Category: Hair Transplantation

Dear Dr. Rassman/other doctors at Balding Blog,

I have gone through a FUE hair transplant 2 months ago and I have some concerns. I appreciate and look forward to your answers. (I have directed them to my surgeon already and just want to get a second opinion from a reputable source)

Around 1100 grafts were transplanted to my temporal area (to fill up the balding area in my left and right front part of my head). A few days after the FUE surgery, I noticed that all my grafts were around 2mm long. It has been 2 months since the surgery, and I noticed that around 5% of the grafts kept growing (at 2 months now, they are around 2cm long). At the 4-week mark, around 85% of the grafts have grown to 5-6 mm long but have stopped growing since then (so they experienced no growths since 4 weeks ago) and 10% of the grafts never grow at all since the surgery (still at their original transplanted 2 mm length).

Would you please tell me if the above situation normal or not? Assuming the 5% that keep growing will still continue to grow, for the rest of the transplanted hairs, after they shred, will they come back? I am a bit concerned that for the 10% that experienced no growth at all since the surgery, they will never come back after shredding. And is it normal for around 85% of the transplanted hairs to grow from around 2mm to 5mm after a month, then stop growing at the 1-month mark and begin their shredding phase and then come back a few months later?

Thanks.

Sometimes after a hair transplant surgery it may seem like the hairs are growing a few millimeters, but they are usually just hairs being pushed out before they fall out (since a hair shaft can be as long as 5mm beneath your scalp). If you gently tug on those hairs you may notice how easily they come out. Otherwise, I suppose anything is possible.

With regard to your observations on the rate of growth, I would wait another 2-3 months and then reassess your situation, hopefully with your doctor. At that time, please feel free to send me a follow-up if you’d like to update our readers.

I have undergone my 3rd hair transplant surgery in March 2010 and I am at the 8 month mark. I am mostly satisfied with my results, but hoping for some more growth and increased density. I was wondering if the transplanted hair takes longer to emerge and mature when you have had successive hair transplants. I was told by my doctor that the hair transplants take longer to emerge after the third hair transplant and i should expect some more hair growth and increase in density.

I would like to get your thoughts around this. Thank you.

I’m not sure why your surgeon would’ve told you it takes longer for hair to grow after the multiple procedures, because the growth period is roughly the same for each surgery. The third surgery should grow at about the same time as the first one did. If you are concerned about growth, speak with your doctor again. I occasionally see some growth occur between 8-12 months, but that is usually in addition to what is grown by the 8th month.

You should be alarmed if there is no growth within the one year time frame, but less concerned if it has only been under 6 months. In your case at 8 months, you should see some good growth by now with hopefully a little more in the coming months.

I’m 6 months into my hair transplant and it seems to be getting thinner from about 2 months ago. I was under a great deal of stress a few months back. Could that cause a thinning of the newly transplanted hair. I use Rogaine and Avodart every day. The doctor said it was ok to use on the new hair. At the 4 month mark it really looked promising. However it has definitely thinned since then. Any suggestions on the cause?

Hair transplant surgery is highly variable in terms of the individual patient, as well as the techniques used by clinics and doctors. Many people who have a hair transplant will actually lose some of their original hair and that may be the cause of what you are seeing.

The general estimate is that it can take 4-8 months to see results, and usually the majority of the results are visible by the 8th-12th month. I’d follow up with the doctor that did your surgery.