How is Failed Hair Transplant Corrected?

16 December, 2020 | Hair Transplant Effects | Author : Shveta Virmani

According to reports, around 10-80% of the transplanted hair fully grows into a strand of hair around 3-4 months after the successful completion of the procedure. However, people bearing dormant hair follicles have lesser chances of regrowth. What can a patient do in such cases?

While it works amazingly for some patients, it might not be fruitful in a few others. Ranging from the quality of the hair follicles to the surgeon’s lack of expertise, there are a few influencing factors behind the success rate of the treatment.

In this article, we are going to discuss hair transplant repair and everything associated with the same.

Feel Free to Skip Ahead if One topic catches your eye

Take Away

1. What is a Failed Hair Transplant?

Hair transplantation is a surgical procedure done to extract the hair follicles from the part of the scalp with thicker hair growth and graft it into the areas with thinning and balding hair patches.

If the procedure shows no result after three or four months, it is considered a failed hair transplant. The area of the transplant should at least start showing minimal hair growth after a month or two to effectively cover balding patches. In case that doesn’t happen, it is likely that the procedure was unsuccessful and there are several factors that could influence that.

2. Reasons behind Failed Hair Transplant

Hair transplant is a painless procedure. Knowing the reasons behind the failed hair transplant helps the doctor analyze future steps for the hair transplant repair for the patient. Here are the common reasons:

Lack of expertise - It is human nature to get drawn to cheap deals and if a local clinic around you offers the same and you undergo the treatment there, under an inexperienced surgeon, the results are going to be damaging. An inexperienced surgeon may not know the correct procedures and might impose risks of infection and scarring.

Insufficient Post-Op care - Once you are done with the procedure, the surgeon will guide you with strict instructions that need to be taken care of. If you take that lightly and not follow the instructions, it might affect the results of the transplant.

Not ideal hair follicles - Your healthy hair follicles are the key to a successful hair transplant. If you have dormant follicles, it is likely going to result in a failed hair transplant.

Miscommunication - Patients consider the process of transplant to show immediate results, which is not the case at all. The surgical procedure can even take over 4 months to show regrowth of the hair. So, before drawing conclusions, consult your doctor about the same to get better insights.

3. Common Signs that Indicate a Failed Hair Transplant

There are a few indicative signs that could help you get a clear idea about the same.

They include:

Lacking aesthetic look to the area where the transplant has been done by the surgeon.
Prominent appearance of scarring on the grafting site as well as the donor site of the scalp.
No sign of hair regrowth even a few months after the completion of the surgery.
A badly structured hairline is also a sign of a failed transplant.
Usage of larger grafts leaves a very unnatural look to the hair after the transplant.
Arrangement of the grafts in the wrong direction.
Permanent FUT or FUE scarring on the sites of the graft

4. What are the Rescue Options for Failed Hair Transplant?

Now that you know about the basics of failed hair transplant, it is time we discuss hair transplant repair in detail. What can one do to fix the consequences of a failed hair transplant?

There are primarily three ways to correct the unwanted results. They include:

Scalp revision - one of the most common signs of a failed transplant is the scarring it leaves. Generally, the scars take around 2-3 months to heal completely; if they are still persistent and aren’t healing, it is likely because of a failed transplant. In that case, the patient needs to undergo scalp revision or scalp micropigmentation to get rid of the scars for good.

Extraction of the wrong grafts - if your hairline seems unnatural and you do have a lot of clumped grafts placed haphazardly all over your scalp, it can be fixed by extracting these grafts from the wrong spots, and then repositioning them in the correct part of the scalp as well as in the right direction. Doing this evens out the appearance and also helps in restoring the natural look.

Restoration of the hairline - in several cases of failed hair transplant, the patient is left with a misconstructed hairline. If that is the case with you, consulting an experienced and skilled surgeon can help restore the natural hairline with further grafting and transplant.

At Medlinks, you get the best treatment from board-certified surgeons to rescue your failed hair transplant.

5. What is the cost of repairing a Failed Hair Transplant?

The cost of the hair transplant repair depends on the fixes you need. For instance, the cost of repairing the scarring will be different from that of restoring the shape of the hairline and so on.

Some of the common repair treatments include:

Combined repair
Graft Excision
Hairline restoration
Camouflage
Scar repair

The hair transplant hairline repair can start from INR 30,000 per 1000 grafts like normal hair transplantation charges. But, it will vary depending on the number of grafts required or the other combined repair treatments that the patient needs to undergo.

The scar treatment during the repair is comparatively cheaper compared to removing the unnatural grafts and then reinstating them on the other parts of the scalp with thinning hair. It is an extensive process, so it's not surprising that the cost is more.

The cost of these restorative treatments will vary depending on the clinic you are getting it done from and the surgeon consultation too. Giving an exact amount for the procedure is not possible in that case.

At Medlinks, you get the best treatment at affordable prices.

Take Away

If you are repenting undergoing the hair transplantation procedure after the disastrous results, don’t fret. It is not permanent damage and can be fixed with hair transplant repair procedures. Just ensure to do your research right and avail the services at certified clinics under experienced and highly-skilled surgeons.