The hair transplant procedure has been growing in popularity in recent years, and as a result, more and more people are seeking help to correct a failed procedure. Very often it is possible to successfully correct such a procedure and restore the natural appearance. A failed hair transplant is unfortunately very hard to hide and can cause frustration, low self-esteem and even depressive states. Below are some examples from my office.
1. too little hair density at the corners.
Failed hair transplants are unfortunately an increasingly common problem. This patient came to my office to correct a past FUT hair transplant procedure. Why the hair did not grow back after the first treatment, I have not been able to determine. Hair follicles can be damaged at several stages of the procedure, and they can also be implanted too shallowly or too deeply – all of which will result in poor hair regrowth. Unfortunately, without witnessing the procedure itself, it is impossible to know at which stage the mistake was made. Correction in this patient was possible.
It is always necessary to eliminate potential scalp diseases in such cases to make sure that the hair grows back properly. In this man’s case, the hair grew back properly after a properly performed procedure, so it can be ruled out that the lack of regrowth was due to “patient fault.” Inflammation of the scalp after the procedure, skin infection or follicular lichen planus lead to poor hair growth after the procedure, but in this patient, other possible reasons for the failure of the first hair transplant should be sought.
2 Unnatural-looking “Mickey Mouse” hairline.
A very common mistake made in hair transplantation is to produce a frontal hairline that is different from nature. It is necessary to take into account not only the gender, age and balding pattern of the patient, but also his ethnicity. We will offer a different hairline to a person of Arab descent and a completely different one to a European (Caucasian). In this case, the patient was not satisfied, neither with the achieved hair density, nor with the shape of the front line (in the so-called “Mickey Mouse” shape). Such a hairline works well in a cartoon, but not in real life. Repairing the previous treatment gave satisfactory results.
Natural-looking male hairlines resemble an emphasized letter “U”. In this case, it was enough to accentuate the entire front hairline and add density ca the entire area of the previous treatment. The first photo also shows that the transplanted hair grew in different directions, but this, too, can be corrected during the next procedure. An unsuccessful hair transplant is not only another expense, but also another hair retrieval and a reduced pool for the future.
3. hair implanted at too high an angle.
The hair will grow back in the direction and angle at which it is implanted. It is assumed that the natural angle of hair growth in the Caucasian is 40-45 degrees. If the patient still has some hair in the area where the hair is being reconstructed, it is best to mimic nature and implant it at the same angle. If the grafts (hair follicles) are implanted at too high an angle, such as 80 or 90 degrees, they will detach from the scalp and it will be very difficult to arrange them in the desired way.
A failed hair transplant involving improper implantation of hair is more challenging for the doctor performing the correction. The patient in the photos above, in the past, had undergone 2 FUT hair transplant procedures (a.k.a. “strip” with skin strip excision) and 1 FUE procedure. He came to my office in this condition expecting only to improve his current condition. Due to his past treatments, the number of grafts that could be taken was severely limited. I retrieved 1,605 hair follicles (grafts), which gave us a total of 3,470 hairs. This amount was enough to cover the balding area on the so-called crown and to correct the frizz.
The second solution is to remove the frizz surgically or by laser. But since every hair is at a premium, the patient and I agreed that it was worth taking the risk and performing the procedure to correct a failed hair transplant according to my idea. The effect was very satisfactory after just 6 months.
4. restored front hairline with too little density.
As I mentioned earlier, the procedure can fail for a number of reasons. An inexperienced team can damage the hair follicles during harvesting or during the implantation itself. They can be stored outside the patient’s body in improper conditions which will end up destroying the hair. Lack of experience can also result in insufficient implant density or the design of a hairline that is inadequate for the patient.
The front hairline must be thick to give the patient satisfaction with the procedure. This gives him the ability to pull his hair to the side, back and in any way he desires. If for some reason the number of harvestable hair follicles is limited (damaged harvest area, another procedure, financial issues), it is better to reconstruct a smaller area with good density than a large area with lousy density.
Since the cause of poor hair regrowth is not clear, a patient in this situation should be diagnosed to rule out reasons for poor regrowth lying on the patient’s side. In this man, we found no skin diseases that could cause the procedure to fail. In the end, the corrective treatment consisted of a slight alteration of the front hairline and significant re-densification.
The situation was similar for the patient below. The unsuccessful hair transplant consisted of too little hair density and too “aggressive” a hairline.
In this patient, additionally, the entire hairline had to be softened. At the very front, follicles with several hairs were implanted, which gave a “doll’s hair effect.” While correcting a failed hair transplant, I implanted follicles with a single hair to achieve a more natural look.
The difference in density between natural hair and transplanted hair looks bad. Even if the patient does not have very thick hair, but the whole looks uniform and consistent – the visual and aesthetic effect is much better. It’s not always possible to harvest enough follicles when correcting a failed hair transplant, so it’s important to distribute them wisely to get the best possible result. Because often the correction is the last hair transplant procedure for the patient. Therefore, the doctor undertaking such a correction has a great responsibility and should be experienced and have an idea of how to improve the patient’s appearance.
5. failed hair transplant. Is it always possible to make a correction?
In order to correct the procedure we need to take enough material – hair. If the patient has had several such procedures in the past or has gone to a place with an unqualified team and has experienced “over-harvesting” then another follicular harvesting will only make the situation worse.
Why does it come after over-harvesting? This is nothing more than taking too many grafts during 1 procedure. The harvested hair does not grow back on the back of the head, and in addition, neighboring hair follicles are damaged so that the hair cannot properly cover the scalp. It is much safer to perform 2 smaller procedures than one very large one. The skin in the area of the intake needs to regenerate properly. By harvesting hair in stages, 4-5 hair transplant procedures can be performed over a lifetime. In the case of the patients above, ty was the first and also the last hair transplant procedure. Proper planning and knowledge of the human body’s capabilities is an important aspect during a hair transplant procedure.
In patients who have had too much hair taken in one procedure, SMP, or scalp micropigmentation, may be considered to reduce the contrast between the hair and the translucent scalp. Transplantation in this case is not an option.
Do you need a consultation about correcting a failed hair transplant? Make an appointment: by phone at 579645819 or online.
