Clarify About Folliculitis Decalvans and Hair Transplantation

In your post here you say: “This is your worst case scenario. I have had 3 such cases over my years in practice.”

Can you clarify what you mean here? Are you recommending not getting cosmetic surgery if the disease is under control? Or, are you just saying that as a general warning of what could happen if one did get cosmetic surgery? Have you only had 3 cases of this disease to treat with a hair transplant?

My areas are I guess you could say small, but they feel like they are the size of a baseball on my head. Right now, only one area is really noticeable. How long should one wait, to consider the disease under control to have any type of cosmetic surgery? I have not had any activity in a few months now. Three doctors have recommended that because my areas are “small” a doctor may be able to just remove the scared area and fuse my scalp together. Is this a viable option?

If the areas are smaller, what are the typical prices for hair transplant?

The medical field is not clear about the cause of folliculitis decalvans. It is thought to be an autoimmune disease that presents like an infection of the hair follicles, but it does not respond to traditional treatment. The disease can be aggressive and destroy many hair follicles and badly scar the scalp. Hair transplants into this area may likely fail and may reactivate the disease (bad news when this happens). I always want to know if the benefits will significantly outweigh the risks.

The decision to have another surgery within less than a year from a previous episode may not be a good decision, but you and your doctor are in the best place to make that determination. I haven’t treated you, and I couldn’t make any recommendation without examining you at the very least. Our fees are listed here.