Can I Reverse My Hair Transplant with Follicular Unit Extraction (FUE)?

The following hair transplant question was answered by recommended hair restoration surgeon Dr. Tejinder Bhatti:

I got a hair transplant done and I am experiencing a lot of pain in the planted area due to some reason. My dermatologist has advised me to get the hair removed and then to treat the resultant scarring with laser resurfacing that she does..

FUE removal of hair is not often a viable option since:

1. Hair growth is in a cycle where hairs are in various phases of expression- anagen (full bloom), telogen and catagen (resting phase). For every 5 hairs that are visible, 2 are in resting phase. Therefore, to remove all hair in one go is virtually impossible since you can remove only what you can see  in FUE.
2. Secondly, FUE extraction of planted hair has a 30-40% transection rate since there is mild distortion of direction under the skin. Planted hairs do not maintain a linear direction like in virgin hair due to minimal epidermal scarring.

Due to the above two reasons, you will need 3-4 sittings before hairs are removed completely. This will also lead to scarring which will be visible even with laser resurfacing. I advise you not to get the hair removed but wait for some time to let this settle.

This is not what hair restoration surgeons do routinely and there can be variation in successful outcomes.

Dr Tejinder Bhatti
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David

Editorial Assistant and Forum Co-Moderator for the Hair Transplant Network, the Coalition Hair Loss Learning Center, and the Hair Loss Q & A Blog.

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