How Can I Minimize The Visibility of My Hair Transplant Scar?

Written by Blaine Lehr, MD on June 13, 2008

I had a transplant surgery about 5 years ago & ended up shaving my head anyways. I did not realize the scar from the donor area would be so noticeable. Are there any surgical procedures that can minimize the visibility of the scar? - John
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There are a variety of ways that you could consider. If you are bothered by the width of the scar, it is possible to undergo scar revision whereby the scar is reexcised and sutured back together with the hopes that the resultant scar would be thinner. While this is a quick and easy remedy, it is unfortunately unreliable. Because the elastic fibers in your skin surrounding the scar are continuously pulling at the scar edges, scars naturally have a tendency to widen. If you had enough elastic fibers to cause the original scar to widen, the same fibers may cause the second scar to widen no matter how good the technique of the surgeon. Another option would be to try to tattoo the white scar with a color that matches the surrounding skin, but it seems difficult to ever perfectly match colors. The option that many people find to be the best is to use follicular unit extraction to obtain grafts which are then placed in the scar line. Because follicular unit extraction typically leaves small pinpoint scars scattered about the donor area, usually these grafts can be obtained with little remaining evidence even on a shaved scalp. It is even possible to perform the follicular unit extraction from somewhere else on the body if you want to be certain that you are not causing any additional noticeable scarring on the scalp. Certainly none of these options are perfect, but in many situations they can be very helpful.

Sincerely,
Blaine Lehr, M.D.
Member, International Alliance of Hair Restoration Surgeons
Member, American Hair Loss Association

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