Can laser resurfacing or laser help scarring from hair transplant? Dermatology and plastic surgeon/hair experts. (photo)

Hello,
A very frustrating situation for you. We have used our laser resurfacing for many conditions, but the only one slightly similar to yours is a horizontal incision to the back of the scalp from a graft. We were able to only achieve mediocre results unfortunately, The concern we have is the number of raised areas over a large surface area. Although lasers have progressed quite a bit over the years, the type of skin/tissue in this area may be an unpredictable response. Therefore, we suggest finding a practitioner that is able/willing to perform a small test spot on one area to determine if there is value in treating the entire condition. We would suggest steering away from dermabrasion/shaving of the areas as this may provoke a scar-like response over time.
If the option of growing hair to conceal your concerns is not a viable one, there are many talented tattoo artists that create pigment to the scalp for camouflaging as well as a natural outcome.
Regards.

Hello,      Thank you for your question.   I see you posted this almost a year ago.  I am surprised you didn’t receive any answers.  But because CO2 laser of the scalp is not such a commonly performed procedure maybe other doctors were not interested in tackling this situation. You did not indicate in your question/explanation when you had the hair transplant procedure performed.  However, now that it’s at least a year later, if you still are suffering with contour  irregularities on your scalp from the hair transplant surgery, and it still bothers you, then I believe you are a candidate for CO2 laser skin resurfacing on your scalp. While the face is by far the most common region to perform CO2 laser skin ablative resurfacing, the scalp also contains pilosebaceous glands (oil glands) which help in faster healing, which also make the scalp an acceptable region to perform skin resurfacing. You would have to shave any hair off of your head just before the procedure.  CO2 is performed on bald skin.   While the natural hair follicles and the transplanted hair follicles should be safe from damage from the CO2 laser, it is potentially possible that some of the follicles become damaged. The CO2 laser is attracted to water and it vaporizes the epidermis down into a level of the dermis. The hair follicles are deeper than the dermis. This would be done best under general anesthesia as the CO2 laser beam is painful during the actual treatment and localizing with anesthesia the entire scale while possible, I don’t recommend.  You may also benefit from 2 or even possibly 3 good CO2 treatments separated by at least 6 months apart.  You should have good, noticeable results with one treatment but there are never any strict guarantees and reaching your expectations might require more than one treatment.       I hope this finds you well and that your situation has either resolved spontaneously or you have received successful treatments or that my answer helps you in moving forward with your continued scalp contour issue. Best regards,Dr  Mitchell