What do we do with it once it's done?
Attached below are images taken of several donor areas of patients who had strip (FUT) harvesting performed prior to coming to our clinic. You may observe that each patient has moderately long hair in the donor area and that a considerable amount of thinning in each donor area is evident. It has been said that the average strip scar is 2 – 3 millimeters in width and that strip method is the common method of hair transplant surgery of today. Today, the most important question for a patient to have in mind before having a strip procedure is what to do with the scar after a strip procedure is performed.
Strip harvesting can have more adverse effects in the donor area than most patients are told. From a patient’s standpoint, strip harvesting is said to be more economical on the wallet than non-strip methods. Many clinics offer strip as a way to transplant more hair in less time. We see strip method as more costly to patients’ donor resources and a procedure that fails to meet today’s standard of aesthetic results in the donor area. Patients seeking strip method all have one thing in common. They do not know how visible the linear scar will be once it’s done. It is a fact that the donor areas heal differently from patient to patient. One thing is for sure: These patients will have a linear scar! Among other drawbacks are loss of sensation, tingling nerve damage, and a hypertrophic scar. To compound the problem, often times the pressure of the scalpel used to harvest the strip will destroy a percentage of nearby FUs and distort the direction of the hairs above and below the incision. These undesirable and disabling effects can be seen and felt even at a year or more after the strip procedure is performed. Some patients have scar revisions performed to see a percentage of the scar’s appearance decrease. The last photo attached shows a patient’s donor area trimmed with a #3 guard. About 1 year ago, this same patient went to a well-known clinic for a scar revision. In the photo, the patient’s hair in the donor area is > 1.5 centimeters in length. At the current length, the hair in the donor area fails to conceal the strip scar. This shows that a strip scar must have hair density around the scar to be non-visible.
All hair transplant methods have pros and cons as any surgical procedure. The difference is what to do with it once it’s done! Patients who elect to have a hair transplant may more than likely need more than one hair transplant procedure in their lifetime. Many patients believe that the appearance of the linear scar is easily remedied via CIT or FUE, which is not the case. Grafting into the scar can be an option for many patients to minimize the appearance of the linear scar. Patients should also be told that the cons of non-strip methods can be hypo-pigmentation occurring at the extraction sites in the donor area. We have seen that transferring follicles into the extraction sites can stimulate pigment to these areas. The second con associated with the non-strip method of hair transplant surgery is that most clinics typically offer it at a slightly higher upfront cost per follicular unit.
Who performs the repair if the linear scars always widen after each scar revision? Who performs the corrective work on these scarred patients who go to strip clinics from around the world? We thrive to educate patients so that their quality of life improves and their satisfaction lasts for a great period of time. At any rate, we want to give our patients the opportunity to obtain the best aesthetic result in the donor and recipient areas.
Tel: 1 678 5661011
Attached below are images taken of several donor areas of patients who had strip (FUT) harvesting performed prior to coming to our clinic. You may observe that each patient has moderately long hair in the donor area and that a considerable amount of thinning in each donor area is evident. It has been said that the average strip scar is 2 – 3 millimeters in width and that strip method is the common method of hair transplant surgery of today. Today, the most important question for a patient to have in mind before having a strip procedure is what to do with the scar after a strip procedure is performed.
Strip harvesting can have more adverse effects in the donor area than most patients are told. From a patient’s standpoint, strip harvesting is said to be more economical on the wallet than non-strip methods. Many clinics offer strip as a way to transplant more hair in less time. We see strip method as more costly to patients’ donor resources and a procedure that fails to meet today’s standard of aesthetic results in the donor area. Patients seeking strip method all have one thing in common. They do not know how visible the linear scar will be once it’s done. It is a fact that the donor areas heal differently from patient to patient. One thing is for sure: These patients will have a linear scar! Among other drawbacks are loss of sensation, tingling nerve damage, and a hypertrophic scar. To compound the problem, often times the pressure of the scalpel used to harvest the strip will destroy a percentage of nearby FUs and distort the direction of the hairs above and below the incision. These undesirable and disabling effects can be seen and felt even at a year or more after the strip procedure is performed. Some patients have scar revisions performed to see a percentage of the scar’s appearance decrease. The last photo attached shows a patient’s donor area trimmed with a #3 guard. About 1 year ago, this same patient went to a well-known clinic for a scar revision. In the photo, the patient’s hair in the donor area is > 1.5 centimeters in length. At the current length, the hair in the donor area fails to conceal the strip scar. This shows that a strip scar must have hair density around the scar to be non-visible.
All hair transplant methods have pros and cons as any surgical procedure. The difference is what to do with it once it’s done! Patients who elect to have a hair transplant may more than likely need more than one hair transplant procedure in their lifetime. Many patients believe that the appearance of the linear scar is easily remedied via CIT or FUE, which is not the case. Grafting into the scar can be an option for many patients to minimize the appearance of the linear scar. Patients should also be told that the cons of non-strip methods can be hypo-pigmentation occurring at the extraction sites in the donor area. We have seen that transferring follicles into the extraction sites can stimulate pigment to these areas. The second con associated with the non-strip method of hair transplant surgery is that most clinics typically offer it at a slightly higher upfront cost per follicular unit.
Who performs the repair if the linear scars always widen after each scar revision? Who performs the corrective work on these scarred patients who go to strip clinics from around the world? We thrive to educate patients so that their quality of life improves and their satisfaction lasts for a great period of time. At any rate, we want to give our patients the opportunity to obtain the best aesthetic result in the donor and recipient areas.
Tel: 1 678 5661011
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