How Soon Can a Patient Return for a Second Hair Transplant?

This question, asked by a member of our Hair Restoration Social Community and Discussion Forums, was answered by recommended hair transplant surgeon Dr. Michael Beehner:

How soon after your first hair transplant can you safely go back for a second? I’ve asked four hair restoration surgeons so far. Three said eight months, the other one said that he liked to wait until month nine, but that it was safe to go back after eight.

I generally tell my patients that 10-12 months is the earliest I would recommend a second hair transplant procedure.The reasons are four:

It allows time for the blood supply to return near normal to support the next surgery.
It allows the donor area to become lax once again, so that a second strip can be taken out without undue tension on the closure and the possibility of a wide scar.
You want all of the hair to be growing at the time of the subsequent surgery, so you don’t puncture a new recipient site right on a previously placed graft.
You want the patient to see some concrete evidence of hair growth that is relatively impressive so he/she will be motivated to go through with and pay for another procedure.

For women and men with minimal hair loss and a fair amount of native hair still on top who have one procedure, I will usually recommend waiting 18 months so they can see the “full flowering” of the procedure and also so I can best make a determination as to whether they need another session.

Mike Beehner, M.D.

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David (TakingThePlunge) Forum Co-Moderator and Editorial Assistant for the Hair Restoration Forum and Social Network, the Coalition Hair Loss Learning Center, and the Hair Loss Q & A Blog.

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Technorati Tags: hair transplant, hair restoration, hair growth, hair loss

David aka - TakingthePlunge

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View Comments

David aka - TakingthePlunge says:

June 24, 2011 at 5:40 am

John,

Beware! The hair loss industry is rife with snake oil salesman making lofty claims about unproven and ineffective hair growth treatments.

For men there are only two clinically proven and FDA approved medical hair loss treatments. These are Rogaine (minoxidil) and Propecia (finasteride). However, there are some credible natural alternatives available via our online store. It’s important to note that no alternative hair loss treatment is likely to be as effective as Rogaine and Propecia.

The cost of hair restoration surgery and the number of procedures a patient may require will depend on many variables including but not limited to the patient's degree of hair loss, scalp/hair characteristics and the clinic the patient has chosen.

The best way to research hair loss treatments and hair transplant surgery is to frequent online hair restoration communities like our Hair Restoration Forum and Social Network.

David (TakingThePlunge)
john dee says:

June 22, 2011 at 3:50 pm

I have bumped in this all natural supplement site and have been taking it although i am considering hair loss transplant... how can you assess the quality of a particular product? I have done a few research myself for a hair regrowth supplement and i personally believe that this can help regrow my hair but of course it's not an overnight course and i still have hair transplant consideration in mind... but how costly can it get and how often does the recurrence of hair transplant process should be done?