3 Weeks Post-Op. Concerns about donor area. Overharvest or Shock Loss? Too early to tell?

[Chris T]

Hi! I'm three weeks post-op. Hoping to get people's input on my recent transplant. Long story short, have been thinning since my 20s (I'm not in my late 30s). Hair line was non-existence and the mid-scalp was thinning, along with crown. Had about 4500+ grafts, or so I'm told, done within two days to recreate hairline, add density to the mid-scalp and a bit of the crown area. Process was FUE extraction and DHI implantation. 

The recipient area, hairline doesn't look too bad, Lots of growth since three weeks post-of.. just waiting for the inevitable shedding to happy very soon. . Some before (Feb 2023) and after (three weeks). Sorry the before is sort of blurry but gives you an idea of what I was dealing with before. See photos below before (Feb 2023) and after (May 20, 2023), along with a recent photo of the scalp. 

I'm concerned at the donor area, at this point and I am not sure if this is shock loss, or overharvested? Unfortunately, I don't have any photos immediately after the surgery with the extractions, but do have a photos a few days out. For context I'm adding a photo pre-surgery to give you an idea of what donor area looked like in Feb.

Three days post-op
  

One week Post-Of: At one week, honestly, doesn't look too bad. 

Two Weeks Post Op: As the hair is growing back out, left view, doesn't look too notice but directly the back and right side view, you can start to see low density or less dense areas. 

Three Weeks Post-Of: Left view doesn't look too bad but again, the back and right side view, looks like there are some patches of hair that are less dense. 

I know I'm just three weeks post-op but should I be concerned or just wait it out? I probably should stop looking in the mirror haha!

Thoughts would be greatly appreciated! Also - Asian descent here, so hair typically is stubborn and usually grows outward for a bit. 

Edited May 21, 2023 by Chris T

[duckling]

can you post some immediate post op pics of donor ? clinic would have sent you those.

 your pre-op donor pic looks so good. you took out so many grafts but still it looks decent enough post-op. look 4500+ grafts is no joke.. thats like 2 HT for some people . there surely would be some shock loss. 

[Chris T]

8 minutes ago, duckling said:

can you post some immediate post op pics of donor ? clinic would have sent you those.

 your pre-op donor pic looks so good. you took out so many grafts but still it looks decent enough post-op. look 4500+ grafts is no joke.. thats like 2 HT for some people . there surely would be some shock loss. 

Yeah, let me see if I can request them. I didn't bother to ask following the surgery for the photos, to be honest. Will post once I receive them. Plus, I was too mortified to even want to see what the back of my head looks immediately post-op. lol. 

Yeah, the two DHI sessions, 4500+ graft wasn't too bad. What was bad was having to ensure the injections of the local anesthesia for those two days hah! 

[duckling]

sure, post them once you receive. those pics will give clear view of all the extractions. haha understandable to not want to see those pics that time with all the anasthesia pain.

by the way you dont have to worry about donor looking thin. your grafts look so thick that once they grow to a length probably no skin will be visible. And shock loss is temperary so they should grow back , if any you had lost. 

p.s. one more thing that rest area of scalp is looking so dense that its making your donor worse than it actually is .

[Chris T]

Update. I think it might be shock loss I'm experiencing. Comparison photo. Left (today) and right (couple days ago at three weeks). Looks like the hair is filling in. 

Back still looks the same, with that "letterbox" area that's growing slower than the non-extracted area. I'm hoping that's shock loss too and will fill in over time. I gotta stop checking my head lol... driving me crazy and playing games on me. 

Edited May 23, 2023 by Chris T

[TheGreatPretender]

Your donor seems strong enough so I would call it shock loss. 

With 4500 grafts you haven't really exhausted it enough to call it a day and the fact that you are slowly recovering proves it. 

[Chris T]

18 minutes ago, TheGreatPretender said:

Your donor seems strong enough so I would call it shock loss. 

With 4500 grafts you haven't really exhausted it enough to call it a day and the fact that you are slowly recovering proves it. 

Thanks for your input! I was a bit concerned when I saw the extracted donor site coming in very sparely w/low density compared to the other non-donor area and feared it may have been overharvested. The "u" shape extracted donor site started becoming very visible as my hair was growing out but the slow recovery started to improve the overall appearance of the donor site. What a relief! I just need to be patient throughout the next year and remain hopeful end result will be positive. 

[JohnCasper]

Looks like shock loss to me as well.  I'm sure you will be very happy in 3-4 months.  Keep us posted.

[Chris T]

Update about 6 weeks post-op. Donor is slowly recovering. Still thin but can definitely see the recovery. 

Also - started shedding a lot at about the 1 month mark for about a week. It has stopped. Fortunately, the grafts at the hairline didn't completely shed completely and still in-tact. .

Also - I did end up buzzing the donor area and sides (.5 guard) at the 1 month mark.... am going to leave it and let it grow out going forward... haha. 

Now we wait for the regrowth and donor recovery. 

 

Edited June 18, 2023 by Chris T

[Chris T]

2 Months Update. Donor area is definitely recovering.

 

[JohnCasper]

Great to see the update and your happy with the recovery process.  Good for you, it's looking good.  Keep us posted. 

[Jayhair]

Hows donor looking after a year. Mines after 3 months is still sparse so still a bit wary if its shock loss or overharvest @Chris T