With the proliferation of black market clinics, the number of failed hair transplants is rising rapidly. A few key strategies can help you avoid unlicensed places for such a critical surgical procedure. None of medical professionals can guarantee a 100% success rate for hair transplant procedures. Although rare, unsuccessful hair transplant results are always possible.
According to the International Society of Hair Restoration Surgery, approximately 43% of hair transplants result in suboptimal outcomes. This study was conducted by researchers who assessed outcomes based on patients’ expectations and whether those expectations were met. But, experts consider a hair transplant failure when the transplanted hair follicles fail to grow.
When a hair transplant goes wrong, unprofessional clinics are usually not focus to pursue the post-operative care. But professionals must also take responsibility for poor outcomes. Plus, successful surgeons must not only be experts in the field of scalp surgery, but also be hair stylists with an eye for detail. Designing a new hairline to match the patient’s facial appearance requires dexterity.
Botched hair transplants can happen for many reasons. Failed results can lead to hair transplant regret. The most common problems are listed below:
There are some common mistakes to avoid after a hair transplant procedure:
Lack of research about clinics and surgeons may lead to unsatisfactory hair transplant results. Inexperienced surgeon and team may ruin the process. So, please check before-after photos, read reviews, and seek out patient testimonials.
Factors including the area where more hair will be transplanted, the angle of the hair and the space between them are necessary to avoid bad surgical results. For example, you need more transplanted hair around your temples. But your surgeon doesn’t put much hair there but focuses on the top area.
The main reason why Turkish surgeons and Turkey are the best for hair transplants is their experience. They treat thousands of people with alopecia every year. They perform Afro hair transplants to receding hairline treatments. This makes their success rate up to 98%.
Up to 5% graft viability may be lost during extraction of grafts from the donor area. However, this rate can be much higher with inexperienced surgeons or unhygienic operating rooms. Good transplantation of the hair follicles in the grafts is also an effective part of the process.
To create a correct hairline, the angle of the hair is important. A design at the opposite angle to your existing hair can look bad. It is also not a correct technique to create a line on your temple and forehead as if drawn with a ruler.
Overharvesting is the biggest problem for the health of your donor area. Protecting the donor area is very important for hair transplant patients because if they need a 2nd operation, grafts will be taken from the same area.
Hair transplants have a higher success rate than other medical treatments. However, there is a possibility of failure. Knowing the possible reasons can help you make a better decision before surgery. Here are the factors that can cause a hair transplant to fail:
If you have an unsuccessful operation, you may experience one or more of the following, depending on the cause
You may get an infection in the first week. You may have these potential infections: folliculitis, cellulitis, abscess formation, impetigo, necrosis, and infected grafts.
You may feel pain or soreness because you have damaged your grafts. If you excessively scratch your head, you can notice hair loss in the recipient area.
If your donor area has not healed after 2 weeks of surgery, you might suspect. The hair in the donor area should have healed much sooner than in the recipient area.
Don’t you see any new hair in the recipient area for 1 to 2 months? If your answer is yes, there is something missing. If you have also noticed that the severity of the shock is much greater than you expected, consult your surgeon.
Depending on the expectations and success of the operation, the satisfaction rate may vary. Although the success rate after hair transplants is over 90%, there can be some exceptions.
There are two reasons for this: the result does not match the patient’s expectations and the surgeon makes a mistake.
Some patients do not come to the clinic with realistic expectations. For example, they may expect 6000 or 7000 hair graft transplants despite having a donor area with thinning hair. This is impossible. The operation is planned according to the number of healthy grafts in the donor area and the number of hair follicles per graft.
Some surgeons may take a great risk and attempt to transplant a very high number of grafts into a patient at stage 6 or 7 on the Norwood Hair Loss Scale with unhealthy grafts. Plus, negligence during the operation can cause the grafts to lose their vitality.
You may not be eligible for the procedure. If you have any of the conditions listed below, you may not be a suitable candidate for the procedure:
Each hair transplantation technique has a different success rate. Below you can see the success chances of popular hair transplant techniques and the conditions affecting their success.
FUE Hair Transplant: A surgeon can perform FUE hair transplantation on Norwood and Ludwig scales, no matter what degree you are. In the hands of successful surgeons, the success chance is very high – 97-98%.
DHI Hair Transplant: With this procedure, the grafts remain outside for a shorter time and fewer grafts are transplanted. However, grafts placed one at a time with the Choi pen extend the duration of the session. The success rate is not dramatically different from FUE.
E-FUE Hair Transplant: Unshaven FUE is a popular procedure among patients who do not want to shave their existing hair. It is the process of applying the FUE technique between long hairs. Existing hair slightly increases the risk of infection. Therefore, the probability of success is lower than with standard follicular unit extraction.
Depending on the reason for the failure of your operation, your appearance at the end of 1 year will be different. The biggest risk is that you will remain bald. The last thing you want is to lose your hair in the donor area and become completely bald.
Another risk is that visible scars remain. In old hair transplantation techniques like FUT, there was a possibility of scarring in horizontal lines. Most of these patients undergo 2nd surgery with modern techniques; FUE or DHI.
Your hair may look sparse. Even if you are not bald, you may have bald spots, your hair may continue to thin. If your pre- and post-operative care is inadequate, you may be at risk. You can avoid this situation as much as possible by using natural hair care products after hair transplantation, keeping your hair out of the sun, avoiding smoking and alcohol, and avoiding dirt and excessive touch.
Some people turn to natural treatments and try to stop further hair loss with conditions just like hair oil, shampoos with natural ingredients. Some people look for solutions like wigs, which do not give a natural look but hide the current situation. However, no solution is as effective as a second operation.
Before the second surgery, the surgeon will examine the donor area, analyzing any scars for their depth, size, and type. They may also conduct a blood test. Based on the results, the surgeon will choose the appropriate technique and proceed with the operation. The procedure closely mirrors the steps of the first hair transplant.
The success rate of the second hair transplant surgery can reach 85-95% with successful surgeons. If the mistakes made by both you and the clinic in the first treatment are not repeated, you can finally have the vibrant and dense hair of your dreams.
Absolutely not. The risk is very low if you are treated in countries which have a good reputation in this area, for example Turkey, Poland, England and the USA.
Very rarely. The grafts must be badly damaged and very poorly cared for. It is one of the lowest risk surgeries among cosmetic plastic surgeries.
It depends on how you care for your hair after the transplant and how your lifestyle develops. In the first week, you should make sure that the grafts are growing healthily to prevent future loss. To do this, follow the instructions you have been given. The risk is very low if you don’t have a condition that attacks your hair follicles in the future.
Established in 2014, Imperium quickly became a beacon of excellence in hair transplant surgery and aesthetic treatments.
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