Donor area destroyed 7.5 months post 2,000 grafts FUE. What are my options besides Scalp Micro Pigmentation? (Photo)

Question

7.5 months ago I had 2,000 grafts FUE hair transplant. As time passed by the donor area still looks depleted just like the pic taken 5 days post op. To add insult to injury the recipient areas look disappointing as well, but I'm willing to give that more time. Is there anything I can do to re-activate hair cells in donor area? Derma treatments perhaps? Have non-transplanted hairs also been damaged in the donor area? What are my odds of the donor area still improving after 7.5 months?

Sanusi Umar, MD · Answer

It may be a function of over harvesting, using large punches and not spacing the extractions wide enough. The most viable option for improvement would be a combination of repair by implanting hair. You can use non head hair as done resource for this kind of repair. Beard hair is especially good for it. Consider micropigmentation of the dots are predominantly light colored. You should begin using topical minoxidil on the area to stimulate hair growth

Jae Pak, MD · Answer

FUE is not a scarless surgery.  There will be thousands of white dot scars.  It should not be an issue if you keep your hair long, but it may show up with an overall thinning patchy look if you do not have good donor density to begin with. Unfortunately there isn't much you can do because the hairs are gone.  The only cosmetic solution may be Scalp MicroPigmentation.

Amir Yazdan, MD · Answer

Based on your photos, it seems like the donor incisions used to extract the grafts (punch size) were fairly large, causing more damage and scarring. Since I don't know whether you had your procedure done by hand it's hard to tell exactly. This is a good example of the importance of researching a qualified surgeon who specializes in doing FUE procedures.  Unfortunately you were likely advertised a "scarless" surgery which attracted you to FUE vs the strip and your scarring is much worse that if you would have undergone a strip procedure.Unfortunately, repairing this is extremely difficult.  I have many patients come see me after experiencing similar results as you had.  I generally offer transplant with body hair into the donor zone, scalp micro pigmentation, and sometimes I will remove grafts from above and below the donor zone to give it a more equal appearance.  PRP is likely not going to help as the grafts have been permanently damaged since there has been no growth in 7.5 months.  Unfortunately there is no exact answer other than researching a qualified doctor to visit that can help repair this.

Sean Behnam, MD · Answer

There's still a chance you'll see improvement with your donor area, but I doubt even if you do see a difference it'll be enough to blend in with the rest of your head. There's really only two viable options here- scalp micropigmentation or another transplant to even it out.

Baubac Hayatdavoudi, MD · Answer

Albeit you may have some further growth in the donor region, most likely the donor  region will be similar to how it appears now.
 Your options are scalp micro pigmentation, although it'll be difficult to match your skin color and hair color but it is achievable. Second option would be to reinforce the overly harvested regions with more follicles. Third option would be to use a product called original Origenere TR1 which is used to stimulate donor region, and lastly you may get some benefit using a needle roller few times per week.

Minoxidil in the donor region also should also be effective for you.

Greg Williams, FRCS (Plast) · Answer

At 7.5 months post op it is still early to judge the results of what the long-term appearance of your recipient and donor areas will look like. However, it does look like your donor area is thinned out. Your options are to wait another year and see what it looks like then, use camouflage products to give an appearance of thicker hair, wear your hair longer, or do micropigmentation with the aim to shave your head. You could consider further harvesting around the thinned out the area to make it all more uniform but I wouldn't advise this. If you decide to do something to remedy the situation, make sure you see a reputable and experienced hair transplant surgeon. You may have to pay more for this.

William Rassman, MD (retired) · Answer

Unfortunately, this is not an uncommon complaints; however, your donor density must have been very low to get such a depletion on so few grafts. The only solution for this is Scalp Micropigmentation. I did write a paper on this very problem, see below

Donor area destroyed 7.5 months post 2,000 grafts FUE. What are my options besides Scalp Micro Pigmentation? (Photo)

Answers (7)

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