Can My Body Reject a Hair Transplant?

This question comes from a member of our hair loss social community and discussion forums: 

I’m undergoing a hair transplant procedure soon, but I’m worried my body will reject the implanted grafts and the surgery will be a failure. I have read about several cases online where this occurred, but it seems like it had more to do with the surgery team than the patient’s physiology. Is there a possibility that the procedure could go perfectly but my body rejects the hair transplant?

Yes, there are instances where patient physiology is solely responsible for poor yield. However, this is a very rare occurrence and it is usually difficult to distinguish from human error. 

When it is not caused by an external error, a hair transplant that simply “won’t take” or is “rejected” by the body is usually caused by post-transplant Lichen Planopilaris (LPP). LPP is an inflammatory scalp disorder that normally results in patchy alopecia. According to the literature, however, there have been at least 17 cases of LPP that developed within 4-36 months after hair transplant surgery. The authors of these studies concluded that the LPP caused the poor yield and was “set off” by the hair transplant. However, 17 reported cases out of the thousands of hair transplant procedures performed each year is a very small percentage of alleged LPP caused failures.

Frankly, these percentages are low and theoretical in nature. This makes worrying about something like this occurring probably unnecessary. In the hands of a talented hair restoration physician, hair transplant surgery is a very safe and successful procedure. What’s more, the probability of the body developing a condition and “rejecting” a hair transplant is extremely low!
____________
Blake Bloxham – formerly “Future_HT_Doc”

Editorial Assistant and Forum Co-Moderator for the Hair Transplant Network, the Hair Loss Learning

Center, the Hair Loss Q&A Blog, and the Hair Restoration Forum

Follow our community on Twitter

Watch hair transplant videos on YouTube

Technorati Tags: hair loss, hair transplant, Lichen Planopilaris, hair transplant surgery, hair restoration