Category: Post-Operative

Doctor, I’m having the worst time of my life and I’m hoping you’d take the time to answer my question.

I’ve had 5 HTs over the past decade all in the frontal area totalling around 4000 grafts including one at NHI back in 2000. The problem is I keep losing more hair in the area and it keeps getting thinner. My last 2 HTs were done by a very reputable doctor here but when I went to see him last time to get his opinion he said I am apparently one of the rare cases where transplanted hairs end up dying over time. This was a complete shock to me. From what I see, there seems to be very gradual loss -in an area that I think is totally made of transplanted hairs- over time but then at one certain time I lose a whole bunch of hair in a period of 1-2months. I am told that there’s no point of getting more HTs because they’ll end up dying. I am devastated and don’t know what to do. Am I really out of luck ?? Is there anything left for me to do?? I’ve been using Fin and minox for a long time.

I’m going crazy looking for an answer. I’m thinking about FUEs to fill in the thin areas but don’t know if I should do it. I hope that you have the time to reply to this as this doesn’t seem to be a common problem here. I appreciate it.

As a former patient, I feel compelled to answer your question. There are rare cases where transplanted hair is lost over time. On the few times I have seen it, I really do not have an explanation.

It is possible that you could have a telogen effluvium or a more diffuse type of hair. Your donor hair should be having the same process going on so the presence of miniaturization in the donor area may point to a clue for a diffuse type of hair loss like diffuse unpatterned alopecia (DUPA)… but without examining you, I can not tell you much.

There may be other options, as there may be other causes (metabolic abnormalities, dietary deficiencies, the existence of hormonal problems, etc), and these are things that I would want to know and would ask that if you visited me in Los Angeles.

hello doctors,

im 21 yo this year and had my hair transplant 3 days ago. when i was sleeping last night, i accidentally scratched the area where it was transplanted and soon it started to bleed, i went to check in the mirror, and noticed significant blood and a single hair was dislodged on my forehead. i just want to know if there were more then just one hair graft dislodged? as i have checked and seems that theres only 1 hair graft that is missing. will it affect other hair graft too?

I remember a patient who had 3 transplants and seemed to love to scratch his head while he was sleeping. He lost some grafts (as did you). I told him to wear a boxing glove, which seemed to stop the late night scratching as he fought with himself at night.

I recently had a hair transplant and i was curious how long i should wait before going back to my usual routine of showering every other day? My main concern is folliculitis or infection.

You should really ask your doctor about the washing issue and what he/she recommends you do following your surgery. Your surgeon should’ve provided you with aftercare instructions. For my patients, I recommend gentle showers and hair washing the very next day after a hair transplant.

I just saw a man from overseas who told me that by the 5th day after his surgery he could not see any scabbing, nor could he see the graft recipient sites (he had hair present from a previous transplant and the new procedure just filled in between the grafts). If it is washed well by the staff the day after the transplant, then the scabbing can be minimized.

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Is it common to experience hair thinning as a result of shock loss? I ask because I recieved a transplant at my temples a few months ago and suddenly now my hair in the front is thinning as well as my hair at the crown.

In general, thinning hair in the front and crown sounds like male pattern baldness. I am confused by your description of the temples and wonder if the area you’re referencing is actually the corners of the frontal hairline, which is commonly confused terminology. See the photo at right for clarification.

Regardless, shock loss would be mostly limited to the near the recipient area, which in your case may include the hairline… but I wouldn’t expect the crown to be associated with shock loss if your surgery was just in the frontal area (corners or temples). In other words, it sounds like a coincidence to the surgery and is more likely just the progression of your hair loss.

Not all hair transplants are the same. I don’t know anything about your hair loss history, age, or any knowledge of the surgery you have had done. Please follow up with your doctor to address these concerns.