Sparse donor - Overharvested?

[JF1993]

Hello all,

I am currently 3 and a half months post FUE, with 4500 grafts transplanted. I’m currently taking Finasteride and Minoxidil.  

My donor area is still looking very sparse and I’m concerned at this stage I won’t see further improvement.

From what I’ve read I’m concerned this is a case of over harvesting rather than temporary shock loss. 
I would just like to hear other opinions/experiences with this. Has anyone had a similar appearance at this stage and recovered?

I have attached a photo of the donor today and post surgery. 

 

Grateful  for any advice!
 

 

[A_4_Archan]

Give it more time and it may improve...but imho my initial thoughts are that it may have been unfortunately over harvested ...can you please share some pre op pics of your donor and immediate post op pics...and who was the surgeon ?

Edited lines

You can use topical minoxidil for some specific thinned out patches on your donor ..it may help..

Edited April 19, 2023 by A_4_Archan

[Edsarn2017]

You might have shock-loss. This happened to me after my first hair transplant and I had a bit of bald patch near my ear, but that disappeared after about 9 months or so. However, I would tend to agree with @A_4_Archan - we need to see pics of your donor pre-HT. Do give it time though!

[JF1993]

23 minutes ago, A_4_Archan said:

Give it more time and it may improve...but imho my initial thoughts are that it may have been unfortunately over harvested ...can you please share some pre op pics of your donor and immediate post op pics...and who was the surgeon ?

Edited lines

You can use topical minoxidil for some specific thinned out patches on your donor ..it may help..

Unfortunately I don’t have immediate post op pics 😟 I’ve attached a picture of my donor pre op. 

Clinic was Vera Clinic. Had I came across the forum sooner my clinic selection would have been different. But I’ll wait it out incase it improves 🤞 

Thank you for the tip with Minoxidil, will try that out. My left side is a little sparse but the right side is a lot worse. 

[JF1993]

Another picture of Donor Pre transplant. Excuse the awful haircut 😂 These are the only photos I have

[A_4_Archan]

Your donor was pretty good..i hope you recover soon....yeh you made a bad choice regarding clinic but sometimes those hairmills may produce good outcome and i wish my judgment be wrong and you are just facing temporary shock loss..so i wish you all the best and please keep updating ...

Edited April 19, 2023 by A_4_Archan

[JF1993]

Thank you for the replies so far. I’ll try keep this updated with monthly progress pictures. 

[Melvin- Admin]

Hopefully this video can help

 

[Rahal Hair Transplant]

@JF1993,

The key in answering your question here has to do with how long ago you had your hair transplant.  While looking at pictures of your donor hair prior to surgery should give you an idea of what it should look like after your hair transplant grows in, you are only 3 1/2 months postop. This means that you very well may have experienced donor area shock loss, which sometimes takes up to six months to a full-year to return.

So at this stage, it’s far too early to determine whether or not your donor area has been over harvested. I suggest waiting until your hair transplant results grow in a.k.a. 12 months after surgery before determining whether or not there are any issues regarding your donor area and overharvesting.

Best wishes,

Rahal Hair Transplant 

Edited April 19, 2023 by Rahal Hair Transplant

[Gramatik]

Most likely to be shock loss, since the extraction sites do not look close to each other...Usually shock loss takes aboyt 6-7 months to recover. So just be patient.

[kiwik]

Hi, the harvesting pattern doesn't look too bad, I guess this is mostly shock loss. I am 3 months past my HT and I am also experiencing some noticeable shock loss. Maybe you should have a look at the following thread:

He had a very similar shock loss, still visible after 3 ½ months, and his donor dramatically recovered soon after. Don't get your hopes up too high though, it might take a few more months for you

 

[JF1993]

Small update…It’s now 4months since the transplant.

I feel like there’s been some improvements lately 🤞 I’ve tried to take photos with the same lighting as the previous picture, and also one outdoors.

 

Edited May 5, 2023 by JF1993
Picture

[Melvin- Admin]

Definitely looks to be improving.

[Sunset Dune]

Your hair looked good pre op hopefully you will get a good result and your hair will look better than before. But next time you get a hair transplant please do more research on the clinic because Vera is a hair mill and you risk getting overharvested or botched

[Bucky O Hair]

You may be fixating too much on this.

It's tough to tell if there is even any difference between your preop donor and your postop donor.  

Sometimes our mind plays tricks on us when we're looking at our hair every single day during our postop recovery phase.  I, too, have caught myself fixating at my donor wondering if there was something different that wasn't like that before (when it's likely nothing notable).

What matters most is that there is nothing abnormal or odd looking about your donor right now. 

Nobody here would have ever guessed that you had a transplant and harvested anything from that area if they saw you walking down the street.