7 Months After FUE Procedure, I Think My Surgery Was a Failure

Dr. Rassman,
I had a 3000 graft FUE procedure performed at the beginning of the year. To date, after 7 months post-surgery, I estimated based on a family member’s meticulous calculations with a magnifying glass that I have only 20-25 grafts/cm2 in my previously bare hairline area, when I supposedly grafted in my hairline area at a density of 70 to 80 grafts per square centimeter.

Should I expect further improvement in the coming months or has my surgery failed to achieve the grafted density? Of course, my doctor believes I can expect improvement in the next 5 months, but I have seen little to no improvement since the 4th month post-surgery. Should I expect my final surgery outcome to be a failure?

Thanks in advance.

Honestly, I don’t know. It can take as long as a year before all the hair grows in, although that long is unlikely. Furthermore, nothing is a 100% in life (except death and taxes). In my opinion, failure from follicular unit extraction (FUE) is common, even with doctors who promote them. The procedure is very difficult to do and 3000 grafts tells me that I might think that it was never done at those numbers, at least successfully.

I would discuss and follow up with your doctor in the next 5 months as your doctor recommends and hope that you get what you and he expect. Generally, it takes 8 months for 80% of the hair to grow and 90% in 10-12 months. I could go into this at length, but stay tuned to this site as I am going to address the subject of FUE failures in the very near future.