Why is my donor area redness still present (not really improving) 2 months after surgery? (Photo)

Question

2900 graph FUE 2 months ago. Redness from donor areas (back & sides) continues to be visible and is quite concerning as I was told donor area would heal in short time frame.

Jae Pak, MD · Answer

It is best to contact your surgeon for post surgery issues and care since all doctors have slightly different instructions.Redness can be a sign of infection.  Best way to determine this is to see a doctor for an examination.

Ken Anderson, MD, FISHRS · Answer

Thank you for posting this question. One cause of redness this many weeks after an FUE procedure is over-extraction of the donor area. 2,900 follicles is a lot and if the clinic is not very experienced with FUE, over-extraction can occur. You also may have an infection. It's hard to know without an in-person physical examination. My advice is to return to the surgeon who performed your surgery and ask them about your concerns. They will be able to examine you and provide much better answers. I hope this information is helpful to you.Ken Anderson, MD, FISHRS, ABHRSBoard Certified Hair Restoration Surgeon

Miguel Mascaro, MD · Answer

There are many reasons why this may be happening.  Punch size, rotation of device, proximity of grafts taken, etc.  Those are just the variables that the doc has, let alone how your body responds to these.  I suggest you contact the office where they performed your FUE such that they can examine your scalp and determine the best way to ensure your healing progresses appropriately.

Robert Reese, DO · Answer

Thank you for your question. Several points I'd like to make.1) Although the vast majority of patients will heal very rapidly after FUE there are always individual differences in healing characteristics. I can remember two of my patients that had prolonged erythema, (redness), post hair transplantation. Ultimately both patients achieved a very satisfactory result.2) It will be helpful in the short term for you to camouflage the donor area by growing your hair to a suitable length.3) It is possible, (but unusual at 2 months), that you could have an infection. But this would be unlikely in the absence of drainage, or fever or chills. None the less, a visit to your doctor for evaluation would be a wise decision.4) I am at times concerned with the large numbers of FUE grafts harvested in a single session that I hear about these days. Your post procedure erythema is most likely related to overharvesting. 
Patients are confused with the terms, "follicle", vs "graft", vs "subfollicular unit", these days. If there is interest I would be willing to post an article on "Hair Transplant Mathematics" that patients need to fully understand prior to proceeding with their procedure.
Robert J. Reese, DO, FISHRSABHRS

David Perez-Meza, MD, FISHRS · Answer

Great and frequent question about donor harvesting with FUExcision technique. I saw the photos but I couldn't see the donor area in detail. However, If it is only redness in the donor area, It could be normal (2 months PO) of the wound healing process of the thousands of circular scars. I will suggest you to contact and see your hair surgeon for further evaluation and treatment. Good luck.

Robert Jones, MD, FISHRS · Answer

Hello and thanks for your question. Based on the photo, I would say that this amount of redness is within the normal range for healing after a large FUE procedure. I would suggest visiting your doctor and have him take a closer look. Likely he will just advise that you continue as you are doing for another month or two, the redness will fade,Dr. Robert Jones

William Rassman, MD (retired) · Answer

Go back and see your surgeon. I always worry about infection that is underlying the redness and this must be ruled out

Why is my donor area redness still present (not really improving) 2 months after surgery? (Photo)

Answers (7)

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