Question:
I have seen horrible pictures of hair transplants gone wrong. What were those surgeons thinking or perhaps they were not even surgeons. I am interested in a transplant and would like you to perform it because of your reputation. I am 44 years old, male and have lost a substantial amount of hair right at the hairline. I have read about the surgery and understand about hair shock loss a little. What I do not get is a feel for the final timeframe. How long after the surgery will the hair look good due to growth?

Answer:
Following hair transplantation procedures, there are two types of shock loss that can occur.

The first type of shock loss is the actual transplanted hair, which usually falls out in the first one to four weeks following the procedure. The transplanted hairs will start to grow somewhere between three and five months post operatively.

The second type of shock loss that can occur from transplantation surgery is shock loss of any existing hairs that were there prior to the procedure. This also generally occurs approximately the first month following the procedure.

There is a percentage of the original hairs lost due to shock loss that will be lost permanently. Those that are not lost permanently and are lost on a temporary basis will generally start to grow in just before the transplanted hairs or approximately at the same time as the transplanted hairs.

Generally, depending upon when the actual transplanted hairs start to grow, it will take somewhere between three and six months following that time period for the hair to be long enough to make an actual difference in the patient’s appearance.

Posted by: Dr. Charles