My mother had a hair transplant with terrible results. She is 52 years old was was told by her hair transplant surgeon that she was a perfect candidate for the operation. She has lost so much hair I the last year and the transplant looks very unnatural and sparse. She is very depressed to say the least and wishes she never had the hair transplant. Do you think it was the doctors fault that the hair did not take or is it my mother’s age. Can anything be done to rectify the situation. Thank you for your help.
Hello. I’m very sorry to hear you mom is disappointed with her results. I’m going to make the assumption that we are, in fact, dealing with female pattern alopecia in your mom’s case when I answer your question. However, I just want to say, in an effort to be thorough, that you mom should be checked out by a Dermatologist to rule out other causes of alopecia in women. And this might include blood tests and a scalp biopsy as well as a thorough medical history. So assuming your mom is suffering from female pattern alopecia, what could have gone wrong? Or did anything go wrong? I have found that it is quite common for women to have extreme “shock loss” following an initial hair transplant procedure, so I always advise them of this and the fact they are very likely to require an additional procedure or procedures to achieve reasonable cosmetic density.Now since “shock loss”generally affects hair that is destined to fall out anyway, the procedure did not “cause” the hair loss, but it certainly did speed it up. Assuming your mom has sufficient donor hair available an additional procedure or procedures should help your mom achieve reasonable cosmetic density. Soassuming that all the grafts transplanted did grow, my only concern would be that these issues were not discussed in advance in a frank and professional manner. Doctors can’t always tell you what you what to hear, but we can make very sure that we tell you the absolute truth.
Gregory Pistone, MD
Member, International Alliance of Hair Restoration Surgeons
Gregory Pistone, MD Dr. Pistone's contributions to the field of hair transplantation and excellence in patient care earned him the honor of being selected by his peers to be recognized as one of Philadelphia Magazine's "Top Plastic Surgeons." He has been featured in countless newspaper and magazine articles and has made numerous television and radio appearances answering all questions pertaining to the art and science that is hair restoration. Dr. Pistone has had a successful private practice since 1984, has served as Chief of Dermatology within the Thomas Jefferson University Health System, and is currently on the faculty of both Thomas Jefferson and Drexel University Schools' of Medicine, where he teaches physicians-in-training about hair transplantation. Dr. Pistone has a private practice and state of the art surgicenter in Marlton, New Jersey (near Philadelphia), as well as a consulting office in Center City, Philadelphia. Dr. Pistone is a member of the International Alliance of Hair Restoration Surgeons and recommended by the American Hair Loss Association. Visit Dr. Pistone's Website:www.drpistone.com
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