Why Didn't Hair Transplant Work?

Question

After receiving 1000 follicular units to my hairline 14 months ago, nothing has grown in. In fact, I continue to recede. During this time, I was put on avodart for a minor prostate problem. Purplexed and broke. Thanks.

Jae Pak, MD · Answer

If you had a failed hair transplant it may have been a technical error or just bad luck.  There are always risks associated with surgery.  Failure to grow may be one of them.  However, this is very rare.  It is always a good idea to check back with your doctor for a recheck.

Ross A. Clevens, MD, FACS · Answer

While the result of not having any follicles take is atypical, it is possible.  Unfortunately, there is no real way to predict this.  Please be sure to keep in close contact with your surgeon regarding your concerns.

Sanusi Umar, MD · Answer

This is highly atypical. What type of procedure did you have? A patient can expect new hair growth in 14 to 16 weeks, which usually maxes out at a year. New hair will continue to mature and thicken for up to a year-and-a-half after the FUE surgery. You should consult your doctor about the lack of growth.

Toby Mayer, MD · Answer

They should have grown. In 35 years of hair transplants I have never seen them not grow in that amount of time. Get a second opinion.

Jon E. Mendelsohn, MD, FACS · Answer

Wow, I would say that is highly unusual.

First thing that comes to my mind is what clinic did the procedure?

Very unlikely the medication had anything to do with it.

We guarantee that when we place a hair or graft that it will take and grow. I would assume the clinic you went to might have a similar guarantee. Have you gone back and let them take a look?

Jack Fisher, MD · Answer

This is very unusual that none of the 1000 grafts have grown. There are rare cases where due to no fault of the surgeon for some unknown reason the new hair transplants don't grow...but again this is very rare. If the donor hair was properly harvested and properly placed typically 95% or more of the grafts should successfully grow.

Jeffrey Epstein, MD, FACS · Answer

I understand your frustration. While most patients experience 90-plus % rate of growth, there is the occasional case where the percentage of growth is quite low. There are several reasons why this may occur- poor handling of the grafts, drying out of the grafts- but sometimes the procedure was performed to the highest standards yet regrowth is low. The Avodart should, if anything, help maintain your existing hair.

Ben Behnam, MD · Answer

I agree with the above opinions. You may have lost more hair than gained over the past 14 months. This will happen if you get a hair transplant when you are in mid 20s. It is for this reason that we do not perform any transplants below the age 25 in our clinic. Also, sometimes people do forget how they looked prior to the hair transplant. You have to see the before and after pictures to see the difference. We see all of our patients back at 12 months to make sure they are satisfied. You should go back and have them evaluate you. Dr. Behnam.

D.J. Verret, MD · Answer

First and foremost, I would talk with your transplant surgeon about your concerns. It is also important to compare your before and after photographs. Over long periods of time it can be difficult to remember exactly how something looked. In general, take rates after hair restoration are greater than 90-95%. If you have noticed mroe loss, this may be due to a lack of success with the transplant or a rapid acceleration of your natural loss pattern.

Sam Lam, MD, FACS, FISHRS · Answer

Obviously, I would like to offer another opinion other than the obvious which is that the technique was less than optimal.  The question that I have is how old are you?  If you are in your early to mid 20s, perhaps you should not have had a transplant to begin with.  However, more importantly, sometimes when you are young and rapidly losing hair you lose more hair than you gained from the procedure.  It is like taking one step forward and one step back.  That is why in general I am not interested in transplanting a lot of young men but more importantly due to safety.  Watch the attach video to understand that concept better.

	best,

	dr. sam lam

Why Didn't Hair Transplant Work?

Answers (13)

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