Donor Area looks not full

[Alex Grey]

My donor area after 4 months is getting enough hair but isn’t able to cover all the baldness 

 

it looks less full  and a lot of skin is visible 

 

I had a 5500 FUT FUE transplant 

 

is there a case for over harvesting 

or if it is because I have curly hair 

 

please provide guidance 

 

thank you 

[BaldDude]

need before photos

[Gatsby]

It’s possible it’s shock loss. Do you have pics immediately post op of the donor?

[Alex Grey]

1 hour ago, BaldDude said:

need before photos

Photos before transplant and just after

[Alex Grey]

1 hour ago, Gatsby said:

It’s possible it’s shock loss. Do you have pics immediately post op of the donor?

Thank you for your comment 

 

photos before transplant and just after 

[Gatsby]

It's really hard to tell from the pics. It could be shock loss. If your donor area had much more density prior to surgery then shock loss is the most likely culprit. What has your surgeon said? I would be guided by him/her. It really takes up to 12 twelve months for everything to heal and bounce back to normal.

[Al - Moderator]

It looks like your hair loss was dipping far down the back before the hair transplant.

 

 

[Alex Grey]

20 hours ago, Gatsby said:

It's really hard to tell from the pics. It could be shock loss. If your donor area had much more density prior to surgery then shock loss is the most likely culprit. What has your surgeon said? I would be guided by him/her. It really takes up to 12 twelve months for everything to heal and bounce back to normal.

The surgeon isn’t in contact for this conversation 

 

as soon I get the information from my surgeon, would update it here 

 

I’m hoping it to be shock loss not a case of over harvest 

[Alex Grey]

12 hours ago, BeHappy said:

It looks like your hair loss was dipping far down the back before the hair transplant.

 

 

That is correct 

 

made a mistake of not having my transplant earlier 

 

Things like Covid and other things such as job and financial issues had me pending 

 

guess it’s done when it’s written 

 

 

[Gatsby]

52 minutes ago, Alex Grey said:

The surgeon isn’t in contact for this conversation 

 

as soon I get the information from my surgeon, would update it here 

 

I’m hoping it to be shock loss not a case of over harvest 

If you only had FUT it won’t be over harvested. 

[Alex Grey]

14 minutes ago, Gatsby said:

If you only had FUT it won’t be over harvested. 

I had FUT + FUE (along with beard)

[general-etwan]

You had a low dipping region beforehand, and they took many grafts from the area during the HT. This is simply the result. Yes, it is significantly thinned and will remain so now.

[Alex Grey]

On 12/10/2023 at 6:05 AM, Alex Grey said:

The surgeon isn’t in contact for this conversation 

 

as soon I get the information from my surgeon, would update it here 

 

I’m hoping it to be shock loss not a case of over harvest 

Spoke to him about donor area in person

 

he was vague about it 

 

said if the hair was already thin there and taking out even few grafts would make it look less thinner 

 

said will have to see if there was a shock loss 

[Alex Grey]

On 12/10/2023 at 8:46 AM, general-etwan said:

You had a low dipping region beforehand, and they took many grafts from the area during the HT. This is simply the result. Yes, it is significantly thinned and will remain so now.

They told me at the time of surgery that I may have about 600-700 reserve grafts from donor and 600-700 grafts from beard for future use 

 

is it possible or were they just telling me just like that 

.

I think the only thing I can do now about it is to get a scalp micro pigment done there and hope that the finasteride may make it thicker or dutasteride when I go on it 

[general-etwan]

5 hours ago, Alex Grey said:

They told me at the time of surgery that I may have about 600-700 reserve grafts from donor and 600-700 grafts from beard for future use 

 

is it possible or were they just telling me just like that 

.

I think the only thing I can do now about it is to get a scalp micro pigment done there and hope that the finasteride may make it thicker or dutasteride when I go on it 

I find these numbers to be so subjective; there is no objective fact to them. How many grafts someone has “left” is just a matter of opinion, really, depending on the goal and how much thinning someone is willing to accept. Just keep an eye on the situation for now and continue to evaluate options. 

[Melvin- Admin]

How long ago was surgery? It’s hard to judge when before its short and after it’s long.

[Alex Grey]

On 12/23/2023 at 11:38 AM, general-etwan said:

I find these numbers to be so subjective; there is no objective fact to them. How many grafts someone has “left” is just a matter of opinion, really, depending on the goal and how much thinning someone is willing to accept. Just keep an eye on the situation for now and continue to evaluate options. 

I’m keeping an eye on the donor area

 

it seems full sometimes 

perhaps because of my curly hair 

 

but then the overall look from far away still makes my crown look a lot thin 

I’ll upload the recent picture for donor 

[Alex Grey]

On 12/23/2023 at 8:59 PM, Melvin- Admin said:

How long ago was surgery? It’s hard to judge when before its short and after it’s long.

5th month would be completed now

 

27july had my transplant 

 

also if you can comment on something —

I do not get any or hardly any hairfall from the donor region while moving my hand in there 

 

but the moment I touch my transplanted area for either topical 5% minoxidil or just some coconut oil for anti dryness 

I get quite an amount of hairfall on my fingers 

this is only and only when touching the transplanted region for minoxidil or shampooing 

 

Talked about it to doctors 

they said they can’t say anything and just to wait 

they might grow back 

but it’s really concerning me

[bigmistake]

Can you share the clinic name in the DMs. I also had a failed HT in india where the surgeon cheated me. 

[Al - Moderator]

On 12/25/2023 at 5:04 PM, Alex Grey said:

I do not get any or hardly any hairfall from the donor region while moving my hand in there 

 

but the moment I touch my transplanted area for either topical 5% minoxidil or just some coconut oil for anti dryness 

I get quite an amount of hairfall on my fingers 

this is only and only when touching the transplanted region for minoxidil or shampooing

 

How long have you been using minoxidil? Could you be having a minoxidil shed? If you were using it before the HT and stopped for a while to have the HT and then started up again a few months later, that could be it.

 

[A_4_Archan]

In my opinion, the initial error your doctor made was agreeing to perform the procedure on you, given your status as a high Norwood patient with limited donor hair. However, if the doctor did communicate in advance about managing your expectations regarding the results, then that aspect is acceptable.

It's common for both native and transplanted hairs to shed, with around 80-100 hairs falling out daily being considered normal due to natural hair cycles. However, if the shedding exceeds this range, it could be a cause for concern and you should than take some precautionary measures.

[Lenzman]

17 hours ago, A_4_Archan said:

It's common for both native and transplanted hairs to shed, with around 80-100 hairs falling out daily being considered normal due to natural hair cycles. However, if the shedding exceeds this range, it could be a cause for concern and you should than take some precautionary measures.

Wow that’s a lot of hair to lose naturally per day. I never knew. 

[Alex Grey]

On 2/8/2024 at 10:07 PM, bigmistake said:

Can you share the clinic name in the DMs. I also had a failed HT in india where the surgeon cheated me. 

I’m on month 7 and my hair are still growing here and there 

 

i cannot exactly tell if it is failed yet or not—or if I have been cheated

 

im yet to take my first PRP next week and I have switched to oral minoxidil lately as a slow dosage for starters i.e. 1.25 alternative days 

 

so I am keeping patience and hoping that oral minoxidil combined with PRP will provide better results 

 

 

Edited February 26 by Alex Grey
Month

[Alex Grey]

On 2/8/2024 at 10:13 PM, Al - formerly BeHappy said:

 

How long have you been using minoxidil? Could you be having a minoxidil shed? If you were using it before the HT and stopped for a while to have the HT and then started up again a few months later, that could be it.

 

It was probably topical minoxidil that causing the reaction.

it may have been delayed shedding but I think topical minoxidil was the culprit.

it was also causing me a lot of irritation with itching and severe dandruff 

 

I had to fight my clinic to stop as they aren’t very supportive of oral minoxidil 

 

nevertheless 

I have stopped topical minoxidil and switched to oral and my hair shedding is low now . It’s still there but much lower 

 

I haven’t gone in full dosage yet but starting it slowly 

[Alex Grey]

On 2/9/2024 at 9:01 PM, Lenzman said:

Wow that’s a lot of hair to lose naturally per day. I never knew. 

Yes it is common 

 

searched both on internet and personally with doctors too