Why Does Shedding Occur after Hair Transplant Surgery?

This insightful information was posted on our hair restoration forum by Dr. Brad Limmer of San Antonio, TX who is a member of the Coalition of Independent Hair Restoration Physicians.

Why does hair shedding sometimes occur after hair transplant surgery?

The hair loss that people experience 10-20 days after hair restoration surgery is not a telogen shed. It is more of an anagen arrest and shedding of hair as a direct result of the inflammation/trauma caused by the creation of hair transplant recipient sites. While we currently try to minimize this by making sites that are 6-9 mm in size coupled with oral prednisone, shedding can still occur.

My father, Dr. Bobby Limmer, has seen some promising results (diminishing this shed) by using very dilute kenalog (cortisone) within the anesthesia we inject into the recipient zone to numb the area. While promising, we have not fully changed over our solution at this time.

Brad Limmer, MD/jac

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David – aka TakingThePlunge
Forum Co-Moderator and Editorial Assistant 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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