How Long Patients are at Risk of Hair Transplant Scar Stretching
To date, surgical hair restoration is the only proven solution to grow hair in completely bald areas. However, like any other surgical procedure, it’s important to understand the possible risks that go along with it.
In optimal candidates, those who undergo a follicular unit hair transplant procedure end up with a pencil line scar easily concealed by existing hair on the sides and back of their head. However, during the initial healing phase, almost everyone is worried about the possible risk of scar stretching.
So what if anything can be done to minimize and even eliminate this risk? How long after a hair replacement procedure do patients have to worry that scar stretching may occur? Visit this hair loss forum thread to read other’s input and join in on the discussion.
Bill Seemiller
Associate Publisher/Editor
Technorati Tags: hair restoration, grow hair, bald, hair replacement
September 26, 2009 @ 8:02 pm
Scar stretching and recurrent donor scars have several causes. Ultimately, any skin injury that occurs below the dermal/epidermal junction precipitates a number of cellular metabolic events that trigger the formation of scar tissue.
Appropriate surgical judgment typically dictates that a donor defect be closed without tension, because tension can increase scarring, damage adjacent hair follicles and even trigger tissue necrosis in and around the lesion. Most surgeons today use a layered technique where the dermis is closed with absorbable sutures. At the skin surface the wound edges are reapproximated with a removable suture material to complete the closure and minimize scar width.
Recently, wound healing materials have become available that may enhance the outcome in the donor surgical site. In our lab, at various points in time we’ve been involved in the development and testing of such materials.
Geno Marcovici, Ph.D.
Chief Scientific Officer
HairGenesis®