Q: I have had some surgical procedures on my head that left a fair amount of scar tissue. Can hair grow there? Is it a more difficult procedure? Are there any complications?
A: Transplanted hair will grow in scar tissue as long as the tissue is not thickened. Thickened scar tissue can be flattened with local injections of cortisone.
Once the scar is smooth, the hair transplant procedure is relatively straightforward, however a few things must still be kept in mind.
- Since the blood supply of the scar tissue is less than in normal tissue, the grafts should not be placed as close.
- As the grafts from the hair transplant grow, new blood vessels are formed in the area.
- Additional density can then be achieved in a subsequent session by adding more grafts.
- After the hair restoration procedure, care must be taken with grafts transplanted into scar tissue, as the scarred scalp doesn’t hold onto grafts as well as normal tissue and they are more easily dislodged.
If grafts are packed too closely into scar tissue, poor growth can result. If sites are placed properly and the post-op care is diligent, good growth should be expected.
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Topic: Hair Transplant into Scar
Tags: Blood Supply in Scar Tissue, Cortisone, Dense Packing of Grafts, Graft Dislodgement, Hair Transplant Growth, Post-op, Scalp Scar, Scar Thickening, Scar Tissue
Posted by Robert M. Bernstein M.D. at 10:48 am
Dr Bernstein, My son has was born with aplasia cutis. The original scar has been revised from a circle to more of a longitudinal scar. It is scar thickness is fairly thin and we have consulted with a few plastic surgeons in regards to reducing the scar further. One option that was given was hair transplantation. Our son is about to turn three. Is he to young? As I read a few other Q and A’s I noted that you said hair transplantation requires extra care in a scar as to not get dislodged. Do you think that there requires some extra maturity in the subject when transplantation is done to a scar?
Dr. Bernstein: Yes, it is better for the scar to be more mature and I would wait until your son is able to sit under local anesthesia i.e., age 7 or so.