shockloss due to transplant

serge

Just joined, I had 1400 grafts put in from the hairline to about 2 inches inward.I had my surgery Dec 23/05.About 2/3 weeks ago I noticed quite a bit of hairloss in the transplanted area.My doctor said it happens to about 20% of patients, and it will all grow back in 6 months.A couple of days ago I started investigating on the internet for some info.There seems to be some contradictory opinions on whether the hair grows back or not.I'd like some info from people that have had the same experience.

Michelle

Hello and Welcome from all of us at IHTI!

Shockloss can occur in some patients. There are many different reasons why this occurs. However, he is correct the "good" hair will grow back but the hairs that were terminal will not.

We tell patients that there is always the risk of looking worse before you look better due to the risk of shockloss.

Hope this helps...

drcole

Shock loss typically begins 2 to 3 weeks after a procedure. it affects only the transplanted area. you will not see it in areas outside the transplanted area. hair loss outside the transplanted area is due to something different.

in your case, the history is classic for shock loss. i do not know that anyone has noted a percentage of people who have it. I think it very well could be much higher than 20% depending on how you transplant. a very dense transplant will be more likely to produce shock loss. a very limited density with a small recipient site will be less likely. trauma is the primary factor in shock loss. having said this, some people are particuarly sensitive to trauma and are more likely to experinence it.

Shock loss will grow back, but never quite as strong as before the procedure. the hair that grows back will be finer in nature. It will not cover as well as before the procedure. Each time the hair on the top cycles, it is prone to come back finer. this is the process of androgenic alopecia. in my opinion, hairs are like cats. they have a limited number of lives or in the case of hair, cycles. with androgenic alopecia the cycle frequency speeds up. the growing phase shortens, the resting phase is longer, and each new cycle brings a finer, lighter colored hair. eventually the finer hairs begin to grow slower and shorter than the surrounding hairs. finnally, they become fine, whispy vellus hairs that no longer provide any length or coverage. i do not like shock loss because it speeds up the hair loss process, in my opinion. this is why it is best to avoid grafting into hair bearing areas, unless the patient fully understands the risks and wants to make a pre-emptive strike against hair that is prone to fall out. hairs that are already fine may have shock loss and come back so fine that they do not provide coverage. therefore, it is sometimes necessary to graft into fine hair that provides little coverage in order to accomplish a level of satifactory coverage. this would be an example of shock loss that provides a better result than before surgery. shock loss of good, high quality hair is not a good idea because the resulting coverage could be less than the coverage prior to surgery.