Do I Have to Shave My Dreadlocks For a Hair Transplant?

I am an african american male that has a receding hairline that I would like to correct. It makes my large forehead appear even more pronounced. The problem is a have long beautiful dreadlocks that I have been growing for the past 8 years. I am worried that if i have a hair transplant I will have to shave an area from the back of my head in order to harvest hairs and then shave another area on the front of my head where i want to have the hairline filled in. My question is, can this be done without having to lose my locks? Has this type of procedure been performed on anyone with my situation? I want to get back my hairline but i don’t want to start my dreadlocks all over again.

I just had a patient with dreadlocks stop by to show his results. He did not have his dreads shaved for surgery and he had great results!