10 month update on old style plug repair by Dr. Lindsey McLean VA

[Dr. Lindsey]

Some of you might recall this guy's original story. He had a bunch of plug cases 25 years ago or so and felt that he was too pluggy to go without a hat. Fortunately that suited his line of work for years, but that changed and he had to take the hat off.

We excised a plug-scar filled strip and packed his front. He emailed in pics at 7 months and the other day at 10 months. Many of you all know that particularly in these plug repairs, the scarring slows growth down so that it takes 18 months to get a nice result. He's growing quickly and his wirey bushy hair helps. Just wait til another 6 months pass. He lives a few hours away and says he'll get by this summer for pics and hopefully a video, and hopefully a second case to work behind his nice new front.

Recall the analogy that I've used in the past...these plugs are like an organized Christmas tree farm. They grow fine but look odd. If we can irregularize the hairline, like the front edge of a random forest you drive by...and pack it well, you can't see the regularity farther back "in the forest". And while some doctors remove the plugs and re-use the hair, I don't. 1. That hair is growing fine. Just plant around it... and 2. What if you take it out, weaken the roots and then re-insert and get no growth? So our philosophy is to pack around what is already there.

Pics of the surgery, 7 and 10 months, sent in by him are shown.

Dr. Lindsey McLean VA