Red Bumps Years After Transplant

[albuquerqueisotopes]

Had a hair transplant about 5 years ago, no irritation problems after the first few months until this last year or so.

I've now been getting red bumps consistently on my head (and at an increasing rate), and ended up seeing two dermatologists now. Both have put me on an evolving regime of antibiotics and Propecia and some other limited use medications (oral and topical) over time. They also had me stop using Rogaine foam, and start using a medical shampoo, etc.

Ever since, I still struggle with the red bumps (now more than ever), a constantly greasy scalp, and my hair has never been thinner.

I'm 31 years old. Here are some pics:

Pic 1 - http://i.imgur.com/8gI4q4i.jpg

Pic 2 - http://i.imgur.com/Be3F6uA.jpg

The bumps, and the associated constant medication, have been pretty stressful. I hope some can provide some insight. Thank you.

[Notcoolanymore]

The docs didn't say the irritation is due to the transplant did they? 5 years later would be a long time for some thing to finally happen. But yeah it look pretty bad, hopefully the meds you are on can provide some relief.

[albuquerqueisotopes]

The docs didn't say the irritation is due to the transplant did they? 5 years later would be a long time for some thing to finally happen. But yeah it look pretty bad, hopefully the meds you are on can provide some relief.

Thanks for the response. The meds, unfortunately, have not provided relief (over a year now I've been trying). The first dermatologist I visited locally when the problem first cropped up didn't care about getting to the bottom of this, and just said go see the guy who did your hair transplant 5 years ago if I need any help.

The second dermatologist is pretty well renowned in the area and put me on a mix of drugs (including starting propecia, along with continuous antibiotics, steroids and anti-inflammatories). Unfortunately, my condition has not improved, and appears to be getting worse (healing time is longer, they appear more frequently, etc).

Thanks again for the help you guys. Any other ideas are appreciated.

[hairuk84]

its seems very strange that this happened 5 years after. I had my first transplant 8-9 years ago and have not had anything like this so far. Any chance this could be non-transplant related / some other scalp condition?

[gillenator]

Did you have you auto-immune system tested by chance? It would not hurt to have complete labs done by your PCP.

[gillenator]

Forgot to ask, are the bumps isolated within the recipient area where you had your grafts placed?