1980's Patient - Looking to repair old donor scarred area

I was one of the thousands of patients that had old punch grafts done in the late 1980's. I have three rows of these scars at the back of my head. Donor area is now thinning(Doctor back then said this would never happen). Am looking for a solution to make my head look as normal as possible short of wearing a hair piece again. Any and all advice/experience noted is appreciated. Thank you.

two options brother - fue into the scar or SMP... with SMP you have to constantly have head shaved to a zero

If you can post a few details , I'm sure a few people will chip in - Current NW level , age , how is your donor area etc. ( photos may be helpful if you're comfortable with that ).

A fair few doctors have great experience in repair cases such as yours , so spend a good bit of time checking out all the forums / websites to get a feel for things . If you just google the key words , you should get a fair few results straight off . I'm sure you'll also come across repair cases with circumstances similar to yours .

Could also start the ball rolling by doing online consultations with various surgeons to get a feel for what procedures may be recommended . The Drs listed on this website would be a good place to start .

Good luck .

Thank you Suarez and James for replying. I'm 47 years old. I had the work done 28 years ago. Donor area is thinning. I'm now a NW 7. If the doctor I dealt with would have been responsible, he would not have recommended hair transplants for a 19 year old. There was no way of knowing what I would look like in my 40's.

roso,

I see that you're from the Baltimore area. I would bet that your doctor was Dr. Weidig?

And I agree that 19 year olds should never ever have any HT work done.

The best barometer is family history. If either side has men in the NW7 class, then that's almost always the future for guys who experience MPB in their teens and early 20's.

Hair systems have come a long way since when I used to wear them so it's something to consider if something like DRT is not an option.

You are welcome to come and see me for a free assessment as I live in the area.

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Originally Posted by roso1234

I was one of the thousands of patients that had old punch grafts done in the late 1980's. I have three rows of these scars at the back of my head. Donor area is now thinning(Doctor back then said this would never happen). Am looking for a solution to make my head look as normal as possible short of wearing a hair piece again. Any and all advice/experience noted is appreciated. Thank you.

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Best solution is to get beard hair transplanted into the scar tissue (assuming you have a decent supply)

I had extensive punch graft scarring from having numerous transplants back in the day, and I've had it all repaired over the last year and a half.

Beard hair grows well in scar tissue and it can give a great result.

SMP might be an option but, at the end of the day, it's just a disguise and you can't beat having hair growing where you need it.

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Originally Posted by jamesst11

two options brother - fue into the scar or SMP... with SMP you have to constantly have head shaved to a zero

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Not necessarily. It depends on the length and color of his hair but some SMP is ideal for adding cosmetic density to one's hair. I've had it done myself a few times with tricopigmentation and it worked very well.

I think that some sort of FUE into the scars would be the best angle of attack on this problem. Beard hair and scalp hair would work but there would have to be a few passes to get it right.

Would SMP cover up the bumps left by the open donor scarring? If Weidig had just sutured the donor area holes in the first place, camouflage would be a whole lot simpler now...

Treating the scars by FUE grafting will require sufficient blood supply in order to be a success. Have more than one consultation with an expert in FUE and procedures involving beard hair.

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Originally Posted by JoeTillman

Not necessarily. It depends on the length and color of his hair but some SMP is ideal for adding cosmetic density to one's hair. I've had it done myself a few times with tricopigmentation and it worked very well.

I think that some sort of FUE into the scars would be the best angle of attack on this problem. Beard hair and scalp hair would work but there would have to be a few passes to get it right.

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Hi Joe,

I'm interested in SMP for a scalp that is NOT shaved to add thickening to crown and donor area. This is the first time I had realised this could be possible thanks to your mentioning it. How effective is it for this purpose? I'm U.K though, not sure if there are any reputable experienced providers of this service over here.

Ta