How Long Should Patients Wait Before Scheduling a Second Hair Transplant Procedure?

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

I’m nearly 6 months out from my first hair transplant surgery , and I’m wondering how long I need to wait before scheduling a second Follicular Unit Transplantation (FUT) procedure?

It is best to wait a full 12 months before undergoing a second Follicular Unit Transplantation (FUT) procedure.

This holds true for several reasons:

First, it takes a full 12 months for the results of a hair transplant procedure to fully grow and mature. Undergoing a second procedure before the initial results are completely matured could lead to unnecessary graft wasting and potential shock loss. Furthermore, making new incision sites in scalp regions where implanted follicles are not yet visible could result in transection of grafts from the first procedure.

Second, patients really should allow 12 months for the donor region to fully heal and regain optimal tissue strength from the first strip extraction. Removing and closing another donor strip before 12 months could result in unnecessary trauma and scarring.

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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

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