More on Scarring – Page 17

March 12, 2008

Mederma and Transplanted Hair – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

I had a FUTH in india but there are white spots/ dolls head appeance on the recipeient area where hair were inserted. If i use mederma, would it result in loss of the transplanted hair?

Please reply.

You’ve described the older technique of a hair transplant, where pieces of skin are transplanted with the grafts and the grafts are not typical follicular unit grafts. FUT (follicular unit transplantation) should not give you the results that you describe. While Mederma is used for minor scars, I doubt it will do much for the white spots on your scalp, as this is probably the result of depigmentation of the skin edges in the transplanted grafts. I do not know if it will result in the loss of transplanted hair either, since there are no specific studies on the subject.

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March 5, 2008

Hair Loss InformationBrowlift Scar Repair with Hair Transplants – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

I have a scar from a brow lift on both sides of my head. I wear my hair short(military style), so you can see the scar. The scars have healed (6 yrs ago since browlift), and both sides of the scar have feeling in them. I can feel something touching, scratching them. The scars are pretty flat. I want to know about the procedure to transplant hair into the scar (including associated costs, timeframe, etc.) I have very thick hair that grows quickly. I am 34 years old.

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Hair transplants work very well in the scars of brow lifts by transplanting them directly into the healed wound. We do these with some frequency, as well as neurosurgical scars, which are often larger. The costs are generally between $3000-4000 for such repairs as it takes 400+ grafts depending upon length and width of the scars. Most of these surgeries take about 3-4 hours and the hair will grow within 6-8 months.

March 4, 2008

Hair Loss InformationTreating White Scars From Hair Transplant – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

Hair Transplant – What is the best treatment for white scars which left after transplant surgery?

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Today’s hair transplants do not produce a white scar if follicular unit transplants are performed. The old plugs done 20+ years ago, had white skin within the plugs and many of the older plugs never grew, so these poor souls had white scars (depigmented from the damage of transferred grafts). If this is what you are talking about, you should review our articles on repair that were published in Dermatologic Surgery in 2002:

If I missed something or misunderstood your question, please write me again to clarify.

February 27, 2008

Hair Loss InformationI’m Wondering If My Strip Scar Is Bigger Than Most – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

Hi Doc,
Have a question on my strip scar. I can shave the sides with a #8 guard and can still see my scar, do you think its a little bigger than most. I also have light hair. Had my procedure done at [name removed].

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Everyone has a linear scar after a strip hair transplant, but some tend to have wider scars than others. Normal scarring in 95% of first time hair transplant patients is under 2-3 mm. Scars are produced by a combination of:

surgical technique
healing properties of the patient
tension on the wound

Don’t be too hard on the doctor, for as you can see from the above list, you are more likely the cause of the scar from healing properties. The medical group you used does good work. I am sure their surgeons are all well qualified and fully capable of performing the strip excision.

February 4, 2008

Will a Trichophytic Closure Still Leave a Noticeable Scar if My Hair Is Cut Short? – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

Would you generally advise transplanting hair to the temple area where no hair is currently there? I’m thinking this can maximize the chances of a fake look? Am I right?

I read about the trichophytic closure technique — if it only covers 1mm of scar area, then would that leave a NOTICEABLE average of 1-2 mm of scar area still visible if hair is cut short (2 with guard, that is)?

Yes, it may. Scarring is highly variable with different individuals. You can have a doctor with poor surgical skills perform a procedure without a trichophytic closure and still have a great 1mm scar. Or you can have the best surgeon using a trichophytic closure and have a wide noticeable scar. 1-2mm is considered a great scar and it may still be noticeable with a very short hair cut. A #2 guard may hide the 1 to 2mm scar, but this also depends on your hair color, scar color, scalp color, hair coarseness, hair waviness, etc. As you can see, there are many variables.

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February 1, 2008

Years After My Transplant, I Shaved My Head – How Can I Make the Scar Less Noticeable? – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

Hey Doc,
I just shaved my head about 7 years after having transplant sugery and everyone loves how it looks. I just want to know what the best solution is to make the scar in the back (middle) of my head and behind my right ear less noticeable?

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Depending on the size of the scar and its location, you may be a candidate for a scar revision surgery or hair transplant directly into the scar.

January 24, 2008

When Will My Donor Scar Not Be Visible? – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

I have had a recent HT in Nov 2007 and now having problems with haircuts. I have tried a number 2 shear and number 3 shear haircut with both showing the donor area scar for weeks. I was told that a number 2 was fine but obviously not. How long will this donor scar be visible for males that like to wear their hair shorter.

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I do not know how wide your scar is or where your donor scar is. You may have a wider than average scar. You may or may not be a candidate for a scar revision surgery if the scar is wide. You may have temporary telogen effluvium on your donor area that may make the scar more visible and if that is the case, it should reverse in 4-6 months. There are many variables that I cannot readily answer without examining you. You can send me photos of your scar with a ruler next to it so that I can appreciate the degree of scar widening (please reference this post when sending). You should see your surgeon who performed the hair transplant surgery and discuss your concerns with him/her.

January 24, 2008

Scalp Indentations After Cortizone Shots – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

What causes the indentations to the scalp after the cortizone shots?

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Anything injected into your body can potentially cause a reaction and scarring (scalp indentations). When steroids are injected into the dermis, it may cause loss of dermal fat, which could cause the indentations you are talking about. I have seen such indentations in people who have had scalp injections by doctors who believe that steroids have value for balding patients.

January 14, 2008

Juvista for Healing Hair Transplant Scarring? – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

I know this is years down the line, but when Juvista comes out, do you think that Juvista combined with tricho closure on HT scars (either after the process or in a revision) will allow men to cut their hair down to a 1 grade or even to the skin without the scar being too obvious? I know your response would be conjecture at this point, but it would be interesting to get your thoughts.

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Renovo The scarring may be reduced, giving it a better ability to blend in (without being hyper- or hypo-pigmented or raised), but the hair will not grow on the scar. Scarring is very individualized. Even under the worst case scenario without a trichophytic closure, some people heal great and are able to cut their hair really short without visible scarring in the donor area. How well you scar is also a genetic factor (much like hair loss) and there is only so much you can do.

If Juvista does as it sets out to (eliminate scarring with a simple injection at incision site), it could be great for a percentage of those that it works for, but the drug just failed in its most recent clinical trial. Read Renovo, Shire Developing Anti-Scar Drug and Bad news on drug rocks Renovo for more.

So, the short answer to your question is… probably not.

January 14, 2008

Scalp Stitches from Sports Injury — Will My Hair Regrow There? – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

I recently had a sports injury on right above the hair line in the center of my scalp. Six stitches were put in and later removed. it has been over a 2 months now and very little hair growth has occured since the injury. The scar is about an inch long vertically and about 1/4 inch wide. I was wondering if there were any ointments or other treatments other than a hair transplant that I could use to encourage hair growth. Thank you in advance for your timely response.

Based on what you describe, I doubt hair will grow on the 1″ x 0.25″ scar, and while there are no medications or products that will cause hair growth on this tissue, hair transplanted into the scar will work in most cases. A small scar like what you are describing should not cost a lot to get it fixed. First, I would wait out a period of 6 months before concluding that it is a permanent problem. Without examining you, I can not tell.

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