Bad Hair Transplant Scarring? Learn How to Properly Care For, Prevent and Manage Scarring

Although modern hair transplantation is normally considered a very effective and minimally invasive procedure, one element continually dissuades and disappoints patients: the hair transplant scar. However, through the guidance and skill of a dedicated hair restoration surgeon, hair transplant scars can be efficiently managed. Below, recommended hair transplant surgeon Dr. Parsa Mohebi discusses scars and explains how to manage this obligatory surgical side effect:

How to Manage a Hair Transplant Scar

Hair transplant scars can be a concern for many hair loss sufferers considering a hair restoration procedure.  We continue to see a lot of patients in our office whom require a procedure to revise their old hair transplant donor scar.  Some of these patients come for another procedure to increase the hair density or restore other areas of their scalp which was initially covered. Others may only need a surgery for hair transplant scar revision.

Often times these are patients who received a hair transplant back when the newest technology in hair restoration did not offer adequate solutions for dealing with post-surgical scar appearance. Many of these patients were forced to keep the hair on the back of their head long to conceal the remains of their original procedure.

Hair transplant donor scar revision could be performed through several methods based on the qualities of hair transplant scars such as their location, shape and size.  Patient hair styling preference also plays a big role in choosing the proper surgical procedure.

When planning a revision for hair transplant scarring it is important to make sure the patient has realistic expectations about the end result of their hair transplantation or hair transplant scar revision surgery.

If the goal is simply to revise the scar, the modern day trichophytic closure helps minimize the scar’s visibility, and can be successfully achieved in only one procedure. Trichophytic closure could be done on one or two side of the scar based on the level of stretching that is involved.  Trichophytic closure helps to bring hair into the scarring area and make it blend better with the neighboring areas of the scalp scar. This new technique in hair restoration helps to improve the appearance of the donor scar tremendously.

Follicular unit extraction (FUE) hair transplant (compared to traditional follicular unit transplantation/FUT) is another procedure that can be utilized to revise hair transplant scars on the donor area. An FUE transplant helps to minimize the visibility of a scar through two ways:

1. FUE brings more hair into the scar

2. FUE removes hair and minimizes the density of the surrounding areas of a scar

Both methods help to minimize the contrast between scar and neighboring areas and improve the visibility and appearance of the scar.

Some hair transplant doctors advertise FUE hair transplant as a non-surgical hair transplant, but this is misleading.  Although an FUE transplant could be used as one of the techniques to improve the visibility of transplant scars, it is a surgical procedure and possesses its own limitations and side effects.

In most cases a blend of different hair transplant scar revision methods are needed.  Cosmetic products can be used to achieve a patient’s short and long term goals as well and should be part of a scar revision consultation. A consultation with an experienced hair loss doctor is always recommended. When a patient has the proper knowledge of the different options, they are able to move forward with greater ease knowing what they are looking to achieve may be accomplished.

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Blake  – aka 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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