6 months post FUE. No hair growth.

Question

I have had 5000 FUE done last August in one of the most reputable clinic in the world , the hair transplant surgeon has a reputation of being among the best in the world who developed his own technique and instruments for FUE. I am 48 years old ,healthy .I am. Now exactly 6 months post FUE with zero growth , I have contacted the clinic and all what I have been hearing is to wait for few more months , I am really getting nervous as by this stage I should get between 40-50% growth ; please advise

Ken Anderson, MD, FISHRS · Answer

Dear racanada04,
Thank you for posting this question. Following a successful hair restoration procedure, typically by 6 months, there should be some significant growth evident. This is determined by the physiology of the hair follicle.  
Unlike nail beds, which make our fingernails for the duration of our lives, hair follicles make hair in cycles.  The timing of the cycles is as follows:
Anagen (growing phase): 2-7 years
Catagen (short phase before resting phase): 2-3 weeks
Telogen (resting phase): 3-10 months
The stress of the FUE hair transplant can trigger a significant portion of the follicles to come out of the anagen phase of growth and enter catagen, followed by 3-10 months of telogen.  The hairs re-enter the anagen, or growing phase, after 3-10 months.  From about month 3 to about month 10 the transplanted follicle slowly and asynchronously come out of the telogen phase and enter the anagen phase. The changes on the scalp include a slow increase in density in the transplanted area, usually beginning in month 3 or 4. Uncommonly it can take up to 15 months to see the full effect of the hair restoration. If I had 5,000 FUE grafts placed in my scalp and there was literally zero growth evident at the 6 month mark I would most definitely be concerned about that. I would make sure to have a look at your pre-procedure photographs that the surgeon took so you really know whether or not hair growth has occurred. It is much more common that you think for people to forget how little hair they had and become underwhelmed by the results or even think there were no results at all. Often times a review of the pre-procedure photographs will sort this out. I hope this information is helpful to you.
Kind Regards,
Ken Anderson, MD, FISHRS

Emrah Cinik, MD · Answer

6 months post operation needs to give you 30-40% of the result. If you do not experience any growth in the upcoming months you should get in contact with your hair expert.

Jae Pak, MD · Answer

It may take six to twelve months to appreciate the results of a hair transplant surgery.  If you are concerned it is best to contact your doctor.

Sara Salas, MD · Answer

Yes I would be concerned at this point. They are telling you to wait because they too are concerned it might be a massive failure and especially at THAT number? Our record was a single patient high density 4800 extraction two days. We have performed FUE since close to 2004. 5000 seems high and possible grafts split. Go get a second opinion.

Ilhan Serdaroglu, MD · Answer

İt's normal for new growing hair starting to get native characteristics, waviness, curl in first 4-5 months..This actually takes 10-13 months for hair to become full mature, but probably you will have nothing , no yield  at the end of 1 year and would need a second surgery.

Brian Goertz, MD (retired) · Answer

No growth at 6 months post operative is unusual and most have some amount of regrowth at that time. You should visit with your surgeon and compare before and after pictures. Hair follicles wake up after a resting phase of 3-6 months and most will have full benefit around 10-12 months after the procedure. If you don't have regrowth at 10-12 months that is a problem and needs further investigation.

William Rassman, MD (retired) · Answer

If you don;’t side growth in the next one or two months, I would expect that a failure of the hair transplant has happened. Go back and meet with your surgeon.

6 months post FUE. No hair growth.

Answers (7)

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