Hair Transplant Strip Scar, What's The Big Deal?

[Jkel]

Maybe this was asked before, but why do people make such a big deal about not wanting to have a strip scar from their hair transplant. I've been spending a lot of time here and read other websites and this seem to be an inflated problem and concern. If I decide to have surgery I am aware that I will have a scar. The reason I would have a hair transplant is because I do not want to shave my head so who cares if I have a scar that is hidden by my hair. If I choose FUE or Strip and the back of my head thins out, I will still have noticeable scaring apparently and worst of all my transplant hair will fall out or at least some of it. I think this is a chance we take when we decide to have surgery. From the photos that I see here and elsewhere most strip scars look very thin and unnoticeable. So what's the big deal?

Any thoughts?

[Jotronic]

I think this is a very common sense question. The issue of strip scars being "horrible" is partially rooted in history as well as, and to a greater extent, the fear, uncertainty and doubt (FUD) spread by clinics that wish for you to be deathly scared of strip surgery.

There is no question about it that there is good reason to be concerned when FIRST researching your options for hair restoration. How can one not be concerned when you have FUE clinics sharing their results not based on their actual growth rates and naturalness but rather by showing how horrible some results have been with strip. The horrible strip scars however are usually from fifteen years prior and from a doctor that no one has ever heard of. In other words, the results from strip are shown from a clinic that just didn't care about the quality of their work. Of course there are caveats to anything and everything but you get the idea.

Modern strip surgery in the hands of a reliably competent clinic produce BETTER growth rates on a consistent basis which is what patients want. I've yet to have a patient tell me they wish to go through with a hair transplant in order to have "minimal scarring". They want a hair transplant to have natural hair where before there was none and lots of it to boot. The most reliable way to get this is through strip with the understanding that the only limitation afterward is that one will not be able to shave their head as short as if they never had surgery. This doesn't mean that one must wear their hair style as long as Black Sabbath at Woodstock. It means that most modern styles are easily attainable except a very short shaved style.

[Gregory Pistone, MD]

Maybe this was asked before, but why do people make such a big deal about not wanting to have a strip scar from their hair transplant. I've been spending a lot of time here and read other websites and this seem to be an inflated problem and concern. If I decide to have surgery I am aware that I will have a scar. The reason I would have a hair transplant is because I do not want to shave my head so who cares if I have a scar that is hidden by my hair. If I choose FUE or Strip and the back of my head thins out, I will still have noticeable scaring apparently and worst of all my transplant hair will fall out or at least some of it. I think this is a chance we take when we decide to have surgery. From the photos that I see here and elsewhere most strip scars look very thin and unnoticeable. So what's the big deal?

Any thoughts?

I must say I agree with you, especially in these modern times when we have trichophytic closures which, for the most part, minimize or sometimes completely eliminate visible scarring to the naked eye. Many of my patients are police officers and military and can get away with a 2.5-3 clipper setting. Having said that however, there are still are few caveats to consider: not everyone heals well and this is generally not predictable; some surgeons try to take too much in one procedure and struggle to close the wound under tension, leaving a wide scar; inexperience or poor technical expertise. In my hands, I find that surgical staples (ala the late, great Dr James Arnold) are much more secure and leave an excellent scar compared to my suturing days. In general, I think that absorbable sutures leave the worst scars for a variety of reasons. There is no right or wrong here, just what works best for your experienced doctor. But, in conclusion, there is no doubt that strip excisions yield much more hair and generally heal very nicely.

[gillenator]

Maybe this was asked before, but why do people make such a big deal about not wanting to have a strip scar from their hair transplant. I've been spending a lot of time here and read other websites and this seem to be an inflated problem and concern. If I decide to have surgery I am aware that I will have a scar. The reason I would have a hair transplant is because I do not want to shave my head so who cares if I have a scar that is hidden by my hair. If I choose FUE or Strip and the back of my head thins out, I will still have noticeable scaring apparently and worst of all my transplant hair will fall out or at least some of it. I think this is a chance we take when we decide to have surgery. From the photos that I see here and elsewhere most strip scars look very thin and unnoticeable. So what's the big deal?

Any thoughts?

Great post Jkel. You know I rarely and I mean rarely see HT patients cut or shave off all of the hair that just grew in from a HT. I mean that's the reason they went in to get the procedure done, to have hair again! And most of them, if not all of them, are extremely estatic when the growth matures out. The last thing they want to do is cut it off! Obviously there will be exceptions that Dr. Pistone mentioned.

I tell every patient and I don't care where they go as long as the doctor/clinic is reputable, that their scalp will be compromised in the donor area after the procedure. That's part of the trade-off. Surgery will leave scars period, strip or FUE. Count on not being able to shave or buzz your head below a three guide. If a patient can live with three guide or longer, they should be fine. Yes maybe a fair amount of them will be able to get by with a number two guide, but if you tell them three, it's a more conservative expectation.

[fab]

hi, Just a question... how long after HT the scar becomes unnoticeable?