Hair Transplant Aftermath: 7 Common Hair Transplant Risks

When considering what hair replacement procedure will work best for you, it’s important that you make sure you do your research and take into account the aftermath, and hair transplant risks involved. You have to understand what will be the most feasible and easy to maintain the solution with the least amount of risk involved.

Whether you decide to follow through with a hair transplant or go with a non-surgical hair replacement, you must understand each process thoroughly before you pick which is best for you.

Hair transplants are a common cosmetic surgery that many men suffering from male pattern baldness turn to as the answer to their problems.

The surgery lasts anywhere between 2 to 4 hours on average and 250 grafts of hair are transplanted. There are two categories of transplants that are most common: follicular unit extraction (FUE) and follicular unit transplants (FUT).

There was a 28% increase in the number of hair transplant procedures from 2012 to 2014. However, despite the increasing popularity of hair transplants, it’s important to understand the side effects the procedure may result in.

The Common Risks of Hair Transplants

1) Numbness

All transplant patients experience a certain amount of numbness, usually in the donor area where the hair is taken from. While it is a common side effect, it is rarely a long-term problem but may take anywhere from 4 to 18 weeks for the feeling to return to normal.

If the numbing feeling doesn’t go away within this time frame, you definitely need to consult a doctor your return to your surgeon to figure out what’s wrong in these rare cases.

2) Bleeding

Even though most transplant patients do not experience pain during their transplant, some bleeding is a common side effect. The bleeding will stop eventually and can be reduced by applying pressure.

However, 1 in 100 cases often report persistent bleeding after a transplant and may require some additional stitches to stop the bleeding.

3) Scabs/Itching

Grafting results in the formation of scabs, which can then result in serious itching. While shampooing and treating the scalp after a transplant often reduces scabbing and itching with time, sometimes the scabbing doesn’t stop for weeks.

If the problem isn’t addressed properly and the itching or scabbing gets severe, you’ll have to see your cosmetic surgeon. Often, they will prescribe moisturizing oil or special creams to help with the scabbing. However, scabs can often scar the scalp depending on the severity and itching.

4) Scarring

Scabs can result in minor scarring but the most severe scars result from strip plantation transplants or follicular unit transplants.

The treatment usually results in a large scar on their scalp but this does not mean that follicular unit extraction doesn’t leave scarring on the patient’s scalp. While these can be smaller, less noticeable scars, they are often bothersome for patients.

While FUT results in an obviously noticeable scar on the scalp, FUE procedures can cause thousands of little scars all over the scalp. This is one of the main side effects that people consider, and one of the reasons they turn to non-surgical hair replacement solutions instead.

Scarring can be extremely problematic for patients who have a genetic predisposition towards scarring and is obvious with men who maintain shorter haircuts after a transplant.

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5) Cysts AFTER A HAIR TRANSPLANT

After a transplant, cysts can form when the hair follicle is damaged and the skin is penetrated too deeply. The graft area can be prone to infection and cause cysts to form immediately after the surgical procedure. This can be problematic because this can damage hair follicles close to the infection or cysts can impact the regrowth of hair.

While this is a common side effect of hair transplants, it’s easily curable with medication, but can continue to be extremely bothersome after the operation. In severe cases, cysts must be removed through surgery, but that is a worst-case scenario.

6) Swelling

Patients who undergo hair transplants that have sensitive scalps often experience swelling after their procedure. In some cases, the swelling spreads to the client’s forehead and eyes, which can be dangerous, so before your swelling spreads, consult with your surgeon to see what steps to take.

The swelling of the eye or ‘black eye’ after hair transplants is known as oedema. A study was conducted to figure out ways to prevent this type of a problem and the results suggested that 5% of subjects who underwent a transplant suffered from oedema. While this is a minor side effect, it can be quite dangerous.

7) Hair Thinning or Shedding

After a hair transplant, many men experience temporary thinning of hair. Often this may also be the result of improper grafting.

This frequently happens if the hair is not transplanted correctly or done by an inexperienced individual. Some men who undergo hair transplants complain about shedding or thinning hair, while others claim the transplant was unsuccessful because they still experience partial baldness.

A certain amount of hair loss is common before regrowth of new hair after grafting, but in many cases, the regrowth isn’t as successful as clients expect. They are more often than not unsatisfied with the regrowth results.

While thinning and baldness usually results if the hair was not transplanted successfully, sometimes it could be because the transplant wasn’t the right solution for you to begin with. That is why there’s always a risk involved with hair transplants and it’s difficult to know the results for each individual.

Even after transplants, surgeons will prescribe minoxidil and other hair growth solutions. This suggests that transplants don’t always yield the desired results and may be more a headache than a solution to hair loss for men.

While 251,208 surgical procedures to deal with hair loss took place in 2014, more clients turned to non-surgical procedures, which came in at 672,391.

There are plenty of hair replacement solutions in Toronto apart from hair transplants. Non-surgical hair replacement solution experts at 3rd Dimension offer you a range of hair replacement systems that are risk-free and get you the desired look you’ve been craving.

With these non-surgical solutions, there’s little risk involved and you’ll know exactly what the outcome will look like. If you’re looking to battle your hair loss, contact our stylists for a consultation to discuss non-surgical hair replacement solutions that won’t result in any of the stressful aftermaths of a hair transplant.