2020-12-01 02:37:022020-12-01 21:22:57Group of technicians did this surgery and got necrosis (photo)
Can I have a Scalp Micropigmentation (SMP) and later a hair transplant surgery? What if I want to grow out my hair as well? I don’t want to always keep my hair shaved.
You ask a great question! We have been combining SMP with hair transplant surgeries using FUE or Strip FUT. After all we are a medical practice that specialize in all aspect of hair restoration!
This patient came to us with a old hair transplant surgery scar. He had a strip FUT surgery which didn’t really give him a full head of hair and he just gave up with the idea of having a full head of hair. But he had the strip scar which he couldn’t hide when he decided to cut his hair short. So he went to local doctor for FUE to the strip scar. As we tell all our patients, FUE to the strip scar doesn’t really give perfect results when you are looking to shave your head. So he ended up with MORE SCAR, many ‘punctate scars’ from the FUE surgery. Needless to say he was angry and was very skeptical when he came to see us. We didn’t blame him. He didn’t trust any doctors at this point. Although Dr. Pak thought he would be a great candidate for the SMP procedure, he actually turned him down because the patient’s expectations seemed unrealistic with a bad attitude.
Eventually, the patient came back for another consultation and even saw other SMP patients in person at our monthly Open House Seminars (where prospective patients can meet with former patients and see an actual SMP or Hair Transplant surgery taking place).
This patient eventually had SMP to the entire scalp and covered his FUE scar and strip scar with great results. In the process he came to know and befriend Dr. Pak to trust his work. So after about a year he came back to Dr. Pak for a FUE procedure (about 1500 graft) to add density to the top and soften (corrective surgery) his front hair line from the old transplant work.
While the FUE transplant didn’t give him the full density, the SMP provided a cosmetic benefit to provide a look of fullness. Now he has the option to shave or grow his hair out long.
Old FUE and FUT Strip Scar addressed with SMP Scalp Micropigmenation
SMP Scalp Micropigment for a shaved look
SMP Scalp Micropigment with FUE Hair Transplant for Fullness for Long Hair
I recently performed beard and sideburn transplants on this African American man who did not have complete facial hair due to a genetic issue. I have been asked many times about this problem, so I thought I would show photos from the day after surgery. He received a total of 769 grafts (each side got about 380 grafts) to create what you see in these pictures. His natural curly hair made the results look better than if his hair was straight. Black hair on dark skin also helped.
Hi Doctor,
I underwent a FUE treatment 3 months ago, around 2000 grafts. i’m 38 and always had a good skin quality. All went well, but i remarked “yellow shadows” over the recipient area very early. My GP said it was all ok.
At 2 months post op i remarked i lost small 1cm hair, trapped in balls of dry sebum. Also had red pimples with pus for one week and itchy. Went to a dermatologist, he gave me antibiotics and a sebiprox shampoo. I had to stop the use of the shampoo because it made me lose a lot of hair very quickly. I still take antibiotics for 15 days now. No more red pustules, BUT still losing some hair trapped in sebum balls and recipient area still red and itchy.
You cannot see with natural eyes, but if you use a looking glass you can see that almost every pore that is hosting small hair is bathed into a yellow substance. Sebum i guess. I fear this will prevent the hair from growing and make it fall.
What should i do? the surgeon who operated on me said it was a skin problem not a follicle problem and told me to see the dermatologist! I dont know what to do! Thank you for your advice. I see some hair growing from the transplant and i dont want to lose them.
As it is nice to see and not infected can we exclude the terrible folliculis decalvans ?
Best Regards.
Click the photo to enlarge:
I don’t want to just brush your question off, but I don’t and I can’t diagnose medical conditions via the web. I think you should listen to your surgeon and make an appointment to see a dermatologist… or you could see another hair transplant surgeon or even your primary care doctor. This isn’t something I would want to guess about just based on a photo.
Some patients get infections and some have bad skin issues. You may or may not have both. Usually, within a few days, the evidence of a hair transplant in the recipient area is gone. Good washing techniques are critical to that process. At two months, you should be washing your hair, but not with too much pressure. Leave the shampoo on for around 5 minutes before you wash it off.
Hi,
I am 24 years old and over the past year I have seen a huge change in my hair. When my hair is wet and when I wake up in the morning I can see parts of my scalp. I have always had a high hair line and I have noticed on the website a lot of talk surrounding your highest wrinkle and a mature hairline, however, my hairline has always been a good bit above this even during primary school. My highest wrinkle lies at the freckle on my forehead.
What has been worrying me is that when my hair is wet I can see my scalp on both the top and sides of scalp.. My hair has always been medium length, but now that I have cut the sides shorter I can even see my scalp through the side of my hair when it is wet and I style it in certain ways. There is no MPB on either side of my family at all, my father has thinning hair, but he is in his 50’s.
I appreciate any help, my GP will not refer me to a dermatologist as I am male.
I have attached photos of my hair when dry and wet.
Click the photos to enlarge:
First, I have no idea what being male has to do with being referred to a dermatologist. Dermatology is for men and women. Maybe you’re thinking of a gynecologist.
It’s not unusual to see the scalp when your hair is wet, and it will particularly stand out for those with high contrast between skin and hair color, like yourself. That said, based on the few photos you sent it does appear that you’re thinning at the hairline. The photos aren’t very clear so I can’t really provide much info about whether it is a maturing hairline or something more advanced.
You can find a doctor that specializes in hair loss by using the doctor search at the ISHRS.org site (they are transplant surgeons, but you shouldn’t rush into surgery — these doctors just know hair loss).
Dear Dr. Rassman,
I am a 25 year male. For the last 3-4 years I’ve been experiencing temple hair loss, as exhibited in the attached photos. As far as genetics are concerned, my father at 55 is a thinning NW3 since his mid-thirties (his father a NW7 though, and on granny’s side no hair loss) and my mother is solid NW2(father’s side NW3 – turned NW4 in his 80s, and granny’s brothers NW2s). Judging by these photos, should I be concerned about my hair loss at this moment? Feel free to post my photos.
Click the photos to enlarge:
The temple peaks may have receded (I have no earlier photos to compare to), and your hairline appears to be maturing at the corners. I don’t consider that balding and you probably have no cause for concern, but there’s only so much I can tell from photos. The corners might have gone a little beyond the maturing hairline, but the photos aren’t much help in this case.
If you do have concerns, you can consider measuring the bulk of hair in specific areas of your scalp and comparing it to other parts of your scalp. More importantly, following up one year after the measurement to see if there is a change. Just one bulk measurement in time will not give you much information, so following up is a must. You can also consider a miniaturization assessment to see if the hairs have different morphology (miniaturization) around certain areas on your scalp.
In any case, you don’t appear to be balding to me, but we can let the readers comment.
Hi Doctor,
I have been reading your blog and it is really informative, Awesome job by you. Coming to my concern, I had my HT done back in India in January 23rd 2014 and I see dried pimples like thing from last couple of weeks and they don’t heal. I am attaching two pics of my scalp. Can you please look at them and tell me if any infection has happened or does it look normal. If you examine pic_2 attached, I see some fluid like thing at couple of places near the graft. As, I can’t see the doctor back in India now, I need your help.
Thank You Very Much
Click the photos to enlarge:
It looks like you have crusting from the transplant (this is usually gone on our patients in a few days) and the crusting has caused an infection. You need to see a doctor and get this treated, even if it is not your transplant surgeon. You should wash your hair gently and get the crusts off, for as long as it takes to get a good wash.
Cleanliness is critical following a hair transplant surgery, and what I see is not a clean post-operative wound.
ok, here is my situation. i am a 23 year old male. i am black and mexican and have naturally thin hair like my parents. about two years ago i noticed that the left edge of my hairline looked a little thin while looking in the mirror. i never really noticed it before so i began to obsess over it. i spend every day examining my head not really noticing any change some days. then other days i begin to think i’ve lost a lot of hair. i’m not sure what to look for in terms of a receding hairline. my dad is 48 and my grandfather is 76 and they both have normal looking hairlines for their age as well as my grandmothers on both sides of my family including my mother.
i have been obsessing and stressing non stop over this and its beginning to get depressing. i’m losing sleep over this every night because i cant keep my mind off of it. also the part of the hairline that runs downward on the sides of my head have always been at a slant for as long as i can remember. i’m not sure if that’s even normal or not. i’m not sure if i’m just making things up in my head or if my hairline is really receding.
please help me find some answers, please! here are photos of my head.. feel free to post them
Click the photos to enlarge:
Unfortunately, the pictures do not help me to help you. Even with the short haircut, it appears that you have a normal young man’s hair density, but a good examination for miniaturization (with a hand microscope) will show if there is any early balding.
What you might be noticing is slight hairline maturation, which is completely normal and nothing to stress about. You could do yourself more harm by stressing over possible loss, as stress could cause thinning.
Hey Dr,
Thank you for the baldingblog! Here are some photos of concern of my hairline and just want to know if it is mature or thinning? You may publish if, you would like. Thank you!
30 yrs old, Male
The hairline corners do not appear to be too far beyond a mature hairline, but if it bothers you, you can restore the corners with hair transplantation surgery. If it does not bother you, I would wait it out and see how it evolves. Some men will lose hair in the pattern you present, with no further loss. Some will see continued recession or thinning. Not sure which camp you fall into, but if you have your hair bulk analyzed you will be able to get a metric to it… then have it analyzed again in a year to compare the numbers. What is most interesting about your hairline is the location of the ‘center point’ which is touching the highest crease of your furrowed brow. That was where your mid-line hairline was when you were 10 years old, but the sides did move upward to its mature position. As you wait this out, you should see the mid-line location move up as well.
This patient is clearly not balding, or marginally so. He is in his mid 30’s and he did not like the corner ‘recession’. At worst, he may be a Norwood class 2 or 3. He just wanted a cosmetic improvement to lower his hairline the way it always was before it moved upward. His hair was medium coarse so only 800 grafts were needed and the probability will be that this one session might meet his orbjective because of the medium-coarse hair. The risk of shock loss was discussed and was considered minimum. He is not on Propecia (finasteride). He did not experience any shock loss anytime after the procedure.
The following results photos were taken only 5 days after follicular unit extraction (FUE) surgery of 800 grafts. What you see are small scabs with short hair stubble. These scabs and hairs will fall out within a week from the date of surgery and he will look like he never had surgery by that time. The transplanted hairs will start to grow in the coming months.
The reason I wanted to show these photos is to point out how easy it was for the patient and his recovery. You can barely notice anything in his donor or his recipient areas.
Click the photos to enlarge.
After (just 5 days post-surgery):
Before:
