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Stretched FUT scar. Looking for advice on what to do next

Parasol

Parasol

member
Does FUE into scar work well? I read conflicting reports that grafts dont always grow out of the scar due to poor blood suply. Or is SMP the better way?
Yeah this is my concern too. I’ve seen successful results online - for example Joe Tillman’s seems to have filled in quite ok - but I’ve heard the same thing.

I think FUE’ing into my scar would be my first option if it would work, obviously because the scar would be covered in hair and not masked such as with SMP, but the idea of shaving my head bald, having a surgery, and only covering the scar sort of seems not worth it.

May as well add some density to the top while we’re at it.

My consult with Dr. Boden should be in six weeks or so, so we’ll see what he says. I’m not opposed to SMP at all if need be, or even another FUT if we could revise the scar in the process, I’m just not sure which option would give me the best chance at success.
 
Bigmac

Bigmac

Administrator
Staff member
Does FUE into scar work well? I read conflicting reports that grafts dont always grow out of the scar due to poor blood supply. Or is SMP the better way?

I have had FUE into scars which grew successfully.
 
L

Lex

member
Yeah this is my concern too. I’ve seen successful results online - for example Joe Tillman’s seems to have filled in quite ok - but I’ve heard the same thing.

I think FUE’ing into my scar would be my first option if it would work, obviously because the scar would be covered in hair and not masked such as with SMP, but the idea of shaving my head bald, having a surgery, and only covering the scar sort of seems not worth it.

May as well add some density to the top while we’re at it.

My consult with Dr. Boden should be in six weeks or so, so we’ll see what he says. I’m not opposed to SMP at all if need be, or even another FUT if we could revise the scar in the process, I’m just not sure which option would give me the best chance at success.

I've been following this thread from the sidelines as I'm in a similar situation but I believe most of my transplanted grafts failed. Did you make your consultation date with Dr. Boden? I'd be interested to see his hair diagnosis on you, if all your loss is native hair due to stopping regimen.
 
P

Philwhitehouseuk

member
Hi mate I had 2 strips down here how I look
The only options in my opinion is smp and fue into scar
It might take a couple of goes with fue into scars to give u the cover u want
DONT have strip taken out and made smaller cos it really never works
Over time u the scar will look the same or even worse

20200609_164245.jpg
 
Parasol

Parasol

member
I've been following this thread from the sidelines as I'm in a similar situation but I believe most of my transplanted grafts failed. Did you make your consultation date with Dr. Boden? I'd be interested to see his hair diagnosis on you, if all your loss is native hair due to stopping regimen.

Hey there! I decided to push back my consult to December; one because I couldn’t make the consult date due to changes at my work, and two because since I know I’ll need some work up top, December will mark my 6 month point of being back on Fin and Min.

Finger’s crossed I hope I respond well to the meds, but if I slow down the progression, I’d consider that a win too.

Thanks for following everyone! I’ll update once I have something worthwhile to share.
 
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P

Philwhitehouseuk

member
No probs mate
Dont rush into this
Ok I'll look out for ur progress
 
V

Viking

member
What about a combination? Have a small FUT from just the back of the head to address the thinning area and improve that scar a little. Then have some FUE into the scars near the ears that are stretched. Would this not work?
 
L

Lex

member
Hey there! I decided to push back my consult to December; one because I couldn’t make the consult date due to changes at my work, and two because since I know I’ll need some work up top, December will mark my 6 month point of being back on Fin and Min.

Finger’s crossed I hope I respond well to the meds, but if I slow down the progression, I’d consider that a win too.

Thanks for following everyone! I’ll update once I have something worthwhile to share.


Best of luck with the Fin and the December appointment.
 
K

k-dog

member
Hi Bigmac hope your well! When you had the FUE into scar was it done as part of work further forward on your head? If you were to have FUE just into the scar does this mean they shave a smaller patch around the scar to harvest the grafts or does it still require a full shaved back of head? Thanks
 
Bigmac

Bigmac

Administrator
Staff member
Hi K-dog.
For my hair transplant scars, I had the grafts from a separate FUT that was for further repair work used. Some were kept for the scars.
My vertical scar from an accident I had grafts specifically taken for this from my nape area.
If you're looking at scar repair most clinics can lift the hair up, shave a patch and extract leaving the surrounding hair long enough to cover the extraction sites. Some clinics will select each graft with no shaving at all.
 
J

johnmc

member
Hi everyone! This is my first post here, but reading around, you all seem very knowledgeable and friendly!

I’m 36 now. Roughly 10 years ago I had two FUT procedures with Dr. Scott Boden. I’m finding the older I get, the more I’d really love to wear a shorter hair style, but my scar has stretched quite bad (mainly above my ears),so I can’t really clip it below a #8 guar

Yesterday I buzzed it down to a #5 so I could get some feedback on what to do next. This is also a length I like so would love to improve how pronounced scar looks this clipper setting. I’m reading a lot about the risks of scar revision, especially in cases where the patient is prone to stretching like I appear to be. FUE seems like a better option, but success rates of FUE’ing into scar tissue seem really hit or miss, so I’m unsure the best way to go from here and would love to get some opinions.

Hi parasol, I'm in a similar situation with the scar and exploring options here in Europe. Let's keep each other posted.
 
K

k-dog

member
Hi K-dog.
For my hair transplant scars, I had the grafts from a separate FUT that was for further repair work used. Some were kept for the scars.
My vertical scar from an accident I had grafts specifically taken for this from my nape area.
If you're looking at scar repair most clinics can lift the hair up, shave a patch and extract leaving the surrounding hair long enough to cover the extraction sites. Some clinics will select each graft with no shaving at all.
Thanks for Sharing your experience. Its of much encouragement to know that this procedure can be done more discreetly. Were the grafts placed into the old scar and the new one that was cut for this procedure at the same time? Am i not right in thinking that you would need the scar to heal well first as a fresh scar would not be binded together and still have the stiches in place. Can you place grafts into a new scar??? Sorry i'm a bit confused! The scar i have limits me on short hair styles i'm always worried about people noticing it. Thanks
 
Parasol

Parasol

member
Hi parasol, I'm in a similar situation with the scar and exploring options here in Europe. Let's keep each other posted.

Hi @johnmc I wish you well on your research and journey! If you pull the trigger on anything, let me know and I’ll do the same as well.

Is your hair loss pattern described as diffuse?

No definitely not. It only might appear that way, kind of sort of, because I’ve had two FUT procedures.

I lost a lot of the native hair I’ve had since then, so what you see now in the front 2/3 is basically all transplanted hair.

Best of luck with the Fin and the December appointment.

Thanks @Lex ! I appreciate the encouragement.
 
bullitnut

bullitnut

4 awesome repairs with SMG
Good luck with the Fin and Minox again, I have a sneaky feeling it might just surprise you and help with the miniaturized hairs and make things much better...could be wrong obviously as nobody really knows, but I'm rooting for ya dude.
 
Bigmac

Bigmac

Administrator
Staff member
Thanks for Sharing your experience. Its of much encouragement to know that this procedure can be done more discreetly. Were the grafts placed into the old scar and the new one that was cut for this procedure at the same time? Am i not right in thinking that you would need the scar to heal well first as a fresh scar would not be binded together and still have the stiches in place. Can you place grafts into a new scar??? Sorry i'm a bit confused! The scar i have limits me on short hair styles i'm always worried about people noticing it. Thanks

Hi K-dog
Late reply here.
My newer scars were tricho closure meaning one layer of skin goes over the other resulting in the grafts from the bottom layer growing through the scar.
Other scars I had FUE grafts placed in them.
 
Bigmac

Bigmac

Administrator
Staff member
Hey there! I decided to push back my consult to December; one because I couldn’t make the consult date due to changes at my work, and two because since I know I’ll need some work up top, December will mark my 6 month point of being back on Fin and Min.

Finger’s crossed I hope I respond well to the meds, but if I slow down the progression, I’d consider that a win too.

Thanks for following everyone! I’ll update once I have something worthwhile to share.

How are you getting on with the meds?
Were you able to arrange any consults?
 
Parasol

Parasol

member
Hi @Bigmac ! Thanks for checking in.

I’ve been on Finasteride (1mg) and Minoxidil foam (1 cap full) daily for about 7 months now. Although there might be some minor improvements (my hair sometimes seems darker, so perhaps some miniaturized hairs have strengthened?), my hair is definitely still a mess so I’m planning on having another procedure here in the near-ish future.

Originally, I was thinking of going back to Dr. Boden, but after seeing he uses ARTAS for FUE, which turns me off a lot, I decided he is not the surgeon for me, so I spent some time doing some research on clinics all over the world.

After a couple months kicking the idea of taking the plunge a third time around, I decided if I was gonna do it, I wanted to go to the best of the best.

Then I decided, what the heck, may as well just get this thing done! :)

I’m currently booked with Eugenix in India for March 3rd, however, I highly doubt this will end up being the surgery date. As of now, I can’t even acquire a visa due to COVID restrictions.

Eugenix has a game plan I really like, so I’m excited to have chosen them and to get this done eventually. For the top of my head, they want to bring back the hairline a bit (by plucking out and reusing my previously transplanted hairline grafts), then adding density to the new hairline and to the rest of the frontal 2/3. Based on my photos, I was told 2500 grafts would be enough for this, but that seemed a bit too conservative for me, so tentatively, until we meet in person, we are planning 3,000 grafts in total for the scalp.

For the FUT scar, they think I’ll need 300-500 grafts.

The plan is, to take 2,500-3,000 grafts from the back of my head, and 500-1,000 grafts from my beard, depending, to reach our final number.

I’m hesitant to take grafts from my beard for this if we don’t have to, but we’ll see what Dr. Bansal thinks once we meet in person.

I’ll attach some new photos so you guys can see how the meds have worked. I hope everyone here is doing well! Stay safe.

F944FB08-F4A0-4D5E-8A71-7EDF85925B71.jpeg
2D15C087-8EFE-4954-AFCF-89FDF7C357C4.jpeg
A2348499-65C8-4EA8-8161-2FA3581585A6.jpeg
 
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Bigmac

Bigmac

Administrator
Staff member
Hi Parasol.
Thanks for updating.
At 7 months the meds may just be starting to work but the important issue is you're not losing more native hair.
I think most people who do their research on the various FUE extraction devices opt for a hand held option as opposed to fully robotic.

Going forward with the game plan Eugenix has suggested sounds good.
How many grafts have they estimated will need redistributed from your hairline?
If you have good beard density I'm in favor of using these grafts for repair of scars and adding density. I've had them extracted from under my chin for scar repair. If you look really close you can see some small gaps but who is going to look under your chin. The skin heals very well in this area. For a few days it felt like shavers rash, then it was healed without any issues.

Let's hope the Covid restrictions are lifted in time to allow your travel visa to India.
If and when you get there it would be great if you could document your experience here.
Wishing you some good fortune with your plans.
All the best.
Bm.
 
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