Hair Transplant: What Is Shock Loss?

Shock loss is when your non-transplanted hairs are "shocked" from the surgery and it falls out.  If these hairs are genetically susceptible to genetic hair loss, then the hair loss is likely permanent. 

There is 2 type of shock lossThe shock loss occurring on hair in the regression or miniaturization phase can be prevented or moderated by the use before and after intervention of medicinal treatments. Finasterid can be used to sufficiently strengthen the hair present, and transform hair regression, healthy hair and thicker.If the surgeon use unsuitable instruments he can cut the existing hair root, damage them. The risk of shock loss can be also when the implanted area is still partially supplied, and the surgeon may accidentally damage the root of neighboring follicles, by incisions, or by implanting follicles. 

Shock loss is due to the loss of normal hair whether it is from donor site or recipient area.  It occurs in less than 5% of patients.  It can occur with both FUE and strip procedures.  Usually if it occurs it will take place in the recipient area.  
Shock loss from hair transplant can occur due to the following:
Anesthesia-  excessively long procedures taking longer than 12 hours can induce shock loss more likely.  the repeated use of lidocaine, marcaine, and perhaps most importantly epinephrine can affect nourishment of the hairTraumatic harvest-  In strip surgery, traumatic harvest can induce shock loss.  Recipient area trauma- during the incision making process the hairs are either crushed or cut and damaged during the process.Ways to minimize shock loss are as follows:
Improve recipient bed and donor area environment.  Make your recipient environment improved by addition of growth factors and/or PRP to help reduce incidence of shock loss to native hairs.Use of Rogaine and Propecia- can help miniaturized hair become more stable and less likely to fall out during procedure9xRobotArtas-  The latest version of the robot can make recipient sites and can determine angle of existing hair and help ensure that the angle will not damage existing hair.  Especially helpful in patients where you are transplanting hair to create densityMinimize anesthesia time and procedure time- We limit number of grafts to a safe number per session.  Extended anesthesia periods and harvest times can cause patients to have a higher chance of shock loss.  The 9x Robot harvests between 1000-1500 grafts per hour making it superior to previous additions and traditional FUE approaches.Best Anil Shah

Shock loss is loss of the non-transplanted hairs after a hair transplant procedure.  This is a rare phenomenon, but has been reported to occur in up to about 5% of cases.  In my practice, I do not personally see shock loss happening even 5% of the time.
The exact cause of shock loss is unknown, but is thought to be due to trauma to the scalp and possible loss of blood flow to the area.  It most commonly occurs at the recipient areas, but can also occur at the donor sites in some patients, regardless of the hair transplant harvest technique.  Fortunately, shock loss is almost always temporary with return of the affected hair within 3-4 months in most cases.
All the best,

Shock loss is when the patient’s original and native hair falls out shortly after the hair transplant procedure. This is due to the extremely sensitive nature of their hair follicles. They experience trauma as a result of the invasive nature of the surgery. And their hair will fall out as a result creating areas of very low, sparse density. The hair follicles will enter a resting phase known as telogen effluvium. The tendency to experience shock loss will be different from person to person. Again, this has to do with how sensitive their hair follicles are.If shock loss is a concern, a possible course of action may be to have the surgeon perform a preliminary test to extract and insert hair follicle grafts in small, discrete regions to observe what the effects will be. Patients who experience diffuse hair loss and wish to improve their hair density through a hair transplant tend to have a greater risk of experiencing shock loss.

In terms of hair restoration, shock-loss refers to the shedding non-transplanted hair. This phenomenon is usually temporary, but in some cases may be permanent as well. The best prevention for this is for the patient go under Finasteride treatment. 

Shock Hair Loss (shock loss) is a real phenomena that should be spoken about before you undergo a hair transplant. While it is a rare occurrence across the board in all hair restorations, it occurs in approximately 5% of all cases. But what is it and what causes it?

Shock loss is where there is a loss of natural hair whether it is from the donor area or the recipient area AFTER a hair restoration. Shock hair loss is not specific to any one procedure because we have seen it in the donor area in both FUE and FUT surgeries. More commonly it occurs in the recipient area. The cause of shock loss is normally from trauma. The trauma can be physical, chemical, or both.Below is a link to to a more in depth explanation and picture examples.

This is traumatic loss of some of the non-transplanted hair in and around the area of the transplant. If it happens, then it is most common in the recipient area, but can also occur on occasion in and around the site of the donor area at the back.I think there are two reasons for this shock loss. One is mechanical from the action of the surgery tools especially when trying to transplant amongst a significant number of existing hair. The solution is either to work with reasonably high magnification to clearly see the gaps, or to avoid transplanting amongst hairs where there isn't sufficient gaps in between i.e. the hair loss is not bad enough.The second reason this happens is what I call chemical either because the local blood supply is being affected, or the body's inflammatory reaction to the surgery. The body views the operation as trauma and tries to repair the damage by attracting various cells and factors to the area, and this could affect the existing weaker hairs. If the hairs that get 'shocked' are meant to be permanent, then they will grow back in a few months' time. If they are affected by the genetic hair loss process and happen to be on their last cycle anyway, then clearly they will not grow backGoing on hair maintainence medications such as Propecia or Regaine prior to hair transplant surgery has the potential to reduce the effect of shock loss. Generally speaking women are more vulnerable to this process than men

The shock loss phenomenon involves rapid loss of the existing hair due to the shock from which it suffers after the implantation of strong hair follicles. hair follicles are transferred from the back of the head near the existing hair. Hair that was supposed to fall after a few months or year may fall in a shorter period of time. In order to deal with this phenomenon we follow a protocol under which minoxidil is prescribed for a daily use after the hair restoration and at least for 12 months.

Shock Loss following Hair Transplant:In hair transplant, the hair are taken from the permanent zone on the back side and implanted on the bald area on the front side. If the area where hair are going being implanted has got hair like the patients who have diffuse hair loss( especially the women) then there are chances that the blood supply and the nutrition are hampered in the recipient area which might lead to the fall of the hair which are already in the Telogen phase (resting phase). There is nothing to worry as these hair usually come back 3-4 months after surgery.