Recipient site scarring??

[HotCreek]

To what degree is visible recipient site scarring unavoidable? I've seen at least 20 guys in person

who'd had HT procedures at a well-known and reputable office.

 

In some of the guys, at the base of each transplanted hair, a small scar (or what I would presume is a scar) was visible. It looked as if the hair follicle was growing out of the top of a very tiny "volcano" (for lack of a better word) skin configuration; sort of like a "Hershey's kiss."

 

Most guys did NOT have this look. However, a few did. Is this condition temporary? Is it a scar or some other "anomaly?" Is it a sign of poor work or a surgical "miscue" of some sort?

 

In many HT patients I've seen, it's the only sign that a HT has occurred.

 

Thanks!

[HotCreek]

To what degree is visible recipient site scarring unavoidable? I've seen at least 20 guys in person

who'd had HT procedures at a well-known and reputable office.

 

In some of the guys, at the base of each transplanted hair, a small scar (or what I would presume is a scar) was visible. It looked as if the hair follicle was growing out of the top of a very tiny "volcano" (for lack of a better word) skin configuration; sort of like a "Hershey's kiss."

 

Most guys did NOT have this look. However, a few did. Is this condition temporary? Is it a scar or some other "anomaly?" Is it a sign of poor work or a surgical "miscue" of some sort?

 

In many HT patients I've seen, it's the only sign that a HT has occurred.

 

Thanks!

[Guest]

One would normally not expect to see any recepient area scarring at all. Most of the old scars that one saw was the result of putting large poorly trimmed grafts with large amounts of excess skin into sites made by removing skin with a punch, or laser, or stretching it out with dialators. If one uses a natural graft (follicular unit) well trimmed into a needle hole, with a size of less than 1.7mm, there should not be any scarring, although if the hair is coarse and black, where it exits the skin there may be a little small indentation. Hair transplants work well for most people, but they are not perfect and the results one sees may have some limitation compared to the natural hair.

[Dr. Paul Rose]

In rare instance there can be a raised area around single hair follicles. When it occurs it is only evident when light is reflected from certain angles and occurs with hairs that are very coarse and dark.

 

I beieve that this may result from a couple of causes. There may be an inflammatory process followed by microscopic fibrosis (scarring). The situation may occur when the follicle is implanted perhaps high in the skin.

 

I believe that the indentation mentioned by Dr McClellan is essentially pitting and occurs when the hair is placed too deep or the recipient site is too large allowing the skin edges to collapse inward.The grafts must be placed at the appropriate height to avoid this problem.Again if it occurs it is more pronunced in those with dark hair.This also relates to reflected light.