Donor Scar... Is there anything I can do?

[Guest]

I'm just wondering if there is anything I can do myself to ensure that I end up with as fine a donor scar as possible? I know that the majority of the end result of the scar is in the hands of the surgeon. But is there anything that I can do that would maybe aid in the healing and end results? Cheers to everyone and I look forward to hearing what advice is out there.

 

danger

[MrJobi]

Hi

 

These days the better doctors use advanced closure techniques which leave very slight scar. I had a procedure 2 weeks ago and have my hair at a 2 guard and you can't tell. Just go to a good doctor

[Robert_]

danger,

 

I gave you some information on the "ledge closure" technique being utilized by many top physicians today in this thread.

 

In the future, it would be appreciated if you limit starting a topic to only one thread and not duplicating it in others. Most members that read the forums will peruse all of the threads so it should get seen in only one.

 

-Robert

[MDM130]

I have just had my second surgery and typically keep my hair cropped with a #2 guard. Anyway what has worked for me is actually shaving my head after three weeks and using Aloe Vera gel on the scar and the scalp. This clears it up and in my opinion helps with the growth. I know this is somewhat radical but the hair is trained the way I want it as it comes in and the scar heals and fades much better.

[Pat - Community Publisher]

As MRJB indicated, in recent years more attention and care has been given by leading surgeons to removing and closing the donor area.

 

Some surgeons use internal sutures beneath the skin level to draw the donor area together, thus relieving tension on the sutures used to bring the scalp skin together.

 

Many surgeons are also careful to not remove donor strips that are any wider than 1.5 cms. Thus donor strips these days tend to be longer rather than wider.

 

Many leading surgeons are also using a technique called Tricophetic closure in which the skin tissue at the suture is beveled so that the hair follicles in the underlying lip will grow up and through the suture line. This not only hides a thin scar but also strengthens the closure.

 

Dr. Paul Rose in Tampa Florida is a big advocate of this technique. Although while visiting clinics this past summer I did see this technique used in several leading clinics.

 

Frankly, I think the issue of donor scarring has been over blown by some clinics selling their FUE (Follicular Unit Extraction) procedure. The leading clinics who take the time to do excellent and careful donor removal and closure have a very low incidence of cosmetically significant donor scarring. Strip excision is also much more cost effective for transplanting large amounts of hair.

 

To learn more about the relative advantages and disadvantages of these two donor removal techniques, click here.

 

Pat