I Want To Undo My Hair Transplants

I had a transplant procedure a few years ago and now have some grafts along the front of my hairline, an entire bald back (Norwood Class 7) and a raised scar in the back of my head where the transplated hair was taken from. I went back to the original doctor once, and he took out some of the grafts, but there is still pitting in the front and I need to wear a hair system to cover it up. How I hate that rug, I can not express enough. How do I go back to square one? Is that realistic? Am I trapped into having more transplants that I can not afford?

You asked about the skin deformity of the frontal hairline and about how realistic it would be that the small pits could be abolished. I think that it is unlikely that it can be completely taken away, but it would not be unreasonable to remove the present hair. Risks of scarring further is a real consideration as the smooth surface skin of a bald Class 7 patient will easily show any deformity by the glare of the light. The balding skin is atrophic, which means that it lost its normal texture, where small pores exist and the sebaceous glands wax the scalp. The normal skin is clearly different than the tissue paper thin skin of an advanced balding man. When something is done to an atrophic skin, it will never go back to its pre-surgical appearance. Some people ask about dermabrasion to smooth out the skin and I feel that this procedure would likely create more skin abnormalities and I would not recommend it, even though other doctors often do this.

As your goals are unclear and the amount of normal skin and hair is an unknown for me, I am assuming that you are a full, well established Norwood Class 7 patient, but I would suggest that you let your hair grow out a bit under the hair system so that a doctor can make a determination about your condition and patterned hair loss. To accomplish this goal, you will need to have your hair system converted to clips and away from the glues or tape you are probably using for the moment.

To remove the hair in the frontal hairline, an FUE procedure to remove the hairs in the frontal hairline is worth considering. To treat the scar in the donor area, you can either attempt to remove it with a surgical excision or fill in the scar with FUE grafts.

You can visit me for an extensive exam, or even send photographs as appropriate to improve our communication. Please do let your hair grow out under the hair piece after you convert to clips. Please also do not rule out a proper and complete transplant to get your original goals back as a consideration, but it would be a good idea to see patients at an upcoming open house event to make such an assessment. Whatever you do, take your time here to make an informed decision, something clearly you did not do when you started.