When it comes to hair restoration surgical procedures, one of the concerns that many people have is post-surgical hair loss. Although this is a rare occurrence with restoration surgery, it does happen with some individuals because of two reasons.
Most people with thinning or balding scalps are self conscious about their condition and every year, thousands of people opt for hair restoration surgery. But one of the major concerns is about losing hair after the surgery. Though it is not common, but some people may experience loss of hair after restorative surgical procedure. The main reasons leading to it are:
- Post surgical effluvium
- Accelerated hair loss
Understanding the fundamental reasons behind the risk of losing hair is simple. It is due to shock to the scalp after the hair restorative surgery. The hair loss reasons are logical because after the restorative surgery has been conducted, the enhanced blood flow to the place of the surgery turns red. If you are still wondering, well the area where surgery has been conducted is bathed in nutrients, oxygen and DHT that increase healing and prolonging the tissue life. But if you look at it from the technical point of view, the hair loss is due to post surgery and is not termed as increased loss of hair.
Thus, both of the reasons of accelerated hair loss and effluvium depends on the health of the transplanted hair follicles and the genetic predisposition in the recipients scalp. It is not that restorative surgery has failed.
Post Surgical Effluvium
The trauma undergone by the follicles during the process of transplantation is better termed as Effluvium. The resultant loss of follicles is common in the initial 3 month period after the hair restorative surgery. The post surgical shock happens due to the weak follicles and the way they are transplanted, specifically the direction and angle by the surgeon.
Thus, it is of due importance that the direction and angle are followed properly during hair restoration surgery. However, the chances of suffering from post operative surgical effluvium are rare with the advancements in technical skills within hair restoration surgery industry. Smaller blades, following proper direction of transplantation and reducing the sites for restoration help reduce these occurrences.
In many cases, the surgeons and hair restoration physicians prescribe a range of topical medicines such as Rogaine to help with the reduction of scalp tissue shock. These follicle shocks are rare occurrences and in most restoration processes are not something to worry about.
