2 Years After Transplant, 50% of My Transplanted Hair Has Fallen Out
Dr. Rassmann,
I apologize for the lengthy message, but I’m very concerned about my current situation and really need 3rd party insight.
The Situation:
Approximately 24 months ago, I had a transplantation procedure by a well known and highly respected expert in this field. Procedure deilvered over 3,300 FU’s to frontal 3rd in one session. The results at 12 months were incredible, as my hairline and overall density were more than I had hoped for. At about 18 months, I started noticing steady hair shedding, lasting for months. During this time, and up until today, I noticed structural changes to the transplanted hair (very thin in dia., squiggly, etc). Bottom line, at a little over 24 months I now have less than 50% of the density I had at 1 year with no improvement or regrowth. My diet is immaculate, very healthy, workout, take finasteride, minoxodil, etc. etc. In phone conversations with the doctor, he believes it’s Telogen Afluvium. However, this was not sudden loss all over my scalp that has been followed by growth. We’re talking about a steady loss of the transplanted hair, with nothing re growing, and the hair that’s remaining looking very ill.
Questions:
1. Are you aware of any similar cases like this?
2. If so, any insights on what causes it what to do to stop/generate re-growth?
3. Is it possible to consider this failed FU’s even though they looked great at 12 months?Thank you for your time and insight.
Loss of ‘permanent’ hair from a previous hair transplant is very, very unusual. I would expect that the answer to your problem lies in your donor area now. If you lost 50% of the hair transplants, then you should have lost 50% of the hair population in the donor area. I have seen men develop Diffuse Unpatterned Alopecia after a hair transplant, though it is very rare. You need to have your scalp mapped out for miniaturization to make this diagnosis.
Dr Rassmann,
I,am a 39 years of age and have had a total of 2,200 FU’s in the
last 10 years, recently just had another 700 FU’s put in the frontal hairline,bigger grafts coming through,all that is coming
on very well.
MY CONCERN: been on proscar for 9 years slowed things right back,currently on advodart working very well. my father was completly bald at my age,and at 71 the hairs remaining around the sides and back, is very fine and see through on my father.
Know one on my mothers side is completly bald, one of my fathers brother is, though not as bad as my father.
Moral to the story, have i made a mistake doing hair transplants,considering my fathers pattern of hair loss?