCurious Posted January 23, 2009 Author Share Posted January 23, 2009 I have been reading posts from this website for a few months and badly want to find the answer to one question. What is the maximum strip thickness that a hair transplant Doctor will ever excise from a patient? Whilst the 1cm - 2.2cm thickness range is quite common, if a patient was lucky enough to have very high scalp laxity (lets say 4cm of donor movement), what is the thickest sized strip a surgeon will ever go to? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Member mmhce Posted January 27, 2009 Senior Member Share Posted January 27, 2009 I think it would not matter if the doctor can go to 4 cm or 40 cm. The surgeon needs to be judicious in the width of tissue that SHOULD be extracted. Additionally, factors such as tension in closing the excision would become critical. Donor supply is finite. take care... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member Dr. William Lindsey Posted January 27, 2009 Regular Member Share Posted January 27, 2009 Our typical strip is 1.5cm wide. Even in tight scalps that closes easily. The widest that I recall doing is 3cm and we had no significant scar problem but he had a stretchy scalp. I have repaired wounds on scalps from a variety of causes and my general guideline has been if the wound is 4cm or more, we need to use some type of flap closure; or leave a central area for secondary intention healing(healing itself over time). Dr. Lindsey McLean VA William H. Lindsey, MD, FACS McLean, VA Dr. William Lindsey is a member of the Coalition of Independent Hair Restoration Physicians Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JustCurious Posted January 30, 2009 Author Share Posted January 30, 2009 Thank you for your replies mmhce and Dr Lindsey. Prior to posting the question, I did always presume that as long as tension was still quite low upon closure, that strips as thick as 3cm can extracted by clincs whilst maintaining a scar that is 2mm or less in thickness. I suppose it would be reasonable to expect that strips as thick as 2.5cm - 3cm (at the thickest point) are quite common practice when clinics are extracting 5000-6000 grafts in the one procedure. 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