Strip Scalp Stretching

[baldymcgee]

Been considering an HT for a while. Given that I'm headed for a NW 5V or 6 I would need a significant number of grafts.

But considering the amount of tissue that would need to be extracted how does this not pull the "sides" lower? Wouldn't this result in a widening of the bald area???

[greatjob!]

Your scalp has a certain amount of "laxity" that allows a strip to be cut out without distorting the remaining skin. If you place your hands on your head and move them without sliding you and see this laxity. The reality is that your scar will stretch before the skin on your scalp stretches or deforms and makes your bald spots larger, because a fresh scar or incision has far less strength than the surrounding skin.

Here are the laxity exercises you would be recommended to do prior to surgery presented by Hasson & Wong:

http://www.hassonandwong.com/hair-loss/hair-transplant-prep/scalp-laxity-exercises.php

Hopefully this will help you visualize what I am talking about. The greater your scalp laxity, ie the amount of stretch in the skin on your scalp, the larger the strip that can be removed without putting too much tension on the strip closure resulting in a stretched scar.

[gillenator]

One very important consideration that is rarely mentioned is the fact that laxity can vary throughout the donor zone. Some docs address this by taking the strip at varying widths as they remove the strip specimen.

This can potentially help reduce the level of tension to the closure once the strip specimen is removed.

[greatjob!]

One very important consideration that is rarely mentioned is the fact that laxity can vary throughout the donor zone. Some docs address this by taking the strip at varying widths as they remove the strip specimen.

This can potentially help reduce the level of tension to the closure once the strip specimen is removed.

That is a very good point. I had a very small procedure some years ago of about 900 grafts and the tension on my scar was very high post-op, however I had a second procedure about 5-6 months ago with Dr. Rahal of 3340 and it was night and day. There was almost zero tension on my scar post-op and I'll bet it was due to the points you mentioned.